Chapter 27: Squad Leaders

The night had long fallen, and not a single soul remained awake. In one corner of the training grounds, eight girls had gathered.

They were the so-called Squad Leaders of the Arius Branch School.

"Hey… the Squad Captain still isn’t here?"

"…First Squad Leader. The Captain is quite busy. Besides, she didn’t seem to be feeling well. I won’t tell you to be patient, but I’d appreciate a little understanding."

"Heh heh… still the perfect little honor student, huh? Yako-san?"

"……"

At the First Squad Leader Akae’s taunting remark, Takato Yako furrowed her brows in irritation. She knew exactly what “honor student” was supposed to mean.

It was a jab at her past—back when all she could do was follow orders without question. And worse, Akae was now equating that same blind obedience with Yako’s admiration for Suou.

Anger swelled in Yako’s chest, tinged with the faintest trace of guilt toward Akae.

"But… the Captain really is late, huh…"

"Yeah. I’m starting to get a little worried."

"…You don’t need to worry about my sister. Any of you."

As the Second Squad Leader Arasaka and Third Squad Leader Yowa began voicing their concern for Suou, Shio—who had been quietly sitting off to the side—suddenly spoke up.

"What’s this, trying to get our attention or something, Shio?"

"Eh—n-no, that’s not what I—!"

Ignoring poor Shio getting verbally skewered, Saori Joumae could already feel a headache coming on.

This was predictable.

Every Squad Leader here had a strong personality. Gathering them all in one place was just asking for friction, tension, and—eventually—fighting.

Still, why wasn’t Suou showing up?

Getting everyone together was one thing. A fight, at least, could be managed. But with this particular lineup, Saori knew she’d be the one taking all the damage—and that was absolutely unacceptable.

"Uh-oh, Saori-chan? What’s wrong? Headache?"

"Wait, really? You okay, Saori-chan?"

"Ah, no. I’m fine."

And now, even the Fourth Squad Leader Yasuderi Rei and Fushinuki Yose had joined in pestering her.

"That’s enough!! I said the Captain’s coming soon, didn’t I!? What, are those ears just for decoration!? You defective freaks—want me to tear ’em off for you!? Huh!?"

Yako finally snapped.

"…Ah, crap…"

Saori muttered a curse under her breath. This was the worst possible outcome.

"Hah? Fine, bring it on…"

The tension was electric—one wrong move and the whole place would erupt.

Everyone was reaching for their guns when—

"S-sorry to keep you waiting!!! Your big sister is here!!"

The moment the one they called “Big Sis”—a.k.a. the most strong-willed lunatic of them all—arrived, everyone froze.
But for Saori, the headache only grew worse.

That was close.

If I hadn’t taken just a short nap, I would’ve completely overslept.

And everyone already had their guns out, right? That must’ve been seconds away from disaster.

Good thing I rushed here. These girls are… well, a bit much, to say the least.

"Sorry I’m late, everyone… Please, lower your guns."

As her younger subordinates reluctantly lowered their weapons, Suou spotted Saori in the crowd.

"…"

Saori’s eyes were dark, heavy with exhaustion—and glaring daggers straight at her.

O-okay, I get it! But come on, we needed a full meeting sooner or later.
Besides, the other Squad Captain’s already in on this as my co-conspirator.

Even if, technically, all the squads fall under my command, it’s rare for both units to operate together like this.

"Suou-chan, you really were late. Did something happen?"

"I overslept."

"…Yeah, that’s… hard to defend, honestly."

"I-I’m so sorry!!"

Rei, as usual, was completely unfazed—how can she stay so casual in this atmosphere!?

"Hey, Squad Captain? You gathered us all here just to tell us you overslept? That’s kinda lame, don’t you think?"

"Yes… I’m sorry…"

"As I mentioned earlier, the Captain was exhausted. Please take that into account."

As Yowa scolded Suou, Yako quickly stepped in to defend her.

"What’s that got to do with anything? If she’s that tired, there’s no reason to call a meeting today. Yowa’s just pointing out how irresponsible that is."

"I wasn’t talking to you, First Squad Leader."

"The hell did you just say—"

"S-stop!!!"

"Tch."

All that from just one exchange!?

…Well, with Akae and Yako, I guess that’s to be expected. But still!!

"This one’s on me, I admit it. But there’s something I really needed to tell everyone today."

"…That’s unusual, Captain."

"True. It’s not often all Squad Leaders gather like this either. But this time, it’s necessary."

"…I see. Why?"

"I’ll explain now."

…At least Arasaka is quiet and cooperative. Among all the Squad Leaders, she and Saori are the least likely to cause trouble.

Even if she doesn’t mean any harm, her words can still be pretty poisonous.

"Anyway—Yose, please wake up."

At some point, she’d fallen asleep face-down on her desk, so I gently shook her awake.

"…Hm? Ah, is it starting already?"

"Yes, sorry for the delay."

"No worries, no worries! I do that all the time."

"Sixth Squad Leader, you really should be more careful."

…Right. Let’s just start, even if it’s a little forced.
Otherwise, we’ll never get anywhere.

"To put it simply, it’s a new mission from Beatrice."

"A mission, huh… and you gathered all the Squad Leaders just for that? So it must be something pretty big."

"Big… yes, you could say that."

"I see. So, what’s the mission?"

No point in hiding it. I’ll just say it straight.

"Our new mission is to destroy the halo of one of the Tea Party’s members—Yurizono Seia."

"—What!?"

Every face in the room froze in shock.
Well, that’s only natural.

"At present, the operation plan hasn’t even been drafted yet. However—"

"W-wait, hold on a second. What do you mean by ‘destroy her halo’?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. The mission is to destroy Yurizono Seia’s halo—in other words, to kill her. Nothing more, nothing less."

"No way…"

Up until now, I’ve always kept knowledge and training related to killing—to destroying halos—to an absolute minimum.
A squad’s methods depend heavily on its leader, after all.

And the reason I never taught how to kill was simple.
I didn’t want them to have that choice.
I didn’t want them to kill.
That’s all.

Seeing them instinctively recoil at the idea of killing Yurizono Seia…
Honestly, I find that a little reassuring.

Still, the reason I taught them how to kill — even just a little — wasn’t only to keep Beatrice from catching on.
It was to prevent killing from ever happening in the first place.

In Kivotos, the concept of death is faint.
Even if someone takes a bullet, students don’t die.
That’s why it’s so easy for violence to go too far.

To make sure no one ever dies — not even by accident — I taught them what death truly means.

"…Destroying a halo, huh. Even if we wanted to, that would take a lot of time."

"Yeah, and she’s part of the Tea Party, right? Wouldn’t we have to infiltrate Trinity just to get close to her?"

"Time’s tight, and it sounds almost impossible… Does Madam really intend to have Yurizono Seia killed?"

"…She’s already prepared something called a ‘halo-destroying bomb.’ Apparently, if we’re hit by it, we die on the spot — no exceptions, even for us."

"W-what!? Something like that actually exists?"

…I should probably explain just how dangerous that bomb really is.

"Ten years ago, during the civil war… some of you might’ve been caught up in it. I was too. I saw a student die right before my eyes. I believe the same kind of weapon was used back then."

"…I see."

Saori’s expression softened into one of grim understanding.

Well, she already knows I’ve killed someone before.
She’s probably pieced together how it all fits.

…Even though, in truth, I was part of that civil war.

"Of course, we have to consider the possibility that those attacks could turn on us. And Beatrice might already be mass-producing them."

"So, refusing isn’t even an option, huh."

"Ugh… I don’t get any of this!"

"I’ll explain it properly to the Sixth Squad Leader later."

"Haha… thanks, I owe you one."

…Honestly, is the person who made Yose a squad leader really in their right mind?
Even for a combat-oriented appointment, there’s got to be a limit.

"The mission’s scheduled to begin in two or three days."

"…That soon? Why?"

"Because Yurizono Seia possesses the ability to foresee the future."

"…She can… see the future?"

"This information comes from another Tea Party member — Seia’s colleague, Misono Mika. There’s no reason to doubt it."

"…That’s… incredible."

"Incredible, yes. Which is probably why they intend to kill her."

"I see… and what about you, Suou?"

That’s when Saori suddenly spoke up.

"So… are you actually planning to carry out this mission?"

…As expected of Saori. She sees right through me.

"Ha-ha-ha. Bingo, Saori. I’ve got zero intention of taking it seriously."

"Haah… figures. Then why the dramatic setup?"

"Hmm… mostly, I just wanted to confirm that everyone here genuinely doesn’t want to kill anyone."

"Ehh— yeah, that’s definitely something I’m allowed to be mad about. Why’d you make us all tense up over something so obvious!?"

…Something so obvious, huh.
I’m honestly glad that’s the case.

"So, what’s your plan then? You can’t just do nothing. You’ve got something in mind, don’t you?"

"Yes. We’ll cooperate with Yurizono Seia herself — and fake her death. The finer details will depend on the official operation plan the faculty puts forward."

"…And if… Seia doesn’t cooperate… then what?"

If she doesn’t cooperate, huh…

Well, I already know from the original story that she will — but obviously, I can’t say that.

"In that case… anyone with a shred of sense would stay quiet once they know someone’s after their life. So we’ll push her to the brink — make it look like she’s in critical condition — then ensure someone influential witnesses it. For example, Aomori Mine from the Rescue Knights or Utazumi Sakurako from the Sisterhood. We’ll have them hide her away. The full details will come once the official plan’s released."

"I can’t take this anymore…"

Yose let out a puff of smoke from her head and collapsed with a thud.

"Haha… guess that’s enough for today. Alright, everyone — once the mission’s officially announced, brief your own squads."

"Got it—"

"Then, dismissed. I’ll keep you updated as the situation develops. Thanks for staying late, everyone."

And with that, the meeting ended.

…The assault on Yurizono Seia.

In the original story, that incident took place a full year before Sensei ever visited Trinity.

Already, things have diverged.
We’re running a little behind.

…Which means the change has already begun.
And because of that — it doesn’t have to be Azusa who attacks Yurizono Seia.

I’ll do it.
I’ll be the one to talk to her.

That way, maybe Azusa won’t have to feel like she and Hifumi live in two separate worlds.

…Guess I should start figuring out what I’m going to say to Yurizono Seia.

(A/N):

Sorry for suddenly introducing a bunch of original characters! Since Saori’s the leader of the 8th Squad, I figured I had to include leaders for Squads 1 through 7 as well. But honestly, I couldn’t find a better spot in the story to introduce them than here.

As for the backstories of the 1st to 7th Squad Leaders and how they each met Suou-chan—I don’t think it’d be wise to spend too much main story time focusing on them, so I’ll probably release those as bonus chapters instead. I’m not sure yet if that’ll be before or after the main story concludes.

Since I know a lot of readers probably found the names a bit hard to remember, here’s a quick recap of the 1st–4th Squad Leaders and their speech quirks:

Akae "Sau"— A girl with a rough, brash way of speaking.

Arasaka "Fili"— A slow speaker who often pauses with “...” mid-sentence.

Yowa "Tou"— Talks in a questioning tone, like “Why is it~?” or “How come~?”

Anderi "Rei"— Tends to stretch out her words with long vowels.