Chapter 55: Escape Plan

“Escape… from the Arius Branch?”

“Well, I suppose that is pretty shocking.”

I’ve hinted at it before — saying things like “eventually, that’s what we’ll have to do.”
But setting an actual date makes it feel far more real. More than anything, this is the first time I’ve explained it outright.

It can’t be perfect. A plan built too neatly will only collapse.
A sudden opportunity, a spur-of-the-moment idea — that’s what this is. That’s why I can overlook its flaws. Even if I notice them, they don’t bother me.

If I didn’t keep things uncertain, my real plan might get exposed.
That’s why now is the time to tell them.
It’s a little earlier than I wanted, but after what happened with Nagisa, I won’t be able to see everyone again soon. So it has to be now.

“…Your recklessness is nothing new. I assume you have some kind of idea?”

“Ding-ding-ding! Correct!”

Snap! I flick my fingers sharply and point toward Saori.

“Though, what we’re actually doing is pretty simple.”

Honestly, even I’m amazed by how ridiculously simple this plan is.

“As I said earlier, we’ll make our escape on the day of the signing ceremony. But if we tried to do it head-on — what problems would that cause?”

“There’d be the teachers — Madame’s pursuers. If they caught us, we’d be in serious trouble. Then there’s the Justice Realization Committee. During last year’s raid, some of them learned about the Arius Branch. If they find us, they’ll definitely chase us down.”

“Exactly.”

That’s a major problem.
The instructors serving as Beatrice’s hunters. The Justice Realization Committee.
Even if we somehow escaped cleanly, they’d come after us eventually.

…But the real problem is something else.

“…The ‘bomb that destroys Halos,’ right?”

“…Yeah. That’s the biggest issue.”

Before I could even say it, Saori beat me to it.

“The ‘Halo-Destroying Bomb.’ A weapon that shatters a student’s mystical Halo — killing them instantly.
The worst-case scenario is that it ends up being used on everyone.”

“If anyone gets hit by that thing, that’s it. No matter how strong you are — one blast, and you’re dead.”

“—!”

“I might as well admit it now — I’ve known about the bomb’s existence for a long time.”

“…I see.”

…Not much of a reaction. Well, I did tell Saori a bit about it before — about how I once killed someone.

“That’s why I’ve been wary of it — and terrified — that it might someday be used on all of us.”

I gesture with my thumb toward the Halo-Destroying Bomb behind us, continuing calmly.

“That’s exactly why the day of the signing ceremony is the best time to escape.”

“…? What do you mean?”

“…I get it.”

Looks like Saori caught on.
Azusa, on the other hand, doesn’t know what Beatrice plans to do during the ceremony, so it can’t be helped.

…Might as well explain.

“To keep it simple — Beatrice plans to use the signing ceremony to replicate and manifest the Eden Treaty’s divine law under the name of the Justina Council of Saints.”

“…?”

Azusa tilts her head in confusion.

Yeah, I suppose this sort of ritual would sound strange, even in Kivotos. Personally, I find the binding power of a contract reassuring, but—

“Saori, did you get that?”

“No. Sorry, not at all. I have no idea what you just said.”

“Ha… ha ha ha…”

Yeah, that’s the same reaction she used to have back when I tutored her.
…Can’t afford to get sentimental now.

“Alright, think of it like this — a force with no will of its own that keeps coming back no matter how many times you defeat it. Basically, like zombies.”

“…Still don’t totally get it, but… yeah, kind of got the idea.”

Good enough.

“So Beatrice wants to gain that power through the signing ceremony — but the command authority over them will also belong to us.”

“Ah… then—”

Looks like Azusa figured it out.

“Exactly. We’ll use the Council of Saints as a decoy and escape not only from the Arius Autonomous Zone… but from the Trinity Zone as well.”

“…From Trinity too? Do you really think that’ll go smoothly? There’ll be checkpoints.”

Sharp question.
Indeed, every school’s security staff is stationed to catch students trying to sneak in or out of other districts.

Worst case, the Justice Realization Committee responds to an alert — Tsurugi, Ichika, Hasumi… our odds against them are nonexistent.
And since we’ll be escaping with the middle schoolers — our juniors — there’s no way we can fight while protecting them.

“…Yeah. But on the day of the ceremony, that won’t be a problem. The Committee’s main forces will all be at the venue… right before the cruise missiles hit.”

“…!”

“There’ll be massive casualties and total chaos. Security across all of Trinity will collapse. I don’t want it to come to that, but…”

…Really, this is the one thing I can’t change.
Neutralizing Trinity’s and Gehenna’s main forces with cruise missiles.

Even Tsurugi won’t be able to fight properly for nearly an hour, and even Hina will be too weakened to handle grunts.

Then, with the ceremony forcibly halted, we’ll use that moment to rewrite the Eden Treaty.
That process — that’s something we have to do.

So this part… this part can’t be changed.
To get everyone out safely.
Even if it means hurting countless students in the process.

“When the chaos hits, we’ll take that chance to run with the younger ones. Our destination is the Plum Blossom Garden in Shanhaijing, and the ghost town in the Abydos Autonomous Zone.”

“Shanhaijing?”

“Yes. In Shanhaijing, involving children in conflict is strictly taboo. Even if they learn we were the ones who disrupted the signing ceremony, they’ll still take the children in — and more importantly, protect them. From pursuers, from Trinity agents, even from the Community Safety Bureau.”

Honestly, the ones they can take in will probably be only the youngest — maybe eight years old at best — but that’s still enough.
Besides, Shanhaijing’s location is ideal: not too far, not too close.
Even if news about the ceremony reaches them, it won’t really concern them. The distance is just right.

“And what about the other place?”

“That’s the Abydos Autonomous Zone. It’s been suffering from desertification for decades. Nowadays, only five students remain, and most of the territory has been sold off to Kaiser PMC. There are supposedly countless ghost towns scattered around.”

Those ghost towns… I remember one so vast that Sensei once got lost in it.
If Shiroko hadn’t happened to pass by at that exact moment, they never would’ve made it back.
The odds of running into anyone there are practically zero.
Without landmarks, even moving around is difficult.

“The pursuers won’t be able to follow us easily, and it’s not far from Shanhaijing either. We’ll escape to the Abydos Zone, sell off any unnecessary equipment to secure funds, and live quietly in one of the ghost towns until things calm down. We can take on part-time jobs to blend in and stay hidden.”

“Hm… yes, given the circumstances, that doesn’t seem like a bad plan.”

…Good. At least for now, they seem to accept it.

“Also, if things go really well, we might even enroll in Abydos High School. They’re always short on members and buried in debt, so they’ll probably welcome any extra help.”

Still, I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
Ayane or Serika might trust us easily enough… but Hoshino? She’ll definitely be cautious.
If we show that we’re also victims of the ‘adults,’ that might soften her view of us—but with the Trinity pursuers and instructors after us, she’s bound to weigh the risks carefully.

Anyway, I just want everyone to understand that, for now, there’s nothing to worry about.

“…”

…But yeah, Azusa wouldn’t just accept that.

“…You don’t want to, huh? To leave the Supplementary Lessons Department behind.”

“…Yeah.”

I see… yeah, that’s what I thought.

For Azusa, these past few weeks must have been unforgettable.
As her sister, it’s a little frustrating to admit it.
Barely a month together—and yet time doesn’t matter. By now, the Supplementary Lessons Department must be precious to her… her dear friends.

“…But still—”

I can tell what she’s torn about right now.

“…What should I do?”

“Azusa…”

…Saori’s noticed it too.

“I… I want to stay with everyone in the Supplementary Lessons Department, but Suou, you, everyone in Arius—you’re all important to me too. So I don’t know which to choose.”

“…I see.”

Yeah, that makes sense. But hearing that… it makes me feel a little relieved.
Because it means that what happened in the original timeline—that thing—won’t have to happen this time.

But at the same time, it gives her a new kind of pain.

Balancing two things you treasure, not knowing which to choose… yeah, that’s not easy for anyone.

“…I know. It’s selfish, but… the right answer is probably to go with everyone.”

“…Huh?”

“Suou, you didn’t mention it, but… after the Mika incident, if I stay at Trinity, it’ll only make them more suspicious of me. So the right thing to do would be to go with you all… but that would also mean betraying everyone in the Supplementary Lessons Department.”

“No.”

…No, that’s not right.

“This isn’t about right or wrong. And you shouldn’t let those words box you in or limit your choices.”

“…Easy for you to say.”

But I understand why she feels that way.

“Who’s standing in front of you right now?”

“...Huh?”

“Who is it?”

“…My squad leader. A lunatic who claims to be my sister.”

“That’s right—your big sister.”

“No…”

She didn’t hear the word weirdo that I almost said. Didn’t hear any of it.

“Because I’m your big sister, I can do anything for my little sister.”

“…”

“Whether you follow me or someone else—that’s not for me to decide. And it’s not something dictated by our situation, either. It’s up to you. Whatever problems come with that, I’ll handle them all. You don’t have to worry about a single thing.”

“…Why are you… like this?”

“Because I’m your big sister, of course!”

“...!”

…I really wanted to say this to her in person, not over the comms. But—well, it can’t be helped.

“Anyway, if I can add something to what Suou said—there’s no rule that you can only choose one side. Sure, maybe you won’t see them every day, but it’s not like you’ll never meet again.”

“…Yeah.”

Saori was… yeah, she was really worried about her, too.

…Guess I should tell her that part as well.

“So, if you’re feeling guilty about how things are right now—if that’s what you truly want—you can tell them. You can tell everyone in the Supplementary Lessons Department the truth.”

“...!?!”

“I’d notice, you know. I’m your big sister, after all.”

…Seriously, it’s all “big sister this, big sister that” today. Oh well.

“I’m the one who made you carry that burden… I’m sorry.”

“That’s not—”

“It is.”

Yeah. Someone had to be chosen as the spy. And the one who chose Azusa… was me.

So when it comes to this, the responsibility is mine.

“…Azusa. Please, be more selfish. It’s okay to be like that. I’ll make sure everything works out somehow.”

“…Okay. Thank you.”

…Well, I think I managed to say what I wanted to say. Realistically, the next time—or maybe the one after that—will probably be the last time I get to talk to Azusa.

Doesn’t feel like I’ve left anything unsaid.

“But what are you planning to do about Mika?”

“I’ve got a plan. With Nagisa’s testimony, we can probably suppress things a lot… But to put it simply, we’ll just blow up Mika—with a cruise missile.”

“…That’s not exactly peaceful.”

…Yeah. Even I think so, hearing myself say it.

“But it’s a pretty effective method, don’t you think? No one’s going to suspect the person who just got blown up by a cruise missile. And if Mika’s position becomes unstable, Nagisa will have no choice but to come forward. From her point of view, I’ll look like a lifesaver—so most of the suspicion will disappear. Not completely, but… once we leave Arius and the Trinity District, there won’t be any decisive evidence left. The suspicion will stay just that—a suspicion.”

“…I see.”

Yeah, that’s part of why I plan to help her escape from the Trinity District too. Anyone who tries to act violently on pure suspicion will be stopped—by Nagisa, or by the Justice Realization Committee.

“…Alright. I get the gist. No major issues at present.”

“Yeah, I think so too.”

…Yeah. Thank goodness.

“Thank you. This is just the outline, though—I’ll fill in the details later.”

I’m really glad neither of them found the plan suspicious.

Mika’s doubts—if we don’t hold back next time, we can clear up most of them.

And with SCHALE’s cooperation, we’ll almost certainly be able to get everyone out safely.

Which means… I don’t have much time left to see them. I need to do everything I can—while I still can.