Chapter 67: May I help you?

"May I help you?"

"Sensei? What’s wrong?"

"Uh—no, it’s nothing. It’s from Hanako…"

"Hanako-chan?"

Hanako, who had been rumored to be busy with something until just a few days ago.
And now, she wanted to talk. It was hard to imagine this wasn’t connected to the Azusa incident.

"Is it okay even if the others are around?"

"Yes, of course. Where are you right now?"

"Where… umm."

Where was he?
A simple question—but Sensei found himself struggling to answer.
After all, they were underground, beneath the Volunteer Activities Club room—a place Hanako didn’t even know existed.

"Asiri, can Hanako come here too?"

"…It’s fine, right? Mayumi-chan?"

"Of course. Urawa Hanako—her insight and analytical skills are monstrous. Honestly, I’d be the one bowing my head and begging for her help."

"Okay, I’ll contact the girls upstairs then…"

"Thanks."

After confirming, Sensei reached for the tablet again and began typing his reply.

"For now, could you come to the Volunteer Activities Club room? The girl there will guide you."

"…? Understood."

A few minutes later—

"Wah—kyaa!?"

With an uncharacteristic cry of surprise, Hanako dropped straight down from the ceiling.
Watching her tumble into the room, Sensei couldn’t help but feel oddly self-conscious—he’d arrived the exact same way not long ago.

"I get it, Sensei… there’s something kind of nice about that, isn’t there?"

"Nice…?"

He gave Mayumi a vague nod, unsure what to make of her comment.

"My, I didn’t know there was a place like this."

"Hanako-chan! Down there—cover yourself!!"

Sensei instantly turned his eyes away from Hanako, who was deliberately showing off.

"I see… so you spoke with a captured student from the Arius Branch School."

"Yeah."

Taking a teacher hostage.
At first glance, it sounded like the height of stupidity for terrorists—but if the hostage had genuine value as leverage, the situation changed.

They’d cornered him, forcing a choice where only one path remained open.
In a way, it was impressive—it showed they understood negotiation and manipulation all too well.

"……"

But even so, one question lingered.

Why that particular teacher?
According to Sensei, the student had sought protection—to be sheltered or helped in escaping.

Everything about that request depended on Sensei’s goodwill.
What if he hadn’t been kindhearted? Or not kind enough to risk himself for a student in danger?
Could someone capable of such calculated planning really overlook that risk?

Sure, they’d probably heard of Sensei through Azusa—but even then, something didn’t add up.

"Sensei. Have you ever met that student before?"

"No. It was our first meeting."

"……"

Suspicious. Uneasy. Off.
A subtle discomfort—like a small pebble in one’s shoe—but for Hanako, it was enough to matter.

"Are you sure… we can really trust that girl?"

"As expected of you, Urawa Hanako."

"Huh…?"

She blinked, noticing an unfamiliar face now displayed on the screen.
Ah—so this was…

"The infamous peeping tom, I presume. You’ve been quite the nightly companion."

"What’s that supposed to mean!? And I told you, I don’t do that anymore!!"

Her face flushed—an uncharacteristic shade of red—and she clicked her tongue in frustration, forcing herself to keep talking.

"You really are as weird as they said… Anyway! I agree—it’s not smart to just trust that Arius girl right off the bat."

Mayumi sighed and raked a hand through her long blue hair.
Clearly, this kind of person wasn’t easy for her to deal with.

"But we don’t have time to argue about it. If what she said is true, we need to act fast."

"…But what if she’s trying to use us?"

"That’s—"

"I think it’ll be fine."

Sensei’s voice cut in, calm but certain.

"It’s true we can’t be sure everything she said is real…"

He recalled his first conversation with Suou earlier—
that faint, sorrowful smile. There had been something behind it. Something heavy.
Perhaps grief over her sister—the one she said she might never see again.

But then—after that, when Asiri and Hifumi had arrived—

"Suou threw a rock and took down that drone with a single hit. Even through iron bars. Even while restrained."

He pointed toward the small yellow bird nearby as he continued.

"If she’d wanted to hurt me back there, she could have. Anytime."

And later, that night—when they fought.

"She could control something like ropes. Even from inside the cell, she could’ve captured me or taken me hostage. But she didn’t."

"…Maybe she just had no reason to."

"That might be true. But at the very least, I don’t think she intends to act against us—for now."

"I see…"

Whether Suou’s words were truth or deception, Sensei seemed convinced that—for now—she wouldn’t make a move.

"As for the other Arius Branch girls… judging by how Azusa reacted, I don’t think they were lying either… probably."

"…Agreed."

Even if they couldn’t fully trust them, they decided to move forward as if it were true.
Hanako, however, kept that faint unease tucked in the back of her mind.

"Still—an escape, huh… In that case, Asiri-san and… um…"

"Mayumi Kashiwa."

"Right, Kashiwa-san’s facility might come in handy."

"Of course. I’ll help however I can. That’s exactly what I built it for, after all."

Mayumi puffed out her chest proudly as she spoke, though a trace of tension and excitement slipped through her confident tone.

"So they’re planning to escape to the Abydos Autonomous District first, huh? Guess the real thing happens after that…?"

"We should start preparing while we still can. Not that we even have a full month left…"

"Oh? So the timing’s already decided?"

Hanako’s curiosity sharpened at that new detail.
Less than a month from now—it would likely coincide with the signing ceremony.

"Yes. They said it’ll be on the day of the ceremony itself."

"I see…"

Suspicious. Extremely so.
That was Hanako’s first thought.

The so-called “Traitor of Trinity”—a name Nagisa Kirifuji had coined on her own.
And that “traitor” turned out to be Azusa. According to Nagisa, her goal had been to sabotage the signing ceremony.

That couldn’t just be coincidence.

Maybe they were planning an attack on that day.
Or perhaps they wanted to use the chaos of the ceremony to escape.
But then—why hadn’t they done it sooner?

For example, a year ago, during the attack led by Seia Yurizono.
If they’d wanted to flee Arius Branch, that would’ve been their best chance.

They hadn’t. Why?
Maybe because they were afraid—afraid that the violence ruling Arius Branch would turn on those who stayed behind.

Seen in a positive light, that explanation made sense—and it lined up with what Azusa had said.
Why she’d pointed a gun at Hifumi back then, too.

Still… something didn’t fit.
There was a wrongness she couldn’t quite name.

That faint unease lingered as Hanako’s thoughts drifted.

Azusa.
The situation at Arius Branch.
The prisoner, Suou Kirihana.
SCHALE.
Sensei.

"Now that I think of it, Hanako-chan—what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Ah—yes."

Her thoughts snapped back into place.
That sense of wrongness remained, but she buried it deep, answering Hifumi’s question instead.

"…It’s about that, actually. Um…"

Hanako’s tone grew hesitant—nervous, even—as she slowly opened her mouth.

"It’s about Mika-san…"

"Hmm… it’s already this late, huh…"

Stretching lazily, Mika peeled the bandages from her arm.

"Alright… perfect."

Her right arm—once shattered by the blast she’d diverted days ago—was now almost fully healed, with only faint scars remaining.
The rest of her injuries, too, seemed to pose no real problem.

"Still, what should I do about this thing…"

She fiddled with the “Halo-Destroying Bomb” she’d taken from Suou, then casually tossed it onto her bed.

"There’s no way I can show this to Nagi-chan or the others…"

A weapon designed to destroy halos—essentially, to kill students.
Anyone caught with something like that would lose all trust instantly.
It would only deepen everyone’s fear of Arius Branch. So she had to hide it.
And yet—

"Leaving it in my room isn’t exactly a great idea either…"

Her recovery period ended today. Starting tomorrow, she’d have to resume her duties with the Tea Party.
If anyone entered her room before then, it would be a disaster.

That left only one option—to keep it on her person. She sighed, resigned.

"……"

Her thoughts drifted back—to two nights ago.
To the moment she’d struck Suou Kirihana.

"I’m sorry…"

Her words reached no one. She stared down at her fist, whispering to a girl who wasn’t there.

—Why… why did you…!?

"Ah…"

A shiver ran through her.
Like something cold brushing against her heart.

—I’ll beat the hell out of you!!

"……"

That look of rage. That scream. The tears.
All of it came flooding back, twisting inside her.

—…Sorry, Hifumi. Everyone…

"…"

Ah. That’s right.
She remembered this feeling.

She’d felt it countless times before.

"I’m sorry… everyone. I’m such an idiot… this is all I can ever do…"

Guilt.

Even so. Even so, she hadn’t had a choice.
If she hadn’t acted, Suou Kirihana might have died. Something irreversible might have happened.

Thinking about that, even if she’d been wrong—it was still something she had to do.
There had been no other way.

She still didn’t understand what Suou had been trying to accomplish. Or what that act had ultimately led to.

But what she remembered—clear as day—was the image of that girl one year ago.
Strong, intelligent, kind… yet so fragile, showing just a glimpse of weakness.

And to stop her back then, Mika had done the only thing she could.

"It seems I’ve gone and acted on impulse again, haven’t I, Seia-chan…?"

Mika smiled wryly to herself as she pulled a bottle of black tea from her room’s refrigerator.

If it were her close friend Nagisa, she’d probably say something like, "I can’t drink that sort of thing," but Mika just couldn’t summon the energy to properly brew tea tonight.

She gave the bottle a lazy swirl, watching the tea leaves drift down from top to bottom.

"It’s alright, isn’t it…? Seia-chan’s still alive… right?"

When she was alone, those feelings always crept in—the weakness, the self-loathing, the guilt, the anxiety.

Trying to shake them off, she took a deep gulp of the bottled tea.

"Ahh…"

She exhaled softly, then thought back on her actions over the past few days.

By the time Suou had warned her about the impending attack, the traps had already been set. She had hesitated until the last moment about whether to use them.

In the end, Saori and the others had gotten away. If possible, she would have liked to capture them too—to restrict Suou’s movements even further.
And on top of that, she hadn’t anticipated Azusa’s sudden appearance at all.

Due to the constraints of their “contract,” that had been her only chance to act. Even so, she had at least managed to capture Suou.

"…Yeah. Not a bad outcome, I’d say."

From what she’d heard, Suou had been seeking “SCHALE’s” cooperation.

Whether that was true or just an excuse, Suou would end up meeting Sensei one way or another.

"…I wonder if Suou-chan’s managed to talk with Sensei yet."

She had made sure her own message had reached the right people, encouraging them to comply with Suou’s request.
Under those terms, Nagisa would have no choice but to accept.

As for Sensei—and SCHALE—Mika had already done enough background checks to trust them to a reasonable degree.

It wasn’t guaranteed, but she doubted they would ignore Suou’s plea.

And if the information had reached Sensei, then it would likely reach Hanako too.

Whether that happened or not—

"They’ll probably show up soon, huh…"

Thinking it’d be a hassle, she began boiling water and setting out tea and sweets.

She prepared for five people, just to be safe, though in the end she’d probably only need two servings.

The thought of what came next made her feel heavy. After all, what she was about to do was dangerous.

But to save Suou—and for the day Trinity and Arius might finally reconcile—she had to cross that bridge, no matter how unstable it seemed.

"Those cookies… oh, the ones I baked… I wonder if Suou-chan ate them."

She had secretly slipped them into the prisoner’s meal tray, though she wasn’t sure anyone had noticed.
Suou probably hadn’t eaten much in the last few days, but with today’s negotiations, hopefully she had.

They had a hint of chamomile—just enough to help her relax, even if only a little.

She placed the remaining cookies on a plate, added a few other sweets, and had just finished arranging them when—

"Mika-sama, you have visitors. They arrived without notice, so shall I tell them to return later—"

"Oh, it’s fine, it’s fine! Let them in!"

"…Understood."

A short wait later, a knock came at the door.

"Well then. Would you prefer tea? Or coffee? I’m afraid it’s instant, though…"

"Mika-san…"

"‘……’"

Standing there was a tall man—slightly taller than Mika herself—and beside him, a girl Mika often thought looked somewhat like her.

"So, is this going to be a quick visit? …No, I suppose not, right?"

"‘Tea is fine, thank you.’"

"I’ll have some too."

"Alright then."

Mika set the tea and sweets on the table, gesturing for them to sit.

"…Alright. Let’s talk, shall we? Hanako-chan, Sensei?"

Drawing in a quiet breath, she faced the two, both wearing faintly wary expressions.