Chapter 20: Investigation

After finishing our training as usual, it was time for a break. While sharing information, we enjoyed the chiffon cake Maiha had prepared, paired with black tea.

"According to Sensei, the members of the Make-Up Work Club are four people: Ajitani Hifumi-senpai, Urawa Hanako-senpai, Shirasu Azusa-senpai, and Shimoe Koharu-chan~"

"Hifumi-senpai is in the Make-Up Work Club too?"

Masa looked genuinely surprised. The last time we saw Hifumi, she came across as a regular Trinity student who simply adored Momo Friends. She didn’t seem like someone whose grades were bad enough to require something like this.

"Yep, looks that way~. So, let's go over their connections."

Well, it’s not like I need the explanation. Thanks to what I remember from my previous life, I already know most of this. Masa is probably the only one here who’s completely in the dark.

"First, Hifumi-senpai. Before joining the Make-Up Work Club, she wasn’t in any club and usually went straight home, but she seems to have friends in all sorts of groups. Some even say she’s one of Nagisa-sama’s favorite friends."

Maybe those friends are fellow Momo Friends fans? But Hifumi does seem pretty outgoing, so it could just be her personality.

"Next is Hanako-senpai. She isn’t officially part of any faction, but apparently people often see her talking with members of the Sisterhood."

Hanako had grown tired of faction wars and political scheming, yet despite that—despite even showing up to cathedral classes in a swimsuit—she remained friendly with the Sisterhood. What exactly is her motive there? Are they appealing because they’re quiet and avoid politics? Or is she drawn to things like confession, prayer, or volunteer work?

"Next is Azusa-senpai… she transferred in at a weird time, so it seems she doesn’t really have many connections."

That tracks. Azusa isn’t the talkative type.

"Last is Koharu-chan. Unlike the others, she doesn’t go straight home—she’s in the Justice Task Force. She’s probably the one we can gather the most information from."

"Hmm, indeed… so which circle should we approach first?"

"Either Hanako-senpai through the Sisterhood, or Koharu through the Task Force… one of those two seems the clearest starting point."

I don’t mind either way… but what about Maiha? I glanced over to see her pulling all the remaining chiffon cake onto her plate and eating it with great focus.

"Munch… munch… ah, you mean who we should start with~. For now, I think asking about Koharu-chan at the Task Force would be best~"

The way she made sure to swallow before speaking reminded me that Maiha really was a proper young lady. Then—

"I’m perfectly fine with that. Masa-san, how about you?"

"I’m fine with it too."

"Great! Then once we clean up, let’s head to the Task Force clubroom!"

After carefully cleaning the dishes and teaware, we immediately made our way toward the building where the Justice Task Force’s clubroom was located.

"Koharu? You want to ask about her?"

We arrived at the Task Force. Inside were Vice Chair Hasumi, Shizuyama Mashiro, and several other members.

"Yes. While looking into the Make-Up Work Club, we learned Koharu-chan is part of it~"

"I see…"

Hasumi paused for a moment before speaking.

"It’s true that Koharu’s grades aren’t what you’d call good, but I believe she’s the type who can do well when she puts her mind to it. She may have been too absorbed in the activities of the Justice Task Force—something she had admired for a long time—and perhaps that caused her to neglect her studies. But if she has an environment where she can concentrate properly, I’m sure she’ll pass quickly and return to us."

Her tone alone made it obvious that Hasumi had deep trust in Koharu.

"You truly believe in Koharu-san, don’t you?"

"Yes. Even within the Task Force, Koharu… well, she wasn’t particularly strong in combat for a first-year. But support roles are important too, so that part doesn’t concern me."

"So basically she’s wea—mmph mmph"

"Masa-chan? We’re in the middle of a conversation~?"

Once again, Masa had her mouth covered. Honestly, that was absolutely the right call. Hasumi blinked in momentary confusion, but continued speaking without pressing the issue.

"But Koharu has an unshakeable sense of justice. She never tolerates bullying, and whenever she sees it, she steps in. That’s the kind of core principle someone in an organization called the ‘Justice Task Force’ must never lose. In that sense, I trust Koharu, and I have high expectations for her."

"I agree with Hasumi-senpai. I believe Koharu-san is essential to the Task Force. I hope she studies hard and returns to us as soon as she can."

Mashiro voiced her agreement. If Koharu heard this, she’d probably be delighted—or she’d get fired up and push herself even harder. As I considered that, Maiha spoke.

"Yes, we also want to help the Make-Up Work Club however we can~. We want to support them so they can return as soon as possible~"

"I see. Then please look after Koharu and the others."

"Of course, leave it to us."

Just as we were wrapping up the conversation, Masa asked:

"By the way, where is Chairwoman Tsurugi?"

"Tsurugi? She went on a mission with Ichika and the others. If you’d like to speak with her, she should be back before long… but—"

"No, I was just curious. We’ll continue investigating the other members of the Make-Up Work Club."

"I understand. Please be careful."

We ended the conversation for real this time and stepped outside. About two minutes later, we saw a figure sprint past at high speed, letting out a bizarre scream, followed by Nakasaki Ichika and several Task Force members walking toward the clubroom with troubled expressions. We sighed in relief—we’d narrowly avoided an encounter.

Next, we headed to the Sisterhood’s headquarters: the Grand Cathedral.

"You're asking about Hanako?"

We were greeted by Wakaba Hinata. Within the Sisterhood, she used her impressive strength to handle heavy cargo, and right now she was carrying what looked like a statue wrapped safely in protective padding.

"Yes. We're currently researching a club called the Make-Up Work Club. As we investigated, the name of Urawa-senpai came up as one of the students transferred into it. We heard she has some connection with the Sisterhood, so we came to ask."

"The Make-Up Work Club…? Based on Hanako’s first-year grades, that seems impossible…"

"Do you know something about it?"

When asked, Hinata took a deep breath before speaking.

"She was so intelligent and capable that every faction—and even the Tea Party—tried to recruit her. But one day, she suddenly started doing bizarre things… like showing up to chapel class in a swimsuit. And after she entered her second year, I heard her grades began to drop as well."

"I see, I see…"

I glanced at Maiha beside me. She was silently taking notes at incredible speed, her handwriting perfectly neat despite how fast her pen moved. Seriously, how does she write like that?

"…I’m sure she’s struggling with something. But I’m not very good at listening to people’s problems or helping them… so I couldn’t do anything for her…"

"I understand. Hopefully she’ll find an answer through the Make-Up Work Club."

"Yes… I hope so…"

With that, we wrapped up our investigation on Hanako and moved on.

When we asked the Sisterhood about Azusa, they gave us exactly the information we expected.

"You're letting Maiha handle it?"

"Yes. If we suddenly approached them with a whole group, we might frighten them. And since we’re a subordinate organization of the Tea Party, that risk is even greater."

Right—when it came to Azusa, we planned to question a certain student she had once saved from bullying. Since Azusa had only recently transferred in, her social circle was still small, so this student was the most reliable lead we had.

"Heyyy, you two~ I got the info just fine~"

Before long, Maiha returned.

"A whole crowd picking on one person… I can’t stand that."

"A transfer student? What, are you her friend or something?"

"No, I don't even know her name."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I just… couldn't let something that cowardly slide. If you're planning to keep going, then I'll stop you myself."

"Big talk for someone who's not even with the Justice Task Force…! Ugh, you'll pay for this later!"

"Um…! Th-thank…"

"Ah, I’ve got something to do, so I need to run. Bye."

"Y-Yes…"

"…So yeah, that’s what happened. And then afterward, the girl Azusa-senpai scolded twisted the whole story when she reported it to the Justice Task Force. They deployed a whole squad, and Azusa ended up barricading herself in the ammo depot and got into a three-hour-long firefight with them~"

Maiha wrapped it up by saying, "She's not a bad person, but wow, she's intense~."

Yeah… picking a fight with the Justice Task Force like that is pretty wild.

"All right, last up is Ajitani Hifumi-senpai…"

Unlike Azusa, her social circle was huge, so figuring out where to start would be a challenge.

"Hmm? You wanna ask about Hifumi-chan? Sure thing~"

"That girl, her love for the Momo Friends is totally next-level☆ Like, even outside class, everyone knows her as ‘Peroro Love’☆"

So in the end, we asked one of the girls from Hifumi’s class. Honestly, I didn’t expect to find a full-on gyaru type even in the prestigious Trinity.

"Mm-hmm~ So it looks like she got placed into that Make-Up Work Club, but how are Hifumi-senpai’s grades, anyway~?"

"Eh? Seriously, the Make-Up Work Club? Hifumi-chan didn’t score that badly on quizzes, though."

Well, she was the only one who passed the first exam normally, so she was at least somewhat capable.

"Oh, wait ☆ wasn’t she skipping tests? Maybe they counted those as zero?"

"That’s seriously wild. I heard later she skipped because she went to a Peroro concert or something. Hilarious—but also not hilarious."

"Even we wouldn’t ditch a test to see an idol live ☆ No way we’d risk our lives like that, seriously ☆"

Listening to their gyaru chatter was starting to give me a headache. Meanwhile, Masa lost interest entirely and started reading a game guidebook.

"Speaking of risking her life—didn’t Hifumi-chan try to go to the Black Market at some point?"

"To buy Peroro merch, right? But there’s no way she'd actually go ☆ I mean, the school literally forbids it. It’s dangerous ☆"

"Right, right."

She acts like a gyaru, but keeping to school rules and putting tests above concerts… maybe she really is a proper Trinity lady deep down.

"I see… thank you very much for the information."

"No probs~"

"We’re like, super bored anyway ☆"

With this, we had gathered information on all four of them. After saying goodbye to the two gyarus, we decided to meet up at a nearby café.

"Mmmmmm…"

Maiha reviewed her notes, deep in thought. Since I already knew most of this, I casually ordered some sweets and tea, while Masa was now reading a guidebook for a different game.

"…Yeah. …I thought so."

Maiha sounded resigned, even a little sad.

"Did you figure something out?"

"Yeah… I’ve been thinking this. The Make-Up Work Club… I think Lady Nagisa is gathering students she finds suspicious and trying to confine them there. A prodigy whose grades suddenly dropped and who started acting strange. A transfer student who arrived at a weird timing—right before an important treaty—and has barely any connections. A student rumored to be going to the Black Market. …When you look at it like that, they all seem super suspicious."

"Is that so?"

She’s… extremely close to the truth. Reaching that conclusion using only the information she had gathered was impressive. Honestly, without my previous-life knowledge, I probably couldn’t have.

"It’s just my theory. And I don’t know why she’d want to confine them. …But the chances she’s planning something bad for those four feel pretty high."

"If that were true, then why would Lady Nagisa do such a thing…?"

When Masa asked, Maiha answered without losing her unusually stern expression.

"The Eden Treaty signing ceremony is coming up, right? So maybe she wants to isolate anyone who might get in the way and keep them under watch. I’ve only met Hifumi-senpai myself, but from what I’ve heard, none of them seem like the type to cause trouble~"

Just as Maiha suspected, the four in the Make-Up Work Club had no intention whatsoever of sabotaging the Eden Treaty. This was all the result of Nagisa’s paranoia spiraling out of control.

"That does make sense. Instead of just tutoring students with bad grades individually, she intentionally created this whole Make-Up Work Club structure. That part always felt strange."

"So what do we do with this information…?"

Telling the members of the Make-Up Work Club? That would only cause confusion.

"Hmm… for now, let’s keep it between the three of us~"

"I don’t mind either way."

"Telling anyone at this stage would only make us look suspicious… I agree with this course of action."

And so, after spending our entire post-training afternoon investigating the Make-Up Work Club, we finally arrived at one conclusion.