Chapter 22: Members of the Make-Up Work Club

It was noon, right after training. Since Masa still had work to finish for the Pater Faction, we split up, leaving just Maiha and me together.

"What should we do, Aika-chan~?"

"Well… I’m not sure. Going out just the two of us feels a bit…"

We never really think about it, but the three of us belong to different factions. Even if we wanted to help with someone’s work, each faction has its own confidential information, so there’s only so much we could do. That’s why we act separately—but still, it felt wrong to have fun while Masa was busy working.

"Oh, I know! The Make-Up Work Club’s camp should’ve started already, right? Let’s go help them study~"

"That sounds good. If you’re there, Maiha-san, I’m sure it’ll be reassuring for them."

Maiha is very smart. She’s not quite on Hanako’s level, but among Trinity’s first-years, she’s practically at the top. And she’s really good at teaching.

Since we had recently received information from them during the investigation—under the pretext of helping with studies—it felt proper to visit them.

"Alright then, let’s head out~"

The annex where the camp was held was a fair distance from the academy’s center. Walking would be exhausting, so we headed to the parking lot and brought out the Royalty.

After driving for a little over ten minutes, we arrived at an old building surrounded by thick trees.

"So this is it~? It has… atmosphere."

"Y-Yes, quite so…"

Calling it outright shabby wouldn’t be very ladylike, so I opted for a more diplomatic expression. Just as we were about to enter, Maiha held out an arm to stop me.

"Wait a sec, Aika-chan. There’s something set up here…"

"Huh?"

Something? What do you mean!?

Looking closely, I saw a thin piano wire stretched across the entrance. Probably… that.

"There certainly seems to be something…"

I looked around for a moment, unsure what to do, when I spotted a large brick that had fallen from the crumbling wall.

"Should we throw that?"

"Yeah, we should stand back a bit~"

We stepped back, and I tossed the brick toward the entrance. With a sharp beep, something activated—then boom, an explosion went off. At the spot where someone would naturally jump back in shock, another landmine detonated. Two more blasts erupted further inside.

"W-What… is this…?"

"An intruder deterrent, maybe? Looks like someone put a lot of effort into it…"

Even though one trap had already gone off, there was no guarantee more weren’t waiting. We hesitated to take another step—and that’s when a figure appeared.

"A-Are you alright…!? Oh—Aika-san, Maiha-san?"

"Ah, Hifumi-senpai~ We’re fine, really~"

As Maiha answered Hifumi, another person emerged from the smoke.

"My? That uniform… Tea Party? What business do you have here?"

The Tea Party—Trinity’s student council. Two students in their uniform showing up at a building where no one should be except the Make-Up Work Club and their teacher. Given the situation, it was only natural for the sharp-minded Hanako to be wary.

"Um, this isn’t Tea Party business. We’re here on personal matters. …If possible, may we continue talking inside?"

As Hanako hesitated, someone approached from deeper inside.

"Aika, Maiha? You said you’d come help the other day—so that’s what this is?"

Sensei from SCHALE—currently assigned to Trinity, spending all his time supervising the Make-Up Work Club.

"Yes, that’s right~"

"Hanako, these two are fine. They’re really just here to help with studying."

"I see… If Sensei says so."

And finally, we were allowed inside.

"So… sorry about that. Those traps were set up just in case of an enemy attack."

"No, it’s fine. We noticed them before getting caught up in anything…"

We entered the classroom and faced the four members of the Make-Up Work Club—including the one responsible for the earlier traps.

"Um, this is everyone’s first time meeting, right? Aika-san, Maiha-san, could you introduce yourselves…?"

Prompted by Hifumi, I went first.

"Good day, everyone. I am Aika Gion, an officer cadet serving under the Tea Party’s subordinate organization."

"And I’m Tsuchimikado Maiha, also an officer cadet~ Three of us were chosen from the first-years, but the last one is off doing faction work right now~"

After we finished our introductions, Koharu stepped forward—deciding to go first on their side.

"H-Hmph… so basically you’re elites. I’m Shimoe Koharu, from the Justice Task Force! I’ve got my reasons for being here, but… as a fellow first-year elite, I’ll remember you two!"

When I glanced at Maiha, she was watching Koharu with Hanako, both wearing soft, amused smiles. Well… being acknowledged by the vice presidents definitely counts as elite, so she wasn’t wrong.

"…Guess it’s my turn. I’m Azusa Shirauzu. I only just transferred here, so I’m still not used to Trinity’s customs, but I hope we get along."

Up close, Azusa was smaller than she appeared from a distance. According to her profile, she was only a centimeter different from Koharu—so that made sense. She was about a full head shorter than Maiha, though.

"Then, I’ll go last. I’m Hanako Urawa. It’s a pleasure to meet you all♡"

"Y-Yes…"

Just when I thought the introductions were over, Hifumi stepped forward.

"Um—you may already know, but just to say it properly. I’m Hifumi Ajitani, and right now I’m serving as the president of the Make-Up Work Club… or at least that’s what it amounts to."

"President…? Oh, I didn’t know that~"

"Yeah. In the first exam, Hifumi was the only one who passed. I missed it by a hair."

A hair…? If I remembered correctly, it was more like ten sheets of paper, not one.

"A-Azusa-chan… like I said before, scoring thirty-two points when the passing line is sixty isn’t exactly ‘by a hair’…"

"Mm. That’s true."

Now that introductions were finished, I was ready to move on to the main topic—when Sensei clapped his hands lightly.

"Alright, let’s get back to studying. You two may be part of the Tea Party, but today you’re just here to help everyone, correct?"

"Yes, that’s right. Though we’re only first-years, so it may be difficult to teach anything beyond the second-year curriculum…"

"I see. In that case, I’d like you to help me and Koharu. I’m a second-year, but since my previous school had a different pace, I’m working with the first-year material, and Koharu is in the same grade."

There was no reason to refuse Azusa’s request. And so, I was assigned to teach Koharu, while Maiha accompanied Azusa.

"…Hey, Aika. How do I factor this expression?"

"4x² + 4xy − 28x − 16y + 48—hmm, let’s start by factoring out the coefficients. All the terms are multiples of four, right? If we divide the whole expression by four and put it inside parentheses, then place a 4 in front so it’s clear the entire bracket is multiplied by four… like this."

"Oh! I get it in this form! So it becomes… (x − 4)(x + y − 3)…?"

"Let me see… Yes, that’s correct."

"Heh. A problem like this is nothing before my brilliance!"

"Maiha, what exactly does this ‘mol’ mean?"

"Right~ let’s start with the definition. A mol is a unit of amount of substance. The number of carbon atoms contained in 12 grams of carbon-12 is 6.02×10²³, and that number is defined as 1 mol~."

"What’s the point of doing something like that?"

"Well~ the usual explanation is that it’s like how ‘one dozen’ conveniently means twelve. ‘One mol’ lets us treat 6.02×10²³ particles as a manageable unit. Atomic and molecular quantities measured in grams would otherwise be absurdly huge numbers~"

"I see…"

"But this is something you’ll really understand better by practicing it. So, let’s try this example~!"

"'When 132 grams of carbon dioxide exist, find the amount of substance (mol). The molecular weight of carbon dioxide is 44.'"

"First, try to remember the chemical formula of carbon dioxide, and check the atomic weights of its atoms~"

"CO₂… C—carbon has an atomic weight of 12, O—oxygen has an atomic weight of 16. With one carbon and two oxygens, that makes 44."

"When it’s a molecule, we call it molecular weight rather than atomic weight~ but yes, now you understand why the molecular weight of carbon dioxide is 44, right?"

"Yeah. And then what?"

"Now we use the definition of a mol~"

"'The number of carbon atoms in 12 g of carbon-12 is 6.02×10²³, and that equals 1 mol.'"

"So that means 12 g ÷ atomic weight 12 = 1 mol, right~?"

"I see… I see…! So in this case, 132 ÷ 44 = 3, so the answer is 3 mol."

"Exactly~"

"Good. I think I might have fully understood mol now."

"Hehehe, we’ll see about that~"

While we continued studying, at some point the orange glow of sunset began streaming into the classroom.

"Oh, I got a MomoTalk… it’s from Masa-chan."

"From Masa? Oh my, I got one too."

The message was asking where we were now that she’d finished her work. The time displayed on my phone was just past 7 p.m.… Considering we had arrived shortly after lunch, we had spent around five hours here.

"Are you two heading home soon?"

"Yes, I believe so. I’m starting to get hungry… You’ll all continue studying here, correct? Please do your best."

"Yeah. Hanako teaches incredibly well, but with you two here, we were able to study even more efficiently. Thank you."

"I—I’m grateful too, as the club president…!"

"I’m glad we could help~ Well then, see you again~"

We left the old building where the Make-Up Work Club was holding their camp, rode back to the academy in the truck, reunited with Masa for dinner, and then parted ways for the night.