Chapter 27: The Traitor of Trinity

Just in case something like this happened, the three of us climbed aboard the Royalty—parked near the safe house—and rushed toward the Sisterhood.

"An anti-air autocannon!?"

"No way—gah!?"

On our way to Trinity Cathedral, we cleared out the Arius forces we spotted using the 40mm two-pounder, blowing them away with controlled bursts, and made it safely to our destination.

"…Hanako-san, and Aika-san and Maiha-san as well. Meaning the time has come for that ‘promise,’ hasn’t it?"

Greeting us was Sakurako, just as suspicious-looking as ever. Behind her stood Hinata and Marie, waiting for Hanako’s words.

"…Yes, Sakurako-san. The time has finally come to fulfill that promise—‘All Trinity students must attend school wearing swimsuits’… that new school rule♡"

"That’s not it at all… right!?"

…At this point, nothing more needs to be said.

Afterward, Hanako asked the Sisterhood to head toward the auxiliary gymnasium of the annex, while the three of us got back into the vehicle and left for the rendezvous point with Azusa and Masa.

"Hanako, how did things go on your end?"

Nagisa was still being transported inside the wagon she’d been shoved into, but we had no time to fuss about that, so she was, unfortunately, ignored for now.

"Perfectly♡ Also, do you know where Arius’s reinforcements will be coming from? Aika-chan and Maiha-chan will be lying in ambush."

"Reinforcements… I think two units will pass through this point from the one-o’clock direction, and three units will come from the seven-o’clock direction. From that building, you can overlook both routes… so the most efficient plan is Maiha providing overwatch and sniping, while Aika wipes them out with her pop-pop cannon."

"I see~"

"Understood. Then we shall head to that location."

We saw the three of them off toward the Make-Up Work Club’s annex, then Maiha and I took the Royalty toward the building Azusa mentioned.

After hiding Nagisa somewhere safe, Azusa and the others guided the Arius forces toward the gymnasium attached to the annex. Inside were Hifumi, Koharu, and Sensei waiting in position—the full Make-Up Work Club assembled. For some reason, a blue-haired girl who wasn’t part of the Make-Up Work Club was also present, but having one extra fighter was reassuring.

"…I see. So you didn’t run—you were lying in ambush. But only five of you? With no escape route? How reckless."

Hifumi and Koharu held their breath, waiting to hear how Azusa and Hanako would respond. Meanwhile, Masa was reading a four-panel comic from her strategy guide, as if this were the perfect moment for such a thing.

"…That’s right. There is no escape route anymore. You won’t be getting away."

"Exactly. So why don’t we finish this up?♡"

"“Alright then, Make-Up Work Club—let’s move.”"

With that signal, the Make-Up Work Club plus Enya Masa began their assault.

"Grh… my body—it’s burning…!?"

Hifumi and Azusa opened fire with automatic rifles. Masa then closed the distance and fired a .303 round. The enemies struck by Masa’s bullets dropped to their knees, gripping the impact point as if they’d been hit by poisoned arrows.

"Don’t falter!! They’re only five, plus one unarmed adult!!"

But that “unarmed adult” was the key. Under Sensei’s command, the Make-Up Work Club demonstrated impeccable coordination, mowing down the enemy until—

"Gu—ugh…"

The last standing Arius commander collapsed. Which meant—for the moment—a victory.

"All enemies incapacitated."

"Auu… Sensei’s command really saved us."

As Hifumi murmured this, Hanako replied that it wasn’t over yet.

"Reinforcements from Arius will be arriving soon… but all we need to do is buy time. Since Koharu-chan contacted Hasumi-san earlier, the Justice Task Force should realize what’s happening and head here soon…"

Hanako stopped mid-sentence, having noticed approaching footsteps. In front of the Make-Up Work Club members, a new Arius unit appeared.

"Reinforcements this fast…!?"

"Wh-what…?"

"Auu…! So many people entering Trinity grounds as if it’s nothing…!?"

While the three panicked, Masa and Azusa remained composed.

"…There are a lot of them. At this scale, fighting head-on might be too much."

"Yeah. This is battalion-level. They’ve probably mobilized nearly half of all Arius forces."

"And the Justice Task Force still hasn’t shown any signs of moving…?"

As Hanako ran through the unexpected scenario in her mind, a student stepped out, cutting between the Arius troops and appearing before them.

Her long pink hair fluttered in the wind, and she wore a fearless smile. Under normal circumstances, this girl should absolutely not be here.

"Well, they can’t move. Because I made sure to issue a fresh stand-by order."

"“Mika…?”"

"Hey, Sensei. I’m happy we get to see each other again."

She winked playfully, then continued:

"The academy was awfully quiet today, wasn’t it? I had orders sent out from the Tea Party to every group I could reach—besides the Justice Task Force—to hold them in place. Anything that could get in the way? I cleaned all of it up."

Both Sensei, the Make-Up Work Club, and even the girl who served under Mika simply listened quietly to Mika’s muttering.

"If anyone interfered while I was attacking Nagi-chan, that would be a real problem, you know?"

"…Misono Mika-sama. What exactly is the meaning of this?"

Hanako tried to speak, but Masa stepped forward before she could.

"Ahaha, long time no see, Masa-chan. What does this mean? Let’s see…"

Mika took a single step back to put distance between herself and Masa, then raised a finger to her lips with a mischievous smile.

"…Put simply, the mastermind has arrived☆ That’s right—I’m the true ‘Traitor of Trinity.’"

The members of the Make-Up Work Club fell silent. Masa only glared at Mika without a word.

"So then—mind telling me where Nagi-chan is? I don’t really have time to search slowly."

Then, once again, she flashed a bright smile.

"Well, I could just blow everyone here to smithereens and look afterward, but that would be such a hassle."

"“Mika… why would you…?”"

Sensei clearly hadn’t believed Mika could truly be the traitor, and simply asked the question as it came.

"Hmm? You want to know? Well, if Sensei asks, then I guess I have no choice."

With a breezy tone, she continued:

"The reason is simple… because I hate Gehenna. From the bottom of my heart."

"…So that’s why you wanted to cancel the Eden Treaty? And for that you targeted Nagisa-san…?"

At Hanako’s question—posed on Sensei’s behalf—Mika blinked with a confused look.

"…Sorry, who are you again? I’m not great at remembering faces."

Because the question didn’t actually get answered, Hanako stayed cautious, waiting. A moment later, Mika snapped her fingers as if remembering.

"Ahh—Urawa Hanako, right? The one who showed up to chapel class in a swimsuit and got kicked out. Ahaha, those were the days."

"Please stop dodging and answer properly, Mika-sama."

Masa glared sharply. Mika flailed her hands with an exaggerated "Eek, so scary~!" before answering.

"Nagi-chan started spouting nonsense about forming the Eden Treaty. A peace treaty with those horned savages from Gehenna? Come on, that’s ridiculous. Of course they’d betray us. Show them your back and you’ll get stabbed immediately."

"…I can agree that Gehenna students are unruly troublemakers. The fact that their administration lets terrorists who repeatedly cause incidents roam freely is, frankly, baffling."

Just the other day, a group of chaotic Gehenna students attacked Trinity’s aquarium facility. It was impossible to deny the point.

However, Masa added:

"That does not justify using such extreme, violent measures. And isn’t the Tea Party supposed to mediate precisely these kinds of discussions?"

Masa leveled a stern gaze at Mika, whose expression tightened slightly.

"To be perfectly honest, you’ve disappointed me. I wondered where you kept wandering while dumping work onto underclassmen—but to think you were plotting something like this."

"Hmm. I see. Well, I really don’t care what you think of me. …Anyway, will you return Nagi-chan? Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her. Though she might spend the rest of her academy life behind bars."

Leaving those curt, irritated words to Masa, Mika turned back toward Sensei.

"So then… the Eden Treaty really was a peace treaty?"

"Ah, sorry for tricking you earlier, Sensei. It is a peace treaty—at least from Nagi-chan’s perspective. She’s too kind, too naive, and too honest to ever use the Eden Treaty as a military pact."

Mika stepped closer, looking up at him.

"…But not everything I said back then was a lie. The part about wanting reconciliation with Arius—that was true."

Arius, once a part of Trinity. A faction that despised Gehenna.
While the Justice Task Force supported Kirifuji Nagisa—the Tea Party Host who aimed for peace with Gehenna—Arius supported Mika, the next Tea Party Host, and moved to overthrow Nagisa.

To reconcile Trinity and Arius, Mika created a shared enemy and a common purpose.
That was the scenario Mika herself had engineered.

"So Arius was just a tool for Trinity’s coup from the very beginning…?"

murmured the silver-haired girl as she listened.

"Hm…? Yeah, you could say that. After all, the plan ends with Nagi-chan getting dethroned and me taking over as Tea Party Host."

Mika hadn’t remembered who Hanako was—but she seemed to remember Azusa.

"Thank you, Shirase Azusa. I don’t know much about you, but you’re important to me."

Then, with a pure yet wicked smile, she added:

"Because from here on out, you are going to become the culprit who attacked Nagi-chan."

"…!!"

Koharu tried to shout something back, but nothing left her throat—not even a sound.

"Maybe I should call it a scapegoat? Having someone to take the fall—an offering to bear everyone’s sins—is exactly what lets the rest of you sleep soundly—"

Before she could finish, a deafening BOOOOM cut her off. Smoke billowed from the blast, and when it cleared—

"Honestly now, why are there so many of them!? These shells are not free, you know…!"

"My eyes are tired just from cleaning up Aika-chan’s leftovers—wait, Lady Mika? Why are you here?"

The two girls had been holding their position under Azusa’s orders, suppressing waves of Arius reinforcements with the pop-pop cannon and finishing them off with precise sniping. After clearing most enemies, they came to help—but because climbing down was too much trouble, they simply blasted a hole through the gym wall with a 2-pound anti-air shell and walked in.

"Aika, Maiha!"

"Aww, it was finally getting to the good part, and you totally ruined it."

She puffed out her cheeks in a pout, but no one reacted.

"Sigh… I wanted to explain things more politely, but I guess that mood isn’t happening… So how about we clean up all the little nuisances first, okay?"

Mika raised her beloved firearm. Taking it as a signal, the surrounding Arius soldiers prepared their weapons.

"…Be careful, Sensei. I can tell just by looking—she’s really strong."

Azusa warned him with a serious expression. Although she specialized in ambushes, traps, and trick tactics rather than direct confrontation, she had once been part of Arius’s special forces—her combat ability was real. If she said someone was "really strong," then this battle would be anything but simple.

"Hehe, that’s right. I told you before, Sensei—I’m actually pretty strong. Well then, shall we take care of the Make-Up Work Club?"

Mika launched the opening attack. Azusa tried to intercept—but someone leapt in front of her to shield her.

"…Masa?"

"I may not look it, but I’m very sturdy. Leave this one to me. Please focus on the enemies around us."

She added, almost as an afterthought, that a faction should clean up its own messes—then charged straight toward Mika.

"…What do we do?"

Hanako asked Sensei, her tone implying: Are you sure we shouldn’t help?

"Right… first we deal with Arius. Masa should be fine, probably."

If Sensei judged it so, there was no reason to disagree. Everyone except Masa focused entirely on neutralizing the Arius soldiers.

"I know it’s strange to say this after blasting my way in, but using the pop-pop cannon in such a tight space risks hitting our allies… It’s very inconvenient."

Because of that, what should’ve been a quick cleanup with Aika’s suppressive fire instead became a slow, enemy-by-enemy slog for the Make-Up Work Club. Meanwhile, Masa and Mika—

"Haha! Masa-chan, did you lace your bullets with poison or something? Every hit leaves this stingy, throbbing pain."

They were locked in an intense firefight. In close quarters, a submachine gun had a clear advantage over a sniper rifle. Not only that—Mika, as the Tea Party’s governing leader, wielded overwhelming combat ability, while Masa was merely “very strong for a first-year.”

"If they exploded in the chamber, I’d blow myself up! Of course I wouldn’t do something like that!"

The match should’ve ended quickly—but surprisingly, Masa was still holding on despite being so disadvantaged.

"You’re one to talk! Each of your shots hurts like crazy! Are you using illegal ammo or something, Mika-sama?"

Using her small build to its fullest, Masa moved sharply and unpredictably, weaving through gunfire and dodging machine-gun rounds by fractions of a second. Even so, a hit was a hit—and each one carried enough force to push her further behind.

"Did you forget? I’m the head of the Pater faction. If I used illegal ammunition, they’d throw me out immediately."

Realizing that firing precisely made it harder to hit Masa, Mika switched strategies—opting for sheer volume over accuracy. Though she possessed a blessing allowing her to avoid bullets, even she couldn’t dodge everything. And every now and then, one of Masa’s shots slipped through.

Wherever it struck, she felt—despite insisting her bullets had nothing in them—the searing, venomous burn of a snakebite. A lingering pain that ate into her focus and stamina. Even with the advantage, she couldn’t afford carelessness.

"You’ve got some nerve saying that! After pawn­ing off all your work on us, too! Even someone as cold-blooded as you—ugh—even Nagisa-sama would make a better leader than you!"

Another heavy hit landed. Masa had spent months undergoing proper training under the Tea Party’s structure. Mika, on the other hand, only trained enough to fend off threats aimed directly at herself. If not for that difference, Masa would’ve already fallen.

"Such a mouthy girl! Honestly, Masa-chan, you’re not cute at all—guh!"

"You’re one to talk, Mika-sama."

The moment Mika blinked, Masa vanished from her sights—then fired a .303 round into her back from point-blank range. Mika grit through the creeping neurotoxic pain and spun around, only to see—not blue hair—but the Make-Up Work Club girls standing there.

"Oh? You already finished? I see, I see. No wonder everyone keeps chanting ‘SCHALE, SCHALE.’ Adults are such a pain."

"Are you still planning to keep fighting, Mika-san?"

As Hanako questioned her, they could see Aika’s pop-pop cannon from afar, its barrel aimed directly at Mika. If that overwhelming firepower hit her head-on, even she wouldn’t escape unharmed—not after taking so many of Masa’s mysterious bullets and losing both stamina and willpower bit by bit. But if Mika let that fear show, she’d immediately fall behind—so she forced herself to stay calm.

"It’s unexpected, sure, but not really a problem. It might take a little time, though. With Seia-chan and Nagi-chan both out of the picture, I can finally start my plan, so I really wish you wouldn’t get in the way right now."

Hanako stiffened at the part “Seia-chan too”, pressing Mika with a rare, serious expression.

"…! Mika-san, please answer one thing! Was the attack on Seia-chan done under your orders!?"

"Ahaha, I didn’t know you could give me that kind of look, Hanako. …Seia-chan is always spouting weird nonsense and being noisy, so I thought maybe I should lock her in a cage until graduation. But I never ordered her halo to be destroyed—I’m not a murderer. It just… turned out that way on its own."

As she spoke, Mika shifted her gaze from Hanako to Azusa.

"Well, it’d be faster to hear it from the one involved. Right, Shirase Azusa? Can you explain for me? Looks like there’s a misunderstanding or two, hmm?"

"…"

"Seia-chan ending up like that is what caused this whole mess to explode. That’s when everything started spiraling out of control… So, what do you have to say about it?"

With a deliberately sweet smile, Mika pressured Azusa.

"Th-that… no… that’s not… it wasn’t…"

"Azusa-chan…? What are you trying to say…?"

Azusa tried to speak, but no words would come. And right after Hifumi gently prompted her, another explosion BOOMED through the gym. Mika blinked in confusion as an Arius soldier rushed to report.

"Some Trinity students are headed this way!"

"…Why? Anyone who would defy the Tea Party’s martial law should already be…"

To be fair, a certain Tea Party subordinate organization was already defying orders rather boldly… but with only three members, one could call it “acting independently.”
However, the group being reported now was far larger than two or three.

"There is one. A group the Tea Party can’t command—an independent force."

"We’ve confirmed it—they’re coming from the cathedral! That means… Sisterhood…!?"

Hanako answered at the same time the Arius soldier cried out.
A group in full nun attire was already closing in on the gym.