Chapter 38: Eden Treaty Signing Ceremony

I woke up in the morning, took extra care fixing my hair, straightened my outfit, and stepped out of my dorm room. Today was the day of the Eden Treaty signing ceremony—and the beginning of a very, very long day.

Since I’d be acting as security, I figured it might be useful, so I took the Royalty and headed from the dorms toward the academy’s central area. There were fewer students around than usual. With such a major event happening, all classes had been canceled. In other words, for most students, it was simply a day off.

I made my way to the reception room near both the balcony the Tea Party often used for tea gatherings and Nagisa’s office. I was supposed to wait there until it was time to escort her to the Old Sanctuary. When I entered the room, Masa and Maiha were already there, watching Chronos News on their phones.

"Aah, Aika-chan! Look, look—everyone’s talking about the Eden Treaty!"

I leaned in toward the screen. A student reporter was conducting street interviews at Millennium, one of the big three schools not involved in the treaty.

〈—What are your thoughts on the Eden Treaty?〉

〈Yes! What is the Eden Treaty? Tendou Alice thinks… perhaps it’s some kind of spell to get stronger…〉

Of all people, the interviewee ended up being Tendou Alice—apparently out adventuring again. What were the odds of picking her of all people?

〈—It seems she isn’t very interested!〉

At a loss for words, the reporter wrapped up the interview right there. Watching the exchange, a guest in the studio spoke with a serious expression.

〈A spell to get stronger, huh… If Trinity and Gehenna were to cooperate under this peace agreement and then mobilize militarily, most academies wouldn’t stand a chance. As a Millennium student, perhaps she’s sounding an alarm.〉

There was absolutely no way Alice-chan was thinking that deeply about anything.

"Hahaha… well, I guess for regular students, it doesn’t really matter. She’s from Millennium anyway."

"And even if the Eden Treaty is safely finalized, there’s no way Trinity and Gehenna would suddenly join forces to invade other academies."

The schools had been at odds for so long; there was no universe where they would instantly form a unified command. And Millennium, the smaller academies, and the General Student Council wouldn’t just sit quietly. Besides, Sensei from SCHALE—who was deeply involved in this treaty—would shut down anything that reckless long before it happened.

After about two hours of watching the special coverage and chatting idly, we decided it was time and headed to Nagisa’s office.

After knocking and entering, we found Nagisa buried in classified documents. She seemed to be going through her final checks.

"Lady Nagisa."

"…Yes. It’s time to head to the Old Sanctuary."

With that, she stood, placed the documents into a heavy-looking envelope, and walked out.

Waiting in front of the building was the Aston Martin Silver Cloud. A member of the Tea Party entourage stepped out to open the rear door. Nagisa climbed in; the door shut; the attendant returned to the driver’s seat and started the engine.

"Um… what about us…?"

She didn’t seriously expect us to walk there, right? While we froze in place, Nagisa spoke to the attendant, who then opened the door again.

"Oh? Did I not tell you? Please follow behind this car using Aika’s truck."

No, she definitely hadn’t mentioned that. Good thing I’d brought it… or we would’ve had to return to the dorms.

"R-right… I’ll… follow your instructions."

At least we weren’t forced to walk. I got into the Royalty, which I had parked nearby, and pulled up behind the Silver Cloud. Masa and Maiha took the driver and passenger seats, while I sat in the back near the Pom-Pom Cannon. As security, we stayed directly behind Nagisa’s car and headed toward the Old Sanctuary.

Up above, a Gehenna airship floated in the sky—they’d apparently arrived early.

"Alright, everyone, please begin perimeter security."

"Understood~"

After arriving at the Old Sanctuary, we got out of the vehicles. We saw Nagisa off as she entered the building, then began our patrol duty as instructed.

But barely a few minutes later, Masa looked at me with the unmistakable “I want to say something” expression.

"What’s wrong?"

"…I’m thirsty."

"Oh, that’s true. We didn’t drink anything while waiting earlier."

Honestly, I wanted something to drink too. We figured stepping away for a few minutes would be fine and went to look for a nearby vending machine…

"…There aren’t any."

"Well, nobody really comes out here normally, so of course there wouldn’t be vending machines."

It ended up taking much longer than expected, but with so many other groups under the Justice Realization Committee handling security, the three of us disappearing briefly wouldn’t cause any issues. So we climbed into the truck and drove along the road in search of a vending machine. Honestly, a food stand or drink stall would’ve worked just as well.

"Feels like we’ve gone pretty far, hasn’t it?"

"Yes… it really does…"

By the time we finally found a vending machine, nearly twenty minutes had passed. I bought milk tea, Masa grabbed grape juice, and Maiha chose a milkshake. After quenching our thirst, we hurried to return to the Old Sanctuary. But on the way back—

"Hm? What’s that sound?"

Something was slicing through the air with a sharp whoosh. An airplane? No—no aircraft took a route like this. Then… could it be…?

"Is that… a missile? Wait—that’s bad! It’s heading straight for the Old Sanctuary!?"

Even calm, composed Maiha momentarily panicked, and Masa—who heard it first—stared wide-eyed at the object streaking across the sky.

Just like in the original story—

A cruise missile once carried by a nameless priest, passed to Arius through Beatrice, now fired. A mysterious weapon powered by an unknown engine—not the turbojets or ramjets used in modern missiles.

No matter how powerful an anti-air machine gun is, the Pom-Pom Cannon can’t shoot down a missile. You’d need a CIWS, like the Phalanx¹ or the Goalkeeper², to intercept it.

Yet that missile had apparently slipped through Trinity’s defense network—past their Goalkeeper systems and even the Bloodhound⁴—completely undetected. A technology capable of bypassing nearly every anti-missile defense currently used… such a thing shouldn’t exist in modern Kivotos.

"We have to hurry…!"

I murmured, remotely accelerating the truck—but of course, there was no way we could catch up to a missile. All we could do was watch as a roar and a blast of fire tore through the Old Sanctuary, the building collapsing in an eruption of flames and debris.

By the time we reached the site—driving at speeds that were definitely illegal—the Old Sanctuary lay in ruins. Flames rose from several points. Injured students lay bleeding on the ground, while others fled in panic.

A place meant to unite Eden under a treaty had instead become hell on earth.

"What… what are we supposed to do…?"

Masa whispered, shaken. Keeping her voice steady, Maiha took command.

"First, we need to evacuate the students. Masa-chan, take the north side. I’ll handle the south side. Anyone trapped under rubble—we help them together. …Aika-chan."

"Y-yes."

She called my name. Her eyes were sharp, serious—leaving no room to hesitate.

"Aika-chan, you need to find Lady Nagisa and Lady Sakurako. In a situation like this… they’re probably not unharmed. But if we don’t even know where they are, things will get even more chaotic."

"…Understood."

I nodded. Maiha immediately began guiding nearby students to safety, while Masa headed north.

With the walls and ceilings collapsed beyond recognition, it was hard to tell—but this area was probably the main hall. Soon, Arius and the Justina Student Council would likely come here. Anticipating that, I drove the Royalty straight into the site so we could escape immediately after retrieving the injured.

"It can serve as heavy machinery too, after all."

Using the machine gun to blast apart chunks of rubble, I searched the interior. Then, through a gap in the debris, I saw them—a pair of large white wings, soot-stained but unmistakable.

"So you were here… Honestly… I’ve been looking everywhere for you, Lady Nagisa."

Thanks to all that farm work strengthening me, I somehow managed to lift part of a collapsed wall and free Nagisa. I loaded her onto the cargo bed. Nearby, Sakurako was pinned beneath a pillar, so I retrieved her as well and prepared to head toward the Relief Knights—

"Don’t move."

"…Haah. I figured you’d show up."

A familiar gas mask. A school emblem combining roses and skulls… Arius soldiers. About twenty of them. No named officers*5 in sight. Even if it came to a fight, the Pom-Pom Cannon could wipe them out without much trouble.

"You there—do you think people are insects you can swat aside!?"

"Not quite. But I am responsible for transporting these individuals to a place where they can receive proper medical treatment. Attacking an ambulance on the battlefield is considered a serious war crime, is it not?"

At my words, the Arius soldier who seemed to be their squad leader stepped forward, pointing accusingly at the Pom-Pom Cannon.

"There’s no such thing as an ambulance equipped with that ridiculous contraption!!"

"It’s for self-defense."

"…Enough. Trinity is full of young ladies who won’t listen to reason! Fine, then—we’ll use force!!"

I’d planned to ignore them if they didn’t attack, since we were in a hurry, but if they were going to engage, then there was no choice.

"40mm, 2-pound anti-air rounds—fire!"

I cranked the mechanism. The two barrels extended and retracted fourteen times. I couldn’t immediately see what had become of the enemy in the explosions, but once the smoke cleared, I quickly scanned the area.

"…Target neutralized. Let’s hurry to the Relief Knights."

Carefully avoiding the fallen Arius students, I drove out of the ruins of the Old Sanctuary. A short distance away, a group of Trinity and Gehenna students—apparently unharmed—were now in combat with each other.

"Attacking a signing ceremony attended by Gehenna’s representatives, and even sacrificing your own comrades without a second thought?! You despicable demons!!"

"We didn’t do anything like that! This is your own staged act, you self-righteous little lady!!"

What were they doing in the middle of an emergency? And wasn’t the Eden Treaty supposed to be a peace treaty between Trinity and Gehenna? I raised my voice so it wouldn’t be drowned out by their gunfire.

"Calm down!!"

"The Pom-Pom Cannon? Perfect—let’s smash those 40mm rounds right into Gehenna’s faces!"

One Trinity student mistook me for reinforcements and shouted that. I hadn’t come to help either side—I was transporting Nagisa and Sakurako, and we were in a hurry.

"Silence!!"

"!?"

"Before the explosion earlier, I briefly saw something resembling a long-range missile! This attack wasn’t from Trinity or Gehenna—it’s a third party! Stop fighting immediately!!"

At my shout, the two groups paused. But now they stared at me in suspicion.

"Third party? What the hell are you talking about!?"

"If it wasn’t Gehenna, then who…!?"

"A missile… in other words, advanced technology. Possibly from one of the big three schools left out—Millennium. There’s no way to confirm that right now, but one thing is certain: this attack did not come from Trinity or Gehenna."

I emphasized it again: neither academy was responsible. Gradually, the students began muttering things like, "Millennium…," or "Those research nerds are just watching from above…" as they dispersed.

Just like during the meeting between Nagisa and Sensei earlier… I felt bad for the Millennium students—being implicated when they had nothing to do with this. But getting the fighting to stop quickly was the priority. Hopefully they’d forgive me when I place that large order with the Shipbuilding Department next time.

"Well, that can wait… right now, we need to transport these two."

Even if they were unconscious, confirming they were alive would make the situation slightly more manageable. I drove toward the Relief Knights headquarters without delay.