Chapter 43: The Problems We Carry

Mika, who is currently detained for colluding with Arius, planning the attack on the Tea Party Host, and sabotaging the Eden Treaty, is awaiting her hearing. The afternoon before that hearing, we were scheduled to meet with Sensei to discuss the aftermath and cleanup following the Eden Treaty incident. Since I was to guide Sensei, I joined the meeting as well.

"I have brought Sensei, Nagisa-sama."

"Thank you for your trouble, Aika. And thank you for coming, Sensei. It’s been a while since your last visit to Trinity, hasn’t it?"

There was a lot going on with SRT, and Sensei seemed to have been busy looking after the RABBIT Squad. Today’s meeting wasn’t on the usual balcony but rather in another room of the same building. Besides Nagisa, Sakurako—the head of the Sisterhood—and Mine, the commander of the Remedial Knights and head of the Johannes faction, were also present.

"Hello, Nagisa. And everyone."

"It’s nice to see you again, Sensei. Thank you for your help the other day."

"…It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Aomori Mine, commander of the Remedial Knights."

Looking at the three of them, Sensei made a complicated, hard-to-describe expression.

"Um, yes. Nice to meet you. …This is kind of an unusual combination."

"Hehe… Unusual, or perhaps a combination that tends to trouble Miss Nagisa."

Sakurako, who always dodges things with a carefree smile, and Mine, who charges head-first into her rescue work without regard for politics—neither are the easiest for Nagisa to deal with.

"I have no intention of troubling the Host. As a member of a noble order of knights who uphold faith and honor, I merely correct those who stray from the path. Even if they are from the Justice Task Force or the Tea Party."

As Mine said this, she briefly shot a glance in my direction, making me jolt reflexively. Please, anything but a “remedial punch.” Even if it doesn’t physically injure me, it still hurts.

"…That statement alone seems to already be troubling Miss Nagisa."

Sakurako listened with a baffled expression before squeezing out those words.

"A-Anyway, let’s leave the small talk at that. The reason we asked Sensei here was to discuss the aftermath and developments since the Eden Treaty… but—"

Nagisa trailed off, glancing at Sakurako and Mine with a faintly troubled expression.

"The leaders of both the Sisterhood and the Remedial Knights insisted on attending… so it ended up like this."

"The Sisterhood has changed. We intend to actively participate in such meetings going forward."

"I am here solely to fulfill my duty as the commander of the Knightly Order."

For the record, it took Nagisa about an hour of back-and-forth arguing before these two finally secured their seats here… but some things are better left unsaid.

"So… you two are here to keep the Tea Party in check… is that right?" Sensei asked.

Both immediately shook their heads.

"No. We’re simply curious about what you intend to discuss with Sensei."

"I’m not knowledgeable about political matters."

I glanced at Nagisa, but she still wore that lost, unsure look. Well, I can’t claim to understand their intentions either… but taking their words at face value feels too easy.

"The chaos surrounding the Eden Treaty has settled, but the post-incident processing and situation analysis remain unfinished. And we are not unrelated to this incident. The Sisterhood is responsible for part of the analysis. Think of this meeting as a place to share information and discuss the remaining cleanup."

"That’s right."

"I see…"

Ugh, the atmosphere is heavy. Maybe I should’ve left right after guiding Sensei here…

While I was thinking something useless like that, Mine began explaining why she and Sakurako were here instead of other Tea Party members.

During the Eden Treaty period, Mika—leader of the Pater faction—ordered an attack on Seia, head of the Sanctus faction. Had things gone even slightly wrong, it could have resulted in her death. Mika was thus imprisoned in Trinity’s detention facility—a completely unprecedented crisis. Because of this, Seia has remained unconscious for nearly a year. And even if Mika was exploited by Arius, that doesn’t erase her crimes.

As for the remaining faction head—Nagisa of the Filius faction and current Tea Party Host—she used the Tea Party’s authority and even involved SCHALE, an extralegal organization, in her attempt to expel innocent students. Even though she apologized directly to the Make-Up Work Club members and settled things, the fact that it happened cannot be erased. After explaining all this, Mine continued.

"…And Aika. I believe you’ve already been told about the true purpose of your role as ‘officer candidates.’"

"Y-Yes…"

"To confine troublesome students who would be inconvenient if allowed to move freely—to compress them into one place and suppress them. Looked at from that angle, your treatment was hardly different from how the Make-Up Work Club members were handled."

Feeling bad for Nagisa, I stepped in to cover for her.

"Well… Nagisa-sama personally apologized to us for that. And we’ve learned a lot from being in this role. Besides, during the signing ceremony, Nagisa-sama trusted us enough to say she’d rely on us if anything went wrong… so I’m not bothered."

"…If the person herself says that, further pursuit would be in poor taste. In any case, for these reasons, the Tea Party is currently unstable and unable to function properly. That is why I judged that outside assistance was necessary."

"…Thank you for explaining so clearly, Commander Mine."

Nagisa responded, but she looked like she wanted to argue while knowing she had no grounds to do so. After all, the situation was caused by her and Mika. Mine bowed politely—not affectionately, just formally. Sensei, meanwhile, looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Commander Mine is the leader of the Remedial Knights, Trinity’s oldest and most historic club, as well as head of the Johannes faction. She originally had the right to participate in the Tea Party… but declined in order to focus on rescue work."

"That is all in the past."

"Now then, let’s move to the main issue… when you unravel this incident, everything leads back to Arius."

Nagisa straightened up and shifted the meeting into its intended purpose: analyzing the Eden Treaty incident.

Arius was the one who orchestrated and carried out the attack on the meeting venue. Makoto of the Pandemonium Society, Mika… all were ultimately manipulated by Arius. However—

"Chairwoman Makoto claims that since Arius was originally a Trinity faction, and since that faction attacked them, they are the victims and Trinity is responsible for everything."

They were exiled centuries ago and never returned—there’s no way that argument holds… Not that it matters. Hardly anyone in Gehenna even cares about, or knows, the Pandemonium Society’s ramblings anyway.

"And so she said she intends to bill us for the cost of having her burned hair cut at a beauty salon—utter nonsense."

Ah. Her afro. Pff— Thinking about it again almost makes me laugh.

"Pfft… Is the Pandemonium Society truly so destitute they try to make others pay even for a haircut?"

"…Well, let’s set that aside."

Right, that’s irrelevant. Thanks to Sakurako’s comment, the conversation returned to the main point.

"If Arius was pulling the strings, several questions remain. First: Why did Arius attempt to sabotage the Eden Treaty?"

The simplest answer is that the Eden Treaty gathered many important figures from both Trinity and Gehenna—groups Arius despises. It was the perfect chance to plunge both enemies into chaos.

"Furthermore, according to Seia… they were using the Eden Treaty as a ‘contract’ of sorts to acquire an inexplicable reserve of manpower."

"Yes. Those ghost-like beings in the form of the Justina Student Council. If they had marched straight into Trinity or Gehenna as they were, both academies would’ve stood no chance and collapsed without a single thing they could do."

The Justina Student Council was the predecessor of the Sisterhood. Sakurako closed her eyes, listening as though deep in thought.

"What exactly were those things?"

"There are several hypotheses… but we haven’t found anything that would support any of them."

When Nagisa answered, Mine turned back toward Sakurako.

"The Student Council was the predecessor of the Sisterhood. Sakurako, is there anything you might be hiding from us regarding this part?"

"…No. Unfortunately, nothing."

"The Sisterhood has always been a group full of secrets. They excel at controlling, concealing, and distorting information."

Mine stepped forward, narrowing the distance between them.

"You are aware that there are many students within the academy who harbor doubts about the Sisterhood, correct?"

And Sakurako, too, took a step forward, replying.

"…For example, students like you?"

"Ah, um… Given my position, I have access to various kinds of information, but… I do not believe the Sisterhood has been plotting anything."

The tension between them was close to snapping, so I stepped in to mediate. Why does a first-year like me have to fill this kind of role?

"…Aika. Yes, you’re right. My apologies."

"…Even I, as its leader, do not know all the secrets the Sisterhood holds. I do not claim to understand everything."

"Haa… My apologies as well, Aika."

Nagisa apologized, perhaps feeling guilty for making me step in, or even for involving me in this meeting in the first place.

"No, it’s quite alright."

"Also, about that cruise missile that disabled Trinity’s defense system… How is the analysis progressing?"

"We are continuing the investigation, but at present neither its origin nor its structure is known… The only thing we have determined is that it uses technology that does not exist anywhere in Kivotos."

The fact that neither the CIWS nor the interceptor missiles worked is honestly terrifying. Maybe it generated some kind of EMP as it flew.

"…Then Arius Branch School has secured at least two unknown forms of power."

"That seems likely… However, that raises another question."

"…Which is?"

Ah, crap. That was supposed to be my inner monologue, but they heard me. Well, whatever—I'll keep going.

"Eh? Y-yes… Arius Branch School has been shut away in that autonomous zone somewhere in Kivotos for centuries, correct? And judging from the state of former Arius student Shirasu Azusa-senpai—especially her early learning progress—it looked like the place wasn’t even functioning as a proper school."

I continued, carefully selecting only the pieces of knowledge from my previous life that I could safely reveal.

"Yet they managed to devise a ‘contract’ that exploited the Eden Treaty, and even obtained technology that doesn’t exist anywhere in Kivotos. Could the Arius students… or rather, just the children alone have done all that?"

"…!"

Sensei seemed to realize something. I turned toward him.

"Sensei, didn’t you also feel something was off during the Eden Treaty incident?"

"Yeah. It’s possible… that even Arius Branch School itself was merely being used. That behind it all, there’s an ‘adult’ pulling the strings."

He ended his thought there, unsure of who or what that “adult” might be. But the truth remains: ten years ago, someone ended the Arius civil war, seized control, amplified their hatred of Trinity through extreme indoctrination, and turned Arius into a group that didn’t hesitate to kill.

"I see… Certainly, that isn’t an impossible conclusion. However… this would be the second question. Whatever entity is controlling Arius—what exactly are they planning?"

When Sakurako said that, Nagisa continued.

"…We have no answers yet. Not even the location of Arius’s autonomous zone."

"However, thanks to the series of events surrounding the Eden Treaty, we did gain a few leads."

During the Eden Treaty incident, the Arius students infiltrated from the catacombs beneath the Old Cathedral. Investigations revealed that every route Arius had used so far connected back to the catacombs. That cruise missile, too, had been launched from one of Trinity’s ruins.

But the underground ruins within Trinity’s autonomous territory number in the dozens—possibly hundreds—and the labyrinthine catacombs branching out from them remain unmapped. According to Seia, the Arius autonomous zone is protected by an incomprehensible “power,” making it nearly impossible to reach through normal navigation.

"According to Azusa, who once belonged to Arius, she was given a map showing the catacombs’ exit before each mission. The route changed every time, and the map was encrypted as well… She said, ‘As a traitor, I no longer know the correct path back to Arius.’"

A dungeon that changes layout every time you enter… what is this, a mystery labyrinth? While Nagisa continued her explanation, Mine suddenly cut in.

"Wait a moment—did you interrogate Shirasu Azusa?"

"Huh?"

It seemed she’d struck a nerve. Mine stepped toward Nagisa with sharp intensity.

"Did you force information about Arius out of her? Even after she was branded a traitor by the autonomous zone she came from—after losing the place she once belonged to—she still worked so hard for our sake. She finally regained some measure of peace, and yet you dragged her into our problems and pressed her for Arius intelligence… How cruel can you be!?"

"P-please calm down, Aomori-sama. There was no interrogation of any kind. She spoke only of her own will…"

I stepped in to stop Mine, since I was the one who actually questioned Azusa—but Mine continued pressing Nagisa.

"Do you really believe that girl could have spoken without feeling burdened!? You must have used the Tea Party’s authority to force a defenseless girl into compliance…!!"

"Eh—wh-what!? No, I didn’t!!"

No, seriously, we didn’t. She looked just about ready to grab Nagisa, but before things escalated further, Sakurako stepped in between them.

"Calm yourself, Captain Mine. No such thing happened. If anyone attempted that, Sensei—the advisor of the Make-Up Work Club—would never allow it."

"…That is certainly true."

"It is also true that Nagisa-san is a cruel woman entirely without pity or mercy, but that is not the case here. Azusa was not treated poorly."

Wow… that’s one hell of a way to describe someone… Fufufu. Well, jokes aside, I stepped forward to help Nagisa, who was trembling as she struggled to keep her teacup steady.

"W-well, um… at the time, Seia-sama had collapsed, and Nagisa-sama feared that she or Mika-sama might be targeted next… I believe she was under immense stress. Normally she would never behave in such a way."

"Aika… thank you. But Hifumi, Hanako, Koharu, Azusa… the members of the Make-Up Work Club have borne far more than they ever should have. And some of that weight… it is true that my own actions contributed to it."

Nagisa paused, then continued.

"In that sense, there are responsibilities and regrets that I must carry as well. That is why, ever since the Eden Treaty, I have done everything in my power to keep them away from situations like this. These muddy political battles are our burden to bear. They are things those girls should never have to experience."

"Nagisa…"

…And yet somehow I’m sitting in this meeting. Not that I particularly mind.

"…Yes, Nagisa-sama. Please forgive my rudeness."

"I feel the same. Ideally, I would have Hanako take over my role… but our contract has already concluded. I cannot force any more responsibilities onto her."

Well, Hanako originally distanced herself from Trinity’s power struggles by intentionally tanking her grades and doing wild things, so that makes sense.

"It is our duty to resolve the problems that remain. That is the least courtesy we can offer."

Sakurako then turned toward Sensei.

"Still, Sensei… I believe you will continue to stand with us until the very end."

"Yeah. Of course."

"…Thank you, Sensei."

Then, guided by Mine’s earlier words, the conversation returned to the main topic.

"Even so, the catacombs are a massive labyrinth whose full layout has yet to be discovered… finding an entrance that changes every time does indeed sound extremely difficult."

"Let us reverse our thinking. What if we simply ask someone who knows the passageways?"

Reverse your thinking, Sakurako-kun. Think the other way around… Man, I really think about the dumbest things when I’m bored.

"Someone who knows the passageways?"

"The leader of the Arius Squad who led the attack—Joumae Saori. She would unquestionably know every route."

Though, according to my memories from the game in my previous life, even the Arius Squad couldn’t navigate properly unless they were inside the autonomous zone.

"I see. If she was directing the assault herself, then certainly."

"…However, there is still no information on their whereabouts. It is highly likely that they have already fled back to the autonomous zone."

"There is one more student who should know the passageways besides the Squad, is there not?"

When Sakurako said that, Mine fell silent and looked toward Nagisa.

"Um…? Who might that be…?"

"Misono Mika."

"!?"

Nagisa visibly flinched the moment her childhood friend’s name was spoken, but Sakurako and Mine continued calmly.

Mika had been connected to Arius for a long time, so it would be unnatural for her not to know their location. There were also records of her handing supplies to Arius students—to gain Arius’s support for her attempted coup.

"But Mika-san is…"

She started to argue, but quickly fell silent, as if realizing she couldn’t defend Mika on that point.

"…Mika-sama’s past actions—and the reputation she earned because of them—are hardly commendable. Nagisa-sama, you of all people know this well. She has used her position within the Tea Party as a shield to excuse a great many mistakes and problems."

Mistakes and problems, huh?

That reminds me—right before summer break, when Masa went to Mika’s office, her secretary apparently found a set of shadow ledgers lying openly on her desk. It caused a bit of a stir. In the end, due to insufficient evidence, the whole thing was swept under the rug.

I mean… aren’t shadow ledgers the kind of thing you’re supposed to guard carefully? Honestly, that kind of sloppiness is very Mika-like.

"Given that, it’s difficult to say the current uproar and condemnation surrounding Mika-sama are unrelated to her own conduct."

Well, even so, attacking Mika or burning her belongings is absolutely unacceptable. Mine understands that much too.

"…Are you saying Mika-san lied? That she intentionally hid information about the Arius autonomous zone…? Why would she…?"

"…Nagisa-sama, we fully understand how deeply you care for Mika-sama. But if we are to ask who knows her best, it would naturally be you, her childhood friend."

Nagisa still looked troubled, and Mine pressed further.

"From your perspective, Nagisa-sama… do you believe Mika-sama is still hiding something from us?"

Nagisa took a moment to think, then said she would trust Mika. Mika was far from a model student… but still. After what happened—after the painful lesson they all learned because they failed to trust one another—Nagisa had decided to believe in her.

"So that others may believe in her as well… so the entire academy can see her differently… I will defend Mika-san at tomorrow’s hearing. Even if doing so leads to my own condemnation."

"…No, I merely voiced a hypothesis. I had no other intent. I apologize for causing misunderstanding."

"…Please forgive my discourtesy as well."

Watching all this, Sensei looked like he had a number of things he wanted to ask and quietly called out to Nagisa.

"Um… so, uh…"

But before he could continue, Nagisa seemed to decide she should properly conclude her discussion with Mine and Sakurako first.

"…Yes. Let us call it here for today. Thank you both for making time despite your busy schedules."

"No, I’m glad we could speak. And regarding this situation—the accusations toward Mika-sama—I also find them quite regrettable. I’ll search for what countermeasures I can take. Now then, I’ll excuse myself."

"Yes—and I shall also return to the cathedral."

"Take care."

And with that, the long meeting finally came to an end.