Chapter 45: The Broken Birdcage

After finishing the Kyrie on the organ in the cathedral, I returned to my dorm room to rest since I didn’t have anything else scheduled today. We officer cadets were also required to attend tomorrow’s hearing. Since we’d worked so hard to help stabilize the chaos during the Eden Treaty incident, we were considered important reference witnesses.

As I relaxed and read a romance manga that Maiha had recommended—and that I’d bought from a nearby bookstore—a call came in.

"Hello?"

〈Aika, Lady Mika broke through a wall and flew off somewhere. I’m sorry, but could you come? Let’s meet at the Tea Party headquarters’ entrance.〉

"Lady Mika did… Understood."

According to my memories from my previous life, she went to take revenge on Saori, didn’t she? What do I do…? I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to meet at one of the catacomb entrances, but there are something like three hundred of them.

Searching all of them without any clues would be impossible. In the game, I think Seia…

I deployed the Loyalty and drove for a little over ten minutes. It was past 10 p.m. when I arrived. After parking in the lot near Tea Party HQ, I headed for the entrance. The usual two were waiting for me.

"Aika!"

"Masa, Maiha… Lady Mika is…?"

"She rushed out so fast we couldn’t track her at all… oh—"

Maiha’s phone chimed, and she immediately picked up. Maybe because we were outside, I couldn’t make out the voice on the other end.

"Yes, yes… yes, we’re all here. Okay, got it~"

"Who was it?"

"That was Lady Seia. She wants to talk to us about Lady Mika and asked us to come to the balcony the Tea Party uses—right away."

Fortunately, we were right in front of the building, so we headed there immediately.

On that balcony stood Seia, Nagisa, Sakurako, Mine, and even Hasumi. It was rare to see almost all the key figures of Trinity’s major organizations gathered together. Seia, the one who summoned us, welcomed us first. Actually, wasn’t she coughing up blood and collapsing earlier? Is she really okay?

"Thanks for coming, you three. …Nagisa."

"Yes… please, everyone… please save Mika…! Please…!"

Nagisa bowed deeply, her face pale with exhaustion and desperate resolve.

"If it means saving Mika, I’m prepared to give up everything—my position, everything. So please…!"

"I ask the same."

Seeing the two Tea Party leaders bowing their heads, Hasumi and the others exchanged glances, then—

"Please raise your heads, Lady Nagisa, Lady Seia. Neither of you should be bowing to us."

Mine took a breath and continued.

"We understand Lady Mika is in danger. And we’re relieved Lady Seia is safe… but what exactly happened?"

"Before explaining, you need to understand the current state of Arius. It’s going to be a long story."

Yeah… explaining everything properly really does take a while.

"…I understand. Then let’s save the detailed explanation for later."

"What matters most right now is Sensei. I’ll do everything I can."

"Trinity has many students who care deeply for Sensei besides myself. I’m sure they’ll be willing to help."

I don’t know about Maiha or Masa, but I’m one of the students who trusts Sensei—and I’m worried about Mika too.

"…Thank you. I truly mean it."

And so Sakurako left to search the Sisterhood’s archives for information on the catacombs; Mine returned to prepare the Remedial Knights for deployment; and Hasumi went back to the Justice Task Force to ready a unit to enter the Arius autonomous zone.

"Now then… once we head in, there’s a lot we’ll need everyone’s help with."

"Will you assist us?"

We exchanged glances, confirming each other’s resolve, then nodded.

"Of course. Let’s hurry and drag that foolish princess back."

"Hehehe… I’m worried about her too~"

"As am I—whatever I can do, I will."

Seia and Nagisa allowed themselves a small moment of relief before beginning to explain what they needed from us.

Sakurako then asked Azusa about the catacombs—with her full consent—while Hanako*1 searched the library archive at her request and found a catacomb map left behind by the Justina Student Council. She had Koseki Ui repair it, then cross-referenced it with Seia’s information. After all that, we finally identified a viable route from the catacombs into the Arius autonomous zone. And now—

"Lady Nagisa… do we really need this entire tea set? It would help a lot if we kept the cargo light…"

"It is necessary."

"R-right…"

We loaded our equipment into the vehicles, and we were just about ready to depart. Nagisa and Seia rode in an armored vehicle*2, while we officer cadets headed out in the familiar Loyalty. Meanwhile, almost the entirety of the Justice Task Force was assaulting the zone from a different entrance.

"Anything that won’t fit can go in Aika’s truck."

"Actually… my truck is already full of medical kits and spare ammo…"

Any more cargo and I wouldn’t be able to sit in it myself. As I said that, Seia glanced at one of our boxes and spoke up.

"By the way, Aika, what’s in that box with the classified-document tag?"

"This? It contains Lady Mika’s personal belongings. They were nearly burned once, so I protected them and had Koharu hold onto them. She returned them to me earlier so I could give them back to Lady Mika when the time was right."

"I see… that girl…"

"Koharu… even though we treated you so terribly…"

Once we finally finished loading everything, we departed. Our vehicle would go ahead to clear dangers, with Nagisa’s armored car following behind.

We blasted our way through Arius soldiers and Justina clones using the Pop-Pop Cannon and navigated the underground path until we reached the Arius autonomous zone.

After setting up a temporary command post in the ruins of a large building on the outskirts, we received our next orders.

"Find Mika and Sensei for us. We need to remain here to establish command. We would search ourselves if we could…"

"…We trust you. Please."

"…Yes, I understand."

With only the bare minimum of spare ammo and medical kits loaded, we headed out to search. Mika’s personal belongings were left behind for Nagisa and the others to handle. After searching for a while, I heard a familiar unhinged scream echoing from far away—and then:

"…keh-heh-heh-heh-heh."

Right after that eerie laugh sounded close by, the wall of the building to our left exploded apart like it was nothing, and out stepped—

"Kyaaaaaaaah!!"

There she is. Actually, why the hell does Trinity—supposedingly a refined ladies’ academy—have not one but two insane women who blow through walls without hesitation? …No, wait. Mine would probably do it too. So that makes three?

"…Tsurugi-senpai, please calm down. Look, you’re scaring the Tea Party girls."

Beside Tsurugi stood Ichika—the same Ichika I’d passed by once before, back when I was researching the Make-Up Work Club and visited the Seijitsu clubroom.

"Oh—now that I actually look, isn’t that Masa?"

"Yes, it’s been a while. Ichika-senpai."

Unlike me and Maiha, who had only passed her in the hallway, Masa seemed to know her. Back before summer break, when each of us toured various organizations, Masa was assigned to the Justice Task Force—so they probably met then.

"…Ichika, let’s go."

"Ah—right. We need to find Lady Mika and Sensei… They’re likely somewhere around here…"

Tsurugi suddenly regained her composure and nudged Ichika forward. As they began walking, we followed alongside them in the truck at reduced speed. Soon, in the middle of a road torn apart by heavy fighting, we found our targets.

"Everyone…"

"Justice Task Force… and the officer cadets…? Wh-why are you here…?"

"It’s a long story, but—ah, good afternoon, Sensei. I’m Ichika from the Justice Task Force. We came to help you both."

While Ichika was speaking, Maiha pulled out gauze, surgical tape*3, and disinfectant from the medical kit and began treating Mika’s numerous wounds. Mika winced and complained about the stinging, but Maiha ignored her and worked silently.

"Yes. I’m really happy to see you, Ichika."

"Ehehe… I’m happy Sensei greeted me. Anyway—"

Ichika reported their retrieval of Sensei and Mika over comms. I helped load the two of them into the back of the truck, and we hurried back to the command headquarters.

"Sensei…!! Lady Mika…!! You’re safe…!"

The moment she saw them step down from the truck, Nagisa—who must have been sick with worry—had tears welling in her eyes.

"N-Nagi-chan…? Huh… why are you here…?"

"This is the command headquarters for the Arius Repair Operation…"

"Wait—how did you even get here…?"

And then, the remaining Tea Party leader stepped forward.

"I told her."

"“Seia…!?”"

"S-Seia-chan…"

Seeing Seia made Mika’s face crumple, like she might cry. She must have had so many emotions swirling inside her—but she had finally made it back.

"…Mika, you truly are foolish. As always, you rush in on impulse and cause disaster. It’s your worst habit. But—at least you’re alive."

"Seia-chan… h-how did you…"

"I don’t have quite enough time to weave the proper words. But—thanks to a chance encounter in a daydream, and then…"

To save Mika and Sensei, Seia forced herself awake from a lucid dream, rallied the Sisterhood and the Justice Task Force, and Nagisa—ready to sacrifice everything—petitioned all of Trinity for help. They uncovered a route into the Arius Autonomous Zone, mobilized a force far beyond what should have been possible, and fought their way through to rescue the two of them.

"Everyone…"

"We can’t keep relying on Sensei for everything. Our ideal relationship with him is one where we can light the path ahead. That’s why—we came to save you, Mika."

At Seia’s words, Mika let out a small laugh.

"You know, Seia-chan, you’re still saying things I never understand. You always act so high-and-mighty—it’s annoying. I’ve thought more than once about teaching you a lesson."

Seia’s expression tightened—some mix of annoyance and utter bafflement—when Mika continued:

"But even so… I love you, Seia-chan."

"Eh?"

Anyone watching would have no idea what Mika was trying to say. Seia froze like a pigeon hit with a bean gun. Mika left her there and turned to Nagisa next.

"And Nagi-chan—you’re way too hysterical! Also, bringing tea even out here? Seriously? Are you caffeine dependent? Or is that some kind of compulsion?"

Nagisa made the same confused face as Seia.

"—But I love you too, Nagi-chan."

"Um… well… that’s… I—was just… nervous…?"

Nagisa stumbled over her words, and Seia looked unsure how to respond. Mika wrapped both of them into a hug.

"Yeah… I love you both. Thank you… and I’m sorry."

"Lady Mika…"

"No—if anything, I should be the one apologizing. I’m sorry, Mika… I’ve always meant to apologize to you."

Mika gently pulled back from the embrace and listened quietly.

"But some childish pride kept getting in the way… When you said you wanted to reconcile with Arius, I…"

"No… don’t say anything. It’s fine… I’m sorry. It was my fault…"

Just as the two of them finally reconciled—something that had taken an entire year—a new figure approached.

"Ah, um… sorry to interrupt the nice moment you’ve got going, but I have something to deliver to Lady Mika… here."

Saying that, Ichika handed Mika the familiar fireproof, high-durability container.

"Um, this is… confidential documents…?"

"Ah—forgot to unlock it. Okay, you do this, and… there. Go ahead and open it."

She disengaged both the regular key and the electronic lock. Inside was—

"These are… my clothes…? And the album with pictures of me and Nagi-chan…? I heard they were stolen and burned…!?"

"Ah, well… apparently these three stopped that from happening right before the burning order was carried out… And to prevent anyone from trying again, the officer in charge of my unit’s confiscated-item storage was holding onto them."

Hearing that explanation, Mika glanced between us and the contents of the box.

"The three of them—and Koharu-chan too…?"

"Yes, Koharu… wait, you knew about Koharu?"

"…Yeah, I know her. Thank you, Koharu-chan… Even though it was originally my fault she almost got expelled…"

Mika murmured that and walked toward us.

"You all stopped my things from being burned, right? Thank you. I caused a lot of trouble for you too."

"I just happened to be present. The one who actually acted to stop it was Masa-san."

I had only watched Masa charge forward courageously while preparing myself in case it escalated into a shootout… It wasn’t enough to be thanked for.

"I’m with Aika-chan on that~ If anyone deserves thanks, it’s Masa-chan."

"Masa-chan…? Huh, no way… I thought she hated me…"

Well, considering how harsh things got the last time they faced each other, that wasn’t surprising.

"Sigh… It’s not about liking or disliking you. I simply couldn’t overlook something so unreasonable. And besides, the one who actually guarded the contents of that box so no one laid a hand on it was Koharu."

"…We should set aside proper time to talk things through."

When Sensei said that, Seia nodded, her expression thoughtful and sincere.

"…Yes. It seems we should."

"But first, we need to finish today’s hearing. Let’s go. We’re running out of time."

We turned to head back to Trinity—except Mika stayed frozen in place.

"Uh, do I really have to go like this? My clothes are all shredded, and even though Maiha-chan patched me up, it was just the bare minimum… My hair needs fixing too…"

At that, the two leaders exchanged glances—after a stretch of silence, they sighed with that can’t be helped sort of expression.

"…Fine. Do as you like."

"Yes, besides… the three of us have been up all night ourselves. We can’t appear like this either."

The Catacombs and the Arius Autonomous Zone had gone unmanaged for so long that even Seia and Nagisa—both of whom barely fought—were covered in dust and grime. There was no way they could attend a formal meeting in that state. As for me… after firing the pom-pom cannon nonstop in real combat, I was probably covered in soot.

"I’m going with you too."

"…Of course, Sensei. We promised to attend the hearing together—all of us."

Whatever the case, we had accomplished our original mission: bringing Mika and Sensei back. With that, we returned to Trinity.

The hearing had been pushed back from the planned 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., since most participants were utterly exhausted after the operation to infiltrate Arius.

I was tired as well, so after a short nap and getting myself ready, I headed into the reconvened hearing.

"──Now, we shall deliver the verdict regarding the disciplinary action for Misono Mika."

First: All authority held by Misono Mika as a Tea Party member is revoked. She will lose access to her personal residence, activity budget, and all privileges concerning special-class facilities.

Second: Due to questions raised regarding Misono Mika’s legitimacy as representative of the Pater faction, a new representative will be selected. However, until that selection is complete, Misono Mika will retain the position in name only.

Third: Her confinement is lifted and she is permitted to resume her studies, but she is expected to refrain from extracurricular involvement and conduct herself with awareness of her circumstances.

With that, the administrative officer acting as chair delivered the final ruling. Nagisa and Seia, of course, but also us officer cadets all worked hard to defend Mika, and in the end she avoided expulsion.

Some members of the Pater faction were dissatisfied and argued for harsher punishment… but since the decision was made through strict deliberation, it would be difficult for them to resist openly.

"We can stay together again…"

Nagisa, seated beside me, whispered that as she exhaled deeply. It wasn’t a light punishment—but she was clearly relieved they wouldn’t be separated by expulsion.