Chapter 52: A Certain Student’s Record

Nice to meet you, everyone. I—I am… well, no one worth introducing. Let’s just say I’m an ordinary, insignificant Trinity student.

The reason I wished to greet you all is because I simply had to share the beautiful things that exist here in Trinity. And so, together with others who share my convictions, I take up my position and begin observing the beautiful flowers blooming in Trinity.

"Ahh, look at them chatting so sweetly together… The three Officer Cadets are as charming as ever."

"Yes, it’s truly a shame we can’t hear what they’re talking about from here…"

Yes—the ones we are so devoted to are the three Trinity students who hold the rank of Officer Cadet within the Tea Party’s subordinate organization: Tsuchimikado Maiha-sama, Honotani Masa-sama, and Gion Aika-sama. Though they are first-years just like us, they overflow with elegance, nobility, and compassion—true role models for all Trinity students.

Maiha-sama is brilliant, greeting every student with a warm smile and treating all without discrimination.

Masa-sama excels in combat ability, holds firm convictions, and has a straightforward personality that never tolerates bullying.

Aika-sama is serious by nature, yet playful enough to enjoy jokes, and her romantic heart leads her to select a beloved autocannon—the Pom-Pom Gun—mount it on a truck, and charge into battle with flair.

Each of them is already immensely attractive on her own, but when the three are together, they are so perfectly in sync that it truly feels as though they could accomplish anything.

Maiha-sama belongs to the Sanctus faction, Masa-sama to the Pater faction, and Aika-sama to the Filius faction—but they deepen their bond as if such differences didn’t matter at all. Two years from now, when they become third-years, many—including us—expect each of them to become a central figure in her faction, joining hands to further Trinity’s prosperity.

Though they wear the pure white Tea Party uniform more beautifully than anyone, they say they would not hesitate to dirty it if it meant helping others.

For example, during the incident caused by tragic misunderstandings surrounding Seia Mika-sama, they assisted the Supplementary Lessons Department—looked down upon as failures—and worked together to protect Nagisa-sama from the Arius forces.

Then, on the day of the Eden Treaty, when the venue was attacked and chaos erupted, they reportedly acted with perfect precision: guiding evacuees, escorting the injured—including Nagisa-sama and Sakurako-sama—to the Rescue Knights, and calming the students of Gehenna and Trinity who were seconds away from clashing. These astonishing achievements were all carried out by just three first-years—almost unbelievable.

"…Ah! You saw that, didn’t you!?"

"Yes—the ‘say ahh’…!!"

Maiha-sama took a slice of what must have been homemade pound cake, speared it with a fork, and brought it to Masa-sama’s mouth.

"To think we could witness something like this…!"

There aren’t many people around, but even so—being fed so openly must have embarrassed the usually composed Masa-sama. Her cheeks are just a little flushed.

"And now… is she seriously feeding Aika-sama next!?"

Maiha-sama then picked up a cookie and offered it to Aika-sama. Aika-sama hesitated for a moment, but after being quietly stared at by Maiha-sama, she gave in and allowed herself to be fed.

"The sheer purity… it’s overwhelming…!"

To be able to etch this sight into my memory… ah, what good fortune! I must immediately report this to my fellow creators back in Red Winter.

After classes ended, in the early afternoon, we took a short tea break in a lounge a little away from the academy’s center before going to teach the Arius students.

The lounge was about the size of a small cafeteria and looked capable of holding quite a few people, but aside from us, it was mostly empty. Perhaps that’s because this area—where the Arius students recently began living—never had many visitors to begin with.

"…So then, you know what Mika-sama did? She couldn’t finish her roll cake, so she just pushed it straight into Seia-sama’s mouth~"

"A-ahaha…"

"Honestly, what is that woman even doing…?"

As we ate the sweets Maiha made, we chatted about harmless topics like these.

"Oh, right~. Masa-chan, say ahh."

With that, Maiha held out a fork with a piece of pound cake toward Masa.

"W–why so suddenly…?"

"Ehh, no good~?"

She slowly brought the cake closer, and Masa—resigning herself—accepted the bite.

"Is it yummy~?"

"It is, but… there was no need to feed me like this…"

Even though there weren’t many people around, Masa still seemed embarrassed, her cheeks faintly red.

Satisfied, Maiha then picked up a cookie…

"Aika-chan too—say ahh."

"M-me as well…!?"

Well, I mean, if I thought about it calmly, of course she would come to me next—but still.

Staaare…

"But… u-ugh…"

She kept staring up at me with those big, pleading eyes, and I couldn’t say anything back. Eventually, I gave up and let her feed me.

"It’s delicious, right~?"

"Yes, well, naturally. The smoothness of the butter softens the strawberry’s tang, making it wonderfully rich…"

Once we’d satisfied our hunger with tea sweets, we had to head off to teach our lessons in place of Tea Party training. After cleaning up, we stood and made our way toward the Arius students.

Though circumstances once led them astray, the former Arius students had sought to destroy Trinity. Yet the Officer Cadets teach them with patience and kindness. How broad their hearts must be.

Moved by how they carry themselves—students, yet wholly befitting teachers—we waited until their lesson ended before resuming our observation.

"…Can you see them?"

"Of course!"

The place they went after school was a certain shopping mall. Inside an accessory shop there, the three of them were choosing hair decorations for one another.

"Lady Maiha is helping Lady Masa put on a hair ornament, and while she’s at it, she seems to be checking how her hair feels."

"Ahh, I want to touch it too… Lady Masa’s silky-smooth hair…!"

Of course, none of us have actually touched it, but with the way her hair reflects the light and the shine it has, there’s no doubt it must be silky smooth.

"Lady Maiha’s hair must be fluffy, absolutely!"

"And Lady Aika’s… I imagine it’s elegant and perfectly moisturized."

Her family cultivates high-end fruit, after all—her hair must have that same fresh, firm, luxurious quality.

Following behind as they enjoyed their shopping, we watched the Officer Cadets finish their errands and climb into Lady Aika’s truck before heading somewhere else. We quickly called a taxi to chase after them, and the place they arrived at was…

"This direction… that’s the D.U. District."

"Which means, possibly… SCHALE?"

A few months ago, the missing Federal Student Council President founded an organization and invited an adult—someone who came from outside Kivotos—to serve as its advisor. That person is Sensei. The Federal Investigation Club, officially S.C.H.A.L.E and commonly called SCHALE, has become well-known for solving various incidents throughout Kivotos—especially among the three major academies: Trinity, Millennium, and Gehenna.

We’ve never had the chance to speak with Sensei directly, but while we often hear that they’re a trustworthy adult who does their best to help any student who comes to them… there are also rumors. Rumors that they make students wear bunny suits or swimsuits inside SCHALE, or that they act in questionable ways toward certain students.

"It does make you curious…"

"I agree completely."

We booked a room at a hotel near SCHALE headquarters and decided to stake the place out.

As expected—or rather, just as we predicted—the three ladies went inside the building where SCHALE is located.

"Hmm…"

We observed for a little under two hours, but nothing unusual happened. They simply worked through paperwork and other administrative tasks. Now and then Lady Aika would say something to Sensei, but we had no way of knowing what it was about.

"Ah, they’re standing up… it looks like they’re leaving."

"Really? Then we should pack up too…"

A short while after the three left, we paid the hotel fee and were about to head home when—

"Well, well, looks like we’ve found ourselves a perfect little Trinity girl."

"Wonder how much ransom we could get? Heh, heh, heh."

"Yeah, Trinity reminds me—there were three of ’em earlier, but those ones looked like they’d absolutely beat the crap out of us if we tried anything…"

Those three… they must mean the Officer Cadets. A wise assessment, truly. A handful of delinquents like these wouldn’t stand a chance against those three ladies.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Ugh—Sensei…"

"Such a ruckus… hmm?"

Because we were right in front of SCHALE, Sensei stepped outside, and soon after, the officer cadets who had heard the commotion hurried back as well.

"Well, uh, this is—"

"I heard something about ransom… that’s not good. If you’re dealing with problems, I’d rather you come talk to me."

"Yes… sorry, sir…"

Chastised by Sensei, the delinquents trudged away in defeat.

"A Trinity student out at this hour… you didn’t have any business with SCHALE, did you?"

"Eek—um, well, that is…"

Being addressed by Lady Masa—one of the people I admire—I could only stammer in confusion.

"If there’s something you can’t talk about, I won’t pry. But outside Trinity, there really are people who’ll try to kidnap girls for ransom like that, so you shouldn’t stay out too late, okay~?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Yes, we’ll be careful…"

Lady Maiha… she immediately realized it was something we couldn’t openly discuss and chose to be considerate. Truly an angel.

"Are you returning to Trinity now? If so, the Royalty… this truck can take you back."

"N-No! We couldn’t possibly trouble you that much!"

Lady Aika actually considered giving us a ride back in her truck… but it was far too great an honor, so with a heavy heart, we declined.

"Is that so? Then please be careful."

"…Yes!"

Still riding the high of excitement, we returned to Trinity.

The officer cadets we managed to speak with were exactly as their reputation suggested—thoughtful, kind, and compassionate. The conversation was brief, mere moments really, but it was such a precious experience…

After we finished teaching the Arius students, the three of us stopped by the shopping mall we’d driven to earlier and enjoyed a bit of shopping together.

"Look, this flower hair ornament really suits you, Masa-chan~"

"Does it?"

While choosing accessories, Maiha and Masa giggled together like that—honestly, it was adorable to watch.

After that, we headed to the D.U. District in the Royalty. All three of us had been assigned to SCHALE duty together.
SCHALE duty usually means helping maintain security around the D.U. area and assisting Sensei with any work that has piled up.

"Welcome. I’m glad you all came."

"Good day, Sensei. Since we’re on duty today, what exactly will we be doing?"

He didn’t answer verbally. Instead, he silently pointed to the mountain of papers stacked on his desk.

"These are reports from the incident at Millennium, and the backlog of work from when I had to leave SCHALE…"

"Sensei, you’ve got it rough, huh~"

Seriously. But if it’s just this much, the three of us plus Sensei can finish it in a few hours if we focus.

As I started getting to work, something caught my eye.

"…Sensei. What are these instant noodles and energy drinks?"

"Oh—uh, I was so busy I forgot to clean those up…"

So he’s been working nonstop, barely eating real meals.

"Goodness. If you keep living like that, you’ll shorten your lifespan."

If Sensei collapsed, I would—no, all the students in Kivotos would be in trouble.

"Yeah… you’re right…"

"There are many excellent cooks here at SCHALE, are there not? You should rely on your students more…"

While I was scolding him from the heart, saying whatever came to mind, Maiha suddenly grinned and said:

"Aika-chan, you sound like Sensei’s mom~"

"H—His… his mother!? M-Me…!?"

Sensei’s mother… his mom… his wife—
Wait, why did “wife” pop into my head? No, absolutely not. Forget that. That didn’t happen.

Hearing Maiha’s comment, Sensei looked at me with a gentle, warm gaze. Meanwhile, Masa continued working through the paperwork in total silence.

"R-Really! Please don’t say such strange things!"

"Yes yes~"

Following Masa’s example, I got back to work. In the middle of that, Sensei accidentally let slip that he’d only slept for three hours. Naturally, I pressed him for details, and in the end we took some of tomorrow’s and the next day’s tasks to finish early so he could actually get proper sleep.

"Phew, I think that’s everything~"

Once we finished most of the paperwork, it was about time for the three of us to head home. Still, even so…

(I feel like someone’s watching us…)

Maybe I was just imagining it, but it felt like someone had been watching me all day.

I forced the thought away—it was probably nothing—and we made our way to the Royalty parked in a nearby lot. But just as we were about to get in, I noticed some noise coming from SCHALE, so we turned back.

There we found one student in a Tea Party uniform and one in a Sisterhood uniform, surrounded by five delinquent students. Behind them stood Sensei, who had apparently just stepped out of the building.

"I heard something about ransom… that isn’t good. If you’re having trouble, I’d rather you come talk to me."

"Yes… sorry, sir…"

Scolded by Sensei, the delinquents backed off awkwardly and left.

It seemed they were trying to abduct the two Trinity girls for ransom, and Sensei put a stop to it.

"A Trinity student out at this hour… you didn’t have business with SCHALE, did you?"

"Eep—um, uh…"

Masa spoke gently to the Tea Party student, who panicked and stammered, while Maiha soothed her kindly.

"Is there something you can’t talk about? That’s fine, I won’t ask more. But outside Trinity, there really are people who try to kidnap girls for ransom like that, so don’t stay out too late, okay~?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Yes, we’ll be careful…"

Once they both seemed calmer, and since they were fellow Trinity students, I considered offering them a ride to the dorms.

"Are you returning to Trinity? If so, the Royalty… this truck can take you back."

"N-No! We couldn’t possibly trouble you that much!"

Honestly, the driver’s seat only fits two, and with three I could sit in the back and keep watch. But five? Then we’d have to decide who ends up in the cargo bed.
So being refused was… actually a relief.

"Is that so? Then please be careful."

"…Yes!"

We watched the two girls run off into the night, and then we finally began our own trip back home.