Chapter 64: The Wastelands of Dadoel

Once things had more or less settled down, Sensei entrusted me to Masa and Maiha and returned to Schale. The three of us headed back to Trinity together aboard the Royalty, the vehicle the two of them had taken out. Given the circumstances, it couldn’t really be helped this time—and honestly, since it was the two of them, I wasn’t particularly bothered by it.

The following day, as expected, I was summoned by Nagisa. When I went to answer the call, Maiha and Masa followed along for some reason, and the three of us entered the office together.

"Maiha-san and Masa-san…? Well, it seems the two of you were also present at the scene, so I suppose there’s no issue with you being here."

At Nagisa’s request, I explained the incident I had caused at Sanctum Tower the day before, along with the motivations that led up to it. I briefly considered claiming it was a form of precognition like Seia’s, as I’d written in the letter… but in the end, I chose to tell the truth. Naturally, I also asked that the matter be kept confidential, since it would cause considerable confusion if others learned about it.

"I see… I understand now. At the very least, I can tell that Aika-san was deeply troubled over this. I’m glad that Aika-san herself, the two of you who intervened, and Sensei all emerged unharmed."

Nagisa paused, then continued quietly.

"However…"

"Even so… for a member of the Tea Party to be involved in such an incident… seizing control of Sanctum Tower, and even attempting to take your own life… it’s simply… I… I have no words."

"I am… truly sorry."

I had caused a major disturbance in the D.U. District, outside the autonomous zones. I was prepared to accept whatever punishment they decided upon.

"…Your authority as a Tea Party escort will be suspended for thirty days. In addition, you will be confined to your room during that time. Please use this period to reflect on your actions."

…Huh? That was unexpectedly light. I’d braced myself for being thrown into Trinity’s prison, or sent off to the General Student Council’s Correctional Bureau.

"…Sensei called me earlier," Nagisa added. "He said that, in your own way, your actions were taken with Kivotos in mind, and asked that you not be punished too harshly. And besides, Aika-san… you have done much to support Trinity up until now."

Once, I’d been treated as a potential traitor—yet now, it seemed I was being evaluated quite highly. I didn’t feel like I’d done anything particularly remarkable, but since Nagisa, the Tea Party’s host, had made her decision, all I could do was comply.

"Yes… I will accept the ruling with due humility."

"…After this, I’ll be heading to a meeting with the General Student Council regarding this matter. However, please rest assured—I have no intention of allowing them to interfere with the punishment we’ve decided upon."

"Y-yes…"

With that, she handed me a formal document detailing the disciplinary measures. I saw Nagisa off as she departed for the D.U. District to attend the meeting.

"So, you’re my overseer?"

"Y-yes! P-please don’t do anything strange…"

Starting the very next day, my room confinement began. In practical terms, students from the Justice Task Force took turns standing watch outside my dorm room, ensuring I didn’t leave without good reason. If there truly was a need for me to go out, they would accompany me closely as monitors.

For the record, nothing about the punishment changed after Nagisa’s meeting with the General Student Council. Apparently, she had them formally acknowledge my contributions—most notably my role in reclaiming the D.U. District from Kaiser, along with my assistance to both the General Student Council and Schale, and my usual conduct, which suggested a low risk of reoffending. As a result, the only penalty imposed by the General Student Council was compensation for the equipment I had destroyed at Sanctum Tower. Since it was an amount I could pay without issue, it was simply withdrawn from my savings account, and that was that. All that remained was to lie low for a month.

By the time my confinement period ended, Sensei had resolved the incident at Allied Hyakkiyako Academy—the so-called Hundred Flowers Riot arc—and returned safely to Schale. With that in mind, I went there to deliver my reports in person.

"Sensei, it’s been a while."

"'Hey there, Aika. So, how did it go?'"

"Yes. Thankfully, the punishment wasn’t very severe—just confinement to my room. That ended yesterday, which is why I came to Schale today. Once again, I’m truly sorry for all the trouble I caused you… and thank you as well."

As always, documents were piled high on Sensei’s desk. From the looks of it, many of them had come from Allied Hyakkiyako Academy.

"'I see. Well, keep doing your best from here on out. Oh, that reminds me…'"

Sensei then asked about the things I’d said I could understand through my memories of a previous life.

"If it’s about that, then it only goes as far as the incident you resolved at Allied Hyakkiyako Academy. From here on out, everything truly becomes unknown."

"'Is that so? That’s a shame. I was kind of hoping to get a taste of what it’s like to know the future myself.'"

Honestly, memories of a past life aren’t anything good to have. And besides, in my view—

"I don’t think you need to worry about it too much… What matters most is the choices you make as Sensei."

The General Student Council President had said something similar back in the prologue, and Sensei would probably make the same choice again if placed in the same situation. What matters isn’t experience—it’s choice.

"'Yeah, that’s true. In that case, my choice will be… having Aika help me with paperwork.'"

"…Good grief."

And just like that, regardless of whatever memories of a previous life I might have, I resolved to live on as myself.

After handling work at Schale for a while, I returned to Trinity, where Masa and Maiha were waiting for me in front of the main gate.

"Aika-chan, welcome back~! Your confinement’s over, so I thought we’d go out right away, but you weren’t in your dorm room… where’d you go~?"

"I went to Schale, to properly greet Sensei."

"Sensei, huh… now that you mention it."

What Masa was referring to was that so-called “confession” I’d mentioned that day—what it actually was.

"Well… yes. I lost my footing at Sanctum Tower, and though I didn’t mean to, I ended up dragging Sensei down with me as well. And since I thought we were going to die anyway, I half gave in to despair and told him, ‘I love you’… that’s what happened…"

"And then he turned you down."

"Ugh…"

Please don’t say it out loud again. Hearing it spelled out like that is genuinely shocking.

"Ahaha… that’s just how Sensei is, after all~"

Given the situation, that meant I was one of the students who seriously confessed to Sensei. Me.

"Um… where are we going out to, exactly?"

If this topic continued any longer, my head was going to boil over from embarrassment, so I forced a change of subject. Maiha answered instead.

"Let’s see~ there’s a sweets festival going on at our usual shopping mall, so I thought we’d head there."

"I looked it up, and it seems they use a lot of fruit from Aika’s family business. I thought it’d be nice to go."

"My family… ah."

That reminded me—I’d planned to go home during winter break, but because of my confinement, I never got the chance.

"What’s wrong~?"

"Well, um… I was planning to stop by my family home during winter break, but because of the confinement, I couldn’t go."

They were definitely worried about me… And at this rate, I probably wouldn’t be able to return until spring break. As I was thinking that, Masa spoke up.

"Hmm… in that case, how about the three of us visit Aika’s family home together next weekend?"

It was true—my family home was close enough to Trinity’s central district that a round trip within a day was possible. If we went over the weekend, it would probably turn into a one-night, two-day stay.

"Yes… that might actually be nice."

"We can work out the details later—first, sweets~!"

Maiha grabbed both Masa’s hand and mine, pulling us along as she broke into a run toward the station.

"W-wait, please…!"

"No waiting~! You’re finally back safe and sound, Aika-chan~!"

A lot had happened starting around the Final Chapter, but now, at last, it felt like I’d truly returned to everyday life. Hearing Maiha and Masa’s cheerful voices made that realization sink in all over again.

Yeah—if it’s with the two of them… I’m sure I can enjoy anything, and overcome anything. I could honestly think that from the bottom of my heart.