“So, to summarize, the Student Council President, the ultimate administrator of Sanctum Tower, has been missing for a few weeks now. This teacher right here was designated by the President as the advisor for the ‘Federal Investigation Club Shalle’ before their disappearance… At this point, the teacher is the only one who can reclaim the authority of Sanctum Tower. Is that the gist of it?”
“That’s correct. Since Shalle is fundamentally a federal club, it can accept all students from each academy without restrictions and can carry out combat activities without limits in each academy autonomous district. I can’t explain why such a powerful club was established, but…”
“Then we can’t just sit around like this, right?! I’ve been so busy that I’ve been getting an hour less sleep than usual every day for the past week!”
“Yes, there’s no need to be so impatient; I was just about to move into that topic.”
Rin, pushing her glasses with her fingertips, turned on the screen of the tablet PC in her hand and displayed a map for us to see.
“The club room of Shalle is located about 30 kilometers outside in the outskirts. Right now, it’s an empty building, but at the Student Council President’s command, something was placed underground there. To recover the authority of Sanctum Tower, we need to take the teacher there first.”
After saying this, Rin radioed Momoka, the Traffic Office Head, but we waited for a while with no response from her.
“Momoka. Momoka?”
“Hey, Rin-chan, there’s no answer?”
“This is troubling. Without a helicopter, we’ll have to travel on foot…”
“Yeah, that’s a bit of a hassle☆ The traffic situation outside is just insane.”
It’s not that the outside was a war zone. Despite everything, given the struggles of the Defense Office and Valkyries, the security of D.U. was maintaining a minimum level. It was purely that the traffic system was a complete mess. I guessed that the reason Momoka wasn’t responding was that she was likely overworked. Taking care of all the duties of the Traffic Office by herself, she must feel immense responsibility in this situation. It’s not surprising.
“30 kilometers, huh…”
The teacher let out a deep sigh. Regardless of whether it was doable on foot, the time it would take would be anything but ordinary, so it was an entirely reasonable reaction.
“…T-party host. May I ask one thing? Did you come here by helicopter…?”
“If you call me Mika-san, I’ll answer you☆”
“…”
Wow, no need to make such a disgusted face, right? Seriously.
Sometimes Rin feels like a hedgehog with its spikes out. It would be nice if she’d just relax a little… But with the Student Council President missing, that seemed unlikely.
“Wait a second. T-party host… or rather, Mika-san. If there is a helicopter prepared, shouldn’t we be wasting time like this?”
“True, Yuuka-chan. If the nickname shortened, it would be easier for you too, yet, not being able to say that one little word has stolen our precious time like this… Rin-chan, aren’t you being a bit too much?”
“…You really are just as I heard from the Head.”
What’s that about? What did Chinatsu hear from Hina to react like that? No matter how I think about it, this is definitely something I’ll need to interrogate Hina about later.
“…Sigh. Alright, Mika-san. Is there indeed a helicopter ready to take the teacher to the Shalle club room?”
If she answered no, I felt like she’d try to kill me with that killing look she was giving me, so I just let that slide and gave a victorious smile. This may be a small victory for me, but for humanity…
“…Is there?”
“It’s definitely ready; so please stop staring daggers at me…”
The teacher, who had been silently observing all this, looked like she had a lot on her mind. Everything was so chaotic; it’s only natural her thoughts would be tangled.
Anyway, it’s time for us to move to the Shalle building.
*
After confirming the road conditions from above in the sky, the teacher’s expression turned rather serious. And well it might, for the view of D.U. from the helicopter resembled that of a downtown area in the early days of an apocalypse.
Normally, Wakamo would be inciting delinquent students and taking over Shalle, leading to a retrieval operation, but our former Reikubyō no Yū is quite busy right now.
She’s probably busy beating up Black Market guards in combat uniform, right? Thanks to that, we landed at Shalle without any friction and moved inside.
“This facility is quite impressive.”
“What is this, a hangar…? Just how much of the Student Council’s budget went into this? And for someone to prepare this and then disappear… It must be that, right?”
As we headed towards the underground, the facilities of Shalle were nothing short of breathtaking. It seemed Chinatsu felt similarly awed.
However, Yuuka seemed to have reached a troubling conclusion. The Student Council President’s disappearance was a thoroughly planned scenario.
“Umm… guys, I’ve been wanting to ask since earlier. Why is everyone carrying guns? Is it true that gates can open suddenly here and monsters come through to attack people?”
“Y-yeah? Teacher, come on. Isn’t that something that only happens in novels?”
“Speaking of which, I forgot that you came from outside Kivotos. Unlike us, it may be that a minor gunshot would be fatal for you.”
The teacher had a natural curiosity while looking at the shooting range, yet gave a somewhat ambiguous impression. Well, if I fell into Kivotos without knowing anything, I’d definitely be bewildered as to why carrying guns was standard.
“Hahaha, these guns are actually like toys to us? Just think of them that way, Teacher.”
“Toys? That’s rude… No, it’s more like toys for you. When you fought with Neru-senpai, you certainly smashed walls bare-handed, right?”
“Uh, Yuuka-chan… What you just said might actually be the true rudeness, huh? Right?”
“Smashing walls with bare hands…?”
The teacher looked at me with a look of disbelief. Who would believe a seemingly frail girl could smash walls with her bare hands? It’s a matter that requires direct witnessing to believe.
Honestly, if such strength came from those slender arms, I think it’s natural to be suspicious at first. While controlling her strength has become as natural as breathing over time, when I first swapped bodies, if I had shaken hands with the teacher, I likely would have messed up strength control.
If such a thing actually happened… shudder.
Arriving at the underground of Shalle, it was dark due to the lights being off, but the familiar space revealed itself. The place where the teacher takes breaks during non-working hours. It was about to become a place that was virtually her home.
Turning on the Weapon Light I had received as a gift from Saori, Rin lightly bowed her head in gratitude before moving to the central desk and picking up a white tablet PC resting on it. She then immediately handed it to the teacher.
“This is what the Student Council President left for you… ‘The Box of Shiddim’.”
The teacher received it with a look that hinted at some familiarity with the item.
While Rin explained to the teacher about the Box of Shiddim, I felt a keen gaze on me from the side. Yuuka was listening to Rin’s explanation along with the teacher, so naturally, Chinatsu was the only one left.
“So, um…”
“I am Hinomiya Chinatsu, who has become a Health Committee member from the Student Council. I’ve heard some information about you from the Head, and I know a bit about you, Mika-san.”
“Oh, right. You mentioned earlier that you were just like what Hina-chan had told you? What exactly did she say…?”
“That you are playful and bothersome.”
“…Is that all?”
“I think she also mentioned that your specialty is unconscious temptation, and to be particularly careful when dealing with you. Apparently, you’ve already been caught in that regard… When she said that, she seemed to gaze longingly at the picture frame on her desk.”
“Wow—oh…?”
Hina, telling a newbie to be careful not to get enchanted by that fox lady will undoubtedly twist my image a little…?
Well, since Hina tends to be entirely honest when talking to the two, I don’t think it would matter what she said outside.
…Right, I must protect the image of our little clingy Student Council President. She is a charismatic and wonderful leader in front of her subordinates, and it’s vital not to tarnish that image. Considering the status of the Student Council in Gehenna, Hina’s external image must be maintained.
After examining the books lined up on the shelves for a while, I approached Yuuka and Rin, who were keeping their distance while observing the teacher. The teacher was entering something into the Box of Shiddim.
That must be the password to operate the Box of Shiddim.
So, it must be definitely…
…We desire. The Seven Wails.
…We remember. The Dilemma of Jericho.
Yeah, it should have been something like that.
Not long after the teacher entered the password, the screen of the tablet glowed white. Because of that light, or perhaps for some other reason, the teacher closed her eyes.
And then…
[Um, Castella…. more than strawberry milk… banana…]
“…?”
[Hehe… there’s still plenty…]
As the teacher placed her hand on the Box of Shiddim’s screen and closed her eyes, I blinked in confusion. I couldn’t understand this situation at all.
If I’m not mistaken, the main OS managing the Box of Shiddim, Arona, should not be audible to anyone other than the teacher. The interaction between them takes place in some space presumed to be within the Box of Shiddim.
But then… why am I hearing that stupid Arona’s voice?
