Not long after I got in touch with Noa, a message came through on Momotalk saying that Rin was also available for a call. After coordinating schedules as best as we could, it turned out that we would visit the Student Council in the morning and Millennium in the afternoon.

Perhaps realizing that things could spiral out of control if the Student Council President didn’t keep me on a tight leash, she willingly agreed to set a time for our meeting. Since that time obviously wouldn’t have been free, she likely made some personal sacrifice to accommodate us.

To be honest, I also needed to have a proper conversation with Rion over at Millennium, but since that wasn’t the purpose of this visit, I guess I would have to wait for the next opportunity.

After smoothing out the schedule a bit, I had some spare time, so after a brief moment of thought, I decided to head to the Student Council headquarters. It wasn’t that I had no business in the city, but wandering around in a place that was like the heart of Gehenna would undoubtedly attract trouble for someone as conspicuous as me—an angel—and I didn’t want to be a burden to the Student Council.

However, how futile that thought was was clearly proven within that short duration heading to the Student Council headquarters.

I got into misunderstandings about pigeons roughly eight times. I tried to ignore them and walk past, but I had to end up accommodating a bullet to the forehead for five of those encounters, where the other party just pulled out a weapon without warning.

There were also tough-looking delinquents who approached me with bad intentions despite recognizing me as a high-ranking member of Trinity; I had no choice but to remind them that I was just as strong as Hina.

Thanks to that, I learned that harmonious relations between Gehenna and Trinity were going to be much harder to establish than I had expected. This was even without considering the major problem, Makoto.

Once I entered the Student Council headquarters, things got a bit easier as everyone recognized me. No one wanted to catch the eye of the heavenly Student Council President, after all.

Instead of heading straight to Hina’s office, I was guided to a department that could basically be called the secretary’s office. However, when I saw Aco’s suspiciously bright expression upon receiving my sudden visit, I couldn’t help but be baffled.

“Wait a minute, let’s talk in the lounge instead. Follow me this way.”

Given how overly excited Aco was, it was clear that it was related to Hina, so I followed her to the lounge without any resistance.

As soon as I stepped into the empty lounge, Aco quickly closed the door and went straight to the storage cabinet, retrieving two coffee mixes.

“Ah, would you like a cup too, Mika?”

“Huh? I already had coffee before coming here. Is there no tea sent from Trinity? I remember the T-party sent some Darjeeling second flush at the beginning of this month.”

“Even if you say that, I’m not a Trinity lady or anything, so how would I know? Seriously! But I did keep the sent tea leaves aside. I brewed them once for testing, and the taste was kinda…”

“Heueng. Really?”

When I playfully coaxed her to try the tea that the Trinity lady brewed, even Aco couldn’t resist. In fact, there was nothing special about me crying over it.

Still, there’s a saying that a dog who’s been around for three years can read poetry; after half a year of living in the T-party, even a person who had never touched tea before managed to brew it decently.

“By the way, I noticed you seemed pretty excited earlier. Did something good happen?”

“Really? It’s the first time I’ve seen the President looking that bright when coming to school. Of course, I couldn’t help but feel happy. Initially, I was furious thinking about the struggles the President would face since getting involved with your messy relationships, but if she continues to look after us like this, maybe that’s not such a bad thing after all.”

“Messy relationships… Ahaha. Ahem.”

“…What’s with that reaction? You aren’t trying to deny it shamelessly, are you? Our President deserves nothing less than to be loved fully! Do you understand?!”

“Sure, I get it! Of course, I know this! I’ll do my best to take care of Hina-chan, so don’t worry too much. Besides, since our relationship is already out in the open, there’s no reason we can’t meet when we have the time——”

“…Kugh! How cowardly of you to bring up my flaws like that! Just like I thought, you are indeed an inevitable Trinity person…!”

“Hey! Enough with the discriminatory comments towards the academy☆”

“Kyaak?!”

After quietly shushing the chattering Aco, I measured the tea leaves, placed them into the teapot’s strainer, and started boiling water. The key is to pour it slowly into the teapot after adjusting the water to around 90 degrees. I’m planning to make iced tea, so I’ll use less water than usual.

“…I don’t know, it feels somewhat unneedlessly serious.”

“Ahaha… To be honest, I feel the same way. If you follow a recipe exactly, failures rarely happen. This is similar. Sure, details can vary a bit to suit personal tastes.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing how much it differs from the one I brewed. Not too much, just slightly.”

“Oh, but I wouldn’t think you’d have that much of an expectation. The bigger the expectation, the bigger the disappointment, you know?”

I gathered the teapot and several ice-filled cups onto a tray before heading to where Hina was. While tea preferences can vary greatly, I hope she enjoys the specially selected tea leaves.

“President, I’ve brewed the tea.”

As I followed Aco into the office, I noticed Hina’s eyes widen upon spotting me. She hurriedly turned her head away to check her appearance, and it was just too adorable.

“Aco, if you’re coming with Mika, you should have said something…”

“Hey, Hina-chan! I finished my work earlier than expected, so I wanted to drop by☆ Oh, and this is the tea I brewed!”

“…R-Right. Thanks, Mika. I’ll enjoy it.”

I pour the perfectly brewed tea according to my standards into a cup in front of Hina. While the iced tea loses some flavor, its essential appeal comes from the refreshing muscat-like scent and the strong wooden and dense floral notes that brighten up Hina’s office.

“The scent seems a bit strong.”

“Ahaha, it’s a bit milder than before. But how’s work going?”

Hina, resting her chin on her hand and pushing papers aside, examined the iced tea in front of her. While pouring drinks for both Aco and me, I casually asked a question.

It was clear to me that right at that moment, Noa and Seiya were struggling back at the T-party while I was off having tea. The guilt of enjoying this while they were busy crept in on me. I hadn’t been slack like Mika usually did, and my normal diligent work ethic made it all the more prickly.

“Well… it seems like things will go well from here, thanks to you, Mika.”

“Oooh… It’s a bit embarrassing to say such things with Aco here.”

“Uh, please don’t mind me! Seriously, you can treat me as if I’m not even here. Not that I’m asking to actually be treated like I’m not here!”

…What on earth does she want from me? As I looked at Hina, she seemed to just enjoy this charming side of her. Did she want me to let her act naturally like when the two of them were alone?

“Here’s your tea, Aco.”

I placed the completely emptied teapot onto the tray, feeling surprisingly satisfied with its perfect distribution. I remembered that it could be brewed once more; I could leave that for Aco herself to brew later if she wanted more.

The first reactions toward the tea’s taste were quite subtle. I was busy savoring the Darjeeling aroma that spread down my throat, while Aco and Hina were likely encountering a somewhat unfamiliar scent.

“…Hmm, this is pretty good.”

“I think it’s okay too.”

While Hina’s reaction seemed to shift positively, courtesy of the ‘thing I made,’ Aco’s remained less enthusiastic. She didn’t outright dislike it, but it looked like Aco would prefer another type of tea.

“I’ll make you a cup of Darjeeling first flush next time, Aco. Right, usually, when it comes to tea, it’s a slow process to find something that suits your taste. You can’t expect to be full from the first drink.”

“B-By the way, I keep saying this, but I really don’t understand what you’re saying! What the heck are first flush and second flush?!”

“Ahahaha!”

Though it was a simple tea time without any snacks with unfamiliar members, I found myself enjoying it more than expected.

“Say, I’d really like to try lunch at the Gehenna cafeteria; do you think that would be okay?”

“…No, who would expect a Trinity lady to say that? It’s perfectly normal for us to eat at the cafeteria! We’re too busy to go far for food.”

“Oh really? Eating out for lunch is quite common in both Millennium and Trinity. Besides, it’s not like T-party doesn’t have its fair share of things keeping us busy… Now, I’m starting to think you’re running out of excuses to use Trinity as a shield, Aco.”

“Well, Gehenna does have some nice restaurants! Even if those culinary terrorists have come and gone, the decent places are always packed. But since we don’t have the leisure to think about lunch menus, there’s nothing like the cafeteria. It guarantees at least minimal flavor. And also! The T-party consists of just three people including you, the Student Council President, Mika!”

“But if you think about it, we’re in a structure where the T-party has to take care of the jobs that the Manma Battle and Student Council deal with. Unlike the independent Student Council, the Justice Realization Department is, after all, a subsidiary of the T-party.”

“Both of you, stop it. I don’t think it’s necessary to debate who has it harder since we’re all struggling equally. Also, as Aco said, Gehenna’s cafeteria has achieved significant progress this year overall. It’s not gourmet, but I can assume it’s at least decent enough for a lunch who’s somehow improved at least somewhat. This is mostly due to the changes brought by the new students joining the cafeteria.”

When considering the cafeteria food without the eternally disastrous Ushimaki Juri, it’s sure to be at least more delicious than average cafeteria fare. Keeping my expectations low, I couldn’t shake off an ominous feeling as if I had forgotten something important.

…And the only thing that could explain this ominous feeling was the eternal enemy of the cafeteria, the Gourmet Research Club.

No good deed goes unpunished. This phrase might perfectly express the relationship between the cafeteria and the Gourmet Research Club, wouldn’t it?