Time flew by, and before I knew it, the first exam of this semester came to an end.
I could clearly see that my grades would be lower than last year, but this was honestly unavoidable… it was a result that felt downright unbeatable.
First off, there were things I was pushing forward and matters I had to pay attention to.
Plus, idol activities were like monsters that devoured their own time.
To be honest, finding time to spend with my lovers was the most challenging of all.
Amidst all that, I had to report for work and study too. Isn’t this just hell?
Still, since I was studying for my own satisfaction, I decided not to get too anxious about my grades. It wasn’t like my grades were in a perilous state like right after the possession, and I didn’t really need to score well either.
“Mika-senpai, the members from Gehenna have arrived. They’re a bit earlier than expected… Should I tell them to wait? They definitely told you to wait last time during Manma Battle…”
“I don’t think I need to get down to their level. Just tell them to come right up, Hanako-chan. It’s a bit unexpected that they arrived 30 minutes early, but it shouldn’t matter.”
“Okay~!”
Today is the day of the final discussion about the preliminary work before Trinity and Gehenna push the Eden Treaty.
To put it simply, it’s the Trinity-Gehenna experience week. It’s a small project where Trinity and Gehenna exchange a pre-recruited set of students biweekly to let them experience each other’s academy.
60 students are being recruited from each academy, including the personnel in charge.
On Gehenna’s side, we have Aco, Iroha, and Makoto.
With Makoto included, I can’t help but think it’s quite the wrong choice of words to say ‘personnel in charge’…
But there was no way I could exclude Makoto. After all, there was some degree of purpose behind this to prevent her from messing up the Eden Treaty.
Aside from that, I only know Ibuki from Manma Battle? If I exclude that kid, most of the students are strangers to me.
On our side, of course, I’m included. Plus, we have Beatrice, who applied claiming it to be an opportunity to expunge the remnants of hatred etched into her body, Saori who simply said ‘just?’ to join, and Iroha, who I’m not sure if was following Aco or the other way around.
Then, somehow included in the list, was Shimoe Koharu, one of the supplementary class members from the original work.
It turned out that the main characters involved in the Eden Treaty from the original work were all gathered here, a situation that feels like a joke of fate.
The reality? Well, it was directly resulting from the changes I created. Still, I’m genuinely curious why Koharu decided to participate…
Oh, speaking of which. There should be a clear motivation written on the application form.
Coincidentally, today happens to be the day for the final discussion, so all related documents are prepared in the office…
Hmm. Found it.
First-year student from the Justice Realization Department, Shimoe Koharu.
The reason she applied for this exchange student experience…
To meticulously examine information about an enemy she would undoubtedly face one day as an elite?
Huh…? Why on earth was this approved? Including a student who defines the peace treaty counterpart as an enemy can’t possibly not cause issues, right?
I can’t say the competition was fierce, but I remember the number was limited, so it shouldn’t have had a surplus. Hmm…
[There was a request from the Justice Realization Department to ensure students’ safety. I approved it on my own, senpai♡]
Ah, seeing Hanako’s neat handwriting in the notes field, it seems like this must not have been something I approved myself.
For now, I could just overlook this as a cute overreach by our capable secretary.
If one day Hanako suddenly says she wants to be acting president and asks to hand over the host position, I’m confident I could process it within half a day at most, so I didn’t want to nitpick over something like this.
The absence of Hina and Haruna was due to Hina’s strong stance that participating in such events with ulterior motives was undesirable.
Putting that aside, Haruna declared her absence stating she’d rather visit a new restaurant during that time, and Hina had to maintain Gehenna’s safety regardless of ETO’s existence.
In the end, it’s a rather useless aspect of Makoto’s Manma Battle… though saying that would probably be inappropriate, right?
Anyway.
Even though each academy has over five hundred students, some questioned how significant a result could come from just 60 students. Nevertheless, if we record and edit everything into a video, we might be able to expect some interesting effects from that.
I mean, these days it seems no one avoids video media. Unless you’re like me and maintain that starting might lead to problems, it shouldn’t be an issue…
[Mika-senpai~.]
“Ah, yes. Let them in!”
The Gehenna members arrived much earlier than expected. Hanako, with Aco and Iroha trailing behind her like a tail, came up to me with a smile.
“Hello. Mika-san, you didn’t inform us that the Trinity exam period would end today when scheduling… sigh.”
“I have no idea what you’re trying to pull. It felt like being made the show for others. This is why I dislike Trinity…”
“I’m afraid I have to agree with Aco-senpai today… the Trinity folks are indeed unpleasant.”
“Could you stop casually throwing shade about Trinity while sitting right in front of two Trinity members? If you had come in civilian clothes, you wouldn’t have drawn that much attention, you know? Not like you have horns or a tail or anything. Right?”
As I said that, I tried to grab the prepared documents… but Hanako has already taken care of them. I nodded once, then approached the reception table and sat on the sofa, offering the opposite seats to Aco and Iroha as a bonus.
“…That’s why I feel unpleasant about it. If you’d just recommended casual clothes beforehand, it would have been fine. What’s with the after-the-fact comments? Are you teasing us?”
“Sigh… It’s exhausting to sit next to someone as annoying as the Trinity folks.”
“…Huh? Did you just say all that?”
“…”
“Hey, Iroha-chan. Could you take your hand off that?”
“…Tch.”
“What’s going on? Why are you two talking while I’m here like I’m invisible?”
I mean, I tried to stop Iroha when she reached for the detective’s watch. I explicitly told her not to use it on anyone other than Makoto, but surely she hadn’t been misusing it behind my back… No, not Iroha, right?
“Basing it all on that fact, of course, the conclusion will have to be that we proceed with it. The dorms and classrooms for classes are already confirmed. Is there really anything else to discuss here?”
“While it’s just a formal meeting, that’s what makes it important. Here are the documents for the students from Trinity.”
“…Mika-san. You found a secretary, I see?”
Seeing Hanako place the documents in front of them, Iroha seemed to harbor some inexplicable hostility…
Ah.
“Haha, indeed! Back then, I was really upset when Iroha-chan rejected my recruitment offer. Luckily, I succeeded in finding such a capable secretary☆”
“Hehe, I’m Urawa Hanako, Mika-senpai’s exclusive secretary. My contract period is… for life!”
“…Is that so.”
With a casual remark, Iroha looked at Hanako intently for a moment.
Then she stood up.
“Oh?”
Iroha, walking over casually, plopped down right beside me and lightly kicked off her shoes.
“Uh, Iroha-chan?”
“Just for a moment, I’m borrowing your legs.”
With her legs draped over the edge of the sofa, Iroha laid her head on my thigh.
“…Iroha, is that an appropriate attitude for someone representing Manma Battle?”
“I’ll be transferring all authority regarding today’s discussion to the Student Council. I’ll leave the troublesome matters to you, Aco-senpai.”
“Y-You! You can’t just shove tasks onto me like that!”
“Ah… this is cozy. Mika-san, if I get a transfer offer now, I’ll definitely accept it. Would you still deny it?”
“Wh-What?! Are you serious now…?!”
Aco grimaced and started to vent her frustrations, then shut her eyes tightly and clutched her head. I could hear what sounded like her muted complaints of, ‘Why do those damn Manma Battle people always cause me trouble…’
“Haha! The train has already left, Iroha-chan.”
“How regrettable. Nothing can be done, I guess. I’ll just focus on reading for now, so you two reach a suitable conclusion. Skipping classes at all-girls academies might have a unique charm, after all.”
“…What on earth? Is she completely out of her mind or what?!”
Amidst all this, I found it strange that the book Iroha was reading was titled “Memory Sickness” by Noa.
“Well, it shouldn’t matter much. In that context, could you hand me the documents you prepared? Yeah, let’s skim through them quickly and wrap things up, Aco-chan.”
“…Mika-san. Would you like to make a bet with me?”
“I don’t know what it’s about, but I’m not in!☆”
“Just try listening first and then respond!”
“I’m not interested, okay?!”
“…Ah, come on! Seriously, how did you become such a coward after losing to that raccoon even once? Didn’t you used to casually talk about winning while being in Trinity?!”
“…”
Ah. This is starting to get on my nerves.
“The loser will have to look over the documents the winner is supposed to check. What about it? Doesn’t that sound tempting?!”
“What’s the point of checking the documents the other has to see… If we’re not going to review them, then what’s even the point of setting up this meeting?”
“Shut it… The wager is… alright, we’ll do it that way!”
What Aco pointed to was the chessboard I used to play against Nagisa.
“…sigh.”
“So, are we doing it or not?!”
It may not even have any significance as a wager, but there was no choice left now.
