As evening approached and Mika, who had said she had something to do in the afternoon, still hadn’t contacted her, Nagisa felt something strange and quickly tried to call her.

The moment the third call attempt failed in a row, she couldn’t help but tremble with unease.

In the past, the memory loss incident that happened the day after Mika’s possession.

Though it was a bit more complex than simple memory loss, at its core, it was an accident that occurred on a day when her close friend Mika could not be contacted, which had been enough to instill a certain trauma in Nagisa.

Soon after, Mika’s kidnapping incident carried out by Haruna strongly stimulated that trauma, causing Nagisa to lose her grip entirely and commit irrational acts that she would never have done under normal circumstances.

Thus, it was clearly proven that Nagisa was heavily influenced by the trauma whenever she couldn’t get in touch with Mika.

However, all of this had happened before they developed their romantic relationship.

“So, you don’t know where Mika-chan has gone either, Wakamo-chan?”

“I’m sorry…”

“…No, there’s no need for you to apologize, Wakamo-chan. If there’s any blame, it falls entirely on her for not mentioning her destination to anyone.”

Taking a deep breath, Nagisa immediately called someone. This time, it was not Mika.

[Oh my, Nagisa-senpai♡ What’s the occasion for your call——]

“Mika-chan isn’t answering her phone.”

[…Could you tell me more details?]

Hana’s voice, normally carefree, suddenly became three times more serious.

“I don’t exactly know the details, but it’s rare for Mika-chan to not respond like this. If someone like her isn’t answering… I think it could only mean two things: either she lost her phone or she’s in a genuinely serious situation.”

[So you’re suspecting the latter.]

“I’d be relieved if it were just a case of her losing her phone, but with her… you can never be too sure. The reason I contacted you, Hana-chan, is to ask for your help.”

[How exactly can I help? I’m not sure I could be of much help in scouting places that Mika-senpai would likely be, though…]

“…Well, that’s obvious. But I think the only one who could answer this part is someone who is closest to Mika-chan. So, in that sense, Hana-chan, is there anything that comes to mind if it’s something super private that Mika-chan wouldn’t tell anyone?”

Silence followed. After hearing Nagisa’s question, Hana closed her eyes and fell deep into thought.

After about three minutes of silence, just when Nagisa couldn’t hold it anymore and was about to set down her teacup to speak, Hana finally spoke up.

[If it’s something so private that Mika-senpai probably wouldn’t even drop a hint about it, there’s a high chance it’s an extremely private meeting… But in that case, there shouldn’t be a reason for her to lose contact. So it must be an issue that is secret enough that she didn’t even mention it to me.]

Nagisa’s eyes widened at hearing that. If it was something so secret that Mika hadn’t told her direct secretary Hana, then surely something must have popped into her head.

“…Hearing that gives me a bit of intuition.”

If that was related to Mika’s possession, then it could involve something regarding returning the ‘real Mika,’ which she had hidden from everyone, including herself.

In an instant, Nagisa’s thoughts transitioned to the next step.

“The issue is the location. I can somewhat guess the purpose of Mika-chan’s meeting, but that information doesn’t help much in finding her. However, one thing’s for certain: It’s likely a place that isn’t open to the public.”

[So we don’t have a fitting course of action, do we? At this rate, I feel like we should attach a tracker to you or something… ]

“The only one who might have a sufficient plan is you, Hana-chan, which is why I called you. If this is just my overreacting, then that would be wonderful, but with Mika, I can’t just take an easygoing approach; she’s someone I’d trade my life for. So, please…”

Hana was internally impressed by the heartfelt sentiment coming through the phone. She prided herself on her dedication too, but Nagisa’s level was on a whole different scale.

So Hana thought long and hard…

[…I have something. A place like the one senpai mentioned.]

She successfully recalled a location related to Mika that was not publicly known.

“…Where exactly is that?”

[The High Cathedral of the Union. It’s a historic place where the First Ecumenical Council was held a long time ago. I’m sure you know that…]

“Wait. That’s supposed to be accessible by anyone——”

[No… You’re wrong, Nagisa-senpai. The High Cathedral of the Union is currently under strict access control by Mika-senpai’s orders.]

“Did the Sisterhood permit such a thing?”

[I believe you directly negotiated with Sister Sakurako to allow that. I don’t know exactly what was discussed… unfortunately.]

Nagisa felt her head go blank at this new information, instinctively shaking her head. Now was not the time to feel upset about the fact that Mika hadn’t shared this information with her.

“…I need to head over there right now.”

[So we’ll… Wait? The teacher’s going with you…?]

“Teacher?”

[Oh, yes. Aco-san and the teacher were just looking around the dorms provided for the Gehenna students and they happen to be right next to me now. So, Nagisa-senpai, I’ll see you in front of the cathedral.]

“…Thank you, Hana-chan. Truly.”

[No need to thank me, senpai.]

As she hung up, Nagisa’s gaze shifted to Wakamo.

“…I don’t need to ask, right?”

“Yep, of course. Let’s get going. I, Wakamo, will take care of the helicopter.”

With that, Wakamo donned her mask and wielded her gun.

Watching her, Nagisa almost asked if there was really any need to narrow her field of vision like that while driving, but she decided against it. It was important to avoid upsetting the driver’s mood.

*

“…Ugh, how annoying.”

On days when there were no activities or practices for Blooming Buds, the Student Council President’s routine was always the same. If she felt it was necessary, she would review the class material, and if not…

Of course, then she did absolutely nothing. Because, you know, it was annoying.

And with the exchange student experience week coming up, her idol activities were on a break, so Hina was finally able to enjoy that sweet nothingness.

Getting into bed, doing nothing under a warm blanket, and reclining in the massage chair that Mika had prepared for her.

Amidst her deliberations, Hina finally threw herself onto the bed. Yet, despite claiming to be doing nothing, she pulled out her phone.

There was one habit Hina had picked up since she started dating Mika: whenever she had nothing to do, she would at least check in with Mika.

While her body remained quietly at rest, as long as she could hear Mika’s voice and have a conversation, that was the most efficient way to pass the time.

In a way, yes. Talking to Mika could also be categorized as doing nothing.

However, as the call connecting sound continued without Mika picking up, Hina felt her already languid body feel even more drained of energy.

To simplify, it meant her mood had soured.

‘I wonder if she’s back to her original self by now. It was nice with our heights being similar… I was actually a bit taller though.’

Since this feeling was something she didn’t normally experience, it felt precious, yet she couldn’t fully enjoy it because of the responsibilities she held, and she felt a touch of resentment over that.

‘Now that I think about it, Aco hasn’t returned yet either. She must still be at Trinity since she would’ve reported in if she was on her way back… So envious.’

Sighing deeply, Hina decided to cautiously try calling again. Well, she was going to, but then the phone rang first.

A momentary thrill surged, but upon checking the caller ID, Hina sighed again. It seemed the chief administrative officer had returned to Gehenna.

It wasn’t that she disliked Aco, but she was hoping for a call from Mika… so feeling disappointed, Hina buried her face into her pillow and answered.

[Oh, President. I think you should know the situation here. Right now, we can’t reach Mika-san——]

“…What did you just say, Aco?”

[As you heard, currently, no one can get in touch with Mika-san. According to Nagisa-san, there’s a possibility that something has happened… ]

“…What? What happened?”

[I’m sorry, President… I don’t have full details. However, I’ve heard that Mika-san was supposedly engaged in a secret matter. It seems Nagisa-san has some knowledge on that… ]

“…I’ll head there right now, so keep reporting any unusual developments, Aco.”

Barely five minutes had passed since she had sunk into her bed, and Sorasaki Hina quickly got out of bed and put on her Student Council uniform.

With no thoughts of being lazy or anything, the Gehenna Student Council President grabbed a firearm.

She deeply hoped that nothing significant had happened and that they were just being overly cautious…