After sending Noah and Aris back, Rion and I shifted to a serious topic.
Before the two of them arrived, we debated the direction of the relationship we were aiming for… or rather, we were just being all lovey-dove. With Rion, who was passionate about love like some protagonist in a shoujo manga, beside me, it was hard to focus on anything serious.
But still, I had to address some things. Yup.
“First off, about the plans you were keeping secret. Is there anything else besides Eridu?”
Apart from Eridu, I was fishing for information about any kidnapping schemes or Toki’s existence, lumping it all together into a question that implied “it’s all connected to Eridu.”
Rion seemed to understand my concern and nodded immediately.
“At this point, there’s nothing I’ve kept secret from you. Just some confidential Millennium matters that I can’t discuss. Of course, I know I’ve betrayed your trust, and because of that, your trust in me has significantly diminished…”
“Hmm, I see. But I don’t really remember betraying your trust…”
“…What?”
“Well, I figured at least once, I’d probably get backstabbed… so it wasn’t so much a betrayal of trust on my part. Haha, just kidding! Relax, why the long face?”
Honestly, I liked that Rion was changing for the better, but having to tiptoe around her feelings made me a bit uneasy. She had crumbled hard once before, so I was naturally more sensitive about it.
“Anyway! Contrary to what you might think, I don’t believe you’ve betrayed my trust at all. Yup. And I still trust you.”
“…I don’t really get what you see in me.”
Well, it seemed like I could send Aris to ten academies without a problem, right?
Of course, that was just a joke. Who knows, maybe there’ll come a day when I actually say something like that, but today is not that day.
“Well, I don’t really know what I see in you either☆”
I casually replied, intentionally locking eyes with Rion, who was sitting a bit away from me. It suddenly struck me that she had a different vibe than mine.
“But you know, one thing I’m sure of is… my Rion is more fragile and kind than you think.”
And I simply wanted to be there for her, to support her.
Alright, let’s wrap this topic up. I hoped this would mean Rion wouldn’t turn into a nervous wreck when she was around me.
“Anyway, if you aren’t secretly plotting anything else, that’s good. Yup. Even if you tell me not to trust you, I’ll still believe in you even if you can’t trust yourself.”
Once I said that, I felt Rion’s gaze sharpen. Did I go a bit overboard?
…Let’s cut this short. Changing the subject was the best course of action.
“By the way, how’s your work as Student Council President these days? I know you’re busy…”
“Busy? That might be a bit of an understatement. Not only am I handling the aftermath of the Millennium Autonomous District, but thanking everyone who lent a hand in our crisis and making up for it has been the most exhausting task.”
I knew well that those kids didn’t step up to help Millennium out of the goodness of their hearts. It was all a huge mess caused by my kidnapping.
But in the end, it was true that those who came to Millennium contributed greatly to mitigating the damage to the Autonomous District.
Saori and Heungsinso 68, the Arius Squad without Saori, the Rescue Knights, the Justice Realization Department, the Student Council, T-party, Gourmet Research Club…
…Looking at it this way, a lot of people really stepped up.
Adding to that, Rion had also done her best to thank and acknowledge those who stepped in, not just the ones in the SRT and Abydos Planning Committee, but also the teachers and the Student Council.
“The next thing would be… the budget issue.”
“…Ahaha.”
If I thought about the financial state of Millennium after being hit back-to-back with the embezzlement involving Koyuki’s bonds and the scale of building up an entire city, I didn’t even want to imagine what it would be like. Yuuka might’ve recently experienced fainting while standing because of that.
…When things start to go dark in front of you, does the Halo start to blink, and do you get to see a student standing still with a dark Halo when fainting while upright?
Pushing aside those completely unnecessary thoughts, I quietly patted the back of Rion’s hand.
“But it’s not all hopeless.”
Surprisingly, Rion seemed to have found a way out of that daunting situation.
“I’ve been in touch with the captain of a ship called Golden Fleece. We’re in the early stages of discussion now. If everything goes well, we might be able to resolve the bonds Koyuki left behind.”
“…Wow—☆”
Did she actually manage that? For real?
When I asked with my eyes, Rion averted her gaze, looking a bit shy before speaking.
“It’s not finalized just yet. There’s still a possibility things could go sideways. However, since it’s to stabilize the financial situation even slightly, I’m going to give it my all.”
…Suddenly, seeing Rion dedicated to tidying things up as Student Council President made me think about the original Rion who used to yell, “I’m resigning! Please take care of the aftermath!” It felt kind of amazing.
“…It’s tough, but it’s something I brought upon myself. Since my arrogance caused a major inconvenience for everyone, it’s only natural for me to do my utmost to fix it.”
While I silently listened to Rion, I entwined my fingers on top of hers. That made her look up at me.
For a moment, as I gazed into the oddly captivating depths of her eyes, I broke into a smile.
She could hardly know how proud I felt about her. So, I needed to let her know.
“Rion, how about we take a vacation together sometime?”
“…A vacation?”
“From your reaction, I can tell you’ve never run away from work just for a vacation. Aha… but then again, knowing you, you probably haven’t had the time or mental space for that.”
Rion had been convinced for a very long time that destruction was imminent. At least since last year, maybe longer.
A person like that wouldn’t allow themselves a break.
“Well, even though there are mountains of tasks to manage right now…”
We still had the property damage from the Ark crash and the resulting transportation issues to tackle.
Moreover, if Rion were to solve the issues of losing control over the AMAS to Key, which had caused their trust to plummet among the Millennium citizens… honestly, I wasn’t sure if I could confidently avoid running away from that.
I figured that Misono Mika’s strength stemmed from being the escape artist of sorts.
However long the mess would take to manage, I couldn’t expect it all to just get sorted out in Kivotos.
From deciding whether to preserve the Ark or dismantle it, to dealing with the remaining Nameless Guardians, and then the havoc unleashed by Eridu’s absence which had completely fused the ruins and Millennium Autonomous District together.
Each issue was a headache, and to resolve them all would realistically take at least a month. If it took longer, it could stretch to six months or even longer.
A month was a long time in Kivotos, where you could build a building in under an hour.
Still, I believed we would have enough time. I didn’t think it was impossible to enjoy a vacation with Rion before summer was over.
As for Rion’s consent?
Just looking at those eyes that turned hopeful the instant I mentioned a vacation told me she would agree. It’s not like I suddenly started clutching any opportunity to go on a vacation for no reason.
“You can take your time to respond to that☆”
I needed to come up with a vacation plan for August. It was important to make sure the schedule didn’t disappoint the others.
…When the time came, sacrificing was bound to be the time spent in the cathedral, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious about the nagging from Mari at the end.
“By the way, how are things between you and Himari recently?”
“…Compared to before, we’ve been having a fair bit of conversations. During this situation, Himari is also trying her best to contribute. The habit of blaming me is nearly non-existent now.”
“Hmm… That’s good to hear.”
It was certainly intriguing. What exactly in Rion had fundamentally changed Himari’s perception?
Anyway, it was really nice that those two, who seemed to still want to bicker, could finally reconcile.
While there were undoubtedly diplomatic issues to solve between Millennium and Trinity, I decided to push that thought completely aside. It would be more effective for me to focus on calming down the T-party instead of discussing it here with Rion.
[58 reasons why Misono Mika, a truly virtuous leader in this era, should become the head of the Student Council, stepping up for the sake of other autonomous districts in crisis.]
…Though it seems some unresolved problems surfaced in a slightly different context, I still had no clue how to tackle them, so I opted to pass on that.
“Hey, Rion.”
“What is it, Mika?”
“Well, it’s nothing big. Just for a moment, do you want to lie down here?”
I lightly tapped my thigh, and Rion blinked, appearing unsure about why I had suddenly offered my knee as a pillow.
“Come on.”
“…Alright.”
Rion rested her head on my legs. She was lying sideways, so I added a request for her to lie back.
“…This isn’t my favorite position.”
“Huh?”
“Mika, I can’t really see your face.”
“…Ahaha.”
That was an unfortunate situation where I couldn’t easily fix that. And if our roles were reversed, I wouldn’t have seen Rion’s face at all.
Ignoring her little complaint, I gently patted her head with one hand.
“Thank you, Rion.”
“Mika, I’m not quite sure what you’re thanking me for, but I don’t recall doing anything to deserve gratitude.”
“Hehe… just… thank you.”
“…I should be the one thanking you for meeting someone like you, who is beyond my own expectations.”
That day, the miracle that found us stemmed largely from Rion doing her utmost while also minding Himari’s well-being.
So, not just Key and Aris, Rion had practically saved both herself and me too. You could view it as a sort of tying up loose ends.
At least what I had learned from the original story had mostly been dealt with. My obsessive wish to achieve an outcome better than the original story had finally dissipated.
“Such trivial things don’t matter. Yup, friends are those who support each other in tough times. So, Rion? Let’s keep being good to each other going forward☆”
For the princess.
For the maid serving the princess.
And even the Demon King had a happy ending.
And there exists a sentence that fits perfectly to conclude a fairy-tale-like story.
Happily ever after.
May our happiness last forever.
