You gotta hear my side...
I had intended to start off with an overwhelmingly display of aura to assert my dominance, but I had underestimated how fragile her psyche was. Whoopsies, kinda made her cry.
"Waaahhh—!"
sauce
In the silent night, Hiyori sobbed uncontrollably. "Has the leader already been harmed? Waaaah… I knew it! Why haven't we seen her in so long… Even the leader betrayed everyone… She must have suffered unimaginable cruelty… Was Azusa deceived too…? Am I next? Waaaah… Why is this world always filled with so much pain…?"
"W-wait a moment..."
Even though this place was remote, Hiyori's reckless sobbing risked attracting patrolling personnel if it continued.
But Hiyori didn't listen at all, tears streaming down her face:
"Waaah… Am I going to be locked in Schale's basement and treated as cruelly as the leader? It's so sad… After my life ends, who will be next? Azusa, Misaki, the princess… Are the five of us supposed to reunite in Schale's basement? I don't want that to happen…"
If Arius's living conditions really ended up like that, it would basically be a reward for you all, right!?
When Saori first ate dinner at Schale's, even those eyes that seemed uninterested in everything lit up!
Come to think of it, when Saori asked me about how long the food would last, maybe she wanted to take it back and share it with her companions…
Hiyori's crying made my head ache even more, and with no better solution, I could only awkwardly urge:
"Please… stop crying for now…"
If this sudden noise actually drew the attention of the police or the Justice Task Force, how would I even explain it?
Unfortunately, my worry soon became reality. Though not entirely.
Just as I tried desperately to calm Hiyori, I heard a faint whistling sound, like something had been thrown.
The next moment, I realized exactly what it was.
"Light of retribution!"
With the clear cry following it, even though I tried to close my eyes instantly, I was too late.
In an instant, a brilliant flash and a deafening blast assaulted me. My vision was filled with pure white, my ears rang, and I felt dizzy and nauseous, barely able to remain standing.
Fortunately, a pair of hands reached out just in time to steady me.
This was perhaps the greatest weakness of the Shittim Chest.
After the chaos, the first clear thought that came to my mind was exactly that.
"Sensei! Sensei! Are you okay?"
After a moment, my vision and hearing gradually returned. I shook my head toward the still slightly blurred but recognizable figure beside me:
"I'm fine. Suzumi… long time no see."
I had seen this young lady before.
The story went back to my first day in Kivotos.
At that time, I had yet to understand the situation and stumbled upon the Seven Prisoners escaping the correctional facility, leading a group of delinquent mobs to cause chaos around Schale, along with official representatives from the three main academies, and a few students with more free time, who happened to come question the GSC President.
Because the council was understaffed, Rin, always skilled at using people effectively, ordered those four students without hesitation to protect me, a newcomer, as we headed to Schale.
Through the opportunity of fighting side by side, I developed a good rapport with these four students. Their identities were:
Representing Millennium: Seminar Treasurer, Hayase Yuuka.
Representing Trinity: Justice Task Force Vice Pres, Hanekawa Hasumi.
Representing Gehenna: Prefect Team member, Hinomiya Chinatsu.
And lastly, representing as the Trinity Vigilante Crew Member, Morizuki Suzumi.
The girl before me now with white hair, red eyes, a wing on the left side of her head, delicate features was Suzumi.
SAUCE
She was, according to Rin, an "independent person with nothing better to do."
Coincidentally, since then, I had never met Suzumi in real life, only occasionally chatting on Momotalk. I hadn't expected our reunion to occur under these circumstances.
Seeing her again after so many days, I should have been somewhat pleased, but because of her decisive flashbang-like attack earlier, doubts began to fill my mind... Did I somehow offend her back then? Wasn't she supposed to be one of the five who first fell for me?
Honestly, if it weren't for Suzumi's genuine-looking apology and embarrassment, I might have suspected she was also an Arius student, intentionally coming to rescue Hiyori, who seemed to be struggling under my oversight.
"Waaahhh—!" Hiyori rubbed her swollen red eyes, crying even louder. "Se-sensei… did your subordinates arrive? Are you going to take me away too? Nooo! Even if everything is meaningless, I still want to finish reading the magazine I just found! Please spare me and everyone else! I'll do anything!"
Looking at it now, Suzumi was probably just a bit too hasty in her sense of justice.
"Um, sensei," Suzumi frowned slightly at Hiyori's pitiful crying. "May I ask…? Even though I hope nothing bad happened, I must warn you, if you actually did something wrong, even if it's you, sensei, I won't turn a blind eye."
I paused for a moment, thinking how to get through this smoothly.
The critical issue wasn't what I had done, it was that Hiyori's identity must remain hidden.
"Waa… i-it's… my fault…"
Yet at that moment, Hiyori suddenly hiccupped out her sobs.
Suzumi gently asked, "If it's convenient, could you tell me exactly what happened?"
But Hiyori just shook her head, saying nothing, so Suzumi turned her questioning gaze toward me.
"Sorry, this concerns the child's privacy, so…"
"…I see. I understand," Suzumi nodded. "Sorry for misunderstanding and troubling both of you."
"It's fine. Honestly, given the situation, it would be strange not to misunderstand."
"Thank you for understanding… but no matter what, this is still a public place, and at this hour…"
"I understand, I understand," I said, holding Hiyori's hand, sincerely assuring Suzumi, "I'll speak with her properly."
Suzumi hesitated, glanced at Hiyori for a moment, then said goodbye and turned to leave.
Once her figure disappeared, I turned to Hiyori, whose crying had mostly subsided, but whose face was smeared with snot and tears, and sighed inwardly.
What on earth is going on here?
Beatrice, damn you.
Thinking this, I took out a handkerchief and handed it to Hiyori, calmly saying:
"Wipe yourself. Then, let's talk properly."
At my words, the green-haired girl shivered again.