The temporary holding cell aboard the Golden Fleece.
"Sensei, this is an extremely dangerous individual."
After the autograph session ended, I merely made a casual remark, and one of the Odyssey students who had escorted me here immediately pointed solemnly at the orange-haired girl imprisoned behind bars, still wearing an arrogant expression.
"You were there just now, Sensei, but perhaps you don't fully understand just how dangerous she is. According to our intelligence, she is Millennium's elite agent organization's ace, Mikamo Neru. Although we don't know why someone like her would infiltrate the Golden Fleece and cause such a disturbance, the fact that we managed to subdue her this time was truly a stroke of luck."
Neru, who had been shooting me puzzled glances as though she couldn't understand how I'd somehow blended in with the guards, snorted when she heard that.
"If I wasn't wearing these shoes, and if I hadn't been ordered not to go overboard, then even in a cramped place like this, I could've beaten all of you flying by myself."
"While I can't deny that, who told you to steal our crewmate's clothes? Besides, doesn't that already count as going overboard? Ending up like this is entirely your own fault."
"I borrowed them!"
Seeing the argument about to escalate, I hesitated briefly before sighing and interrupting.
"Actually... sorry. Neru and I are together."
Admiration is the emotion farthest from understanding.
The card that remained completely unresponsive even now was proof of that.
Rather than making excuses that would easily be exposed and shatter their image of me afterward, it seemed better to simply tell the truth. Maybe I could even negotiate with them using the goodwill the entire Golden Fleece crew held toward me.
Besides, putting Asuna aside for the moment, Karin and Akane still hadn't appeared.
Perhaps they'd found Koyuki and gone after her.
As long as our companions were still outside, the mission wasn't entirely hopeless.
"What!?"
The student leading the group was shocked. Then she seemed to realize something and smiled.
"Right. Of course you know her, Sensei. But you don't have to help her even in this. Problems between schools should be handled through proper extradition procedures."
I shook my head.
"No. You all know this already, don't you? I didn't board the ship through normal means. Even the name on my ticket was fake."
"Huh? Wasn't that just because you wanted to avoid trouble, Sensei?"
The student froze, then turned toward Neru in outrage.
"You Millennium people are unbelievable! You actually forced Sensei to help with something like this!?"
That filter was way too strong...
Though on the Golden Fleece, perhaps that was normal.
Embarrassed, I rubbed my nose.
"I volunteered..."
The moment those words left my mouth, the guards erupted into an uproar.
The way they looked at me immediately became strange.
Honestly, that might not be a bad thing.
If their fan filters weakened a little, interacting with them in the future would probably be easier for me.
The student leader looked equally stunned.
Then her expression shifted several times before settling into something I never could have anticipated.
Tears.
She said emotionally,
"Sensei, I understand. You must have some unavoidable hardship you're carrying, right? And yet despite that, you're still being so honest. I... I'm about to cry!"
The bunny girls behind her all suddenly looked enlightened.
Then they too adopted expressions mixing guilt and admiration.
Stop it! What exactly are you all understanding on your own!?
I was beginning to feel like I'd really have to maintain an idol image on the Golden Fleece, or perhaps throughout Odyssey Academy itself...
But if I'd known from the beginning that all the students aboard this ship were so fond of me, perhaps I would've split up from C&C from the start and attempted to negotiate peacefully with the Golden Fleece's upper management by myself, arranging for Koyuki's return to Millennium.
Just as I was about to explain the purpose of our visit to the bunny-suited students, the cell door suddenly opened.
Then came a cheerful and very familiar voice.
"Yahho∼ Senpai! Long time no see! Huh? Why are there so many people here? Sensei too?"
Turning around, I found Koyuki.
Not only had she specifically come to this holding cell, she was also wearing a thoroughly triumphant expression.
Given her personality, her intentions were obvious.
However, the fact that she'd appeared here also meant Karin and Akane had failed to intercept her.
"Thank you all for your hard work, Miss Guards!"
She spoke casually.
"Could I trouble you all to wait outside for now? If anything comes up, I'll call for you!"
"Huh? Why would we..."
"Hm? Isn't that a perfectly reasonable request from a customer? Listening to customers' needs is your duty as security guards, isn't it? I've spent a huuuge amount of money on this ship, you know!"
Koyuki's attitude was incredibly arrogant, yet the guards couldn't really refute her.
Instead, they looked toward me.
"Sensei, then what about..."
"Sensei obviously doesn't have to leave!"
Koyuki interrupted before they could finish.
But the guards weren't concerned about that issue, so they ignored her rude attitude entirely.
After thinking for a moment, I smiled and said,
"In that case, I'll stay here a little longer. Thank you all for your hard work."
There were indeed things I wanted to hear directly from Koyuki.
And with only students from the same school present, while she was in an unusually smug mood, now was the perfect opportunity.
"It's no hardship at all when we're serving Sensei!"
The Golden Fleece students immediately perked up and quickly withdrew from the holding cell.
Watching this, Koyuki looked confused.
"Huh? Did Sensei somehow get an S-Rank VIP ticket? Why do all those guard sisters seem so respectful toward you?"
First of all, their respect had nothing to do with any external status.
It was purely due to my outstanding personal charisma.
Second, I hoped Koyuki would take a moment to reflect on whether her own behavior deserved respect.
Unfortunately, her attention span was as fleeting as ever.
She quickly forgot the question and turned toward Neru.
"Geez∼ You really scared me earlier∼ When Asuna-senpai's familiar face suddenly appeared on the screen, I thought, no way... Then I turned around and immediately saw Neru-senpai with the exact same grumpy face as always...!"
As she spoke, she patted her chest with lingering fear before proudly puffing it out.
"But everything's totally fine now! After all, I'm being very well protected as a customer of this ship! There are so many security guards here, they're practically my personal bodyguards! Even powerful senpais like you can't do anything against numbers like these, right∼?"
She continued rambling.
"There were already lots of guards before, but there are still plenty more, you know? And even though the ship operates somewhat independently now, you don't really want to make an enemy of an entire academy, right? Since your identities have already been exposed, doesn't that mean the operation failed? Hmm∼ Though I guess there is one possibility left for you senpais..."
She grinned.
"Like getting an S Rank in the Recreation Hall's games and becoming a VIP or something?"
Then she burst out laughing.
"If that happened, you'd supposedly get privileges beyond the rules themselves, so maybe you could break out of this situation! Nihahahahaha! But∼ that's basically a fantasy, isn't it∼?"
No.
There was another possibility.
I could make a small sacrifice myself and persuade the Golden Fleece to turn a blind eye to C&C's actions.
Compared to the goodwill of Millennium's Seminar and the affection people held for me as an idol, Koyuki's rights and opinions probably weren't nearly as important as she imagined.
"You senpais don't have much money on you either, right? I've already poured an enormous amount into this place and still never got one. So I'm pretty sure they don't actually exist∼!"
There was some logic to that conclusion.
But it was also possible that Koyuki's luck was simply that terrible.
Meanwhile, the pink-haired girl continued her victory speech.
"I, Kurosaki Koyuki, will definitely escape Millennium's evil clutches this time! I'll become the master of this ship, drive all you senpais away, and live a wonderful life without being bothered by work. Then I can go do Schale duty whenever I want!"
Ah....
If that day ever came, she'd probably run into Noa and Yuuka, who'd simply establish a Seminar branch office inside Schale.
And they'd likely be at maximum anger.
So...
Could the real reason Koyuki ran away simply be because she couldn't visit Schale often enough?
Wait!
Wasn't Schale duty still work?
Could it really be that her feelings for me were responsible!?
But after thinking about it, I felt that even without Schale or me, someone who already hated Seminar work and frequently ran away would've probably done something similar eventually.
"Hah. You sure are chirpy today."
Neru spoke coldly.
"Having fun, are you? Did all that gaming ruin your eyesight too? Or did you completely forget what manners are? Didn't you notice Sensei is here?"
However, Koyuki merely laughed.
"Nihahaha∼ Neru-senpai really has no moves left, huh∼? Trying to drive a wedge between Sensei and me with such a clumsy tactic! But don't worry! Sensei and I have the kind of relationship where we don't need to bother with formalities!"
What kind of relationship?
Weren't we just an ordinary Kivotos-style teacher-student relationship that hadn't even developed very far yet?
"Hah? What nonsense are you talking about?" Neru frowned. "That's just what you think."
"Hehe∼ Is it∼?"
Koyuki simply smiled mysteriously, making Neru even more irritated.
Then the pink-haired girl tilted her head and looked at me with her unusual pink eyes marked by star-shaped pupils.
"Come to think of it, I never asked. Sensei, why did you come to a place like this? Did you happen to run into Neru-senpai by coincidence, or were you together?"
Before I could answer, she started theorizing on her own.
"Ah! I know! It must be Yuuka-senpai's scheme! Using Sensei like this is way too underhanded!"
She even puffed out her cheeks indignantly.
"Actually, Yuuka and the others were genuinely worried about you. More importantly..." I said, putting in a good word for Yuuka before asking, "What exactly have you been doing here, Koyuki? You haven't been up to anything strange, have you?"
"Mm... So the senpais were actually worried about me..."
She paused.
"Was Sensei worried too?"
"Of course I was."
"Ehehehe∼"
The pink-haired girl smiled shyly.
Her mood seemed to improve even further.
"Thank you, Sensei!"
From what I'd observed so far, Koyuki only ever displayed such polite and affectionate behavior when interacting with me.
Then she seemed to reminisce.
"But I haven't really been doing anything strange here...?"
I pressed further.
"I heard that you issued bonds in Seminar's name. Is that true?"
Koyuki suddenly seemed to understand.
"Ahhh, that. I just ran out of money while playing games, so I borrowed a tiny little bit."
As she spoke, she held up her fingers to indicate a very small amount.
In other words, the crisis that had nearly bankrupted Seminar really had been caused by Koyuki losing control of herself and dumping enormous amounts of money into games.
While it basically confirmed there was no conspiracy involved, from another perspective, it was somehow even more ridiculous.
At this point even Neru couldn't stay silent.
"Hey. I've heard the numbers involved. That wasn't 'a tiny little bit.' Do you even know how much money you spent? I'm guessing you never bothered keeping track at all, right?"
"Hmm, I never really calculated it..."
Koyuki answered lightly, as though she'd done nothing wrong.
"Whenever I wanted to use money, I just used it. So if you add it all together, maybe it was a lot∼"
"It wasn't 'maybe a lot∼'!" Neru snapped. "I don't remember the exact figure either, but it was absurd!"
"Even if you say that, I never counted."
Koyuki wrinkled her nose.
"Besides, if I run out of money, can't I just get more from somewhere else?"
"What if Millennium runs out of money entirely?"
"Then there are other schools, aren't there?"
Exactly.
What did other schools' money have to do with Millennium?
At this point, Neru calmed herself and changed her approach.
"...Putting that aside, have you really never thought there's something wrong with spending other people's money without permission?"
"No? What's wrong with it?"
True to her hair color, Koyuki looked genuinely puzzled.
Then she continued confidently.
"Money is meant to circulate. I think letting it sit around unused is what's strange."
At that point it became abundantly clear just how selfish and self-centered Koyuki's way of thinking was.
She genuinely couldn't even recognize where the problem lay.
"...You understand now, don't you, Sensei?"
Neru let out a long breath and complained to me.
"This is the kind of person she is. You literally can't communicate with her."
That wasn't entirely true.
It depended on who was talking to her.
Neru herself was actually much the same.
If someone else said something, she might ignore it.
But if the words came from someone she liked, namely me, she'd listen seriously and give them proper consideration.
So if I explained the severity of the situation to Koyuki, even if she didn't fully understand, she would probably show some remorse simply because she didn't want me to be disappointed in her.
Though unfortunately, the damage was already done.
You couldn't exactly ask the Golden Fleece whether they offered refunds for minors...
Hm?
I frowned.
Then I began seriously considering whether that idea might actually work.
With the influence I currently held among the Golden Fleece crew, accomplishing it wouldn't be easy.
But what if I reused the strategy I'd employed against the first guard?
What if I bribed the ship's upper management with signed selfies, Schale duty positions, and spots on my Momotalk friends list?
How could mere material wealth compare to the spiritual satisfaction of building a closer relationship with one's idol?
Even recovering a portion of the money would improve Koyuki's situation considerably.
The more I thought about it, the more brilliant the idea seemed.
I was sure Yuuka would be grateful if she learned about it.
"That's my line, actually∼"
Hearing Neru's criticism, Koyuki looked dissatisfied.
"Getting violent over something this small and now even tattling to Sensei. Neru-senpai is so annoying. People who are too petty are the ones Sensei ends up disliking, you know?"
"This brat only gets this smug when she's in a situation like this..."
Neru's expression darkened.
Grinding her teeth, she threatened,
"Just you wait... The moment I get out of here, I'm going to..."
However, right then, the cell door suddenly opened again.
The instant they saw the two figures entering, both Neru and Koyuki's expressions changed dramatically.
One became delighted.
The other became terrified.
"Ah, so this is where you were."
One spoke in a calm tone.
"Ara ara~ What a gathering."
The other smiled while adjusting her glasses.
The newcomers were Karin and Akane.
They had split up from us to search the Recreation Hall and, despite receiving Neru's message, had never arrived.
Apparently something unexpected had happened to them as well.
Upon seeing them, Koyuki's legs started trembling.
"S-Senpais...!?"
Neru, meanwhile, looked overjoyed.
"Hah! See? I knew you'd come!"
However, neither C&C girl responded.
Instead, both wore awkward expressions.
Then several guards appeared behind them.
"What are you standing around for? Get in there already!"
It was clear they had also been brought here as suspects.
After locking Karin and Akane inside the holding cell, the guards turned to me and spoke in an entirely different, much gentler tone.
"Sorry to disturb you, Sensei. These two are also members of C&C... You know them as well, right?"
"I do."
After thinking for a moment, I replied with a sigh.
"Mm... You've all worked very hard."