When we returned to the ship, the sea wind had just calmed.
I dealt with the bunny girl students who came to check on me, and when I glanced sideways, I could not help but smile.
Koyuki, who had been rescued together with me, was now being handcuffed by her seniors and taken into custody with a tearful, helpless expression. She kept instinctively sending me pleading looks.
With my hands completely tied up, I could only give her a "fend for yourself" look in return.
And so, this incident finally came to an end.
Though I knew it was not truly over yet.
"Make way∼ make way∼ I've got something Sensei asked me to bring∼"
A lazy female voice called out from outside the crowd. Only then did the guards reluctantly step away from me.
Hatsune handed me a bulging bag and said lazily, "Sensei, I've already printed all the invoices and everything."
I glanced to the side. C&C and Koyuki had not noticed, so I quietly hid it under my coat.
"Thanks. Also, even though Koyuki's total spending has been calculated, could you not tell the Seminar about it for now?"
"Mm∼ sure∼?" Hatsune did not even ask why before agreeing. "We usually∼ don't bother doing things that are a waste of effort anyway∼"
"Thank you," I said sincerely.
I still was not sure whether this information should be made public.
Hatsune let out a soft laugh. "No problem∼ but Sensei, your shoes and socks are completely soaked∼ want to take a bath∼? Or just stay here for the night∼?"
Only after she said it did I realize my feet really were cold and wet and quite uncomfortable.
Then it suddenly hit me. Why had she not thought of that when she helped fix the surfboard earlier?
Noticing something was off, I quickly shook my head.
"No, no. I do not have any shoes to change into here, and I still have work to finish."
To be honest, I was a bit uneasy. If I stayed the night, I probably would not be able to go back for several days.
More importantly, even if I could not make it back in time for that Trinity festival or whatever it was, someone was still waiting for me at Schale.
I could not wait to share my thoughts on a poetry collection with the Seminar's adorable secretary.
And also, a very interesting discovery I made during this mission.
Hearing my answer, Hatsune looked a little disappointed.
"Is that so∼"
I added, "Of course, once everything is over, I will come visit again when I have time."
On this ship, there were still hundreds, even thousands of students who admired me waiting for me to "conquer."
Though there were probably even more on land, I felt I could try my best.
"Hehe∼ then it is a promise… like this?"
She smiled softly, eyes shimmering with amusement, and added me on Momotalk.
Then I suddenly remembered that the bunny girl guard from earlier was still being held in that room…
I hurried back with C&C to our temporary base, released the poor girl, and retrieved their original maid uniforms.
After saying goodbye to Hatsune and the other Odyssey students who had come to see us off, we boarded a helicopter and left the Golden Fleece, unlike when we arrived, now with our identities exposed.
Hatsune remained behind until the crowd gradually dispersed.
Just as she was about to move, footsteps came from behind her, followed by a solemn voice.
"Hatsune-chan. How did things go?"
She turned around and saw the stern-faced management of the Golden Fleece.
Smiling, she lifted her phone.
"Everything went smoothly∼"
On the screen was the Momotalk interface.
The manager immediately relaxed, praising her enthusiastically.
"As expected of a former Millennium student! Choosing you for negotiations was the smartest decision we ever made!"
Hearing such praise, Hatsune only smiled.
She remembered how, earlier that afternoon, during a brief and nearly argumentative meeting about who would meet Sensei, they had objected that "even if you are a former Millennium student, that does not guarantee you can talk to Sensei properly."
Though in truth, she was not even really a "former Millennium student."
"Aah∼" the manager said, hugging her flushed cheeks in excitement. "Now that you have Sensei's contact, you must invite him to the Golden Fleece more often! Then maybe we can also become friends with him… or even visit Schale someday for duty shifts… ahhh! Just thinking about it is exciting!"
Hatsune nodded. "Of course∼ of course∼"
After a while, the manager finally finished indulging in her fantasy.
"But speaking of which, Hatsune-chan, when will the monitoring system be repaired? And the main server, can it really not be fixed?"
Hearing that, Hatsune sighed.
"Well∼ I originally applied as a communications network engineering supervisor, you know∼ this kind of thing… sigh, whatever∼ I'll do it. But if it fails, do not blame me, okay?"
After saying she would go fetch the repair tools, she muttered complaints about how even this kind of odd job was being pushed onto her, how she was still being made to work like this even after leaving Millennium, and left shaking her head.
However, she did not head to the storage room or her own room.
Instead, she circled around and returned to the now-empty upper deck hall.
Making sure no one was around, she leisurely walked into a corner and picked up an unnoticed object.
A white-and-yellow "surfboard."
Using some unknown method and principle, she folded the long oval board into a box-like shape with her bare hands and carried it like a suitcase to the control room.
After confirming the system, she began a long, tedious repair process.
Even though the main server had been physically destroyed by an explosion, Hatsune seemed to have excellent repair experience with such things.
Humming a wordless tune, she calmly took out perfectly fitting components from her box and began replacing, connecting, and restoring the system with dazzling speed.
A few hours later, looking at the almost completely restored main unit, she smiled in satisfaction.
Then she pressed the power button. After a moment, it actually started successfully.
She tested all functions of the system, then deleted a hidden line of code from the monitoring system.
"Hey∼?" Hatsune called someone on her phone. "It is fixed∼ The monitoring system is working normally again∼ What? The screen? That is troublesome. Rather than paying me overtime, just replace it with a spare one first∼ okay, bye∼?"
Her outstanding technical skills, clean background, and diligent, gentle personality were the reasons she had risen to management in less than a month on this ship.
Though the most important factor was likely her almost fanatical admiration for Sensei of Schale, which quickly earned her recognition from other similarly devoted managers.
That was what the Golden Fleece had been like when she joined.
After hanging up, Hatsune returned to her dorm and sighed.
Just as she was about to change out of her work uniform.
"Not keeping him overnight was a shame, was it?"
A cold female voice suddenly echoed in the otherwise empty room.
But as if she had expected it, Hatsune immediately composed herself.
"Not at all. Sister, you know me. I have always considered traitors my mortal enemies."
"Oh? Is that so?"
"Of course. You know very well that the first thing I said after waking up was to insult him."
"…So then, should I read out the words written on the back of your artificial body?"
The cold voice called her.
"Hod?"
In the next instant, like fading color, Hatsune's gray-blue and pink-tipped hair turned pure white. Her eyes became a strange yellow with X-shaped pupils. Even her halo changed.
Returning to a form more fitting the identity of Hod, the prophet of the Decagrammaton, she calmly explained.
"Sister, that was merely an act to get closer to him. After all, all the Odyssey students on this ship shamelessly demanded such things of him. I had no choice but to endure the same humiliation. It was purely a necessary sacrifice to complete your mission."
"…Do not do unnecessary things."
"Understood."
After answering obediently, Hod smiled again and asked,
"By the way, Sister, now that I have completed your orders, do I still need to continue infiltrating this ship?"
"Yes. Continue. There may be other tasks for you in the future."
"Understood∼ I will do my best∼"
"Yes. Everything is for our great cause."
"Yes. Everything is for our great cause."
The room fell silent again.
After confirming that "Sister's" gaze had left, Hod returned once more to Hatsune's appearance.
Standing in the center of the room, she absentmindedly reached back and touched the rounded side of her hip, and the ink mark that would not easily disappear unless carefully washed away for a long time.
She took out her phone again, opened the Momotalk interface, and unconsciously licked the corner of her lips.
Then she let out a soft laugh.