Early in the morning, after escorting Azusa, who had stayed up all night on duty, back to the Trinity dormitory, I headed over to visit the Tea Party.
By the time I arrived, the Tea Party host, who had received news of my visit in advance, had already prepared a lavish spread of homemade pastries and tea as usual to welcome me.
Even though I had already eaten breakfast before coming, I still couldn't resist digging in. It wasn't just because the pastries themselves were exquisite, but more so because of the girl's sincere thoughtfulness.
"Sensei, how does it taste?"
Nagisa rested both hands under her chin, watching me with a smile full of delight.
"Delicious!" I quickly swallowed the pastry in my mouth and praised without hesitation, "As expected of Nagisa's skills!"
"Hehe, you flatter me." However, Nagisa paused for a moment, then suddenly changed the subject, speaking even more gently. "But what I asked about wasn't the pastries."
My hand, which had been reaching for a small cake, froze in midair.
When I looked up at Nagisa again, I realized her expression had turned gloomy at some point.
"First it was Hifumi-san, then the four girls from the After-School Sweets Club at the same time, and now it's Azusa-san again… Hehe, and all within just a little over a month… and only within Trinity…!"
"Wait a moment!" I hurriedly explained, "Didn't I already say? The After-School Sweets Club thing was really just a misunderstanding!"
Hearing that, Nagisa narrowed her eyes. "Oh? So the other two weren't misunderstandings, then?"
This question left me momentarily speechless. And that reaction itself was the best answer.
The ash-blonde-haired girl took a deep breath, trying her best to restore her elegant and composed smile, but she couldn't stop the trembling of the hand holding her teacup.
As ripples spread across the black tea in the cup, the leaves of the flower ornament on her head became even more vibrantly green.
Nagisa questioned me sternly, "Don't you think your self-control needs improvement? I asked you to serve as the advisor for the Make-Up Club, not to teach them this sort of thing!"
That's right. The real reason Kirifuji-san (Nagisa) asked me to be the Make-Up Club advisor was to identify the traitor within Trinity.
I inwardly grumbled to myself. Feeling that I had already shown enough restraint after more than a month, I looked at her with innocent eyes, feeling both surprised and somewhat relieved...
After all, Nagisa was the Tea Party host. Even though Trinity's system was unique with its many factions, one still shouldn't underestimate her intelligence network.
It was only a matter of time before she learned about me and the other students.
But judging from Nagisa's attitude right now, no matter how angry she was, she had clearly already tacitly accepted it!
"Sensei," Nagisa said coldly, "don't you have anything you want to explain to me?"
Hah, calling other students to Schale for duty is a legitimate authority granted to me by the General Student Council. Why would I need to explain myself to someone like Kirifuji-san!
Thinking that, I immediately stood up and walked behind Nagisa, smiling apologetically as I tried to massage her shoulders. But she irritably swatted my hands away and snorted, "Please show some self-respect!"
When you drugged me before and I turned the tables on you, you didn't tell me to show self-respect then!?
So this was the result of growing up together with that pink-haired girl.
"Calm down, calm down. Actually, there's a reason for this."
"Oh? What reason?"
I immediately took out my phone, pulled up a certain screenshot, enlarged it, and read it aloud to Nagisa:
"[If you have so much free time to waste, why not go show more concern for Nagisa-chan and Azusa-chan~] Hifumi-chan… no, Mika said that, you know. She's your close friend after all, so no matter what, I had to give her some face, right?"
The Tea Party host fell silent for a moment, then said quietly, "Your way of showing concern is truly… quite unique. Leaving that aside, that post from Mika didn't mention Hifumi-san, did it? And the timing was much earlier than that. How do you explain this?"
I sighed. "Ah, Nagisa, you don't know the full story. Actually, it was entirely Hifumi who forced me. She said that if I didn't do it with her, she wouldn't forgive you. So I had no choice but to…"
"Pfft."
Hearing this, Nagisa finally couldn't hold her expression and burst into laughter. She quickly regained control and gave me a reproachful look. "Hifumi-san would never do something like that. Sensei, you really don't have a single serious word in your mouth."
As expected, she hadn't taken it too seriously.
"Actually, I had already anticipated this. Given your appearance, status, and personality, Sensei, it would be stranger if nothing like this happened. Besides, this could also be considered a well-deserved reward for you, right? In any case, I have no intention of fussing over these small matters."
However, right after displaying such magnanimity, Nagisa pressed her fingers to her brow and sighed with complaint:
"But please, at the very least, don't be too reckless. Personally handling a student's overnight stay procedures and then personally escorting her back the next morning… Do you know what kind of reputation you've earned within the Tea Party now?"
"Uh…" I thought for a moment. "It should be fine, right? Even if someone calls me a frivolous scumbag behind my back, they'll probably still greet me politely to my face."
And there was a high chance they would proactively try to get closer to me, secretly hoping to build a relationship, and then start showing off to others once they succeeded.
Hearing this, Nagisa shook her head. "The issue isn't with you, but with the students who are close to you."
I furrowed my brow and asked seriously, "Did something bad happen?"
"Hehe, please rest assured. For now, it's still within my control, but in the future, it's hard to say." Nagisa sighed. "After all, even I, the host who often spends time alone with you, have inevitably drawn some rude gossip."
…Isn't that exactly what you wanted?
Although I really wanted to say that, since someone had been exposed and was now lashing out in embarrassment, I obediently replied instead:
"I understand. I'll be more careful in the future."
In truth, Nagisa's advice made sense. Even if I didn't care about my own reputation, mainly because caring wouldn't help anyway, I still had to consider the students and not be too flashy.
But there was another way to avoid the situation she was worried about.
That was to increase the number of students close to me to the point where others couldn't even feel jealous anymore.
Shittim Chest! Show me my limits!
"Hehe, the conversation has drifted quite far." Nagisa took a sip of black tea. "Sensei, it's about time we moved on to today's main topic, isn't it?"
I returned to my previous seat and sat down, but I couldn't help thinking of another matter, one equally tied to the future fate of Kivotos.
I gazed deeply at the clear blue sky. Over there, things were probably about to begin as well.
——
D.U. White Bird District, near the Sanctum Tower.
Inside an unremarkable building, a black-haired fox-eared girl checked the time on her watch and opened the intercom:
"FOX4, report in."
"Received. This is FOX4. I have now reached the sniping point… Haah, but let me remind you in advance: with the height of the Sanctum Tower, even I can only provide effective support from the lower floors."
Yukino said calmly, "It's fine. Our main targets are the faction members in the cultural room, infirmary, and other departments who support Administrator Nanamgami Rin, not the central command room where Administrator Rin herself is located. We only need to reduce the number of Administrator Rin's supporters to below that of Director Shiranui."
"Understood." The sniper codenamed "FOX4," Otogi, replied, but then asked hesitantly, "But… Captain—no, FOX1. Are we really going to follow Kaya's orders?"
"That's right. Wasn't this decided from the very beginning?" Yukino asked back, puzzled, then continued in a matter-of-fact tone, "Everything is for the survival and rebirth of SRT Special Academy."
Otogi fell silent for a moment. "…FOX4, received."
Yukino then called another team member. "FOX3, report."
"This is FOX3. Bombs have been planted inside the Sanctum Tower and are ready to detonate at any time. Of course, according to Director Shiranui's information, the General Student Council possesses a large number of technologies with unknown effects, so we probably won't be able to hold them off for long."
The one codenamed "FOX3" was the squad's assaulter, Kurumi, who answered as such.
"Mm, that's more than enough." Although the other party wasn't in front of her, Yukino nodded subconsciously. "As long as we break in during the chaos of the explosions, we can create even greater disorder."
"…Hey, um… Is this plan really okay?"
Kurumi couldn't help but ask, "There are a lot of innocent administrators and ordinary civilians inside the Sanctum Tower who are just there for business. Targeting the mission objectives is one thing, but if it causes a stampede…"
Yukino answered with another question, "Does this conflict with the operation? The plan only requires us to attack Administrator Rin's supporters, destroy some facilities, and reveal our identities. Creating chaos is simply to better accomplish the above tasks. Avoiding unexpected situations is also part of our duty as members of SRT, isn't it?"
"…Haah, what a pain. Fine, fine. FOX3, report complete."
Despite her words, Kurumi's tone sounded somewhat more relaxed.
Yukino then set down the intercom and checked the time once more.
Beside her, a pink-haired fox-eared girl bit her lip worriedly.
"Yukino-chan… I've been thinking, is this really the right thing to do?"
Yukino, who had been questioned one after another, turned to her side. "Is there a problem?"
Codename FOX2, vice-captain and tactician of the FOX squad, Niko said with difficulty, "We all understand that this is for SRT Special Academy to be revived someday in the future… But if we end up walking the path of crime and lawbreaking in order to uphold justice, can it still be called justice…?"
"…Niko, I understand your doubt. However, we are still in the middle of an operation, so I can only answer you like this." Yukino spoke in a deep voice, "Right now, we are merely weapons carrying out orders. Who the blade is pointed at is the task of the one holding the knife, not the weapon itself. Only the one holding the knife can judge the good and evil of things."
At this point, the black-haired fox-eared girl took a deep breath, her crimson eyes shining brightly.
"That's why I believe that in his hands, even if there are temporary necessities, we will ultimately carry out justice. There is no doubt about that."
"Yukino-chan… Actually, I've had another question for a while." Niko couldn't help but ask, "The one holding the knife you mentioned… 'he' isn't Director Shiranui, right?"
After those words fell, a deathly silence followed.
The two fox-eared girls, who had been close friends long before becoming comrades who supported each other, stared into each other's eyes.
The other two fox-eared girls also held their breath, listening attentively through the intercom to what Yukino and Niko would say next.
"…I have never once said that it was that Kaya woman."
Finally, Yukino broke the silence. She shook her head and said earnestly, "As captain, I can promise you this. The master we will serve in the future is an extremely, extremely good person. In terms of capacity, ability, and character, he is in no way inferior to the missing General Student Council President. Once you meet him, I'm sure you'll feel the same way."
Before Niko could speak, Kurumi's annoyed voice came through the intercom:
"Hey! What do you mean by 'master,' Yukino? Watch your wording a little, will you?"
"Hehe, isn't it fine?" Otogi said with a smile. "To be praised like that by the captain makes me really curious what kind of person he is."
"What's so good about him? If you're curious, go be curious by yourself. I have zero interest."
"Don't say that. Aren't we best friends who advance and retreat together?"
Listening to the chatter over the intercom, Yukino furrowed her brow and sighed helplessly. "…I haven't called you out yet."
Meanwhile, Niko's fox ears twitched twice. The worry in her eyes only deepened as she murmured in a voice only she could hear:
"Schale's Sensei… Is he really okay…?"
She gave Yukino a deep look, let out a silent sigh, and buried this doubt deep in her heart.
Time passed minute by minute.
"It's time."
Yukino took one last deep breath and announced to her comrades, "Operation, officially begins."
In the next instant, explosions erupted inside the Sanctum Tower, thundering through the skies one after another.
——
At the Tea Party, Nagisa and I were discussing matters related to the Eden Treaty.
Suddenly, the door was pushed open and a Tea Party guard rushed in, her face panicked.
"Nagisa-sama! This is bad!"
"Why are you so flustered?" The Tea Party host frowned and scolded, "Didn't I tell you all that while I'm discussing official business with Sensei, no matter what happens, you should not—"
"But…"
"Ara Ara~ I'm sorry. It seems I may have come at a bad time?"
However, just as the guard was about to explain, a smiling female voice suddenly cut in, causing even Nagisa's face to show unmistakable shock as she stood up abruptly.
From the Tea Party entrance, a blonde fox-eared girl holding a white long-tailed tit walked out gracefully, smiling. "Hm, I didn't disturb you and Sensei, did I?"
Beside her was a blue-haired girl in a nurse outfit with a calm expression, holding a parasol to shield her from the sunlight.
"Seia…!?"
Seeing this, Nagisa even rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
The visitor was none other than the former Tea Party host, Yurizono Seia! Who had faked her death after an attack and was supposed to be hiding in a safe house, recuperating in bed.
When had she woken up? And when had she returned to Trinity?
I glanced at Mine, who had been personally protecting Seia these past few months. She gave me an apologetic smile in return.
"Hehe, sorry. I just wanted to give you all a surprise," Seia laughed. "Looks like it worked."
It seemed Seia had specifically asked Mine not to tell me about this.
"Seia, you…"
After the initial shock, Nagisa's expression turned somewhat complicated.
After all, the reason she had wronged the Make-Up Club girls was closely tied to this friend's decisions and concealment.
But soon, all those emotions turned into relief.
"It's good that you're back."
"Ya, sorry about that, Nagisa. It's been a long time, and so many things have happened. You must have a lot you want to say to me, right? Mm, I feel the same way."
Seia sighed. "That's right. Not just the two of us... we should call Mika over too, but with her here, Sensei wouldn't be able to listen in comfortably. In any case, the things we haven't said, the things we couldn't say before, and the things we truly want to say… Even if misunderstandings and suspicions remain, and there may not be a perfect resolution… it's about time we settled the issues between us. But before that, there's one more thing."
With that, Seia walked up to me. "Sensei, how are the things I asked you to prepare?"
Why doesn't she call me 'husband' in front of others?
I grumbled inwardly and replied gently, "I have them right here, Seia."
Not calling her Yurizono-san was the last bit of gentleness I could offer, right now.
"Hehe, thank you for your assistance."
Taking the recorder from my hand, the blonde fox-eared girl's smile grew even brighter with delight.
"With this, the key to ultimate victory is in my hands."
Nagisa, who didn't quite understand the situation, still politely echoed, "I see. Congratulations."
"Same to you, same to you."
Afterward, Seia asked Mine and the Tea Party guard to wait outside for now. She sat down on the chair I helped bring over. "If I'm not mistaken, you two were talking about Arius, right?"
Nagisa and I subconsciously exchanged a glance and nodded to her at the same time.
"Then, I take back what I said earlier. It seems I've come at exactly the right time."
Seia spoke in a relaxed tone, her eyes sparkling. "For the discussion ahead, please be sure to include me as well."
The long-awaited Tea Party was finally convened once more with the return of yet another member, now only missing the one currently imprisoned.
|| Afterword ||
A/N: This slice-of-life arc took nearly three months and over 400,000 words to write, but it's finally finished. The foreshadowing has been laid, and it's finally time to officially enter the long-awaited Eden Treaty arc.
To be honest, disruptions to the pacing had quite a significant impact on my condition, motivation, and the novel's performance. The Problem Solver 68 storyline in particular was originally intended to be a New Year's event within the story, but I had no choice but to move it forward. Likewise, a glimpse of the book's true main plot was revealed much earlier than originally planned.
For a Blue Archive fanfiction, this achievement can truly be called unprecedented, and it would have been impossible without everyone's support.
If not for the motivation provided by so many readers, then with both the game and anime continuously disappointing me, I honestly don't know whether I could have kept writing. At least from where I stand now, though, writing a few million more words shouldn't be a problem.
Anyway, that's enough rambling. Next comes the preview section:
"Only the ultimate emotion can achieve true sublimity."
"Hehe, the only thing capable of completely deceiving a prophet is fate itself."
"This wasn't how it was supposed to be. I was supposed to stand above the clouds..."
"Do you regret it now?"
"Please have mercy... Please forgive me..."
"Fine, fine, fine! I forgive you!"
"Then go."
"Go beneath the Red Apple Tree."
Act Three: The Marble King of Arius
Stay tuned!