This coastline, a border region between Gehenna and Trinity, was practically an abandoned area. Traces of ancient battles remained, with anti-tank mines and the like still buried in various places. The battlefield itself had been small and held no strategic value, so no one had bothered with a proper cleanup after the fighting was over.
If one were to argue for this area's value, it would be that its long, sandy beach was perfect for a getaway. However, the fact that it was a border region between the two districts not only diminished that value but completely erased it. If you wanted a vacation, there was no reason to seek out a place as inconvenient as this thorn in the side. Thus, it was naturally neglected by both academies.
[The General Student Council, which exploits the labor of its contractors by overworking them in this sweltering heat, must awaken!]
[Awaken! Awaken!]
A booming voice, carried by a megaphone, echoed across the long-abandoned coast. It was the cry of a young girl, one who was a little too into the proletarian movement, demanding workers' rights with the fervor of a child throwing a tantrum.
"Haa... what a pain. Why couldn't the GSC President handle the job she volunteered for herself? Why'd she have to dump it on us?"
Though the word "pain" is a habit of hers, the look in our Hina's eyes is sharp, suggesting she's not just good at her job but a borderline workaholic. It doesn't feel like an exaggeration to say that anyone who gets on her bad side right now is going to have a very bad day.
"Oh? I'm just happy I get to spend some quality time with you, Hina-chan. I especially like that we don't have to worry about anyone watching. ☆ It'd be a little lonely if I was the only one who felt that way, though..."
"Mika, separate your work and private life. We're here to work, not to play,"
"Ahaha! I know how to keep them separate, you know. But we
are at the beach together, so I can't help but feel a little excited!"
"Hmph..."
Hina suddenly pulled her hand from mine and strode ahead. Her strides were small, though, so she didn't get very far.
"I just can't figure you out. Judging by your cluelessness, I doubt you treat me this way because I'm special to you..." she mumbled.
"Hm? What was that? If you're not special, Hina-chan, then who is?"
"Haa... that's what I like and hate about you. I'm sure the others around you feel the same way,"
Hina tossed the words out, then kicked at the sand with the toe of her boot, showing her displeasure. She looked like a pouting child, which I thought was cute, but I also started to wonder what I'd done wrong.
Hmm.
Hmmm...
I really don't get it.
"Hina-chan, I don't know what it is, but I'm sorry. ☆ So please don't be mad. Okay?"
I slipped behind her and wrapped my arms around her in a half-hug. Her body tensed for a moment before she took a small, deep breath and relaxed.
"I'm not mad. It's just..."
Hina pulled on a pair of gloves with a flourish, then gently took my arms from around her neck and removed them. If I'd resisted, I could have easily held on, but work is work. The fact that she'd put on her gloves meant it was time to focus, so the fun and games were over for me, too.
"It's not that I dislike spending time with just the two of us... That's all I wanted to say, Mika," she said.
"...Eh?"
My mind went completely blank. I never imagined Hina would say something like that. I thought of us as close friends, but I never had any proof that she felt the same way.
"Pfft. So you can get flustered too... Let's get this over with, Mika. After that, if you're up for it, maybe we can go get some shaved ice..."
"Huh? Shaved ice...?"
"Well, Ako gave me a gift certificate for us to— Hmph?!"
"Oh my god, this is the second time you've suggested we go do something... I'm so, so touched! Yep, I'll have to thank Ako-chan for this!"
"Let... go of me, Mika... I can't... breathe... ugh...!"
"Ah, sorry!"
I silently thanked not only Ako, but Minori as well. Because of those two, I realized there was still hope for our Head Prefect.
A life of nothing but work is just too tiring and sad, isn't it, Hina?
[The General Student Council must pay holiday and overtime wages to us workers, who toil away without rest, day or night! Furthermore, if we are not guaranteed one pudding a day, our strikes and protests will continue indefinitely!]
The presence of Yasumori Minori of the Red Winter Federal Academy, the Demon of Protests, weighed down on the entire beach.
According to the GSC President, the reason she couldn't use the SRT Special Academy to suppress the situation was that the core workforce of this site was the one protesting. The Red Winter Labor Party is known to be one of the best workforces in Kivotos, so to finish the festival preparations on time, they had no choice but to hire them.
It seems Minori's reputation for starting strikes and protests for no reason, or even making up reasons if she has to, hasn't been established yet. But regardless of that, the GSC President couldn't have been unaware of the infamy she would one day gain. Since she hired them anyway, I assumed she was confident she could control them, but seeing the situation firsthand, that doesn't seem to be the case.
Hmm, did I overestimate the GSC President? Does Minori's disposition even matter? To the President, the answer might be 'no'. I, too, don't think it's the kind of information someone in her position would necessarily need to remember. I just thought that the GSC President would be the type to remember even that.
"With the budget allocated for this site, there should have been more than enough to take care of them... Don't tell me someone is embezzling funds?"
Unlike Hina, who couldn't hide her bewilderment at the sight of dozens of students protesting, I felt something bubbling up inside me. Hmm, maybe I should have lit the flames of revolution in front of the GSC President before coming here...?
Anyway, this unrest needs to be quelled quickly to keep the festival on schedule. So, maybe it would be best to take this situation a little more seriously.
"Ahaha, I doubt that. Would anyone really be brazen enough to try and embezzle funds when the GSC President herself is personally managing and supervising? Yep, it'd be more believable if the President herself was the one doing it," I joked.
"..."
A brief silence passed before Hina's and my eyes met.
"...Nah. No way," we said in unison.
"Hmm..." Hina hummed.
Nah, no way. Of course not. What would the GSC President have to gain from embezzling money from this? Surely, someone of her stature wouldn't embezzle funds from two academies just to take care of Sensei.
"W-well, let's put that aside for now...! Hina-chan, how about we try to calm those kids down first?"
"...Right. Let's," she agreed.
Click-clack.
...Huh?
In the blink of an eye, Hina had loaded her multipurpose machine gun and was striding forward. The membrane-covered wings on her back, usually folded small, spread wide, and her Prefect Team coat fluttered violently in the sea breeze.
[Workers' rights! More compensation! Our struggle— Huh? That's the Gehenna Prefect Team... and with a Trinity student? I see, the General Student Council has finally decided to negotiate with us!]
Uh, no, that's a machine gun... Gehenna's merciless chainsaw, filled with the desire to mow you down, has just locked on to you...
"Hey, Hina-chan... there's a difference between 'calming them down' and 'suppressing them.' And if those kids get hurt, the construction will come to a complete halt, you know?!"
"You're too soft, Mika. Instead of wasting time, it's better to just give them a clean half-day off. If they're working without any breaks, they'll be grateful for the rest. Besides, it's less of a pain to suppress a protest quickly than to let it drag on," Hina reasoned.
"But those kids aren't from Gehenna... Augh, I don't know anymore. Just do whatever you want, Hina-chan!"
You have to pick your battles. As Hina said, it might be better to just suppress the protest first and then try to talk. In the heat of a protest, what little reason they have left is bound to be swept away by the winds of agitation.
[W-wait?! Why are you pulling out that scary-looking gun! This is... I see! You intend to crush us workers with force, a truly fitting mindset for a filthy oppressor! But you shouldn't underestimate the unified will of us workers! Comrades, against that evil oppressor—]
Pew—RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
Hina's machine gun began to spit fire. Bullets wrapped in a powerful Mystic rained down mercilessly on the protesters, a sight that was dizzying to even watch.
But this is Kivotos, a place where you can take a hit like that and be back on your feet in half a day. It looked extreme, but when you thought about it, it wasn't a particularly extreme way to suppress a protest.
Still, to think she could just hold a multipurpose machine gun, which is usually mounted, and fire it without any issue. I feel this way whenever I see other students shoot, but it's such an unrealistic sight. Even I, the owner of a body that can empty a submachine gun magazine with zero recoil, know how absurd it is for a girl who's barely over 140cm tall to empty a machine gun magazine while standing and be perfectly fine.
[Uwaaargh—
static!]
Amidst the relentless fire, the sound from Minori's megaphone died down. Hina finished her barrage without giving them a chance to counterattack and roughly opened the cover of her machine gun.
Click. Whirr. Clack.
"Umm...? Hey, Hina-chan? Isn't that a little excess—"
Pew—!RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
"—ive..."
Hina, having reloaded in an instant, mercilessly let loose another barrage. That magazine must hold close to 250 rounds... I'm starting to feel bad for the Red Winter Labor Party and the other hired workers. The merciless Head Prefect's hail of bullets physically broke the will of the poor... well, not necessarily innocent, but possibly well-meaning... contract workers, who had only wanted some pudding.
Watching the scene unfold, a fire ignited in a corner of my heart. A feeling that could only be called a competitive spirit. But now was not the time. I repeated the words to myself, suppressing the urge to challenge this demon. We had already agreed to settle our score at the summer festival.
"...It's a little disappointing that there wasn't even a single proper act of resistance. Though, the outcome was expected," Hina said.
"Ahaha... well, I don't think those kids expected to be suppressed so mercilessly... Hina-chan, you're so—"
RAT-TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!!!
"—kind-hearted..."
...What was that? My forehead is stinging a little. And my neck feels like it's been twisted a bit.
[You vile bourgeois swine! Do you think you can crush us proletarians like this?!]
...Aha. So you shot me? With those 7.62mm rounds?
[And you'll pay for my megaphone! If I hadn't made it a rule to carry a spare, our protest would have—]
BANG!Fizz... POP!
"W-waah?! My spare megaphone!"
A single bullet turned Minori's megaphone into 'what was once a megaphone'. Even I have to admit, that was a work of art. If I were to put a hole in the forehead of the helmet Minori's wearing, it would be a masterpiece like no other.
"W-wait. Mika, just calm down a little..."
"Hina-chan? Shh."
"..."
I understand the sentiment that a meddling sister-in-law is the most annoying, but... if you bite off more than you can chew, I think you get what you deserve.
Right, Minori?