[What in the world are you talking about? Why are you asking me about Mika's whereabouts—]
"Because we've discovered circumstantial evidence that a student from Gehenna abducted Miss Mika!"
[…What?]
"Judging by that reaction, it seems the Head Prefect wasn't involved. Sigh."
Even before Mika began sketching out her vision for improved relations with Gehenna, she wasn't the only Tea Party Host to have had similar ideas. The number of moderate Hosts recorded in Trinity's history far outweighs the hardliners, so it was only natural.
But not a single one of them was as successful as Mika.
As Mika herself put it:
'Ahaha, Trinity and Gehenna have a relationship where slowly building trust is just impossible. So of course no one ever succeeded when they were all wasting their time trying to build something that could never be built☆'
…Yes, that's exactly what she said.
It was as if she was determined to show the world what happens when a foolish idealist is given the power to act, the strength to get away with causing trouble, and a charm that transcends even hostile relationships.
I remember Mika boasting to me that she'd even installed a direct hotline to the Head Prefect of Gehenna in the Tea Party office, telling me that the Head Prefect, not the current Chairman of the Pandemonium Society, was the true power in Gehenna.
Mika is on personal terms with this Head Prefect. I believe she called her 'Hina-chan' once. Mika often uses such informal names for everyone, but I never imagined she would do the same with a student from Gehenna.
Who could have ever predicted that Mika—the same Mika who once received a gift of cosmetics and, upon learning they were from Gehenna, crushed them in her bare hands on the spot—would one day install a private hotline to Gehenna's Head Prefect?
Thanks to that, I am now on a video call with the one and only Sorasaki Hina, presenting her with circumstantial evidence that a Gehenna student abducted Mika.
[…I can't tell anything from this alone. I need more explanation, Chairman Kirifuji.]
"The vehicle in question is not in Trinity's database. This means it is an unauthorized vehicle that has never even passed through a checkpoint. However, by tracking its movements, we were first able to find traces of it at the border of the Trinity and Gehenna districts. This is also the same vehicle that was captured on a CCTV camera near the location where Miss Mika is presumed to have gone missing."
[I understand why you would suspect us first, but you wouldn't have contacted me directly based on that alone.]
At this, I hesitated. I wasn't sure how much information I could safely disclose to this person.
There is no doubt that the current Head Prefect of Gehenna is a highly capable individual. For someone like her, pretending to be innocent after kidnapping Miss Mika would be…
'I can personally guarantee that Hina-chan is not that kind of person—'
…Mika did say that once, didn't she? My rational mind tells me to trust Mika's judgment. Looking at the Mika of late, I think that's a safe bet.
Still, I can't let my guard down completely. Mika's safety is at stake.
"Head Prefect of Gehenna, may I ask what you know about Miss Mika?"
[…If you're asking about her combat strength, I estimate she is as strong as the head of Trinity's Justice Task Force. Is that what you mean?]
"Yes. If you are aware of that, this conversation becomes much simpler. Miss Mika, who is presumed to have been abducted by these individuals, showed no signs of resistance. If she had fought back, there would certainly have been traces of a struggle. That leaves one possibility: that this was the work of someone skilled enough to subdue Miss Mika without even giving her a chance to fight back… In your opinion, Head Prefect, does such a person exist in Kivotos?"
[…No. Realistically, I'd say that's impossible. In that case, you must have suspected it was the work of an acquaintance, Chairman Kirifuji. And the first to fall under that suspicion would inevitably be us. Am I correct?]
"Precisely. The most likely scenario is that someone with a connection to Miss Mika, who also takes orders from you, subdued her with some sort of surprise tactic… Or, Miss Mika went with them voluntarily. I'm sure you understand that, given the relationship between our two academies, you cannot avoid suspicion in this matter."
…However, seeing the Head Prefect's reaction, my assumption may have been completely wrong. I can't be certain, since we aren't speaking face-to-face.
[…]
The Head Prefect crossed her arms and closed her eyes. I didn't know what she was contemplating, but I had my own deductions to make. If she wasn't the culprit, then who was?
The only clues I had were that the perpetrator was either someone with the absurd strength to subdue Mika in an instant, or an acquaintance who could catch her off guard. The possibility that Mika went voluntarily couldn't be completely ruled out, but… in that case, since she had left her phone in the office, she surely would have contacted someone by now. The fact that the vehicle came from Gehenna is only circumstantial…
Wait… the vehicle?
"Head Prefect, the vehicle's licen—"
[Let me see the license plate number more close— Hmm.]
It seemed the Head Prefect and I had the same idea. Fortunately, the vehicle's license plate was clearly visible… If it was a Gehenna vehicle, it could be traced.
I had been told from the start that it wasn't a Trinity vehicle, so it took me a foolishly long time to think of it.
[Ako, put what you're doing on hold and run a trace on this license plate number. As fast as you can.]
After I read the number aloud, the Head Prefect passed a piece of paper with the number written on it to someone off-screen.
[Ako will bring the results shortly, Chairman Kirifuji. For now, let me say that using this hotline instead of contacting the Chairman of the Pandemonium Society first was a wise choice. It would be best to keep this matter from them if possible.]
"…It seems the conflict between the Pandemonium Society and the Prefect Team is more severe than we were aware."
[That is classified information. However, one thing is certain… Chairman Makoto lacks the ability to execute a plan like this. If word that Mika has been… abducted, were to leak to her, there is no telling what strange scheme she might cook up. This must be resolved between us. Hmm, Mika and kidnapping. What an unfitting combination.]
I couldn't help but nod at the Head Prefect's words. I never thought I'd live to see the day I'd hear the absurd news that Mika had been kidnapped.
[Head Prefect Hina, I have the search results! The vehicle belongs to… specifically, it's from a car rental company in the Gehenna district. Shall I request their cooperation with the investigation immediately?]
[…Proceed. This is related to Mika.]
[Yes, y-yes, ma'am?! I'll have everything you need in ten minutes!]
…What was that conversation? Is Mika that important to the Prefect Team? This is strange. I thought the 'Hina-chan' stuff was just Mika's one-sided familiarity, and that the other side saw this as a simple diplomatic relationship.
What in the world has Mika been doing behind my back…?
[…It seems the culprit is indeed a Gehenna student, Chairman Kirifuji.]
"So it seems. This makes identifying the culprit a matter of time. A blessing in disguise, I suppose."
A kidnapping orchestrated by a faction unknown to the Gehenna Head Prefect. The possibility of Mika having a personal friendship with a Gehenna student was close to zero. This meant it could be something truly serious…
Oh, no. Mika. If anything happens to you, I… I…
I could feel my heart beating abnormally fast. A dull ringing filled my ears, followed by a severe headache that hammered against my skull.
But… but I have to hold on, for Mika's sake…
[Chairman Kirifuji. Chairman Kirifuji!]
"…Yes? Yes?"
[Are you alright? You don't look well. You were unresponsive for over three minutes.]
"I'm fine… Yes, I'm fine. I apologize for causing you concern."
I have to be fine. I must be fine. Until I find Mika, I absolutely cannot collapse.
With trembling hands, I lifted my teacup and carefully took a sip. I'd already broken one of my favorite cups; I couldn't afford to break this one, too. It was a gift from Mika.
The characteristic scent of bergamot filled the air, and I felt my tension slowly begin to ease. There's truly nothing like tea to calm the mind.
A brief silence followed. The Head Prefect seemed to be looking at some documents, but she was distracted, her eyes constantly darting somewhere off-screen.
As for me… I was blankly fiddling with the phone Mika had forgotten to take. A phone I couldn't unlock because of the fingerprint scanner.
…Hold on. Even if a phone uses fingerprint recognition, don't you usually have to set a backup passcode?
The only problem is that if it's a password with letters or a pattern, I'd have no way of guessing it… but thankfully, it's a numerical PIN. If it were five digits or more, it would still be impossible, but with four digits, I might be able to figure it out.
…This is just in case there's any information that could help with Mika's disappearance. It's definitely not because I'm curious about her relationship with the Head Prefect.
If, against the near-zero odds, Mika does have a personal friendship with a Gehenna student… couldn't that person be a suspect?
So, I started trying numbers that came to mind. My chances are limited, so I must be careful. First, 1234…
Bzzzt!
It seems even Mika wouldn't use a password like that. Then, 0508…
Bzzzt!
That leaves me with three attempts. The problem is, I can't think of any other likely numbers. It's not even her own birthday.
Come to think of it, Mika-san set the password for her front door to my birthday. Could it be… she did the same for her phone…?
Click.
"Hmph… Mika-san, you really are…"
A blush crept up my face. What on earth was Mika thinking, using my birthday for everything? Not that I mind it. Not at all.
My eyes were naturally drawn to MomoTalk and the gallery. However, opening the gallery would be irrelevant to the current situation, and for the sake of Mika's privacy, I decided against it. If you were to ask if opening MomoTalk wasn't also a violation of her privacy, I suppose I wouldn't have much to say.
When I opened the app, the first thing I saw was a densely packed friends list.
What is this? The number of friends she has saved is on a completely different level from mine…
…No, that's not what's important right now. I opened her recent conversations and saw a few familiar names. I can exclude them. There's no need to pry into private conversations. The culprit isn't a Trinity student anyway.
[Hina-chan]
[Photo]
…For a moment, I was tempted, but with the Head Prefect still on the call, I decided it was best to scroll down a little further. And then.
[Haruna-chan]
[Sorry, I need a little more time to think about it!]
I think I've found them. The culprit in this case. A profile picture of a girl wearing a formal hat with a clear Gehenna insignia.
Seeing this, it seems Mika's anti-Gehenna sentiment is well and truly a thing of the past. This was the moment my assumption that the possibility was close to zero was thoroughly shattered.
Gulp.
With a nervous heart, I apologized to the absent Mika and opened the chat room.
…
...
Misono Mika, you fickle woman…!
[Chairman Kirifuji, the results are in. The culprit is Kurodate Haruna, a second-year student from Gehenna's Gourmet Research Society. She's an infamous terrorist within Gehenna. Judging by Mika's past behavior, the possibility of a personal friendship is—]
"Head Prefect, the two of them are indeed personal friends. I've just confirmed everything."
And I know where Mika is, too.
"Mika is in Millenium right now. With that sly little cat."
Just you wait, Mika. I'll rescue you from the clutches of that despicable stray right away.