Tsukatsuki Rio read through the document—or rather, documents—in front of her exactly four times. She had just now finished her fifth reading.
The gist of both documents was the same, only the sender was different.
Millennium Science School is to actively cooperate in an operation to neutralize three terrorists who have infiltrated the Millennium district and to secure the Trinity VIP they have abducted.
Are they joking?
It was true that Millennium's recent growth had been remarkable, enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the giant academies of Gehenna and Trinity. But objectively speaking, it was also true that they couldn't yet be placed on the exact same level.
But had Millennium become such a pushover that those two academies would send such a one-sided demand for cooperation? If one wished to receive permission for military activity in another district, there were proper procedures and a necessary give-and-take. And even then, some things were simply not permissible.
Yet they were asking for permission to bring another academy's forces into the central area of the Millennium district… right near the Millennium campus, no less. Even if the force was small, was this a reasonable request?
Unless the leaders of both academies had lost their minds, a demand this irrational was inexplicable. Rio couldn't fathom just who this "VIP" was that they were important enough to make Trinity and Gehenna—two academies that were constantly at each other's throats—simultaneously request cooperation.
The answer to their request was, of course, a refusal. As if she would rubber-stamp a request to bring another academy's military force into her own district. Not in a million years.
However, she didn't just flatly reject their request.
[This matter has now fallen under the jurisdiction of the Millennium district. Both academies are required to respect Millennium's autonomy. Therefore, Millennium will handle this incident internally, and we will discuss the matter further afterward.]
After sending a reply to that effect to both academies, Rio made a call.
Static—
[Rio? I'm swamped, so call me back la—]
"It's a request. Cease your current activities and return to campus immediately."
[…Huh? What, right now? What kind of request is so urgent?]
"Your mission is to neutralize a trio of terrorists from Gehenna, who have just set foot in Millennium and are known for their notoriety, and to secure the VIP they have abducted."
[Give me a break. Terrorists? From Gehenna? What a joke. I'll finish up what I'm doing here and head back right away. Get the others ready.]
Click—
Ignoring her subordinate who hung up after getting what she needed, Rio read the documents one more time.
If this VIP was important enough to make both academies act so rashly, then it was imperative that Millennium secure them first. It was unclear if Gehenna and Trinity were working together or competing to see who could secure the VIP first. But once the VIP was in her hands, the full story would be revealed. The movements of the two academies were completely outside of Rio's calculations. And for that reason, she had to get her hands on that uncontrolled variable. She had to.
…
Time passed. July 28th, 12:40 PM.
"Alright. You guys have already pinpointed the target's location, right?"
"Of course, Ma'am. The terrorists are currently dining at 'Burger Emperor' near the Millennium campus."
"…Give me a break. Terrorists, acting so carefree. Not that I care. Ugh."
Crack.
Mikamo Neru, head of C&C—'Cleaning & Clearing,' the symbol of Millennium's military might—stretched lightly, cracked her neck, and spoke.
"Let's go, girls! Let's see the faces of these so-called terrorists!"
"Waaaah~♪"
Millennium Science School C&C, a total of 4 members.
20 minutes until their grand entrance.
After a peaceful conversation with Haruna, I finished my meal and saw that the clock was already pointing to 12:40 PM. Of course, "finished our meal" was a statement that only applied to Haruna and me.
Izumi had ended up ordering another Emperor Burger, and Akari, for whom 98 servings and sides weren't enough, had shown the astounding audacity to order one of every item on the menu all over again. Her speed and volume were on another level.
Is that even possible? A person can't just eat that much and have their stomach be okay. Could that, too, be the power of her Mystique? If it was something like her stomach instantly digesting anything that entered it without leaving a trace, I could almost understand… Come to think of it, I've seen that kind of setting in a novel before. The kind where the protagonist gets stronger the more they eat and becomes overpowered. It was a common trope.
If Akari had that kind of ability, the so-called 'strongest tier' of Kivotos wouldn't even exist. Akari would be standing atop the Kivotos sky with titles like 'The One Emperor' or 'The One True God.' The thought alone is terrifying.
Feeling a sense of responsibility since Haruna's expenditure was indirectly my fault, I paid for Akari's additional order. Haruna insisted she would pay, no matter what, so I retorted by asking if I couldn't even do this much as her "Vice Chief," which left her speechless.
That part was nice, getting her flustered for a moment, but then her expression became so bright that it was my turn to be flustered. She couldn't have been unaware I was joking.
"Ahaha, so anyway! There's this one food I want to try making for the summer festival. I haven't been able to try yet, since I was kidnapped by a certain Haruna-chan…"
"…Oh my. I didn't realize I had committed such a grave sin… I'm so sorry, truly."
"Hey, Haruna-chan. Just asking, but you're not more sorry about that than about feeding me that… that unspeakable thing to kidnap me, are you? Of course not, right?"
"…"
"Haruna-chan, why are you avoiding my gaze…? You can't be serious!"
Since we were just waiting blankly for the other two to finish their meals, we quickly went to the restroom to rinse our mouths and then resumed our casual conversation. As if to prove that even Haruna, for whom gastronomy is life, is still a normal high school girl, she showed a passion for topics like cosmetics and fashion that was just as intense as anyone else's. Well, not quite as intense as her passion for food, but still.
"Haruna-chan, I'll take you to Mille-feuille sometime! Their parfaits are to die for☆"
"…Mille-feuille? Isn't that the most famous dessert cafe in Trinity?"
"So you've heard of it?"
"Of course. Their parfait is on my gastronomy list. I've always wanted to visit, and now you're offering to take me… Fufu, I see. This is a date, then?"
"Uh… is that what this is?"
It was obviously a joke, but I was happy to hear it. How could I refuse a date with a beauty like Haruna?
Just as we were chatting in this warm and peaceful atmosphere, I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
"Ahem! Excuse me, could I have a moment of your time?"
"…Huh? Hmmm???"
What is this? Is someone trying to hit on us?
…No way. I turned my head and saw two faces, one familiar and one not.
One had purple hair that flowed down to her waist, tied into twintails with some kind of triangular ornaments. Her bright blue eyes seemed to be analyzing me, and her face had an intelligent air. It was Hayase Yuuka, known as the 'Cold-Blooded Accountant' of Millennium's student council, Seminar, and the one most players of Blue Archive meet first—the so-called 'main heroine.'
The other was Yuuka's best friend, her complete antithesis in terms of personality, and a fellow member of Seminar: the student council secretary, Ushio Noa.
Though it was Yuuka who had called out to me, the way she kept glancing at Noa made it clear that Noa was the one with business here.
The first thing I noticed was her white hair, so long it reached her calves. It wasn't the white of old age, but rather a dyed-white look, though it was natural. She also wore a headgear that screamed 'Millennium.' As someone who has to manage my own thigh-length hair every day, I couldn't help but admire Noa for keeping such long hair so pristine. This mane of mine is a chore to wash, dry, and style.
Her face gave off a gentle and calm impression, but the mischief hidden within was hard to conceal, especially when she was with Yuuka.
Noa's purple eyes, which were watching me with great interest, held my reflection perfectly. Recalling that one of her defining traits was a near-perfect memory, it wasn't hard to guess why she was so interested in me. She must have recognized me.
"Giving you a moment of my time is fine, but… uh, may I ask what you need from me?"
I asked, turning my gaze back to Yuuka. It was obvious that Noa had put her up to this, but since Yuuka was the one who had approached me, it was only proper to focus on her.
"Um, well, to be precise, I'm not the one who has business with you…"
"Yuuka-chan, I'll take it from here. Thank you."
"…Wait, if you were going to do that, you could have just spoken to her yourself, couldn't you?"
"Fufu."
Oh, a classic best-friend dynamic. This was a fun pair to watch. Especially Yuuka's dumbfounded expression, which seemed to say, here we go again. Heh, this is the real delicacy.
"A pleasure to meet you, Tea Party Host. My name is Ushio Noa, secretary of the Millennium student council. May I ask what brings you to our Millennium today?"
"Oh, so your question was something that boring? As you can see, I came to try the burgers at this place, which I heard are amazing. And yes, they were even better than I expected."
"I see. The burgers here are very popular with our students as well. They're a bit pricey, but with our large student body, this place is always packed during lunch."
Noa smiled, then her gaze flickered between me and Haruna before she continued.
"Actually, what I really want to know isn't something as boring as that. No, it's something a bit more interesting. Would you be willing to satisfy my curiosity?"
"Haha. Well, alright. As long as it's not an unpleasant question, I don't mind. I can't talk for too long, though, since I'm with company."
"Then I shall gratefully ask! At the press conference held exactly 45 days, 2 hours, 58 minutes, and 37 seconds ago, you, the Tea Party Host, stated, 'Trinity will crush Gehenna at this year's festival.' That is what I recall you saying."
Ah, yeah. So that was a month and a half ago… thanks for being so specific. The fact that she can recall the time down to the second makes me wonder if her mental calculation skills are also off the charts. If you have that, what's left for Yuuka…!
"In addition to that, you made several other anti-Gehenna remarks at that press conference… yet your companion is, by all appearances, a student from Gehenna. As you can imagine, I couldn't help but be curious."
"Aha… So, in short, you want to know the truth about what I think of Gehenna?"
"…No?"
"Eh? Huh? That's not it? Really?"
"No. I was simply curious as to how the two of you, students from rival academies, could have become so close. Fufu. That would surely be an interesting story."
Hmm. Should I tell her? I'm not entirely against it; I'm curious to see the look on Noa's face when I tell her we met because I was trying to stop this pyromaniac from blowing up a restaurant…
Huh?
As I glanced at Haruna to see if it was okay to tell the story, my senses screamed at me.
In the same instant that I shot to my feet, the restaurant's front glass window exploded inwards.
"Kyaaah?!"
"Wh-What's happening?"
Everyone was thrown into chaos, but I had no time to worry about them. All my attention was focused on the student standing in the entrance of the shop.
A small figure, so petite you could call her a kid. In each hand, she held a submachine gun, connected by a chain. If you were to ask who the strongest student in Millennium was, there would be no argument.
"What the—you're pretty good for a terrorist. Noticing that snipe."
"…Ahaha, now, I think there's been a misunderstanding—"
"Huh? What are you talking about? You three. You're the terrorists, right? And you must be the leader. I can tell you're the strongest one here just by looking at you."
Ah, I think things just got really messy.
"Callsign Double O, Mikamo Neru. Let's dance, you damn terrorists!"
But you know what? Today, I don't really feel like backing down. You guys fired the first shot, after all.
Ting—
I opened the hand I had clenched right in front of Haruna's face, and the .55 caliber bullet I had caught fell to the ground. I think that's the most pain I've felt since I came into this body. Even though I'd snatched it out of the air from a distance, the force had pushed my hand back to right in front of Haruna's nose. It stings like hell.
"Hey, Haruna-chan. She's not alone. So, could you handle the others for me?"
"…"
I snatched up my gun, which had been propped against my chair, and asked Haruna. She stared blankly at my hand, then glanced at Neru, and gave a determined nod.
"Yes. Anything."
"Haha, thanks. Now, duck!"
BANG!!!
As another gunshot rang out from beyond the shattered glass, I kicked off the floor and charged toward Neru.