It didn't take long for Rio's AMAS, her robot army, to approach once they came into view. Rio herself was nowhere to be seen, but given her personality, it was obvious she would appear as a hologram to talk rather than show up in person.
"...Mika-san, you're a mess."
"Hmm, well, that's what happens when you fight a tough opponent…"
Still, I was in much better shape than Neru. One look at her bruised and swollen temple was enough to make anyone agree with that. It was absurd that she was still standing after taking an anti-tank rifle round to a weak point, but I guess anyone on the level of Tsurugi or myself could probably endure something similar.
Have I been underestimating how durable this body is? That's kind of what it feels like.
"Phew… Please, take better care of yourself, Mika-san. It breaks my heart to see you like this."
Nagisa walked over to me, straightening my disheveled clothes and brushing off the dust with her hands. Seeing her fuss over me with such a serious expression reminded me of the first few days after I arrived in this body. Back then, Nagisa even helped me manage my hair.
"Your clothes are beyond repair, I'm afraid…"
"…Ahaha."
Are my clothes really the problem right now? Today was the day I had been shot more times than any other day in my life.
Honestly, if we had been trying to settle things for good, we probably could have fought for at least another hour. The same was likely true for Neru.
"…Mika, wear this."
"Hm? Saori-chan?"
Saori, who seemed to have lowered her guard slightly since Neru's surrender, casually took off the coat she was wearing and held it out to me. Aside from the Trinity emblem emblazoned on the back, it was the same design as the Arius coat she used to wear, right down to the armband on her sleeve symbolizing her as the leader of the Arius Squad.
"…"
Was it just my imagination, or did Nagisa's gaze toward Saori suddenly become a degree colder?
I tore my eyes away from Saori's impressively toned figure, now on full display, and took the coat, draping it over my clothes.
…But if I wore it draped over my shoulders like Saori did, the hem dragged on the ground because of our height difference. This is so unfair. I want to be taller. Can't Millennium's world-class technology do something about that?
In the end, I gave up on trying to look cool and wore it properly. There was the minor issue of there being no holes for my wings, but Saori coolly took out the dagger from her thigh strap and carved two large slits for me.
"…Hmph."
As Saori nodded in satisfaction, Nagisa muttered something under her breath with a troubled look. I couldn't hear the details, but I definitely caught the word 'Arius.'
"Mika…"
"Have you been well, Hina-chan?"
"I… I'm sorry…?"
Whoa, is this a rare sighting of our Head Prefect's cute side? Seeing Hina looking so vulnerable, her confidence shattered, my hand moved on its own. The moment my hand rested on her head, I saw the other Prefect Team members gasp, and Iori's eyes went wide.
"Hey, what do you have to be sorry for, Hina-chan?"
"Because our students caused you so much trouble…"
"Hm? Well, it would be a lie to say they didn't, but… that's not something you need to apologize for. If I had gotten involved without knowing the situation, it would be a different story, but I knew what I was getting into."
My words made Nagisa and Hina tilt their heads in confusion. I don't mean they literally had question marks pop up over their heads, but you get the idea.
"Why? Did you think I didn't know who I was dealing with? Nagi-chan, Hina-chan, to think you both thought so little of me… that kind of hurts, you know…"
"Th-That's not it at all. No. I was just surprised that you would associate with them knowing they were delinquents who commit acts of terror."
"I suspected something when you pointed me to the Gourmet Research Society's location during your visit to Gehenna, but… Mika, those girls are terrorists who blow up any restaurant they don't like without a second thought. Not only that, they frequently raid Gehenna's cafeteria and cause trouble. To think you were associating with them knowing all that…"
"Ahaha! I'm not defending what they do, so please don't look so sad, Hina-chan. I first ran into Haruna-chan at a restaurant in Trinity, right after I'd received a report about an ice cream shop being terrorized. When I saw a Gehenna student there, my first thought was that I had to stop her if she tried to cause trouble."
Anyway, it looked like our little chat was over. The AMAS had stopped a short distance away from us.
"Well, to make a long story short, that's what happened. We ended up talking, and we just clicked. My plan was to stop Haruna-chan from causing any trouble whenever we hung out, but I kept putting off setting a date, and well, this is what happened☆"
I took my hand off Hina's head and started walking leisurely toward the AMAS legion. I let my arm holding the gun hang loosely at my side, signaling that I had no intention of fighting.
Clank—
In response, the AMAS all aimed their weapons at me, but honestly, I wasn't scared at all. Unless Rio was actually planning on starting a war, they couldn't shoot me. And even if they did, there was no way they could win against the people gathered here with just a bunch of AMAS.
Hina fell into step behind me, not even holding the machine gun slung over her shoulder. Seeing that, Nagisa, after a moment's hesitation, followed behind us as well. In the one-in-a-million chance that Rio did something irrational, I resolved to protect Nagisa first. Though the chances of that were infinitesimally small.
When the distance between us and the AMAS had shrunk to about ten meters, a drone flew out and projected a beam of light in the space between us. A hologram materialized, forming the image of Tsukatsuki Rio, the student council president of Millennium Science School.
Though she was only a second-year student like us, Rio already had the air of a mature woman. She had the kind of intelligent, cool beauty that could serve as the dictionary definition of the term. What I envied most was her superior height; she was a full head taller than me. Including her heels, she was probably about the same height as my old self on Earth.
Looking at her, with her overwhelming presence comparable to Hasumi's and her perfectly sculpted legs, a thought crossed my mind.
Paradise is right there, so how can they say its existence can't be proven? The Fifth Koan is officially out of service as of today…
[Head Prefect of Gehenna. And Kirifuji Nagisa, one of the Tea Party's three hosts. I have a great many things I wish to say to you both regarding this incident. But before that.]
Rio turned to me and bowed her head.
[I would like to apologize for the unfortunate incident that occurred a short while ago, Tea Party Host. I tasked C&C with neutralizing the terrorists and securing the VIP, but I never imagined the situation would get twisted like this… I would like to resolve the problem caused by Neru's misunderstanding by having our side take full responsibility for compensation. What are your thoughts?]
"First of all… it's a pleasure to meet you, President Tsukatsuki Rio."
"…Mika-san?"
"Shh. Nagisa, when I said I would handle this, that meant I would also take full responsibility."
At my words, Nagisa flinched and ducked her head.
Frankly, considering the scale of this incident, Nagisa deserved a good scolding. That was an undeniable fact. But everyone makes big mistakes at some point in their lives, and Nagisa is still just a young student. Moreover, the root of her mistake was her concern and worry for me.
I'm not heartless enough to scold her for that. My own guilt toward her doesn't even factor into it. It's simply that I care for Nagisa too much.
Thus, I decided to take all the responsibility. Even if she makes a similar mistake again, I will always be the one to take responsibility for her.
"President Rio, I propose we postpone the matter of compensation for a moment. There are more important things to discuss. Wouldn't you agree?"
[Yes, I agree with your sentiment, Tea Party Host. That is not the most pressing issue right now. Very well. Then let's start with the cause of this incident. The request for cooperation sent to me by Trinity and Gehenna was completely missing the personal information of the 'abducted VIP.' Do you have anything to say about that?]
Rio's question was directed at Nagisa and Hina. Since Nagisa was in a self-imposed time-out after my warning, it was Hina who answered.
"…The VIP's identity was not ordinary. We judged that the information could be exploited if Millennium harbored ill intentions. For example, what do you think would happen if the media published an article stating that terrorists from Gehenna had kidnapped the Tea Party Host?"
[A valid point. Very well, I acknowledge that your action was backed by a rational reason.]
Hina's words were chilling. If an article like that came out, the atmosphere between the two academies would become incredibly hostile, especially with the festival just around the corner, and it would undoubtedly have a negative impact on the Eden Treaty.
[However, your subsequent actions were not rational at all. The initial request for cooperation itself was a blatant disregard for Millennium. And this is when even operating forces near the border with another academy requires days of negotiation.]
"…"
[A request for permission to operate forces in a location less than two kilometers from the Millennium campus. If Gehenna or Trinity received such a request, they wouldn't just refuse; they'd raise hell, asking if we were trying to disrespect them. Is that not so?]
"I won't deny it."
"As you say, President Rio, with the exception of Valkyrie, Trinity would have dismissed such a request from any other academy. Even Valkyrie would have had to negotiate for several days, and other academies wouldn't have even been given that chance."
[And yet the two academies who know this so well saw fit to personally lead their forces and invade Millennium. Since when did Millennium become a lawless zone? This incident will inevitably be picked up by the media. A shootout in the middle of Millennium City… involving none other than Trinity's Tea Party Host, with Millennium firing the first shot. I can't even begin to imagine the damage to our reputation.]
This ties back to Rio's earlier point about why the VIP's identity wasn't disclosed. Normally, an incident like this could have been brushed off with a "Kivotos being Kivotos" excuse. But the problem was that Trinity and Gehenna had poured gasoline on the fire by deploying their forces without permission, making it impossible to cover up.
"Regarding the damage to your reputation, I believe having Trinity cover twenty percent of the costs for next year's Kivotos Halo Festival would be adequate compensation. What are your thoughts, President Rio?"
[…]
The best compensation Trinity could offer ultimately came down to money. For Millenium, which is always in need of a larger budget, the offer of being able to allocate more funds to its students was an attractive one.
The reason I could make such an offer was that the projected profits from this year's and next year's summer festivals were substantial. Once a business I've started turns a profit, the amount of budget I can manage at my own discretion grows beyond the initial earnings. Since this profit will be a source of income that will continue every year until Trinity falls, covering a portion of the Grand Festival's costs is no problem, as long as I can prove its success this year.
And am I confident I can prove it? Is that even a question?
[35% is what it will take to make it worthwhile. Is the Gehenna side willing to offer the same compensation?]
"...No, compensation from Gehenna should be discussed at a later date. Unlike Trinity, I do not have the authority to execute Gehenna's budget. I ask for your understanding in this matter, President Tsukatsuki."
[Which means that Gehenna's actions this time were the sole decision of the Head Prefect. I see. I'll have to negotiate this separately with the Pandemonium Society.]
Come to think of it, the one who will face the biggest backlash from this is Hina. Makoto, who already dislikes Hina, will not let this slide, and it's possible that the Prefect Team's authority could be severely curtailed. Hina isn't the type to start a coup over something like that, so I should probably look into whether there's anything I can do to help. I might need to meet with Makoto again soon.
"Compensation exceeding 25% is not proportional to mere reputational damage, President Rio."
[The surplus funds Trinity is estimated to have are enough to easily disregard such calculations. 30%. Anything less than that sets a precedent that would reduce what we can demand from Gehenna. As this is a matter of territorial violation—]
"No, this should be viewed separately from the territorial violation. It is a fallacy to try and increase the amount you're demanding by bundling that issue with this one when you intend to negotiate compensation for it separately. 25%. It would be best for you to accept it while I'm offering it willingly, President Rio."
[…Rational. Very well. 25% of the budget Millenium allocates for next year's Grand Festival. We will continue negotiations on the finer details at a later date.]
With that, one problem was solved. Why could I so clearly picture Yuuka celebrating?
Now, however, the biggest problem remained.
[Well then, I suppose we have no choice but to discuss the violation of our autonomy that the Tea Party Host mentioned.]
This wasn't something that could be solved by throwing a mediocre amount of money at it. And throwing an overwhelming amount of money at it would only put more pressure on Hina.
So, from here on out, I had to find a way to resolve this with the minimum amount of compensation possible.
Even if it meant selling my own body.