To make a long story short, Rio was ultimately unable to overcome the tide of chaos and managed to escape the situation by saying they should meet in person later to discuss the matter more seriously.
From my perspective, that was largely due to her being overwhelmed by Asuna's persistence. She was probably afraid that before she could even do a cost-benefit analysis, she'd be cornered by Asuna's relentless demands and forced to agree to everything.
As for Hina, she expressed her refusal by citing that her Prefect Team duties were far too demanding… but we'll see. Is that really up to you?
What can you do if I go have a little chat with the General Student Council President and suggest we fast-track the deployment of the SRT academy to the Treaty Organization for a trial run? Once your workload is reduced, Hina, what choice will you have but to graciously accept?
The GSC President won't be able to refuse anyway. If she does, the trouble between Millennium and Gehenna won't be resolved. So, unless she wants to see me set Kivotos on fire before she disappears, she'll have to cooperate.
"Ah, one last thing about that compensation we postponed."
[At this point, I'm afraid to even ask what you're going to say next, Tea Party Host.]
"Ahaha, well, it's nothing big. Just add Neru-chan to the list!"
If I'm going to drag Hina into this, I might as well get Neru, too. It just makes sense. If we're doing a pop-up idol group for a year, it's obviously better to have a cool, 'girl crush' type member. That's one of the archetypes that's surprisingly popular with other girls.
[That matter… fine. I will consider it favorably.]
"HUH??? What kind of nonsense are you two talking about?! I'm not doing it! Absolutely not!"
She might be saying that now… but I don't know. In my mind's eye, I can already see a future where Neru is on stage in an idol outfit, dancing with a chic smile on her face.
"And what do you think you're doing? Seriously, getting taken down by a bunch of terrorists?"
"…"
…For now, though, she was busy scolding Akane, who was still hanging limply in Akari's grasp. Anyway, that future will come to pass.
Oh, by the way, she's definitely just pretending to be asleep. She must be so embarrassed that she's resorting to that. But you don't mess with Akari's food and get away with it. That girl was probably busy filling the void in her stomach with burgers while the world burned around her. Blowing up the restaurant itself was a hundred percent Akane's fault.
"Well, it looks like the compensation matter is more or less settled. President Rio can work out the details with Gehenna separately… All that's left is how to handle the media when this all gets out."
[As long as the situation is resolved amicably, it's not that serious of a problem. In fact, if we respond quickly, we can bury it with a reasonable excuse.]
She's not entirely wrong… but the fact that Millennium's special forces and another academy's highest authority got into a firefight is bound to cause gossip, no matter how they try to spin it.
…If we can't get away with a clean explanation no matter what we do, maybe it's better to just lean into the madness.
"Why don't we just use this whole situation as noise marketing?"
[…How would we do that?]
"Well, assuming the idol project is a go, we frame the shootout as a little happening that occurred while deciding who would be the group's leader. Something like… it was a brave decision by Neru-chan to protect Millennium's pride, refusing to hand over the leader position to a Trinity student. Something like that?"
[Tea Party Host… you are.]
"Hm, why? Are you shocked by what a brilliant idea that was?!"
[…Completely out of your mind.]
…Wow, that one really hit hard. Rio's methods might be autocratic and end poorly, but her thought process is extremely rational. Hearing that from her… it kind of makes me want to do some self-reflection. It felt like I just got hit with a critical truth bomb.
"President Rio, this is also a form of rational thinking, you know? The direction is just a little different. Just a tiny bit."
[Are you being serious right now?]
Rio's hologram grimaced in disbelief. She has such a cool beauty about her that getting glared at like that feels like I'm being scolded by her gaze alone. It's a strange feeling…
"Ahaha, of course I'm being serious! I'm always… yes, always serious, President Rio. Just hear me out. Your rational excuse would probably be something along the lines of… lumping our academy's forces together under the pretext of being my personal bodyguards, who were visiting Millennium for personal reasons. Something like that, right?"
[…It's not exactly the same, but the basic context is similar to what you've described.]
It's actually more surprising that it's only similar. Are there other good excuses? I can't think of any.
"And for the Gehenna Prefect Team, you'd probably say you officially authorized their military activity to suppress terrorists from Gehenna, burying the biggest problem—that Gehenna unilaterally violated Millennium's autonomy. Because that would be the rational thing to do."
[I don't understand why someone who knows the correct path so well would suggest an irrational one. Is there a reason you would go so far as to call it your own form of rational thinking?]
"Hm? Because the 'correct path' you're talking about requires you to sacrifice yourself. What you're thinking might be the fundamentally correct solution, but have you considered the damage it will do to your own reputation?"
[I don't see what you mean. Is that a problem?]
Rio's expression didn't change in the slightest as she asked, and I felt my own frustration rising. Why does she insist on taking the hard road?
"Of course it's a problem! You, President Rio, would be seen as the student council president who not only allowed a pre-emptive attack on the Tea Party Host's party, but also had to bring in another academy's forces to suppress a so-called terrorist group that was actually just a three-person club. You'd be taking all the blame on yourself. Do you really think that's not a problem?"
[Tea Party Host, my reputation is not important. I don't particularly care about it. A small loss of reputation is a trivial price to pay to achieve a goal.]
"That's exactly the problem. Why are you trying to take on the responsibility that all three academies should share? That's a sacrifice no one will ever acknowledge, President Rio. It's absolutely not desirable. The moment you embrace the criticism that Millennium attacked me first, and that you're so incompetent you can't even handle a few terrorists without another academy's help, it ceases to be a rational solution."
[…I fail to see the logic. Why are you concerned about something as useless as my reputation? We are strangers who have spoken for the first time today. And it's not as if the circumstances are favorable.]
I don't really know, to be honest. Maybe because I, too, once tried to handle everything on my own, and I want to be the person for you that I never had—the one who tells you that you're wrong for trying.
"Ahaha, you'll have to think about that and come up with your own answer. I don't have the confidence to explain it myself."
[How irresponsible. To preach about something you don't fully understand yourself and then give an answer like that.]
"Sorry about that. Anyway… the moment you half-agreed to my insane proposal, you were in the same boat, President Rio. So don't try to back out now. I'm fully prepared to do my best to ensure this incident results in fair compensation for Millennium, you know."
[No, if you know it's an insane proposal, then why…?]
I had nothing to say to Rio's dumbfounded question. This was a conclusion I had reached after my own desperate deliberation, but how could I possibly make her understand? It was something that couldn't be explained without mentioning the future.
In any case, what followed was the rapid drafting of a story so unbelievable that even Makoto would have scoffed at it. A conglomeration of irrationality that lacked even a shred of common sense.
A multinational… or rather, multi-academy idol group that was secretly being planned in Millennium. The Tea Party Host, upon learning of this, decides to throw herself into the world of idols to escape her arduous duties. To this, we added the contrived setting that the Gehenna Head Prefect, by coincidence, had also decided to join the group for the same reason.
Why do I talk like Hina's participation is a sure thing? Because I will make it so, no matter what. In other words… Ako, care to prove your worth?
The shootout was framed as I'd said before: a fight between me and Neru over the leader position. As for the restaurant's explosion, we decided to reveal the truth. We considered a noise marketing angle where Haruna would take responsibility for a crime she didn't commit and join the group, but we scrapped it due to the risk of creating too much of a negative image.
Frankly, it was a story so shoddily patched together that you'd think, You expect me to believe this? But when three major academies all say the same thing, a lie can become the truth. As they say, if three people say there's a tiger, a tiger appears.
As a result, a six-member idol group, which was hastily formed—or scheduled to be formed—in the process of covering up this incident, would be revealed to the world. So in the end, didn't it all work out for the best?
[…Tea Party Host, it would be best if we met in person to discuss this again soon. It seems you are quite serious about this idol business venture, so we will need to analyze how much profit we can expect from it.]
Thank heavens. The incident, which had threatened to spread like a wildfire in spring, was somehow resolved without escalating further. After selling out myself, Haruna, and Hina to resolve a situation that could have irreparably damaged relations between Millennium and the other two academies, all the strength drained from my body.
As Rio's avant-garde AMAS returned to the Millennium campus, an awkward atmosphere settled over those who remained.
Trinity and Gehenna, whose relationship could hardly be called good… among them, the Arius Squad, who were practically hardliners, and the military force of the Prefect Team. And Nagisa and Hina, both moderates, so there was no friction between them.
The Gourmet Research Society, who had been the terrorists in this incident, and C&C, who had been ordered to neutralize them.
Yuuka and Noa from Seminar, caught in the middle.
And Hiyori and Azusa, who had appeared at some point dragging an unconscious Karin.
It was a bizarre combination of students that made you wonder how they had all ended up in the same place.
"Well… I don't think there's anything more to discuss here. As for the idol business, I'd like to talk about it properly after this year's summer festival is over… so if everyone who's scheduled to participate could leave me their contact info, that would be great."
"Let me say this now, I'd rather die than do that. Don't even think about getting my contact in—"
"Here, here! Here's my MomoTalk ID! Oh, and I'll register our Chief's, too!"
"Hey, you little…?!"
Great, two secured. Haruna and Hina, I don't need. As for Noa…
"Noa-chan, could I get your MomoTalk? Oh, and you don't have to call me Tea Party Host. Just call me whatever's comfortable☆"
"Yes, of course. By the way, Noa-chan… Being called that is a little, umm…"
"Ahaha, sorry if it makes you uncomfortable! I just really dislike formal titles…"
"No… it's not that it's uncomfortable, it's more that… I'm getting a little excited about our newfound friendship. Fufu…"
Noa registered her MomoTalk on my phone, then seemed to ponder something for a moment before saying something unexpected.
"Um, Mika-san? I'm a little interested in that person over there… If it's not too much trouble, could you introduce me?"
Noa gestured with her eyes, surprisingly, toward Haruna. It was an unexpected combination, so I was a little taken aback, but since they were scheduled to be in the same idol group, I guess it wasn't that strange. I wasn't sure why she wasn't interested in Hina, though.
"Hmm, that's not a big deal!"
I led Noa over to Haruna, who was chatting with her club members.
"Haruna-chan, this girl here wants to be friends with you!"
Haruna looked at Noa with interest, then smiled playfully and posed a question.
"Excuse me, but what are your thoughts when a restaurant provides you with substandard food and service?"
Wait, are you starting with an ideological purity test…?
"Hmm… That's a difficult question. My answer would depend on just how substandard it is. If it's just ordinarily substandard, I would remember the name of the restaurant and leave a review on the Millennium Bamboo Forest. But if it's so substandard that it's completely unforgivable… Fufu."
No, what was with that meaningful smile? For some reason, I had an uneasy feeling… like I had just connected two people who should never have been allowed to meet.
"That was a joke, but… yes, I suppose you pass. My name is Kurodate Haruna, president of the Gourmet Research Society."
"I'm Ushio Noa, secretary of Seminar, Haruna-san. I look forward to working with you. Fufu."
"Fufu. The pleasure is all mine, Noa-san."
After a meeting that felt like it should never have happened, Haruna took a step toward me. And another. And a third. Remembering what had led to this whole incident, I instinctively took a step back, but Haruna suddenly grabbed my wrist.
"Mika-san, there's something I must tell you before I leave."
"H-Huh…? What is it?"
"It's about the ultimate delicacy I've been searching for."
Uh, hmm? No, it couldn't be. It can't.
I'd secretly been hoping for a day like this, but I never imagined it would actually happen.
"The ultimate delicacy I was searching for wasn't a dish with a flavor unlike any other in this world. The path of gastronomy I was truly pursuing was a meal shared with those precious to me. And the ultimate delicacy I finally came to realize is…"
Gripping my arm so I couldn't escape, Haruna closed the distance between us.
"…a meal shared with a special person, one of a kind in all the world."
Haruna's lips touched my cheek… so close to my mouth that it might as well have been. The scent of citrus filled my nose, and I could clearly feel the soft touch of her lips.
"Then again, perhaps it's not that, but that you yourself, Mika-san, are the ultimate delicacy."
With those words, Haruna turned and walked back to Izumi and Akari. Her tail, swishing more bewitchingly than ever, seemed to reflect her mood.
In a daze, I looked around and saw that everyone—the Squad, Hina, everyone—was glaring at Haruna with murderous intent.
And then, my eyes met Nagisa's. Her expression was completely devastated, as if her world had just ended.