I sat calmly, reading through a document as I waited for Seia. The worst part of all this wasn't the article exposing my private life, or the Pater students immediately storming my office, or even the absurd news that my term as Host was being extended.
Well, no, those things were all pretty terrible.
But what really got on my nerves was that all of it happened at once, one after another, right in the middle of my workday.
I'm sorry, Head Librarian. After the mess Nagisa made, I really can't spare any more of the budget for you…
A surge in petitions protesting the Justice Task Force's recent increase in violent suppressions… Excuse me, are you suggesting that our Head of the Justice Task Force, Lady Tsurugi, has done something wrong? Tsurugi might seem like she's living in her own world, but she's surprisingly rational. How dare you slander an innocent girl like that. Scum!!!
A report on the contract renewal with the dessert supplier for the Tea Party… Ah, so this is where they come from. No wonder they're so delicious.
Knock, knock—
"Mika, I heard you were looking for me."
"Aah~! You're here, Seia-chan! Come in, quick!"
Please, for the love of God, get in here. I am about to lose my mind and rip all the fur off your ears.
Seia shyly opened the office door and stepped inside, closing it behind her. Huh?
"Seia-chan, where's the student I sent to get you?"
"Hmm? She told me you were looking for me urgently and then disappeared somewhere. More importantly, who are these children…?"
Aha. So, she read the room and bailed?
Hearing this, sparks flew in the eyes of my dear Pater friends. They looked ready to teach the deserter a lesson: death to all traitors. But you can do that later.
"Well, you see, these kids saw the article about my friendship with the Gehenna Head Prefect and came demanding an explanation. So I told them I would take responsibility and withdraw from Pater once my term as Host is over, but…"
"…"
At my words, Seia's ears perked up. Her trembling pupils betrayed her inner turmoil.
"They said something about… Sanctus agreeing to yield the Host term to Pater? They were spouting some nonsense like that. And yes, it was such utter nonsense that I considered just ignoring it. But I thought it would be best if you, Seia-chan, could tell them directly that it isn't true. Please do me this favor☆"
"I-Is that so. Hmm… Yes, right."
"Oh? Seia-chan, why are you stammering? All you have to do is say a few words to our friends here. It's not that hard, is it? Or is it perhaps difficult for my dear Seia-chan to say something like, 'The claim that Sanctus has yielded the Host term is nothing more than a groundless rumor. Therefore, you should all refrain from repeating such baseless claims.' Is that it? Is it?"
"…"
Seia silently avoided my gaze. It was the moment the sinner confessed her crime.
So, that's it. Our wicked little fox sold me out.
I'm serving for another year. Another year…!
"Seia-chan? Come over here while I'm still asking nicely. If you resist, I don't know what I might do."
"…Mika, do you know the correlation between ability and responsibility? Responsibility is, by its nature—"
"Ahaha, what's this? Did you not hear me say to come here while I was asking nicely…? It would be better for you to stop trying to think your way out of this and just get over here, Seia-chan."
"Mika, can we not try to be a bit more rational? For a frail student such as myself to officially serve as a Host like you would be far too taxing."
"Switching to the main point now that you're cornered is a little pathetic, Seia-chan. So I'll say it one last time. Come to me. Right now☆"
Only then did Seia drag her unwilling feet over to me. I patted my lap.
"No, my friend. I don't think this is right. I can't possibly, not with other children present—"
"Three."
"Mika, please."
"Then you'll serve as the next Host, as originally planned."
"I'm sorry, but I refuse."
"Two."
What, you won't be the Host? Then you can just silently accept the karma for what you've done. You dare try to evade responsibility in front of me, who is currently being crushed by my own karma?
"One…"
"Ah, fine!"
In the end, Seia couldn't withstand my not-so-subtle threat and quickly scrambled onto my lap. She had only hesitated because it was the first time we'd done this with anyone besides Nagisa around. Since it was a regular occurrence for us, her resistance quickly faded.
Especially lately, with Nagisa practically living in this office, Seia must have been starved for this kind of attention. So much so that she'd forgotten I wanted to crush her into a tin can.
"…Hah!"
Seia, who had been comfortably leaning against me, suddenly noticed the Pater students staring at her with strange expressions. She quickly turned around, slipping off her small, dainty shoes and sitting in a way that hid her face from them. How very thorough of her.
Truthfully, there was a reason I'd made Seia sit like this. It was, so to speak, a leash of reason to prevent the Pater students from doing anything crazy. A silent appeal to not start shooting with a frail girl in the room. They knew I was strong, but they didn't seem to know that I could crush them with my bare hands.
"Ahaha, now that Seia-chan is here, let's continue our talk. The current head of Pater is me, so why is today the first time I'm hearing about my own re-election? Does it make any sense for me to hear about this when my term has only one month left? What do you think about that?"
"…The intention of Sanctus to yield the Host term was only revealed recently, so the report was delayed. Furthermore, we never imagined that you would not have heard of this from your fellow student council president, Lady Seia."
I asked the question while holding Seia like a doll, and the student who seemed to have the most authority among the Pater members present answered. It was a truly pathetic excuse.
"Is that so? I see. Whether Seia-chan told me or not, a report should have been made. Why make such an excuse? It's so hard to get a simple apology. Yes, and another thing…"
I lazily drew out the end of my sentence as I searched my memory. There had been something suspicious about my recent meeting with the General Student Council President. The reason why someone of her stature would bother to summon me to discuss the Eden Treaty. What if she had already been informed of my re-election?
"How long ago was 'recently,' exactly? If my guess is right, it was at least three weeks ago, wasn't it~?"
"…How did you, gasp."
"Looks like my guess was right. To think you wouldn't report something for over three weeks and then have the gall to talk about betrayal… Sigh. In the first place, isn't Sanctus yielding their term to me, the head of Pater, not to the faction itself? Putting aside the fact that you were so blinded by the glory of Pater's continued leadership that you readily accepted, you should have at least reported it to me, the person directly involved."
Frankly, if I were to move my nest over to Arius, which has recently become my main base of support, Sanctus would have no reason to hand over their term to Pater. The current Pater has no one suitable for the position of Host. Especially a student who could take over after a predecessor who had the term yielded to them… well, if such a student existed, wouldn't they have caught my eye by now?
"And for you to cook up a scheme like this behind my back and not say a word until now is very unlike you, Seia-chan. Why are you all trying to avoid responsibility…?"
I let out a small sigh, which ended up blowing on Seia's fox ear. The way she flinched was both cute and satisfying… a slight sadistic urge began to surface. Hmm. If only she had a tail, I'd pet it until she was so overwhelmed with shame she couldn't think straight. Why doesn't she have one?
"But you know, if I were to withdraw from Pater right now, what could you possibly do about it, Seia-chan?"
"…I trust that you would not do such a thing. We still have work to do, do we not?"
"That's work I can do even without being the Host, Seia-chan."
Before, I wouldn't have been able to quit because of the money from the Tea Party, but now that I've awakened to my grand dream of conquering Kivotos with tteokbokki, such a pittance is meaningless to me. If I start a tteokbokki chain, I'll be able to rake in every last yen in Kivotos.
Of course, it will take some time, as I can't develop a franchise-quality tteokbokki on my own… but I could probably make a decent Fen-Mo-Ja tteokbokki right now. Or Rosé Fen-Mo-Ja tteokbokki, or maybe even add some ma la to it. If I get the ingredients from Shanhaijing and patent it, I'll be rolling in money. In other words, from that moment on, I will no longer be shackled to the Tea Party! The students of Kivotos get hit with a calorie bomb and gain weight, and my assets increase. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?
"Mika, you're not thinking of something strange, are you…?"
"Oh my, you're sharp, Seia-chan. How did you know? I was just thinking about what it would be like to switch my affiliation to the Arius branch."
Honestly, aren't the Arius kids, who are new but listen well, better than my Pater kids, who don't listen and have bad tempers? Even Beatrice would probably agree.
"Th-That is absolutely unacceptable! Without you, Lady Mika, our faction is finished!"
"…Hm?"
What. That was a completely unexpected response.
Why would Pater be finished without me?
"If you withdraw, not only will the prospective members who planned to join Pater next year leave, but the existing members will also leave in droves. Please, anything but that!"
"Ahaha… Hey, I don't really understand. Why is that because of me? I was expecting to hear something like, 'After we treated you like a princess, you're going to betray us?'…"
"…Because you have changed, Lady Mika. We are not unaware that you no longer expect anything from us. The achievements you accomplished shortly after beginning to pursue your own agenda as Host have made the members of our faction genuinely respect you."
"Is that so? That's an interesting story. Then why is it that the attitude you all show me doesn't feel like respect, but more like you're dealing with a scarecrow that suddenly started moving on its own?"
Respect? Could it be that the changing attitude of the Pater students was related to that? I was starting to get a little interested. That said, hearing them talk about my achievements and their respect for me was a little cringeworthy.
"That is because we do not represent the entire faction. When the majority of our members saw you, who once hated the horned wretches of Gehenna more than anyone, befriending them, the consensus was that there must be a good reason for it. We who have gathered here are simply the ones who refuse to accept the current situation…"
So that's why so few of them came to confront me. And to think the Pater students would think that way even after seeing me be friendly with Hina… that's a little surprising. Frankly, what have I even done besides bring Arius back?
Surprisingly, it was Seia who provided the answer.
"The fact that a Host from Pater has accepted Arius back into the fold will be a part of the history that the students of Trinity will learn from now on. You have brought such honor to Pater; it is only natural that their perception of you would change."
As she spoke, Seia picked up a teacup from the side and brought it to her lips. No, why is the person I brought here to scold acting so smug?
"Not only that, but this year's festival has also captured the attention of all of Trinity. A competition that offers a chance to crush Gehenna's pride without escalating into excessive conflict is an attractive story even for the students with moderate leanings. The work you have done has changed the perception of Pater within Trinity, and as the members of the faction became conscious of this, did they not also change for the better?"
As she spoke, Seia closed her eyes, and her fox ears twitched as if asking for praise. This insolent little fox!
Thwack!
"Oof?!"
I couldn't stand the sight of it, so I gave her a flick on the forehead. The way she seemed to enjoy it was immensely satisfying. I had controlled my strength, so it would probably just sting for a while.
"I have an assignment for you all. During the festival, I want you to carefully observe how the students of the two academies interact. There will inevitably be conflicts, big and small, but if you see the students who get along well, I think you will feel something. Just as I, who once hated Gehenna more than anyone, changed my mind after meeting just two of their students."
The inherited, baseless hatred. Because it has no reason, it cannot be easily resolved. But if I continue to act as a bridge between the two academies, perhaps overcoming this hatred is not just an empty dream.
"You may all leave for today. If, even after the festival is over, your opinions have not changed… we will discuss this matter again then."
"…Our opinions will not change, Lady Mika."
"Ahaha, we'll have to wait and see about that, won't we? I'm a little curious myself to see how many of the people here today will still be here after the festival is over!"
It may be an overly optimistic view, but the future I envision is one that cannot be realized without overcoming such trivial matters. And even if things don't go exactly as planned, you can still reach the destination, can't you?
In the end, though, this also relies on me working myself to the bone.
After the Pater students had left, in the quiet of the office where only the two of us remained, I slowly stroked Seia's hair and broke the silence.
"Seia-chan, about my re-election. If this continues, I might not be able to keep my promise to the Millennium student council president."
"…Perhaps it would be better to cancel the idol matter and pay the full compensation. I do not have the confidence to appear before people and perform the duties of a Host."
"Just because I revealed my identity doesn't mean you have to, does it, Seia-chan?"
"But in that case, the meaning of your actions would be diminished. Once a Host has revealed herself, that method must be maintained going forward."
"…Honestly, you're all talk, Seia-chan. Just a mouth, really. Was it this mouth that tried to shamelessly pass off your work onto me?"
"Ugh… My friend, isn't this a bit much…?"
I gently pinched Seia's lips, pulled, and let go. She rubbed her lips, feigning pain.
"I'll forgive you this time. It's true that there is some merit to what you've said, Seia-chan."
"I knew you would understand."
What was that? You knew I would understand…? Then does it make sense for someone like that to hide my re-election from me for over three weeks? This wicked little fox.
But I'm not the type to just take things lying down, Seia.
"Instead, you'll be handling some of the paperwork that comes to me."
"…The duties of the Host must, by regulation, be handled by the Ho—"
"So you won't do it?"
"I will. No, please, let me do it."
Good, that's what I thought. Just you try to slack off and sleep for a year like in the original story. I'll bury you alive.
With this, I've dumped half of my work on Nagisa and Seia. So, in the end, haven't I come out on top?
I thought as I gently stroked the head of the now slightly less wicked Seia.
Yes, I think I'm the one who profited. My dear paperwork slaves, let's keep this up!