After the helicopter landed at Abydos High, I told the members of the Foreclosure Task Force to head home and pack up their valuables and a change of clothes.
Now that we had effectively fallen out with Kaiser PMC, staying any longer in the Abydos residential district, land that was no longer ours, was far too dangerous.
That was why everyone needed to move to Schale for the time being.
To prevent anyone from being ambushed alone, I paired up the Foreclosure Task Force with the girls from Problem Solver 68:
Kayoko with Shiroko, Aru with Serika, Mutsuki with Ayane.
How should I put it… each pair was a rather delicate combination.
As for Nonomi and Haruka…
Nonomi came from a well-off family that much was clear from her gold credit card.
So she wasn't afraid of being attacked, and besides, her home wasn't even within the Abydos district. She commuted by train every day.
That also meant her travel time was much longer than everyone else's.
But that raised a problem.
"If your home isn't in Abydos, you don't really need to stay at Schale, do you?"
I couldn't help asking Nonomi, questioning why she was also going home to pack a change of clothes.
"What are you saying, Sensei?" Nonomi looked genuinely surprised. "If I were to act on my own, separated from the group, and something happened... how would I regroup with everyone?"
I nodded. Fair point.
But then, her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Besides, it's like those TV dramas, right? A trip where you stay overnight with your friends, I've always wanted to experience that!
"So of course, I'm joining this group event too!"
She made it sound like we were throwing a party.
For some reason, an image flashed through my mind...
'Listen up, Hoshino. Tonight, the Foreclosure Task Force and Problem Solver 68 are holding a huge party at Schale. All the good students who still believe in Sensei are invited. Guess who isn't on the guest list?'
Heh heh… Just imagining it makes me a little excited.
Anyway, back to business. The last one left without a partner was Haruka, so she'd be coming with me.
To a certain idiot's house.
The choice was simple: Haruka's personality was… dangerous. She wasn't someone you could leave alone with others she didn't know well.
I considered myself on fairly good terms with her, good enough to manage as her temporary guardian.
Besides, Haruka had planted enough explosives around Abydos to make a demolition team jealous. If we got ambushed, she might actually be safer to have at my side than anyone else.
For those reasons, she was my partner.
As we walked, I tried to make small talk.
"Haruka, are you getting used to living at Schale?"
"Eh? W-well, um…"
When she wasn't tripping her weird switches, Haruka was just a shy, quiet girl.
After a long pause, she murmured, "It feels like such a nice place… it's kind of a waste for someone like me to live there…"
"Don't say that, Haruka. You're one of my precious students."
"Uu… Please don't say that. I know my place, I'm just a weed…"
Great, let's add painfully belittling herself to her list of traits.
Trying to comfort her any further would probably only make her more anxious, so I dropped it.
Instead, I said, "If you ever have any problems in your daily life, make sure to tell me, okay?"
The words felt oddly strange as I said them.
Come to think of it, now that I was housing Problem Solver 68… didn't that technically make me a dorm manager?
Weird.
Hearing that, Haruka seemed to remember something but hesitated to speak.
"Really, anytime," I urged her. "For example, right now."
She twitched. "Ah, I-I understand… Sensei, would it be okay if… I grew some weeds in the guest room?"
"Weeds?"
Haruka trembled again, stammering, "S-sorry! I mean, um... never mind, please forget I said anything!"
Her eyes started to glisten with tears, her expression looking heartbreakingly fragile.
Good grief. Another hopeless child on multiple levels.
I quickly said, "It's okay. You can grow weeds if you want."
"Ah… ah…"
"I'm just curious, why weeds?"
Haruka gave an answer that was so very her.
"Weeds are… how do I put it… kind of like comrades, I guess. They feel similar to me. They're useless, always getting in people's way… no one values them, but they still pop up everywhere… something like that…"
"I see…"
I thought for a moment, then smiled. "But isn't that kind of wonderful? The way they keep growing quietly in the shadows, I think that's the part that's most like you, Haruka. I really like that."
Her expression flickered between surprise, timidity, doubt, joy, and gratitude. So many emotions that I almost felt dizzy watching them.
Students with low self-esteem are easy to handle. Say one kind word at the right time, and the reaction is like you just saved their life. Though it can be a bit exhausting.
I decided not to press further.
As we neared Hoshino's house, Haruka suddenly spoke up first.
"Ehehe… Thank you, Sensei. You're such a good person…"
And there it was, the "good person" card.
I rubbed my nose awkwardly. "Sorry, but I'm really not that good of a person."
Haruka shook her head, mustering her courage. "That's not true. You talk to someone like me… encourage me… care about me… I'm really grateful."
"Because you're an adorable student, Haruka. Honestly, I'm the lucky one."
"Uu… you're saying that again… You really are so kind, Sensei…"
Her voice was soft to the point of being dangerous, and her smile was even softer.
"I-if it's for Sensei… I… would do anything…"
A warning bell went off in my head. Was she about to confess or worse... say something like "I'll devote my entire self to you"?
That'd be terrifyingly fast progress.
"For Sensei…"
Her gentle smile twisted slightly, taking on something unsettlingly deranged.
"I can get rid of anyone who bothers you."
…Okay, that's way scarier.
This kid was way too extreme!
I quickly tried to calm her down.
No, don't "get rid of everyone" just the particularly bothersome ones, like, say, the Kaiser PMC board members.
But after we interrogate them first, of course.
Haruka nodded slowly, though I couldn't tell how much she actually understood.
Eventually, we arrived at Hoshino's house, a place I hadn't visited in a long time.
I unlocked the door. The familiar sight greeted me, but the person who once lived here was now gone.
A quiet sadness welled up inside me as I whispered softly,
"I'm home."
No one answered.