The next morning.
The sky was clear and endless, the air comfortably warm. A perfect day to stay inside and slack off.
My work with Abydos was finally wrapped up, and I hadn't yet accepted any new assignments. For the first time in a while, I could handle paperwork at Schale itself. The living quarters were only a few minutes' walk from the office area, practically the same as working from home.
There wasn't much paperwork left either. A bit of casual effort would get it all done. For a day off, it couldn't get any better.
To add a little excitement, I even told Arona to keep today's assistant a secret.
After all, every member of Schale gets along with me, so no matter who showed up, I was sure it'd be a pleasant day.
That pleasant day ended the moment the assistant walked through the door.
As soon as I saw who it was, I blurted out, "Why are you today's assistant?"
"Like I wanted to come here?"
Amau Ako glared at me with lifeless eyes, her face clearly showing how much she didn't want to be here.
"Ugh—! Don't act innocent. You're the one who told me I was on duty today! If it weren't for President Hina's orders, I wouldn't have come to help you at Schale at all."
Arona! What kind of schedule did you make?! Ako just joined Schale a few days ago, and she's already been fast-tracked to today's duty?!
This had to be some kind of conspiracy. Definitely payback for me cutting her dessert rations.
After all that anticipation, the Schale duty's assistant turned out to be none other than Ako. Someone who can't stand me, though she's forced to cooperate for now. Which means…
This was going to be even more exciting!
Smiling warmly, I spread my arms wide and stepped forward.
"Ako-chan! It's been days since we last met, I've missed you~ Don't look so cold. Let's get along well today, shall we?"
Ako took a step back, eyeing me warily. "What are you up to? And why are you calling me that so casually? We're not close! You creep, stay away from me!"
"Come on, don't be so stiff. We have a cooperative relationship, don't we? Whether it's my connection with Hina or yours, we both benefit from working together!"
I reached out and gently flicked the little bell hanging from her collar, letting it chime lightly.
"You—!" Ako's face went crimson with fury as she slapped my hand away. "I've been meaning to say this, what you're doing counts as workplace harassment!"
"What?" I feigned shock, and without thinking, flicked the bell again. "I thought you wore this so people would play with it."
"Of course not! And why did you do it again?!"
"Then why didn't you say so last time?"
I pointed at her righteously. "If you'd told me earlier, I wouldn't have harassed you, right?"
Her teeth ground audibly. "So you do admit it's harassment, you pervert! Last time, I was too distracted to call you out on it!"
"I never admitted anything. I see it as friendly interaction, a symbol of our genuine friendship."
"Who's friends with you?!"
Hearing her furious protest, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.
That's Amau Ako for you. So much fun to tease.
Like a little puppy that hasn't grown its fangs yet, growling and yapping as if it could bite, but only making itself seem cuter in the process.
My eyes drifted below the bell, to the fair skin of her side boobs, and I decided to correct myself... no, definitely not a little puppy. This one's trouble through and through.
By the time my laughter faded, Ako's anger had only grown. Her chest heaved as she snapped, "And another thing! I went home and thought about it carefully, why should I even help you get closer to the President? Your reasoning was obviously nonsense! Whatever relationship you and Hina have has nothing to do with me!"
Ako really did have a knack for tangling up her words.
She saw my surprised expression and pressed on, more confident. "I knew it! You're plotting something with President Hina, aren't you? Forget it! I'm not helping you. And besides, with President Hina's intelligence, there's no way she'd ever be fooled by someone as shady as you!"
Watching her so convinced of her own theory, I smiled.
"Sure, if that's what you want to believe. Anyway, we've wasted enough time. Let's get to work."
Convincing Ako again wouldn't be hard, but using the same trick twice is boring. She was on guard now, anyway. Better to neither confirm nor deny her assumptions and simply change the subject. That way, all her careful suspicion would go to waste.
And sure enough, she frowned.
"...Wait. You're not going to say anything about that?"
"About what? That's all just your own speculation. I don't have any ill intentions towards Hina. If you're so worried about it, then we can just drop the matter."
"Uh… ah… oh."
Ako blinked, looking confused. Maybe she'd started to doubt her own theory.
Had she misunderstood? Maybe I really was just trying to work with her for mutual benefit. Maybe I wasn't scheming after all.
Still uncertain, she sat down across from me.
Smiling, I said, "Ako-chan, as the Prefect Team's administrative officer, you must be great at paperwork, right? After all, you're Hina's most trusted aide."
"Of course~"
Ako replied proudly, not sure whether she was more pleased about her skills or Hina's trust, probably both.
Either way, her confidence was all I needed.
"Impressive, Ako! In that case, I'll leave these to you."
With that, I pushed nearly all the documents toward her, keeping only a handful for myself.
I thought the arrangement was perfectly fair and reasonable. She, apparently, did not.
"Hey! What kind of division of labor is this? Did you bring me here just to use me as free labor?!"
She slammed her hands on the desk. "Assistants are supposed to help you with your work, not do all of it!"
"Well, as they say, the capable should do more. Besides, look."
I pointed to my neck brace. "I'm injured, you know."
Ako blinked, tilting her head. "Wait, that's not just an accessory?"
Who would wear this as an accessory? I wanted to yell back, but when I caught sight of the collar around her neck, I decided not to.
"I don't care! I'm not accepting this ridiculous workload!"
Stubborn girl. Since she refused to let Sensei exploit her willingly, I'd have to outwit her instead.
Just as I was about to say something, Ako suddenly changed her tone.
"Unless…"
The sly administrative officer curved her lips into a mischievous smile.
"How about we make a bet, Sensei?"