I sincerely felt that Hoshino's bed was a little too small.
If it were just Hoshino herself, it would probably be enough for her to roll around twice;
If you added one adult male, it would inevitably feel a bit cramped, but that would only mean we had to stay closer together;
But if you added another girl on top of that, even though Shiroko's build was relatively slender, there was no way for everyone to lie flat. The result was that both my arms were pressed into service as pillows, making it difficult for me to even turn over.
It felt like… next time, instead of staying over, I should just take them back to Schale.
After leaving a note for Hoshino, who could not be coaxed into getting up, saying good morning to Shiroko, who had finished her morning practice and was about to head out for her own training, then greeting Nonomi, who had arrived even earlier than usual, I boarded a helicopter and left Abydos alone.
Looking back at the schools with which I had formed ties so far, setting aside Trinity, which was currently facing exams, I had already found reliable assistance from Millennium, Gehenna, and Abydos.
Next was Valkyrie. Kanna was swamped with official duties and our relationship was not suitable to expose for now, Fubuki only wanted to slack off, and Kirino, well, those who knew, knew;
As for Shanhaijing, Miss Shun had to take care of the children at the Plum Blossom Garden and was busy enough as it was. I could not exactly borrow little Kokona, could I?
There was even less need to mention SRT. Given the current situation, the only way to borrow SRT's strength was through the Defense Office Director, who had earned the recognition of the various room leaders and was gathering SRT's forces to pave the way for their eventual dissolution. Fundamentally, that would still mean borrowing the General Student Council's power.
Besides, if I really asked Kaya for help, setting aside how much the room leaders' evaluation of me and Schale would drop, at the very least, in the eyes of some people, I would be labeled as being "on Kaya's side"…
Wow. Just imagining that made me feel disgusted.
All in all, the remaining option left was only the last one.
After making some preparations, I left Schale, ready to head to the Allied Hyakkiyako Academy.
But not long after stepping out, a gust of wind rushed up from behind me, accompanied by light running sounds and playful onomatopoeia imitated aloud.
"Shoop papapa~"
That familiar style made me instantly realize who it was.
Before I could even turn my head, my back suddenly felt heavier, and a pair of slender arms appeared in my vision. Warm breath reached me first, followed by an affectionate call by my ear.
"Aruji-dono~" (My Lord)
Suddenly being pounced on by a girl, fortunately I had been prepared in advance. Otherwise, even if she had held back, I probably would not have been able to steady myself with just a stumble.
I turned my head helplessly, my face almost touching the fox eared girl's, and asked, "Izuna, why did you come here?"
"Ehehe~" Izuna let go of me, took two steps back, squinted her eyes and grinned, her smile pure and innocent. "Because I received your message, Izuna couldn't help wanting to see Aruji-dono~"
This morning I had indeed told Izuna that I was planning to go to Hyakkiyako to meet her and ask if she had time. I had not expected her to travel all the way to D.U. directly.
As a ninja, could she really not wait even this little while?
I had wanted to scold the little fox for that, but she was simply too cute, so the words never left my mouth.
I reminded her, "Even if you do this, I still have to go to Hyakkiyako."
Hearing that, Izuna became even happier, her big tail swaying back and forth.
"That's great! Then during this time, please allow Izuna to guard your side! Izuna will swear to protect Aruji-dono's safety to the death, nin nin~"
Since she put it that way, what more was there for me to say?
So Izuna and I set off together on the road to Hyakkiyako.
Having a lively and adorable little fox at my side undoubtedly added a splash of color to a journey that might otherwise have been dull and monotonous, punctuated only by inevitable gunfights every few blocks.
But the problem also lay there.
Although every movement of hers was indeed very cute, one thing I had to admit was that Izuna was a bit too energetic.
Centered on me, Izuna kept running around in circles, occasionally stopping to look left and right vigilantly, muttering meaningless words to herself, like an unleashed big dog, drawing quite a bit of attention.
To avoid troubling passersby, and also to relieve my own boredom, I called Izuna over and chatted with her.
"By the way," I asked, "I remember you recently joined a club, right?"
"Ah, yes!"
As soon as this came up, Izuna began talking excitedly. "Some time ago, didn't Izuna promise Aruji-dono that she would work hard to train, aiming to become an outstanding ninja truly qualified to serve you?"
That did sound familiar.
"And then, while Izuna was thinking about how to train efficiently next, I happened to see a flyer! After some investigation, unbelievably, there actually exists a secret ninja society in Hyakkiyako!"
Really? That impressive? How had I never heard of it? Was it because it was a secret society?
At least when I had searched online for ninja related information, I had not seen anything like that.
But Izuna's next sentence nearly made me lose control of my expression.
"After watching the videos the club president posted online, Izuna was really, really moved!"
Wasn't it supposed to be secret? Where exactly was the secrecy?
As she said that, Izuna took out her phone and opened a video. "Aruji-dono, this is it. 'Behold, the ultimate ninjutsu that can even shatter rock.' It's the most popular video on our club's account!"
I took the phone from Izuna and looked, my gaze instantly sharpening.
This student was actually quite pretty…
Was she the president of Izuna's club? I really wanted to get to know her.
As for the video content…
I glanced at the account's two digit follower count and four digit view count and felt that they perfectly matched the quality of the video.
Scrolling further down to the comment section, there were only a few dozen comments, some of which included strange ones like "I've learned a lot, this will definitely be applied to the next hot spring development" and "Pl-please don't treat rocks like that."
After all, if you looked closely, you could tell that this video had been faked using explosives.
Even so, I still gave a positive evaluation.
"It's a very interesting video. If you don't mind, I'll follow it later."
Izuna exclaimed in delight, "Really? That's wonderful. Aruji-dono really is someone who understands us. If the president and Tsukuyomi sama find out, they'll definitely be very happy too!"
The corner of my mouth lifted. This was exactly what I wanted.
Sigh. Kivotos was about to gain one or two more students who, because of my approval, would hold favorable feelings toward me. I truly was laden with sins.
"Oh right, I also told everyone in the club about the story between Aruji-dono and me!"
At this point, Izuna said to me as if showing off.
I had originally planned to smile and nod reflexively, but suddenly remembered what I had done to Izuna when we first met, and my expression froze.
First of all, I could at least say my conscience was clear, and Izuna understood and trusted me.
But… those experiences… from an outsider's perspective…
Wouldn't it look a bit like… a scumbag manipulating an innocent girl?
After a long while, I finally asked, my tone slightly stiff, "I see… then, Izuna, what exactly did you tell them?"
Of course, I personally did not really care. Even if misunderstood, I stood straight and upright. A bit of gossip would not affect me at all, I was not about to break into a sweat over it.
I was mainly… right, I was mainly worried about Izuna leaving people with the impression that she was easy to deceive. That was all.
"It's everything that happened between Aruji-dono and me since we first met."
Oh. That was bad.
Still completely lacking any sense of guilt, I asked, "Th-then how did your club friends evaluate it after hearing that?"
Unaware of the turmoil in my heart, Izuna thought for a moment and answered honestly.
"The president first said that Izuna had really worked very hard up until now. Then she also said that if there were a chance, she would really like to meet Aruji-dono!"
"I-I see. Ahaha."
I gave a dry laugh, took out a handkerchief, and wiped the corner of my forehead. "Speaking of which, the sun is pretty strong today."
Could it be that the club president, after hearing all that, wanted to stand up for Izuna and interrogate me harshly?
No, I must be overthinking it. She probably just admired me purely.
I hoped it was that.
"Ah! I'm sorry, Aruji-dono, it's Izuna's oversight!"
While I was worrying, Izuna suddenly looked anxious and pulled out a rectangular cloth over a meter long and wide from who knows where.
"Izuna style ninj…"
"It's not that hot!"
Seeing Izuna about to use it as a fan to wave air, I hurriedly stopped her, saying that rather than doing that, we should just hurry to the train station.
Izuna thought about it, said that made sense, then pivoted on one foot and turned half a circle. With a light flick of her hand holding the cloth, when she turned back, the fabric had already vanished without a trace.
…How did she do that? Some kind of ninjutsu?
"Oh, right, right~"
As if struck by a sudden idea, Izuna asked me expectantly, "Aruji-dono, after you finish your business at our school, if you still have time, how about coming to visit our club?"
I felt slightly troubled and pondered. "Well…"
"Ah, but," before I could even finish starting my sentence, Izuna frowned slightly. "Our club's location is a bit remote… transportation isn't very convenient either, the bus only comes once after a long while…"
Is your club even legitimate?
I said, "Alright, in that case, let's talk about it next time."
Izuna nodded seriously. "Yes. Then it's a promise. Izuna and the president and the others will be looking forward to your visit!"
"Speaking of which… what was your club called again?"
"Ah, I forgot to say!"
Izuna beamed brightly. "The Ninjutsu Research Club. That's the name of the club Izuna joined!"
"The Ninjutsu Research Club…" I nodded slightly. "I'll remember it."