A brand-new day in Kivotos dawned, with gentle winds and clear skies stretching endlessly.
In a refreshed mood, I got up early, helped Arisu finish washing up along the way, and then sent her back to the Game Development Department.
What was remarkable was that when she greeted her companions with good morning, Arisu, who had secretly completed her transformation ahead of everyone last night, showed not the slightest sign of anything unusual. This made me wonder whether she was simply too pure in this regard, or perhaps the exact opposite.
After encouraging the girls of the Game Development Department with head pats and praise, I bid them farewell.
Next, I had a scheduled appointment, but before that, I wanted to make a brief stop somewhere.
The very top floor of Millennium Tower, in front of the Seminar President's office.
"Please return."
The blonde maid I had not seen in a long time stopped me at the door with a blank expression.
I said in surprise, "Toki, what is going on?"
Toki replied coldly, "Rio-sama said she is busy with official duties and has no time to see you."
No matter how busy she was, it would not come to the point of refusing even to see me. It could only mean that Rio herself did not want to see me.
Yesterday, when I brought Arisu over to handle matters, Rio did not have this kind of attitude, even though she barely spoke to me the entire time…
Wait, could it be that she is angry at me because of that?
Tsundere, really. Thankfully, I am magnanimous and would not easily hold it against her.
Glancing at the current time, since I had only come by briefly anyway, I could only shrug helplessly. "Alright then, in that case, I will come visit again next time. Please also pass on a message to Rio for me, tell her to take care and rest."
Toki nodded. "I will."
With that, I left and headed for my next appointment.
On the other side.
Back inside the office, the blonde, blue-eyed maid bowed toward the one she served:
"Rio-sama, Sensei asked me to pass on to you…"
"I already know."
Seated in the wide office chair, Rio's tone was unusually calm. Her strange pupils stared at Toki, yet it was as if they were looking through her, at some other existence entirely.
"Whether it is the establishment of the fortress city [Eridu], the development of the special armament [Abi-Eshuh], or the mass production of [AMAS], all of it is already pressing and imminent.
"We must mobilize more resources in order to make thorough preparations before the true crisis arrives.
"When we must face the trolley problem, if someone must stand by the lever and make the decision.
"I am willing to be that person.
"No matter how others may view me…"
She seemed to be speaking to the only living being in the office, yet also as if she were speaking to herself.
Toki merely kept her head lowered respectfully, waiting in silence, as if she would never harbor any dissent.
Rio paused, then closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, those crimson pupils glinted with icy resolve:
"I will prove it to you. That I am the correct one."
—
"Welcome, Sensei."
With flaxen long hair, seated at the head of the tea table, the elegant and composed girl inclined her head toward me, her tone polite and restrained.
Sitting to the side, the energetic pink-haired girl greeted me with a smile. "Ahahaha∼ Sensei arrived right on time∼ Could it be that you were so excited by an invitation from young, pretty female students that you could not contain yourself?"
Nagisa frowned slightly. "Mika."
"Eh? Sorry, sorry∼ Nagisa-chan, do not be so serious, it was just a joke! Sensei would not mind, right?"
As she spoke, Mika showed me a brilliant smile, yet to my eyes, that smile seemed somewhat distant.
In the past, I would have wondered whether I had done something wrong to provoke Mika's dislike.
But now, I was no longer the insecure person I used to be...
More precisely, after learning about Seia's situation and making efforts to establish contact and communicate with her, I had gained a new understanding.
Perhaps Mika only appeared cheerful and open on the surface, while privately she was not good at expressing her emotions, which easily led to misunderstandings.
Thinking about it that way, she must be a good child at heart.
That was why I absolutely had to protect Mika and Nagisa from the mastermind who had already harmed Seia.
I smiled and said, "Of course."
Mika raised an eyebrow, then burst out laughing. "Hahaha∼ Sensei is very reasonable∼"
Nagisa rubbed her forehead and sighed. "Mika… Sensei, you too, do not spoil her so much."
"Hey! What do you mean, 'her'? Nagisa-chan, honestly∼"
After some brief pleasantries, Nagisa went straight to the point:
"The reason we invited you here today is because we have something we would like to ask of you."
"Oh?"
Hearing that, I straightened my posture, thinking that my earlier guess was indeed correct.
When they contacted me so suddenly this morning, I already knew there could only be one reason...
Nagisa and Mika must have finally deemed the time ripe, ready to inform me, whom Seia trusted, about Seia's attack, and entrust me, who possessed Schale's authority, to secretly investigate and uncover the truth.
Although I still felt a bit uneasy, I was already prepared to throw myself into the undercurrents of Trinity.
"It is actually a very simple matter," Nagisa said.
"Although it is simple, it is also very important," Mika added.
"Yes, that is correct," Nagisa nodded, then fixed me with her beautiful gray-golden eyes and softly explained the request. "May I ask if you would be willing to serve as the advisor for the Make-Up Work Club?"
…What?
I froze for a moment and repeated, "The Make-Up Work Club?"
"Yes. In short, we hope you can save those students who have fallen into crisis due to failing the previous exams. Although it takes the form of a 'Club', rather than an advisor, 'homeroom Sensei' might be a more fitting description."
I froze again and extracted the key word. "…Those?"
Nagisa sighed. "Our Trinity General School has, since ancient times, upheld the ideal of both literary and martial excellence. It is an academy with a long-standing tradition. Even so, among this cohort of students, there have been as many as four students with poor grades, and at such an awkward point in time."
In other words, aside from Hifumi, there were actually three more students who had failed their exams?
Mika complained from the side. "With the whole Eden Treaty situation lately, we have been incredibly busy. Although those kids' situation also needs to be resolved as soon as possible, we are currently lacking both time and manpower… so at a time like this, we thought of… the Sensei whom Seia-chan trusts! Clap clap."
"I will add one more explanation. The 'Make-Up Work Club' is not a permanent club, but one that can only be established under special circumstances, and only students who need assistance can join. Because the situation is somewhat urgent, we also wanted to make use of Schale's authority that transcends conventional legality… that is about it."
After listening to the two of them and meeting the girls' expectant gazes, I nodded thoughtfully.
Although it was not as critical as I had imagined…
Still, was it not quite nice?
I smiled and said, "In that case, it is naturally my duty!"
And so, I accepted this task, which to me seemed nothing more than an ordinary job.
====
Afterword at the End of the Volume
After nearly 400,000 characters, the volume has finally come to a temporary close. It really was not easy.
It feels like the main issue was that the original plot was far too padded, yet it could not be freely rewritten. As a result, I had no choice but to add a large amount of original content on top of the existing framework, though this also served to bring forward and intensify some of the conflicts from vol.2.2.
As for this new main storyline, you can probably tell from the volume title that it was something I had already decided on right at the start. Or more precisely, it was something I had decided from the very beginning. I wanted this volume to end with "defeating Kei with the Sword of Light in the Slumpia."
Back to the main topic. Looking at it now, what truly made the latter half of the volume interesting was, as expected, Kei killing the Sensei and the chain of consequences that followed.
This was actually not part of my original plan. You may have noticed that I had been maintaining a certain restraint, doing my best not to detonate certain bombs, which meant I also had to avoid Kei's appearance.
But one night, after finishing writing in the early hours and getting ready for bed, I lay there and suddenly thought of a question.
Why not detonate it?
And so inspiration struck. In the end, it led to what I personally consider the stroke of genius of this volume, Chapter 104.
It was precisely because of this sudden idea that the theme which, like "understanding" in the first act, should have run through the second act as well, was brought into sharper focus...
"Faith."
All in all, no matter what, the Millennium arc has come to a temporary conclusion here. The Sensei, now more capable of believing in others than before, should also step into the vortex of Trinity.
And learn what "forgiveness" means.
The next volume, the Make-Up Work Club and the Forbidden Fruit, please look forward to it.