The codename RABBIT really suited the Little Rabbit Park they were occupying.
Was it just a coincidence, or had they deliberately chosen this place for their demonstration because of the name?
Thinking about that, I asked Kanna to hand me the files provided by the General Student Council and began reading through them. Even though they were SRT students and had prepared defensive positions in advance, defeating Valkyrie with only a single squad was still an impressive feat. As expected, they were all top-performing students within the academy.
Needless to say, they were all quite cute, and every one of them wore rabbit ear-shaped headpieces.
I'd assumed they would be like FOX Squad and actually possess rabbit-like traits themselves. It was probably just their way of following FOX's example.
As I was thinking that over, Kanna suddenly spoke.
"Sensei, pardon the interruption. It looks like Kronos's relay drone has already entered the area."
"Oh? So that means we should be able to get a rough look at their defensive positions through the livestream."
I took out my phone, opened the Kronos channel, and quickly found the live broadcast covering the protest at Little Rabbit Park.
To my surprise, the moment I entered the stream, I saw two girls completely ignoring what appeared to be their squad leader's attempts to stop them. Standing some distance from the camera, they shouted provocatively toward the General Student Council and even tried to attack the Kronos drone.
...Well, they certainly had plenty of energy.
Switching over to MomoTalk, I shared the livestream with the members of FOX Squad before the broadcast was interrupted.
At this hour, they were probably in their regular training, so none of them replied immediately. I'd likely have to wait until they watched the recording afterward before hearing what they thought.
When I returned to the Kronos stream, the camera was somehow pointed at the vast sky, dominated by a gigantic halo. The image spun and shook violently, while something whistled past in the background.
The next moment, a violent explosion erupted in the distance.
The livestream immediately cut off.
"They should know that isn't Valkyrie's equipment, and they still attacked it... What a rough way of handling things..."
Kanna sighed in confusion.
"How did people like them even get into SRT?"
Their response certainly wasn't subtle, but considering SRT's mission, methods, and the situation they were in now, I actually thought it was the correct decision.
Allowing others to freely gather intelligence on your position was a quick way to put yourself at a disadvantage.
For example, judging from that explosion just now, despite repeatedly suppressing Valkyrie, RABBIT Squad's ammunition reserves still seemed quite plentiful. Otherwise, they wouldn't have spent so much ammunition just to deal with a relay drone.
Of course, from Valkyrie's standpoint, they couldn't afford to treat Kronos the way RABBIT Squad did.
They were bound by countless restrictions. Every decision and every action had to account for its possible consequences, the public opinion those consequences might generate, and the pressure that public opinion would bring.
Those were the challenges Valkyrie had to face.
That was precisely why SRT and Schale existed in the first place, and also why SRT had ultimately been shut down.
For Valkyrie, their highest priority now was to suppress RABBIT Squad as quickly as possible while minimizing the impact.
"If they were just idiots, that would be one thing. But these are idiots with overwhelming firepower. They're impossible to reason with. At this point, there's no other choice."
Kanna let out a helpless sigh before making a reluctant decision.
"In that case, we'll have to request assistance from the security forces of the nearby Academies. First, the Gehenna Prefect Team..."
"Hold on."
I stopped her as she reached for her radio.
"Why don't you let me try first?"
Kanna looked at me in disbelief.
"...What did you say? With fewer than five people available to deploy...?"
"Yeah. I have my own way."
I answered casually before turning toward the two girls from the Public Safety Bureau.
"Kirino, Fubuki, let's go."
"Okay!"
Kirino answered reflexively before freezing.
"...Okay!?"
"Y-you've got to be kidding..."
Fubuki looked even more incredulous.
"Just the three of us? Our opponents are SRT!"
The two of them had been prepared to charge in head-on when they first arrived, but now that they had a clearer understanding of the situation, they had begun to waver unnecessarily.
Kanna, who had been frowning this whole time, spoke to me in an especially serious tone.
"Excuse me, Sensei. These two can barely be considered combat personnel. They're from the easygoing Public Safety Bureau. Even the Corrections Bureau and Public Peace Bureau failed to take them down. Do you really think they can suppress them?"
"I already said."
I simply repeated myself.
"I have my own way."
I understood her concerns.
Even I had no expectations that students from the Public Safety Bureau could win a direct fight against highly trained and well-equipped SRT students.
Even if the enemy consisted only of first-years, the gap in ability objectively existed. Even with my command, and even if fighting alongside me greatly boosted their morale, it probably wouldn't be enough to bridge that difference.
But...
I'm here.
Who ever said all I could do was stay in the rear and give orders?
All this time, the battles I'd encountered had simply never required me to fight personally. Victory came easily enough without me taking the field. And if I did want to fight, I'd have to activate my Mystic, paying the price that came with it.
This time, however, it was obvious that I needed to fight on the front lines.
Requesting help from another autonomous district and waiting for reinforcements to arrive would take far too long. Judging by RABBIT Squad's current ammunition reserves, by the time help arrived, they'd probably have caused even more damage. Besides, this was happening immediately after Kronos's relay drone had been destroyed.
To be honest, all of those were just excuses I used to justify stepping in myself.
Only one thing truly mattered.
If I wasn't the one to personally suppress RABBIT Squad, how would the General Student Council ever realize that I was their indispensable pillar, tirelessly carrying the burden?
Seeing how confident I looked, Kanna hesitated for a moment.
"If that's what you insist... Since Schale is in charge of this operation, I won't forcibly stop you."
She then picked up her radio.
"Notify everyone still capable of fighting. From this point onward, all personnel will follow Schale's Sensei's command and support the Public Safety Bureau students!"
"There's no need to overdo it."
I corrected her.
"Just cover me until I reach RABBIT Squad. I'll do my best to persuade them."
With my extraordinary charm.
And if they refused to face me, then I'd use the SRT secret CQC technique passed down by FOX Squad's leader, unrivaled throughout all of Kivotos, and make them acknowledge this irresistible charm...
...A charm powerful enough to make any girl's heart race.
"Let's move."
I smiled lightly.