Episode 78: A Thoughtful Romantic Comedy
It had been a while since Mizuki and the others made contact with Miuye of Mikage Academy, and Factom General Academy was about to witness a historic moment.
“―Alright, then this concludes the procedure. Thank you for your hard work.”
In the Student Council Room of Factom General Academy,
Rinka, who had been sitting across from Miroku and Toa, nodded after seeing the signature.
That signature belonged to Miroku of Aoi Hoshi, the Student Council President of Factom General Academy, and it signified the agreement to operate as a sister school to Mikage Academy going forward.
When it came to negotiations, Rinka’s skills honed during the Silver Twilight era were unmatched.
It was only natural that she had been chosen as the acting Student Council President.
“Negotiating with capable people is quite refreshing. It finished thirty minutes earlier than expected. Right, Mihaya?”
“Yes. With this, other schools won’t be able to invade citing Demons Gear as a reason so easily.”
Mihaya spoke while observing Ciel ―the silent Demons Gear seated beside Miroku with closed eyes.
“Moreover, several supporting companies from Mikage Academy are supposed to be arranged for Factom General Academy. This school should become much cleaner than it is now.”
The decrepit school building and the overgrown garden were astonishingly well-maintained considering how long they had lasted.
Even Mihaya, who had no relation to Factom General Academy, felt sympathy and wanted to do what she could.
For Kei, who likely had deep ties to Factom General Academy, his feelings must have been even stronger.
She didn’t understand why she had been chosen to oversee the contract with Factom General Academy, but at least it provided a good opportunity to learn about its current state.
(And the problem remains…)
Mihaya inadvertently met Toa’s gaze.
However, Toa quickly looked away, exclaiming, “Eeek!”
(Is her name Tsukimiya Toa? Ah, our first contact was truly disastrous.)
Mihaya internally sighed.
This was their third encounter.
The second time was when she helped Kei and the others at Kisou Academy.
The first time was when she lashed out at Kei in the dungeon despite him saving her.
Their initial impression was far from good, and Mihaya suspected Toa was somewhat afraid of her.
The first time they met, Toa must have gathered immense courage to protect Kei.
Her current behavior of clinging tightly to Miroku was likely her true nature.
“Uh, that is…”
“Hieee… Y-yes!”
“We’re both first-year students, right? Let’s get along?”
With that, Mihaya smiled warmly.
Toa hesitated before nodding slightly at her smile.
Watching their interaction, Rinka glanced at Miroku and shrugged.
Then, casually, she addressed Toa and Miroku.
“By the way, I just want to let you know—I like Kei more than anyone else. I absolutely adore him, so please take care of me.”
The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically.
The once solemn yet peaceful Student Council Room transformed into a fiery battlefield filled with tension and sharpness.
The tranquil scenery deteriorated into a battleground of probing each other’s intentions.
“…What exactly do you mean by that?”
“Not much, really. I’m not saying anything particularly strange. We’re young men and women, after all, so it’s natural to have romantic entanglements.”
“No, it’s not about that… Why are you telling us this?”
Miroku swiftly drank the precious tea and replied.
Her face was plastered with a forced smile.
Seeing this, Toa immediately stood up.
“I-I’ll go make some tea!”
Without waiting for a response, Toa fled the Student Council Room.
A retreat under fire.
One member down.
Unable to leave Rinka and the others unattended, Miroku was forced to engage.
“As we’re becoming sister schools, and since Kei is there, I thought if we could somehow smooth things out between us, perhaps you could show some flexibility?”
“…Linka, isn’t that irrelevant right now? We can discuss personal matters on another day—”
“Couples’ tickets for Kroma Music Academy’s regular live concert. Tourak’s favorite band will also be performing, and I’ve already confirmed he has no plans that day.”
“I’ll give you thirty minutes.”
Poor Mihaya fell.
The reason Rinka chose her was because she was too easy to handle.
Though intelligent, her straightforward and emotionally-driven nature made her an easy target for Rinka.
Incidentally, the second candidate was Tourak, but he was excluded due to the potential complications his presence might bring.
“Well, having received permission from the supervisor… Would you support my romantic comedy with Kei?”
“That’s something we should discuss thoroughly on another day. Yes… let’s take our time.”
Miroku took a deep breath and said calmly, more so than before.
Despite her determined expression, Rinka playfully asked, “Isn’t Kei just an ordinary senior to you?”
“S-so, yes. I trust Kei as a dear junior. And eventually, I plan to ask him to become the Student Council President.”
At the revelation of the next Student Council President, Mihaya was surprised but carefully stored the ticket in her Dive Gear’s expanded domain.
“Is that so? You don’t feel any attraction towards him as a man? Come on, isn’t he handsome?”
Stammering, Miroku sat beside Ciel, who suddenly opened her eyes wide.
“Miroku is panicking, hence I kindly request leniency.”
“Nana, don’t say unnecessary things.”
“Yes.”
Ciel closed her eyes again.
Though clearly bound by a master-servant relationship, the fact that they weren’t officially contracted was surprising.
“I don’t have any such feelings towards Kei-kun. Absolutely not!”
Seeing this, Rinka grinned mischievously and bowed her head.
“Oh, sorry about that. Just kidding.”
“Eh?”
“What? Linka, what are you talking about?”
“Because I felt the atmosphere between Mihaya and Toa-chan was getting a bit unbearable or tense, I thought I’d use it as a trigger to change the mood.”
“You’re either a zero or a hundred, aren’t you?”
Mihaya interjected strongly.
Accepting this gracefully, Rinka smiled warmly and apologized to Miroku again.
“I’m sorry. Actually, Kei and I aren’t like that, so you can relax.”
“Huh? Is that so? Well… I guess it doesn’t matter anyway.”
Just as Toa returned to the Student Council Room, seemingly having been listening by the door.
Though she claimed to make tea, her hands were empty.
“That’s good.”
“Toa-chan, where’s the tea?”
“Ah!”
“Our Rinka apologizes! She occasionally tries to manipulate people’s hearts and ends up causing major accidents!”
“Isn’t that unsuitable for a negotiator?”
Faced with Miroku’s completely reasonable question, Mihaya could only agree.
However, upon seeing this, Toa’s impression of Mihaya indeed changed.
(Well.)
Watching Mihaya and the two comfortably lounging on the sofa, Rinka dived into her thoughts.
Having sufficiently disrupted the space, she alone remained calm, observing the situation from above.
(The previous Student Council President, Sakura Rikka, had all her information managed at the highest confidentiality level by the Board of Directors. It took quite some time just to learn her name. So, I thought I’d try breaking through from Solciera’s side.)
Rinka’s aim was to investigate whether there was anyone at Factom General Academy who knew the identity of Solciera.
(If such a person exists, they might be a potential collaborator. Even if we can’t get information directly from Solciera, we might be able to extract it from her collaborators.)
It was highly probable that Solciera had collaborators.
Considering her actions were always on an organizational scale, assuming she acted alone would be unnatural.
(The most suspicious person I thought of was Aoi Hoshi Miroku, but she clearly recognized that Na Takikai is male.)
Rinka’s words prompted subtle reactions—gazes, raised voices, slight hand movements—all unconscious responses recognizing Kei as male.
(If she knew Kei was female, her reaction would have changed the moment I stated that I recognized Kei as male.)
Both held affection for Kei.
Based on this premise, Rinka intentionally gave them a chance to feel superior.
The superiority of knowing that only she understood Kei was female and identified as Solciera, coupled with the tension of not wanting to be exposed.
She guided them to reveal these emotions.
(I intended not to miss even the slightest changes… but yeah, Aoi Hoshi Miroku is clean.)
This person simply liked Kei, so Rinka quickly ruled her out.
And…
(Maybe this one is also clean.)
Judging by Toa’s escape midway, Rinka made her decision.
Her reactions were far too naive.
Yet, there was something off about her, Rinka noted.
(I know this girl is timid. But her emotions are unreadable beyond that. It became unclear halfway through.)
Rinka’s abilities stemmed from skill, not special powers.
Her style was to deduce answers based on experience and knowledge, but it had completely failed at a certain point.
(It’s not that she’s hiding it well. It’s simply chaotic. It feels like multiple threads are tangled together.)
Two overlapping images came to Rinka’s mind.
Looking through them now, the colors and lines of the surface image were unclear, creating such an impression.
(She’s either extremely timid or a skilled bluffer capable of deceiving me.)
Taking precautions.
Just as Rinka aimed to further engage with Toa, something happened.
“―If this continues, we will act accordingly.”
In the harmonious Student Council Room, Ciel quietly said this.
Her eyes were fixed on Rinka.
Her words carried a warning beyond their meaning.
(…Perhaps I delved too deeply with a computation-specialized unit nearby. Yeah, that’s enough for today.)
Realizing she had been noticed, Rinka quickly switched back to her amiable persona.
Pushing further and souring relations would be meaningless.
“Ah, sorry. I guess even Demons Gear gets bored, huh? Would you like some tea?”
“…Alright.”
“Ah, wait, Nana. That’s the one for our guests.”
Ignoring Miroku’s words, Ciel drank the tea.
The brief glimpse of coldness as a Demons Gear was gone.
“It’s fine. If she enjoys it, that’s all that matters.”
“Very delicious. Though, I think a bit more sugar would be nice.”
Their taste preferences seemed youthful, Mihaya and Rinka silently thought.
Now that things had reached this point, deeper contemplation wasn’t possible.
Rinka glanced at Miroku, saying, “Oh, by the way”.
“Soon, I believe you’ll be visiting Jilnias Academy. It hasn’t been decided yet, but we’re sending envoys to form agreements with various parties in preparation for the war against Kisou Academy. We’d like your help in establishing a partnership between Jilnias Academy and Mikage Academy as part of the sister school initiative.”
“Indeed… There’s no reason for us to decline. It might also pave the way for future connections with Jilnias Academy.”
Changing from her earlier demeanor, Miroku nodded seriously.
“Yes. Therefore, we will arrange a meeting with Jilnias Academy’s Student Council here—”
Just as Rinka said this, Miroku’s Dive Gear rang.
Rinka gestured for her to proceed.
Apologizing sheepishly, Miroku stood up and started the call in the corner of the room.
“Yes, what is it? …Eh? Why? I don’t understand what you’re saying—”
The call lasted less than three minutes.
Throughout, Miroku maintained her questioning tone, finishing the conversation with a puzzled look before returning to her seat.
“Miroku-chan, what happened?”
“That is…,”
Miroku looked at the three and began speaking.
“We found a legendary genius expelled from Jilnias Academy deep in the dungeon and are bringing them back…”
“What are you talking about?”
It was an utterly normal reaction.
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