Chapter 193 – Darkmtl

Chapter 193



Burying the unpleasant events of last night in a corner of my mind, I boarded the train heading to the Student Council after parting ways with Nagisa early in the morning.

It had been quite a while since I last visited the Student Council in person. Ever since the matter of the Kaiser was resolved, I hadn’t found a compelling reason to come here again.

Well, that was all before today. To push for the trial operation of the Eden Treaty organization, it was inevitable that I would have to visit a few more times.

Due to the busy schedule, the Student Council President wouldn’t be attending in person, and instead, only the Meeting Room of the Student Council building was made available. In reality, it was equally convenient for both Nana and Hina to visit D.U., so it was welcomed news.

However, the fact that SRT was supposed to take the lead as the subject of ETO, made it somewhat odd that the Student Council President wouldn’t be taking part. Still, it was noteworthy that Yukino from the FOX Squad would be attending today’s discussions as the representative of the Student Council President.

It’s true that the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about SRT Special Academy is the FOX Squad and the yet-to-be-invited RABBIT Squad, but there are also many students from other divisions. The very fact that Yukino, an individual not part of the Student Council, would attend on behalf of the Student Council President itself revealed an intention to appoint her as the head of SRT, which would be the subject of ETO…

This means that not only has the disappearance of the Student Council President I had initially anticipated brought the existence of SRT into view, but also that the issue of a leader to guide them is close to being resolved.

“It feels like it’s been a while, Mika. Has it been a little over a month?”

As soon as I visited the Student Council building, Kaya, who had now risen to the position of Defense Office Head, welcomed me. Given my position, it was only natural for executive members to come out to greet me, but I remembered that until now, it had always been Nanagami Rin who had welcomed me.

Personally, I found Kaya to be a bit more approachable than Rin, which made interactions easier. While Rin wasn’t as cold as I had expected, Kaya just felt much friendlier.

Now that I had decided to trust Kaya, I was determined to do so wholeheartedly. The coup she was planning was undoubtedly a patriotic decision to no longer tolerate the incompetence of the Student Council.

So she was definitely innocent. If by any chance Kaya were to betray me…

Then I would just fold her in half. A harsh physical lecture awaited anyone who betrayed my precious trust.

“I think that’s about right. Have you been doing well, Kaya?”

“Unfortunately, the former Defense Office Head was such an idiot—oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be rude…”

“Aha! It’s okay, I understand. I’m honestly amazed that someone as foolish as her could sit in the Defense Office Head position while accepting bribes from Kaiser-like individuals. And, mind you, some people even got caught doing the same thing.”

“Talking to you is as pleasant as I thought it would be, Mika! Thanks to the actions of the former Defense Office Head, our Defense Office’s position has become quite troublesome… While we have made efforts to regain everyone’s trust, it seems we’ll need to put in a lot of work moving forward to return to our former state. It’s a serious issue that our Defense Office, tasked with maintaining the safety of Kivotos, is not trusted.”

“True, that’s right. In reality, it’s true that the atmosphere of distrust towards the Defense Office is rampant… But I believe you can handle it just fine, Kaya! Oh, and if there’s any way I can help, feel free to let me know☆”

“Just hearing that makes me grateful. However, it’s proper for us to resolve internal committee matters on our own. Ah, wait, it’s not exactly help, but I do have a small favor to ask. I’ve heard about today’s meeting in advance from Yukino, and I wanted to ask you for something regarding it.”

Hmm? Was Kaya involved with SRT? It wouldn’t be surprising for a new Defense Office Head to have made some connections.

“I wanted to ask whether it would be alright for me to attend the meeting as an observer. As the Defense Office Head, it’s essential to take an interest in policies that could have a positive effect on the safety of both academies! I believe it’s necessary to understand how these policies are being carried out. Of course, this doesn’t mean I want to participate directly. If you permit it, I’d like to observe the meeting as a spectator.”

“Hmm. Well, it makes sense for our Defense Office Head to observe, so I don’t think anyone will have an issue with it. I guess it shouldn’t be a problem… but the world operates on give and take. So, Kaya, try calling me Mika-san instead of Mika.”

“…Huh?”

“See? It’s not that hard, right? I’m letting you off easy. In the past, I would have insisted you call me Mika-chan. Yeah, lately, I’ve softened up a lot.”

“…That won’t do. After considering your past actions, I can’t bring myself to place you on the same level as me. That’s the judgment I’ve made.”

Ugh, have I really done that much…? Still, being a Defense Office Head certainly earns one respect wherever they go…

“Just once? It’s just one time… Is it really that difficult? Even if I ask like this, is it still not possible? I just want to be a little closer to you, Kaya.”

Holding Kaya’s hands and gazing at her intensely caused her smile to immediately shatter. Her flustered eyes darted around until they finally landed on her own hands held in mine.

“…Just this once, Mika-san. Really, just this one time. After today, I won’t refer to you by any other title. I would appreciate it if you could respect my firm resolution.”

“Okay! Thanks! You don’t need to worry; I won’t bother you anymore. That’s also because…”

Letting go of Kaya’s hands, I pulled out my mobile phone from my pocket. After stopping the ongoing recording, I played it back.

[——I just want to get a little closer to you, Kaya.]

[…Just this once.]

Once I ended the playback, Kaya’s face froze in an instant, as if making a crunch sound.

“Now I can listen to it whenever I want.”

“Please, delete it!”

“Aha! The world operates on give and take! Since I’ve received something solid in return, I’ll generously allow you to attend as an observer☆”

“Mika-san, please… This isn’t good.”

“Nope. I won’t delete it. Every time Kaya treats me harshly from now on, I’ll play this to listen to it alone. Yeah, that way, I can ease my sadness just a bit.”

“…”

Being a light-hearted joke, I eventually did delete it. But could Kaya really think she’d continue calling me Mika-san from now on? That’s a bit too much pressure.

*

Guided by Kaya, I settled down in the empty Meeting Room, and before long, Yukino popped her head in. After exchanging pleasantries, Hina also showed up shortly after.

Since we had met for work and weren’t alone, we shared only brief hugs and greetings, saving the small talk for after we finished tasks.

“The role of the chairperson for the Eden Treaty organization is basically intended to rotate among Trinity, Gehenna, and SRT, but during this trial operation period, I believe it’s best for SRT to take charge. And regardless of how successful the trial operation is, even after the Eden Treaty is properly signed, it would be better for SRT to retain the position for the first year to minimize backlash.”

“I have no choice but to agree with you on that aspect. From the perspectives of Gehenna and Trinity, it wouldn’t be a bad arrangement for SRT to continually hold the chairperson position… However, this could be interpreted as ETO exerting control over the two academies rather than maintaining the peace between them.”

“The trust you and Hina place in SRT is appreciated, but as you said, a monopoly of power will be perceived as surveillance and control. Ideally, we should take a mediator’s stance and have one of the two academies hold the chairperson position after the trial period…”

“No, that won’t do. Absolutely not, Yukino.”

“Correct. In that case, SRT should rather take the inaugural chairperson position.”

If it were anything else, it wouldn’t matter, but if either Trinity or Gehenna took the inaugural chairperson position of ETO? That alone would provoke backlash from the rival academy.

Just because we had a second and third generation wouldn’t mean that backlash would disappear; still, it would certainly be more manageable than with the inaugural chairperson.

“How many people do you think should be dispatched from the two academies during the trial operation? Considering that ETO will take on roles akin to the Justice Realization Department and the Student Council. Realistically, incorporating all members of both departments into ETO would be unreasonable.”

“Even at maximum, it won’t be over 50. We cannot forcibly relocate the members of the Student Council, so voluntary participation is necessary.”

“Hmm. That’s certainly similar on this side too. Wouldn’t it be better to frame it as assigning members to ETO? Maintaining their basic affiliations while prioritizing the instructions from that side during their assignment? I think rotating members over a period of time could allow us to address both the need for personnel and mitigate backlash.”

“Then, would we have to dispatch officials to lead the Justice Realization Department and the Student Council from ETO? That seems nearly equivalent to shifting factions…”

“Well… The concern here might be faction conflicts? That would be a poor picture.”

“In the end, the main body has to be SRT. We could consider dividing personnel into battalions and placing SRT commanders in charge.”

“If it can ease discontent, then that would be a preferable method in many ways…”

“How about we provide SRT training to notable students emerging from the Justice Realization Department and the Student Council on a fast track?”

While considering the various discussions, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment.

“Even if we do that, it wouldn’t solve the faction conflict issue, which would ultimately be a problem.”

At that point, Kaya, who had been quietly writing notes at one end of the table, cautiously expressed her opinion.

“Excuse me for interrupting after saying I would only observe, but is it absolutely necessary to suppress faction conflicts?”

“…Huh?”

“I believe there are ways to utilize faction conflicts under the guise of competition for results…”

“Hmm, as long as it doesn’t get overly heated…?”

“That could be okay.”

“Using a system of rewards and penalties to prevent competition from overheating…”

Indeed, Kaya certainly proved to be capable.