“…Really, how could they keep this a secret? Mika-san.”

Looking at the barricaded High Cathedral of the Union, Nagisa let out a deep sigh.

The High Cathedral of the Union holds historical significance. As a monument representing Trinity, it is directly tied to the birth of Trinity since it was the site of the First Council.

Even with barricades blocking access to such a place, it was surprising that not only was it not controversial, but they could keep it a secret from Nagisa, who is one of the representatives of the T-party.

“…I remember that Nagisa was also a student council president. No matter how you put it, how is it possible to keep something like this secret from another student council president, even if you’re the host of the T-party?”

“The host’s authority isn’t all-powerful, teacher. This matter should have reached my ears from the beginning… If not, I should have at least heard something relevant once. In other words, someone must have gone to great lengths to hide this information. Mika-san is far too busy for that, so that leaves…”

“Fufu… I’m sorry, Senpai Nagisa. But Mika-senpai was so earnest about keeping this matter a secret that she even entrusted me with her authority as the T-party host to request the concealment, so I had no choice but to meet those expectations.”

“Yes, as you can see… Hanako tried hard to conceal this, so it’s not surprising that even I, as the initial defendant, didn’t know about it. If I had made any attempts to dig into what Hanako was hiding, it might have been another story…”

“Hanako must be exceptionally competent.”

As the teacher marveled at the story, Nagisa shook her head, pressing her fingers into her temples.

“Last year, Hanako received endless love calls from all major factions and core institutions of Trinity, including the T-party. To say she’s just competent would be an understatement.”

“I personally despised that sort of thing♡”

“Then how did Hanako end up belonging to the T-party… No, it must be because of Mika.”

“That’s obvious. Mika-senpai is an object of my admiration and respect. I want to contribute as much as I can to such a person. Mika-senpai was the only one who could illuminate my path back then. There was no option but to follow.”

Now that the teacher was familiar enough, he let Hanako’s worship slide. Whether it was because religion was one of the academy’s specialties, it seemed that all the students he had met at Trinity shared a vibe of following Mika.

“…Enough of that talk, how do we get past this barricade? Are we just going to smash through it?”

Thud!!!

With her knuckles tapping the barricade, Aco pouted. It was already annoying enough that she was exiled to Trinity because of Hina and Mika, and now she was being delayed from going home by this troublesome girl; after all, Hina was currently flying a helicopter toward Trinity.

‘Seriously, what a bothersome girl.’

Mika kept calling her a bothersome girl, but Aco thought the chance of something serious happening to her was quite low. If something went wrong with a girl who surpassed the tanks in existence, that would be a serious issue as well.

Yet somehow, it bothered her, so even if this was purely friendly concern… Aco was full of the desire to resolve this incident quickly and go home.

…Though she would have to return to Trinity tomorrow anyway, that wasn’t the main point.

“Um… the door is right next to you.”

As Miyako pointed out the obvious, Aco immediately retorted.

“There’s no way a door that has been installed for access control would just open up.”

“…Aco-san, isn’t it natural that my biometric information would allow it to open? I’m the one responsible for it. So, if I lean my body against the door…”

“Wait a minute! Is that what you meant by biometric information?!”

With Aco’s flustered question, most of the group was taken aback by Hanako’s naughty pocket starting to deform against the door. The teacher hurriedly turned his gaze away.

And as three seconds passed, there was no change in the door. Only the teacher noticed that while Hanako’s mouth smiled, that smile didn’t reach her eyes.

“Fufu. That can’t be right. This door simply opens with a fingerprint and iris scan.”

“…Then why the strange act?”

“I thought everyone seemed overly tense, so I figured I’d try it out to suggest you calm down a bit. Not being tense is a problem, but being too tense is a problem too.”

Adding an unexpectedly reasonable explanation, Hanako simply opened the door. If Mika were here, she would have seen that Hanako was quite nervous herself, but sadly, Mika, being the root cause of this situation, was not present.

“Honestly, I don’t know why you put access control here in the High Cathedral. It seems like it’s not the time for explanations, so let’s go inside. And addressing that issue is entirely Mika-san’s responsibility.”

Just as Nagisa tried to enter through the opened door, she was obstructed by someone. It was Wakamo, gripping a rifle with a fearsome bayonet attached.

“Leave the lead to me, Nagisa. If there’s a possibility that something has happened to Mika, we can’t rule out the chance of a fight. In such cases, it may be slightly dangerous for a non-combatant to go first. Also…”

A vibrant crimson aura emanated from Wakamo, who wore a face mask.

“If, by any chance, someone were to harm Mika… Fufu. I will obliterate anything obstructing my path while preparing to fulfill my duty.”

With those words, Wakamo began to lead the way, and in response,

Vrrrooom—

A chilling resonance engulfed everyone’s ears from deep within the cathedral.

The teacher instinctively ran his hand over a rectangular object he had carefully kept in his coat.

*

The High Cathedral of the Union was never small in size. While it was not as grand as Trinity’s cathedral, it definitely boasted a larger scale than ordinary cathedrals.

As six people stepped into the main hall, led by Wakamo, a figure revealed itself before them.

“It’s been a while, teacher. How have you been? Hehe.”

“…Black Suit. Your presence here means Mika is here too, doesn’t it?”

“That’s not a question; it’s closer to a certainty. Hmm. Knowing that the Heavenly Mikael is in negotiations with our Gematria, it’s only natural you would connect the dots.”

A bizarrely shaped man, unlike any beastman or robot found everywhere in Kivotos, caused the students to heighten their guard.

The issue was, among the students present, only Wakamo and Miyako could rightly be called combatants.

“Teacher, your suspicion is correct. The Heavenly Mikael is indeed here.”

“…Where?”

“Oh, I can’t directly tell you that, as it would spoil the fun. Although this was not part of the original plan, a fitting spot has emerged for a test… Hehehe. First, listen to this; it should be quite interesting.”

The Black Suit’s mouth held a broad grin. While the students felt a chill from the sight, the teacher remained calm.

“I remember mentioning to you once that there’s an adult from outside Kivotos who isn’t a member of Gematria.”

“…I don’t see how that relates to the current situation. Just answer my question. Where is Mika?”

“Oh no, the connections are overflowing, teacher. You’ve just begun a trial to rescue a princess, but that princess has been throwing herself into such trials for a long time…”

As soon as she heard the Black Suit’s words, Nagisa’s suspicion morphed into certainty.

“You are the collaborator that Mika-san spoke of.”

However, the Black Suit didn’t even spare Nagisa a glance, much less answer her. To them, she was the pillar supporting Misono Mika, a treasure cherished above all.

The Black Suit had no intention of doing anything that would provoke her anger. If Mika was simply a student with the highest mystical powers, he would have regarded her as a mere experiment; similarly, he should have viewed Nagisa.

But at the moment the hypothesis, established through the information proposed by Golkont, turned into certainty. The Black Suit understood that it would be the worst choice to be hostile toward Mika.

He understood that they needed to display a degree of understanding in the research they pursued, but actively opposing or even entangling with her was something that should be avoided at all costs, making them first and foremost the teacher.

And from the limited threat posed by Color, they maintained a somewhat cooperative relationship, while also presenting the researcher personally with a highly interesting research topic.

For those reasons, the Black Suit held a deeper respect for the sleeping imitation of Misono Mika than for the actual one.

Yet, that didn’t mean he could ignore the opportunity to place the connections built upon the “teacher” as yet another testing ground.

Creek—

The door swung open. And beyond it appeared a humanoid monstrosity, so tall it seemed to reach the ceiling.

Gooooo—

“What you’re facing now is merely a warm-up before the true trial. If you can’t prove anything against this failure, you won’t even be given the chance to participate in the trial.”

The identity of that creature… was the failed experiment of the artificial angel series, Ambrosius.

“…Teacher, please give instructions.”

Everyone in the room felt the danger radiating from that creature. It was not a foe to be underestimated, even if it was merely a warm-up.