A group of about forty students from Gehenna stepped off the train at the Trinity Autonomous District station and crossed the platform.
Their destination was none other than the campus of Trinity General Academy.
This marked the beginning of an exchange student experience week jointly organized by Trinity and Gehenna… or more precisely, driven by Mika and Hina, with Makoto getting roped in.
“Welcome, students from Gehenna! We are delighted to have you at Trinity. From here on, our Justice Realization Department will—”
There were others waiting to greet them at the station. The vice president of the Justice Realization Department, Hasumi, and her subordinates had been assigned to wait ahead of time.
“Ohh. Ooooh…”
“Senpai, why are you making those strange sounds again?”
At the forefront of the Gehenna students, the chairperson of the Manma Battle, Makoto, shook her head repeatedly upon seeing Hasumi.
As she observed this, Iroha’s hand instinctively drifted toward her wrist. She thought it was wise to neutralize things before Makoto caused any trouble.
“…What exactly is that reaction?”
“Even upon a second glance, it’s truly unpleasant in scale. It’s even larger than when I previously blocked this Makoto-san’s path…”
“Larger?”
“Isn’t it! I can’t believe I’m dealing with this enormous woman! If I’d known she would represent, I would have brought Satsuki with me!”
“…”
“Oh, you’ve done it again. Sigh…”
Iroha cautiously glanced at Hasumi’s expression, turning her head just as other members of the Justice Realization Department chose to discreetly step back five paces from Hasumi.
“Enormous woman, huh…”
“Truly, those breasts are unreasonably large! But at least I’ve confirmed Misono Mika’s tastes!”
“…?”
Iroha immediately regretted not having put Makoto to sleep earlier. At this rate, that deranged chairperson could cause quite a disaster.
Thinking it was all due to her attempt to preserve Makoto’s minimal dignity in front of the Gehenna students made Iroha’s vision go dark. Here she was, sacrificing something almost nonexistent, and she could see it evaporating in real-time. What a ridiculous situation.
But no matter how much she disliked her, Makoto was still Iroha’s senpai, and over their time together, they had developed a bond, so she could only justify it to herself that way.
“What is it? Why are you so surprised, Hanekawa Hasumi? Isn’t it well-known that the Justice Realization Department serves to fulfill Misono Mika’s vulgar desires at all times and places! And let’s not forget that you’ve already been long aware that you are one of her mistresses! Kikik!”
“…What a ridiculous thing.”
Hasumi, doubting her own ears, could hear whispers from her fellow Justice Realization Department members behind her.
“Hasumi-senpai is one of Mika-san’s mistresses…?”
“Truly, Hasumi-senpai’s chest is invincible then.”
“More importantly, having us serve Mika-san, while not an unpleasant proposition, tarnishes the Justice Realization Department’s honor…”
“W-what?!”
Having caught all those murmurs, Hasumi pondered over whom she should direct her ire at.
Should it be Makoto, for making such ludicrous allegations that undermined her and the Justice Realization Department?
Or, perhaps, Mika, for instigating such misunderstandings with her usual unruly behavior?
After a brief deliberation, Hasumi concluded that Makoto was indeed to blame. And just as she showed signs of losing her composure, Iroha promptly attempted to pull the girl she had been eyeing away from her.
That girl would have surely retreated had she not suddenly stepped forward.
“Wow, such a big sister~!”
“…Huh?”
“I want to be big like you, Onee-chan!”
The girl’s name was Tanga Ibuki. Unlike Hina or Hoshino, who didn’t particularly look their age, she was actually of elementary school age, possessing a suitably small frame.
Seeing Ibuki step forward, Hasumi felt her outrage rapidly dissipate. It wouldn’t do to lose composure in front of a severely under-aged student, regardless of the academy she hailed from.
That was a basic rule everyone should abide by, and Ibuki’s adorably cute appearance played its part in calming Hasumi.
“I-Ibuki?!”
“…Hmm. So, you’re Ibuki-chan?”
“Yup! Ibuki is Ibuki! Nice to meet you!”
“Being large isn’t necessarily a good thing, Ibuki-chan. As Makoto just mentioned earlier, hearing unpleasant titles like ‘enormous woman’ may happen.”
“Uh… I don’t get it. Why is being big bad? That’s weird. It was Makoto-senpai’s fault!”
“W-what…?!”
Makoto gaped in shock, betrayed by none other than the mascot that had suddenly emerged from the Manma Battle under some unknown circumstances.
However, her train of thought did a complete 180 in an instant.
It wasn’t betrayal from Ibuki. Ibuki was never wrong, and what she said was the very definition of truth.
In other words, the true betrayal was by her own actions against Ibuki’s feelings. So Makoto was indeed at fault…
“I-I’m sorry! I’ll apologize for calling you an ‘enormous woman’, so please forgive this foolish Makoto!!!”
“…Y-yeah?”
“The truth is, I’m just a tiny bit jealous that your gigantic chest is larger than this Makoto-sama’s!!! So please forgive me…!”
Seeing Makoto prostrating herself on the floor in such a pitiful manner, Iroha couldn’t help but nod. To her, Ibuki’s desires and feelings were of utmost importance.
In fact, students from Gehenna even began to murmur, “Isn’t the Manma Battle chairperson definitely Ibuki?” This gave insight into how much influence Ibuki held there.
Truly, she was the undisputed top of the Manma Battle hierarchy. No one stood above her; even Manma bowed before her, symbolizing absolute superiority.
“As long as you promise not to call me that again, I can forgive you.”
“Y-yeah! I promise, as much as you want! This promise comes from this Makoto, who will soon become Student Council President! More precious than gold… No, what really matters right now is that! Is this good enough, Ibuki?!”
“Hehe. You apologized properly~!”
With an air of indifference, Ibuki effortlessly handled Makoto’s desperate attempts to reconcile. Hasumi thought she really must convey to the upper echelons of Trinity that this little girl was the real power behind Gehenna. If an incident were to occur, it would undoubtedly escalate into a dispute between the two academies.
*
Guided by Hasumi and the Justice Realization Department, the Gehenna students arrived at the auditorium of Trinity’s campus, facing one familiar and two unfamiliar faces.
“…What’s going on, Senior Administrator? I noticed you were missing; were you here beforehand?”
“Of course I came first to inspect the dormitory that Trinity plans to provide and check the status of the classrooms we’ll share with Trinity students while we’re here, as well as the quality of the meals. Unlike you, who strolled in right before everything was set.”
“Well, you did what you were supposed to as the Student Council. Were you hoping for a compliment? I imagine you were thinking about the Student Council President the entire time you were working, so do spare me the posturing… Kik!”
“Sigh?”
“Hmph. You two should stop with the childish banter and move on to constructive discussions, shall we? I’d like to offer you tea, but given the sheer number of you…”
With a smile, Nagisa intervened in the petty rivalry between the heads of the two feuding groups, releasing a quiet sigh within. She had no idea how Mika managed to drive the improvement of relations between the two academies while dealing with such tiresome individuals.
“Hey. Why are you enjoying your tea all by yourself then?”
“It’s impractical to serve all of you, but enjoying it alone isn’t quite a challenge now, is it?”
“…I swear, they drive me insane.”
Ako grimaced inwardly at the fact that all Student Council members were unhinged as she observed the teacher next to Nagisa who was keenly watching them. Despite showing signs of fatigue from the hardships of the previous night, excitement sparkled in his eyes at meeting new students.
Surely that’s why the students speak so highly of him. Observing that demeanor, Ako couldn’t help but contemplate seeking advice from him in the future.
“Anyway. Welcome to Trinity, students from Gehenna. I am Kirihouji Nagisa, the Student Council President of Trinity T-party. And the person beside me… some of you might already know her, but would you like… to introduce yourself?”
“Such things are typically done by oneself… in that case, nice to meet you all. I am the advisory teacher from Shalle who will be with you while you stay here and support you. I look forward to our time together.”
“Hmm. A teacher from Shalle. I’ve only heard of you through rumors but, indeed, you seem fitting to rule alongside me.”
“…Ruling the world?”
“However, about this matter… there’s something that’s been bothering me since earlier.”
“…What is it?”
Knowing full well what kind of question awaited her, Nagisa asked again, hoping it wouldn’t be the one she dreaded—one she found difficult to answer.
“Where is Misono Mika?”
“…”
‘…How am I supposed to explain that Mika is currently being utilized in real-time?’
In a twist of irony, it was no surprise that the one who first brought Mika into play for the situation was Nagisa herself.
