Chapter 19: Rumination

As the midterm exams approached, and nearby libraries and cafes were crowded with students, and many students were spending time studying at home, the Tea Party was experiencing hell.

Several administrative and transportation facilities, which operated under the General Student Council’s system, were paralyzed at some point without any warning.

Of course, we sent numerous letters to the General Student Council, but we only received responses such as they were aware of the situation and were working to resolve it.

It seems that this administrative paralysis is a major incident that spans the entire Kivotos, not just Trinity.

With the General Student Council’s response that the General Student Council President was also working on this matter, the Eden Treaty was also paralyzed.

“…Senior, how long do we have to keep doing this?”

“…How should I know…”

The senior in charge of driving who has assisted Seia for several months with me, Senior Hayami Yuzuki, and I.

In the Tea Party, the neutral faction, the neutral faction standing in the center of the Tea Party, mainly receives and handles complaints that occur within the Trinity Autonomous District.

In other words, all of the Tea Party members of the neutral faction, including me and Senior Hayami, are clinging to the reception and resolution of complaints and are collectively dying.

Memories of company life flow like PTSD.

I’ll probably be working overtime again today…

The administrative paralysis across Trinity generated an absurd amount of complaints,

so even though other factions besides the neutral faction attached all the remaining manpower other than the faction’s work to the work of the neutral faction, the complaints did not decrease.

Due to administrative paralysis, the number of rule-breakers and Sukeban increased, and the use of powerful regulated weapons obtained from the black market by those Sukeban increased,

Leading to a deterioration in public safety.

Due to this, the Justice Task Force also had an increase in workload, to the point where people were collapsing, I heard.

At least it’s a large academy like Trinity, so it’s holding up, but there are said to be one or two smaller academies that are on the verge of collapse.

“At least it’s fortunate that the temporary cooperation with Millennium has been resolved well…”

“Thanks to that, we’re even more short-staffed…”

Trinity and Millennium were holding on by cooperating with each other until this situation passed.

Millennium had prepared a power plant for the operation of the facilities so that they could operate some of the administrative and transportation systems independently in preparation for emergencies.

However, this will not last long either.

The paralysis of various systems that has occurred now is that almost all systems pass through the Sanctum Tower managed by the General Student Council.

In other words, this simultaneous paralysis of the autonomous district system meant that there was a big problem with the Sanctum Tower.

Millennium was operating a system that minimized the use of the Sanctum Tower, but this was ultimately a minimization.

It meant that it could not escape the influence of the Sanctum Tower and could cause a system shutdown at any time.

Anyway, Millennium demanded manpower to replace some of the paralyzed mechanical devices due to the temporary minimization of Sanctum Tower use,

and Trinity barely maintained the current state through a temporary cooperative relationship to stabilize the autonomous district by borrowing the system created based on Millennium’s excellent technology.

Nevertheless, the presence of the Sanctum Tower was so huge that even Millennium’s system could not completely resolve the inconvenience across Trinity.

-Screech-

“…Everyone is here…”

“Ah…Nagisa… What brings you here…”

“The Sukeban riot that occurred on Mayland Street in the outskirts, are all the documents finished…?”

“Yes… They’re all finished.”

Nagisa came into the administrative office with a tired face and took a document.

Mayland Street is a street that directly touches Abydos, which is in the buffer zone with Gehenna.

Since the Eden Treaty was near, although it was temporarily paralyzed, they must be carefully handling things that happen nearby.

Recently, all three members of the Tea Party are not in good condition.

It wouldn’t be easy to clean up the autonomous district, which is purely becoming a mess…

So the days of being buried in the explosion of workload at the Tea Party pass.

A few weeks after the work explosion due to administrative paralysis began, the midterm exams were even postponed due to the unprecedented chaos,

and it became difficult to maintain the status quo with the system due to cooperation with Millennium.

Millennium’s power plant was also paralyzed once or twice, so Trinity, which borrowed Millennium’s system, was also affected.

And I was called to the Tea Party office now.

-Knock, knock, knock-

“Yumetsubasa Sora, I’ll enter.”

“You’re here, Sora.”

“I see…Sora is your companion.”

As soon as I entered the Tea Party office with my tired body, Nagisa’s face, tired from fatigue, greeted me.

I guess Hanekawa was also called, Hanekawa was also waiting in the office.

More than that, companion? What’s going on?

“I would like to give Sora a request, an administrative order.”

“Is that administrative order…”

“Sora? Please go to the General Student Council in D.U. with Hasumi.”

Yeah, it’s finally time.

The purpose would be to protest against the rumors of the disappearance of the General Student Council President, the paralysis of the administrative system that has continued for several weeks,

and the General Student Council’s weak response despite the fact that many academies have been created that are on the verge of collapse.

“As Sora is a reasonably intelligent person, you know… What I would like to ask is as follows.

We are requesting an explanation for the measures and inadequate response to the simultaneous paralysis of the administrative system that has suddenly occurred throughout Kivotos and has not been resolved for several weeks, causing confusion.

Even with cooperation with Millennium, we are gradually reaching our limits.. In the first place, Millennium accepted our cooperation with Trinity because they were not in such a good situation.

To that extent, the recovery of the Sanctum and General Student Council’s administrative system is now urgent.

Investigation into the truth of the disappearance of the General Student Council President. Recently, the responses to the letters we sent came not in the name of the General Student Council President,

but in the name of Chief Administrative Officer Nanagami Rin. Despite the fact that it has been enough time for her to come up with a solution, the General Student Council’s response has been inadequate.

The matter regarding the Eden Treaty has been naturally suspended, but this is a suspension due to a meeting held independently in our Trinity and Gehenna,

not a content according to the mediation of the General Student Council President.

Therefore, our Tea Party is considering that the disappearance of the General Student Council President is not just a rumor, but a fact, and we request an investigation into the truth accordingly.”

The expected content flowed out as it was.

It has to be.

All of the Tea Party members and Justice Task Force members are on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

I’m holding on because I’m a little familiar with work under these adverse conditions, but I’m also nearing my limit, so how would others be? A solution is needed.

But why Hanekawa?

“The reason for accompanying Hanekawa is to add weight to the statement.

I personally trust Sora, but since she is close to the bottom in the Tea Party, if Hanekawa, the vice-leader of the Justice Realization Committee, is with her, it will add weight to the statement.

If Sora wasn’t there, I would have dispatched only Hanekawa to the General Student Council. Sora, who has a certain level of reliable combat power and the legitimacy of the Tea Party,

and Hanekawa, who will add weight to the statement, will be enough to demand an explanation from the General Student Council.

So I would like Sora and Hanekawa to leave work early today and rest.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“…I understand…”

-Screech-

“Then I look forward to your cooperation tomorrow. Senior Hanekawa….”

“Fufu, it seems like we’re often involved with each other, Sora. It’s unfortunate that the situation is not very good, but I look forward to your cooperation tomorrow, Sora.”

In fact, we often met for Tea Party work and exchanged Momotalk a long time ago, so perhaps we were a selection that could proceed comfortably with each other in terms of work and dispatch.

The reason why I, a low-level member, often get involved with Hanekawa is also thanks to my exceptionally strong body among the Tea Party attendants.

Since Hanekawa is basically a field worker, I, who have a low possibility of being injured and fainting, was often mobilized for Justice Realization Committee-related work.

Hanekawa left first, and I also returned to the administrative office to prepare for leaving work.

The administrative office was quiet.

No, it was so quiet that I was alone.

When I was called to the Tea Party office, other personnel must have moved together to the Sanctus faction for work.

It’s probably busy because it’s the time when Nagisa’s host term is about to pass to Seia’s host term…

I packed my things and moved home first.

I wasn’t worried because Nagisa said she would separately spread the word about leaving work.

My head is complicated.

What have I been doing so far?

Something towards myself, which I had forgotten while burying myself in work, was tearing me apart.

” ‘…Hic…”

As soon as I entered the house, I sat down.

Until now, I have continued to voluntarily carry out the actions I hate the most.

The Eden Treaty.

The reason I came across the Eden Treaty was trivial, no, it might not have been trivial, but at least it wasn’t something I would risk my life for.

The reason I came across the Eden Treaty and became serious was simply because I wanted to lighten the burden of those who were friendly to me, who would become my friends.

Compared to what I drove myself into, compared to the extent I drove myself, it might be a trivial and foolish reason, but I started to obsess over it.

If only the Eden Treaty could be successfully completed, I would be free and everyone would be together, a little more comfortably laughing, chatting, and just hanging out.

But it came to me urgently, so I tried because I’ve rarely tried for someone, so everyone can be happy with this.

I burned myself, tore myself apart, and even though I hated myself, I kept going, knowing that it was self-justification, saying that it was an unavoidable thing for everyone.

No, what I did was not something like burning myself.

I deceived and hurt others.

I became the person I hate the most.

When the path towards it was scattered and no longer visible, I drove myself, no, maybe it wasn’t myself, but inevitably drove myself.

I just threw myself into the sea of work with my seniors to forget.

But that’s why, because I tried so hard to forget, I was afraid of this moment when I had to face it head-on.

If everything goes back to nothing, if it becomes a futile and futile struggle, everything I’ve done so far will be buried in the ground with the shovel of self-justification, and the knife of self-loathing will surely turn towards me, so I was scared.

Ah, how funny.

I wanted to be close to others, but I pushed others away with lies, and now I hate self-justification and my previous actions.

What should I do now… What should I do…

I don’t know anything.