Chapter 32: Simple Happening (1)

I’m sorry to Sensei, but I left all of that day’s learning to Sensei and headed to Aomori-senpai with Mika.

I thought she would get angry, but she said, how could she see a student caring for her friend badly, and told me to hurry up and finish it.

“…Stop, Sora.”

“….Aomori-senpai, it’ll probably be okay…”

“Huh… Am I being hated… Maybe it’s natural…”

“Mika, stop it… It’ll be okay…”

Aomori-senpai stopped me in front of Seia’s hospital room.

Normally, she wouldn’t stop me, but today there’s a companion, and since the companion is a member of the Tea Party, she’d naturally be wary.

While I was trying to appease Mika, who was about to fall into low spirits again…

“It’s okay, Mine, let them in.”

“…!”

Seia’s voice was heard from beyond the door.

Mika’s body trembled slightly.

She might still be in pain, but I’m also here, so she’ll be able to endure it.

-Creak-

“It’s been a while. Seia… And…”

“…Yeah… It was real… Ugh…. Yeah…”

“It’s okay, I was expecting it to some extent…. It’s been a while, Mika, how have you been?”

It’s over.

She was anxious and cried painfully and sadly alone, hoping that someone would save her, not stop her.

She dropped the sword with the tip pointed at herself, the sword that she couldn’t bring herself to stab, because someone just had to push it.

“Hic… Ugh… Sob…. Waaaaah!”

She couldn’t stop herself, she couldn’t cut off her legs, so she stopped her legs that were running tirelessly.

She sat on the ground… and started pouring out the emotions that she had been suppressing while acting like herself, which no longer suited her.

She sat on the ground and cried and wailed for a long time.

In times like these, it’s beneficial to just let her pour it out for a long time, because she had accumulated so much, so much that there was no time for the wounds to fester.

Mika just didn’t have anyone to open the door for her to pour it out, and she couldn’t open it herself.

“I’m sorry…. Seia… I… I’m sorry….”

So, in a corner of the Aid Squad, a cry was heard for a long time.

It’s really fortunate. It’s a corner of an unused building, so there’s no chance that other people will hear the moment when her beautiful voice breaks down.

“Are you calm now? Mika?”

“Yeah…”

I wonder how much time has passed.

Mika’s emotions, which she had begun to pour out, were so deep and thick that only after crying for a long time, her voice hoarse and her eyes swollen and red, did she pour it all out and show the bottom.

Her makeup is already a mess… At least I should wipe away the tears, so I gently grab Mika’s cheek and lightly wipe around her eyes with a handkerchief.

“You’re completely used to it, huh? Sora?”

“Yes?”

“Ahaha… Yeah… It’s good… It feels like an older… No, like a big sister…?”

I don’t know what she’s talking about, but I’m glad she’s calmed down.

The two of them continued to talk about things they hadn’t been able to say to each other for a long time.

I’m probably an uninvited guest, but… Isn’t it okay to listen?

I take a step back and wait for the two of them to finish their conversation.

Their relationship, no, their friendship, must have been very thick, so this much time, a day, would not be enough, but isn’t it a good sight?

“Yeah… Ah! Right, Sora?”

“Yes?”

While they were continuing their conversation, Mika suddenly turned around and called me.

“Seia, you know… You knew we were coming, right? And you seemed to know that I wouldn’t harm Seia anymore?”

“Certainly… If you didn’t know, you would have been surprised as soon as you saw Mika… If you knew she would harm you, you would have run away, right?”

“That’s right? I knew, but I didn’t tell you everything on purpose…”

Huh? Wait a minute… You knew everything… And you didn’t tell me everything… On purpose..?

“Ahaha☆ Sora?”

“Yes, Mika.”

“Grab my arm.”

“?! Wait, Sora?! Mika?!”

That day, Seia couldn’t stop laughing until she fainted. Physically.

“Ugh… Isn’t that too much…?”

“Ahaha☆ You’re finally awake?”

“It was a good result, so let’s move on…?”

A simple faint caused by tickling. Seia is weak, so it took a little time, but she woke up soon.

“Hmm… Then let’s discuss the future.”

“Huh? Straight to business?”

“Mika, you know we were chatting a little while ago, right?”

After waking up, she straightened her posture and clothes and spoke.

Certainly… The situation has changed rapidly, so it’s time to get things organized.

According to Mika’s mention, there will be a need to take some measures against the academy called Arius.

“Mika, how much do you know about the current situation of Arius?”

“Yeah… It’s in a very harsh environment, and they hate both Trinity and Gehenna?”

“Mika, what do you want to do with Arius? You still want to save them, even though you’ve been through that, don’t you?”

“…”

‘…Yeah… I still want to save those children… Those children… Are… As Sora would say, they’re just children who haven’t received the opportunity yet…”

“That’s enough. Then I’ll explain what’s going on there from now on. I also felt threatened and couldn’t find out much, so please understand.”

Seia started to explain about Arius.

She explained about Arius being exploited by an adult other than Sensei, about the children who had no choice but to become like that in pain and brainwashing.

And she explained everything about the end of the children who were deprived of the opportunity to learn, and what terrible things would happen if it continued as it is.

“I… I seem to have gotten involved in something too big… Is this something that a low-ranking official like me should hear?!”

“Oh my? Sora, it’s too late? Besides, you’re not just a low-ranking official, you’re already out of bounds in many ways~!”

“What do you mean by many ways….?”

“Ahaha Secret! And… Now it’s my turn to explain, right?”

“That’s right, let’s start.”

What, I was lightly dismissed and had the subject changed…

Mika started talking about Arius and the plans that Mika herself had made.

In the process, her expression darkened from time to time, but each time, I grabbed her hand from the side and pulled her slightly to make her regain her senses.

Each time, her darkened expression turned into embarrassment, which might have been a little fun?

This is why Mika can’t stop joking… Anyway, when she started to talk about Azusa-senpai, Seia opened her mouth again.

“That child is fine. Well, I wasn’t just playing around, so please forgive me a little.”

“Wow… Seia… Have you ever heard the word vicious?”

“I haven’t.”

“Then listen now…”

You prepared that many numbers underwater and didn’t say anything to me? Really? I’ll complain a lot later.

Anyway, all the information has finally been released, so we’re about to prepare a plan now…

“Hmm… Then where should we start…”

“Don’t do it.”

“Yes? Seia? What do you mean…”

Seia opened her mouth and said not to do anything. Why?

“Seia… It’s a bit much for me to say this, but if we do nothing, something really big will happen, you know? Even if I don’t join, those children will kidnap or kill Nagisa…”

“I don’t mean to really do nothing, Mika.”

“Ah… I think I get it?”

“…?”

Did you understand what the two of you were trying to do with just that? I can’t follow this conversation.

The two of them are doing something together… I guess I’m just a commoner, so I couldn’t understand what the two of you were thinking.

After a brief explanation of the plan, I understood to some extent, but I still have a long way to go to follow the two of you…

Anyway, the conversation, the meeting, ended when the sky was getting dark.

Both Mika and Seia said that they had finished thinking, and they left the building of the Aid Squad, promising the next time.

I also heard all the plans from Mika separately, so the next action is already decided.

All that’s left is to wait for the time, so I moved while chatting casually.

“By the way, Sora… Won’t you call me senpai anymore?”

“Huh? Wasn’t it insubordination?”

“Ahaha☆ Sora, you’ve already done it?”

“Ugh, you’re poking at something painful…”

I got excited and called her senpai… It’s true that she’s a senior, but basically, she’s my superior, so what I did was insubordination.

There were many high-ranking people who called each other like friends after work, but at that time, it wasn’t after work, and with Mika… Are we close… friends?

No, is this Mika’s strange sense of distance? While I was in such confusion, Mika took the lead.

“Then~ Call me senpai when we’re alone?”

“Ah? Eh? That’s… But still…. Someone might hear…”

-Grab-

“Call me senpai?”

“Hiccup…”

Mika grabbed my shoulder and spoke with her face close, with a sense of intimidation….. In the end, we agreed to call her senpai when we’re alone.

It was already dark when we arrived at the annex, because it’s far from the Aid Squad, and it’s in a particularly secluded and unpopular old ward of the Aid Squad.

“Ugh… Something’s been tough since this morning…”

I feel a little grateful to Sensei and head to my room. Every time I take a step, the sound of the shoes provided by the Tea Party echoes softly in the hallway.

Because it’s night, the atmosphere has become similar to the atmosphere that might appear in a horror movie. I can feel a slight presence on the upper floor, so I guess they’re not asleep yet.

When I arrived at the floor where the rooms of the Supplementary Class Club members and my room were, Sensei’s door, right next to my room, was open and light was leaking out.

The voices coming from…

“I’m sorry for disturbing you! I, I’ll come back a little later, Sensei, no, oh, I shouldn’t come today, right?! I, I don’t know well…. Ba, Nu, I’m sorry for being insensitive, au, auu….”

“Wait a minute, where are you going? I need to know more details! Explain in more detail what the two of you were doing, no, if possible, can you reenact it in front of my eyes?”

I heard Hifumi-senpai’s excited voice, and Hanako’s playful voice. I don’t feel good about something, so I run quickly.

“What’s going on?!…. Huh? A swimsuit…? Eh? Why?”

Inside the room… Hifumi-senpai, Hanako, and Sensei…? Hanako is in a swimsuit. Eh? Why… Why?

[All three of you, be quiet… Please….]

After Sensei’s long explanation, the misunderstanding was cleared up, but… No, so why a swimsuit?

Hanako changed clothes and returned to her room.

“I see… Hifumi-chan was discussing future plans with Sora-chan and Sensei…”

“Hanako-chan had something to consult with Sensei… In her pajamas….”

“No, that wasn’t pajamas, was it? A swimsuit?”

No, that can’t be pajamas, can it? No, wait, I heard about it before. I remember hearing from other Tea Party seniors that there was someone who went on a rampage wearing a swimsuit in a regular chapel class. Could it be…

“Oh my? I attended chapel wearing a swimsuit too? Everyone is too caught up in stereotypes.”

“Was it you…. That…”

“Oh my? I must have been quite famous?”

“You’re famous in many ways… Yes…”

At least 3 departments were overturned because of this person… Probably, surely…

[Hanako, you said you had something to consult about Azusa, right?]

“That’s right. Hifumi-chan and Sora-chan, please listen too.

Azusa-chan, she goes out somewhere every night and doesn’t come back until dawn.

At first, I thought she was just having trouble sleeping because she was in an unfamiliar place, but it doesn’t seem to be that.

What’s more worrying is… I’ve never seen Azusa-chan properly asleep…”

“Come to think of it… I also feel like Azusa-chan was always awake first or didn’t fall asleep until late…”

Hanako talked about her concerns about Azusa-senpai’s case, and said that she needed to find out the cause of this for Azusa-senpai’s health.

In the process, Hifumi-senpai told Hanako about the expulsion, and Sensei and I affirmed it, and Hanako also learned the truth about the Supplementary Class Club.

Hanako’s confession and apology about the exam followed. She played a prank in the middle, saying that she should apologize naked, but we somehow got through it.

“…”

“….Fufu. The Trinity traitor. It’s really an expression that suits that person. Because the logic is that everything that interferes with her plan is all traitors.”

Hanako… With just this much information, she deduced by reasoning that the Supplementary Class Club was a club to find Trinity’s traitors.

“Hifumi-chan….? Why was Hifumi-chan a suspect? Weren’t you close to Nagisa-san?”

“Yes?! Yes? M, me too, I was a suspect? Ah, auu…. That’s…. That, I see…. Uh, why was I also suspected….”

“Swimsuit Masked Gang….”

When I murmured the name of the underworld organization I heard someday, Hifumi-senpai flinched slightly… Could it be…?

After thinking about it and having various conversations, quite a bit of time passed. Since it would interfere with tomorrow’s schedule if this continued, we decided to disband for now.

After a brief chat, not a chat, Hanako and Hifumi-senpai left the room…

“Im, impure!! Capital punishment!! It’s capital punishment!!!”

The day ended with Koharu’s outburst. Today… It was a bit eventful….