Chapter 58: Fuse (3)

[Nagisa…?]

“Phew…Sensei…? I’ll say it again…I demand an explanation.”

[No…Nagisa? I don’t know what you’re talking about? I think I’ve already explained everything…?]

“If I were in that situation, I would make up a story like that too…of course…yes…”

“Ahaha☆ Sensei? I think it’s already too late?”

I can feel the air inside the Tea Party office changing in real time, becoming heavier and more suffocating as time goes on.

At the very center of the heavy air…yes…Nagi-chan was standing.

Nagi-chan is the one with the deepest anger, so she’s standing in the center…but I’m also angry enough not to be pushed around…yes…

To recall the reason why I’m so angry, let’s turn back time for a moment, no, let’s pull out the memories of the weekend from the memories buried in the planning and preparation to punish the Sensei.

If we turn to the point when Nagi-chan and I were tailing them during the weekend, we had to urgently find a new car due to the lack of a vehicle during the stakeout.

Because we continued the stakeout after belatedly finding a vehicle, we ended up losing Sora once.

“Phew…fufufu…fufufut…”

Fortunately, or should I say thankfully?

If Seia-chan hadn’t separately checked Sora’s location periodically in Trinity, we would have definitely lost her, but…in this case, it might have been better to lose her altogether.

“That’s…”

“I see…so that’s what happened…”

From across the street, we could see Sora-chan and the Sensei choosing something at a store.

And the type of store was enough to embarrass Nagi-chan and me.

Yes, was it called the street of artisans?

The street was lined with numerous artisans’ workshops and the like…and the store where Sora was was an artisan’s store that made traditional Trinity accessories.

Wings, which most people in Trinity have, and the act of gifting items made using the feathers of those wings, were considered to have special meaning in Trinity.

The meaning contained varied depending on what kind of item was gifted, and even in recent times, it was often chosen as a special gift.

Perhaps because it was a bit romantic and simple tradition, it has been maintained for quite a long time, but now it is mostly forgotten and used only as a special gift.

Nevertheless, Nagi-chan and I knew about this past tradition, about what each item meant.

Accessories…are considered luxury goods…and gifts of luxury goods using wing feathers carry the meaning of proposal and courtship, so we had no choice but to freeze the moment we witnessed this scene.

Sora-chan would also know this, so it’s not just a special gift.

Because I told her myself.

“Phew…Sora-chan…isn’t someone who would do that…Sensei…no, Sensei…it’s you…yes…that’s right…you didn’t see us so positively from the beginning…”

Nagi-chan reached the critical point first and started muttering and making guesses, and I’m sure that at the end of it, she’ll definitely think of a way to execute or punish the Sensei.

In fact, that’s why the Sensei in front of me was dragged here.

I wish this was all a misunderstanding…I just want us, Nagi-chan, to have seen something wrong.

If not…I can’t explain this mess right now…

Anyway, that’s why we’ve reached this situation.

Nagi-chan took pictures of every moment of the Sensei and Sora-chan spending time together and collected them as evidence, and brought the Sensei to the Tea Party office.

I was the one who brought the Sensei to Trinity.

The method of bringing the Sensei was easier than I thought, I just told him that Trinity had a secret task for him.

The Sensei seemed a little worried, perhaps remembering the time of the Eden Treaty…but when I added that it was a simple, not dangerous task, he seemed relieved, even if he didn’t completely let go of his suspicion.

After that, it was smooth sailing.

From setting the Sensei in front of us to presenting all the evidence and not giving the Sensei a chance to refute, it was quick.

Yes, back to the present…

[No! So! I told you?! It’s not like that?!]

“Ahaha☆ Sensei?

Do you think we’ll believe you?”

“Phew…if you had confessed honestly, maybe a little…no, even if you had confessed, I wouldn’t have let you off the hook…yes…everyone?

You know what to do, right?”

Two attendants guarding the office door stand on either side of the Sensei and begin to escort him away.

[I’m innocent! I’m innocent!]

Well…I think it’s self-inflicted.

It’s the Sensei’s fault for telling us that he was against this relationship and then pretending to acknowledge it later and stabbing us in the back.

At least to me…to us, that’s how it felt.

[How did it come to this…]

“Haha…you know…Sensei…a person who has become like that…can’t be stopped…”

Although they didn’t have many interactions with me…two children who know about Sora, Atsuko and Yuzuki, talk to me in front of the solitary confinement cell.

Since the Eden Treaty incident, Yuzuki and Atsuko and I have maintained a good relationship, so we could spend time chatting with each other.

Talking with them was a good way to pass the time…especially Yuzuki, maybe because the work at the Tea Party is hard,

I feel like I’m dealing with a social worker who has been rolling around for a long time…we had a lot in common.

That doesn’t mean that I don’t feel like Yuzuki is a student.

That being said, I express my frustration by thinking about why I’m locked up here…

[Yuzuki…I didn’t do anything to be misunderstood…it was understandable to be misunderstood…]

“Oh, you’re aware of it?”

“Yeah, I know that neither of them are people who would do that…um…well, it’s fun.”

[Fun…]

Yeah…if I think about it a little, it was understandable to be misunderstood…I think they were also tailing me that day when I see the pictures…if that’s the case, it’s understandable that they’re annoyed.

It was a little…no, a lot of excessive behavior…but I can understand…

No, I can’t understand.

How are they going to deal with the aftermath?

It’s a bit much for me to say this myself, but as a Sensei, I’m in a relatively high position in Kivotos.

According to the other student council members, to be honest, I’m almost infinitely close to being the person at the top of Kivotos.

The only good thing is that I told the other children that I was visiting Trinity on business.

I told them that it might be difficult to contact me because of the busy work, so it means that Trinity won’t be harmed right away.

It’s not that I’ve ever abused this authority or used my authority to unfairly oppress someone, but I’m in a position where I can do it if I want to…phew…that’s right…

as Yuzuki said, a person blinded by love becomes unable to see ahead…

“Fufut…that’s right…love, I guess?

Is the Sensei okay?”

[Sigh…there’s nothing I can do…but it’s a misunderstanding that will be cleared up when Sora comes…but…I’ll have to give them a serious lecture…]

“Haha…yes, but I believe in the Sensei?

Sora isn’t the type to do that either…”

“Fufut…those three being lectured…I can’t imagine it…so I’m looking forward to it.”

Yeah…well…I saw a scary torture chamber on the way to the solitary confinement cell…but at least I wasn’t locked up in that room with a big guy, so it would be better not to push Trinity around because of this…

I think it’s a little unfair that I’m locked up here…no, it’s unfair, but let’s put that aside for a moment…

[Atsuko…? Hasn’t your atmosphere changed a little?]

“Hmm?

Where and how did it change?

I’d like you to explain it in detail?”

Haha…well, it seems like Sora has done something…I don’t know if this is a change in a positive direction, but the Arius children were definitely changing for the better.

And that was a change that at least pleased me, and I guess I can put off the worries I have about Atsuko for a little later.

After all, I’m not in a position to worry about anyone right now…

“Huh? Avoiding the explanation….who is it?”

While the three of us were having a light chat, Atsuko suddenly reacted, looking beyond the hallway.

-Tap tap-

Is it a trace left by the time Atsuko spent in Arius?

A few seconds after Atsuko’s reaction, small footsteps began to be heard.

“This…maybe…I hope it’s not…”

Atsuko and Yuzuki silently point their guns in the direction of the footsteps and begin to be wary.

Atsuko was used to this situation, so she was calm, not nervous, but Yuzuki, who is an administrative worker, could be seen with slightly trembling hands.

Fortunately for Yuzuki, that vigilance didn’t last long.

“…It’s been a while, Sensei.”

[Seia..?]

A child who probably doesn’t have very good feelings for me came to my solitary confinement cell.

It seems…the decision on my punishment has been made…phew…this is driving me crazy…

But…that was a mistake, and I heard an unexpected answer…

“Phew…it’s hard…”

This doesn’t happen often, but for some reason today, even when I was going to work in the morning, I had to turn to the Justice Task Force due to a sudden call.

It’s nothing special, just that the paperwork process went wrong, so I was called urgently.

However…the paperwork wasn’t that easy, so I ended up spending the morning at the Justice Task Force processing the paperwork…

But the reason why I was called…I don’t know that either.

They just said that I was the only reliable person they could think of right away.

Come to think of it, Nagisa-senpai has more aides, so maybe…maybe they’re preparing something?

I also have something prepared…with slightly growing expectations, I slowly move to the Tea Party.

“It was really hard…how did it get so messed up…?”

“I’m sorry…we went out for group training…and the first-year administrative worker who was left behind messed it up…”

I was heading to the Tea Party with Koharu.

The reason was simple.

In the pile of documents that came out during the morning paperwork, a document that the Justice Task Force had to hand over directly to the Tea Party transport department was found.

The deadline hadn’t passed, but it was a bit close, and Koharu, who happened to be staying behind, received it.

The reason why I don’t do it for her is…the Tea Party office and the transport department are divided from the middle…

“Yeah, but Sora is still an elite!

You handled it so quickly when we couldn’t make any progress even when we all worked together!

Amazing!”

“Haha…I happened to have experience working in various departments…”

“Ah! Here it is! Then goodbye!”

“Yeah, see you later.”

I part ways with Koharu at the front door of the Tea Party building.

Recently, I made a simple appointment with Koharu after school because I hadn’t been able to spend time with her due to various things, and I move to the Tea Party office.

However…as soon as I entered the Tea Party office, a thick gaze was fixed on various parts of my body.

The three people who are always in the Tea Party office…no, Seia-senpai is absent?

Only Mika-onee-chan and Nagisa-senpai were present.

Without the members of the squad that would be there as a guard force and the minimum number of attendants.

It was impossible under normal circumstances, so I was full of embarrassment…

Before I could use my brain capacity to interpret that embarrassment, the two of them shook my head.

“I’ll get straight to the point.

Sora.”

“…Yes?”

“What did you do with the Sensei on the weekend?”

“What…”

My mind goes blank for a moment.

At that moment, I lost my words.