Chapter 79: Prelude

“Now, I’ll show you my special move…! Momoi Splash!”

Millennium, an academy that is called one of the 3 major academies of Kivotos, and a huge academy that is standing next to Trinity and Gehenna in a very short time based on its far-reaching technology.

I came to Millennium due to a business trip, a bet with a student from Millennium…and a gift for Yumeka, who is in front of me now.

There are many reasons why I visited Millennium, but since I still have some time left, I dealt with Yumeka’s things first.

She’s just a little bit like a child now, but when it comes to the specifications of amplifiers and speakers, she becomes serious like a professional, so it was a moment when I could see how serious she was about music.

[Haha, I didn’t think Sora would be here too?]

“Why are you here, Sensei?”

[Well, these guys asked for help? But…well…as you can see?]

I was killing time while looking at the children of a small-scale club in Millennium, the Game Development Department, who I wondered if they were the same age as me.

Well, what, I was surprised when I suddenly ran into Sensei while walking around the streets of Millennium because the work ended faster than I thought.

Normally, I would just choose either coffee or black tea at a nearby cafe and kill time, but since Yumeka is here, I wanted to take her around and make memories.

So where is that Yumeka now….

“One! Three! Hut! One more! There! Ugh…I can do it!!”

-SLASH!-

“Unbelievable!!”

“You won again…”

In front of my eyes, Yumeka was spending time with a child from the Game Development Department, Saiba Momoi, in a fighting game.

I don’t know if Momoi is going easy on her, or if Yumeka is an unfair being with a lump of talent, but Yumeka was doing well against one of the children of the Game Development Department, who might be the most familiar with games.

And that’s 8 rounds.

“Wow! Yumeka is a formidable opponent! Even though she’s still at a low level…it’s an over-balanced character!”

I understand that that child, Aris, is overreacting.

I’m not very familiar with games, but even if the opponent is going easy on her or not, I know very well that it’s not normal to have an 8-game winning streak against an opponent who has invested a lot of time in the game.

“…Sister, are you losing to an elementary school student now? I heard that Yumeka is a beginner who is playing this game for the first time today…”

“…Don’t bring up such a cruel reality! Midori! This is invalid! Invalid! One more round! One more round! This time, I’ll really show you my special combo…”

-Thump-

Huh?

Suddenly, the locker in the corner rattled and shook…

“No, Momoi…this time I’ll do it.”

The locker door opened and another child appeared.

The locker wasn’t that big, but since the child who appeared was not very big, it wasn’t that difficult to kill time in the locker.

“Wow?! Yuzu has appeared in UZQueen mode!”

“A formidable opponent…then at least once…!”

“…Okay…! I’ll show you the power of a monster rookie!”

“Sigh…really…I think everyone has forgotten why they called Sensei…”

So…for quite a long time, the fighting game spree between the Game Development Department and Yumeka continued.

That child, Midori…she sighs at this situation, but it seems like she’s used to it, so it seems like she’s seen this situation more than once.

The club room is like that, and it’s a mess…but Sensei is here, and they seem like nice children, so I’m relieved.

“Ugh…strong…”

“…Phew…you’re not a beginner…have you ever played a similar game…?”

How long did the contact continue…at first, it felt like Yuzu was going easy on her, but after Yumeka won about 2 rounds, Yuzu won 4 rounds in a row.

Maybe the first one was a search battle, or…I think she might have been going easy on her because she was a beginner.

“Well…then let’s finally move on to the original purpose of calling Sensei?”

[Ah, come to think of it, why did you call me?]

“Oh right! Sensei! In fact, there was a story going around in our Game Development Department that it’s about time to release a sequel!”

[…For that, you weren’t with me, but with another child all day playing fighting games…?]

Well…these children seem to be quite nice, and Sensei is here, so I leave Yumeka for a while and leave the Game Development Department’s club room.

I told Sensei and Yumeka separately, so it’ll probably be fine.

The reason why I’m leaving the Game Development Department’s club room now is…well, yeah…the main reason for visiting Trinity is work, so I can’t help it.

“Welcome.”

“Fufu, it’s the person from that time?”

“Ah, you came just in time, Sora. Let’s start.”

“Hello. Hayase-san, Ushio-san. And seniors.”

As soon as I entered the meeting room of the Seminar, Millennium’s student council, Hayase-san and Ushio-san, including the Seminar and other Tea Party administrators, were already looking at documents or tapping on terminals and waiting.

…Ushio-san…she knows the relationship between me and my sisters…so I end up being careful in many ways…if the content of the conversation leaks out…I’ll be in trouble in many ways within the Tea Party.

I think it’s already too late…

Anyway, it seems that this agenda is a big one, so naturally, not only me but also many other senior administrators have visited Millennium.

The reason why I visited…the Millennium Festival, why are we planning an event that ended just last month, an event that is held every two years?

You might say, but in fact, we’re not starting to plan right away.

The reason we gathered today is simply because the next host school for the Millennium Festival…was selected as Trinity, and today’s meeting was decided.

We’re not starting to prepare for the Millennium Festival right away, but it’s a kind of exchange meeting to receive data and statistics of this Millennium Festival from Millennium, which was the host school right before, and to fill in the missing parts.

Then why am I here, who is not even on the executive committee?

Right now, most of the administrators and Seminar members here were on the executive committee, or at least they were participants who participated in at least one or more events.

In other words, it’s not a very important meeting or anything, but just a reference, it’s important to get questions from other students, but if you can get reasonable opinions from insiders, wouldn’t it be a good enough choice?

That’s why this meeting was just a meeting to decide the simple minimum direction and the good parts of the next Millennium Festival.

As a result, it flowed without any special events, and only simple questions and answers continued.

…Honestly…the reason I joined the Tea Party itself started as a security guard, so it’s not like the Tea Party itself is suitable for my aptitude

“Uaaak…my back…”

“Oh my, Sora, you’re young…we’re still students, but how can you have a bad back already?”

“…Are you…in a position to say that…?”

“Fufu…we 3rd years have already been paralyzed in our backs for a long time? The Tea Party is…that kind of place…that’s right…I think it was when I started to add caffeine powder to black tea that I noticed the anomaly.”

The senior in front of me now is a senior I once helped when my previous work was overloaded.

It’s not like we’re close, we just talk to each other once in a while…well…?

You’re adding caffeine powder to black tea, which is already a caffeinated drink?

Is it that you can’t survive 3 years in the Tea Party unless you overwork your body to that extent or reach the realm of genius?

It seems like a reason to escape from the Tea Party as soon as I became a 2nd year student has increased.

Anyway…that day’s meeting itself passed without anything special.

“Hmm…an arcade…”

As soon as the meeting was over, I took out my smartphone and opened Momotalk.

I asked Sensei separately, so Sensei sent me the location where Yumeka and Sensei are now, so I was able to join Yumeka’s group without any problems.

“Ugh, ugh. Neru-senpai’s combo isn’t connecting…!”

“Th…that’s enough…”

“At this rate, Sensei and Yumeka’s hunger gauge will become zero….Yumeka is as good as me, or even better…! There’s no way Neru-senpai can win!”

“Haang? What did you say…uuaaak?! That’s cheating!”

-SLASH!-

The place where Sensei and Yumeka are was an arcade.

…And the voices I heard…I reflexively hid my body.

Mikamo Neru, why…?!

Why is that person here?!

Anyway…if I go out now, I’ll definitely be dragged by that woman and have to engage in a sparring match.

It’s something I have to do anyway, but if possible, I want to avoid it…and postpone it a little, because that’s human nature.

I don’t know how long it will take…I subtly hide my body behind a pillar in the arcade…

[Huh? Sora! What are you doing there?]

“Sensei?! You should have pretended not to know there!?”

“Ha? What, you were here…?!”

…Damn it…due to Sensei’s unintentional trolling without knowing the situation…I was caught in a grand way…

I’ll probably be dragged by that woman as I am and have to engage in a bothersome sparring match without any purpose.

…If a savior hadn’t appeared.

“Where did you go, ditching your duties….you were here. Manager.”

“Uwa?! Ah, Akane?! When did you?!”

“I told you, right? Today in the afternoon, a mission will come down from the president, so prepare diligently.”

[…You forgot…]

“Th, that’s right, let’s go…”

That’s a relief…I thought I would be dragged by that woman as I am and have to engage in sparring without fail, but fortunately, it seems like I already have something to do, so a woman named Akane took Neru away.

Good…maybe I can just get through this situation as it is?

I was thinking, but…

“Oh my, I forgot. Sora, was it? You come too.”

“…? Yes?”

“Didn’t you bet with our manager? Come along.”

[Sora, good luck…]

Heaven is so indifferent…I don’t know how it happened, but the content that should have ended as a personal bet has spread to others…anyway…in the end, I…had no choice but to be dragged away by them.