NOVEL ONLINE FREE Due to the premonition of the Color Invasion, the world was in an uproar, and one piece of bad news was delivered.
[This year’s Get Tournament has been indefinitely postponed! The reason Trinity, who was sharpening their swords and preparing for revenge, is fuming.]
…Well, it turned out that way. If the tournament were entirely cancelled, the losses for both academies would be immeasurable compared to now.
The decision about whether to cancel will depend on how long this crisis lasts and the extent of the damage it inflicts on Kivotos.
Speaking from a personal perspective, the outlook isn’t very positive. The Millennium is set to hold the Grand Festival this fall, and we are currently transitioning into late summer.
If this crisis stretches on even a little longer or leaves an indelible scar? Goodbye, Get Tournament.
Not just this year’s exchange tournament getting cancelled, but the Get Tournament itself could end up being remembered as a tragic event that vanished into the pages of history after a single occurrence…
Well, that’s not the main issue right now.
Gehenna remaining the sole champion of the tournament would be a sad affair in many ways. Really, it’s truly infuriating…!
Still, we can’t place Trinity’s pride and all of Kivotos on the scales.
Anyway.
“Representatives from Trinity General Academy have just arrived.”
“The representatives from Gehenna Academy have reported delays in arrival due to a large-scale dispute on the Gehenna highway, stating they will be about five minutes late…”
The debacle’s first order was regarding Trinity and Gehenna.
In terms of location, Trinity and Gehenna were the closest academies to the Student Council, situated in the central district of Kivotos.
There were more academies responding to the summons than I imagined, prompting Rin to suggest conducting several meetings grouped by proximity based on the academies that expressed their intention to participate.
…Didn’t a past original story fail at that by grouping Trinity and Gehenna like that?
I still remember our princess Mika getting offended at Makoto…
Hmph.
Anyway, seeing a few representatives from Trinity show up in the Student Council’s meeting room made flowers of joy bloom on my face.
Sakurako from Sisterhood, Mine from the Rescue Knights, Hasumi from the Justice Realization Department, and Nagisa and Atsuko from T-party.
And the students accompanying them.
They were all familiar faces and people I cherished.
After Nagisa, who smiled at me, and Atsuko, who was designed in a way that couldn’t harbor malice by birth, cast warm eyes my way, I waved my hand gently at those two.
By the way, Gehenna, that unrelenting academy never ceases to disappoint me.
Even when the Student Council pried, “Hey, if we’re not careful, Kivotos might be ruined? Could we please have some cooperation?”, they didn’t budge even an inch.
Instead, they shouted back, “Really? But does that concern us?” and continued bickering among themselves. Truly, I can’t think of anything other than Gehenna being typical.
“Gehenna seems to be about five minutes late; should we start discussing things?”
“Hmm, to come at me with a power struggle in this situation is quite audacious. We even formed a treaty, yet they remain shameless.”
“Oh, Hasumi. That’s probably a misunderstanding. Rather than a power struggle, it might be more about their unique culture…? Yes, it’s quite likely that it stems from unforeseen incidents there.”
“Indeed, Sakurako’s word holds. I’ve heard from Sena that traffic jams due to student disputes frequently occur at Gehenna. They even hinder corpse recoveries…”
“C-Corpses…?”
Unexpectedly, it was Sakurako who cleared up Hasumi’s misunderstanding, while Mine supported her statement.
In the meantime, mention of Sena, corpses, and such parts… Hm, now that I think about it, the Rescue Knights and the Emergency Medicine Department did become acquainted last summer during the festival, so having some ties can’t be that surprising.
While others may be different, one would think medical personnel, who toil every day to treat the wounded, would get along fine.
Moreover, a combination of Mine, who makes corpses out of rescue efforts, with the corpse enthusiast Sena—what a dangerous combination that could be…!
…Well, regardless of Gehenna’s circumstances, it’s a clear fact that they failed to adjust their schedule.
As a subtle air of ‘this is why Gehenna…’ began to take shape, I pondered how best to inject a light-hearted spirit into the atmosphere.
Before I could speak, someone else beat me to it.
“I think it’s fine to wait a little.”
“Hmmm. Atsuko. As for this matter, it’s quite plainly a trouble caused by the Gehenna side. It can’t just be brushed off like that. The reduced time we have to discuss the issues we face is not just a simple diplomatic discourtesy…”
“Hmph. I also think it’s okay… Oh, but I don’t really have the authority to speak as a representative of Trinity, right?”
Clearing my throat subtly, I interrupted Nagisa’s comment and winked at Atsuko. Then, I gave Nagisa, who gazed at me with a mixed expression of annoyance and sulking, an intentionally cheeky smile.
“Uh… That can’t be. Even if you’re here right now, you will forever be the proud Student Council President of Trinity. Anyway, since you two say so…”
“Oh speaking of which, Mika-chan, whatever happened to the promise that you’d come to Sisterhood if you quit T-party?”
“…Huh? Me?”
“Yes, Mika!”
Did I… say that?
“Huh? I don’t have any memory of making such a promise or confirming anything…? ”
“Oh? Maybe I heard wrong…”
Uncertain, but I had indeed never given a solid answer. A mere unbeliever like me entering Sisterhood? What nonsense…
Honestly, I think it’s as absurd as an atheist becoming a saint.
“Anyway. Since five minutes is reasonable, let’s look over the materials while we wait. Please do☆”
With a bright smile, I said that and took in those who had accompanied the leaders of each faction.
From T-party, Hanako… thankfully her outfit is normal. I was worried she’d go wild since I disappeared. Well, not wearing underwear is nothing new, just ignore it.
From Sisterhood, Mari. From the Justice Realization Department, Ichika…
‘It’s been a while, Senpai.’
Heueng. Look at that?
Quietly smiling back at Ichika, I then turned to the attendant from the Rescue Knights… Misaki.
‘What.’
Eyes saying that, Misaki, well, surprisingly has become a lot less hostile than before.
It’s natural she’d become more mellow now that she’s working to save lives after barely scraping by, but even considering that, it’s quite a shocking change.
My foresight of pairing Misaki with Serina might be pretty impressive.
Rustle. Rustle.
For a while, the meeting room filled with the sounds of everyone flipping through the provided documents.
Five minutes passed.
…?
Thinking they should be coming soon, we agreed to wait just a little longer.
And then another five minutes went by.
“The representatives from Gehenna have finally appeared in the first-floor lobby…”
Ultimately, the kids from Gehenna made their entrance to the meeting room fifteen minutes later.
“Hey. Sorry to keep you waiting—”
“Sit down.”
“Hu-Huh? Well, Mika, come on, let me finish my—”
“Aha, I’m not saying it twice, sit down.”
Even so, there’s a limit to being nice about things.
“This situation is no joke. Every second is precious, and we’ve already wasted over fifteen minutes.”
“What? You’re getting mad over just that? Mika, I didn’t see you as the narrow-minded type—Oh, I get it, stop looking at me like that and just smile…”
I remember someone saying, the scariest thing about someone is when they’re smiling and angry at the same time.
It seems that saying holds some truth.
As Makoto sat down, the officials from the Manma Battle began claiming seats one by one. Iroha giving a nod and Chiaki waving at me.
Who was it again? It seems the owner of the hypnosis app didn’t show up.
And…
“Mika onee-chan…!”
Oblivious to the atmosphere, our Ibuki dashed into my arms from her seat.
Seeing everyone taken aback by this, I decided to indulge in a bit of teasing.
“Wow—Who is this? Our Ibuki princess has arrived!”
“Hehe! Mika onee-chan is like a princess too~.”
“You’re making me really happy, Ibuki-chan!”
…I admit, I played it up. There’s absolutely no way I was truly enchanted by Ibuki’s charm or anything, so don’t get any wrong ideas, everyone.
Tightly holding Ibuki to me, I blinked at the two individuals stepping into the meeting room next.
With awkward smiles was Aco and Hina, who seemed nervous and glancing at me.
“By the way, Ibuki-chan, we’re about to discuss something important, so could you go sit quietly over there?”
“Ummm, but I want to stay with Mika onee-chan…”
…Hoo. Ibuki, you little. You think I’d fall for that trick, huh?
Not a chance. I won’t even flinch.
“Then, do you really have to stay quiet? Or you can take a little nap, that’d be fine too.”
“Hehe, Mika onee-chan is the best!”
…I barely flickered an eyelash. Keeping my eyes wide open is crucial for soaking in Ibuki’s presence.
“Hehe… Good job, Ibuki. That’s how you get Mika into your trap…!”
Geez. What on earth is Makoto rambling about by himself?
“Now that everyone’s here, though fifteen minutes late… I’ll declare the emergency response committee meeting open.”
“Wait a moment. We haven’t heard why the Gehenna representatives are this late yet.”
“Hasumi-chan, how about we save that for after we finish the important discussion? As mentioned, we’re already fifteen minutes behind… so time is a bit tight.”
“Is it really that little time?”
I frowned at the thought of the pile-up of other meetings I still had ahead.
“I have at least seven more of these meetings today.”
“…I apologize. Please continue.”
“Thanks for understanding. So about others… Aha, right. Everyone seems to understand? Unlike Trinity, who had plenty of time to review the documents, we’ll prioritize addressing the documents Gehenna hasn’t had a chance to review yet. First, looking at these, we have six mass bodies…”
Starting off with a rocky emergency meeting, how will this turn out?
Suddenly thinking this, I brushed that notion away.
Everything will be fine.
I will absolutely make it so.