Chapter 63: Welcome Home

"Normally she’d come if we invited her, even if she had something else going on~"

Glancing at the message she’d just received from Aika, Maiha muttered to herself. Ever since the sky over Kivotos had begun to turn crimson earlier, her friend’s behavior had felt off at times. And for someone who almost always accepted invitations unless she truly had something she couldn’t miss, Aika’s refusal this time was more than enough to plant seeds of doubt in Maiha’s mind.

"...I see. It does sound like there might be something going on."

Masa also had an open schedule, and the plan had been for the three of them to go shopping if Aika agreed. Instead, they changed plans and decided to look into what was happening around Aika.

First, they made an appointment with Nagisa, Aika’s direct superior and the host of the Tea Party, then headed to her office.

"Aika’s schedule? At the very least, there shouldn’t be any Tea Party work that absolutely has to be done today."

"I see, thank you~. While we’re at it, have you noticed anything about Aika-chan that’s been bothering you~?"

"Something concerning, you say..."

Nagisa paused to think, then continued.

"A few days ago, she came to ask about how to write a resignation letter. When I asked if there was a reason she wanted to quit, she was evasive and left the room."

"I see... a resignation letter..."

Had something unpleasant happened with her relationships in the Tea Party? Bullying, perhaps? But judging from Aika’s usual demeanor, there was no sign of her being bullied. If anything, she was often looked at with respect by her classmates, and occasionally even by her seniors.

"There wasn’t anything else definitive, but I’ve also felt that Aika has been acting strangely lately."

Saying that the two of them were probably the ones who understood Aika best and asking them to keep a close eye on her, Nagisa saw them off. From there, they headed to Aika’s dorm room.

"Huh, she’s not here."

There was no response when they knocked. Thinking she might be asleep, they listened closely, but there was no sound of breathing—only a faint zzzzzz from the wiring. It seemed Aika wasn’t there. They went down to the dorm’s ground-floor management office, borrowed a key, and went inside.

Looking around the room, everything seemed the same as the last time they’d come by out of concern for Aika: several plush toys sitting on the bed, a handheld game console left on the floor still connected to its charger. What caught their attention, however, was an envelope resting on the desk.

"What could this be...?"

Was it a letter meant to be sent to someone? It hadn’t been sealed yet, so they quietly peeked at the stationery inside.

""To: Honotani Masa-sama—""

"There’s one addressed to me too... This one’s for Nagisa-sama, and this is for her parents..."

After confirming only the addressees, the two of them each read the letter addressed to themselves. When they finished, they looked at each other.

"...Masa-chan. Let’s go stop her."

"...Of course. I understand what Aika is trying to do, and why... but even so, I want to stay with her."

If she’d already left, they didn’t know where she’d gone—but if they didn’t hurry, it would be too late. Grabbing Aika’s student ID and the controller for her vehicle, they headed for the parking lot. Using her personal truck without permission made them feel guilty, but there was no time to waste. Just this once, they told themselves, as they climbed into the truck.

"Maiha!"

"Did you find any leads?"

Just as they were about to investigate Aika’s whereabouts, a live broadcast from Kronos School’s news division was on air. Feeling it might be related, they watched—and then…

〈Did you see that acrobatic move just now?! The terrorist who infiltrated Sanctum Tower alone appears to be highly skilled! What fate awaits this young girl?! Don’t touch that remote—stay with us until the very end, this is the Kronos Channel!〉

On the screen was a red-haired girl in a Trinity uniform, leaping out from Sanctum Tower, grabbing the edge, smashing the window of the floor below, and slipping back into the building in a breathtaking feat.

"Sanctum Tower!"

"Got it! Please, let us make it in time...!!"

They now knew where to go. And considering the contents of the letters, it wasn’t hard to guess what Aika was trying to do. They couldn’t let that happen.

Once again today, she worked through paperwork. Reports on reconstruction progress across various districts, requests for aid—day after day, the same kind of documents, unchanging and dull. The news playing in the background as makeshift BGM was much the same. Just as she reached a good stopping point and started to stretch for a break—

〈This is breaking news! We’ve received reports that a student infiltrated Sanctum Tower outside of operating hours approximately one hour ago!〉

"...Huh?"

An intruder at Sanctum Tower. It was a place where critical functions of the General Student Council were concentrated, and as Kaiser had demonstrated not long ago, seizing Schale and Sanctum Tower would effectively mean controlling the D.U. District.

That said, the Kaiser Group had taken a devastating blow when their corruption was recently exposed to the public. They likely didn’t have the resources left to attempt something so grandiose anymore... and besides, the report said the intruder was a single student.

Wondering who it could be, Sensei watched the broadcast—and the girl who appeared on the screen was painfully familiar. A white Tea Party uniform, large wings, and glossy, long crimson hair.

"...Aika...!?"

The Aika Sensei remembered was diligent, gentle, and an exemplary student who rarely caused trouble. She was not someone who would charge into Sanctum Tower alone.

"...What’s gotten into her...?"

That said... when Sanctum Tower was rebuilt, Kaiser had handled the construction, and Sensei had heard rumors that the site was riddled with suspicious issues. Given how deeply Aika despised Kaiser, it wasn’t impossible that she might storm the tower to denounce them.

"...Either way, I need to talk to her first."

The paperwork would have to wait until this was resolved. Not because Sensei was tired of processing documents and looking for an excuse to stop—absolutely not. As part of the Super Phenomenon Task Force, problems caused by students could not be ignored.

Sensei boarded one of Schale’s helicopters and headed for Sanctum Tower. After landing at the nearby heliport, they immediately entered the building.

"Excuse me—one of my students is up there..."

"Oh, you’re a Schale teacher. Got it. I’ll activate the elevator."

However, when Sensei arrived at the elevator hall, it wasn’t moving. Heading instead to the control room, they found a security guard they’d spoken to a few times before.

"I don’t know what her objective is, but she ignored our attempts to stop her and fought back. She just kept climbing higher and higher through Sanctum Tower... Please, Sensei—do something."

Hearing that, an uneasy feeling crept over Sensei. Most classified information was stored underground, so it didn’t seem like Aika was trying to uncover evidence of Kaiser’s corruption.

...Then what? What was she planning to do up there?

"...I have to hurry."

Switching elevators, Sensei finally reached the rooftop. The moment the door opened—

"Aika!!"

There she was, climbing over the railing, about to jump.

Huh... where am I...?

Right. I tried to jump from Sanctum Tower, and Sensei convinced me to stop—but I lost my footing. Sensei fell with me, so I tried to cushion the impact by putting myself underneath... and then...

...Did I die? Is this heaven? More importantly—was Sensei okay?

"Aika-chan...!!"

"Aika!"

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was my closest friends, calling my name with tearful faces.

"Maiha... Masa..."

As I tried to sit up, Maiha wrapped her arms around me and cried out, almost screaming.

"YOU IDIOT, AIKA-CHAN! IDIOT, IDIOT, YOU ABSOLUTE IDIOT!! WHY DIDN’T YOU TALK TO US?! AND TRYING TO JUMP OFF SANCTUM TOWER TO KILL YOURSELF—OF COURSE THAT’S NOT OKAY!!"

"Maiha..."

I turned toward Masa. Her eyes—usually half-lidded—were wide open as she stared straight at me and continued speaking.

"You read the letter… I understand now how much you’ve been struggling. But I wish you had consulted us, just like Maiha said. Are we really that unreliable?"

"It’s not like that…"

In battles, at school, and in daily life, I truly rely on both of them. Still, this time I couldn’t tell them in advance.

"Sniff… I don’t want you to disappear, Aika-chan…"

"...I’m sorry, Maiha. And you too, Masa."

"Are you saying it’s because you might destroy the world? Aika is our precious friend. Of course we want to be with you."

Hearing that, tears almost came naturally. They would say something like that, for someone like me…

"And as for all that stuff about Kivotos collapsing… leave the complicated problems to Sensei. I’m sure they’ll handle it somehow."

Mention of Sensei made me snap awake. Sensei, who fell with me… are they okay? That was my biggest concern now.

"Haha… it’s good to know you trust me."

"Sensei…! You’re safe…?"

From behind Masa, Sensei appeared. I’d involved them in all this, but first I felt relief knowing they were unharmed. I was truly glad that I hadn’t caused Sensei to die because of me.

"I had Maiha and Masa catch Aika, safely."

"I see…"

As I thought about what would happen when we returned to Trinity—surely there would be some disciplinary action—Sensei suddenly spoke, as if remembering something.

"By the way, Aika."

"Yes…?"

I thought I was about to get lectured for attempting to jump, but the next words were completely unexpected.

"About your confession earlier… I’m sorry."

"Eh… ah…"

Confession… I remembered hugging Sensei while falling, saying things like “I love you” and “I like you so much.”

"W-why would you remind me of that…? It’s so embarrassing I could just die of shame."

There was no falsehood in what I’d said—it was genuine—but… I really wished this moment hadn’t been brought up again.

"I-I’m sorry…"

"Sensei… what confession?"

Maiha wiped her tears and stood up to ask Sensei. Come to think of it, she did seem to enjoy a little romance talk.

But Sensei, when asked, instead of playing an adult’s card… pulled out Schale’s business card.

"I invoke the adult’s right to remain silent."

"Hey, that’s not fair~"

Seeing Maiha return to her usual self, I decided to say what I needed to.

"Everyone… thank you for helping me just now. I… I won’t ever do something like this again. I expect I’ll be relying on Sensei for a lot…"

"Of course, that’s fine."

"...Anyway, I’m sorry for worrying you."

With that, I bowed my head. When I looked back at my friends and Sensei again, Maiha said, beaming.

"Welcome home, Aika-chan!"

"...Yes, I’m home."

I wasn’t sure if my smile matched hers, but I returned it with all I could manage.