Kayama Esumi: Reunion

Wild Hunt Art Academy.

 

On this day, this academy welcomed a single student named Kayama Esumi from Trinity General School under a short-term study abroad program, and Esumi, the exchange student herself, was currently stepping onto the academy grounds with an expression of sheer ecstasy.

 

"Amazing. Is this place... perhaps a paradise for a painter like me...?"

 

Captivated by the scenery before her eyes—that phrase might have been invented precisely for her.

 

Reincarnated into the Blue Archive world eighteen years ago. Including her past life, Esumi had already lived through a quarter of a century, yet even with such a wealth of life experience, it was her very first time laying eyes on scenery like this, and a deep sense of emotion washed over her.

 

Miria from the Prefectural Council, standing right beside her, puffed out her chest proudly before the view of her own academy.

 

"Indeed, it is. This Wild Hunt Art Academy is, literally, an autonomous district specializing in art, dedicated to mastering art, and flourishing through art. The townscapes, the architecture, the sculptures, the paintings. Every single one of them has been brought into existence by the students of Wild Hunt, and over long stretches of time, their value has been elevated day by day. The works displayed everywhere across this district are the heights to which art students like us should aspire and a source of honor, but for those who love art, the district itself is, in a sense, an 'art museum.' It is only natural that you are moved."

 

Her gaze turned toward Esumi, who was still making her eyes sparkle.

 

"That being said, if four years ago... you had chosen to enroll in this Wild Hunt Art Academy instead of Trinity General School, no doubt countless works brought forth by your own hands, Esumi-san, would be adorning every corner of this academy by now."

 

"Fufu, you exaggerate. Though if my works are good enough, I wouldn't mind donating them to Wild Hunt. Well, someone would need to cover the shipping costs, though."

 

Chuckling softly, Esumi still kept her passionate gaze directed at the academy.

 

Incidentally, at the end of her gaze lay a specialized corridor lined with paintings, sculptures, and bronze statues displayed regardless of technique or genre, and ever since a moment ago, Esumi had been reacting as if she simply had to go over to that place.

 

Observing that demeanor, Miria let out a breath and shrugged her shoulders.

 

"Esumi-san. If you wish to view the displayed works up close, please, by all means. Anyone who steps foot into this academy has the right to appreciate works of art. Of course, that applies to you as well, Esumi-san, staying here as an exchange student."

 

"Is it alright?"

 

"Of course. For the duration of your appreciation, I shall keep a sharp eye out as a Dormitory Supervisory Team executive to ensure no unforeseen accidents occur, but I would never dream of robbing you of your enjoyment. So, come... let us go together, Esumi-san."

 

Reaching her hand toward the cluster of artworks and offering a graceful smile, Miria beckoned her.

 

Esumi gave a self-conscious, wry smile in response, bowed lightly to express her gratitude, and followed her.

---

"I wonder if the Boss has already arrived at Wild Hunt by now."

 

Accompanied by the loud thud of a nail being driven in, a tall girl spoke those words while holding a hammer in one hand... hearing this nearby, Art Club President Furan stopped her work and raised her head from her desk.

 

Currently, Furan, the art club president, and the girl serving as vice-president were in the middle of restoring a painting severely damaged by aging, but Fran directed a suspicious gaze toward her best friend, who had abruptly brought up Kayama Esumi out of nowhere.

 

"Rino, what's this all about so suddenly? Could it be that you're worried about Kayama-sama, who's gone far away?"

 

"Of course I'm worried. Right now, Trinity is tense and full of bad blood everywhere, and the overall atmosphere is terrible. Well, knowing the Boss, she'll probably be fine, but she was attacked in Gehenna once already, so feeling a bit uneasy is only natural, right?"

 

"That's groundless worry. The place Kayama-sama went to is that Wild Hunt Art Academy. It's an academy with strict censorship and rules enforced by the Prefectural Council, famous for keeping external influences out, and public safety is reasonably good. Comparing it to a lawless zone like Gehenna is honestly an insult to the students of Wild Hunt."

 

"Sure, compared to Gehenna, pretty much any academy has decent public safety... but still."

 

Hammering nails in rapid succession, placing aside a canvas that had become tattered over the years, and crafting a replacement in its stead was Azuki Rino.

 

That being said, seeing a 170-centimeter-tall girl standing and swinging a hammer with one hand might inspire a slight sense of terror in some observers. The forcefully swung hammer struck the head of the nail, sinking half of it in an instant. Repeating that two or three more times finished driving in a single nail in the blink of an eye.

 

It was an exceedingly efficient sight, but as expected, scary things were still scary.

 

Yet the only one present in this room was the girl hammering nails with one hand... Rino's best friend, Furan.

 

She, too, was currently creating paint on her desk while closely examining an old painting placed nearby. She was mixing paints to match the exact same colors present in the painting. However, creating the exact same color is inherently a monumental task, and reproducing colors by human hand is generally said to be virtually impossible.

 

Therefore, even when talking about painting restoration, the goal wasn't to create the exact same color, but rather to get it close enough that it couldn't be distinguished by the "naked eye."

 

Nevertheless, the two present here were individuals who had received direct teachings from that Kayama Esumi, and their talents stood out exceptionally within the Art Club. Particularly in art-related tasks, Fran, who excelled most at painting restoration, considered this sort of task a breeze. Comparing the paint she was mixing at hand with the colors of the painting back and forth, she took her time bringing it as infinitely close as possible.

 

Meanwhile, even while each engaged in different forms of restoration work, the conversation between the two showed no signs of stopping.

 

"Normally, shouldn't you or I be assigned as her bodyguard? If we attached some reason like it being part of Art Club activities, we should have been able to accompany the Boss by force at least. Besides, Furan, you're the Art Club president, right? Use your presidential authority or whatever and go petition the Tea Party right now."

 

"Hold on, can you not talk about things so simply? The one who considered Kayama-san's short-term study abroad and forcibly carried it out is Nagisa-san, who is currently serving as the Tea Party's host substitute. Following the tragedy that befell Seia-san, Nagisa-san has been running somewhat wild lately, pushing through policies with an increasingly hardline attitude, and she's currently dead-set on realizing the Eden Treaty, which had once been scrapped. If we were to meddle in the matter of Kayama-san right now, who knows what would happen. Given Nagisa-san's extraordinary feelings toward Kayama-san, it's only natural she'd take such actions... Either way, we'd probably end up treated as public enemies."

 

"Oh, really. Frankly, other people's personal affairs don't concern me in the slightest. I appreciate you worrying about the Boss, but acting like that is basically equivalent to declaring, 'I am incapable of protecting you with my own power.' Is it really fine for the top of this academy to be like that? I mean, Seia-san, who rarely showed her face on the public stage due to being too sickly, could hardly be called an exceptional leader either."

 

"Now that Seia-san, whom you just mentioned, has ended up like that, Nagisa-san is probably paranoid, suspecting that she might be next. I sympathize with her position."

 

"My, my, how unusual for someone like Kongou Furan to respect the other side's position and take their side. It seems dealing with politicians day in and day out has caused even Fran to experience a change of heart."

 

"Hey, Rino. You're being awfully harsh with me today. Did something happen?"

 

Though known for being close enough to call each other "best friends," the two of them felt somehow strange today. To be precise, Rino seemed constantly out of sorts. The hammer she was using to build the canvas felt like she was swinging it while piling on complex feelings harbored deep within her heart.

 

Halting her paint-mixing work, Fran looked into her best friend's face with a worried expression.

 

"Rino. We're best friends, aren't we? We've pledged to support Kayama-sama together ever since our first year, so please, at least confide in me about whatever feelings you're harboring..."

 

In contrast, Rino knitted her brows in annoyance, though she didn't stop swinging her hammer. However, she opened her mouth in response to her best friend's words.

 

"Then let me ask you this. Why is Furan still acting like she doesn't care?"

 

"Acting like I don't care... about what?"

 

"Someone died. A student of this academy, at that."

 

Fran's shoulders twitched slightly.

 

It seemed she had been pretending not to care all along. But seeing that reaction, her best friend Rino didn't bother reading the room to intentionally seal her lips.

 

"Yurizono Seia, who served as the Tea Party host until recently. One day, her halo was broken and she died... The culprit remains unknown, and the one who discovered her body was Aosumori Mine of the Remedial Knights who rushed to the scene first, though she is currently unaccounted for as well. What's more, only a tiny handful of students within the academy know about this. The Sisterhood, who has been good at gathering that sort of information since the old days, and the upper echelons of the Tea Party who lost their top host. And you, Fran, who secretly built a cooperative relationship with one of those upper-echelon members and obtained information on Seia-san's murder through that connection, alongside yours truly... Hey, Fran. This Seia-san murder case—the ones involved are Misono Mika-san, the collaborator you're using for your plan, and that Arius transfer student she brought into Trinity, right?"

 

"............"

 

"Is that silence supposed to be an affirmation or something?"

 

"I mean... I can't proudly say it's not."

 

With a gloomy expression, Furan averted her gaze from her best friend.

 

Seeing that attitude, Rino grew even more displeased.

 

"Though I don't know the exact details... Basically, contact and communication with Arius were handled by Mika-san herself, and my role was merely to secretly arrange and dispatch academy information and supplies to Arius, so I wasn't deeply involved. It was the same on the day Seia-san was murdered. I simply transported supplies to the designated meetup location for Arius as requested by Mika-san, and afterward stayed behind in the clubroom to craft things as usual..."

 

Pressing her temples with her hand in an unsettled manner, she continued.

 

"In the end, as for the news of Seia-san's murder, I simply received an unilateral notification from Mika-san via MomoTalk, and absolute silence followed. So honestly, I can't definitively conclude whether Mika-san or Arius was actually involved. Even if I tried to ask her directly, Mika-san seems to be locked away in her room right now for certain reasons, so I can't probe the truth of it. Frankly, I'm completely at my wits' end."

 

"Then what about the transfer student? Do you know nothing about that mysterious transfer student either, Furan? From what I hear, that transfer student was placed under the Boss's care under the guise of education at Mika-san's proposal, but she looks way too suspicious. I personally grew curious and tried to investigate her background, but the Boss noticed and stopped me, so it ended in total mystery. What about you? Do you have any decent info on that?"

 

The "transfer student" she kept referring to was Shirasu Azusa, a strange eccentric who had just arrived at Trinity General School.

 

Until the Seia murder incident occurred, she had been placed under Esumi's care under the name of education, primarily learning school rules and etiquette concerning Trinity General School. Because of that, she acted alongside Esumi twenty-four hours a day, but after the Seia incident, the two stopped operating together, and ever since Esumi left on her study abroad to Wild Hunt, Azusa had been acting entirely alone, making her a heavily mysterious student.

 

Therefore, Rino had asked her best friend hoping to learn something about such a student, but the other shook her head apologetically.

 

"Not at all... I know nothing about that transfer student either, aside from the fact that she came from Arius. Mika-san explicitly forbade me from contacting that transfer student, saying that getting too involved in my position wouldn't be good... Of course, since she was an Arius student of unknown background, I worried about Kayama-sama's safety as well, but days just kept passing without anything happening after all. The fact that Kayama-sama wasn't targeted in the end, even after Seia-san was murdered, makes me think they didn't have her as a target from the very beginning... Though that's assuming Mika-san and Arius were actually involved in the murder in the first place."

 

Saying this as if she couldn't be entirely certain, Rino let out an exaggerated sigh in response.

 

"No, there's no reason to doubt it, Furan. Nine times out of ten, Mika-san and that mysterious transfer student... no, even that branch school called Arius is definitely involved in Seia-san's murder. Without a doubt."

 

"What's your basis for that?"

 

"Otherwise, there's no way the whereabouts of Seia-san—who, sickly as she may be, essentially serves as the Tea Party host—would ever leak. Even I couldn't pin down the location where Seia-san frequently hid herself. The Boss also thoroughly avoided public eyes whenever she met that person. Plus, Seia-san is the head of the Sanctus faction. Meaning her security was airtight."

 

"...Well, that's true."

 

"You get it, right? The culprit successfully pulled off Seia-san's murder while bypassing such high security and strict secrecy. That absolutely, positively means someone funneled information from the inside... If anyone could pull that off, it's Mika-san, a Tea Party executive who easily gets her hands on information due to her standing. Besides, historical records say Arius consists of former compatriots banished from this Trinity General School. It's a bit of a far-fetched deduction, but the motive of attacking Seia-san, the head of the academy, as revenge is entirely understandable. Look, doesn't it feel like the answer is already laid out here?"

 

Certainly, lacking explicit evidence, it was a rather far-fetched piece of reasoning.

 

However, constructed and deduced based on information and circumstances gathered by Rino, a specialist in intelligence collection, accuracy aside, it might genuinely be the truth.

 

And coming from someone who understood all too well where information was born and through what channels it traveled to others, it carried a persuasive weight.

 

Consequently, accepting those words heavily, Furan muttered, "I see... Well, then maybe that's how it is," before closing her mouth and falling silent. Seeing that posture, Rino widened her eyes in disbelief.

 

"I'm surprised... Knowing you, Furan, famous for hating politics, I thought you'd use this mega-scandal to cause an uproar and work toward dismantling the Tea Party, but this time you're accepting reality awfully heavily?"

 

"That's... because even I never anticipated a situation where Seia-san, the top of the Tea Party, would actually get murdered... I honestly thought it would just end with the usual tasteless gossip battles and petty mischief among politicians... Well, if Mika-san really is the mastermind, then as her collaborator, I supplied materials and provided information to Arius, making me an indirect accomplice involved in Seia-san's murder. Thanks to that, even if we successfully executed the Tea Party dismantling plan, if things came to light, I'd definitely face criminal charges. In that event, the Art Club I inherited from Kayama-sama would face the crisis of abolition once again, just like before... In short, the plan we built from scratch completely went down the drain, so it's only natural that I'm tearing my hair out over it."

 

"Fair enough. But when it comes to this matter, it's none other than you, Furan, who—out of excessive devotion to the Boss—blindly pushed forward without looking around, egged Mika-san on, pushed her into the Tea Party executive ranks, and let her seize a certain level of power. So this is completely a case of reaping what you sow."

 

"You're as harsh as ever with your best friend."

 

"I'm just saying it as it is, naturally. The person who should be at the top of Kivotos, as far as I'm concerned, isn't the Tea Party or the missing General Student Council President. It's only the Boss. And the presence that should stand beside me as one of the pillars supporting her is only my best friend, Furan. Yet that crucial pillar went down the wrong path and is about to collapse on her own—what are you even doing? If you truly care about that person's well-being, use this opportunity to seriously reflect on your own runaway excess."

 

"............"

 

"Hold on, hold on. What's with that face?"

 

"What do you mean... I think I'm making a completely normal face."

 

"Don't lie. That's the face that says, 'I haven't been running wild like that at all, though.'"

 

Hearing that, Fran let out a reluctant, exasperated sigh.

 

"I mean... I've been working desperately hard all this time for the sake of Kayama-sama, and calling it running wild now... Normally, running wild is something you'd attribute to someone like Nagisa-san right now."

 

"No, from my perspective, you and Nagisa-san aren't all that different. Both of you just charge ahead on your own accord without even consulting the Boss because you think it's for her own good. Well, if there's one decisive difference, Furan is just a commoner serving as the head of an art club whose position is still weak. Meanwhile, Nagisa-san sits in the supreme leadership position governing virtually all of Trinity. Furan barely stopped because she hit a wall... but my next concern is Nagisa-san."

 

"Her feelings toward Kayama-sama are also second to none. Though she safely removed her from the dangerous Trinity under the guise of study abroad, that means she's also removed her from the reach of Nagisa-san, the ruler of the academy. Just as Rino said, was it a decision made knowing she couldn't protect Kayama-san with her own power... I hope it wasn't mere despair."

 

"Pardon me for worrying about politicians, unusual for someone like Furan, but shouldn't a person like you—who is technically an accomplice in Seia-san's murder right now—refrain from standing out? For now, you should pull back from Mika-san's extremely dangerous plan. Continuing to aid and abet wrongdoing will only end up causing trouble for the Boss."

 

Fran managed a tired, wry smile and shook her head.

 

"I'd love to do that, but actually, it doesn't look like it's going to be that simple..."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

To Rino, who tilted her head in confusion, Furan shrugged her shoulders as if everything were already too late.

 

"On the day I received the report of Seia-san's murder, I received additional instructions from Mika-san... She asked me to protect that transfer student just while Kayama-sama is away. And she wants me to keep it a secret that she's a transfer student from Arius, too."

 

"You're being completely played in the palm of Mika-san's hand... After you were so ready to use her at first... How pathetic."

 

"I won't deny it... So... if possible, I'd like to ask you, Rino, to take care of that transfer student."

 

Hearing those words, Rino twisted her face in absolute disgust.

 

"Furan... since there's no turning back, I'll stick with you to the end as your best friend... but as a separate matter, I'm pissed off, so can you let me punch you in the face just once?"

 

"Understood... Um, if possible, I'd like you to put your all into it—ah, please lower that hammer... I really don't want to get beaten with that."

 

Slowly lifting the hammer she held in one hand, Rino let out a sigh at her best friend's pathetic voice, then placed the hammer down on a nearby table with an expression that suggested it couldn't be helped.

 

Clenching her fist tightly, she marched over to Furan. Furan also stepped away from her working desk and walked over to Rino to take the blow voluntarily.

 

"When the Boss comes back, first thing you're gonna do is dogeza and explain everything... got it?"

 

"Of course... I will."

 

Immediately afterward, a loud noise echoed from the room where the two were, followed instantly by a student being thrown out right through the window. Art club members rushed over in a panic, wondering what on earth had happened, but thanks to the damage-control efforts of the parties involved who wanted to keep details buried, the matter was eventually wrapped up under the bizarre label of a "private duel between the art club president and vice-president."

 

And while the two were causing a minor uproar in the Art Club, a single problem had surfaced over at Wild Hunt as well.

---

"I am the type who spreads my arms wide and rejoices when it's a reunion I hoped for... But in the case of an unwanted reunion, I display a dissatisfied attitude right away and wrap things up immediately. Did you come here on purpose knowing that and meet me anyway?"

 

In a corner of the art museum in Wild Hunt, Kayama Esumi stood facing a certain visitor with an expression of intense displeasure.

 

Incidentally, Miria, who had been pulling double duty as her guide and bodyguard, had stepped away for just a moment due to an urgent matter. In short, Esumi was currently, literally, without a bodyguard.

 

Perhaps sensing her opening, a person had abruptly come to see her.

 

The visitor responded to Esumi's disgruntled reaction without a care in the world.

 

"...Precisely. This is the capital of art, the city of learning, Wild Hunt... For you and me to meet again, searching the entirety of Kivotos, there could be no place more optimal than this... In a sense, one might say it is a destined fate..."

 

The figure possessed two heads and looked almost like a mannequin. Every time that body moved, a creaking sound echoed. Frowning at such a mysterious individual, Esumi narrowed her eyes and retorted with an air of exasperation:

 

"Didn't I forbid you from contacting me in the first place?"

 

"...The condition you proposed was a two-year contact ban. And a ban on entering the Trinity district... You have already welcomed your fourth year of enrollment by being held back, and those two years have long since passed. Furthermore, this is Wild Hunt, which is not Trinity where entry is forbidden... One could say our former promise has been successfully fulfilled, could they not?"

 

"Well, I suppose that's true, but... honestly, I didn't want to see you at this timing."

 

"Hmph... I am thrilled to meet you again like this... How about it, my angel? Uriel... As fellow devotees to art who revere it, I would like you to indulge me by sparing a little of your time for my sake."

 

Esumi darted her gaze across her surroundings, confirming that no one was witnessing this spectacle, and while keeping her complicated expression, reluctantly nodded vertically.

 

"Understood. If you, a member of Gematria, have gone out of your way to come see me directly, you must have a matter of some importance to discuss. But it's crowded here, so let's move somewhere else... Though I've just arrived here and have zero familiarity with the geography..."

 

"That need not concern you. I know a place optimal for secret talks, free from prying eyes... Come, I shall guide you."

 

The person extended a hand smoothly. Esumi gave a wry smile at that attitude.

 

"That gesture makes it look like you're about to take me out on a date."

 

"If that is what you desire, performing it would be no trouble at all."

 

"No thanks. You and I aren't that kind of relationship. Besides, you're neither an ally nor an enemy... Well, regardless of all that, I'll leave the guiding to you, Maestro..."

 

Calling the person by name, Esumi quietly took his hand with her dominant right hand.

 

Maestro nodded in satisfaction at Esumi's action of taking his hand.

 

"I thank you for using that hand of yours, Uriel... I shall strive to live up to your trust."

 

"Frankly, I'd be in trouble if you didn't."

 

Exchanging those words, the two vanished from the spot in the blink of an eye, completely unseen by anyone.

---

Before long, Miria—having safely wrapped up her urgent business—returned to the spot just a few minutes after Esumi and Maestro had disappeared.

 

"...Esumi-san?"

 

Putting force into the hand gripping the gun she used as a cane, Miria knitted her brows unhappily. Her prominent beast ears began capturing the surrounding sounds thoroughly, eventually twitching sharply.

 

"It seems some nasty pests have crept in."

 

She immediately summoned a Prefectural Council student nearby and issued orders:

 

"Search the academy grounds immediately. The safety of our guest, Esumi-san, is in danger."