Early morning.
As I was having breakfast in the hotel restaurant, a member of Hyunryumon, for some reason, sat down across from me as if it were the most natural thing in the world. My escorts, seated nearby, tensed up. But...
"Kisaki-chan, you're not going to tell me you call that a disguise, are you?"
"What do you mean by that all of a sudden? How is it that you know the Sect Leader's name... Hmm. It seems it does not work on you."
With a disappointed look, Kisaki took off her sunglasses and hooked them onto her coat pocket, staring plainly at me.
"...It usually seems to work. Yet you recognized me at once."
Well, even if you say that, I can distinguish people by the shape of their halos. I remembered the shark fin-like form inside Kisaki's halo, so I knew immediately. It was impossible not to recognize her with such a distinctive feature.
"Everyone, you can relax. It's the Master of Hyunryumon."
I had thought I would need to visit Hyunryumon again today since Kisaki asked for some of my time, but I hadn't expected her to come find me herself so early in the morning.
"O, esteemed guest, did you have a good harvest in your meeting with President Rumi yesterday?"
"Ah... you mean Rumi-chan."
Just thinking about it made my stomach churn.
No, wait, maybe my stomach was just churning right now.
"She said she wants to do both the cooking competition and the broadcast I suggested. From my perspective, they're ideas that still have a lot of details to be ironed out, but it seems Rumi-chan also thinks that taking the first step is what's important. I suppose she wants to take that step, even if it means digging multiple wells at once."
"Hmm. Is that so? However, in my view, even that will not be a simple task. I, too, agree that making a start is the most crucial part, but if it were so simple, would the conflict between Hyunryumon and the Hyeonmu Sanghoe not have been resolved long ago?"
"Mm, you're right about that. Hyunryumon's traditionalism isn't just limited to cooking... It's only natural they wouldn't welcome any kind of change to Shanhaijing's culture and history."
"Indeed. The people of Hyunryumon are, for the most part, so set in their ways that they do not even welcome travel to other autonomous districts. It is commonplace for them to express discontent even when the influence of other academies reaches Shanhaijing. If it is something I am personally promoting, the resistance may be slightly less... but even that is difficult to confirm."
"In short, even if we find a solution, the process of putting it into action is the biggest problem."
"You are correct. Hyunryumon is rife with students who would view even an exchange between Trinity and Shanhaijing with displeasure and would not hesitate to sabotage it... This is all a result of my own lack of virtue."
Despite her calm words, Kisaki seemed deeply displeased with the situation. And I could sympathize with that feeling.
For a leader of a group to admit that their subordinates won't listen is inevitably a blow to their pride.
It was tantamount to indirectly admitting a flaw in her own leadership; how could she possibly brush that off?
For me, who had to manage and placate the students of the Pater faction for over half a year, it was a situation I could naturally sympathize with—a situation that was, in a way, all too familiar.
The position of a leader comes with responsibility.
Admitting your own shortcomings in that regard is a truly difficult thing to do, but Kisaki seemed to want to break the current stalemate so badly that she would reveal even that vulnerability to me without hesitation. She was truly a child who held all of Shanhaijing in her heart.
I could only describe her as mature and adult-like. A brief thought of what I was doing at her age brought forth a wave of admiration. That was why I wanted to help her, even if my own help was inadequate.
"Kisaki-chan, a person who can properly face their own shortcomings can always overcome them and go even further. And besides, that's what leading a group is like, isn't it? If dozens, or hundreds of different people gather, and everything is perfectly controlled... well, that would be the realm of dictatorship or fanaticism."
"...Have you had a similar experience?"
"Mm, I suppose this isn't much of a secret. The faction I belong to, Pater, was at the forefront of the hardliners in Trinity, the ones most hostile to Gehenna. There are quite a few students who are full of complaints about the current situation, preparing to sign a peace treaty with Gehenna, who are just quietly biding their time, waiting for an incident to break out. Yes, in a way, it might be similar to what would happen if Hyunryumon and the Hyeonmu Sanghoe succeeded in reconciling."
"Do you plan to cast them out... No, that was a question I need not have asked. Your will to embrace everyone is so clear... Please pretend you did not hear that."
"Ahaha, isn't it the same for you, Kisaki-chan? To borrow your words... yes, those students are also a part of Trinity. As long as I sit in the responsible position of Tea Party Host, they are children I must look after. As long as they don't commit an unforgivable sin, that will never change."
"...You are similar to me, and yet different."
Kisaki said, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger. I took a moment to ponder what she meant by that.
"Ahaha, I'm not sure which part you mean is different... could you tell me?"
"To me, this Shanhaijing is everything. Separate from my desire as Student Council President to embrace the Hyeonmu Sanghoe, I, too, am a member of Hyunryumon. In other words, I am not so different in that I also value tradition."
Kisaki was clarifying her position.
As the Master of Hyunryumon, she had a strong reverence for tradition, even if not to the same extent as the other Hyunryumon students. As Student Council President, she wished to embrace the Hyeonmu Sanghoe, but she was not entirely positive about their radical methods of modernization. That was what she was saying.
"But for you, Trinity is not everything. Am I not right?"
"...Hmph. I won't deny it."
"From what I have gathered, your amity with Gehenna is merely the beginning for you. You are, in essence, a person not so different from the General Student Council President. What you have made your 'everything' is surely not just Trinity, but this entire Kivotos. Or is my conjecture mistaken?"
"No, that conjecture is, to a certain extent, true."
"To say 'to a certain extent' is synonymous with saying there is an incorrect part, is it not? I have no way of knowing whether there is something I have missed, or if your direction is simply a little different."
Strictly speaking, Kisaki's words were just slightly different in direction. In the grand scheme of things, they could be considered the same.
"What I want is the happiness of everyone who deserves to be happy. Their academy affiliation doesn't matter. Yes, in that sense, you could say that I cherish this entire Kivotos."
"...And who decides who deserves to be happy?"
"I do. But I have clear standards."
Those who harm others with malice do not deserve to be happy. Beatrice was like that. The Kaiser Corporation was like that.
Among the instructors under Beatrice, the particularly vicious ones who enjoyed abusing the students also fell into that category.
"At the very least, I believe every student in Kivotos deserves to be happy. Because they're students, even if they stray a little, you just have to set them right."
"...I see. You and I are fundamentally different people. It would be more fitting to say our very perspectives are on different levels."
After that, our conversation ceased for a while as we continued our meal.
Kisaki seemed to be deep in thought about something. For my part, I pondered how to quell the opposition from Hyunryumon.
Seeing as nothing readily came to mind, I thought it might be a good idea to ask for some advice when I returned to Trinity. There was no need for me to rack my brain when I was surrounded by students smarter than me.
Wouldn't an answer Hanako came up with in five minutes be better than one I came up with after five hundred?
"O, esteemed guest. I shall retract my statement that Trinity and Shanhaijing could become good friends."
Just as we were finishing our meal, Kisaki suddenly dropped that bombshell. The words themselves were shocking, but the curve of her lips calmed me.
"Shanhaijing is not yet ready. If we wish to have Trinity as an ally, many changes must come first."
"In that case, so that the relationship between our two academies can progress further... I will lend you my hand. With that in mind, can I look forward to more exchanges in the future?"
"I shall visit Trinity myself within the next month. Furthermore, whenever you visit Shanhaijing in the future, the gates of Hyunryumon will always be open to you. In that sense..."
Taking something out of the inner pocket of her suit, Kisaki held it out to me. It was the butterfly-shaped hair ornament I had seen on her yesterday.
"Should the people of Hyunryumon cause you any trouble, show them this. There will be none so bold as to reveal this to one whom I have recognized as a friend."
"...Hmph. I see. A gift to commemorate our friendship. This makes me want to give you something too, but I don't have anything on me right now. When you visit Trinity next time, Kisaki-chan, I'll be sure to have something for you☆"
"Hmph. I did not expect anything in return, but I shall look forward to it. Ah, do you happen to have plans with the Hyeonmu Sanghoe today as well?"
"Well, yes. It's a rather important business venture for me."
Nodding at my answer, Kisaki rose from her seat first. With her sunglasses back on, she certainly had a similar air to the Hyunryumon executives, except for her halo.
...And the fact that she was a little short.
"I must not be away for too long, so I shall take my leave now. I hope that all your endeavors go well."
"Mm. It's a shame, but I can't keep a busy person any longer... Thank you for coming to see me, Kisaki-chan☆ Stay well until we meet again."
After carefully placing the hair ornament Kisaki gave me into my handbag, I also rose from my seat. Before heading to the Hyeonmu Sanghoe, I planned to take some time for souvenir shopping to help digest my meal.
I wonder what everyone would like...? My 고민 deepened. (TN: 고민 (gomin) means 'worry' or 'dilemma'. Mika uses the Korean word here for emphasis.)
***