Minutes after Mash defeated the Kata-Kata Helmet Gang, he and the Countermeasures Committee gathered in the committee room.
As they prepared to dive into the main issue, the Abydos students couldn't help but fixate on one thing.
"Sensei, what are you?" Serika demanded.
"Just a normal human." Munch, munch.
"Normal humans don't crush firearms with their bare hands! (And why are you eating cream puffs nonstop?!)"
"I just trained hard, like my grandpa told me to." Munch, munch.
"Grandpa?" Ayane asked.
"My grandpa. He always told me to train." Munch, munch.
"…Even so, training doesn't make you that strong," Shiroko said.
"You think?" Munch, munch.
"Put down those cream puffs already! How many are you eating?!" Serika snapped.
"Want one, Serika-chan? They're delicious."
"No way I'm eating those!"
"Alright, more for me."
Mash brushed off their questions, popping cream puffs into his mouth one after another. Beyond custard and whipped cream, his stash included strawberry and banana cream varieties.
(…Gulp.)
Serika wasn't the only one eyeing the cream puffs. The other girls, being teenage girls, couldn't resist the allure of sweets dangled before them.
"Gulp—I've got enough for everyone, so let's eat together. I don't mind," Mash said.
"!"
"I'll set plates here… and—"
Mash pulled cream puffs from his rucksack, stacking them on a large plate into a towering cream puff skyscraper, reaching almost to the ceiling in under a minute.
"Wow! ✨" the girls gasped.
A tower of sweets—a dream for any kid (or girl). No one could resist its sparkling allure.
"Dig in."
"Let's eat!!!" they cheered.
"Hey, wait!" Serika protested.
The Abydos students grabbed custard, chocolate, and strawberry cream puffs, devouring them eagerly. One bite transformed their exasperated, gag-chasing faces into radiant smiles. For a school bound by scarcity, this indulgent treat was a rare luxury, and they reveled in it.
"So good~♪" Nonomy beamed.
"Custard's nice," Shiroko said.
"Chocolate's amazing too!" Ayane added.
"Uhee, I'm a strawberry fan~," Hoshino said.
"E-Everyone's eating… I'm not joining, okay? I mean—" Serika stammered.
"Ahh~" Hoshino teased, holding a cream puff to Serika's mouth.
"Ahh~♪ Mmm! Delicious… Wait, no! What are you doing, Hoshino-senpai?!" Serika yelped.
"C'mon, Sensei brought these for us. Stop being stubborn and eat~," Hoshino urged.
"F-Fine, I get it! I'll eat, okay?!" Serika snapped.
Taking the cream puff from Hoshino, Serika bit in. Her face lit up with a smile she'd never shown before, warming the hearts of the watching Abydos students.
"You're eating after all," Mash said.
Mash's oblivious comment earned him a scolding from Serika, who wasn't amused.
(I don't get it.)
After devouring the cream puff tower, the group got down to business. Mash's first question was about the school's population.
"Is this really everyone here?" he asked.
"Yup, just us five—the whole student body," Hoshino said.
"Desertification drove most students away from Abydos…" Ayane explained.
"Some transferred or dropped out. Everyone had their reasons," Shiroko added.
"With the school like this, third-rate punks like the Kata-Kata Helmet Gang think they can walk all over us. It's infuriating," Serika growled.
"Right now, it's tough for just the five of us to defend the school. That's why we formed the Countermeasures Committee," Ayane said.
"I'm the president, being a third-year and all~," Hoshino said.
"No vice-president, but if I had to pick, maybe Nonomy," Shiroko said.
"So you're all trying to save and restore the school," Mash said.
"Yeah… that's the goal, at least," Ayane replied.
"But there's a tricky, boring problem~," Hoshino said.
"You're just gonna say it, Hoshino-senpai?" Serika asked.
"It's not like we're hiding it," Hoshino shrugged.
"What's up?" Mash asked, puzzled.
Shiroko's voice grew heavy. "Debt. Around 900 million."
"Precisely 962.35 million," Ayane corrected.
"…900 million. I could build a cream puff paradise with that," Mash said.
(Cream puff paradise? Sounds like a sticky mess…) Serika thought.
"That's pretty bad, right?" Mash asked.
"Yes… If we can't pay it off, the school's done. The bank takes the rights, and we're forced to close," Ayane said.
The word "closure" stuck in Mash's mind like glue. Then came the heavy details.
"Our accounts are tied to the school, so if it closes, even daily life becomes impossible," Ayane said.
"That's why there are so many delinquents. No school means no money, and without a proper account, you can't get decent work. It's a vicious cycle," Hoshino said.
"No one stays in a school with no future. That's why students and residents left, leaving just us," Shiroko said.
"All the bad stuff boils down to this debt. Ugh, I know yelling at nature won't help, but screw you, sandstorms!" Serika fumed.
"Got all that, Sensei? …Sensei?" Ayane asked.
…
Beep!
"He's out cold?!" Serika gasped.
"Too much info made him faint?!" Nonomy exclaimed.
"No way," Shiroko said.
"…Hah! Sorry, my brain short-circuited," Mash said, snapping back.
"To put it simply~," Hoshino began, "sandstorms wrecked the land, so we took loans to cover it. The lenders were shady, though. At first, it was manageable, like, 'We can pay this back~.'"
"But the sandstorms kept hitting every year, making things worse," Ayane continued.
"So we're left with a half-desertified Abydos and a ballooning debt. Just paying interest is a struggle," Shiroko said.
"You're managing to cover the interest, though," Nonomy noted.
"We're trying hard," Serika said.
"That's the gist of Abydos' situation. Not a fun story, right, Sensei?" Hoshino asked.
"Yeah, not exactly cheerful," Mash said.
"But I've got a solution."
"!?"
"You found one?!" Serika gasped.
"What is it?" Ayane asked.
Standing, Mash raised his fist and declared without hesitation:
"Crush the lenders, and the debt's gone." Thud!
"Sensei… a genius?" Shiroko said, grabbing her rifle.
"Are you insane?! Shiroko-senpai, don't agree!!" Serika yelled.
Mash's logic—eliminate the lenders, erase the debt—tossed ethics out the window. Shiroko, ready to roll with "that's an option," was stopped by the other four.
"We wouldn't struggle if it were that easy! Getting sued would finish us!" Ayane said.
"And if word got out that SCHALE's Sensei did that, it'd be a huge scandal!" Nonomy added.
"…Yeah, but that sounds—'Shiroko-chan?' …Sorry," Shiroko said, stopped by Hoshino's call.
Mash's face said, Was that a bad idea?
"I thought it'd be fine since they're shady…" Mash said.
"No way! And you don't need to worry about this," Serika said.
"Why not?" Mash asked.
Serika, looking frustrated, faced Mash.
"We've been handling this on our own. It's not your problem. And a kid Sensei our age? How can we trust that?"
"Serika-chan, that's harsh…" Ayane said.
"Thanks for the cream puffs, but… you've got that crazy strength and you're our age. You think I can just trust you?" Serika said.
Standing, Serika vented. Expecting an adult Sensei and getting a kid was understandably hard to accept. Mash thought for a moment, then said:
"You're probably right."
"Huh?"
"A reliable Sensei my age, a total stranger we just met? Yeah, that's hard to believe."
"Exactly… So—" Serika started.
"But I'm not backing off."
"…Why? We didn't even ask you."
"Doesn't matter. I'll do it anyway."
"That's just self-satisfaction!"
"Maybe. I want to save you all and see you smile—that's my selfishness."
Meeting Serika's gaze, Mash's eyes held no lies, only sincerity.
"Even if you think I'm a nuisance or say whatever, abandoning you or giving up? That's not an option for me."
Stunned, the Abydos students watched as Mash raised his fist, declaring loudly and firmly:
"I'll save this place from debt hell. No matter what, I'll protect and rescue you all."
Moved by his words, the students stood and approached him.
"…Sensei, if you're that determined, we've got no choice but to rely on you," Shiroko said.
"Protecting us no matter what? Eek! ♪" Nonomy squealed.
"Sensei, please, we're counting on you!" Ayane said.
"Sensei, you made my old-man heart skip a beat~ Can we rely on you?" Hoshino asked.
"Of course," Mash said.
"Then we'll take you up on that~ Nice working with you, Sensei," Hoshino said, shaking his hand.
"Sure thing," Mash replied.
The others cheered, "Yay!"
"…Hmph," Serika huffed, still unconvinced.
Later, thanks to Mash, Abydos escaped immediate danger. But the Kata-Kata Helmet Gang was notoriously persistent, returning repeatedly. After discussing that even if Mash drove them off, they'd likely come back, the group concluded:
"Let's crush their base," Mash said.
Everyone agreed.
Mash and the team launched their plan… or rather, Mash just went wild.
"Hah!" (Bullet toss)
"Gahh?!" the gang screamed.
"Hmph!" (Gun crush)
"My gun!!" they wailed.
"Hrrrgh!" (Cross arm lock)
"Owowow! It's gonna break! It's really gonna break!!" they cried.
"Enemy spotted." (Swings broken pillar while advancing)
"Eek! Help!!" they screamed.
Mash's rampage was so effortless that it wrapped up quickly, without much hassle.
"…Can't we just let him handle everything?" Serika muttered.
"Serika-chan, you sound like a certain top-tier sorcerer~," Hoshino teased.
"No role for us…" Shiroko said.
"Yeah, we can't keep relying on him like this, right, senpai?" Nonomy said.
"True~ Unless it's a real emergency, maybe Sensei should stay on standby," Hoshino said.
"And…" Ayane started.
"Hmph, hmph, hmph!" Toss, toss, toss.
"He's juggling grenades like toys?!" a delinquent shrieked.
"Idiot, run—"
"Hey!" (Throws juggled grenade)
"Oh—"
BOOM!!
"…He's so reckless, I almost feel bad for the enemy," Ayane said.
"Same," Shiroko agreed.
Thanks to Mash's chaos, the base fell spectacularly. They reclaimed supplies and ammo, and the "plan" (Mash going wild) was a resounding success.
"Banzai! Banzai!!" the group cheered, raising their hands in victory.
"…I don't get it," Serika muttered, as always, the odd one out.