"…A Sensei with no halo shot down our shells with cars and trucks, then spun a tornado with breakdance moves?" Hina Sorasaki said, incredulous. "Ako, explain this seriously."
"It's true!!" Ako's hologram wailed.
"Not just Ako—everyone's saying it," Chinatsu added. "He really made a tornado with breakdance."
"Yup," Mash confirmed.
"No halo, either," Hina noted.
"Yup," Mash nodded.
"How does that even make a tornado?" Hina pressed.
"No clue," Mash shrugged.
Hina stared, speechless.
The Disciplinary Committee's chairwoman, Hina Sorasaki, had demanded an explanation upon arriving. The result? Mash Burnedead was clearly not normal.
"I can't believe it, but with this many witnesses, I have to," Hina sighed. "Why's Iori holding her foot?"
"Kicked his abs and hurt myself," Iori muttered.
"What?" Hina blinked.
"Uh, you're the chairwoman, right?" Mash asked.
"…I messed up, not introducing myself," Hina said, turning to Mash with a formal bow. "Nice to meet you, Shale's Sensei. I'm Hina Sorasaki, Gehenna Academy Disciplinary Committee Chairwoman. Sorry for the worst first impression."
"No worries. Mash Burnedead, 16," Mash replied.
"Younger than me?" Hina raised an eyebrow. "Whatever. Ako."
"Y-Yes…" Ako stammered.
"I don't care about the details," Hina said. "Eliminating Gehenna's threats is fine within the Committee's scope. I won't interfere. But this? The Tea Party, Shale, the Federal Student Council—leave political games to Pandemonium's schemers. Cool off, Ako. We'll talk back home."
"Yes… If that's all, I'm saved…" Ako mumbled.
"So, Ako acted without your approval?" Ayane asked.
"Looks like it," Hina confirmed.
"Then Hina's not involved. Got it," Mash said, heading to Shiroko to grab his clothes.
"Who's handling negotiations here?" Hina asked.
"That's me," Ayane said. "Abydos Countermeasures Committee, Okuzora Ayane. What do you want?"
"One thing," Hina said.
"Yes?" Ayane prompted.
"Where's Takanotsume Hoshino?" Hina asked.
"Hoshino-senpai?" Ayane blinked. "It's her day off… She wouldn't come even if called. Do you know her?"
"Not personally," Hina said. "I checked the roster before coming. She's enrolled… but not here now?"
"There's Hoshino-san," Mash pointed.
Hoshino approached, having sprinted earlier but now strolling casually, aware of Mash's gaze. Hina's eyes widened, as if seeing something bizarre.
"Phew, am I late?" Hoshino grinned. "Sorry, nap was too good."
"Nap!?" Serika snapped. "We were in deep trouble!"
"Looks mostly handled," Hoshino said.
"It's about to get worse," Ayane muttered.
"Seems like it," Hoshino agreed. "Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee, huh? Chasing Aru-chan's crew?"
Hina didn't reply, studying Hoshino. Hoshino stared back. Their gazes locked.
"Whatever," Hoshino said. "The Countermeasures Committee's all here. Wanna fight, Gehenna's Chairwoman-chan?"
"You've changed since your first year," Hina observed.
"We met?" Hoshino asked.
"No," Hina said. "But I did a lot of research at Gehenna. I know about Abydos' incident."
Hoshino's smile held steady, but her eyes darkened.
"I thought you left Abydos after that," Hina continued.
Hoshino said nothing, but Hina nodded, as if understanding something. She turned to Problem Solver 68, staring intently.
"If Hoshino-san's handling this, I'm in," Mash said.
"Sensei, that's overkill," Hoshino teased.
"She's called the strongest, so I'm worried," Mash said.
"Pretty confident, thinking you can fight me," Hina said, intrigued.
"Totally," Mash grinned.
Hina flinched. "This incident isn't your fault, Hina-san," Mash said, clenching a fist. "But if you try taking Problem Solver 68… I won't hold back."
Hina was stunned. She'd faced countless troublemakers, but none had boldly claimed they could take her on.
"Hmm," Hina mused.
"Wait, Chairwoman, don't pick a fight with Mash-sensei," Chinatsu pleaded.
"Not picking one," Mash said.
"That's how it is," Hoshino added. "Can you quietly leave?"
"Problem Solver 68 has caused major issues," Hina said. "I'd love to drag them back to Gehenna."
"Awa-wa-wa!" Haruka squeaked.
"Not happening, huh?" Hina said.
Shiroko struck a silent fighting pose.
"Why protect them so fiercely, Sensei?" Hina asked.
Mash glanced at Problem Solver 68, then said flatly, "They're friends. And important students."
Hina's eyes widened. She decided to test him.
"You attacked our forces," Hina said. "Didn't you consider they might be stronger than you?"
"Thought about it, but gotta do it anyway," Mash shrugged.
"One last thing," Hina said. "You don't know this world yet, so you can talk big. There are worse threats than me—troublesome types. If they stand in your way, what'll you do? If I were the enemy?"
Whoosh! Hina spread her wings, radiating overwhelming pressure. The Gehenna troops, Abydos students, and Problem Solver 68 froze, sweating, struggling to breathe.
(This is Hina Sorasaki now… That pressure's intense. Even I'm struggling. Can Mash-sensei handle it?) Hoshino thought.
Crunch, crunch.
"…" Mash munched on a cream puff, unfazed.
(Expressionless?) Hoshino gaped.
(We're radiating pressure, and he's casually eating a cream puff?) Iori thought.
"Sorry, low on sugar today," Mash said.
"Uh…" Hina faltered, bewildered.
"You said, if you're the enemy?" Mash asked, swallowing.
"Yeah," Hina nodded.
"I'd fight hard and beat you to a pulp," Mash said calmly.
(To the Disciplinary Chairwoman!)
(To Gehenna's strongest!)
(He's picking a fight!?!)
It was practically a declaration of war. Hina smirked and gave orders.
"Prepare to withdraw. We're leaving."
"B-But—" Chinatsu started.
"Didn't hear me?" Hina snapped.
"Sensei," Hina said, "Unauthorized troop deployment and causing a disturbance in another academy's zone—I, Hina Sorasaki, as Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee Chairwoman, formally apologize to the Abydos Countermeasures Committee. We won't trespass again. Please forgive us."
"Cool," Mash said.
"So casual!" Ayane exclaimed.
"If Sensei's okay with it, we are too," Serika said.
As Hina turned to leave, she paused. "This might not help, but one piece of info."
"What's that?" Mash asked.
"Suspicious activity by Kaiser Corporation in the Abydos Desert," Hina said. "It's too vague to report officially, but I'll pass it on."
"Got it. Thanks, Chairwoman-chan," Hoshino said.
The Disciplinary Committee vanished like the wind.
"No clue what Kaiser's up to in the desert," Hoshino mused.
"Or where you were napping," Serika added.
"What's that in your hand, Serika-chan?" Hoshino asked nervously. "This old lady remembered some errands…"
"No escape," Ayane said.
"Even Ayane-chan!?" Hoshino yelped.
"Grab her, Sensei," Shiroko said.
"On it!" Mash grinned, whipping out a rope.
"What's with the rope—waaah!?" Hoshino cried as Mash tied her up.
Hoshino was dragged back to Abydos' school. Problem Solver 68 parted ways, and Shiba Seki's shop was unscathed.
Abydos Academy Classroom
"What!?" Serika gasped. "An eviction notice for Shiba Seki's shop!?"
"And… the land's owner isn't us—it's Kaiser Corporation!?" Ayane added.
"Yes," Nonomi said. "The boss called earlier. I checked, and… look at this."
Ayane spread out a land registry, revealing that Kaiser Corporation owned nearly all of Abydos' autonomous zone, except the school and a small surrounding area.
"How did this happen?" Serika demanded. "Trading school land shouldn't be possible! Who did this?"
"The Abydos Student Council, right?" Hoshino said quietly.
"Yes," Ayane confirmed. "The council made the deals."
"They said there's no council anymore," Mash noted.
"Yeah, it dissolved two years ago," Hoshino said.
"So, no transactions since then," Ayane added.
"What were they doing!?" Serika shouted. "Selling school land to Kaiser Corporation!?"
Hoshino grimaced, as if suppressing something.
"We didn't notice this huge issue…" Ayane said.
"Every school owns its zone," Nonomi said. "It's so obvious we overlooked it, focusing on the debt. If I'd noticed sooner…"
"It's not your fault, Ayane-chan," Hoshino said. "This happened before even I enrolled."
"Hoshino-san, do you know something?" Mash asked.
"Yup," Hoshino said, hopping onto a desk. "I was in the old student council."
She began her story. "When I enrolled, the previous council was gone. No fancy handover documents—nothing. It was during the desertification, with relocations messing everything up. Old council records are probably buried in the sand. Honestly, the council was just me and the president back then."
Her face darkened at the mention of the president.
"She was reckless, the biggest idiot in school despite being president," Hoshino said. "And I was a bratty freshman with a bad attitude…"
"Hoshino-san, don't push yourself," Mash said.
"Thanks, Sensei," Hoshino smiled faintly. "We ran around like crazy back then…"
"Hoshino-chan! Over here!"
"Senpai! Look what I found!"
"Really… so clueless," Hoshino murmured, her voice heavy.
As she grew somber, Shiroko and Mash stepped in.
"Hoshino-senpai, you don't need to feel responsible," Shiroko said. "I don't know the details, but the Countermeasures Committee exists because of you."
"Y-Yeah," Hoshino mumbled.
"You're there when it counts," Mash said. "You look out for your kouhai and me."
"I respect Hoshino-senpai," Shiroko added.
"Wait, Shiroko-chan!" Hoshino protested. "This old lady's bad with mushy stuff…"
"I think you're awesome, Ho-shi-no!" Mash cheered.
"Ho-shi-no!" Shiroko echoed.
"Ho-shi-no! Ho-shi-no! Ho-shi-no!" the group chanted, clapping.
"Stop it!" Hoshino wailed. "And Sensei, why're you hyping me up!?"
"Come on, everyone, together!" Mash rallied.
"Ho-shi-no!" they roared.
"Stop iiiit!" Hoshino cried.
The chant went on for a while.
"But why did the old council sell to Kaiser?" Nonomi asked.
"Maybe they were in cahoots?" Serika suggested.
"Or Kaiser's just that shady," Ayane said.
"Probably sold it to pay the debt," Hoshino said. "No choice."
"No choice?" Serika scoffed. "Even for the debt…"
"They likely started with uninhabitable desert land," Hoshino explained. "Didn't fetch much, so they sold more and more, leading to this."
"That's messed up," Serika said. "Like it was hopeless from the start…"
"Wait," Mash said. "Kaiser Corporation lent Abydos the money, right?"
"Oh!" Ayane gasped.
"So…" Shiroko started.
"Kaiser Loans lent an unmanageable amount, forcing land sales to cover interest," Hoshino said. "That's their game."
"Hard to follow, but…" Serika said.
Mash donned his cream puff mask and called Shiroko for a skit.
"Ugh, this month's payment's rough," Mash groaned.
"Trouble, huh?" Shiroko said, monotone.
"Who're you!?"
"Struggling with payments?" Shiroko droned. "Sell this land, and you're good for the month."
"Really!? Sold!" Mash said. "That's the deal, right?"
"Shiroko-senpai, your acting's too intense," Serika muttered. "But seriously, how incompetent was the council!? Falling for such a scam! If they hadn't, we wouldn't be in this mess!"
"Calm down, Serika-chan," Mash said.
"Don't talk with that mask!" Serika snapped.
"It's not the victim's fault—it's the scammer's," Mash said.
"I know!" Serika said. "I've bought germanium bracelets before—maybe more than anyone here! The scammer's the bad guy! But it's frustrating… Abydos is suffering, and they make it worse!?"
"Desperate people are easy to push," Hoshino said.
"Huh?" Serika blinked.
"When you're cornered, you'll do anything," Hoshino said softly.
"The school's debt, Abydos' situation, the clues we've found with Sensei—it's all connecting," Ayane said.
"Kaiser hired the Helmet Gang to seize the last land—the school," Shiroko said.
"Attacks ramped up since we enrolled," Hoshino said. "They were mentally pressuring before, but now it's outright force."
"Then we hit back with force," Mash said.
"Sensei?" Ayane asked.
"Hina-san mentioned Kaiser's suspicious moves in the desert," Mash said, standing and stretching. "So… let's storm the Abydos Desert."
"Alright!" the group cheered, their voices echoing in the classroom.
(Why do I have a bad feeling… especially about Sensei?) Hoshino worried.
Afterword
Not much to say, so please share activity reports! Next time: Kaiser execs get kicked and buried! Stay tuned. Rate, comment, and share activity reports! Typo reports are much appreciated!