In the end, it was staying home and relaxing that truly allowed me to rest. I spent the remaining days of what was supposed to be a trip just lazing around the house.
And then, it was time for the first day back at school. Everyone changed into their uniforms and headed out.
Kuro and Tina went to meet Vivio and the others, while Yukina and Yō—who were surprisingly good friends despite being in middle school—left the house with Yō reluctantly being dragged by the arm. The high school group, which was the biggest, consisted of me, Asuna, Kurumi, Aria, Riko, and Sakura. And then,
"Let's go."
"Yeah."
There was Yami, dressed in her bulletproof uniform. She usually hated going to school and would always leave the house alone, but today she was going with everyone.
The trip ended up being a complete disaster, but maybe this change was a good thing. Things were definitely getting better than they used to be.
"Well, we're off."
"Alright, be careful."
"If anything happens, call us right away."
By the way, the two Saber girls were staying home. It was impossible to enroll Servants in school.
"Are we being treated a bit carelessly lately?"
"I agree."
---------
We arrived at school just as the bell was about to ring. As soon as we settled into our seats, the teacher came in right on time.
However, the teacher who entered was a girl who was even smaller than anyone else in the classroom.
"Get in your seats, you idiots."
Entering the classroom with a high-handed remark that was completely unbecoming of a teacher was our homeroom teacher, Minamiya Natsuki.
She claimed to be 26 years old, but her stature was barely that of a middle schooler. Her youthful face was adorned with a black dress with so many frills and lace that it didn't look like a teacher's attire at all. Just looking at it made me feel hot, but she never broke a sweat, which was just unfair.
She was a sort of legendary teacher, known for hitting students with the corner of her attendance book if they called her by her nickname, "Natsuki-chan." But in the field, she was feared as the "Witch of the Void."
Of course, this was a school for training Butei (armed detectives) who were one step away from being yakuza. Some teachers would casually fire guns in the hallway, and there were also those with superhuman strength who could overturn a large bus with their bare hands without using any special abilities.
For students who were too disobedient, a "blessed corporal punishment" from these teachers awaited.
The students' reactions were swift. They sat down like a well-coordinated army, and not a single student was chattering.
"Good. First of all, I'll introduce the transfer student who will be your classmate starting today."
Natsuki-chan nodded with satisfaction and announced in a businesslike manner.
This school actually had a lot of transfer students. Many people came and went. In fact, it had only been about two months since I'd been here, but three students had already changed in my class alone.
All the girls summoned to my house would enroll here, but there were also other students who would transfer in or out, or even drop out.
And not many people knew the reasons for those transfers (especially those who left). Some would say they were going on a mission far away, or that they retired as a Butei, or maybe they got involved in a dangerous incident and died.
It was an unavoidable consequence of being involved in such dangerous work.
"Transfer student, come on in."
I wondered what kind of person it would be. It was rare for the preliminary research department to not make a fuss about something like this.
I was shocked by the person who opened the door and entered.
"My name is Mea Kurosaki. It's a pleasure to meet you."
She had short red hair... or so I thought, but it was actually a long braid. She was wearing a bulletproof uniform that she'd gotten from somewhere and had a beaming smile on her face.
Mea Kurosaki—Mea was standing there.
"No way!?"
I stood up without thinking.
It had only been a few days since I fought her, hadn't it? No, that's not right. If her plan was carried out after she'd already researched Yami, it was highly likely that she'd been preparing for this for a long time.
Even so, to make a move this quickly... She was wearing a hood to hide her face when we fought, but she was talking to me now, in broad daylight. This was too careless.
Is her goal Yami? If Mea is here, I need to be careful about the other person, too.
"What's wrong, Yozuki?"
"What's wrong, you ask—"
Natsuki-chan's sharp gaze brought me back to my senses.
Everyone's eyes in the class were on me. Even Yami looked at me with a suspicious expression.
"—What do you think is wrong?"
"Are you an idiot? Just sit down."
"Yes."
I sat back down as I was told. This was so embarrassing!
"Kurosaki, just find an open seat."
"Okay. I'll just find an open seat."
That's way too casual.
Mea sat in a seat that was empty—the third one from the front by the window. It was a moderate distance from both me and Yami. It was a neutral distance for taking a class, but if we were to fight, it was already within range.
"Alright, let's begin homeroom."
Natsuki-chan's voice went in one ear and out the other. It was an incredibly foolish thing to do normally, but in this moment, I couldn't help it.
My eyes were glued to Mea.
She hung her bag on the hook on the side of her desk and looked at Natsuki-chan. From this perspective, she looked like a normal student...
"I can't let my guard down."
A dark cloud had already appeared over my long-awaited return to school life. I needed to meet up with everyone at lunch and share information. Or should I ask everyone if anything unusual had happened around them?
"—...kun?"
And to think, I'd have to go through the frustrating feeling of not having enough evidence this time either.
"—...tsuki-kun?"
However, if she was planning to cause trouble at this school, she'd have to get past that terrifying teacher. It was too much of a risk. So, the area to be vigilant about was outside of school.
"Yozuki-kun!"
"Huh!? Wh-What—"
Mea was right in front of me.
My eyes were at a low angle. She was resting her chin on the desk and tilting her head. I leaned back to escape the gravitational pull of her mesmerizing eyes. Homeroom had ended at some point, and the other students were already moving to their next class.
"Aren't you going, Yozuki-kun?"
"I-I am. Of course, I am."
I never thought I'd get a warning from Mea. I hurriedly took out my pen and textbook.
"Hey, what was wrong just now?"
"You just look like someone I know. Don't worry about it, it's just a case of mistaken identity."
"It might not be a mistake, you know?"
With her sudden confession, my awareness switched. We stared at each other for a while, but then Mea couldn't hold back and started laughing.
"Just kidding~."
"Huh?"
"Hehe, you're so weird. I'll go on ahead, okay?"
With that, Mea left the classroom. I wanted to say, "You're the weird one."
She was hard to read—I didn't know if I should be on guard or not. But I couldn't afford not to be.
Anyway, I should tell everyone about this at lunch.
---------
"Mea, avoid making unnecessary contact with the subject."
"Okay~, sorry."
Mea, who had said she was leaving, was on the landing of the stairs leading to the rooftop, in a shadowy spot where she couldn't be seen.
Leaning against the wall, she didn't seem to regret her careless actions at all.
The person Mea was talking to wasn't a person at all. A girl's voice was coming from a black haze. Mea was talking to the haze as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Mea, have you forgotten our objective?"
"Of course not. How could I forget?"
Mea's eyes were dark, like a hollow pit that swallowed all light.
"To return Yami to her original state. Isn't that right?"
"Yes. That's right. That's why we're following that man's orders. Do him a favor by doing what he asks. It's a hassle to make him an enemy."
"Hmm... it is a hassle."
Mea and the others' goal was to return Yami to her original state—the killing machine she was when she was an assassin.
And beyond that, to have her trigger the forbidden "Transform" ability.
However, in the process of getting to this point, they also had a request from the man who had lent them some power. That was to monitor Shō Yozuki and investigate his abilities.
"He's a weird guy, isn't he? If I were him, I'd just kill us if we were a nuisance."
"He actually said we can kill you if you become a nuisance. He's an unpredictable man. But he said to do as we please, so we will."
The man behind these two was interested in Shō, but he wasn't actively trying to eliminate him. It was as if he was trying to figure out if he could be an ally.
"In any case, stop provoking Shō Yozuki pointlessly. We've got a convenient position now. It would be a shame to lose it."
"Okay. If Master says so, I'll do it. Ah! I'm going now!"
Upon hearing the bell, Mea left the scene with a lighthearted demeanor.
---------
"Ah, Shō-kun! Over here, over here!"
I went through the morning classes and it was finally lunchtime.
Since the middle and high school buildings were separate, we couldn't all gather, but Asuna, Aria, Riko, Kurumi, and Sakura, who were in the grade above me, met in the cafeteria.
I joined them, along with Yami, and the seven of us sat at a table.
Everyone ordered something that reflected their personality. Some ordered a vegetable-heavy meal, while others went for a hearty meat-centered one. One girl had already started on dessert instead of a meal.
I went with a safe choice: curry with a pork cutlet. I was a little hungrier than usual since I had something on my mind.
Without further ado, I got to the main point.
"As I wrote in the email, we're in for some more trouble."
"I didn't think they'd come to us so soon."
I had already mentioned it in the email, but I said it out loud again.
"Mea Kurosaki, the transfer student today, is very likely involved in the recent attack. I'm sure she's the girl I fought."
"Based on the timing, there's no doubt about it. It's incredibly reckless for them to enter our territory themselves."
Kurumi's smile—I couldn't tell who the villain was anymore.
"But we don't have any evidence that she was involved in the crime."
"What? But you were attacked, weren't you?"
I was attacked, but when it came to whether she was connected to the Agendas we caught at the time, there was no concrete evidence, even though it was highly likely she was.
"On top of that, she even gave me a hint about a mirror."
"Wouldn't that be evidence? It's too specific to be a random guess. She pinpointed the Agenda's Stand ability."
Sakura, who had entered work mode, prefaced with, "This is a bit of a change of subject, but," and continued.
"Shō-kun, I got an email from Fate-san this morning saying she's going to question Agenda. Do you want to join? She also sent an email inviting you."
"Hmm, ah... what should I do?"
Should I leave Yami alone right now? I noticed that several pairs of eyes were fixed on me.
"Shō-kun, you're quite trusted by Chief Officer Testarossa, aren't you?"
"Yeah, she's reporting to you even though she doesn't have to."
"I already explained that..."
I quickly changed the subject from this disadvantageous topic.
"By the way, Yami, what's your schedule for the afternoon?"
"First, I have a video lecture, and after that, I have a practical skills test for the Assault course."
A test? I didn't remember her having one. I thought we went on that trip during her time off after her tests...
"...I hadn't taken it. So now it's a retest."
Ah, I see.
"We don't have any plans this afternoon, so would you like us to stay with you, Yami-san?"
"It's a valuable opportunity. You should go to the interrogation."
"Hmm. Then I'll do that."
I decided to go with Sakura in the afternoon.
"Mea... Mea Kurosaki... Shō, can I talk to you for a second?"
Riko seemed to have some idea. Her tone changed to her "underworld" one, and her gaze sharpened.
"The red-haired Mea... she should be the girl who joined I-U right around the time I left. Since we were replacing each other, I've never talked to her, and I don't know what her abilities are."
"So she's a pawn of I-U?"
Upon hearing the word "I-U," Aria bared her fangs.
"That might be the case. But even if we catch her, I don't think it'll clear your mom's name, Aria. She had already been set up when that girl joined."
"Then we'll catch her and use her to catch the rest of them."
I wish it were that easy.
"What is the purpose of the organization I-U, anyway? If we knew that, we could take some countermeasures."
As a great military strategist from ancient times once said, if you don't know your enemy, you can't fight them. Yami's question was a natural one.
"The organization doesn't have a single goal. It's a gathering of superhumans, each of whom is working toward their own individual goals and honing their skills. That's what I-U is. So, you can't predict what they'll do. Sometimes the people at the top give orders, but it's up to you whether you follow them or not."
"It's that loose of an organization?"
"Yeah. I was also completely working for my own goals, wasn't I? That's just how it is."
A group of superhumans gathering to hone their skills was a great idea, but there were certainly people who were inconvenienced by their actions.
"And my mom was framed by their activities."
Aria muttered with a look of hatred, but Riko just brushed it off.
"Yeah, yeah. So, if you want to know their purpose, it's probably faster to ask her directly. Yami-chan, do you have any idea about her?"
"Unfortunately, I don't remember anything about her—I would never forget someone with the 'Transform' ability after seeing or hearing about them even once."
The information gained from the recent battle had already been shared.
Besides.
I exchanged glances with Asuna.
I had already emailed the summoned girls about the relationship between Yami and Mea and the master behind Mea.
"There's no problem as long as she comes for me and not Takamachi Vivio. I'll just fight her off."
"If I-U is involved, she's my prey too."
"For now, it's better if we all stick together."
"...Okay. I understand."
Yami agreed honestly, something she probably would have refused before. I could count on everyone to handle things.
I left the afternoon's matters to them and left the school with Sakura.
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