Just as Hifumi had said, the strength of the Black Market guards could not be underestimated.
The moment I stepped out of the underground bank, I saw the "Masked Swimsuit Gang" locked in a fierce battle not far away, with more reinforcements rushing to the scene.
This was where Wakamo came into play.
I sent a message through Momotalk, and soon, a thunderous explosion shook the nearby street. Flames and smoke instantly drew the guards' attention.
Seizing the opportunity, the "Masked Swimsuit Gang" threw smoke grenades to obscure vision and quickly disengaged from the fight.
The only one who didn't leave was a fool hiding in the shadows, watching them with the starry eyes of a fangirl. Quietly, she followed after them.
Under Haruka's lead, we too trailed from a distance behind Aru.
After a long tail, Aru finally caught up with the "Masked Swimsuit Gang" on a pedestrian bridge. They still hadn't removed their masks, but Aru was already excitedly striking up a conversation.
By the time I got close enough to hear, I caught Hoshino spinning the most obvious nonsense about something that didn't exist.
"An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Cold and solitary, walking my own path as if striding through hell itself. That is my creed!"
Aru, however, completely believed it, clasping her hands to her chest, her eyes shining with joy.
"…What the hell are they even doing…"
Kayoko's exasperated mutter echoed exactly what I was thinking.
I sighed, stepped forward quickly, and placed a hand on Aru's shoulder. At the same time, I addressed the masked bandits in front of me.
"You can take off your masks now. Sorry to disappoint, but from this moment on, Aru is one of us."
Aru blinked in confusion. "Eh? Sensei? What do you mean by that?"
Before she could get an answer, everyone else had already removed their knitted masks after a brief word with me.
Hoshino greeted the dumbfounded Aru, then turned to me.
"Phew~ I wasn't done playing yet. By the way, Sensei, how come you're hanging around with Problem Solver 68 again?"
I patted Aru's shoulder and stepped forward with a weary smile.
"Not by choice. Some unexpected things happened, the plan changed, and Kaiser will probably guess we were behind this."
"They don't have proof though. At most, the Black Market will just issue a bounty for the Masked Swimsuit Gang."
"But the evidence we got is even harder to expose. And the Kaiser Corporation will no doubt erase every trace of it."
"Not that it matters. It's not like we were ever planning to hand it over to the General Student Council anyway."
"True. The important thing is to prepare for whatever Kaiser does next."
Hoshino and I spoke seriously about what came after.
Meanwhile, Aru stood frozen like a statue after seeing the true faces of the "Masked Swimsuit Gang."
Her so-called idols, the outlaws she admired, were Abydos students?! Then what shameful things had she just said to the enemy earlier?!
Being seen in such an embarrassing state… There was no way she could go on with this request!
As Aru silently screamed in despair, on the verge of tears.
"President, I think I need to remind you of something."
Kayoko approached. "This request has already failed."
"Huh?"
"This morning we demanded compensation from the Kaiser PMC board. This afternoon we show up at a bank tied to Kaiser, together with Sensei. Then the bank just happens to get robbed… You do understand what that means, right?"
"Huh? I don't..." Aru almost answered honestly, but then remembered her dignity as president and quickly changed her tone. "Of course I know!"
As always, Haruka gazed at her with worshipful eyes. "As expected of Aru-sama~"
Kayoko, however, was speechless, waiting for Aru to speak her grand conclusion.
Mutsuki grinned.
"Ooh~
Then let's hear it, Aru-chan~"
"T-this… um…"
Aru wracked her brain desperately, but no answer came. Her eyes darted around, sweat beginning to drip down her forehead.
In the end, Kayoko's kindness saved her, unwilling to let Aru make a complete fool of herself.
"Kaiser will assume that, knowing all this, we've already thrown in our lot with Sensei. Isn't that right?"
"Yes! Exactly that!"
Her joy lasted only a few seconds before it was swallowed up by shock and panic.
Aru's lips trembled. "S-so then…?"
Just as Aru was about to sink into despair again.
"Fufu~
Good thing we never accepted either the deposit or the compensation. Otherwise, with how kind Aru-chan is, betraying them now would've been a lot harder on her conscience~"
Mutsuki narrowed her eyes with a mischievous smile.
"Besides~
Compared to working with those boring machines, isn't it way more fun to team up with Sensei~?"
At those words, Aru suddenly felt the world open wide again. Her expression instantly shifted back into smug delight as she declared loudly:
"That's right! This means at last, we've made Sensei our partner!
"I saw through that useless Kaiser PMC executive from the start. Arrogant and incompetent, he was never worth making plans with. I was only humoring him for the time being!
"Putting profit first, climbing upward coldly and without mercy, using that pathetic request from Kaiser as a mere stepping stone… and in the end, successfully drawing Sensei into our hands!
"This is the true villainous style of Problem Solver 68!"
The more Aru spoke, the more excited she became, until she even convinced herself. Throwing her head back, she laughed triumphantly.
"Ha~ ha~ ha! Everything is in the hands of this great president!"
Not far away.
Serika stared at the sight of Aru laughing to the sky, then turned to ask, "Shiroko-senpai, what's wrong with that one over there?"
"I don't know. But hasn't she always been like that? Don't worry about it."
Hifumi hesitated, then offered a guess. "Hmm… maybe she just thought of something that makes her really happy?"
Nonomi joined in cheerfully. "Don't you all think it's kind of funny~?"
Shiroko and Serika nodded in agreement.
Hifumi hunched her shoulders, too shy to add anything, but her expression made it clear she agreed as well.
In any case, thanks to Aru's inexplicable antics, Problem Solver 68 was now forced to switch sides and stand with us.
The price, however, might be harsher retaliation from the Kaiser Corporation.
Among everyone involved, Hifumi, who never showed her face and had no prior connection to the rest, was the one with the least to worry about.
The Abydos students were already being targeted by Kaiser. Even if the pressure grew stronger, it hardly mattered now that they had gained new allies.
Problem Solver 68 were notorious delinquents to begin with, strong and unconstrained by school rules, unafraid of retaliation. Besides, Kaiser had been the one to breach the contract first. Since they hadn't accepted the penalty fee, it could be treated as a one-sided annulment anyway.
As for me, as a Sensei of Schale, so long as Kaiser still had a shred of sense, they wouldn't dare move against me directly.
So in the end…
The only ones who really got hurt were the Kaiser Corporation.
And just like that, Problem Solver 68 had joined our team ahead of schedule.