Hoshino: Sensei.
Hoshino: We just found something.
Hoshino: A few years ago, the ownership of Abydos's territory was already taken by the Kaiser Corporation.
Hoshino: We need to hold a new strategy meeting right away.
This went beyond what I had planned, but seeing that Hoshino wasn't particularly shaken, I felt relieved. Maybe it was good that they discovered the truth on their own.
Me: So that's how it is.
Me: In that case, I'll head back immediately.
After sending the message, I told Hina that an urgent matter had come up and excused myself.
"My apologies, Sensei. Ako caused you some trouble. Please visit again sometime. Next time, I promise nothing like this will happen."
Hina looked genuinely remorseful over Ako's deliberate rudeness.
As for Ako herself, her face twisted in humiliation, caught between resentment and the inability to fight back.
I said from the heart, "It's fine. I actually think Ako is pretty cute."
"Guh…"
Ako glared at me with pure fury. She probably thought I was mocking her.
Since Hina didn't react, I added, "Of course, not as cute as Hina."
"…Hm?"
"That's obvious!" Ako puffed up with pride, huffing as she said, "The Chairwoman is the absolute cutest, after all! You don't need to waste your breath saying something that obvious!"
After a brief silence, Hina's voice turned cold.
"Ako, one hundred more written reflections."
"Eh?! Y-yes, ma'am…"
"Sensei, you must be busy, so I won't see you off personally," Hina continued. "Ako, before you start on those reflection papers, escort Sensei to the station."
"Wha...?"
"You're the one who said Gehenna's order is chaotic and the Prefect Team is short-staffed, weren't you?"
"I got it…"
Under Hina's orders, Ako reluctantly escorted me out of Gehenna. I couldn't help but feel like I was borrowing the tiger's authority, and honestly, it felt pretty good.
I thought to myself that I should really visit the Prefect Team again sometime.
Of course, only when Hina's around.
When I returned to the Abydos clubroom, both the Foreclosure Task Force and the members of Problem Solver 68 were already gathered.
I got straight to the point.
"Hina, the Prefect Team's Chairwoman of Gehenna, told me this: the Kaiser Corporation is plotting something in the abandoned desert area. That might be why they're trying to seize all of Abydos."
Ayane asked in surprise, "How would the Prefect Team even know that?"
Kayoko, being from Gehenna herself, seemed familiar with how they worked and explained simply, "They have a division that specializes in gathering intelligence."
Hoshino smiled at me. "Sensei always knows so much, huh."
"I only just learned this myself."
Serika slammed the table, furious. "What on earth was the former Abydos Student Council doing?! They actually sold off the school's land to the Kaiser Corporation?!"
Shiroko turned to Hoshino. "Hoshino-senpai, do you know anything about it?"
"Oh, right! You were part of the Abydos Student Council back then too, weren't you?"
Having just criticized the former council, Serika looked a little awkward now.
After a moment of silence, Hoshino began reminiscing.
"That's right. It was about two years ago. To be honest, I didn't really have much connection with the seniors from that term. By the time I joined, most of the student council members had already resigned.
"They called it the 'final' Student Council, but in truth, it was just the new president and me.
"That president was hopeless... supposed to be the leader of the school, but honestly, one of the biggest idiots around. And I was a stubborn freshman myself…
"Ah, it was such a mess. I just kind of drifted into the council without even realizing it. I used to run all over the place every day.
"Honestly, I was such an idiot back then, not understanding anything at all."
Though she made it sound like a complaint, the nostalgia in Hoshino's eyes was unmistakably genuine.
It was clear that, for her, those days were something irreplaceable.
Seeing Hoshino getting lost in those bittersweet memories, Shiroko frowned slightly, about to speak, but Hoshino cut her off.
"Anyway, enough about those boring old days. Let's get back to the main topic."
I noticed that the members of Problem Solver 68 had mostly stayed quiet. Maybe Hoshino didn't want to talk about something that personal in front of them.
Aru finally spoke up. "So what you're saying is… Kaiser couldn't buy up the last of your land because your Student Council disbanded, so they hired the Helmet Gang and us to attack you instead?"
"Yeah, we'd already guessed as much. But the real question is, why would the Kaiser Corporation care about Abydos at all, when it's mostly desert and ruins now?"
Serika glanced at Ayane, who looked deep in thought, then said, "Oh, come on. Instead of sitting here thinking about it, why don't we just go and see for ourselves?"
That simple and direct suggestion won everyone's agreement.
They quickly put together a plan.
First, everyone would take the train, then transfer to a helicopter provided by Schale.
Knowing what kind of company Kaiser was, they were worried about a surprise attack on the school while the main team was away, so Ayane, who usually stayed behind for remote support, would come along this time.
The train-to-helicopter route would conserve fuel and also make retreat easier if anything went wrong.
Once near the destination, they'd land and proceed on foot, in case Kaiser had deployed anti-air defenses that could destroy their transport. After that, they would split into two groups.
Hoshino, Shiroko, Serika, and Nonomi would head out to investigate, while Problem Solver 68 and Ayane stayed behind to guard the helicopter and handle any rogue drones, security bots, or automated dolls wandering the desert.
Ayane's combat ability was limited, and Problem Solver 68's main reason for staying back was because Hoshino insisted this was Abydos's problem, and they shouldn't trouble their allies too much.
As for me, I decided to go with the striker team.
"Kaiser is likely to have heavy weaponry. As the Sensei from Schale, my presence might keep them from acting recklessly."
That was the reasoning I gave.
Once everything was decided, everyone began making their final preparations.
But right before departure, Shiroko approached me privately.
"Sensei, could I have a moment?"
I casually slipped an arm around her slender waist and teased, "Sure. Do you want a hug, or should I rub your ears?"
"Mmm! This is serious, Sensei…"
Shiroko puffed up her cheeks in protest, so I quickly straightened my face, though I didn't move my hand.
Then, she handed me something.
It was a withdrawal form. The applicant's name: Abydos Foreclosure Task Force, Hoshino Takanashi.
It took longer than expected to build up to this, but now it's clear. The story's starting to fall apart, isn't it?