OST: Blue Archive OST 140. Defective Pixel
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"Cadastral map."
When that word came out of Hoshino's mouth, I froze for a second.
Then it hit me. Could it be that Hoshino found out I had looked at the cadastral records ahead of time, and thought I was deliberately hiding something?
Her next words confirmed my suspicion.
"The only people with keys to the archive room are me, Nonomi, Shiroko, Ayane, Serika, and you, as our advisor. So tell me, why did I find signs that the cadastral register... those documents recording the ownership of land and buildings, was browsed within the last few days?"
"…That was me."
"So you admit it?"
I forced a bitter smile. "Hoshino… I was planning to talk to you about it privately after we dealt with the Kaiser Corporation. Yesterday, when I messaged you on Momotalk asking when you'd be back. That was what I wanted to discuss."
"Why?"
"Because this was originally something the Abydos Student Council did. You used to be the vice president, and I was worried that telling you might affect you emotionally, so I kept quiet for the time being."
Hoshino only sneered at my explanation.
"What a convenient excuse."
I didn't argue. I just looked up, feeling the sun and sand sting my eyes.
Not that I felt deeply hurt.
Just… disappointed.
Disappointed that Hoshino didn't trust me. Disappointed that I thought she ever did.
"Hoshino-senpai, that's going too far."
Serika couldn't help speaking up for me. "Sensei already explained his reason. Why won't you believe him? And besides, he really did help us solve our debt problem!"
But Hoshino shook her head, her voice calm and heavy.
"That's exactly what's most suspicious."
"Huh? Why?"
From her point of view…
"It's because everything went too smoothly, isn't it?"
I phrased it like a question, but my tone carried certainty.
"Exactly. So smooth it's scary.
"Kaiser Loans's employee agreed to lower our interest rate after just a ten-minute talk.
"Has he ever been that easy to negotiate with? Could he really get approval from his superiors that quickly?
"And that Kaiser PMC executive, he just happened to let something slip during casual conversation and got caught?
"Who would be that stupid?
"It's all like a prewritten script."
Silence fell. The desert wind howled around us.
After a while, I murmured, "But he really is that stupid…"
I couldn't control how smart the enemy was. That wasn't my fault.
Hoshino's anger boiled over. "Don't insult my intelligence with nonsense like that! What else can you say in your defense? Go on, tell me! Was every single one of these things just a coincidence?"
I'd never seen Hoshino this angry. And I realized, I'd never really understood her at all. I hadn't known that this was what she'd been thinking the whole time.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" she demanded.
"What do you want me to say?"
I stepped forward, pressing my hand to my chest, my voice rising with all the frustration I'd been holding in.
"I've explained everything I can explain!
"What will it take for you to believe me? To believe that I genuinely just wanted to help you?
"Tell me!"
I breathed heavily, searching Hoshino's face for an answer.
But she only frowned, her voice icy.
"Stop lying."
"…So you never trusted me from the start, did you?"
"That's right. I never trusted you."
"Then there's nothing more to say."
Disappointment washed over me, followed by exhaustion. To think I once believed Hoshino might actually like me. Looking back now, maybe she'd just been warning me all along.
How pathetic.
Everything I did for them, they saw as manipulation.
"Fine then. I'll never appear before you again. That should make you happy."
I was tired. I just wanted to leave this cursed place, to never see this stubborn brat again.
I turned around.
"Sensei!"
But before I could take a step, Serika ran up from behind and hugged me tightly. "Hoshino-senpai didn't mean it like that! She's just… she's been carrying too much. She can't bring herself to trust adults anymore… Sensei, please don't go…"
"Hoshino-senpai, calm down too. You should apologize to Sensei, you went too far."
Shiroko, Nonomi, and Ayane all joined in, worried about the conflict between us, trying to get both sides to calm down and clear the misunderstanding.
At least, unlike Hoshino, they still trusted me.
That comforted me a little, and my turbulent emotions began to settle.
I even tried to see it from Hoshino's perspective.
There were too many coincidences. Her suspicions weren't entirely unreasonable. I could understand it, even if I couldn't accept it yet.
I believed we could still reconcile, once the misunderstanding was cleared.
And deep down, a darker thought stirred.
If, one day, I could make Hoshino realize her mistake, truly regret everything she'd said to me today, and sincerely ask for my forgiveness…
It would be a shame to end things completely.
As her Sensei, I felt I had a duty to correct my student's mistakes.
I turned around, meeting Hoshino's gaze. The anger on her face had faded slightly under her juniors' persuasion, though the hostility remained.
"The reason I hate you," she said softly, "is exactly that."
I knew what she meant.
Her precious juniors already trusted me.
The more they trusted me, the more she despised me.
And the more she despised me, the more it excited me.
"Even if you're not working with Kaiser," she continued, "why are you helping us? What's your goal?"
"I told you. I just want to help you, nothing more."
Yes. All I wanted was the love born from being the one who saved them....
My conscience was clear.
Hoshino sighed, staring straight at me. "Sensei. Honestly, I'm grateful."
"You call that gratitude?"
"Believe it or not, I really am thankful. I tried to trust you. That's the truth. But I'm just a dirty Oji-san at heart. No matter how thankful I am, I can't bring myself to trust anyone. You understand, right?"
"…Yeah."
"So let me repay you... with everything I have."
Her lashes trembled as she closed her eyes slightly.
"But Sensei, please fulfill our agreement.
"Stay away from my juniors."
"In return, I'll dedicate myself entirely to you, forever. That's a fair trade, isn't it?"
The words had barely left her lips when a trembling voice cut through the tension.
"Have you had enough?"
Hoshino and I both turned in shock.
It was Shiroko.
She stepped in front of me, glaring at Hoshino.
When speaking to her junior, Hoshino's tone softened into that lazy, familiar tone.
"Shiroko, what are you talking about?"
"You should be the one answering that!" Shiroko snapped. "You've been throwing tantrums this whole time, acting like everyone has to pamper you to make you happy. Isn't that what you've been doing, Hoshino-senpai?"
Hoshino faltered. "Huh? I-I'm throwing a tantrum?"
"What else do you call it? Can't you see Sensei's been trying so hard to explain, to clear things up, and you just refuse to listen?"
Shiroko! Sensei loves you so much right now!
My heart swelled. I wanted her to keep scolding that unreasonable pink-haired blockhead some more to vent my anger.
Hoshino stammered, "I-I did get a little emotional, sure… but it's all for your sake…"
But Shiroko didn't let up. She pressed harder.
"If it's really for us, then think about how we feel! Watching you fight with Sensei... do you think that doesn't hurt us? And now you're making these insane demands…"
I could tell that part of Shiroko's anger came from not wanting to be separated from me.
And Hoshino sensed it too.
Her eyes flicked from Shiroko to me, and her expression grew cold.
"Well, well. The little wolf cub I raised has grown bold enough to bare her fangs at her master. How touching. Unfortunately, I'm not the least bit happy."
"I respect you, Hoshino-senpai. But this time, you're the one who's gone too far!"
Hoshino smirked. "Or maybe you've just hit puberty, learning how to flirt with the man you fancy?"
Ouch. What a brutal counterattack.
I'd never expected Hoshino to lash out like that, or maybe this was her real nature.
When something she truly cared about was threatened, the gentle, lazy facade crumbled, revealing her truest self.
Shiroko stared at her, speechless.
The words were cruel, but they weren't wrong.
More than anger, Shiroko looked embarrassed.
Then Serika joined in, indignant.
"Hoshino-senpai! How can you say that to Shiroko-senpai!"
Hoshino turned her fire on her next target.
"And what are you getting all worked up about? Don't tell me you're jealous too?"
Serika's face flushed crimson.
Now it was Hoshino who seemed the most flustered.
She clenched her jaw, glaring at me. "This... this is exactly why I hate you!"
Before Nonomi or Ayane could even speak, she spun on them too.
"Nonomi! Don't think I didn't notice that you gave him a lap pillow in an empty classroom last time, didn't you? You barely know him and you're already that close? Does touching him make you excited or something? Have some shame!"
"And Ayane! I saw you in the clubroom, sneaking glances at him three times a minute, hiding your face behind a book every time! You thought no one noticed you blushing? Just admit you're throwing yourself at him!"
Her voice rose higher and higher. "With idiots like you, blinded by lust, how can we ever rebuild Abydos? I'm the only one who actually worries about you! I'm trying to keep you from being deceived, and all of you... one look at a handsome man and your brains melt!"
Hoshino's scolding left everyone speechless.
Come on, you're angry, but do you have to air out everything?!
Then Shiroko spoke again, her voice soft but heavy.
"…So that's why you want to quit the Foreclosure Task Force?"
Hoshino's pupils shrank.
At those words, the tension shifted. Everyone's confusion turned to alarm.
"Hoshino-senpai? Quit? What are you talking about?"
"No way… it's not that serious, is it?"
"What happened? Please, don't be rash, Hoshino-senpai!"
Hoshino didn't answer.
Her eyes went to me, as I pulled a folded document from her bag. Her withdrawal form. Then she turned to Shiroko, her tone complicated.
"You went through my bag? When?"
"I'm sorry. But you haven't been gone this long in ages. Even when the Prefect Team cornered us, you still showed up. I had to know what was going on…"
Hoshino sighed, then shot me a cold look. "Sensei, look what you've done to my kids."
"…And that's my fault too?"
"…Forget it."
She knew well enough what kind of moral influence I had. No point arguing that.
"Where do I even start… sigh…"
She hesitated for a moment, then began explaining.
"Two years ago, I started receiving invitations from the Kaiser Corporation."
Everyone gasped.
"The Kaiser Corporation invited you?"
"Basically, they were trying to recruit me. They've approached me many times since I came to Abydos. Yesterday's delay was because of that."
Hoshino smiled bitterly. "They offered incredibly generous terms. But I refused every time, because I knew if I left, Abydos would collapse. But now…"
The light in her sun-bright eyes dimmed, replaced by something deep and distant.
Her voice was calm when she spoke again.
"Mr. Liar, you've pushed me into a corner."
"…What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you warn me before? Don't tell me I misunderstood. That too-good-to-be-true contract... you said it would definitely have loopholes, that it couldn't be enforced, and would lead to cruel retaliation."
She spread her hands helplessly. "So now I have no choice but to accept their offer, to ensure the contract is properly honored. That's what you people planned all along, isn't it?"
So that was what had finally broken her.
But what did any of that have to do with me? I was still just an innocent scapegoat.
"I told you… I don't know anything about this…"
"Then let's pretend you've never heard of 'the man in black.' It doesn't matter anymore. Sensei, it's time to answer my proposal."
She extended her hand, her tone detached. "You, and the people behind you, will stay away from my juniors. Let them live in peace. In return, I'll become your strength."
"You really don't understand human language, do you?"
"…Whatever." Hoshino lowered her hand. "You already have my resignation letter. I'll discuss the rest with 'Black Suit' myself."
It wasn't that Hoshino still believed I was an enemy.
It was that, in her mind, believing in me was no longer an option.
"Everyone, this is goodbye. If we meet on the battlefield again, make sure you destroy my halo."
She smiled faintly, waved to everyone, and turned to leave...
Then staggered forward as bullets struck the sand at her feet.
Not surprised, she turned back to see the members of the Foreclosure Task Force standing firm, weapons raised, and Ayane's support drone hovering overhead.
"Everyone, move in," I said calmly, stepping back. "Don't let this arrogant fool escape."
Shiroko, Serika, Nonomi, and Ayane all answered as one. "Yes!"
"…Heh."
Hoshino's eyes softened, a genuine smile spreading across her face.
"So before I go, I still have one last lesson to teach you.
"Maybe I've gone too easy on you during training, and you've forgotten where we stand.
"As your senpai, it's my duty to correct that."
She raised her beloved gun, her expression almost serene.
"It's time you learned the truth...
The vast gulf that separates you from me."