After sending Noah and Nagisa ahead to the marksmanship competition, I stayed behind to deal with the aftermath.
But when Ichika returned empty-handed, I had to do a double-take.
"She's gone?"
"Yes, ma'am. That Prefect Team member said Kasumi left, claiming she felt uncomfortable being in the same space as her. But the problem is, according to Prefect Shiromi, Kasumi has never once shown any sign of disliking her."
"Hmm. I see."
She definitely bolted. What a sharp kid.
To have fled the moment the situation changed meant she either realized the Hot Springs Development Club's plans had been foiled, or she knew that Hina would have no reason to let her off the hook now that she'd failed to win a medal. It had to be one of the two.
Personally, I thought both were entirely possible.
The former could easily be accomplished by exchanging coded messages every few minutes to quickly assess the situation. The latter was almost a certainty, given that the participation of the Gourmet Research Society and Kasumi in this competition was Hina's doing in the first place. There was clearly some under-the-table deal.
And with that deal now void, the relationship between the Prefect Team and the Hot Springs Development Club would simply revert to being hostile.
"Well then, we'll have to catch her, won't we?"
"Ma'am?"
"What do you mean, 'ma'am,' Ichika-chan? We have evidence that girl was planning a terrorist act against the festival. The Justice Task Force can't just let that slide, can it?"
A clear line between public and private. I wouldn't deny that the vast majority of my own actions were heavily influenced by personal feelings, but I had no problem ordering others to keep that line clear.
That was mostly a joke, but in this case, it was the right call. We needed a number of personnel to track and apprehend Kasumi, and someone to lead them. Tsurugi was more of a vanguard type who charged ahead than a commander, and Hasumi was busy with the marksmanship competition.
This meant that even though I wanted to let the exhausted Ichika rest, I needed her cooperation. I was also inexperienced when it came to command and was more similar to Tsurugi in that regard. It would be far more effective for Ichika to lead the situation than for me to step in.
"So, here's the plan. Ichika-chan, you'll command the forces on the ground to find her, and Tsurugi will move in to neutralize her in one fell swoop! Simple and easy, right? I heard that's the preferred method of the Justice Task Force these days."
"Mika-senpai, I won't deny that I'm considered a promising talent within the JTF."
"Good, good. I don't dislike people with high self-esteem. It's cool, you know? As long as they have the skills to back it up, of course—and your reputation is pretty solid, Ichika-chan☆"
"My reputation, ma'am?"
"Ahaha, Hasumi-chan once boasted to me that there was a remarkable newcomer in the JTF this year with a bright future. And if Hasumi-chan vouches for you, I can trust it, right?"
"Even if that's true, ma'am, getting our members to follow my orders is a completely different story. Me giving orders to my seniors… doesn't that picture seem a little strange?"
Ah, so that was her concern. That's nothing.
The Justice Task Force is a subsidiary of Tea Party.
And the head of Tea Party is standing right here.
Therefore, by a simple three-step syllogism, command authority over the JTF naturally falls to me. Strictly speaking, my authority outranks even that of the JTF president, Tsurugi.
"Well then. If I appoint you as the commander for this operation, that shouldn't be a problem, right? As long as Tsurugi-chan agrees, I think it'll be fine. Yes. What do you think, Tsurugi-chan?"
"Uh…? Um… I think… we can trust Ichika with this…"
"Ahaha, great! Tsurugi-chan agrees, so that's settled. Ichika-chan, is there anything else you'd like to add?"
"Haha. Mika-senpai, you work people harder than I thought… Ah, no, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Commencing operation to track and apprehend Kinugawa Kasumi. Thank you for your trust!"
I've always worked people hard, so this was nothing new. I volunteer myself for grueling work all the time, so what's the big deal with working my subordinates a little?
Although, come to think of it, the terms I offered Iroha when I jokingly tried to recruit her were excessively generous. But she's the type who would work better than anyone else even under those conditions.
"Right. Oh, and one more thing. The Prefect Team will be coordinating through their president, so please make sure you keep things under control so no one gets too hostile, okay?"
"Yes. Understood, Mika-senpai."
Giving orders directly to Iori could be problematic, so I had to go through the trouble of relaying them through Hina. This was something that wouldn't change even after our two schools grew closer and the Eden Treaty was signed.
Of course, I believed the Justice Task Force was more than sufficient on its own. But with not just the Hot Springs Development Club but also Wakamo involved, it was crucial that we capture Kasumi and find out what she was plotting. To ensure that, mobilizing the Prefect Team in addition to the JTF was the safer bet.
First, a call to Hina. Then, I'll need to tell Yukino to be on especially high alert for Wakamo for the remainder of the festival.
After dealing with the immediate issue, I rejoined the others. The marksmanship competition was already underway.
The event was a contest to determine the longest-range shot, with four representatives chosen from each academy, for a total of eight competitors.
At each given distance, athletes were given three attempts. If an athlete failed all three shots, their last successful distance became their final record.
If, for example, the last two athletes both succeeded on their second and third attempts at 1000m but both failed all three attempts at 1050m, the one who had succeeded on their second attempt at the previous distance would win the gold. If they succeeded on the same attempt, they would simply continue to the next distance.
So why was this an event at our beach festival? Because the targets the athletes had to hit were floating on the ocean. To maintain the correct distance, each target was attached to a drone.
According to Hasumi, the unpredictable wind direction and speed made it incomparably more difficult than sniping on flat ground. In fact, even students who were fairly skilled with sniper rifles had failed miserably at distances over 1000m. And these were students who studied ballistics at the academy.
"Mika-san, you seem to have high hopes for this event."
"Hmm, I guess so. I have no doubt about the skills of Hasumi-chan, the vice president of the JTF… and there's a girl I'm personally fond of, Hiyori-chan, whose sniping skills are absolutely breathtaking."
Trinity's representatives were our Hiyori and Hasumi, along with a third-year from the JTF and a second-year from the Pater faction.
I'd actually thought Ui used a sniper rifle, but it turns out her gun is specialized for sound suppression, and its effective range isn't suitable for long-distance sniping.
Besides, she's the type who despises coming out to the beach in the first place, so even if she were a master sniper, luring her out here would have been a challenge.
It was a shame that proven talents like Mashiro and Koharu, who had joined the JTF right after enrolling, were still in middle school and couldn't participate. But I figured our situation was still better than Gehenna's.
After all, their star player, Iori, was ineligible, and one of their representatives was Makoto.
It was a bit absurd, but yes, it was Makoto again. After swallowing all that seawater earlier, she had vanished, and I never dreamed it was to participate in the marksmanship competition.
If Makoto, who had unexpectedly put up a good fight and snatched the silver medal in water skiing, won a medal here too, I think I might just collapse from a stress-induced aneurysm. I was absolutely certain of it.
So, all I could do was trust in our representatives.
It felt like all I've been doing is blindly trusting people, but what else could I do when that was my only option?
[Kurodate Haruna, 600m, first attempt.]
"By the looks of it so far, Haruna-san seems to be a top contender for the championship. At that level, her skills are on par with our Millennium's Karin-san. I wonder how much she's practiced since then."
Listening to Noah, I had to agree that Haruna's sniping skills had clearly reached a new level. To display such proficiency after not much time had passed since the incident at Millennium… I couldn't even begin to imagine how many hours she must have spent practicing to reach that level.
"Ahaha… a result of effort and talent combined, I suppose."
After hitting the 600m target perfectly on her first try, Haruna twirled a lock of her braided hair and glanced in my direction. When our eyes met, she gave me a fresh smile that I found inexplicably annoying, but I applauded her anyway.
Hmm. One thing was for sure: the battle at Millennium that day had acted as an explosive catalyst for her growth.
"Mika-san, I can accept anyone else, but I will absolutely not accept Kurodate-san."
"Wow—? Hey, Nagi-chan. Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
"I saw the two of you exchanging those sticky gazes just now."
Eek. What was she talking about now?
Hey, Nagisa, while I do find it consistently adorable when you get jealous or possessive like this, don't you think distorting the facts is going a bit too far?
"I didn't think they were that sticky…"
"They were. If I say they were, they were. Don't argue with me."
"Nagi-chan, you're being awfully brazen today. If you were always like this, I'd be scared I'd never be able to win against you."
"And you, Mika-san, would it kill you to yield for once? You say that, but you're the one who always has to win against me. I don't know how long you intend to be so shameless."
She had me there. Nagisa was always the one giving in to me, who never knew the meaning of compromise.
"Fufu, you two get along so well. It's obvious you like each other, which makes it doubly cute, in a way."
"Excuse me, Ushio-san? There's something I've been wanting to ask you."
"Yes? Please, feel free to ask me anything, Kirifuji-san♪"
Noah, who seemed to have been smiling all day, beamed at Nagisa once more. I was starting to worry she'd get a cramp in her face.
"Ushio-san, why are you siding with Kurodate-san? You're the secretary of Millennium's student council, a group that values rationality, are you not? I don't believe you're the type of person who is unaware that siding with her is tantamount to interfering in another's relationship. What could you possibly stand to gain from this situation?"
"Fufu. Kirifuji-san, I believe there is one small misunderstanding you have."
"A misunderstanding, you say."
"Yes. Contrary to your thoughts, I am not on Haruna-san's side. If anything, I would consider myself neutral. I simply believe that Haruna-san should be given a proper chance… fufu."
Hearing Noah's words, Nagisa fell silent, looking utterly dumbfounded. It was a response that would have been baffling to her.
But as I searched my memory, something Noah had said to me came to mind.
"Hey, Noah-chan. Back at Millennium, didn't you tell me that you thought Haruna-chan was the best match for me?"
"Ahem. Did I say that? I can't seem to recall…"
Hey, Noah. You can't be serious. Weren't you the one bragging about your memory the first time we met?
And now you're going to pretend you don't remember what you said?
Honestly, there's a limit to how shameless one can be. But it seemed the secretary of Seminar was so lacking in conscience that she could easily ignore such limits.
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