I wanted to spend more time with Noah and Haruna, but unfortunately, I had urgent business to attend to. For that reason, I parted ways with the three of them a bit earlier than planned.
Why three, you ask? Because somehow, under Noah's lead, the two of them had managed to drag Nagisa along with them before disappearing.
"Haha! Senpai, what's with all that on your neck?"
"Don't ask, Ichika-chan. A lot has happened. A lot…"
I didn't want to be the pathetic upperclassman who whined about her problems to her junior, so I skipped my story and got straight to the situation report.
"We've determined that Kinugawa Kasumi had a boat prepared in advance and was planning to return to the Gehenna district by sea. Tsurugi-senpai and Prefect Shiromi are currently in pursuit in their own boats. In addition, Gehenna has informed us that they will be dispatching a helicopter to ensure she isn't lost."
"Hmm… Hina-chan is really taking this seriously. Well, I suppose she's used to dealing with Gehenna's delinquent clubs."
"More importantly, ma'am. Hasumi-senpai has returned, so command authority should be transferred to her. Shouldn't I be heading to the field?"
"It's fine, Ichika. I believe you are the talent who will lead the Justice Task Force after Tsurugi and I graduate. Gaining this experience now will surely be a great help to you in the future."
"Hasumi-chan said so herself. So let's just do our best until this operation is over, okay, Ichika-chan."
"Haha."
Leaving the two of them to establish communications with Tsurugi, I stepped aside and called Hina. Surprisingly, she answered in less than a few seconds, as if she had been waiting for my call or just happened to have her phone right next to her.
"Hello, Hina-chan~?"
[I heard from Ako that all of today's events are finished, so I was thinking you'd be calling soon. So, what's the situation over there?]
"Hmm~ I don't think there's much you don't already know. I heard you dispatched a helicopter, so it doesn't seem like there's anything else to share for now☆"
[I see. But you must have called for another reason, right?]
"Well, yeah. I wanted to ask about a girl named Kinugawa Kasumi, from the Hot Springs Development Club. I was hoping you might have some information on her!"
[Kinugawa Kasumi. Previously, about thirty percent of the roads in the Gehenna district required repairs each month due to the Hot Springs Development Club's activities. After she joined, that number jumped to fifty percent. That's what immediately comes to mind.]
"Uh, Hina-chan? How is Gehenna still standing?"
[You know, Mika, asking me that of all people is a little cruel, don't you think?]
"Ah, um. Ahat! Sorry, Hina-chan. But if the problem is that serious, I was wondering if Gehenna's budget could even handle it. It can't just be road repairs, right?"
[Well, it's true that the cost of rebuilding is also significant, but at the end of the day, Gehenna's finances are robust. There's a reason no one says much even when President Makoto wastes the budget on a whim.]
Hmm, she had a point. The fact that Makoto wasn't impeached despite throwing money away on her foolish schemes was proof enough of how well-off Gehenna was.
[So, to get back to the topic… Kinugawa Kasumi is a dangerous individual who, by her presence alone, has raised the threat level of the Hot Springs Development Club by at least two ranks. She's a girl whose intelligence is particularly noteworthy.]
"For you to rate her that highly, she must be more than just a little dangerous."
[The Hot Springs Development Club was, fundamentally, a group with rather simple motives. Shortly after joining, she took control of them in an instant and began to move them as she pleased. From that alone, it's clear their threat level will only increase from here on out. What makes her particularly dangerous is that she uses her intelligence in a cunning and deceitful way.]
According to Hina, Kasumi's primary goals were simply to develop hot springs and to carry out the demolition work involved in the process. Everything else was secondary.
The day the entire Hot Springs Development Club began to move like Kasumi's chess pieces, the scale of the damage would likely become even more severe. Hearing that, I started to get a clearer picture of just how dangerous she was.
"In that case, what possible reason would she have to cooperate with the Fox of Calamity?"
[I see. So what you wanted to know was the connection between Kinugawa Kasumi and the Fox of Calamity. It's hard to say for certain, as we have no information on the motives behind the Fox of Calamity's destructive rampages. But if a connection with Kasumi were to form, it would have to be related to hot springs.]
"Well, that much is true. So, a simple plan would be for the Fox of Calamity to cause a terror incident at the festival, and while everyone is distracted, the Hot Springs Development Club would start developing a hot spring? No. It doesn't feel right; it's too clumsy."
From what I knew, Kosaka Wakamo was an extremely meticulous planner. She was the type who couldn't tolerate a sloppy plan, so I couldn't see her cooperating with the Hot Springs Development Club for something so trivial.
"No, more importantly. For someone you describe as so dangerous, you didn't seem to have any hesitation in bringing her into the competition, Hina-chan."
[Wait. Mika, there are circumstances I can't speak of yet. It may be difficult to understand now, but please know that I had my reasons for doing so.]
"I'm trusting you on this, but only because it's you. You know that, right?"
[I-I do. I won't betray that trust.]
"Good, that's all I needed to hear. I don't think we'll come up with anything useful just talking amongst ourselves. Let's catch Kasumi first, and then we can talk again☆"
[Alright. If I get any noteworthy reports from Iori, I'll contact you first.]
I ended the call with Hina and sat down, closing my eyes for a moment. This had been a very, very long day.
The call confirming Kasumi's successful capture came well after dinnertime. It was another hour after that before I was able to speak with her directly.
She was in surprisingly good condition for someone who had been caught by Tsurugi. I guessed she must have realized she was up against an opponent who could fold her in half if she acted up, and had immediately surrendered. To be honest, if I had been in her shoes, the moment Tsurugi caught me, I would have started begging for my life.
The Tsurugi who had captured Kasumi after a long chase must have been letting out unholy screeches with a face full of fake madness. Anyone who tried to defy her in that state would have to be certifiably insane.
"Ouch, ouch~ The Justice Task Force is even rougher than the Prefect Team. This is my first time being arrested by Trinity, so I was hoping for something a little… you know, gentler treatment for someone who has surrendered."
"I thought I was being plenty gentle."
"Aah, yes~! Hahahat! You're absolutely right, my lady of the Justice Task Force! So could you please take your hand off my shoulder…!"
Hmm, as expected of Tsurugi. So incredibly reliable.
I felt bad for Iori, but I was truly glad to have girls like Tsurugi and Hasumi among the forces I could mobilize.
Of course, she had Ako, a competent secretary in her own right. But I preferred people who could get things done on the ground.
Besides, I had gotten quite used to handling my own work without a secretary. It would be nice to have one, but I could manage without.
But having competent field personnel was a different matter entirely.
"So, you're the big shot who wanted to see me?"
"Yep, that's me. Nice to meet you, Kasumi-chan."
"Oho? You're surprisingly mellow. I think we'll get along just fine. Alright, Miss Trinity! You're not going to make me stand on ceremony, are you?"
"Ahaha, I don't care about little things like that. I actually prefer people I can talk to casually over stuffy ones☆"
Kasumi, clapping her hands which were hidden in the loose sleeves of her lab coat, let out a hearty laugh at my response.
"Wahahahahat!!! We might just get along great! I never imagined there'd be someone so easygoing among the Trinity ladies. Say, missy, do you happen to like hot springs?"
"If I had to say, I don't dislike soaking in a hot spring."
"Hmm~, hmm. I see. Then you get a passing grade. I don't expect a big shot like you to understand the aesthetics of hot spring development. No one ever does, right?"
Well, as long as they weren't blowing things up at random, I didn't see what was so hard to understand. But these guys were truly beyond reform.
So, unlike Haruna, whom I had semi-successfully reformed, I would just choose not to get involved with this one from the start.
"So, did you capture me because of the hot spring development we were trying to do? Or was it, uh, what's-her-name? Is our dear Prefect Team president angry? I think that's Iori's fault more than mine, though!"
"Hah?"
"Ahaha, Iori-chan. If you two have something to talk about, you can do it later in private. We've done more than enough ice-breaking, so as Kasumi-chan wished, I think it's time we get to the point. I'd like to go home and rest for the day, too."
Honestly, after a day this long, didn't I deserve a little rest? I wasn't physically tired at all, but I was mentally exhausted. The saddest part was that this kind of life was likely to continue.
Well, I had brought half of it on myself, which was the only thing stopping me from crying foul.
"So, what were you planning with the Fox of Calamity?"
"Hm?"
"?"
"The Fox of Calamity? I think there's been a misunderstanding. We're not exactly partners with her."
Wait, what was this? Then who was the witness that said they looked like they were cooperating, Yukino!!!
"Really? You're not joking?"
"Well, we did get an offer of cooperation. But we turned it down."
What?
"I mean, why would we cooperate with a plan to turn the entire festival into a sea of fire? It has nothing to do with hot spring development. And it's not demolition work, it's just one-sided bombing."
No, this was something I hadn't anticipated at all. Bombing? By what means could Wakamo…
"Wahahahat! Hijacking an Odyseia school ship to turn the festival into a sea of fire… The Fox of Calamity really isn't the second most infamous villain in Kivotos for nothing."
Oh, god. Sensei, I'm begging you.
Can't you just punch in for work at Kivotos, like, half a year early?
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