We had run with all our might, a desperate, non-stop sprint that finally brought us to the deck. FOX Platoon might have talked a big game about being prepared for death, but I'm sure none of them actually wanted to be buried at the bottom of the sea.
The sight that greeted us on deck was a sea of people in yellow life vests. It was a strange scene… reminiscent of a box full of chicks I saw in front of my school as a child.
Afterward, to prepare for a potential explosion, we used the Nereus's comms to call the nearest ship, the Aegis. Evacuating everyone to another school ship was the safest course of action.
Not long after the call was made.
KRA-BOOOOM!!!
An explosion from the lower hull started a chain reaction that reached the engine room, tearing the Nereus in half. I'd never imagined I would witness a disaster of this scale with my own eyes, yet here I was, experiencing it in Kivotos. What a truly unpleasant turn of events.
No, this wasn't just witnessing; I was right in the middle of it. Seriously, I can't catch a break.
Fortunately, there were no major casualties. At worst, some people hit their heads during the explosion or got caught in the crowd. By Kivotos standards, these were minor injuries.
However, for the people who lived on this school ship, it was anything but fortunate. First, the loss of all the containers meant they had suffered astronomical financial damages. Second, they had lost their homes and would be forced to relocate to another ship.
They needed someone to blame. And it didn't take a genius to figure out who that would be.
But with just her mask off, soaking wet in a life vest, not a single person recognized Wakamo. This was partly because we hadn't restrained her yet.
"I never imagined it would lead to this," she said.
"Everyone says that after they've made a mistake they can't handle."
"...Yes. I suppose so. This is all because I was foolishly deceived."
I wondered, would Wakamo truly be able to reflect on her actions after this? Separate from the severity of the situation, I was curious to see how her story would end. Wakamo would never repent for a typical act of destruction, but the weight of a situation where a school ship with hundreds of residents was erased from the world as a result of her being used was not light.
Though for Wakamo, the fact that people almost died because of her choice probably hit harder.
…It's a difficult thing to say in Kivotos, but I felt it was a miracle that no one had died.
The atmosphere in the lifeboat, shared by FOX Platoon and Wakamo, was tense. The heavy, suffocating air of the disaster hung over us, suppressing any potential arguments.
"I won't tell you that you're not responsible, Wakamo-chan. I can't lie like that, and I hate doing it. Of course, it's also true that not all the blame lies with you. But you must remember that all the negative emotions they must have felt—the sorrow and anger from the moment you seized this ship until today—were all brought on by your own choice."
"...I won't deny it. I shouldn't. Yes, I'm fully aware of my great responsibility in this incident. However, the feeling of being wronged is also—Ouch?!"
"Yes, go back to repenting!"
"Y-your hand is so strong…"
Wakamo is fundamentally much sturdier than Seia, so the impact was quite satisfying. Why on earth was our Seia born as a frail beauty…! Anyway, setting that aside, I hoped Wakamo would use this incident as a chance to reform herself.
Hadn't Sensei once said that students deserve a second chance? Unfortunately, I'm the type who believes some cases don't warrant one. If a minor's crimes aren't properly corrected, they will continue into adulthood. There's a reason schools make morality and ethics mandatory from a young age.
By my standards, what Wakamo did this time was dangerously close to that line. And that's even with Kivotos's incredibly lenient threshold for what's considered acceptable. The only mitigating factor was her claim that she was merely used. But Wakamo is already close to being an adult. She's probably the oldest one here. That's why I couldn't accept her making excuses. She's old enough to take responsibility for her actions.
"When you've done something wrong, feeling like you've been wronged only weakens your guilt, you know? So instead of saying you were wronged, try to be someone who can reflect on their mistakes."
"...I'm sorry."
"I'm not the one who needs an apology for this… though I suppose I have my own grievances, so I'll let it slide."
Honestly, after all the trouble she put me through, is an apology and eight flicks to the forehead really enough? I'm such a pushover.
"Anyway… there's something I want to ask you, Wakamo-chan."
"You must be referring to the mastermind behind this incident, correct…?"
"Ah, I actually have a good idea who it is."
"...Is that true, Mika-san?"
It was Yukino who asked in surprise. It seemed she had reached a similar conclusion during the operation.
"Yeah. The only ones with even a shred of a motive to do something like this are the Kaiser Corporation. Those guys. I rejected their offer to sponsor the summer festival. It's a bit of a weak motive, but… for Kaiser, it's not entirely out of the question. Your words just confirmed it for me."
Wakamo had clearly said she was deceived by "tin cans." In Kivotos, "tin cans" means robots, and the only robot-run corporation with the guts to pull something like this off is, without a doubt, the Kaiser Corporation.
"As you say, this incident was a collaboration proposed to me by Kaiser. I, of course, was drawn to the idea of personally ordering a bombardment and…"
"No, no. You don't need to say things like that, Wakamo-chan. Hearing it just makes me like you less☆"
"That's so mean…!"
"...Disgusting."
"Little fox, what did you just say…?"
"Hmph. It is indeed unpleasant to be called that by a delinquent who's old enough to know better than to run around committing acts of terror."
Ugh, why are these two fighting again? They seemed to be ignoring each other just fine.
"Can you two stop acting like children? Wakamo-chan, you're a year older than me, and Yukino-chan, you're an SRT elite. At your age, you should be able to control your emotions."
At my words, the two of them silently turned away from each other. As long as they didn't have a childish spat in front of me, I couldn't care less if their relationship devolved into a blood feud.
"What I wanted to ask you, Wakamo-chan, was Kaiser's objective. If you don't know for sure, I want to see if you have any information that could help us figure it out."
Kaiser would surely try to cut its losses and run. That's what they always do. So even if Wakamo named Kaiser as the mastermind, it wouldn't be enough to land a decisive blow on the corporation's main body. Still, I had a feeling the General Student Council President might be able to come up with a good plan. As a presumed 'regressor' of sorts, she might be cautious about altering the future, but… that would depend on how seriously she took this incident.
"As you said, it's safe to assume this was a retaliatory act of terror by the Kaiser Corporation. However, I only remember two things they said that might be related to their motive."
'We can't just stand by and let them interfere with our business.'
'We might as well take care of some other annoying pests at the same time.'
Hearing Wakamo's words, Yukino and I were lost in thought.
…Is the first part about me? Rejecting their sponsorship offer could hardly be called "interference." Did I interfere with Kaiser's business in some other way? I don't know. Mmm, maybe Abydos? If Black Suit mentioned anything to them about me… that's a plausible theory. Even if he wasn't descriptive, if Black Suit simply mentioned in passing that I was supporting Abydos, that, combined with the rejected sponsorship, would be enough of a motive to stage a terror attack on the festival.
"Hmm… 'taking care of annoying pests' might be a reference to us. When carrying out the General Student Council President's orders, we often run into Kaiser. In fact, our SRT first made a name for itself in Kivotos during an operation to neutralize a thermobaric warhead for a ballistic missile stored in a Kaiser Industries factory."
Hearing Niko's explanation, that part of the puzzle also seemed to fit.
"If they knew FOX Platoon was on standby at the festival… yes, that's right. They might have concluded that if a major incident occurred nearby, you guys would likely intervene. The picture is starting to come together, isn't it?"
Let's assume the bombardment of the festival was intended to both strike at me and create a situation where I'd be too busy with the cleanup to pay attention to Abydos. Then, as FOX Platoon got involved, they might have come up with the idea of turning this very school ship into a giant trap. If forces were dispatched to neutralize Wakamo, FOX Platoon would be the most likely candidate, wouldn't they?
They could never have imagined that I would join forces with FOX Platoon and set foot on that school ship myself. Neutralizing the General Student Council President's hunting dogs is one thing; trying to sink the leader of a major academy is another. The process might be similar, but the consequences and aftermath would be on a completely different scale, so Kaiser would have had to be more cautious.
"The problem is how they lured us here before turning the Nereus into a trap. We were only able to get intel on the terror plot beforehand because the Gehenna Hot Springs Development Club got involved…"
"Oh, that part was my own doing, unrelated to Kaiser. What's more useful than an accomplice on the inside?"
"...Ah."
So, the possibility of the Hot Springs Development Club colluding with Kaiser was out.
The picture Kaiser had painted was this: Wakamo hijacks the ship, followed by a bombardment… and then, when FOX Platoon is hastily dispatched from the festival for cleanup, they get sent to the bottom of the sea along with Wakamo. It was a neat little trick to eliminate FOX Platoon—a group that had interfered with their business in the past and would likely be a nuisance in the future—while also silencing their collaborator, Wakamo, all in one fell swoop.
"...This is a matter that needs to be discussed in a three-way meeting between myself, the General Student Council President, and Odyssey."
Odyssey, to receive compensation for the material damages they suffered. The General Student Council President, to break the power of the ever-annoying Kaiser. And me, the key card who can apply immense pressure on Kaiser by providing the pretext of 'a terror attack targeting the head of a major academy'. We must join forces and corner them.
Ugh, I think I'm losing my mind. Why do things have to keep getting more and more complicated…!
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