The matter concerning Kaiser, discussed during the four-way video conference, reached a rather drastic conclusion.
It's a bit unsettling that the General Student Council President glossed over the finer details, but since I had received a concession from her, I knew I had to compromise and draw the line somewhere.
It's not like I was planning on doing something insane like leveling the Kaiser Corporation's headquarters—if I actually did that, I'd effectively become a full-blown enemy of the GSC President.
And frankly, making an enemy of the woman who holds authority over the Sanctum Tower is certifiably insane.
There are many moves we can make against Kaiser. We can attack them through the media, and if we wish, physical attacks are also a viable option.
However, these attacks must not devolve into indiscriminate terrorism. The members of FOX Platoon, with their firm belief in justice, would never follow such an order for retaliatory terror.
Arius Squad would follow such an order without a moment's hesitation, but I have no desire to use the debt and near-adoration they feel for me to turn them into terrorists.
I went through the trouble of rescuing them from Beatrice's clutches so they could live normal student lives; if I were to involve them in terrorism now, how would I be any better than her? Using children as tools for terror is something I could never, ever do.
This cannot be justified simply by saying they hit me with terror first. That's why the job I will have them do is what you might call "shaking them down for dust."
In the Kaiser Corporation's process of expanding their business, straddling the line between legal and illegal, how many of their companies could possibly be clean?
Therefore, FOX Platoon and Arius Squad will follow my instructions, infiltrate Kaiser's various offices, factories, and research facilities scattered throughout Kivotos, and shake them down for every last speck of dust.
When we amplify that dust and release it to the world, will the Kaiser President still be able to run his mouth and rally other corporations? Well… we'll have to see.
Even with the GSC President's guarantee of his competence, I have a feeling it will be difficult for him to wriggle his way out of this one.
"You seem to have a lot on your mind. By the way, are you sure it's alright to let me go free like this? I believe it would be more convenient for you to keep me locked up."
"Hmm? How can I do that when you're going to ask for forgiveness? Besides, 'you'? Don't you have another way to address me?"
"Pardon? What is the problem with 'you'…?"
No, the problem with 'you' is that I have a bad feeling you'll eventually start drawing it out, like 'daaar-liing.' Nagisa is trying so hard, so I need to show some consideration on my end, you know?
"…Anything else."
"Hmm… 'Tea Party Host' is too long. It hurts my mouth. How about a simple 'Mika-nim'?"
"People don't usually call a title with '-nim' simple. Anything else?"
"Benefactor-nim?"
"...I don't recall doing anything to be called 'Benefactor-nim'. And that's a definite no."
A fox who calls people 'Benefactor-nim' might just get her neck snapped. So, no…!
After that, Wakamo suggested several other titles, but every single one had '-nim' attached. I don't think there's any hope for her.
"Let's just… let's just compromise on Mika-san…"
"Hmm… very well, Mika-san. If you are more comfortable with that, it is only right that I oblige."
Anyway, by now, the first match of the day, the marine flag race, should be underway at the festival. If we win this one, it would put my mind at ease, but honestly, I'm not getting my hopes up.
The wound from being let down after getting my hopes up time and time again is too deep.
The rules are simple: five connected platforms are floating on the sea, each with a flag. Gehenna and Trinity each start with two flags, with one neutral flag in the center. The team with the most flags at the end of the time limit wins.
No guns are allowed in this match. Even if a player is pushed into the sea, they can return to the match as soon as they climb back onto a platform, so a chaotic melee is expected.
It goes without saying that Tsurugi and Hina are banned from participating. I mean, if Tsurugi charged in with her bare hands, who could possibly stop her? Not even Hina could, so it's a perfectly reasonable measure.
Anyway, while that match was going on, I was with Wakamo in the auditorium of the Aegis. Beyond the doors of this hall, the crew of the Nereus—the students—were waiting, having been told that the Fox of Calamity wished to ask for their forgiveness.
"If it seems like they're crossing the line, I'll step in—"
"No, you mustn't. This is my original sin, something I must bear and carry alone. You cannot shield me from this storm, Mika-san. I will endure it all. Yes, I, Kosaka Wakamo, am prepared."
Seeing Wakamo's firm resolve, I simply nodded. To not respect her wishes when she put it like that would have been a disservice.
I found myself wondering how such a thoughtful girl could have walked the path of a criminal.
If only I had the perfect memory of a regressor from one of those webnovels I used to read, and could remember every important detail. Then maybe I could have understood Wakamo a little better.
As we opened the auditorium doors and stepped inside, the eyes of the waiting Odyssey students turned towards us.
A murmur immediately spread through the crowd, and I could hear snippets like "The Tea Party Host?" and "Wasn't the Fox of Calamity supposed to come apologize?" and "Wait, is that innocent-looking woman next to the Host…?" After that, the individual murmurs were lost in the general buzz.
Wakamo ascended to the stage and picked up the microphone. It was only then that the students, now certain she was the one who had played a major role in the sinking of their precious home, let the anger show on their faces.
"The wanted criminal you all know by the name 'Fox of Calamity,' the terrorist who has committed countless acts of destruction, is me, Kosaka Wakamo, standing before you. And today, I have come here to convey my wish to dare ask for your forgiveness."
"Forgiveness? If you had any sense, you wouldn't get it!"
"Go to hell, you damned fox bitch!"
"Booo! The trash is speaking!"
Besides those, many other insults were thrown, some so harsh they made even me frown. Vicious, explicit profanities I would never hear in Trinity.
The students of Odyssey, being people of the sea, seemed to have particularly honed the sailors' characteristic of a coarse tongue.
But Wakamo did not want me to intervene. She had pleaded with me not to, saying it would devalue the forgiveness.
"I am not unaware that my actions have inflicted upon you a wound that can never be healed. I also know this is not a matter so light that it can be forgiven with a few words of apology."
"If you know that much, then get your damn face out of here instead of shamelessly holding your head high! Who do you think you are, showing your face here? No one here wants your apology. We were just curious what could have possibly possessed the great Fox of Calamity to apologize."
""
Wakamo's grip on the microphone tightened. Even though she had resolved to change, her fundamental nature couldn't be altered overnight.
It was amazing she could suppress her anger and endure being told such things to her face. The Wakamo I knew would have exploded long ago.
"To you, it may have been just another day, no different from your usual activities, but it wasn't for us!
Do you have any idea how humiliating those three days were, when our school ship's control was seized and you and your mercenaries occupied it? It was like a robber broke into your house, played master for a few days… and just when you thought it was over, the house itself disappeared!
And you're trying to smooth it over with a few words of apology…! To not even know how absurd that is and still show up like this… I can't even begin to fathom how thick-skinned and shameless you have to be."
One of the more vocal Odyssey students, buoyed by the support of the others, was now speaking for them all, berating Wakamo. And there wasn't a single thing wrong with what she said.
As I watched, I felt a pang of pity, but I couldn't help but think that this was something Wakamo had brought upon herself.
The fact that the bombs had been detonated by Kaiser had been clearly communicated, but when there are two targets for resentment, the anger tends to focus on the closer one.
And right now, Wakamo was closer to them than Kaiser.
"I am sorry. I am so sorry. I know I cannot be forgiven with just a few words of apology. I know there is nothing I, as an individual, can do for you. But, even so, I must ask for your forgiveness. If not today, then tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after. Until the day I can be forgiven, I will continue to reflect on the sins I have committed and…"
"So, if you think you're ever going to get that forgiveness, you need to wake up!"
The student berating Wakamo stood up and approached the stage. Voices of agreement echoed from all corners of the hall.
This was why I had predicted that asking for forgiveness from kids whose anger hadn't cooled would be so difficult.
Watching the obvious unfold before my eyes was suffocating.
Instead of stopping at the foot of the stage, the Odyssey student leaped onto it and grabbed Wakamo by the collar. I wondered if I should step in, but seeing Wakamo take it without reacting, I could only let out a sigh.
As expected, she has no finesse.
The problem was, this wasn't a situation where finesse could be used. The fact that there was nothing I could do, nothing I should do, filled me with a profound sense of powerlessness.
All I could do in this situation was hope that Wakamo could overcome all of this and achieve her rehabilitation. The anger of Odyssey could not have been more justified.
Could the fox who had sinned quell the rage of the sea? It was a question whose end was impossible to see.