Work and daily life should never be mixed.
Mutsuki from Problem Solver 68 fully agreed with this, greeting everyone warmly as if the earlier clash had never happened.
By comparison, Aru was more or less awkward when facing the Foreclosure Task Force.
After all, not long ago she had been treated to ramen by them, only to show up soon after with a squad of mercenaries to attack her benefactors. That was an undeniable fact.
Even though she had the excuse of carrying out a commission, Aru, whose sense of morality was at least better than a certain someone who spent her days plotting bank robberies, couldn't quite convince herself.
To ease the tension, I introduced myself.
"So you're Schale's Sensei!"
Aru's eyes went wide. She quickly brightened and shook my hand with excitement. "I've heard so much about you! No wonder you're so wise. Our Problem Solver 68 is still in its early days. We're in dire need of someone like you. Please, won't you be our business consultant?"
…Your wisdom is honestly astounding too.
As expected, Serika immediately blew up at these words. Her brows shot up as she glared at Aru, practically hissing.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean? You want to fight again? Then bring it on!"
"That's right, Sensei isn't someone we'll hand over to you."
Shiroko stepped forward, casually linking her arm with mine, as if declaring her claim.
Serika nodded in agreement. "Exactly, Sensei won't be… wait, what?! Shiroko-senpai, what are you doing?!"
Halfway through, Serika realized what was happening and cried out in shock. Ayane, watching this unfold, seemed to think of something, her cheeks turning steadily redder.
Nonomi clapped her hands and laughed. "Wow~ Shiroko-chan, you're so bold! ☆"
Just as I suspected, with just one remark, Aru had managed to reignite the hostility of the Foreclosure Task Force.
You were only temporarily reconciled, not truly at peace, and you go and try to snatch away one of their core members right in front of them? Of course it looks like a provocation.
But judging from Aru's confused look, she really hadn't realized.
Perhaps that's what brilliance is supposed to look like.
Caught in this situation, overwhelmed, Aru glanced back at her group for help.
"What's the big deal~
Sensei is Schale's Sensei, not just yours~"
Mutsuki, whom I had only just met, sidled up cheerfully and grabbed my other arm, looking up at me with a teasing grin. "Right, Sensei~?"
From her expression I could see the hint of mischief.
Why are you trying to stir things up even more?!
Aru's eyes lit up instantly. She nodded eagerly. "Yes, exactly! Whatever you want, just grab it without hesitation, that's our Problem Solver 68 motto!"
"When did we get a new motto…"
Kayoko muttered under her breath.
Meanwhile, Haruka whispered, "To invite someone who was just our enemy… Aru-sama really is amazing…"
The situation, never fully resolved to begin with, was now teetering on the edge of breaking apart again.
Being the object of this struggle, I felt like I had been thrown into the legendary battlefield of romance, crushed by the pressure.
I quickly spoke up.
"Sorry, but I've already accepted the position of advisor for Abydos. Given your current standing, I can't take on the role of your business consultant right now."
Aru frowned thoughtfully. "Hmm… so what you're saying is, once our commission is completed, it'll be fine?"
No! Aru, do you even hear yourself?! If you don't know how to say it properly, then just don't say it at all!
What do you mean by 'once the commission is completed'? Have you even thought about what your commission actually is?!
And yet, instead of deepening their hostility, the Abydos girls now just looked confused.
It was obvious that Aru's perfectly stupid remark had made them question her intelligence, realizing maybe she wasn't provoking them on purpose, just genuinely dense.
Everyone here was a good kid, and good kids are forgiving toward fools. By sheer accident, Aru had defused the tension.
So I laughed lightly and hinted not-so-subtly, "If the commission isn't completed, then we can talk."
"Huh? Why not once it is completed?"
Aru frowned again, thinking deeply, then snapped her fingers. "I get it!"
What exactly do you get?!
But instead of keeping it to herself, Aru proudly declared her reasoning.
"If we complete this commission successfully, it proves we've already grown into a competent company. We won't need Sensei's wisdom to keep going.
"But if we fail, that just means we still have shortcomings and need stronger support. Sensei's help should go to those who truly need it. Isn't that right?"
Facing Aru's confident smile, I was left at a loss.
Even I hadn't thought of it like that.
"Uh… more or less, yeah…"
"Heh, as expected of me~"
Aru beamed with pride for no apparent reason.
The Foreclosure Task Force girls seemed to accept her explanation completely.
And so, what could have become a bloody battle dissolved into nothing.
Incidentally, Hoshino, perhaps exhausted, spent the entire time slumped over a desk nearby, not taking part in the dispute.
Soon, evening arrived.
To welcome our new "friends" from Problem Solver 68, I reserved a high-end business restaurant in Trinity's district. Naturally, I brought the Foreclosure Task Force girls along as well.
The choice of location was no accident.
With the rivalry between Gehenna and Trinity, if any trouble broke out, all it would take was shouting "Gehenna thugs are causing trouble in Trinity!" and dozens of bystanders would rush to help on the spot.
A little extra insurance.
Once seated, everyone reacted differently.
Serika and Ayane were focused on the rather expensive menu, one fretting in a tsundere way, the other politely, both worried about me spending too much.
And they weren't wrong. Even with my decent income, this was no small expense.
But I could always put it on Schale's account.
Haruka too was overwhelmed by the prices, murmuring to herself in fear, "Someone like me doesn't belong in a place like this… I want to die…" She clearly had some personality issues.
Meanwhile, some accepted it easily, like Shiroko, Nonomi, Hoshino, as well as Mutsuki and Kayoko.
Shiroko barely reacted, maybe because of her naturally airheaded side.
Hoshino and Mutsuki teased me shoulder to shoulder, joking about whether I had certain intentions toward female students to be spending so much, then ordered the most expensive dishes without hesitation.
What touched me most was Nonomi, who secretly sent me a message on Momotalk saying that if the bill got too high, I could use her credit card. A kind gesture.
Kayoko, on the other hand, stayed silent, giving off a faintly distant air, hard to approach.
And finally, there was Aru. Hard to summarize.
Both nervous and excited, pretending to be calm but constantly glancing around, trying to act ordinary yet unable to hide her joy…
In short, foolishly cute.
After the meal, I told the Foreclosure Task Force to head out first, saying I wanted a private word with Problem Solver 68.
Thankfully, after everything we had been through, Hoshino and the others trusted me completely. They didn't think I was colluding with the enemy and left without hesitation.
"So~ what did Sensei want to talk about?"
Mutsuki asked with a grin.
"Let's get straight to it." I turned to Aru, the easiest to corner. "The ones who hired you are Kaiser Corporation, aren't they?"
"Wha?!"
Aru's shocked face was already enough of an answer.
I continued, "Then let's move to another place to discuss this."
It was only a spur-of-the-moment decision, out of caution.
But none of us noticed.
Beneath the table, a small device blinked faintly red, silently recording.
Meanwhile, on the street toward the train station, Nonomi asked Hoshino curiously,
"Hoshino-chan, are you listening to music?"
"Something like that."
Hoshino pulled out her earphones, her expression unchanged.
"Just listening to whatever."