Late at night.
I sat on the edge of the bed, catching my breath for a moment.
I picked up a bottle of mineral water from the nightstand, unscrewed the cap, and took a few swallows to replenish the fluids I'd lost from our earlier exercise. Then I handed it to the white-haired girl beside me.
"...Thank you."
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, much like the muffled whimpers she'd made earlier with her face buried in the pillow.
Even after taking the bottle from me, she hesitated with a blushing face before taking small, careful sips.
Perhaps it was because, in the span of a single night, her entire worldview had been shaken by one overwhelming shock after another.
Thinking that to myself, I wrapped an arm around her, gently stroked her fluffy hair, and softly asked,
"Hina, are you tired?"
"Mm... I'm okay. It's just... it wasn't quite what I imagined. I feel all dizzy..."
Speaking in a soft, relaxed voice, as though enjoying my touch, she continued,
"But at the same time, it's like I'm surrounded by happiness... Surprisingly, I'm not really sleepy."
What?
Was she challenging me?
Did she want to start round two right away?
Just as I was feeling eager, Hina asked,
"Sensei, do you want to talk for a while?"
Looking into her deep violet eyes, I suppressed the impulse.
"Sure. What would you like to talk about?"
Recently, she'd been buried in work.
While Hina had been stationed at the Old Cathedral some time ago and away from Gehenna, the academy's delinquent students had stirred up no shortage of trouble.
This was the first time she'd managed to make time for herself in the week since the Arius Liberation Operation ended, so naturally there was a great deal she wanted to share with me, her lover.
The same was true for me, considering I'd been running all over the place nonstop lately as well.
After thinking for a moment, Hina asked,
"Come to think of it, how are Trinity and Arius doing now?"
I fell silent for a while before letting out a sigh.
"...Sigh. About the same as ever."
Reality wasn't like a fairy tale.
Defeating evil didn't automatically bring a happily ever after.
Instead, all the headaches began only after the dust had settled.
The first issue was how to deal with the Arius School.
Trinity hadn't been the only academy participating in the liberation operation.
That gave Makoto the perfect excuse to stir up trouble.
The crafty leader of the Pandemonium Society first argued that, as one of the participating forces, Gehenna also deserved administrative authority over Arius.
Then, after Trinity responded that "Arius has always been an inseparable part of Trinity," Makoto immediately changed her position, demanding that Trinity pay enormous war reparations on Arius's behalf while also covering all of Gehenna's military expenses.
Naturally, Trinity had no intention of agreeing to such outrageous demands.
Makoto continued making trouble until I personally stepped in.
Only then did she finally back down, stop making unreasonable demands, and even display a level of generosity completely unlike her earlier aggressive attitude.
"...Makoto was probably never after financial compensation in the first place."
Hina analyzed calmly.
"She just wanted to do you a favor."
"I think so too."
Although I knew full well that was Makoto's real intention, I still had no choice but to accept the favor.
I'll leave that matter aside for now.
The next academy to seek a share of the victory was Millennium.
Their approach, however, was much gentler.
They simply wanted to do business with Trinity.
Now that Trinity had regained control of Arius and intended to rebuild the district, wouldn't they need support from Kivotos's most advanced scientific technology?
The Seminar's treasurer immediately sensed a business opportunity and quickly reached an agreement with the wealthy Trinity.
Under the banner of being one of the participating forces, but more importantly thanks to Millennium's undeniable technical capabilities, she secured an enormous number of contracts from Trinity.
She then subcontracted the work to Millennium's various clubs and Red Winter's Engineering Department, successfully alleviating the Student Council's financial crisis.
It was an achievement worthy of tremendous praise.
Thanks to that accomplishment, it seemed there was no longer anyone else qualified to become the next Seminar President.
When Millennium's students realized that...
They were plunged into despair.
Surely Millennium was about to enter the darkest and most oppressive era in its history, ruled by the most brutal Demon King the academy had ever known.
"Um... I have heard some rather unfortunate rumors about Yuuka."
"Actually, she's the same type of person as you."
Because she was too responsible, people overlooked the kindness in her heart and misunderstood her far too often.
"Hmm?"
The white-haired girl closed one eye, her tone carrying an ambiguous meaning.
"So that means... Sensei likes her too?"
...
Although it was true, wasn't Hina's mood dropping a little too quickly?
Suddenly, Hina burst into laughter.
"I'm just teasing."
Then she urged me to continue.
Then there was Abydos.
Although it was only a tiny academy with five students, it had made significant contributions as well.
It received generous compensation from Trinity.
After discussing the matter together, the group decided to invest most of it into improving the academy's infrastructure.
Hina couldn't help but admire them.
"Being able to stay at such a declining academy is really admirable."
"Even if it's declining, it's still full of irreplaceable memories."
I smiled.
"If you ask me, Hina, you're just as admirable."
As I spoke, I couldn't help remembering what Hina had once told me about Hoshino's past.
I had no intention of reopening old wounds without reason.
All I could hope was that time would eventually heal them.
In any case, as far as the victorious academies were concerned, things had reached a largely happy conclusion.
Material gains aside, their greatest reward was probably earning more of my goodwill.
After that came the matter that belonged entirely to Trinity and Arius.
Even now, after placing the Arius School under full control, Trinity still hadn't reached a unified decision regarding how to deal with the Arius students.
The shortcomings of a diverse democracy were on full display while the Tea Party's authority remained at rock bottom.
That was only natural.
After all, Arius had launched multiple terrorist attacks against Trinity.
They had orchestrated two separate assassination attempts against the Tea Party's host.
They had completely destroyed the Eden Treaty.
Those were all undeniable facts.
Although overwhelming evidence showed that everything had been orchestrated by someone named Beatrice...
Although Azusa had personally revealed that she was originally from Arius and described the cruel education she'd received there...
Although I had staked my own reputation to testify that some Arius students had abandoned darkness at the critical moment, protected me, and made tremendous contributions to Arius's liberation...
Only after all of that did public opinion finally begin to shift.
Even then, it still wasn't enough to erase the hostility most Trinity students felt toward Arius.
Especially toward Arius Squad, the group responsible for leading the Eden Treaty attack, who were currently imprisoned.
If simply saying "they had no choice" was enough to pretend nothing had happened, then what purpose would the law serve?
There were countless voices demanding severe punishment for Saori and the others.
Every day, students gathered outside the prison to protest.
Some even attempted to break in and administer vigilante justice themselves.
In many ways, Arius Squad was experiencing almost exactly what Mika had once gone through.
However, when I visited them, none of them seemed particularly bothered.
According to Saori, compared to the training Arius Squad had endured, this was nothing.
Hiyori even tearfully told me that she had never imagined prison life could be this comfortable.
Not only was there no torture like she'd feared, they even received hot meals every day, along with an unlimited supply of books to pass the time.
Honestly, I'd always felt Trinity treated its prisoners a little too kindly.
Then the somewhat eccentric green-haired girl nervously, yet hopefully, asked whether Schale's basement had even better conditions than this.
After confirming they were doing well, I continued visiting the victims of the attacks, asking them to forgive Arius Squad.
Lately, that had been what occupied most of my time.
After all, I'd promised to face everything alongside Arius Squad.
I couldn't very well break that promise.
Fortunately, thanks to my considerable charm and sincere attitude, most students were willing to hear me out.
So far, the results had been fairly encouraging.
"You've worked hard, Sensei... Sigh. Honestly, from Trinity's leadership's perspective, Arius Squad is a difficult problem as well."
Hina gave her assessment.
"Based on what you've told me, Trinity can't simply expel every Arius student. Since Squad contains members whose families have served as Arius Student Council Presidents for generations, they're the most suitable representatives for Arius."
She paused before continuing.
"But public opinion hasn't reached the point where the two schools can be merged yet. Keeping Squad imprisoned without sentencing them will only deepen the hatred. So I think... Arius Squad will probably be suspended indefinitely."
I smiled with satisfaction.
"If things turn out that way, it'll already be far beyond what I hoped for."
This was Kivotos, after all.
Punishments that would seem almost playful by my standards were perfectly normal here.
Compared to that unresolved matter, however, there was another piece of genuinely good news.
Thanks to the efforts of Nagisa, Seia, Mika herself, and me, Mika had successfully avoided expulsion.
Although she'd lost her privileges, been sentenced to mandatory labor to atone for her crimes, and expelled from the Pater Faction she once belonged to, she would continue serving as its representative in the Tea Party until a new election was held.
Before long, she would return to ordinary school life.
At last...
I could finally allow myself a little rest.
Letting out a long sigh of relief, I smiled.
"Well then... shall we continue?"
"...Eh?"
Amid the girl's startled cry, I rolled over.
The night was still long.
The Shittim Chest still had plenty of battery remaining.
And I had earned the right to enjoy this hard-won everyday life as well.