The Clumsy Nun and the Magician of the Library 9
"E-Enemy attack! It's an enemy attack!"
The strange confusion lasted only a moment before a frantic cry from a member of the Justice Realization Committee rang out, and the sirens began to wail. Two young-looking girls rushed up to Mashiro, who immediately demanded the enemy numbers and their probable objective. Their answer, however, was that the attackers were repeating a guerrilla pattern—firing from the shadows, then vanishing. Mashiro seethed with rage.
"How dare they... To commit such an outrage right where our Justice Realization Committee stands...!"
She apologized to the still-bewildered Hinata, then dashed off toward the scene with her subordinates.
If it's the Lollipop Gang... that's the delinquent group Hinata helped earlier, right?
Yes. I heard later from Sensei that he contacted the Lollipop Gang and asked them to lure the Justice Realization Committee members away for a while. Of course, he told them not to hurt anyone—just to fire a few warning shots and pull back repeatedly. He even had the Knights Hospitaller standing by nearby in case anyone got hurt.
Hoh, an effective tactic. So you slipped into the venue while they were distracted?
I wouldn't say I "slipped in" on purpose... but yes, I managed to get inside. I still had no idea what was going on and was completely lost when Sensei's second support group arrived.
The recording resumed, showing Hinata, who had made it inside yet still understood almost nothing. Then, from somewhere nearby, came the sound of a vehicle screeching to a halt and a blaring horn. Several people climbed out—none other than the baker who made Miracle 5000 and the members of the After-School Sweets Club.
"All right, all right! Don't be alarmed, everyone! While you're waiting, try some of this! It's Miracle 5000 cake! Today it's not limited—it's free for all!
I brought enough for every single person here to have some and still have a dozen boxes left over!"
"Come and get it! Starting tomorrow it might go back to being limited~!"
The shop owner unleashed a wide-area provocation on the high-school girls, and the Sweets Club fanned the flames. Kazusa frowned suspiciously, but—
"M-Me! Me! Give me one!"
"Out of the way! You can't even buy this with money most days!"
"Hey, are you cutting in line? Have you no dignity—"
"Does that even matter right now?!"
"...Well, I'll be damned."
Kazusa was left speechless watching the high-ranking ladies of Trinity, who until moments ago had maintained a dignified silence, now raising hell over a single slice of cake. Beside her, Yoshimi shot her a look that clearly said, See? I told you so.
"Stop spacing out and help already!"
"In the end, humans are all the same... No—rather, I think their choice here is the correct one.
We live to eat delicious things. That is life itself, mm!"
Natsu remained as philosophical as ever.
Meanwhile, Hinata secretly watched over Sakurako, who had been left alone. For the first time the prisoners could get a proper look at her. Her relatively neat attire and solemn air made her status obvious at a glance—yet even she was being swept up in the chaos and looked flustered.
"What is this? What on earth is going on...?"
"Still, as expected of the Mother Superior—she hasn't gone charging off with her eyes rolled back. Truly the leader of her order—"
"I-I've never even tasted Miracle 5000 before...!"
"..."
Sinclair had been impressed by how composed Sakurako still seemed amid the turmoil—until her very next words shattered that impression. On the screen, Sakurako was clearly torn between her position and her desires.
"B-But... as the host of the ceremony, I must uphold the scripture..."
"It's fine. Go ahead."
Then her savior approached.
"S-Sensei?"
"Sensei, why are you here?!"
Both Sakurako and Hinata were stunned. Hinata almost cried out and clamped a hand over her mouth. Listening carefully, she heard Sensei tell Sakurako that he would keep watch, so she should go. The Mother Superior's face lit up with pure bliss; she thanked him profusely and charged straight for the cake truck.
Once Sakurako was gone, Hinata emerged from her hiding place. Sensei held something out to her.
"This is... the Kama Sutra... Wait, why is this in Sensei's hands?!"
"And now... I present it before you all. This is..."
The commotion ended. The delinquents and the truck withdrew as if they had never been there. At last the scripture reading began, and Sakurako displayed the holy text before everyone.
"This is the Fourth Annotated Edition of the ancient scripture, as interpreted by the Council!"
Thanks to Ui's ability and Sensei's plan, the event ended successfully. That's as far as my part goes—I'll hand it over to Ui now.
Pen received. A few days after everything was over, Sensei visited the Library and had a short talk with me.
The recording started again, this time inside the Library with the lights on. Ui had not known how the disturbance had resolved, and she visibly relaxed once she learned it had ended well. When Sensei asked if she ever checked social media, the girl replied that she rarely did, and that she preferred newspapers for the news.
"Anyway, it's good that it worked out. ...Honestly, I'd already been irritated because of all that."
"Why?"
"Why? Isn't it obvious?"
Ui explained that she had been forced to waste her precious time on an incident she could never fully resolve herself, all while fretting over complete strangers.
"Ugh... It reminded me all over again why I hate getting involved with people from outside. You have to look after every little thing, they immediately start doing weird stuff... they make you worry... they make you worry without permission and keep you up at night...
...And now I'm saying all this in front of Sensei... I'm sorry. It was a story you didn't need to hear."
"...I really do hate the outside."
"She may speak that way, yet Ui still granted every one of Hinata's requests! Had she truly been cold-hearted, she would not have cared at all. She is simply not honest—methinks Ui possesses a strong sense of responsibility."
That was Don Quixote's opinion, and Dante agreed. Ui was the sort of kind girl who grumbled yet saw every task through to the end. When the Sensei on the screen said something similar, however, Ui looked thoroughly disgusted.
Then, suddenly, Ui's face flushed and she asked if he had brought "that." Sensei held out a plastic bag, and Ui began to laugh in a strangely delighted "hehehe." It almost looked like a shady under-the-table deal—until she pulled out a bright yellow drink that looked wonderfully refreshing.
"Thank you... I'll enjoy it."
For the first time, Ui smiled brightly. When Sensei asked why she had requested a lemon smoothie instead of cake, the girl answered while sipping through the straw.
"I suppose I should confess now... The truth is, I don't eat sweet things like cake very often. Only once or twice by chance... They make the desk and the books sticky, you know. When I'm reading... a sour lemon smoothie is perfect. No matter how cold it is, even if I freeze to death—smoothie..."
"..."
Even she seemed to find her own words awkward; Ui fell silent, then apologized, saying she had only been being contrary. When Sensei replied that it was fine and that he would bring lemon smoothies from now on, Ui flushed again at the casual mention of "from now on." Even so, she did not look entirely displeased.
Silence settled once more. Sensei gazed at her as if he knew she still had something to say, and at last Ui let out a long sigh.
"I really... can't win against you, Sensei. If you're truly going to keep coming here, I'll only end up at a disadvantage, so I have no choice but to tell you the truth again. From now on, at least with you, I'll try to be a little more honest."
And then the girl revealed the snack she truly loved.
It was neither cake nor smoothie—it was iced americano.
That's the end of our story. How was it?
It was great! Living in a place like this, seeing something so lively after so long felt refreshing.
There seem to be all sorts of incidents, but overall it looks peaceful, so I'm relieved.
I was glad to learn more about the lives of the students there.
I wondered whether a place ruled by kids who still have milk on their breath could function properly, but it's surprisingly serious. Not bad at all.
Once the story ended, the prisoners poured out their impressions, and both Ui and Hinata felt pleased. A glance at the clock showed it was already late afternoon; Hinata had to leave. Ui set the next appointment.
Next time, let's hear your stories. When would be good?
Hmm... how about two days from now?
Anytime is fine for me.
I... ah, I happen to be free then. Let's do that. I'll take my leave for now. Looking forward to working with you.
Hinata left a final message, said goodbye to Ui, and departed the Library. Ui was about to write her own farewell when Dante sent a message.
Ui, you... by any chance, did you make a copy of the scripture?
"H-How did you know? I never said a word...?"
After the final impressions and Dante's appointment, a video suddenly began to play on its own. On the screen, Ui was struggling to finish her sour smoothie and muttering that she should have just asked for americano after all.
Huh? What's this all of a sudden?
"Even though neither Ui nor Hinata said anything, it started automatically. I believe it is a sort of 'cookie video.'"
"Ah, you mean those bonus scenes they show after the credits roll!"
Hong Lu answered Faust's observation. On the screen, Ui confirmed once more that she was alone, then wore her characteristic twisted little smile.
"It should be fine by now, right...? I was too busy making it to read properly back then..."
What Ui pulled out was a book that looked exactly like the scripture. She put on her glasses and set it on the desk.
"Heheh, a perfect copy of the scripture. It was a lot of work to make, but...
The ladies of the Sisterhood, full of secrets... I've been curious for a long time. I think I'll have a little read myself."
And with that, the video ended.
"...She's scarier than I thought. In a completely different way from when she was yelling earlier."
Rodion muttered under her breath.
Haa... I can't believe it showed that without asking.
So? Did you get caught?
I did. Thanks to that, I was dragged out in the dead of night and had to face Sakurako.
Did you get punished?
Mm... no. It wasn't that. But let's save that for later. Right now, I want to hear your stories.
Back then, a bus appeared and smashed the lion clear away. Then the prisoners came pouring out.
So, did you defeat them?
No. We lost miserably.
What?
Huh?
Ui and Hinata's exploration of the City begins.