Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: An Unbalanced Feeling on the Way Home☆
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The mood on the way back was so unbalanced☆
Until the very last day of the freshman welcome festival.
The Disciplinary Committee’s net of investigation never closed in on us.
The third-years of made no mention of the resolution ceremony, continuing the freshman welcome festival as planned. The student council of <mimir industrial="" high="" school="">, including President Skadi, also remained completely silent.
“What do you think! This is an airship built with the combined technological prowess of our ! This amazing vehicle can break through the ether resistance that fills the sky and even carry ordinary people!”
“Amazing—!”
The general student body casually treated the first night’s commotion as just another one of the scheduled events. This was likely because, for all the chaos, the scale of the damage wasn't particularly large.
‘Well, Kara’s summoned robot parked the airship safely. And all we took were cheap props they’d gathered for the event anyway.’
Instead, the real change occurred among the second-year students, who had been the backbone of the event preparations.
“Hey, senior! Let’s try a different event this time!”
“I made friends with students from other schools, let’s invite them to hang out with us~”
“Wh-What…?! Wait a minute! According to the plan…!”
“Who cares! It’s a festival for us to enjoy—!”
As if seeking compensation for their year of devotion, countless second-year students declared it a festival and began to engage in minor deviations from the norm. The first-years, who had just entered the school, could only follow the second-years in a daze, joining in on their little escapades.
A memory of a ‘special’ moment, discovered within the ‘ordinary.’
The second-years, who held both memories of the past and the recollections of that night.
The events they would create from now on might head in a slightly different direction than the one had taken until now.
A slightly different atmosphere from last year.
We spent the rest of our time quietly wandering the streets, enjoying the freshman welcome events.
While we worried someone might recognize us, it was fun to browse the various events among the massive crowds.
Finally, this morning.
All the events had concluded.
The many visiting students who had come to were preparing to return to their own schools.
The hallway of the visitor’s dormitory.
The sound of busy footsteps echoed through it.
The sound of countless students packing their belongings.
“Excuse me, is one of our students in that room… Hey! You said you’d be back by morning—!”
“Ah… why are you yelling? Right, guys?”
“Hehe… what are you talking about…”
“If you like the school next door so much, why don’t you just go there? I’m not seeing you off.”
“Ooh, a traitor~ Go on, transfer~”
The voices of the students from the academy city, who had grown close enough to overcome the barriers between schools, were hoarse from the cheers they had let out over the past two nights.
“…”
Lying on a bed in the room assigned to the group, I listened to all the sounds echoing through the spacious dormitory hallway. And for some reason, I was immersed in a complex mix of emotions.
‘It probably wasn’t supposed to be like this.’
The original story.
The event that had devolved into ’s resolution ceremony, where they advocated for secession from the Union.
The visiting students, sensing the ominous atmosphere, were said to have been simply paralyzed with fear.
‘But it changed.’
Because of our intervention, we had postponed the main cause of ’s tragic state from the early part of the game’s main story.
It was all thanks to the ’s mediation.
‘I wonder how the story changed.’
The student council meeting had continued even after the <united student="" council="">’s mediator had left on the first night.
When I secretly visited Maya at night, she spoke without looking up from her documents, as if annoyed.
“I’m going to be busy for a while, so I’ll tell you everything at once. Come find me in the department head’s office on the morning of the last day, [Spiral].”
“Oh my☆ Maya is back to doing student council work… Weren’t you the lonely, ostracized girl?”
“The resolution ceremony was overturned… so it doesn’t matter anymore who opposed a past issue. I’m used to Skadi’s methods by now.”
That day, like Zhuge Liang forcing his three-part set of regret, devastation, and obsession upon Liu Bei for the third time, Maya demanded a third visit from me and showed me the door.
So I spent a leisurely second day, and now I was gauging the time for our appointment.
‘I should probably get going soon…’
A glance…
I peeked at Lotha out of the corner of my eye.
She was busy brushing her hair in front of a mirror. A scent of lavender wafted from her orange hair, which cascaded like a waterfall over her small shoulders.
Twitch.
Twitch.
Unlike the poorly equipped , she was enjoying the comfort of the private shower rooms and toiletries provided in each room. The two fluffy cat ears, spreading their fragrance throughout the room, twitched incessantly.
“Hmm-hmm… hmm—”
Lotha seemed to be in a very good mood. Instead of her trademark twin tails, she was braiding her long, orange hair to the side, humming a tune that had echoed throughout the festival.
‘Come to think of it, Lotha originally came from a rich school.’
I hadn't really thought about it, since Alvitt was usually the one who emphasized cleanliness. But Lotha was probably the one among us who was most satisfied with the visitor’s dormitory.
‘Alvitt said she was going to take one last look around the neighborhood…’
I was about to get up and use a walk as an excuse to leave.
Slam—!
A giant with ultramarine hair burst into the room.
“Hahahaha!! Comrades!! I have returned—!!”
“…Hmph. I told you not to be so crude and just burst in without knocking, didn’t I?”
“What need is there for courtesy between comrades!”
“What would you have done if I was changing my clothes?”
“Why should we be embarrassed amongst fellow women!”
“Still, there should be a minimum level of consideration.”
I inwardly winced.
To be honest, seeing ‘Clara’s body’ and engaging in physical activities had been a part of my daily life for years, so there was nothing to be embarrassed about. But I didn’t want to apply that familiarity to the other girls.
So whenever Alvitt or Lotha started changing in front of me, I would make up some excuse and slip out.
‘Well, it’s not like they think I’m weird for being sensitive about privacy.’
Unaware of my inner thoughts, my juniors continued their argument.
“Consideration implies distance! Are we not comrades who completed a revolution last night! Do not say such disappointing things!”
“I don’t think that’s something you should be saying so proudly with the door wide open.”
“Comrade Lotha! Are you ashamed of the revolution—?!”
“I’m ashamed of you.”
Lotha chided her while still elegantly brushing her hair. But our revolutionary warrior paid no mind to such petty quibbles.
“Hahahaha, I see. Then it cannot be helped!! Ah! I have brought a document to show you, Senior Comrade!!”
Kara closed the door and strode back over, handing me a piece of paper. It was a notice of withdrawal from the school.
“With this, my ties to are severed. Seeing the countless sparks of revolution, I have determined that no further revolution is needed here.”
Kara declared this with a relieved smile, one that shone like a lighthouse.
Withdrawal, not expulsion.
It was a very subtle difference.
The fact that she was leaving on her own terms, not being kicked out, meant that one of the lingering regrets that would have remained in Kara’s life was now gone.
I offered her my sincere congratulations.
“Wow—☆ So now Kara’s a free spirit! A true wandering girl—☆ Leaving of your own will! It’s so romantic!!”
“Hehe, that’s right. And on that note, there is something I must say to you, Senior Comrade.”
“Hm? What is it? Is it a girl’s secret—☆”
I had a feeling I knew what it was about.
But I feigned ignorance and listened to what she had to say.
Kara scratched her cheek, looking a little embarrassed, and said.
“…I hear that is a small school. I… I wish to share a purpose with people like you. If I am with you, who followed my far-fetched revolution… I feel that I could achieve even greater things.”
“Okay! I’m all for it—☆”
“Eeeeeeh—?!”
“Hehehe… The permission of the student council president, my senior comrade, is reassuring.”
Clatter—
The sound of a wooden comb falling.
And what came into view was.
Like one of those cats in a photo you see online.
Lotha’s shocked expression as she whipped around with her mouth wide open.
In front of her, Kara was genuinely delighted to have received my permission.
“Hehehe…”
“But there’s one thing you’ve got wrong—☆”
“…?”
“…?”
I corrected one fact she had misunderstood.
“I’m not the student council president… The president of is Alvitt—☆”
“Wh-What?!”
“Huh? Wha? Really?!”
The shocked expressions on the two girls’ faces.
Creak.
And once again, the door opened.
“Phew… I’m back… Hm? Kara?”
I already knew she was there from her presence.
Speak of the devil, as they say.
Alvitt looked puzzled as two pairs of eyes instantly fixed on her.
“…”
“…”
“Wh-What is it? Why are you suddenly staring at me without a word?”
Kara approached Alvitt and shouted.
“Comrade President—! Please permit my enrollment!!”
“What? Whaaat—?! Why am I the president…!”
“No!! Alvitt, no!! If a loudmouth like her joins , we’ll never have a quiet day again!”
“Huh? What? C-Could you please explain slowly what’s going on…!”
“Comrade President—! Even if my past actions were disagreeable, I ask for your generosity! I have nowhere else to go!!”
“What in the world are you talking about…!”
“Alviiiiitt!!”
“Comrade President!!”
Kara and Lotha surrounded Alvitt, each shouting their own case.
While they were distracted, I slipped out through the open door.
＊
Maya looked haggard after only two days.
“…Phew.”
I looked back at Maya, who was staring blankly in my direction, and said.
“W-Wow—☆ You look incredible☆”
“…Well. A lot has happened.”
Gulp, gulp…
Maya didn’t even have the energy to pour her drink into a flask, instead chugging an energy drink straight from the bottle on the steel table.
She was the very personification of ‘exhaustion.’
I felt a little concerned and asked carefully.
“What on earth could have happened☆”
“Hmph… The president of the came in person.”
“…!”
Hilde.
She had been here.
Maya calmly went on to briefly explain the events that had transpired.
Hilde’s sudden visit.
The ’s desire to prevent a war.
And the proposal they offered.
“…Well, after that whole episode, it was decided that students from the martial factions of and <aesir girls’="" high="" school=""> will be stationed on the grounds of <mimir industrial="" high="" school=""> under the pretext of monitoring the Eastern Federation and the slums.”
“…”
and <aesir girls’="" high="" school="">.
The news that they, who were essentially Hilde’s direct subordinates, would be stationed here.
It was basically treating as a subsidiary district of the <united student="" council="">.
I felt a pang of pity, as if had been reduced to a vassal state of the <united student="" council="">.
“…”
“…Well, what can you do. An independent war or an alliance with the slums was just an illusion. We have to face reality. Skadi seems to have been thoroughly cowed by that executive, too.”
Maya said, closing her eyes and leaning back completely in her chair.
“…That’s what happened.”
“…”
After a moment of silence, she opened one eye and spoke.
“…Ah. Right. And your two wishes. Make them reasonable.”
“…Okay☆”
I handed her the two requests I had written down on a piece of paper.
After reading them, Maya chuckled, her expression still weary.
“…Considering we borrowed the power of [The Pink Spiral], these are cheap requests. The can handle this, so I’ll send them over when the time is right.”
“Okay—☆ Well, my juniors are waiting, so I’ll get going☆”
“Yeah.”
Maya slumped back into her chair and waved her hand.
I was about to leave her office, putting Maya behind me.
“[Spiral].”
“Hm?”
“Are you happy, right now?”
“…”
What did she mean by that?
I turned back at her question, but.
Maya had leaned back completely in her chair, her eyes closed.
Somehow, I felt like I instinctively knew the meaning of her question.
I gave the answer that came to mind.
“…Yes.”
“…I see.”
“…”
“Take care. Thanks for your help.”
Shoo, shoo.
Maya waved her hand dismissively, as tired as ever, seeing me off.
And with that, I left her office.
It was time to finish our trip and head home with my juniors.
＊
The train back to the .
It was filled with a chilling silence.
It was only natural for it to be quiet with just two people, but.
A silver-haired girl sat motionless, her gaze fixed out the window.
A black-haired girl playfully skimmed through a large pile of documents.
The oppressive aura emanating from one of them added weight to the silence.
“…”
“…”
“…Vel.”
“Yes~ Boss.”
“You will command the stationing operation at .”
“Yes~ yes~ I understa—”
“And.”
“…?”
Brynhildr spoke, her eyes still fixed on the world outside the window.
“…Investigate personally.”