The Recurring Terrorists

Escaping from the monster-filled auditorium turned out to be surprisingly straightforward. The organization didn't have a small number of members by any means, but monitoring every student and staff member in the academy was an impossible task for them—especially since their takeover of the academy wasn't some meticulously planned operation, but a hastily thrown-together one.

Rone and I pried open a bathroom window at the back of the auditorium and slipped out with ease. Once outside, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brushed the dust off my pants and turned to her with a question.

"By the way, Rone, why do you throw yourself into these kinds of things so eagerly? Like with Sca, and now this?"

Even back when we dealt with Sca, she had no reason to obsess over confronting a delinquent circle. If anything, they were the ones who'd unilaterally messed with her. Both with Sca and this incident, her overly proactive attitude went beyond what you'd expect from an ordinary student.

At my words, Rone turned her head away, perhaps embarrassed, and murmured in a small voice.

"W-well, because it's the righteous thing to do."

"For the sake of justice...? That's an answer I never saw coming. Impressive. Oh, I'm not being sarcastic—I'm dead serious."

I genuinely admired her response and praised her for it. Back in my day, at her age, my head was filled with nothing but useless thoughts. Even in this life, I hadn't acted like a proper protagonist until I went through that infinite loop ghost story. Her upright character only made me feel more ashamed in comparison.

Elaine was like that, and so was Rone—becoming a teacher meant I was learning more from my students than they were from me.

"...N-no, it's not that big a deal."

But despite my words, Rone just turned her head away, blushing and embarrassed. We didn't have time to chat idly forever. Now that we'd escaped the auditorium, it was only a matter of time before they noticed. We had to move fast.

"First off, do you have a plan?"

"Grab the first organization member we run into, make them spill where Muchia Leoporte is, storm right in, and take him down quick."

"...Let's start by coming up with an actual plan."

"...So, what happened next?"

"What came after could be called long if it's long, short if it's short."

Rone and I systematically took down the Clo organization members who'd seized the academy, one by one. Rone wanted to charge straight in and bulldoze them all at once, but I couldn't greenlight such reckless nonsense. Our basic tactic was to probe for their weak points, exploit them, and gradually dismantle their cohesion.

Surprisingly, Rone could handle being surrounded by delinquents and come out on top, but her gift didn't activate for stealthy maneuvers—she kept making basic mistakes I wouldn't even dream of. Still, with my support each time, she managed to muddle through.

We moved as discreetly as possible, neutralizing the occupying members until only Clo's boss, Muchia Leoporte, remained. He and Rone ended up dueling on the academy rooftop, with no one around to watch.

Rone certainly had her Justice Execution gift, granting her superhuman strength as a student. But Muchia, as Clo's boss, had something similar—a powerful physical enhancement gift that put him on par with her.

With the same type of gift, it all came down to raw physical prowess. And in that department, Rone—with her petite frame smaller than the average girl's—was at a disadvantage.

On top of that, after a full day of nonstop combat, she was exhausted, her movements far clumsier than usual. She fought desperately regardless, but the tide kept turning against her.

Thwack!

But just as Muchia wound up for a finishing blow—

I'd held back from interfering in their fight until then, but my surprise sneak attack slammed into the back of his head. His stance crumbled in an instant, exposing an opening.

Rone seized it without hesitation, turning the tables completely. In the end, she defeated Clo's leader, Muchia Leoporte, who had assaulted the academy, successfully liberating it from their occupation.

However, the true culprit behind it all, Muchia, vanished after plummeting from the rooftop where he'd faced Rone in their final showdown. Rone and I rushed to where he'd fallen and peered over the edge, but there was no body, no bloodstains—nothing.

In the end, we learned nothing about why Muchia had really attacked the academy or his true identity. The only clue left was his final words before he fell.

"Don't think this is over. We haven't given up on the academy yet. We'll meet again soon."

It felt like an ominous hint that this incident was far from finished.

"...That's the full story of what Rone and I did yesterday while sweeping out the criminals who'd taken over the academy all day long. It was like something out of a shonen manga."

"Shonen manga?"

"Yeah, they exist."

Elaine tilted her head at my last remark, clearly puzzled, but otherwise seemed to grasp it all. She was sharp, after all.

The day after Rone and I—well, mostly Rone—saved the academy from Clo single-handedly, whenever something big happened, exchanging secret info with Elaine while dodging prying eyes had become practically routine.

"Speaking of which, did you confirm if Clo's academy attack was tied to a ghost story? Or since you let Muchia get away, you couldn't?"

"No need to worry about that. Even though we lost him in the end, I'd observed plenty beforehand."

We pulled off some seriously heroic feats yesterday, and that's all you have to say?

But I got Elaine's reaction. What mattered was the ghost story connection. And yesterday, while Rone fought Muchia, I'd gotten a good look at him through my Observation.

"But nothing came up linking him to any ghost story. It really seems like he attacked on his own volition, not because of one."

"...Then what exactly was he after in the academy?"

"Who knows. But it's not important right now."

There might be others besides me who knew about the outer god sealed beneath the academy. It was entirely possible.

"The key point is, whether he's tied to ghost stories or not, this incident is finally wrapped up for real."

All that was left was for Rone and me to bask in our glory as the heroes who saved the academy. Who would've thought I'd live out the middle-school daydream of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rescuing a school from terrorists—not as a kid, but as a teacher? Embarrassing as it was, it wasn't half bad. Beyond the ego boost, the reputation as an academy savior would be a solid asset for my future activities here.

"Heh heh. Jealous of this academy's hero, Teacher Allen?"

"Not even a little."

"Well, time for me to go. There's a commemorative event planned to honor our academy-saving exploits. Can't have the star of the show missing."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Ah. Yeah, yeah. Good luck."

Elaine waved me off with a deadpan look, as if to say look at you, all smug.

And then.

The academy was attacked again.

"Kuhaha! You've cornered me this far, but even that final struggle is your last! In truth, the criminal organization Clo was a subsidiary of the Anti-Human Liberation Front, Hand! From now on, Everlight Academy will be under Hand's control!"

"Hand—the international terrorist group?!"

"I hear they were even behind the communist revolution in Renia Kingdom...!"

And leading this latest academy assault? Muchia Leoporte, once more.

"That's right! You know your stuff. In fact, Renia's communist revolution was just one of many incidents Hand orchestrated. Clo itself was merely a tool Hand prepared to sow chaos across the world... "

Muchia went on and on with his speech to his minions, but I ignored him, grabbed Elaine's hand, and bolted straight for the sealed room on the fifth floor.

Elaine, dragged along by me up the stairs, asked with a confused expression.

"Clo, that criminal group, was actually tied to terrorists like Hand...? What the hell is hidden under the academy...?"

"No. You're wrong. This is a ghost story."

This was already the third academy takeover. After the same pattern three times, even an idiot would catch on.

"A ghost story? Did you figure something out?"

"Those guys were never Clo or some international terrorist group called Hand to begin with. At this point, I'm not even sure such organizations ever existed."

"Did your Observation reveal something?"

"Yeah. I observed it clearly."

With that, I explained to Elaine the contents of the status window I'd seen.

"...At a glance, nothing seems off, right? It matches what he said himself about leading Clo and the Renia communist revolution."

"It's not that there's nothing off at a glance—there's literally nothing off at all. No hints of a ghost story, no contradictions with what others said or what he claimed."

"Then why say it's a ghost story...?"

"The fact that there's nothing off is what's off! Because I was the one who stopped the communist revolution in Renia Kingdom!"

Among my many nicknames, "Friend of the People" came from quelling that revolution bloodlessly and brokering peace between nobles and citizens.

"I know better than anyone that there was no shadowy Hand organization behind Renia's communist revolution."

"How can you be so sure? Maybe you just didn't uncover it—there could have been some unknown puppet master."

"Impossible. Absolutely."

I swallowed the rest I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠couldn't confess to Elaine.

Because that communist revolution...

...had been my own self-staged drama, all to solidify Allen Trading Company's position.