Chapter 18: A Smile Sharper Than Steel
[Thank you for coming all this way so late at night, Sensei, and Kaoru-san.]
At an hour when most students would be asleep, Nagisa greeted Sensei and me in a classroom within a secluded building on Trinity’s campus, as specified in the summons.
“…Oh my, I was hoping to see you in person after so long, but I guess that’s not happening.”
[Fufu, I share the sentiment. But I must apologize for being unable to meet in person due to pressing matters today.]
I had suspected as much, given the absence of any security despite a Tea Party host summoning a “dangerous individual” like me, but seeing Nagisa only through a screen confirmed it.
Well, if she’s labeled me a threat, avoiding direct contact makes sense.
Sensei seemed exasperated by Nagisa’s appearance, likely from a Tea Party hideout, but she suppressed her emotions and asked in a restrained tone.
“…Is it just you we’re speaking with, Nagisa?”
[Yes, Sensei. I invited Mika as well to ensure fairness, but I received no response. She’s likely asleep, so I’ll document our discussion and send it to her.]
…As if Mika would respond at this hour.
And whether her presence would’ve been better for me is another question.
As I imagined how awkward meeting Mika here would’ve been, Nagisa countered with a calm smile.
[But haven’t you two already met with Mika separately?]
She spoke as if fully aware of Mika’s secret visit to the Supplementary Lessons Department’s training camp.
[So, how was it? What did Mika tell you?]
“…”
“Fufu, it was an interesting meeting. But I can’t share personal conversations between friends with you, can I?”
When I answered in Sensei’s stead, who seemed momentarily taken aback, Nagisa nodded as if expecting it, sipping her tea.
“Nagisa, why are you going this far?”
Sensei, determined to keep the conversation going, spoke quietly.
“I haven’t been with the Supplementary Lessons Department long, but I can say with certainty: Azusa, Hifumi, Koharu, Hanako, and Kaoru here—they’re all kind-hearted kids who wouldn’t dream of betrayal. So why do you keep clinging to baseless suspicions?”
[Because we’re strangers. No matter how much one claims innocence or explains their story, reading another’s heart is impossible.]
Nagisa reiterated her philosophy with a bureaucratic smile.
[That’s why I choose the best course of action available. I summoned Kaoru-san here today to determine if there’s any connection to Gehenna’s criminals.]
“No, that’s a lie. Kaoru’s supposed ‘crimes’ were never your real concern.”
This time, Sensei firmly dismissed Nagisa’s words.
[And why do you say that?]
“Because there’s no evidence.”
As Nagisa set her teacup down with a surprised expression, Sensei replied curtly.
“I didn’t have much time, but I reviewed every regulation related to your accusations—Trinity’s basic code, even the obsolete ones.”
Sensei placed her tablet on the table, as if daring Nagisa to challenge her.
I recalled how she’d been glancing at it on the way here—likely with Arona’s help from within the Shittim Chest, investigating thoroughly.
Arona may have a clumsy reputation, but she is a super-competent AI, isn’t she?
“There’s no rule in Trinity—or anywhere in Kivotos—that allows pinning such crimes on someone for merely exchanging a few words with a dangerous individual. If there were, you, Nagisa, would be in trouble for speaking with Kaoru, whom you suspect most. Someone as meticulous as you wouldn’t overlook that.”
[…You’re as sharp as expected, Schale’s Sensei.]
“But you still forced this meeting, at a time and place that, while not directly overlapping with tomorrow’s second remedial exam, will undoubtedly affect it. Your purpose is clear.”
Surveying the empty classroom with a slight frown, Sensei locked eyes with Nagisa’s image on the screen and concluded in a low voice.
“You’re simply trying to sabotage Kaoru, the kids already heading to the exam, and me, who’s helping them—all for your petty goal of eliminating variables for the treaty.”
[That’s a reasonable suspicion, but as the Tea Party’s host, I must refrain from addressing that final point.]
…That’s basically admitting Sensei’s right.
“…”
“Master…?”
They say when someone is truly furious, they appear calm on the surface.
“…Nagisa.”
Sensei, embodying that perfectly, stared at the empty table and murmured softly.
“Until now, I thought you were just an irredeemable paranoiac, only seeing and believing what you wanted.”
…There’s that word.
“But… it seems I was wrong.”
…Huh?
“…?”
[…?]
As both Nagisa and I looked at her with puzzled expressions, Sensei fixed Nagisa with eyes filled with quiet anger and declared:
“You’re not even a paranoiac—you’re just a ghost, hiding behind the flimsy excuse of suspicion to judge and insult your friends as you please. I’m starting to doubt you even understand what the word ‘friend’ means.”
[!]
This time, Sensei’s final words visibly shattered Nagisa’s composed smile.
Gripping her teacup tightly, as if her sore spot had been struck, she opened her mouth to protest.
[Sensei, you—]
“Hmm.”
“…Kaoru?”
My sudden interruption stopped her from speaking.
“Fufu, sorry for cutting in, Master. But it’s about time to head to the exam.”
Smiling gently at Sensei, I turned to Nagisa and asked.
“If I follow your logic, I’ve stayed long enough to fulfill the summons. May I leave now? You might not know, but I have a remedial exam scheduled late tonight, fufu.”
[…Understood. Farewell, and good luck.]
“…”
Nagisa replied curtly, clearly reluctant, as Sensei stood with an equally displeased expression.
Having prevented the conversation from escalating further, I made a small personal request to Sensei.
“Oh, Master, may I have a brief private word with Nagisa? There’s something I really want to say, fufu.”
“…Make it quick.”
Click.
As Sensei nodded, puzzled, and stepped out, closing the door behind her, Nagisa’s stiff voice came from the screen.
[If you have grievances, I’m all ears.]
As if she expected me to hurl insults in Sensei’s absence.
“Oh my, I don’t resent you.”
[What?]
Turning to face her, I smiled as always, catching her off guard and unsettling her expression.
“It’s only natural you’d be wary of an outsider like me, whom you know nothing about, when you can’t even trust the Supplementary Lessons Department kids with their own stories, fufu.”
Approaching the camera beside the screen, where her expression was clear, I spoke calmly to reassure her.
“So even if you tamper with the exam or turn the testing site into the Hot Springs Development Department’s next demolition zone, I don’t mind much.”
[!]
“But…”
Step.
Reaching the camera, I leaned in slightly, locking eyes with the lens, and delivered the warning I’d been wanting to give.
“…Show some respect to Master.”
The reason I’d interrupted Sensei and Nagisa’s argument was my fear that Nagisa might say something about Sensei that I couldn’t tolerate.
[Show some respect to Master.]
‘Ugh…’
In the Tea Party’s hideout, facing the inscrutable gaze of the lavender-haired girl on the screen, Nagisa struggled to maintain her composure.
She’d managed some calm during Sensei’s earlier jab at her sore spot, but the pressure from Kaoru’s mere gaze was something else entirely.
Had she faced it in person, she might’ve frozen on the spot.
Clink.
“…If I seemed rude to Sensei, I’ll apologize later.”
Realizing her hand was trembling slightly as she held her teacup, Nagisa steadied herself and spoke with difficulty.
“But this only confirms my suspicions about you, Kaoru-san. How can someone who acts and speaks as if they know the future claim to be an innocent outsider?”
[Fufu, how could that be? If it feels that way, it’s just a fleeting coincidence, like the wind. Knowing the future? That’s as absurd as reading a book that hasn’t been opened yet.]
“…”
Nagisa bit her lip silently, likely catching the sarcasm in my metaphor-laden reply.
The enigmatic girl with a sword on her back suddenly deepened her smile, as if struck by a thought, and spoke again.
[Hmm… now that I think about it, this meeting has made one thing certain. Care to hear it?]
“…Go ahead.”
[Fufu, it’s this…]
Facing Nagisa’s guarded response, Kaoru’s smile turned unmistakably mocking as she shared her “certainty.”
[If things continue like this, it won’t be long before you, Nagisa, are on your knees apologizing to me, fufu.]
“…”