"A-Are you all right…!?" Hifumi asked weakly. "A-Are you hurt…?"
She had originally planned to take everyone to check the entrance, but since the sounds were getting closer and closer, she had not acted rashly.
"Cough, cough… N-No, we're fine."
After that equally tense reply, the slightly taller nun with black curly hair finally lowered the large box she had been holding in front of her as a shield, revealing her gentle and somewhat shy face.
Behind her, another cute nun with orange hair and animal-like ears stepped out, still coughing. "M-May peace and tranquility today… cough cough… be with everyone… cough…"
"Please worry about your own tranquility first!?"
Only after saying that did Hifumi notice, "Huh? Looking closely, those clothes are from the Sisterhood…?"
"Oh my," Hanako recognized them. "Isn't that Mari-chan and Hinata-chan?"
Mari blinked. "Ah, H-Hanako-san, Sensei…"
After exchanging simple greetings, the two nuns, still visibly shaken, were guided to sit down by Hanako and me. Koharu poured each of them a glass of water, while Hifumi pulled Azusa aside to whisper something to her.
After draining her cup in one go, Mari let out a long breath and patted her chest.
"…Phew, that startled me. The moment we came in, something seemed to activate…"
Hinata nodded vigorously beside her, her face still pale. "If I hadn't come along… breaking through that level of ambush… ugh…"
At that moment, the culprit, Azusa, approached them with Hifumi and bowed apologetically.
"Sorry. I thought we were under attack."
"Ah, well…"
Mari seemed unsure how to respond to that explanation.
"By the way," I interjected to smooth things over, "what brings you two here?"
"Ah, that's because… we heard that Sensei and the Make-Up Work Club were here… though we didn't know Hanako-san was here as well…"
Hanako smiled faintly. "…Because my grades aren't very good either."
Mari and Hinata exchanged glances, hesitating. "I-Is that so… I see…"
As members of the Sisterhood who had once tried to recruit Hanako, they likely knew about her past situation. Their reaction was understandable.
Koharu, unaware of Hanako's history, sensed the strange atmosphere and asked curiously, "Hanako, do you know them?"
"Ahaha… you could say we have a bit of a connection."
Hanako brushed it off quickly and smoothly returned to the main topic. "Mari-chan and Hinata-chan, you didn't come to see me… or Sensei… right? Did you need something with the Make-Up Work Club?"
"Yes."
Mari nodded and looked at Azusa. "We came today to see Shirasu Azusa from the Make-Up Work Club. We asked around and heard you were here."
Azusa tilted her head. "Me?"
"Yes. I came to express gratitude on behalf of a student you helped before. For certain reasons, I am delivering the thanks in her place."
"As for me, Sakurako-sama heard about this and asked me to accompany Mari…" Hinata added.
Sakurako…?
At the mention of that name, even Hanako reacted slightly, as if deep in thought.
As for the rest of the Make-Up Work Club, their focus was more on what Azusa had done.
Mari soon explained. "That student was being bullied… One day, she was suddenly called behind the school building."
I frowned. So even in Kivotos, there was school bullying? And at Trinity, which I had always thought well of?
Hifumi and Koharu were shocked. Only Hanako spoke calmly.
"…Well, it's not unheard of. Those people are very cunning and use underhanded methods, so they're rarely discovered."
Mari sighed. "We only learned about it after that student came to consult us… On the day she was called out, Azusa happened to pass by and saved her."
Azusa thought for a moment. "…Now that you mention it, something like that did happen. I just couldn't stand people bullying the weak by relying on numbers."
That only made her more admirable.
"After being angered by Azusa, those students went to contact the Justice Task Force…" Mari continued. "We don't know what distorted information they gave, but it escalated into a fairly large-scale clash between the Justice Task Force and Azusa… Azusa then occupied a tear gas warehouse and fought them using traps for over three hours…"
Koharu cried out, "That was when!?"
In other words, on the day the Make-Up Work Club was assembled, Azusa's arrest had been a complete misunderstanding?
As for why she had not defended herself…
"No matter who it is, if they provoke me, I fight back." Azusa's gaze sharpened, and there was a hint of regret in her tone. "I was almost out of ammunition then. I could have fought longer and taken down more of them."
Being from Arius, she truly lacked common sense, and her temperament was indeed quite combative.
"So that student explained everything to us and said she wanted to thank you… but since she couldn't find you at school, Hinata-senpai and I came here."
And ended up triggering Azusa's traps.
That was the whole story.
"…I see." Azusa seemed thoughtful. "I didn't do anything especially worthy of thanks. I still got caught in the end."
Hifumi could not help but comment, "I don't think that has much to do with the second half…"
Azusa continued, "And although that kind of thing is pitiful, you can't just keep being bullied. Even if it's futile, you shouldn't stop resisting."
Mari smiled gently. "…Perhaps you're right. Yes, I will convey that to her."
After saying that, the capable young nun looked at Azusa for a moment and said thoughtfully, "Azusa-san is said to be the Ice Witch who worships violence… but it seems that is only a rumor after all."
Azusa, apparently unaware of that nickname, looked confused again.
"Hehe. Even so, there are parts of Azusa-chan that do resemble the Ice Witch nickname unexpectedly."
Hanako said with a smile. "For example, it's hard for others to read her expressions."
Azusa understood that remark.
Her eyes sharpened again, and she made an extremely obvious displeased expression that was, ironically, very easy to read.
Mari smiled back at Hanako. "Hanako-san…"
"I'm glad Mari-chan seems so energetic. Hinata-chan looks the same as usual too."
The black-haired nun who had been quiet all this time, sitting stiffly and occasionally sneaking glances at me, jumped at the mention of her name. "Ah, yes!"
Hanako continued warmly, "Let me walk you to the entrance. Come, let's go together."
"U-Um…"
Hinata suddenly blushed bright red, sweat forming on her face as she fidgeted. "Um, I would like to ask, um, the restroom…"
"What, Hinata-chan, you were holding it this whole time!" Hanako said solemnly. "I've heard that the Sisterhood's predecessors undergo strict training, possessing willpower beyond ordinary people, able to remain expressionless even in extreme situations. Could it be there are even special experiences involved…? In any case, please let me accompany you and learn along the way!"
Hinata blinked. "Eh? Learn…?"
Koharu immediately shouted, "What are you saying!? Death penalty!"
I cleared my throat. "I'll take her. Hinata, is that okay?"
Hearing that, Hinata visibly relaxed, gratitude in her eyes. "Yes, then I'll trouble you, Sensei."
"Oh my~"
"Death penalty!"
"…Koharu-chan, I haven't said anything yet."
"I can tell from your expression! Anyway, you're not allowed to say it!"
While Hanako and Koharu carried on with their usual banter, I said goodbye to Mari and led Hinata toward the restroom. Then I turned to face those crimson eyes and asked directly,
"Hinata, did you have something you wanted to tell me?"
"Ah, yes."
The nun with slightly curled long black hair took out a strongly scented envelope from her chest with hands damp from nervousness.
"This is from Sakurako-sama. She asked me to give it to you."
Just as I thought.
Based on Hinata's earlier reaction and her stated reason for coming, there were only two possibilities.
One was this, that Sakurako had something to convey and asked her to deliver it.
The other was that, despite only meeting me once, Hinata had already fallen deeply in love and used this as an excuse to see me and have a private moment to pour out her longing…
I figured it was fifty-fifty. Or perhaps both.
After confirming that Sakurako had not specified to open it on the spot, I put the envelope away for now. Just as I was about to ask if there were any other instructions, Hinata suddenly apologized.
"S-Sorry! Um, excuse me for a moment!"
She quickly set down the box and rushed into the restroom.
…So she really did need to go.
Suppressing the strange urge to listen at the door, I tried lifting Hinata's suitcase.
As expected, it did not budge.
Thinking about how she usually carried it with one hand and even used it as a shield, along with the way she prayed last time, I understood more clearly that the sudden drop in the Shittim Chest's battery had absolutely nothing to do with anything else.
After a while, Hinata came out looking refreshed. She saw me and smiled, about to greet me, but suddenly froze and asked cautiously,
"…Sensei, you didn't hear anything strange just now, did you?"
What was she thinking!? Do I look like that kind of person!?
In any case, after a few casual explanations, I brought Hinata back to the classroom. She and Mari then left the annex under Hanako's enthusiastic escort.
After the unexpected visitors departed, the girls of the Make-Up Work Club returned to their normal study time.
Perhaps encouraged by their good mock exam results, everyone studied especially hard today.
As for me, while there was not much I could help with regarding their studies, having just received significant information from both Nagisa and Mika, I could not simply sit idle if I wanted to resolve the root cause of the Make-Up Work Club's expulsion crisis.
The first thing I needed to do was verify certain pieces of information through my own channels.
While sending a Momotalk message to Hasumi to understand her true feelings about Gehenna, I also checked the contents of the envelope Sakurako had sent through Hinata.
To my surprise, there was only a small slip of paper inside, with a string of characters in a familiar format.
After trying to enter it, I successfully found Sakurako's Momotalk account and fell into thought.
…If she wanted to add me and talk in detail, why go through such a roundabout way? The Sisterhood's intelligence network was not to be underestimated.
Thinking about it carefully, perhaps Sakurako was the one secretly in love with me, too shy to say it directly, and that was why she troubled Hinata to make the trip.
But if that were the case, wouldn't having Mari deliver it have been the same…
While waiting for Sakurako to accept my friend request, Hasumi had already replied.
Hasumi: You're asking what I think of Gehenna?
Hasumi: Those people! Of course I will never forgive them so easily!
Hasumi: Especially that Pandemonium Society president… Sensei, you know, right!? She actually called me fat in public…
Hasumi: Hah, but please rest assured, I won't let personal grudges cloud my judgment.
Hasumi: And recently, under your and everyone's supervision, I've been perfectly controlling my calorie intake for all three meals.
Hasumi: This time I will definitely succeed in losing weight and make that person who can only attack others' figures shut up for good.
Personally, I thought Hasumi's figure was already extremely well-proportioned.
But since she was so determined, I had to support her.
Me: Just make sure it doesn't affect your health.
Hasumi: Please rest assured, I know my limits.
After that, the vice president of the Justice Task Force asked about Koharu's situation. Upon hearing that her grades had improved greatly, she was very pleased and expressed her gratitude to me.
Before long, another reply finally arrived.
Makoto: Hasumi? You mean that Trinity girl with ulterior motives who suddenly went crazy and launched an attack?
Me: Hm? What do you mean?
In my impression, Hasumi was nothing like that.
Makoto: Since you know her, you should understand.
Makoto: Letting a woman that big attend the meeting! That was clearly to dampen our Pandemonium Society's morale!
Makoto: Damn it, although President Makoto's size isn't small either, compared to someone that out of spec…
Makoto: Tch, if only I had brought Satsuki with me that time…
…Big? Size?
I think I understood.