"Mind telling me the details about it?" Sensei asked Kisaki as he rested his chin on top of his hand, eyes focused on the black-haired beauty.
"Are you sure you want to learn about this, Sensei? This might drag you into a peculiar situation. Those ruffians weren't so keen on outsiders poking their noses into their business," Kisaki rotated her teacup in between her delicate fingers while sending a concerned look at Sensei. Sensei merely chuckled. He adjusted his posture before asking seriously.
"I could not simply leave you alone after knowing the gravity of the situation. I mean sure, right now Xuanlong still has the power to keep you safe, but if it goes the opposite way, then you might…"
Without a sound, Kisaki was already on Sensei's face and placing her index finger on top of Sensei's lips. It caught Sensei off-guard and made him blush once she smiled at him.
"Thank you, Sensei. Your concern is most appreciated."
"You're welcome?"
Sensei was still dumbfounded and gave out a chuckle from Kisaki's tiny lips. She removed her finger and grasped Sensei's hand.
"Kisaki?"
"Xuanlong had recently suffered a losing fight against these ruffians. They took advantage of the terrain and drew us out. Much worse, they tried to buy the support of the residents by protection money in favor of better security of their business rather than to us."
"But you don't take any money from them, right? Why is the concern on that part?"
Kisaki weakly nodded.
"They made sure we were always late to respond on the distress call or snatched the supplies first. They then staged the fights so they looked like protecting the residents."
"And people actually buy this?"
She shook her head this time.
"Not everyone, but there might be pressure from the other merchants and eventually all of them agreed. Of course, we already visited them ourselves to negotiate, but…"
Kisaki looked downcast and bit her lip.
"People had also started to openly voice their opinions not at Xuanlong, but at me instead."
"What?"
Kisaki walked towards the fence, turning her back away from Sensei.
"They began to compare me with the previous presidents who made sure the chaos would not spread this far. Mina and the rest of the Xuanlong tried to quell it, but I told them that the voice of the people must not be suppressed just because we wanted to save face. If our face is bathing in ashes because of our own doing, then it is not wrong in the slightest for people to speak it."
Sensei listened earnestly. He approached the trembling Kisaki and gently squeezed the tiny hands of the Little Empress while kneeling down beside her.
"Sensei?"
Her confusion was met with an assuring smile from the adult.
"You are a strong one, Kisaki. You are brave in facing the critics head-on, you face the problem instead of hiding behind excuses, and trying to find what's the best solution for the sake of the people you care about. There is nothing more than what people would expect from a President who acts like yourself."
Kisaki kept her lips closed as she looked at Sensei who was looking back at her with a face full of determination.
"This is why I am offering my support to the Xuanlong, and to you to solve this problem. I am not sure what kind of help I can give, but I am here now. You can ask for my assistance."
When Sensei finished his claim, Kisaki chuckled before letting out a hearty laugh.
"Kisaki?"
Sensei was at a loss from the sudden act of the Black Empress.
"Oh…oh…my apologies, Sensei. I was not laughing at your conviction. I was simply amused again by how right what everyone else had said about you."
Kisaki laughed again. Seeing her laughing and smiling wholeheartedly put Sensei's heart at ease.
"So…mind telling me the plan?"
Kisaki blinked before coughing for a few moments.
"Oh, correct. Mina, are you there?"
"Reporting, Your Excellency."
Without wasting any seconds, the tall member of Xuanlong Office with her black suitcase came to Kisaki's side.
"Mina, open the bag and bring us what is inside."
"As you command."
Mina retrieved something from inside the bag and a box came out. She apologized briefly to Sensei as this was supposed to be a gift, but Kisaki wanted to give this now in person. She opened it, and inside was a gold dragon handcraft.
"So…shiny."
"Not just an ordinary shiny thing, Sensei." Kisaki received the handcraft from Mina and lifted it to reveal underneath. It was a symbol of writings in ancient languages.
"Is this?"
Kisaki nodded at Sensei's shocked response as if reading his thoughts.
"I granted you the power to use this, The Xuanlong Office seal. This would give absolute command and order to the people of Shanhaijing to follow."
"Isn't this like a seal of approval and authority?"
Kisaki nodded.
"Correct. With this, you should not have any problems on cooperating with the rest of the students."
Sensei pondered when he looked at the seal. It was something that weighed more than words. He learned about how traditional the ways Xuanlong was doing things, and perhaps this was why it didn't work out well on certain things. Even so, Sensei wanted to help.
"I appreciate it Kisaki, but I cannot take this."
Mina's mouth was wide agape, while Kisaki remained silent.
"But Sensei-"
"At ease Mina. Sensei has his reason."
A panicked Mina and a calm Kisaki both turned their attention toward Sensei.
"Well, to be frank, I don't need a seal to help you. Here."
Sensei brought out the Schale authority badge.
"Schale actually had been granted special permission to excess authority in case of emergency without being bound to the rules of each school. So, my authority supersedes the seal."
"I see…my apologies, Your Excellency, Sensei, for my lack of understanding."
Kisaki shook her head to answer Mina's apology.
"It is alright. Still Sensei, I would be honored if you would keep it. As a token of our appreciation for your will to cooperate."
Sensei scratched his head, before nodding.
"In that case, I am moved by Your Excellency's trust in me to hold such a magnificent gift. I shall protect it with my life."
"You can just receive it casually, Sensei."
Everyone was laughing at Sensei's attempt to imitate formal acceptance of the palace.
"Well…I was trying to look cool for the occasion…"
"You do not need to try, you are already dashing enough to me."
Sensei blushed at the response and tried to ease the tension by fake coughing.
"So the plan…"
"Oh yes, the plan."
Kisaki led Sensei inside towards her office. Mina and the rest of the Xuanlong were excused, so only Kisaki and Sensei were in the room.
"For now, we are planning to send more scouts down at the port city to gather intelligence on the raid or anything related to the merchants being targeted. I would like to get another closer look at the captured complex, but we might endanger civilians."
"Do you mind if I will be the one scouting at the port city? There's no way they will expect an outsider to gather information."
"That seems…plausible. However, I am concerned for your safety."
"Then…what if I bring any of the students with me? They would not suspect me much if I bring the students."
Kisaki pondered the suggestion but was still not convinced.
"If you are thinking I am getting students from other schools, I could just rely on Shun, Kokona, and Saya."
"Well…"
"Don't worry, their participation is not forced, and it is still within my authority. Xuanlong can focus on doing their usual stuff and rebuilding their trust with the people. Action speaks louder than words, Your Excellency."
"Looking for the right moment to lecture me, eh Sensei?"
Sensei merely shrugged, but Kisaki didn't feel offended at all. She felt more relaxed that Sensei was open to discussing.
"Very well, I will allow you to gather the information around the port city with the students from the outside under your authority. Just in case, I am sending my scouts to respond for reinforcements. We will approach the citizen first. They are key to the success of this plan."
Sensei nodded and looked at his watch.
"If you don't mind, I would go back to the D.U. for now. Let me know if there is another development in the next phase of the plan."
"Very well. We will do our part as soon as possible. Mina!"
Mina gently opened the door and kneeled in front of Kisaki.
"Your orders, Your Excellency?"
"Send the words for the women to form reconnaissance and raid teams. We are to prepare for our plan in the next few hours. Mina, you are leading them. I am entrusting you with the highest responsibility, do not disappoint Us."
"Yes, Your Excellency!"
Mina got up and instructed the Xuanlong members outside. They quickly acted on the order and began contacting their allies. Sensei was fascinated by the coordination of the Xuanlong. Meanwhile, Kisaki escorted Sensei out of the building.
"Hopefully we can have a better moment to chat next time, Sensei."
"Same. Though if you are in a hurry, you can talk to me by Momo Talk like usual. I am always open."
"Anytime?"
Kisaki naughtily looked at Sensei as she asked for confirmation. Sensei gulped, but tried his best to be confident as he replied,
"Anytime."
"Okay then. I will contact you once we have finished our part. Hopefully, we didn't need to drag this out longer."
"Right. See you then. Oh! Thank you for the cookies and tea."
Sensei lifted his bag of souvenirs as he walked home. He turned around after a few meters to see the small figure of Kisaki waving at him with a smile.
Once Sensei was out of sight, Kisaki pulled out her phone.
"Sensei has joined our cause."
"Impressive, Empress…Time for me to play my cards then."
A lazy but mature female voice came out of the phone speaker.
"I will not let you ruin our hard work."
"Keep talking to convince yourself, Empress. I am the one with the advantage, soon what you have are going to be mine. Buh-bye!"
The phone let out a beep, and Kisaki put her phone back. She curled up her hand into a fist before looking at the place where Sensei had been.
"I am counting on you to help us, Sensei."
She walked back inside the teahouse, unaware of the pair of eyes watching over from far away.
