The chaos regarding the oasis had finally settled to a more manageable level thanks to the additional manpower of RABBIT Squad, PS68, and volunteers from various research groups and other interested parties.

As for how PS68 came to help them, there was quite the story behind it. Part of it was due to the fact that they could find a lot of jobs in Abydos without the Prefect team being able to exert its influence on them as much. The other was that there were a lot of abandoned buildings that were still in a good condition for their office that they could rent for cheap, with the expectation that the renewed activities in Abydos would mean that there would be many that would want to hire them.

It was mostly due to them owing Sensei 'a favor from last time' as Aru put it, and so they were sticking around the district since Abydos district's Student Council—Hoshino herself—wasn't exactly trying to kick them out.

Hoshino herself shrugged, seeing no need to do so seeing as they weren't bad kids, even with the occasional explosion and all.

As for the Prefect Team, they had some members stationed to assist the researchers from Gehenna who were keeping an eye on them to make sure their activities didn't go overboard.

The two groups do occasionally work with each other as some of the jobs were requests coming from the researchers were some on-field investigation on the lay of Abydos' desert, or helping fend off the huge metallic snake when it showed up from time to time.

Hoshino noted that there was still some tension between the two groups, especially between Ako and Kayoko, but she supposed there was some history between the two.

In any case, the overall security of the district had improved to the point that Hoshino could now afford to sleep properly every night—

"Why are there so many of them…?" Hoshino complained as she finished going through another stack of papers.

—If it weren't for all the paperwork that she had neglected due to the more immediate issue of dealing with the school's debt. This was why Hoshino had been stuck to her desk filled with stacks of documents for almost a week now.

Her disheveled appearance and eye bags only further emphasized the point.

"This old-timer could really use a nap right now though…" Hoshino muttered as she stretched her arms.

"Y-Yeah…You really should go and take a break, Hoshino," Ayane said as she and Nonomi were helping Hoshino with her work. "I can handle things here for a while."

"Thanks Ayane, but this is still my—"

"No, you're going to rest, and that's final!" Ayane exclaimed. "All of us were happy when you finally took less naps and did more work, but this is just too much! You need some rest from all this!"

"I think you should just listen to her, Hoshino," Nonomi said. "We at least sleep properly at night, but I don't think I've seen you leave your desk for almost a week now."

"I do take breaks every now and then…" Hoshino said.

"When was the last time?" Ayane asked.

"Two hours ago, I think?"

"Okay, that's it!"

…

…

…

Hoshino was kicked out of the FTF club room.

"Uhe~ My juniors are too cruel!" Hoshino cried out.

"This is for your own good, Hoshino!" Ayane said on the other side of the door. "Go get some sleep! In fact, go take a week off!"

Of course Hoshino knew that her juniors were just worried for her, but she couldn't really feel relaxed after the initial elation regarding the oasis subsided and she was left with problems left and right.

Hoshino almost wanted to complain to Sensei on how his 'magic' only gave her more work, but she knew that Sensei's workload was even worse based on what she had seen during her visits to SCHALE. That, and she was only having paperwork problems because the school's debt situation had improved significantly.

The steady revenue from the booming tourism and compensation for allowing research to be done on the oasis had allowed everyone from the Foreclosure Task Force some well-deserved break from constantly having to wrack their heads around the debt problem and focus on other problems the school was facing, such as the maintenance of their equipment.

This allowed Serika to lower the amount of part-time jobs she had to take, and instead focus on overseeing the oasis. Shiroko on the other hand was busy handing out fliers in other districts with some help from SCHALE. This also allowed her to visit Sensei more often, and would always bring back some of his cooking.

As for the oasis itself…

"It really is surreal," Hoshino muttered with a smile as she looked out the window and saw the nearby oasis, with many students from other schools walking around and enjoying the water in their swimsuits.

"What do I do now though…" Hoshino muttered as she ruminated on recent events while walking.

…

…

…

Shortly after the miracle that Sensei enacted in the desert that led to the formation of an oasis overnight, it attracted the eyes of many people. Some of these people were merely curious as to the rumors and wanted to see for themselves if it was true, such as the residents of Abydos and former Abydos territory currently under Kaiser's control, as well as students from all over Kivotos.

Others had their own agenda regarding the oasis. Some were benign in nature such as Saint Nephthys, who saw the oasis as an opportunity to improve Abydos' conditions and return it to its former glory after having previously given up with the failure of the Trans-Desert Railway project.

Others were researchers who wanted to study the phenomenon, whether it be because of the changes in the environment or the underlying Mystic that led to the phenomenon. The majority of these people carried the insignia for Millennium Science School, though there were also groups of researchers from Trinity and Gehenna, as well as a few from other schools.

There were those who were more malicious in nature, such as Kaiser, delinquents, and a good number of criminals who wanted control of the oasis for one reason or another.

The impression that Kasumi of Gehenna Academy's Hot Springs Department left on Hoshino when she and the rest of her club showed up one day with heavy equipment and proclaimed their desire to turn the oasis into a hot spring resort.

Which was vetoed by everyone in the Foreclosure Task Force and every single party interested in the oasis. The researchers in particular were vocal in wanting to keep the oasis in its pristine state as much as possible.

After a quick firefight due to both sides not wanting to give up, Ayane eventually managed to negotiate with the Hot Spring Department to create their planned resort in a nearby area with a water source connected to the oasis.

…

…

…

Hoshino eventually took a break in an alley she knew had a lot of cats.

"Oh, I guess I could always check the hot springs," Hoshino said with a yawn as she played with the cats while feeding them with some snacks. "Everyone said it was great and this old-timer could use a warm bath~"

"Oh? Are you going to the hot springs?" Hoshino heard Kayoko's voice in front of her.

"Hey Kayoko~!" Hoshino lazily waved at the other girl. "You out on an errand or something?"

"Yup. Out to restock on food since we're running low," Kayoko replied. "Also to check up on the cats. Though I see you got here first."

"So you were the one feeding them? That's good to know."

Hoshino and Kayoko talked about various things while feeding the cats. Eventually, Hoshino talked about the Hot Springs Department and how they just left without asking for payment.

"I honestly find it a little strange," Hoshino said. "You would think that they would ask us to pay—not that we could at the time. Still, I can't help but feel that there's a catch somewhere…"

"You're right to be concerned. They sometimes plant bombs in their resorts for one reason or another, such as when the area's heated water supply wasn't consistent," Kayoko explained before continuing, "but considering Kasumi left some club members to manage it, it seems that the site was deemed sustainable for the long term, but I would still check just in case."

Eventually, the two parted ways as Hoshino made her way to the hot springs resort.

Hoshino kept Kayoko's words on the back of her mind as she discreetly checked the building for any potential bombs. It was rather fortunate that she also came across RABBIT Squad while she was there.

She felt a little guilty as they were currently on a break, but she asked Moe, their logistics officer and explosives specialist, whether she had a way of knowing whether bombs were planted in the resort after sharing Kayoko's words.

"Of course~! Leave it to me!" Moe said with an excited look on her face.

"Moe, whatever it is you're thinking, please don't do it…" Saki sighed.

Fortunately, it turned out that there really weren't any bombs, which reassured Hoshino. Moe's disappointment however confused her, before Saki revealed that Moe really liked explosions.

While a little concerned about what might have happened had there really been bombs, Hoshino sighed in relief. With that out of the way, she turned her attention to the other two members of RABBIT Squad.

It seemed that their leader Miyako was the diligent type who often looked after everyone, while Miyu was the shy type and didn't have much confidence in herself.

While Hoshino didn't have much of a chance to interact with the team's sniper, Hoshino got to know Miyako better when they ended up taking a bath later in the resort's open air bath during nighttime.

"Miss Hoshino, I've read about your profile in the past." Miyako revealed as they were sitting in the hot spring. "You were outstanding even as a first year. In fact, I heard from one of my seniors that the GSC President also considered you to become a student of SRT at one point, but eventually gave up after not receiving any reply from you."

"Uhe~ That's some high praise for this old timer," Hoshino said.

"Miss Hoshino, we are only two years apart in age…" Miyako muttered.

Miyako's words did remind Hoshino of a conversation between her and Yume during her first year. Hoshino thought it was a trap set by Abydos' enemies to distract.

Also—

Hoshino, I think that these letters are actually the real deal.

Even if they were, I can't just leave an idiot like you alone.

Awww~

H-Hey! Stop hugging me!

As Hoshino was lost in her memories, Miyako hugged her legs closer. …I wonder if I'm lacking as a leader…I can't believe I sometimes forget about Miyu entirely."

"Just treat your mistakes as learning experiences," Hoshino replied. "SRT or not, you're still a first year student. And even I made a lot of mistakes when I was your age. Some I couldn't fix no matter how much I wished for it…"

"..." Miyako likely knew what Hoshino was referring to. "I'm sorry, I must have made you remember some unpleasant memories."

"It's fine~" Hoshino said with a smile. "Just think of it as the musings of an old timer like me."

With that said, Hoshino somewhat understood what the RABBIT Squad leader was referring to when she mentioned having trouble keeping track of their sniper Miyu, as Hoshino herself acknowledged the sniper's presence last when the Foreclosure Task Force first met RABBIT Squad, but other than that she didn't too much trouble perceiving or remembering her.

Well, it's another thing to bring up to Sensei once I see him again, Hoshino thought with a smile.

But for now, she was going to enjoy soaking herself in this warm bath while staring at the starry night sky.