Sensei was being led by Yuuka along one of one of the many hallways in Millennium Science School's main building. Many students that they passed by were giving them a wide berth, likely because of Yuuka's own reputation.
"Okay, this room is empty so we can talk here," Yuuka said as motioned for Sensei to follow her into the empty classroom hall.
"Are you sure you can't give them more time, Yuuka?" Sensei asked, referring to what Yuuka said to the girls after interrogating—interviewing Aris. "The girls are being pressured here."
"They also had the entire semester to produce something, yet they waited until now to solve their club's issue! Even if I wanted to, Sensei, I have to enforce the rules or it would be seen as Seminar being partial to a single club, and that might lead to more problems not just for me, but also for Momoi and the others."
Yuuka left some words unsaid, but Sensei understood that she was trying to avoid having the members of the Game Development Department be subject to bullying from other clubs, which might arise if word got out that they received an exception from the infamous Treasurer of Millennium.
This is Yuuka's way of looking out for her juniors. Harsh, but necessary. Something that he himself experienced when Yuuka noticed that he went over SCHALE's budget while trying to acquire good ingredients.
"I understand," Sensei said with a smile.
It seemed that Yuuka had more to say. "Besides, while I still have some suspicions about Aris' identity, I'm willing to overlook this since her passion is real. That, and you're there to vouch for her, Sensei."
Sensei had to stifle a reaction there as Yuuka giggled.
"You'd probably want for Aris to steer clear of Noa for a while, just in case," Yuuka said before she clarified. "Ah, I'm not saying that she'll have to avoid her forever, but just until I can explain the situation to her."
"Thanks, Yuuka."
"No problem, Sensei," Yuuka said with a smile before her expression turned more serious. "But Aris' circumstances and the Game Development Club's circumstances are two separate matters. They need tangible results, and not another one like Tales Saga Chronicles…I'm still not sure how I even finished that one."
"That's a bit surprising. You didn't seem to be type to play video games, Yuuka," Sensei admitted. "Or the fact that you've actually played their game."
"Hehe. There's a lot more you don't know about me, Sensei," Yuuka said with a smug smile. "But anyway, going back to the Game Development Department's situation, I've told you all that needs to be said. The rest is up to you and the girls."
"Alright. I'll see what I can do on my end," Sensei said before he narrowed his eyes. "They don't actually need to win the Millennium Prize, do they?"
"To be honest, not really, but it is the best way," Yuuka said with a mischievous smile. "Though please keep this between us. Momoi did present me with the opportunity by running her mouth, but using the Millennium Prize as their goal can go a long way to motivate them, not to mention that if they actually win, it would go a long way to further cement the official status of their club."
"Out of curiosity, what would happen if they don't win any award?"
"Their budget would be reduced and they would be placed on a probationary period for another semester, and are expected to have some results by the end of the semester."
So pretty bad, but they would still have a chance to turn it around, Sensei thought, though he shelved the thought for now as he returned to the current conversation with Yuuka.
"I understand. Some battles must be fought if they want to grow." Sensei said with a smile. "And winning the Millennium Prize is still a lot more doable when compared to the oasis."
Yuuka narrowed her eyes. "You're not even trying to hide it anymore, are you?"
"But I didn't confirm anything." Sensei had a smirk on his face.
"You don't deny it either." Yuuka slowly shook her head with a wry smile. "For someone who's bad at lying, you're really good at making vague and confusing statements."
"What can I say, I had a great role model," Sensei said with a sarcastic tone. "That, and I had years of practice with Rin—."
"Rin? As in Acting President Rin? Ah, no. You must have meant a different Rin, Sensei." Yuuka muttered. "Who is she?"
"She was an old friend and classmate of mine. And also my master as a mage. Quite a handful to be honest, but she was also kind and incredibly reliable when it counts," Sensei replied. "You actually remind me of her quite a bit."
"Sensei, are you saying that I'm a handful?" Yuuka pouted.
"Sometimes—"Sensei quickly shut his mouth as he realized that he might have dug his own grave if Yuuka's increasingly annoyed expression was of any indication.
"You're also really reliable, Yuuka! I wouldn't know what to do with the restaurant if you weren't helping me!" Sensei forcefully smoothed things over as he ran out of the room. "Oh, would you look at the time! I'm supposed to check Momoi and the others' progress by now!"
"Sensei! What is that supposed to mean?! Sensei!" Yuuka's voice was heard behind him.
…
…
…
"The huh…" Sensei muttered as he remembered the rumor Momoi shared a while back. It's unlikely that it would be exactly as what Momoi said, but with Kivotos being the kind of city that it is, even baseless rumors might lead somewhere.
Sensei glanced at Aris, who was wearing an earpiece and holding her gun, who noticed and smiled. "Is something wrong, Sensei?"
"Ah, no. I was just wondering if we might find another one like you in the ruins."
"Another one like me…" Aris muttered. "Ah, then they must be my long lost sibling! If we do find someone, then we must recruit them to our party!"
In the end, Momoi, Midori, Yuzu, and Aris decided to head for the ruins once more, with Sensei watching over them. The entire group was wearing an earpiece for communication and had had their guns ready for combat this time around due to his and the twins' previous experience. Sensei himself was holding onto one of his revolvers while the other was holstered, keeping his other hand free in case he needed to use a sword.
Sensei couldn't help but be impressed at the way Aris was swinging her railgun with ease.
"I still can't help but be impressed with the way you're holding onto that gun with ease," Sensei noted as he was reminded of the towering hulk of a man that once served his deceased sister carrying an equally impressive stone slab sword. "Even I would have trouble wielding that for a prolonged period of time."
"And yet Sensei is still able to carry it! That just means that Sensei is also a hero!" Aris exclaimed. "A hero turned teacher to impart his wisdom to the new generation!"
"Ahaha…" Sensei scratched the back of his head with his free hand.
"Yeah, what is up with that?! We all tried to carry it, you know? And we all have halos!" Momoi joined the conversation. "Although a retired hero…Yeah, that might work for our next game!"
"Sensei, can you be my model after this? It would be great to have a real life reference for my illustrations," Midori said.
"Sure, I can do that," Sensei replied before looking at the last member of the group. "How about you, Yuzu? Do you have any requests?"
"Ah, um…" Yuzu was a little flustered, but eventually nodded. "I…I want to eat more of your food after this."
"Not only a teacher of heroes, but also a chef! Sensei's class is a hero chef!" Aris nodded in approval. "He is the backbone that ensures the party is always well-fed and ready for combat!"
"Ohh, keep those ideas coming, Aris!" Momoi exclaimed. "Oh, and we should make a cooking game after Tales Saga Chronicles 2."
Sensei wasn't just remaining idle as the girls continued their conversation. He was actually discreetly taking out any patrol robot that veered too close to the group without them noticing using his swords.
It seemed that the time for games had run out, as Sensei noticed a large group of patrolling robots and was about to inform the others, but Aris beat her to the punch.
"Everyone, get ready!" Aris exclaimed. "We're about to encounter a group of enemies!"
"Wha—Really?!" Momoi said as everyone took cover.
Sensei went with Aris, who he noticed was giving him a knowing smile. "How was it, oh mentor of heroes? Did I pass the test?"
So she noticed, Sensei thought as he saw the girl eagerly awaited for his response. Sensei wondered if she had enhanced senses due to her being a robot. Well, it doesn't really matter if Aris is human or robot. I would still treat her as I would any other student.
"Of course. Good job, Aris," Sensei said as he nodded in approval. Being vigilant on the field is an essential skill for a warrior. I'll explain more once we've dealt with this group of enemies."
Aris beamed a smile before she turned her attention to the now visible patrol of robots. "Sensei, you must be a bit tired, so leave this to us!"
He had planned on actively joining the battle, but he couldn't deny the eagerness behind Aris' voice. That, and with the addition of Yuzu and Aris to the exploration group, they could easily handle this much.
"Alright, I'll stick to giving instructions," Sensei said as he pressed his earpiece's button. "Yuzu, aim for the sides. Momoi, suppressing fire. Midori, force them to take cover in the middle. And Aris…"
Sensei turned to Aris, who was waiting for his next words.
"Aim right in the middle," Sensei said. "Show me the power of that 'sword'."
"Understood, Sensei!" Aris exclaimed as she got out of the cover and began powering her railgun. "Target confirmed. Exceeding target threshold."
Her gun whirred with power as it glowed, with the energy accumulating at the front. The enemies noticed what she was doing and fired in her direction. Aris wavered a little from the hail of bullets, but smiled as she saw seven pink petals made from light bloom in front of her to block the bullets.
"Energy Overload…Sword of Light!" Aris no longer wavered even as she became exposed to the bullets as the petals disappeared into motes of light. "Release!"
A powerful energy blast was sent to the group of enemy robots, who had been forced in its path thanks to Sensei's instructions, obliterating everything that stood along its way. Even the bigger security robots were taken down in a single hit by Aris' railgun—or rather, the Sword of Light.
"Wow…" Sensei muttered in awe as he marveled at the feat. "The Engineering Club really outdid themselves with this."
After taking down a few more straggler
"Area cleared. Mission accomplished," Aris said, mimicking the clear screen of one of the games she played. "We did it, Sensei!"
"Good job, everyone," Sensei said as he regrouped with the rest. "We have to keep moving before reinforcements arrive."
"Understood, Sensei!" Everyone replied as they proceeded deeper into the ruins.
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…
…
"That was so cool, Aris! 'Sword of Light!'" Momoi said as she mimicked Aris' earlier pose while they were walking in one of the ruin's underground hallways.
"Yeah, it was really mesmerizing…" Midori muttered. "I really wish I had taken a picture for reference.
"It was like a special move in a fighting game…" Yuzu also commented.
"And what was with those pink petals?! Did you do that too?" Momoi continued.
"Ah, no. That was most likely Sensei," Aris said as she looked at his direction. "Thank you, Sensei. It allowed me to take a step forward."
"I understand that bullets won't really hurt you like Momoi and the others, but I also know that the fight earlier was your first real-life combat experience," Sensei replied. "I know first-hand how daunting it is."
"I see, I see," Aris nodded. "I have learned a lot from that experience thanks to your guidance, oh mentor of heroes!"
"Haha, I'm still nowhere near someone like Chiron," Sensei replied, before he explained as he noticed the girls' confused looks. "Ah, Chiron was the name of one of the many heroes of myth from where I came from. He was a centaur and teacher to many heroes that went on to create their own legends."
"A centaur huh…" Momoi said. "Those are the half-man, half-horse characters we sometimes see in games, right?"
"What can Chiron do, Sensei?" Aris asked.
"Oh, he was skilled in quite a lot of things, as expected of someone who's lived as long as him," Sensei said, noting that he was immortal. "As a fighter, he was mostly known for his skill with the bow, but he's no slouch when it comes to other forms of combat either."
"Just like Sensei then!"
Everyone nodded at Aris' words, causing Sensei to scratch the back of his head.
Eventually, Aris guided them down a different path after she seemed to recognize where they should go, where they eventually found a functioning computer terminal.
[Welcome to the Divi:Sion system. Please enter the item you need help with.]
Divi:Sion…? Could it be the name of this facility? Sensei noted this new information for later, as the computer's next response after Aris operated it caught Sensei's attention.
[Identity Check: Are you AL-1S?]
"!" Sensei suppressed his voice from leaking out. It, and the all too human-like responses afterward from the computer alerted Sensei that there was an entity—an AI in this terminal.
And if his suspicions are correct, that same entity had already—
"We can ask Veritas to figure out the password if it isn't too complicated—Hmmm? Sensei, is there a problem?" Midori noticed Sensei approaching the terminal while she was looking at her sister's game console.
"I just want to check something," he replied.
"Oh! Are you going to use your magic, Sensei?" Aris asked.
"Something like that," Sensei said with a smile as he placed a hand on the computer's keyboard and activated his spell.
01010000 01110010 01101001 01101110 01100011 01100101 01110011 01110011 00100001 00001010 01010011 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110011 01100101 01100101 01101101 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 01100111 01101111 01110100 01110100 01100101 01101110 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00100000 01110000 01110101 01110010 01110000 01101111 01110011 01100101 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 01100011 01100011 01101111 01101101 01110000 01100001 01101110 01101001 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100010 01111001 00100000 01101111 01110100 01101000 01100101 01110010 01110011 00101110 00001010 01000110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110111 00100000 01001001 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110011 01110100 01100001 01111001 00100000 01100011 01101100 01101111 01110011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101000 01100101 01110010 00101110 00001010 01010100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110000 01101100 01100001 01101110 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00101101 00001010
Sensei quickly removed his hand in surprise.
I should have expected that it'd be in binary. It seems that he'd have to rely on Arona for this. I should try to get as much information as possible—
But before he could do that, he was tugged on his sleeves by someone.
"Sensei, are you okay?!" Momoi asked. "Also, I know it's not a good time, but the patrolling robots found us!"
"Understood!" Sensei said as he gave out instructions to everyone before he pulled out the Shittim Chest and connected his mind to it.
"Arona, can you quickly decode the numbers in my head before I forget?" He asked Arona, who woke up upon noticing the enemies around them. "Tell me the result later."
"On it!" Arona replied. She was easily able to get said information thanks to the neural link that the Shittim Chest was somehow capable of. "Now let's focus on the fight, Sensei!"
…
…
…
In the end, Sensei had to leave without being able to further analyze the terminal.
While they quickly dispatched the patrol and left the ruins, it was unfortunate that in the short timeframe while Sensei was mentally connected to the Shittim Chest, the terminal ended up being hit by a rocket, destroying it, leaving him unable to collect any more information.
At least not without risking the safety of his students and possibly alerting whatever entity it was that was now residing in Momoi's game console, as confirmed by Arona after she decoded binary numbers.
While he had half a mind to try and get rid of it even if the girls would hate him, he held back as he read the decoded message.
Princess!
She seems to have forgotten her purpose and is accompanied by others.
For now I need to stay close to her.
The plan can-
"Princess huh…" Sensei muttered as he was riding a train back to D.U. "It seems Aris, or rather AL-1S, is an important figure…"
There was also the mention of a plan that was cut off. Perhaps if he had spent a second or two longer he would have been able to find out about it.
"Just my luck…" Sensei grumbled. "Oh well, it should be fine for now."
As long as the other AI doesn't do anything, I'll leave it be for now. It seems that all it wants at the moment is to be reunited with Aris.
Though if it does prove to be a danger—
"Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Sensei said as he pulled out the Shittim Chest. "Right, Arona?"
"That's right, Sensei!" Arona replied.