Call of the Void

by llAnzull

The Indifference; the greatest mistake of Albrecht Entrati. And the Drifter; the older, ill-fated counterpart of the very 'catalyst tenno' that made the deal to save the children of the Zariman - and the only one who could stop It's plans. Deciding the Drifter is too much of a threat to ignore, It banishes him to the other side of the universe... to a planet full of academies.

7. 7XL: Jahu

No, you are not crazy: this site's servers are having repetitive severe issues. If this chapter disappears, it was not deleted.
This PSA will remain as long as it is necessary.

---

Welcome, reader. You might have noticed that the word length jumped substantially because of this chapter alone. Your eyes do not deceive you. It is with great personal satisfaction that I bring you the largest chapter I have ever written.

This is a 34,000 word chapter, exluding the foreward and postscript.

You're going to need several hours to spare, reader.

This is the most fun I've ever had writing a chapter. For CH7, I had specific things I wanted to do, and I didn't want to compromise on any one part. I felt everything you are about to read was equally as important as each other, so I invested extra time into this chapter to flesh it out.

While I am here, I do have an update for you if you read last chapter's postscript: Volume F will occur in this story. However, I don't want to get your hopes up.

My ultimate end goal is reaching and fully covering Volume 3. I have a lot of story to cover before that point—even after deciding to exclude some events—so it is entirely possible I might not reach Volume 3 as quick as you might hope. Keeping this in mind, Volume F is going to be a while, because that's even further down the line and requires special preparation.

Remember last chapter's warning, reader. Always keep it in the back of your mind.

---

I do not want to commission you, artists. Go somewhere else. All queries will be considered spam and ignored.
I cannot make my stance more obvious then this. Go. Away. And never come back.

If you wish to draw fanart for the sake of art, that is fine. I have no issues with people who want to draw for the sake of it.

---

"Look at you. You've become nothing more than the very thing you swore to destroy."

"This is the only way it should have ended, Sensei. Nothing more... nothing less."

"Is that how you want to be remembered? A traitor to your very ████? I thought you were all about ██████████████████, not... this."

"Nobody will remember us as nothing more than the students who ███████████████████████. We knew what fate awaited us the moment we chose this path."

"I will. Every student in this city deserves guidance, no matter what they've done. And I'll remember you as the first student I couldn't stop from crossing their own point of no return... the first kid I failed. Don't do this, ██████... Don't become a hypocrite."

"..."

"Are you sure of your words, Sensei? Because—"

"If I wasn't sure of my choice, I wouldn't have decided to come see you personally. You might think of yourself as nothing more than ████████, but I see a kid that's lost and in need of someone to show them the right path. Stop this nonsense, ██████... and I will forgive you."

"...If you mean your words, then I want to be sure of them. Show me your promise wasn't just empty words."

...

It has been years since I've had such a vivid dream. Maybe not just years—potentially centuries depending on how long I was stuck in Duviri.

The last time I had a nightmare was when I was still a teenager. The night before the Zariman Ten Zero accident, I dreamed of being spaced out into the black abyss, watching as the ship jumped without me. Being stuck in the orbit of Saturn, freezing into a popsicle and being vividly aware of how cold and unmoving I was... until some "hours" later, I started falling straight into the gas abyss.

This nightmare was different.

I was having a conversation with a student. I could not make out her face, not even her hair or details in her outfit... for the entire dream was in black and white. Her face and hair were obscured by the shadows, but her eyes reflected just enough light that I could still see her reactions. There was no-one else around us except me, and the one detail I could make out from our surroundings is that we were under a moonlit sky.

The conversation was sometimes muffled by something like TV static. But even if those words didn't get obscured, I don't think I would understand the context. The only thing I was sure of was this; she was not an ordinary student.

So why... Why were those emotions so... vivid?

...

---

I have been neglecting my other duties.

From the moment I took office as head of Schale, I've been helping Abydos almost exclusively. First, it was repelling an attack, then decoying another much larger attack, and topping all of that by robbing a bank.

Now that I've removed the debt from the picture entirely, I think I've given myself some breathing room. They'll make themselves look like fools if they dare to move on Abydos after they had their intentions unveiled to all of Kivotos. Even the Corpus couldn't tank something like that without losing some of their oh-so-precious profit. The only reason they would go after Abydos is if they had someone like Sargas Ruk at the helm.

I have some free time now. I already knew how I was going to spend it; the other schools are owed a long-overdue visit.

Although this city is chock-full of academies, there's only a small few I'm actually going to go see. First in the itinerary was Gehenna, only because Hina was the first to reach out to me. After that is Trinity, who is apparently centuries-long rivals with Gehenna for religious reasons. Next up would be Shannhaijing, followed by Millenium, and ending off with Hyakkiyako.

Red Winter was on the docket. And then I found out they're apparently a massive handful. That would require its own dedicated day to tour.

Anyways... The loadout for the day is much different then what I went for this very early morning.

I've now decided that Lavos Prime would become my "PR warframe", used for broadcasts and formal appearances because he was instantly recognizable to the citizens of Kivotos. He is also one of the most versatile and tanky warframes in my armory, so if things went south during my visits, I could rely on him to slither through any situation.

For my day's chosen weapons, I've swapped out my Baza Prime for the Fulmin Prime, and the V77 for my incendiary Kuva Brakk that I used to shoot the promissory note. And for my melee, I brought out another weapon that was collecting dust for a long time: the Jat Kittag... Boy, I've been waiting for a good excuse to bring that out.

You've not seen primitive carnage until you've watched a Rhino Prime destroy an entire base with one swing of a Jat Kittag.

—

Have you ever had a moment where you realize you didn't miss something until it was gone, and when you managed to get it back again, your appreciation for that thing increased ten-fold? Before today, I didn't know what that feeling was like. But now, I understand that saying all too well.

It feels good to be on two wheels again. Me, Arthur and Amir have now procured some Atomicycles—

...Let me correct myself.

Now that we've gotten some motorcycles, not Atomicycles, each of us have had our moods boosted into the sky. You don't have an appreciation for light, nimble transport like this until it's gone. Of course, I can just use an Archwing or Landing Craft to fly to where I'm going, or just run there lickety-split as Volt or Gauss Prime... but it isn't as visceral as driving on two wheels.

There's something about syncing yourself with the machine that puts a bigger smile on my face then taking the objectively more convenient option. Maybe it's because of the same reason that I love using Necramechs: motorcycles feel like machines that are alive instead of mere tools or appliances, just like Necramechs.

There's beauty in a complicated machine; Arthur and Aoi were the ones who made me realize this, which also made me develop a deeper appreciation for my Necramechs.

So what is the difference between a motorcycle and an Atomicycle? Well, very little.

It turns out Atomicycles and motorcycles are foundationally the same thing. It's just the model name of the motorcycle we used: The 1999 ZeVila Atomicycle MK III. All this time, I thought they were different enough to warrant unique classification... I was wrong. However, the Atomicycles the Hex are far from your average run-of-the-mill ones you could just buy from a 'dealership', whatever that is.

If there's one thing I must begrudgingly admit, it's that Entrati is easily the smartest Orokin to ever live. With his talented hands, he took the simple Atomicycles the Hex already had, studied them, and then made special modifications that turned them into weapons of war. Some of these mods were the types of things a good tuner could do, like 'Stage 2'... whatever that means. But other modifications were special.

I don't think you will find a motorcycle that can launch volleys of homing missiles, explode on contact with a wall like a missile, or cloak the user as they hop off. Naturally, motorcycles in this world can't do these things. But it's not like those are essential things we can't live without.

The most important thing is having swift transport in the first place. So what did we choose?

Abydos is a graveyard of many things. A big chunk of these things are vehicles.

Arthur's keen eyes managed to find a place with a bunch of 'storage units', which were a row of garages that were dedicated as spare storage for people who needed it. With almost all of them being buried under sand, there weren't many we could open right now. In the first one we did manage to get open, though, there was a lone, abandoned motorcycle sitting pretty for however many years Abydos had been buried by sand.

It was identified as a 'Honda NR-750'. I called dibs. And against all odds, it fired up on the first twist of the key like it was waiting for me. If only those two could see my smile in that moment.

The next storage unit that wasn't buried housed two motorcycles and some tools. Both of them were different models. Arthur grabbed the one identified as a 'Suzuki GSX-R 750', which was apparently oddly familiar to a motorcycle he used to own in Britannia. Amir, even though he can just run at high speed, still grabbed himself the other one; a Yamaha YZF-R1. Both of these motorcycles required some TLC to get up and running, but after about an hour of tinkering, they were ready to go.

That ride back was something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

During that ride back, I managed to link my motorcycle with the Void so I could summon it like I did with my Atomicycle. But as far as other things, like guided missiles, cloaking and using it like a guided missile... These were off the table. Our motorcycles weren't Entrati-touched, so I'm not going to treat mine like a weapon.

...

So, uh, funny issue. Now that we've rode them back home, we've had to find a place to store them.

In Höllvania, there was always ample space to park these things. But here in Kivotos, we've encountered a strange issue; actually having to mind where exactly we park our vehicles. We can't use the middle of the street like we used to when people are actually driving on it. Sol, living in a functioning society makes me feel like I'm more of an alien than I technically am.

But that's when Arona revealed Schale's other facilities.

I've underestimated Schale. I never realized this organization had its own equipment until now. It turns out I wasn't just wrong: I was catastrophically wrong.

This place was built to withstand the end of time.

Underneath the building's basement, blind to me all this time, was a huge storage facility. Two bays of spare vehicles: The first had ground vehicles such as fast recon trucks, mine-resistant transports, armored personnel carriers... even tanks. And in another connected bay, we found a whole fleet of transport helicopters, with a few attack helicopters sitting pretty amongst them. Both of these bays also lead into a large storage facility for ammo and spare weapons, which also held many empty crates designed to be airdropped via aircraft. Supply drop crates.

That wasn't even the best part. On top of all of this, connected to the munitions storage area, was a large underground chamber with a facsimile of a city street about a half-square kilometer big. You could even spawn some training robots to simulate live combat.

Apparently there was a firing range upstairs that I've missed as well, one meant to be accessible to the public. But this? This was on its own level, figuratively and literally.

I was astounded that I missed all this. It's... perfect.

Amir couldn't contain himself, and immediately went to test the simulacrum's live combat capabilities—needless to say, he looked as excited as a Tenno who just got a rare prime part from a Void Relic. Arthur, on the other hand, looked like he was in heaven and started doing inventory of all the munitions. I think the poor guy needed something like this, given he drank his own lights out last night.

While those two went off to do their own forms of stress relief, I doubled back and returned to the main vehicles bay. I had a particular itch I needed to scratch.

"How do these helicopters fly?"

≪ With one of our robot pilots. ≫ Arona replies cheerfully. ≪ Why, do you want to ride in one? I thought you'd prefer to fly with your metal wings. ≫

"I'm just curious." I admit readily. "That, and I don't want the general public seeing my Archwing until that's no longer possible. Same reason why I ran to Abydos instead of taking a Landing Craft."

Not to mention the Railjack. The day I have to bring that out, Kivotos will never be the same again.

≪ That's fair. ≫ Arona replies. I could just picture her shrugging. ≪ I'll have one called here in a jiffy. ≫

"YO, ARTHUR! AMIR!" I abruptly yell in the bay. "I'M HEADING OUT! WHEN YOU'RE DONE HAVING FUN, CAN YOU TAKE CARE OF THE PILED UP PAPERWORK FOR ME!?"

"YEAH!" Arthur shouts back from the other side in the munitions storage. "I'LL SEE YOU LATER, DRIFTER!"

Good, I won't have to worry about that then. I walk over to one of the transport helicopters and lean on its side. I note its designation; UH60 Blackhawk, right next to the Schale insignia. Good name.

...

Several minutes later, a robot wearing a black suit with the Schale badge on his suit rounds one of the corners. When he sees me, he picks up the pace until he's right in front of me. He then subsequently bows.

"It's a pleasure to meet you at last, Drifter-sensei!" He says politely. "I understand you've made a request for transportation?"

I stop leaning off the helicopter. "Right. What's your name, buddy?"

"Um... I don't have one." He shifts uncomfortably as he raises from his bow. "Usually, I am referred to by my designation, SRP-00387."

"A designation? Nah. Your name is Serpent from now on. Now... how exactly do you get this thing out of here?"

The robot's eyes go from two neutral dots to two carets. "Oh, that is quite simple. Am I to assume you're ready to depart immediately?"

I slide open the rear doors and jump in. "Yes."

The robot opens one of the front doors and enters. I slide the door closed, sealing the interior from the outside world.

"Beginning startup procedure."

The robot starts flicking various switches, bringing the cockpit to life as he puts on a headset with a microphone. But while he does that, I abruptly hear Arona over the comms.

≪ Sensei, Sensei! ≫ Arona manifests in front of me. ≪ It's going to be pretty loud in here when the helicopter is moving. That's why I've taken the liberty of patching you into Schale's communication network! Don't worry, you'll be able to mute yourself to them with the Shittim Chest. ≫

Instead of speaking, I pull out the tablet and see that a new toggle has appeared on the home screen labeled "mute". I flick it on and then say something.

"Testing, testing."

...No response. I then turned it off. "Comms check."

≪ I read you, sir! ≫ Serpent replies immediately. ≪ Do you have a question? ≫

"No, just making sure this works."

≪ Ah, understood. Please continue standing by, we will be exiting the facility shortly. ≫

Right as he says that, I feel the helicopter begin moving, even though its powerplant is still dormant. The platform it's sat on raises with a pneumatic clunk, before being moved through the bay automatically like a piece of cargo. It then comes to a stop in front of a set of doors, which open with a rotating red light and accompanying alarm.

When the doors are fully open, this alarm stops, and the helicopter is moved into a circular elevator. Curious, I slide open the side door again and look up. Above us, a giant circular iris door opens. And, as if on cue, the pilot switches on the helicopter's engines while an elevator raises us to the surface. True to Arona's words, it indeed gets loud, especially as the rotor blades start spinning with a low hum. I close the side door and perch myself on the seat.

We emerge in the middle of some roof of the Schale building, although a lower part of it.

≪ Beginning takeoff. ≫ Serpent calls out over the comms as the helicopter takes flight. ≪ What is your destination, sir? ≫

"Gehenna Academy." I answer. "I've got official business there."

≪ Roger, beginning ascent. ≫

And we are off. The helicopter rises above the skyline, heading in the direction of Gehenna. I turn my attention to the window, staring absentmindedly out at the buildings as they pass us by.

Does 'time spent in transit' count as downtime? I think it does.

...

Have I become invisible?

---

"Damnit! Why don't you just ever stop!?"

"Wahahaha! That's because the perfect hot spring won't just pop up out of nowhere. We have to make it!"

Kasumi and the Hot Spring Development Department contest an area in the middle of Gehenna. The Hot Spring Development Department has already excavated (read: detonated) an area that is closer than usual to the academy itself. The civilians ran for their lives the moment the commotion began, while the other students that were still in the area watched the skirmish with casual interest. This type of thing happens every other day, after all. Iori and Kasumi exchange heated banter as their forces fight each other.

"Not on our watch!" Iori rebukes in protest. "This is the middle of a major road! Your plans will always fail as long as we're here!"

Iori picks off a couple of the workers, making sure to jump from cover to cover. She then hears Ako's voice from her earpiece.

≪ Vanguard, move to flank the Hot Spring Department's forces using the alleyways. Chinatsu, how many wounded have we sustained? ≫

≪ About 7, Senior Administrator. ≫ Chinatsu replies over the comms. ≪ They are using the buildings as weapons. I recommend we avoid grouping too many of our forces together. ≫

≪ I agree, Chinatsu. ≫ Ako replies, sounding just as resolute as ever. ≪ Iori, what's your status? ≫

≪ Green, Ako. ≫ Iori replies immediately. ≪ No injuries sustained, fine on ammo, several miscreants downed. ≫

≪ Good work, Iori. ≫ Ako replies with evident pride. ≪ Continue to blitz the enemy as you are. If we continue encircling them, we'll be able to have the proper time to enjoy our lunche— ≫

Suddenly, a shockwave hits everyone present. A building collapses behind the Hot Sprint Club's defensive line, collapsing into a heap of rubble.

≪ -sigh-... great. Now I'll have to resolve that issue later. ≫ Ako comments over the comms, sounding completely fed up with this situation. ≪ All units, please intensify your advance. I don't want to deal with this any longer than we must. ≫

On Ako's cue, the Prefect Team force starts pursuing a more aggressive assault against the Hot Spring Department, attempting to break them with sheer force. However, the HSD remains steadfast; their members are unusually fired up today, meeting the standard Prefect Team members' advance with equal determination. Iori hangs back a little and picks off a few, making sure to relocate after every shot, while the main force continues to try and push the enemy on multiple flanks.

The Hot Springs Department catches onto what Iori's doing and starts focusing fire on her instead. This forces her to retreat into cover.

≪ Kh...! They're focusing on me! ≫ Iori grumbles. ≪ I think we need the Head Prefect's help! ≫

≪ Unable. ≫ Ako states flatly. ≪ She is stuck in a business meeting with the Pandemonium Society. If she leaves, that tyrant Makoto will find a way to spin it against us. ≫

≪ We are being pushed back, Head Administrator! ≫ Chinatsu calls out as the Prefect Team force retreats under heavy fire. ≪ We cannot do this on our own! ≫

Ako let out a sharp sigh over the comms, evidently very stressed out. ≪ I'll see what I can do! Just.. just hold out! ≫

The Prefect Team force, retreating about a street back, moves to reinforce their position. They take cover behind whatever they can find, while some heavy weapons personnel go prone and start laying down suppressive fire. Chinatsu is also forced to move positions several times while treating the injured, due to her cover being exploded every 20 seconds by indirect fire.

But suddenly, the surrounding temperature gets very warm. Several Prefect Team members start screaming bloody murder, while several cars catch on fire. A lone Hot Springs Department member managed to ambush the Prefect Team force, and is now laying waste to them.

"How is it? Feels good, yeah?"

Shimokura Megu, the close quarters specialist of the Hot Springs Development Department, engages the Prefect Team force with a heavily modified Flammenwerfer 41. Iori and Chinatsu are forced to retreat down separate side streets as their peers are burned badly.

≪ Megu is here! ≫ Iori calls out. ≪ We've sustained heavy losses, we cannot do this! ≫

≪ Grrgh...! ≫ Ako vocalizes a deep, frustrated grunt. She then takes a deep breath and sighs. ≪ ...Understood, Retreat and regr— ≫

≪ Wait. ≫ Chinatsu abruptly cuts Ako off. ≪ Do you hear that, Iori? ≫

≪ Hear what? ≫ Iori responds. She pauses for a few seconds to listen past the ongoing conflict. She then looks up towards the sky. ≪ ...That's a helicopter. ≫

Chinatsu, too, looks up to the sky, seeing a Blackhawk heading towards them from a diagonal direction. ≪ Is it one of ours? ≫

≪ Let me check! ≫ Iori says, getting down to one knee and using her sharp eyesight. She gets a good look at the side, and she slowly lowers her rifle in disbelief. ≪ ...A Schale helicopter? ≫

≪ A Schale helicopter?! ≫ Ako butts in. ≪ Quick, you any of you know what frequency we can hail them on!? ≫

≪ ...There might not be a need, Head Administrator. ≫ Chinatsu says, as she watches the Blackhawk pitch up and slow itself down. ≪ It's entering a stationary hover. ≫

All around the local area, the fighting momentarily ceases, as both the Prefect Team and Hot Springs Development Department look up towards the approaching Schale Blackhawk. The helicopter pitches up until it is hovering some half a kilometer above the action. The side door slides open, as a figure jumps out of the aircraft.

They just jumped without a rope...!

≪ Incoming! MOVE! ≫ Iori barks out over the comms to the forces still active.

The figure flies through the air towards the ground, landing with enough force to crack the entire street, sending numerous members of both factions off their feet from the force. There, all present get a look at who just arrived, backing away from the figure. Chinatsu and Iori carefully walk down their respective side streets, and immediately recognize who it is.

≪ ...It's Drifter-sensei. ≫ Chinatsu says with her finger to the earpiece. ≪ He is here. ≫

≪ Wha-!? ≫ Ako audibly spits out her drink, probably coffee, and tries to speak through coughs. ≪ Why is he here!? ≫

"Hello, girls." Drifter suddenly interrupts. "It looks like you're in the middle of something fierce."

The other Prefect Team members stare at him in awe. He just jumped from high-up in a helicopter without rappelling, landed and appeared to be completely uninjured. The Hot Spring Department members also gaze upon Sensei with a mix of awe and fear. However, outside of the immediate vicinity, the fighting resumes as if that ceasefire was a mere sporting match timeout.

"Y-You saw that from up there?" Iori's jaw practically drops. "How!?"

"I didn't." Drifter-sensei admits, and then points at the departing Blackhawk. "My pilot did."

"...Oh." Iori replies simply. "Well if you're here, that means you saw us being pushed back, right?"

"As a matter-of-fact, yes." Sensei answers, looking around the immediate vicinity. Members of both factions stared at him warily.

All of a sudden, Chinatsu clears her throat, grabbing Drifter's attention. "We wish to leverage our agreement between Schale and the Prefect Team to enlist your help in suppressing some routine criminals. We are being overrun."

At this request, the Hot Spring Department members all raise their weapons. Most of them on Chinatsu and Iori, but a few souls train their guns on Drifter-sensei. In response, Drifter-sensei holds out his hand, and a set of 8 probes appear in his hands stacked on top of each other. Iori and Chinatsu's eyes widened as they recognized what it was, as he proceeded to pirouette 360º in half a second.

The probes rapidly fly past the Hot Spring Department members in a flat circle, electrocuting them while also being lit on fire. Most of them fall convulsing—except Megu, who courageously endures the electricity and shrugs off the fire like it's nothing.

The ones that don't fall are taken care of by Chinatsu and Iori, who stopped guarding with both arms after they realize they were completely spared of the probes' effects.

"U-Urgh!" Megu shakes a little from remnant electricity, slapping her cheeks with her hands a few times, and then. "S-So you're Drifter-sensei? I didn't expect to see you in the flesh today!"

"...Hold on a second." Drifter says, looking at her weapon. "Is that a flamethrower?"

"Why yes it is!" Megu smiles confidently, shaking some of the last vestiges of voltage off. "A Flammenwerfer 41, tuned to taste! It's my pride and joy!"

"..." The Drifter stares at the weapon for a solid 6 seconds, leaving an unusual silence. Iori opens her mouth to speak, but Drifter breaks the silence by turning his head's lone eye towards Iori. "Dark-skinned girl, what's your name?"

"...Shimori Iori." Iori introduces herself in a perplexed manner, feeling like the eye was staring into her soul instead.

"Right. Prefect Team, go back up your allies. I'll catch up in a minute."

"U-Understood!" Chinatsu nodded, trusting Drifter-sensei implicitly. "Let's go assist the others, Iori!"

"Roger!" Iori also nodded, picking her K98 off the ground and rushing after Chinatsu. The other rank-and-file Prefect Team members quickly followed after them, leaving Drifter-sensei and Megu behind.

—

"...Why are you staring at my flamethrower?" Megu stared at me blankly, as I in turn stared at her flamethrower.

"Where I come from, my people have a special kind of respect for the flamethrower." I begin, as I pace in a circle. Megu paces in the opposite direction. "It defeats enemies faster than you can blink, and makes almost any enemy formation an advantage to you. We like to make our flamethrowers throw more than flames. Liquid nitrogen, aerosolized corrosive gas, a solution of superconductive gas... Really, anything that can be shot out from one, has had a flamethrower converted to shoot it."

One of the most flexible, dangerous weapons in a Tenno's arsenal is the Ignis Wraith. For most older Tenno, i.e the first ones to awake from The Long Dream, it's their go-to for everything close-quarters. What it lacks in single target obliteration, it more then makes up for in crowd devastation... and war crimes. By Sol, the things some Tenno do to those on the business end of an Ignis Wraith would give lesser beings nightmares.

Her flamethrower might be the reason this kid sat at a strong level 750. Not a bad level, and coincidentally the same as Iori.

"But... doesn't that make it not a flamethrower if it's not shooting flames?" Megu asks innocently, tilting her head.

"You're technically right." I nod. "Really, what I'm trying to say is... you're already in my good graces, kid. What's your name?"

"Shimokura Megu!" She thrusts her arm up in the air spiritedly. "Leader of the onsite team of the Hot Springs Development Department!"

That name makes me slow to a halt. Hot Springs Development Department...

Wait a second.

"You have actual hot springs in this city? Real, unsullied hot springs?"

"Of course!" Megu gives me a radiant smile. "It's what we love after all! Everyone deserves to know how good it feels to take a dip in naturally hot water!"

I cross my arms behind my back in parade rest like Harrow. "I want to talk to your leader. Where is she? I think we can make a deal."

Megu brings a hand to her chin. "Kasumi? Um, she should be commanding us from the back. I can take you to her if you promise not to shoot us."

"I did say I wanted to make a deal, right?"

"Okay~! A deal with Sensei sounds exciting!"

Megu leads the way down a different set of side streets, completely devoid of both the Prefect Team and the Hot Spring Department. This leads us past the ongoing firefight. However, I stopped right as we were about to bypass into the HSD's backline.

"Hm?" Megu notices me stopping and turns around. "Why did you stop?"

I walk up to the side of a building and look over my shoulder towards her. "I'm gonna go stop the fighting."

I then scale the building and onto the roof, where I see the heavy fighting going on between the Prefect Team and Hot Spring Department. I take a few steps back and sprint full speed off the building, jumping in the middle. This momentarily pauses the conflict again.

"Sensei!" Iori calls out my name for some reason. "Did you—"

I outstretch both of my hands, one towards the Prefect Team and another towards the Hot Springs Department. I then take a deep breath and yell as loud as I can.

"ALL COMBATANTS, CEASE FIRE NOW!"

The sheer authority I assert with those words makes everyone stumble backwards. As the fighting immediately stops and both sides lower their guns out of fear, I look towards the direction of the many Hot Springs Department members and speak again.

"Kasumi! I know you can hear me! I have a deal to make with you, the Hot Springs Department!"

"Eh? S-Sensei!?" Chinatsu cries out in shock. "B-But they've caused a public disturbance!"

"Yeah! They detonated a bomb in the street, for crying out loud!" Iori immediately backs her up. "They do this kind of stuff every week!"

I turn my head the other way to face them. "I can see that, kids. I still want to talk with her."

"Wahahaha~!"

The Hot Spring Department members give way to allow a kid wearing a large oversized coat, who's also rocking an extremely long tail to walk down the aisle. She looks like a tiny brat, but she has some presence to her. Her level being 550 backed this up, even though I couldn't see a single weapon on her.

"So, this is the famed Sensei!" She looks up at me with a confident grin. "And you want to make a deal with us? And here I thought you were here as an enemy!"

"Not anymore." I state flatly. "Tell me... how many existing hot springs are there in Gehenna?"

"Existing? Hmm... roughly a hundred? But that number could always go higher~"

I bring a palm to the side of my head. So they really do exist here.

Höllvania used to have hot springs. And then the Techrot came and turned them into spawning pools. I've always wondered what it's like to experience one, because the Origin System has nothing even close to a hot spring. Not even New Loka is aware of any, and they've been searching for ages.

"Sol, there really are hot springs in this city. They're all gone in my home country."

Every single Hot Springs Department member suddenly gasps in unison, looking upon me like I just told them a friend died.

"What!?" Megu cries out from the front of the crowd, having rejoined her fellows at some point. "There's no hot springs in your home country, Sensei!?"

I nod solemnly. "Yeah. When my country collapsed, the hot springs were one of the first things to fall. Now they're all dried up and decayed, and you wouldn't even know they were there anymore. I never visited them as a kid, so I'm sad that I never got to experience them. I've never been to one in my life."

"T-This can't be!" Kasumi looks me straight in the eyes. "We have to show you what it's like to experience the holy glory of a hot spring!"

"You know, that's actually related to my deal." I remark, giving a once-over to all of the HSD members here. "Here's what I propose: rebuild the damage you've caused here, with supervision by the Prefect Team. In exchange, I will personally pardon you all of the crimes you've caused today... And as a bonus, I'll request that you, Kasumi, show me the best already existing hot spring in all of Gehenna later tonight. I will cover the cost of the visit."

"Deal." Kasumi agrees without hesitation, outstretching her hand. I take it and she shakes it with vigor. She then turns her head to face the other members. "Ready the construction equipment! We might have failed to produce a new hot spring today, but we'll get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show Sensei a hot spring for the first time! That's something that's irreplaceable!"

"Roger!" the crowd responds back in unison. Some of them look disappointed, while others appear amused by what's just happened.

"Can I tag along with you two?" Megu walks up to me, placing a hand on my shoulder despite the height difference. "I really wanna see your reaction!"

"Sure." I replied. "Just as long as you behave yourselves for the day."

Megu nods, and then runs off to go join a team of students who are fielding construction equipment. I hear two footsteps behind me, belonging to Iori and Chinatsu.

"Wow... I didn't expect you to resolve this diplomatically." Chinatsu comments, genuine wonder in her eyes.

"Is this how you do things back home?" Iori asks, slinging her rifle onto her back. "I never thought we'd be able to solve an incident with the Hot Springs Development Department with peace instead of violence. I guess you are a Sensei after all."

"Well, what can I say? This time it was personal." I shrug. "I saw a way to resolve this without detaining them and I took it. Plus, I wanted something from them, and it just so happens to be the thing they base their entire identity around. A win for everyone, I'd say."

"I guess so." Iori remarks with a slight smile. "By the way, what brings you here? I thought you were still occupied in Abydos."

"The situation over there has calmed down a little. I've got some free time, so I'm visiting each of the other schools for the first time."

"A diplomatic visit?" Chinatsu says as she holsters her pistol. "You could've formally notified all of us on the broadcast a couple hours ago."

"Yeah... I kinda forgot about that." I confess honestly. "This has been by far one of the most eventful weeks of my decades long life. And I'm actively helping the most hard-up school in all of Kivotos. I said everything on that broadcast off the cuff, because I didn't want to waste time scripting that could've been spent visiting."

Chinatsu pauses for a couple seconds, and then smiles. "I see your point, then. This may not be the best welcome, but... on behalf of the Prefect Team, we welcome you to the district of Gehenna."

"Thanks." I say. I then look around, trying to look for someone, but I don't see them anywhere. "I see Hina isn't with you. Where is she?"

"She's... currently preoccupied." Iori responds. "The student council president has summoned her for a meeting. She has her hands tied behind back. Metaphorically I mean."

They can't see it, but I smile. "You know what? That actually works out in my favor."

"It does? Why?" Iori asks with evident skepticism.

"I need to meet with both of them." I answer. I then turn around and shout in the direction of the HSD members. "Hey, Kasumi!"

The girl in question, who was talking with a few of her subordinates, turns my way and walks over. "Yeah? What'cha need, Sensei?"

"You got MomoTalk?"

Her eyes widen slightly, and then she smiles widely. "Wahaha~! You want my contact details? Sure!"

I pull out the Shittim Chest and boot up MomoTalk, and she does the same with her phone. We exchanged MomoTalk info, and she's added to my list. But suddenly, I feel a tap on my back.

"Sensei." Chinatsu looks up at me, phone in hand. "Can you add me too?"

"Same here." Iori also speaks up, pulling out her phone as well.

"Be my guest."

"Ooh! Is Sensei exchanging MomoTalk info!?" Megu suddenly comes running over, frantically pulling out her phone. "Me too, me too!"

Yeesh, why am I so popular right now? I'm just trying to get Kasumi's details for later so I can tell her when it's time, but now everyone wants my deets? Either way, I indulge them and give them my contact info anyways. As 'everybody's teacher', It'll make more sense to text students then set up meetings in person.

Thank you. Kinematic Instant Messenger for opening my eyes to the wonders of electronic communication. Sol, the Origin System is so far behind despite being so far in the future...

"So, Sensei..." Kasumi looks up at me, her eyes seeming to glitter like stars. "When are we gonna visit the hot spring?"

I look up at the sky and think. "Hmm... How does 19:00 sound?"

"That's perfect!" Kasumi replies immediately. "Me and Megu will be waiting! Waa-hahahaha~!"

Kasumi then trots off to return to the people she was just talking to.

I turn around to face the two Prefect Team members again. "Alright, you two. I trust you can handle yourselves. Just supervise the HSD and make sure they don't instigate again. But if they rebuild the damage without issue, they're considered pardoned of all crimes today."

"...Understood, Sensei." Iori replies after a delay. "Are you going to Gehenna academy?"

"Yes."

"In that case, we can radio for helicopter pickup on your behalf." Chinatsu cuts in. "It is quite some distance away..."

I shake my head gently. "Thanks, but that won't be necessary."

"Don't tell me you're gonna walk there?" Iori remarks with exasperation. "That's impractical."

"I'm not." I answer a bit more cheekily then I should have. "I have some personal transportation."

"What kind of—"

I begin channeling void energy on my location. Moments later, my motorcycle manifests on my location, as I do a donut wheelie like I used to do in Höllvania and interrupting what Chinatsu was saying.

"What the!?" One of the rank-and-file Prefect Team members drops their gun in shock. "Did he just summon a motorcycle out of thin air!?"

This gets the attention of everyone else. And upon seeing my motorcycle, they all gawk at me like I was a Golden Lord.

"...How did you do that?" Chinatsu asks, sounding utterly horrified.

"That's classified." I answer completely seriously. "The best answer I can give is teleportation magic. I'll see you kids later."

I then go full-throttle down the street, the torque making me wheelie. I assert control over the rowdy machine by slamming my weight forwards, forcing the wheels to grip the surface like they should. It's a good thing that Void energy allows the motorcycle to be unaffected by my warframe's weight.

"Arona, set a waypoint for Gehenna Academy, please."

≪ Right away, Drifter-sensei! ≫ Arona happily replied. Moments later, an objective marker flashed on my hud. 100 kilometers away.

Chinatsu wasn't kidding. That is a bit of a distance. On top of traffic, too? Ugh.

Oh well. I brought it out because I wanted to ride, so that's what I'll do: ride.

---

"Do you see now, Hina? Did you really think we wouldn't notice your alliance with Sensei!?"

"On the contrary. We submitted a report detailing the pact between the Prefect Team and Schale. It was mutually agreed upon, and thus didn't require the Pandemonium Society's approval."

"Are you saying you undermined us!?"

Hina was currently deflecting Makoto's usual rambling and unnecessary instigation, as usual. She was summoned before the Pandemonium Society because Makato had discovered the Prefect Team's new defense pact with Schale. Whenever it was due to their own intelligence network or the report Hina submitted, she didn't really know. The result was the same regardless.

Her being chewed out for ensuring Gehenna's safety.

It's amazing how jaded she was to this by now. Hina has developed the ability to selectively tune out Makoto's rambling and monologuing, and only focus on the things that actually mattered.

"Makoto, we're tangenting." Iroha suddenly cut in. "You summoned the Head Prefect for a reason, right? This is not that reason."

Iroha. The only one in this entire student council (excluding little Ibuki) who doesn't have unnecessary aggression towards the Prefect Team. The few times she has meditated on behalf of Makoto, Hina always walked away with a happier day than usual. No pointless undermining, no wasted half-hours of rants, and certainly no hostility.

If only Iroha would intervene more. But dealing with Makoto 24/7, even more than them, had to be tiring. Therefore, Hina did not blame her for her inaction. She'd probably end up the same way if she swapped places with Iroha, somehow.

"Ah, right. Thank you, Iroha." Makoto immediately stopped talking about... whatever she was talking about, and cleared her throat. "Indeed! The reason I have summoned you here, Sorasaki Hina, is because your monthly expenses report has a mistake in it."

"Are you certain?" Hina replies neutrally. "Ako is quite meticulous with that."

"Kekeke... It seems that isn't the case this time!" Makoto smiled arrogantly. "Here, have a look for yourself, Head Prefect."

Makoto pulled open her drawer and evicted a sheet of paper. She placed it on the desk, rotating it 180º so Hina could see. Hina leaned forward and began scanning the document for any errors. There was none in the content itself... but Ako had indeed made an error... kind of. The official stamp she used appeared to require new ink, because the seal was a bit faded. This was a gotcha instead of a true mistake, and Hina had to stop herself from exhaling her frustration loudly. She calmly took the piece of paper from the desk.

"It seems she has." Hina remarks flatly, capitulating instead of fighting it. "We will have this corrected within the hour."

"You very much will, Sorasaki Hina." Makato replied, using her name in that oh-so-grating manner. "We at the Pandemonium Society strive for absolute perfection. This naturally extends to our associates. By daring to make such a mistake, you sully our—"

-DING!-DING!-DING!-

Makoto's landline phone suddenly began ringing. The way it rang indicated an intercom call. Her face immediately went from arrogant to annoyed faster than Hina could blink. But Makoto took a deep breath, sighed and tapped the answer button.

"Hanuma Makoto speaking."

≪ Ah yes, this is Amau Ako. Is Hina still there as well? ≫

"Indeed." Makoto answered more neutrally than expected. "However, this had better be important, Executive Officer. We were in the middle of a very important discussion."

≪ It is. ≫ Ako replied unusually seriously, which grabbed both Makoto's and Hina's attention. ≪ I have just received word from our team that Drifter-sensei is in Gehenna. He's currently enroute to Gehenna Academy for his first official, unannounced visit to our school. He will be arriving within 15 minutes or less. ≫

"W-What!?" Makoto cried out in shock. "With no prior warning!?"

Hina, Iroha and Makoto—the only three present in the office—had completely different reactions.

Hina's wings started involuntarily flapping slightly, unable to contain her anticipation.
Iroha appeared intrigued but also unexpectedly frightened, as she started shaking a little.
Makoto went from being shocked to smiling the widest Hina has ever seen.

"This meeting is now adjourned!" Makoto abruptly calls out. "We must now formally welcome Sensei to our glorious academy! Where is Ibuki!?"

"She's in the next room over drawing." Iroha answers. "Shall I go get her?"

"Please do, Iroha!" Makoto answers immediately. "Head Prefect, Ako, we must make preparations to greet our esteemed guest at once!"

≪ -sigh-... Alright. I'll be there soon. ≫

Makoto then hung up the intercom call, and leaned back in her chair. Iroha got out of hers and made her way out of the office without much fanfare, leaving only Hina and Makoto in the room.

"Kehe... Kehehehehe! I did not expect this day to come so soon! I was under the impression he was still occupied in Abydos...!"

"I agree." Hina stated cooly. "He must've freed up some time."

"Time we will make sure isn't wasted!" Makoto gives a toothy smile. "Now you be on your best behavior, Sorasaki Hina. We cannot fail to make a good first impression!"

This was not how Hina expected this meeting to go. From one of the "usuals" to Sensei making a surprise diplomatic visit? Today might actually be a bit special. This thought made Hina's wings involuntarily flutter a little again.

—

"How many students does Gehenna have, Arona?"

≪ Um... About a couple thousand. ≫

"A couple THOUSAND?!... Wow."

Gehenna Academy. The most chaotic place in Kivotos, according to just about everyone I've talked to.

As I rode down the final few kilometers, I could see the school building come into view. The buildings are grand, and the way they're designed heavily reminds me of Höllvanian architecture. I've been driving on stone streets, past "old" looking buildings (I have no frame of reference) that are juxtaposed by modern buildings found elsewhere. All of it had actual personality, compared to the sanitized and boring style of the neutral district the Schale building was in.

Good first impression, not counting the situation I stopped a few minutes ago. The style was making me feel at home.

I pull off the main street and through the school gates. Although it was closed at first, Arona opened them for me briefly. There were a large number of students walking around the campus. It wasn't that long until lunch hour, but the clock hasn't ticked over to 12 yet. Maybe a staggered lunch hour between grades?

The moment I rode onto the campus streets, though, I effectively stole the show. Students everywhere outside stopped what they were doing to gawk at me as I drove around looking for a place to park. It wasn't long until I found one; I parked in front of a large building with Gehenna banners draped all over it, which also had a large but strangely empty parking lot.

"You weren't kidding about the numbers." I wryly remark over the comms as I retrieved the keys to the bike. "This is something else."

≪ Surprised, right? ≫ Arona replied cheekily. ≪ You're practically a celebrity now. All everyone is talking about right now is you, Arthur-sensei and Amir-sensei! ≫

That is some heavy weight to bear. That kind of weight was something I'm used to, just not a thousand 1 kilo weights instead of a metric ton.

"Kehehehe~! Welcome, Sensei, to Gehenna Academy!"

I turn my head to see three students walking down the white stairs of the building. I recognized one of them was Hina, but the other two were new faces. And one of them, the tall girl, was wearing a high-ranking military uniform and making a show of her entrance. The third blue-haired girl looked like she would rather be anywhere but here. They were level 700 and level 300 respectively.

That blue-haired girl was looking at me like she was analyzing a threat. Unlike Hoshino when I first met her, this was a professional, analytical type of gaze. I'll have to be vigilant about this one.

I sling myself off the bike, confirm its stability and then raise a hand in greeting. "Hello, kids. Hina." I give a nod towards Hina in particular, which she returns with a smile. "What's your name, you two?"

"I am the great Hanuma Makoto, leader of the Pandemonium Society! We are the student council of this great school." she replies, the three of them coming to a stop in the middle of the empty parking lot.

"So you're the student council president, then." I comment, making a special note of her name so I don't forget it. "Who are you, miss?"

"Amau Ako." The blue-haired girl bows politely. "Executive Officer of the Prefect Team and personal secretary of Sorasaki Hina. Welcome to Gehenna Sensei. What brings you here today?"

"Introductions." I cross my arms behind my back. "I'm giving each of the major academies a tour. You're the first one on the itinerary."

"R-Really?!" Makoto remarks with surprise. "Keeheehee... We are honored to bear the privilege of your first visit, Drifter-sensei. Please come with me, so that I may show you our office in all of its regality!"

"We also occupy the building." Hina interjects. "If you'd like, you could also come see us after..."

"Of course. I'm here to see both of you, so I'll accept your hospitality." I remark a bit formally.

Hina's eyes widen at my response, and her wings flutter a little like last time. But they stop as Hina gives me a warm smile. Makoto also gives a toothy smile.

Ako turns her head to Hina and speaks in a business-like tone. "Shall we wait for them in our office, Head Prefect? It would give me time to debrief you on Drifter-sensei's unexpected assistance in stopping the Hot Spring Development Department's antics."

"Drifter-sensei directly helped our team? I suppose I am quite interested, then." Hina nods, and then turns back to me. "I will see you soon, Sensei. I look forward to your visit."

Hina and Ako turn around to leave, re-entering the building. Makoto turns around, but angles her head over her neck.

"Kehehe~! Come, Drifter-sensei! Let me show you our elegant workspace. I have some allies I would like for you to meet." She says as she starts walking towards the entrance of the building

I wordlessly follow after her, taking one look back at the campus. After I was done meeting the Pandemonium Society—interesting name for a student council, by the way—and the Prefect Team, I would tour that place myself.

As Makoto leads me through the building, I admire the design of the hallways. It is nothing like I've seen before. Ornate wooden walls with red carpet flooring, Gehenna banners everywhere on the walls, marble pillars interrupting windows that look over-designed yet aren't... This place screams royalty. And I can't tell if it's the Orokin type, or just indicative of what a formal facility should be in Kivotos. What reinforces that is seeing all the other students saluting us as we walk by.

Makoto eventually comes to a stop in front of a set of large, wooden doors. She opens them with a loud creak, leading me into a room that is somehow even more ornate than that hallway. A large wooden desk, facing a large low table flanked by big red couches that look very comfortable. On the opposite end of the table, surrounded by both of the couches, as an equally comfy looking chair.

I also see there's two other girls present; one has a large black coat and cap, but both of those things are completely overshadowed by her large red hair that looks as fluffy as Izuna's tail. The other girl was a much smaller kid with yellow hair wearing similar clothes to the red-haired girl, but also had a small black tail. She was also drawing on a piece of paper with oversized sleeves. The first actually young kid I've seen... also, that coat was way too big for her.

Their levels were also quite interesting. Level 800 for the red-haired one, and level 500 for the little girl. Even more notable is that the red-hair's information reading indicated armor instead of plain health beneath the overguard. I wonder why that is.

Both of the girls looked at me as we entered the office. The red-haired girl looked at me and immediately-but-briefly froze in fear, while the yellow-haired girl smiled cutely at me. Makoto took her seat at the desk and pulled herself forward.

"Ah, it's Sensei!" The kid spoke excitedly. "Hi! I'm Tanga Ibuki!"

"Nice to meet you, Ibuki." I waved at her. "Ah. Could you kids hold on just a second?"

Before they could say anything, I disembarked from the warframe behind the chair. I then moved around it and sat in the chair. The only one surprised by that action was the red-haired girl; Makoto just smiled curiously, while Ibuki seemed more fascinated by what I just did.

I walked up to the chair and sat in it. The moment I did, Ibuki came running over.

"How did you do that!?" She asked, bouncing up and down in a way that reminded me of Arona. "You just walked out of it like 'whoosh'!"

"It's just a suit of armor." I answer with a smile. I then noticed her drawing on the table was of Perero. "Hey, is that the picture you drew?"

"Ah, this?" Ibuki quickly ran to the table, grabbed the piece of paper and held it up for me to see. "I just finished it! It looks pretty, right?"

"It does. I know someone who loves Perero, and your picture would definitely make them smile."

"Ehehe~" Ibuki giggles cutely at the praise. By Sol, that is some lethal cuteness. This incites me to reach my hand out and pet her hair, which makes her close her eyes and smile wider.

"Amazing!" The red-haired girl suddenly spoke up. "This is the brightest smile Ibuki's ever given!"

"The smile...!" Makoto shields her eyes dramatically. "It's too... radiant...! Argh...!"

I shift my attention to the red-haired girl as Ibuki walks back to the table and starts doodling on the other side of the paper. "You've got some excellent hair, miss. What's your name?"

"Err-!? Uh...!" The red-haired girl's pupils dilated as she felt her hair with her right hand. "...Natsume Iroha."

"Now that we are all acquainted..." Makoto suddenly cuts in. "...I have a proposition for you, Sensei."

Iroha immediately turned her head to face Makoto. "No, don't—"

"How would you like to join forces with the Pandemonium Society?" Makoto continued anyway with a wide, devious grin. "Your power is truly incredible. You rival... nay, surpass the Head Prefect's level of strength. I understand you've formed a defense pact with the Prefect Team... but with us, we could provide the resources necessary to conquer all of Kivotos! Together, we could—"

"Nope."

"S-So fast!?" Makoto's jaw widens. "You would spurn the Great Hanuma Makoto's offer without a second thought!?"

Iroha breathes a heavy sigh of relief for some reason, enough to slack back in her chair like the sigh took all her energy. Needless to say, she doesn't say anything to follow it up.

"I'm sorry, but I don't plan to play favorites." I say bluntly with a serious undertone, as I cross my legs. "If I did, that would fu-... -ahem-, ruin the power balance that exists in the city. From what I know, you and Trinity are rivals, right? But what about the other schools that you're neutral with? If I directly ally with one school, I risk making everyone else my enemy... not to mention, having all of Gehenna getting ostracized. That would be a selfish decision that would put too many people at risk."

"I see..." Makoto puts a hand to her chin, stroking it inwards with her index finger and thumb. "...Spoken like a true leader! Yes, you truly are a Sensei after all! What good is raising the ceiling of your power if you don't raise the floor of everyone else's in turn? As a leader, you must value the true strength of your power—the people! Kehehehe!"

"Whoa... You got Makoto to see reason on the first try?" Iroha's eyes widened again.

Ibuki suddenly stops drawing and runs over to Makoto, outstretching her hands. "Makoto, I want uppies!"

Makoto immediately stops her cackling and looks down, giving Ibuki a warm smile. "Why of course, Ibuki. Up you go!"

Makoto hoists Ibuki up on her lap, who seems to be enjoying the affair. That was an unexpectedly wholesome reaction.

My first impression of Makoto was a haughty girl who definitely fits the image that school was giving me... especially when she was in command of a student council named the Pandemonium Society. But seeing how she immediately switched gears when Ibuki wanted her attention adjusted my perspective.

"So, what do you think of the academy?" Iroha asks, now seeming less fearful of me. "We're one of the biggest academies in Kivotos, after all. And our buildings are quite beautiful."

"Yeah, I can see that. I haven't been in any of the other buildings yet." I admit. "I was going to take a tour after I've seen the Prefect Team office."

"Is that so?" Makato muses. She then smiles. "Kehehe... if you'd like, we could arrange a guided tour of our glorious academy. We have many facilities and clubs that are best-in-class!"

"That's a generous offer, and I appreciate it. But I'd actually prefer to see it on my own."

"Of course..." Makoto's smile widens. "A leader must get to know their subjects personally! I understand perfectly, Sensei. But before you go, I have a request."

I take my leg off the other before it falls asleep. "Yes?"

"Do you possess MomoTalk? The Great Makoto requests the means to contact you."

"Of course. Here."

Just like with the Prefect Team, I give Makoto my contact details. I also gave them out to Iroha and Ibuki, who didn't ask but appreciated it.

"Oh, by the way..." I look to Iroha as I return the tablet to the warframe's hip. "You seemed a bit scared of me when I walked in, but now you seem fine. Why is that?"

"Uh..." Iroha halts for a moment, but then seems to recompose herself. "...I am the Tank Commander of the Pandemonium Society. Seeing how easy it is for you to destroy tanks, it... Uh..."

"I understand." I immediately respond when she seems to struggle to find her words. "As long as you stay on your good behavior, you shouldn't have to worry about that."

Iroha just looks me up and down, and says nothing again. I get up from the chair and walk into the warframe, doing a bit of light stretching.

"Alright, kids. I've got a busy schedule, so I can't stick around for long." I start walking over to the doors, but stop in front of them and turn around. "I'll see you three later."

"Kehehe~! Be sure to soak in Gehenna Academy's greatness like a sponge." Makoto gives me a good smile.

"See you later, Sensei." Iroha also gives me a smile for the first time.

"Bye-bye, Sensei!" Ibuki waves with her entire arm as well as her hand.

I push open the doors, which are heavier than expected. They automatically close behind me while I walk down the hallway.

This building is bigger than it looks. I walk down one hallway and see it's got nothing interesting, and down another to find the same thing. I'm spending more time than I expected just trying to find their damn office. About several minutes later, I finally happened upon the Prefect Team office myself.

I open the doors, seeing a similar layout to the Pandemonium Society's office. The main differences were that the sofa's were white, the carpet was blue, the table was much lower and there were several smaller desks on either side of the room. In front of a wall almost completely filled with windows laid a much larger desk.

Hina sat at that large desk, while Ako knelt at the table doing some work on a laptop.

"Ah, Sensei." Ako gave me a warm smile. "Welcome to the Prefect Team office."

"Welcome, Sensei." Hina looked up from her desk and smiled slightly. "I hope Makoto wasn't too annoying. She is... antagonistic with us."

"Not really." I replied. "She was cordial, but did try to convince me to ally with her. I rejected her proposition with good reason. I'm surprised there was an actual kid on their council, though."

"You mean Ibuki?" Ako remarks with a nice, genuine smile. "She might be young, but she's a surprisingly hard worker. The Pandemonium Society saw her talent and recruited her early on. What did you think of Iroha?"

"She seemed level-headed." I admit honestly, not revealing that she feared me at first. "Why, is she a problem for you?"

"On the contrary." Hina answers. "Iroha is the one who cleans up the aftermath of Makoto's antics and keeps the Pandemonium Society from imploding. Dealing with her is much more preferable to dealing with Makoto. Were Chiaki and Satsuki present?"

I shrug. " No, they weren't there. I guess I haven't seen the full picture yet."

"By the way..." Hina looks right into my warframes' non-existent eyes. "Ako tells me that you diplomatically settled an incident between the Hot Springs Department and the Prefect Team. I heard you made a deal?"

"I did. I've never been to a hot spring in my life before, so I made an agreement with the HSD; repair the damage with Prefect Team supervision, and I'll pardon you. I also asked Kasumi to bring me to Gehenna's best hot spring. She accepted the deal without hesitation."

"You've never been to a hot spring before, Sensei?" Ako asks, genuinely astonished. "Neither Chinatsu or Iori disclosed that to me."

"Hmm..." Hina brings a hand to her coat, adjusting it. "Although this is an unusual resolution, a peaceful one is better than a violent one. Thank you, Sensei."

"I won't be able to do that again, probably." I say, taking a seat at the couch opposite of Ako. "The only reason that worked was because the deal was beneficial to both of us. I could tell with just one look at Kasumi, that that group will just do it again in the future."

"You'd be right." Ako comments as she signs off on a document, placing it in a completed pile. "The Hot Springs Development Department is a constant nuisance to us. It is nothing short of a miracle that you managed to do what you did."

I flash her a peace sign. "Glad to have helped. Anyone else who's problematic like that?"

"The Gourmet Research Society." Ako answers immediately. "They cause havoc at various restaurants and food stalls. Not just that, but they also kidnap the School Lunch Club president, Aikiyo Fuuka, on a near-daily basis. Those two groups are the primary troublemakers of Gehenna, but certainly not the only ones."

"Speaking of lunch..." Hina gets up from her desk and walks up to where I was sitting. "It is roughly 2 minutes to 12:00. Would you like to join us and meet Fuuka? Her culinary skills are exceptional."

"Really? Okay." I get up from the couch. "But after that, I'll have to take off. Gehenna isn't the only school I'm visiting today."

"If I may ask," Ako gets up from her kneeling position. "Which school is next on your list?"

"Trinity."

An unexpected shadow crosses Ako's face. "Trinity... those fools—"

"Ako, shut up." Hina chastises Ako from out of the blue. "Drifter-sensei is everyone's Sensei. It is in his best interest to get acquainted with all schools, not just us and Trinity."

"Y-Yes." Ako squeaks out. "I'm sorry, I forgot that crucial detail. I-I will remain here to finish the report..."

Damn... All it took were three words to get Ako to back down like that. Hina's presence even affected her underclasswomen.

Hina then turns back to me. "Shall we depart, Sensei? If nothing else, your presence will make the cafeteria peaceful for once."

"Is it always chaotic?" I ask, not missing that last detail.

"Yes." Hina readily admits. "We are a school of well over 1,000 with a philosophy of limitless freedom. It would be strange if there wasn't a rowdy lunch hour."

I nod understandingly. "Point taken. Well, lead the way, Head Prefect."

Hina walks past me, making sure to adjust her right wing to not slam into my calves. I followed her out of the office.
Together, the two of us make our way through the halls and out of the student council/peacekeeper building.

"What do you think of Gehenna so far, Sensei?" Hina asks as we walk on an asphalt path past many students, who give us a wide berth upon seeing the two of us walking together.

"Homely." is the answer I give as I look around at the scenery. "My home country looked somewhat like Gehenna before it collapsed. I mean, it still does, but it's a lot more desolate than this."

"Really?" Hina looks back over her shoulder a little to look me in my warframe's eye'. "Your home country sounds like an interesting place. You describe it as if it's nothing like Kivotos."

"That's because it isn't." I retorted. "For one, you see people walking around on the streets here. Cars actually driving around and not abandoned in the middle of the streets. Almost everyone in my home country is dead because of a man-made superplague, so the streets are abandoned. The only ones left are those who were immune."

Hina tenses up at the mention of such large scale death. Her brow furrows. "...I see. With every detail you reveal, it paints a grim picture. Are Arthur-sensei and Amir-sensei fellow survivors?"

"Yes." I confirm as she leads me into the main building of the school through a side entrance, pushing open the door with her wings. "Arthur is former military, part of the ICR—International Crisis Response—and got dispatched with a few others to Höllvania. He was the leader of a squad that took a foothold in an abandoned mall. Amir was part of that squad, ending up there after he was hunted down by the country's military. And I helped the squad when I learned the military planned to do some truly evil shit."

"I have a serious question." Hina suddenly stops, checking no-one else would eavesdrop. She then turns to face me directly. "...Have you taken lives before?"

"...Yes." I give a forthright answer. "My home country is a lot more brutal than Kivotos. It's survival of the fittest because resources are limited, and the military is actively killing civilians to steal their—"

Hina's wings suddenly outstretch to by a notable amount, which makes me cut myself off. She looks up at me with a serious glare. "Would you kill a student?"

"Fuck no." I answered without hesitation, unshakable in my answer. "You're all just kids, you don't deserve to pay the ultimate price for a mistake unless they're truly evil. Of every kid I've seen so far, I haven't seen even a single trace of that ugliness I'm used to. The only ones I've found to be actually reprehensible so far are Kaiser Group."

"..." Hina stares at me for a couple seconds. She then retracts her wings and nods slowly. We continue walking. "Good. I agree with your opinion on Kaiser. They're known to take advantage of certain dropout student gangs like the Helmet Gang, or the Sukeban Gang, and exploit them for their own corporate gain. I find them unsavory on a more personal level."

That info blindsides me, and I can feel the rage start simmering again, but I force myself to keep walking. They'd take advantage of dropouts for their purposes?

Actually... that raises a serious question.

I've engaged the Helmet Gang before, viciously in the first case, and I fought some Sukebanners in the fight for Sanctum Tower almost a week ago. But what actually happens to those who drop out of school in a city run by schools? Say for example, a kid similar to Hifumi who is unable to keep up with her grades: She tries everything but can't get a passing score and is expelled. Is the only path forward really just a path of crime?

That's no way to live. That very thought makes my skin crawl... I will revisit this later.

"Sensei?"

"It's nothing." I immediately responded. "How close are we to the cafeteria?"

"...We're not far." Hina answers after a delay. "The next corner over."

When we turned the corner, the hallway was a lot more populated than the one we were in, and no-one was respecting the right of way. But upon seeing me and the Head Prefect together, the student's were collectively shell-shocked and they promptly made way for the two of us out of fear and respect. Hina promptly led me into the cafeteria... and I have to say, this hall was truly massive.

This whole Cafeteria kind of reminded of the techrotted Big Bytes Pizza that's connected to the Orbit Arcade, except a lot bigger and less corporate. I'm impressed.

Everybody knows; there's noth- FUCK. OFF.

"O-Oh my god... it's Sensei!..."
"Sensei's with the Head Prefect...?"
"When did Sensei get here...?"
"I-Is that a hammer!?"

I overhear the students muttering as we enter the cafeteria. It seems to propagate outwards until basically every student in the cafeteria is watching me and the Head Prefect for our next moves. The two of us walked up to a counter slap-bang in the middle of the hall, where I could see two girls serving lunch to students in two lines on opposite sides. The girl in front had horns and had a few strands of hair routed over said horns, while the other girl had two much larger horns and long yellow hair.

The two of us did not get in line. Instead, Hina led me to the front of the line, where the hair-over-horns girl was handing one of the students a bowl of tasty looking food. She noticed the two of us, and her eyes went wide, darting between me and Hina.

"Head Prefect! Welcome!" She greeted Hina warmly. She then turned to me and bowed behind the counter. "A-And you too, Drifter-sensei! It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Aikiyo Fuuka, president of the School Lunch Club."

Whoa. Level 700. If warframe's didn't have inbuilt heads-up displays, I definitely would have underestimated her.

"I'm impressed, kid." I say, moving so I don't block the line and standing off to the side. "You're in charge of a lot of students. For a lunch lady cooking so many meals, you make those portions look delicious."

"Oh, it's no big deal~" Fuuka waves it off humbly. "...Ah, I almost forgot. Here's your meal, miss Hina."

Fuuka reaches beneath the counter and grabs a to-go box, handing it to Hina who advances up to the counter.

"Thank you, Fuuka." Hina thanks Fuuka with a smile. "Drifter-sensei is here to pay Gehenna its first visit. I thought it would be prudent to show him your culinary skills."

"Y-You came for me specifically!?" Fuuka's jaw drops, as she hands the next student her bowl. "I-I don't know how to feel! But if you're here, maybe I'll finally have a peaceful day!"

"That's what Hina said." I acknowledged with a bit of amusement. "She also tells me you get kidnapped a lot."

"I, uh..." Fuuka appears to trip over her words, but then sighs. Her eyes immediately go from those belonging to a student, to a Höllvanian civilian tired of all the bullshit, and her voice loses all of the energy it had. "Yeah. The Gourmet Research Club. I swear, I get zero free time thanks to them. My studies have been suffering, too... It's a miracle they're off bothering someone else today."

"Your studies are suffering?" I question, now fully paying attention. "If you're having trouble thanks to them, I can help tutor you. Do you have MomoTalk?"

'Ah, yes!" Fuuka's smile returns. "One moment, please..."

Fuuka pulls out her phone, and me my tablet, and we exchange MomoTalk details. Hina, watching this exchange, flashes me a smile that practically says 'you made a wise choice, sensei'.

"Thank you for your offer, Sensei." Fuuka bows. "May I take you up on it later?"

"I'll be busy later, but I can help you tomorrow morning." I say, side leaning on the counter. "I'll mark it as class time, so you don't have to worry about it eating up your schedule."

"Ah... That time won't work." Fuuka shakes her head. "I have to spend the morning preparing food for Gehenna. Would the afternoon work?"

"Right, you're a lunch lady. Hmm..." I bring a hand to my chin.

That was a tough quandary. I was planning on visiting all of the major academies back-to-back, across multiple days in a row. But here in front of me was a student whose studies were struggling because of troublemakers. I'd say she takes priority – I have a duty to fulfill as a teacher.

I bring the hand away from my chin. "...Yes. You can come into my office whenever you can. I'll have business to do in the morning, but assuming nothing happens in the afternoon, I'll be available by 14:00. Does that work?"

Fuuka smiles. "That's perfect. I look forward to your help! As a thank-you, I want you to have this."

Fuuka then reaches down under the counter again and grabs another to-go box, one that was empty. She then grabs one of the bowls and carefully extracts the contents into the to-go box. She then hands it to me.

"For me? Thank you kid, I appreciate it."

I then exited the warframe to try the food. This earned shocked gasps from basically the entire cafeteria.

"H-He's an actual human! It really is armor!"
"So that's what he looked like..."
"How did he do that!? It didn't even open up!"

"E-Eh!?" Fuuka's face blushed slightly for no reason. "...Ah. Your suit of armor doesn't have a mouth."

I paid no mind to the gossip and took a look at the food. Noodles with some type of meat, various greens and a little fish cake. I took the chopsticks and had myself a bite, which prompted the entire cafeteria to go quiet.

...

Holy shit. This blows Shibaseki out of the water.

"...By the Golden Lords..." I mutter to myself. "Have you been cooking your entire life, Fuuka?"

"Roughly, yes?" Fuuka answers. "Why?"

"It would explain why this is the best damn food I've ever had."

"EEEEHHHHHH!?" Fuuka screamed out in surprise, hands on her face.

The students in the cafeteria start cheering; rounds of applause, whistling, various cheers of 'Fuuka's the best!' and 'Fuuka got Sensei's approval!' all reverberate throughout the hall. Sol, was this really that noteworthy?

"You've caused quite the show, Sensei. The student body will be discussing your visit for days." Hina remarks with a slight smile, arms crossed. I'm surprised I can hear her over the commotion.

I take another big byte-err, bite of the food and clear my mouth before answering Hina. "...Yeah, I can tell. Hey, Fuuka."

"Yes, Sensei?" Fuuka responds, returning to handing out food to the students.

"I want you for Schale." I say, bringing my head up from the food. "Would you be willing to accept?"

"M-Me for Schale!?" Fuuka almost dropped her next serving of food from shock. "R-Really? I'd, um... my answer is yes."

"Excellent." I flash her a good smile. "I definitely need to show Amir and Arthur your food. You'll have 'em crying tears of joy."

"P-Please don't exaggerate like that!" Fuuka pouts. "My food is perfectly normal, thank you very much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have students to serve."

I delay my response to finish off the rest of the food. When that's done, I close the lid and return to my warframe. "Thanks again for the food, Fuuka. Unfortunately I can't stick around, but I'm sure my visit will prevent the kids from doing anything stupid."

"You're very welcome." Fuuka gives me the warmest smile yet. "I'll see you tomorrow."

It's at this point that I noticed that Hina, too, had eaten her food in record time. She gestures for me to follow her, and I do so—she disposes of the to-go box in a trash can, and I do the same. I begin walking off out of the cafeteria, with Hina in tow.

"So, does that conclude your visit to Gehenna, Sensei?" Hina asks, walking alongside me.

"Yes." I answer. "I like what I see. I'll be sure to visit for more than just business when I've got some free time."

"Glad to hear it." Hina answers warmly. "You will always be welcome to pay a visit. Gehenna has its... troublemakers, but it's not a bad school. We are fortunate you see it that way."

"Of course. Now, I have one more question." I ask as we exit out of the building through the same side entrance we used.

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Trinity is?"

Hina points in a direction. "That way. Trinity borders our district, separated by a few bridges over a canal. Is that still your next destination, as you said?"

"Yes." I answer immediately. "If I've paid a visit to Gehenna, I'll have to go to Trinity right after. Otherwise, Trinity students might view it as favoritism more than they already might."

"Shrewd observation." Hina commented while she adjusted one of her gloves. "It is good you understand the dynamics at play. I will notify the Tea Party of your arrival. They are the student council of Trinity, a trifecta of rotating student council presidents. Despite our relations, I am on diplomatic terms with two of their members—Yurizono Seia and Kirifuji Nagisa."

"What about the third one?"

"..." Hina's brow suddenly furrows, followed by her wings extending to their full length, and her horns growing out a little. "Misono Mika. I attempted diplomatic relations, but she shut me down with hateful hostility. Mika seems to harbor antagonistic feelings towards Gehenna as a whole."

"Good to know." I state seriously. "I'll avoid mentioning Gehenna to her, or around her in general. Thanks for the accidental heads up."

Hina exhales a deep breath and retracts her wings and horns again. "Thank you for taking these precautions. With the Eden Treaty on the horizon, we cannot do anything to risk sparking hostility between each other. I hope they won't interpret your visit to Trinity after Gehenna as preferential treatment."

"So do I."

Eden Treaty. That's the first I heard of such a thing, and the way she spoke about it made it sound crucial. I wanted to ask her about it, but I'm out of time to spare. Maybe I'll ask some higher-ups in Trinity what that was.

"Well... I'm off to go visit them." I say, looking over my shoulder down at her. "I will see you later, Hina."

"Take care, Sensei." Hina says with unexpected gentleness. Her smile was radiant in this moment.

With the pleasantries exchanged, I strolled on over to my motorcycle. Grabbing the keys off my hip, I slung myself over the seat and started the engine, which angered itself to life. I then spoke over comms.

"Arona, waypoint Trinity for me.."

≪ Understood, Sensei! ≫ Arona replies just as cheerful as ever. ≪ It's actually quite close by! Roughly 133 kilometers out. ≫

"Good. Maybe I'll get a chance to open that throttle fully."

I back the motorcycle out of the parking space and drive at a slow pace until I reach the gate. They open automatically for me this time, allowing me to merge onto the road.

Trinity is the other school I'm most curious about. Gehenna and Trinity seem to be a duality. One of these days, I'll understand why they have historically had antagonistic relations with each other.

Hopefully the JTF is just as welcoming as the Prefect Team was.

---

"...This tea is unusually sweet. Seia, did our shipments get tampered with?"

"No. I am certain of that."

Nagisa was currently facing an interesting problem. Her tea, brewed from tea leaves which the Tea Party has specially supplied to them by an undisclosed internal source, was slightly sweeter than usual. This would not be a problem, if it weren't for the fact that tea served at the Tea Party contained only trace amounts of naturally-occuring sugars which are released during the brewing process. She initially suspected sabotage; but if Seia confirmed its validity, then it was certainly untampered.

Mika was currently preoccupied elsewhere, using her strength to help the Remedial Knights move some new medical equipment inside their main hospital.

"Hmm... Could it be that my taste buds have changed?" Nagisa remarks, as she takes another sip, letting the liquid simmer on her tongue.

Seia, too, took a sip of her tea. Several seconds later, she spoke. "Potentially. I do not perceive a difference with this tea today. What if you were to add sugar as a sort of 'reset'?"

"That is a rather unique suggestion." Nagisa remarked, taking yet another measured sip. "I will consider it. The sweetness is not yet at a disruptive level, therefore I may tolerate it."

Suddenly, a Tea Party staff member walked up to the table and bowed. A second one then walked up with a wireless business phone.

"Nagisa-sama, we have received a call from Gehenna's Prefect Team. It's Sorasaki Hina."

"Oh? Put her through."

Nagisa grabbed the handset and put it up to her ear. A few seconds later, she heard a click over the line, signifying the un-holding of the call.

"Greetings, Hina. Nagisa speaking. To what do I owe the unexpected pleasure?"

≪ Good afternoon, Nagisa. ≫ Hina greeted Nagisa politely. ≪ I am calling for business. ≫

"Does it concern the Eden Treaty?" Nagisa asked straightforwardly.

≪ No. It concerns Sensei. ≫

"Sensei?" Nagisa tilted her head slightly. "Has he done something troublesome I have yet to hear of?"

≪ No. He has concluded his first official visit to Gehenna Academy. ≫ Hina says something that makes Nagisa's thoughts immediately get put on pause. ≪ He is now enroute to Trinity to do the same. ≫

"I-Is that so?" Nagisa stumbled on her words slightly. "Thank you for the notice, Hina. We will prepare accordingly. I bid you farewell."

≪ Have a good afternoon, Nagisa. Until we next speak. ≫

Hina then hung up the call. Nagisa returned the handset to the staff member, and the two members made their leave.

...

"What was the point of the call about?" Seia asked as soon as the staff members were out of earshot.

"Sensei is about to visit Trinity in person for the first time." Nagisa begins. "We must prepare."

This news made Seia's eyes widen in surprise. This... was an unusual reaction for her. She closed her eyes, putting down her cup. A couple seconds later, she opened them again.

"I... did not foresee this." Seia stated after a delay. "I am surprised."

"You did not foresee this? How unexpected. Why is that, Seia?" Nagisa asked, now genuinely interested in her friend's conundrum.

"I do not know." Seia answered honestly. "My procognition has not failed me. However, dreams regarding Sensei always end up blurry like TV static. I... cannot predict what his next move will be."

"You lack perspicacity in regards to Sensei...?" Nagisa leaned forward in her chair, putting down her tea cup. This warranted her full focus. "Shall we take ample precautions?"

Seia shook her head. "No. It would be disastrous to antagonize him. He is best made an ally, not an adversary."

"Understood." Nagisa remarked, leaning forward with both hands intermeshed between her chin. "We shall welcome him cordially, then."

"Agreed." Seia remarked. She took her tea cup and refilled it with the kettle. "I hope Sensei enjoys tea."

"I do too." Nagisa raised her tea cup, holding it up with her pinkie out. "Cheers."

Seia did the same. "Cheers."

—

🎵We didn't start the fire! It was always burning since the world's been turning!🎵

🎵We didn't start the fire! But we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it!🎵

I ride down Trinity's streets, taking in the sights while vibing to an older song that Aoi had given me with the NR-750's head unit. Yes, this motorcycle had a radio, somehow. Whoever previously owned this bike decided that they couldn't live without music, so they jury-rigged a setup. At least the speakers were punchy, but this bike definitely was not meant to accommodate music.

Arona, in all her digital wonder, managed to connect to this head unit and play music from my Orbiter's data storage. It is ridiculous how versatile she is.

Anyways... From what I could see, Trinity was a similar, yet different case to Gehenna with its architecture. The style looked like some of the really old Höllvanian buildings. I also saw a lot more students on the sidewalks compared to Gehenna. Every once in a while, I caught a glimpse of a kid with black wings and a similar uniform to Hasumi.

If I remember right, Hasumi was JTF, wasn't she? That means they've got peacekeepers on every corner. Is the Prefect Team short on manpower or something?

I'm about 10 kilometers away from the main campus now. But unlike Gehenna, this campus was massive. There were already academy-related buildings this far out from the main buildings. Maybe that explained the JTF presence.

≪ Sensei! ≫ Arona abruptly interrupted my trance state. ≪ You're already trending on Z again! A few Gehenna students have posted videos of you walking down the hallways in Gehenna Academy. I don't see any videos of you eating Fuuka's food, though. ≫

"Really? Well that was quick." I chuckle to myself. "Hopefully that doesn't rile up the Trinity students."

The red light clears, and I have a sudden intrusive thought that I decide to entertain. I pull the handle all the way back and control this rowdy beast into doing a wheelie. The nose points sky high, and I get that oh-so-familiar rush of adrenaline as I lay a black skid mark down the road. When I bring the wheels back down and slow a bit, I see Trinity students looking upon me with sheer awe. flash them a thumbs up as acknowledgement.

≪ I think you're enjoying this a little too much, Sensei... ≫ Arona observes, failing to hide her amusement.

"What can I say? I'm having a good day so far."

A couple more red lights later, and I feel the urge to do it again. But I restrained myself. If I do that too much, I'll have to replace that rear tire tomorrow. Really don't want to do that. Right as the light turned green, I hear Arona again.

≪ ...Hm? Hey, Sensei! Look up ahead! ≫

"Ahead where, exactly?"

≪ Sidewalk, your front right. Do you see that student with the backpack? ≫

I look ahead as she suggests. There, in the crowd of students with those generic hollow haloes, I see one that stands out. But it wasn't her halo that made me recognize her; it was her Peroro backpack slung on her back.

"Hifumi? Interesting. School isn't out yet, right?"

≪ Not until 14:00. ≫ Arona answered. ≪ But we are technically on campus grounds. Trinity has the largest academy campus in all of Kivotos, with Millenium coming second. ≫

"You don't say... Maybe she's enroute to another part of the school?"

≪ How about you go ask her? ≫ Arona suggested.

"Great suggestion."

I waited until the light turned green. When it did, I changed lanes and honked the motorcycle's horn a few times upon slowing down near Hifumi. Several students turned around, including her. She recognizes me instantly, eyes widening.

"Hey, Hifumi!" I shouted over the motorcycle's engine as I put it in neutral and massively turned down the music's volume, coming to a stop right next to Hifumi. "How's it going?"

"S-Sensei! It's a pleasant surprise to see you again!" Hifumi looks at me, then the motorcycle. "But what are you doing here? I thought you were still in Abydos?"

I put a leg on the ground, preventing the bike from falling over. "Well, I've got some free time. I'm paying a few schools a visit before I go back. I visited Gehenna earlier, and now I'm here for Trinity. By the way, have you received your remuneration yet?"

"I have!" Hifumi gives me a radiant smile. "Thank you so very much for your help!"

"So, I'm curious. Humor me for a sec." I say as I stretch my arms forward. "This is a big campus, right? Are you going somewhere?"

"As a matter of fact, I am." Hifumi nodded. "I am venturing to the public library, but it's a bit far..."

"Really?" I put my hands on the handlebars again. "In that case, hop on. I'll give you a ride."

"Eh? You will?" Hifumi's eyes widened, wider than last time.

I nod. "Yup. Just make sure you hold on tight. I don't have any spare helmets on me."

"Thank you! I can give you directions."

Hifumi fastened her backpack a bit, making sure its various accessories were secured. She then hopped on the motorcycle and wrapped her arms around my lower torso for stability.

This was technically very irresponsible of me. I should have a helmet with me, but I don't actually need one because of the nature of warframes. Students and other civvies were a different case though. However, as long as I don't drive like I did, she should be fine for a short drive—the Kivotos drivers were predictable and the roads were pristine.

I looked over my shoulder to check that she was seated properly, and that my blind spots were cleared. Once I was sure of both, I rejoined the street, driving much more cautiously than before because of my passenger.

"Do you have a reason you're visiting, Sensei?" Hifumi sparks some casual conversation.

"Not a specific one." I admit. "I'm just here to get acquainted. I figured this was overdue, so I decided to do this instead of burning my free time on something else."

"You're really proactive, aren't you Sensei?" Hifumi said with a giggle. "Did you know that every Trinity student has been talking about nothing but you since your broadcast? It's only gotten more intense since this morning."

"I know. It's the same case in Gehenna."

"Really?" Hifumi responded with amused interest.

"Guess I'm the talk of the town." I comment with a bit of smugness. "Only thing I regret from that broadcast is not announcing that I'm visiting some schools."

"Ehehe~" Hifumi gives another giggle. "The students will know you're visiting now. People love to gossip in Kivotos, and almost everyone has a social media account. I heard you showed your face in Gehenna earlier!"

"Wow, you saw that already?" I ask with genuine surprise. "I've got plans later today and tomorrow, so I'll probably visit Millennium after and pick this grand tour up in a few days. Always been a busy man, even before I got here to Kivotos."

"Ah, the library is just up ahead." Hifumi suddenly calls out. "Thank you for the ride, Sensei!"

I come to a stop in front of a regal building that looks downright ancient. But as Hifumi gets off and starts to walk away, I call out to her. "Hold on, I got just one more thing I want from you."

She turns around. "Yes, Sensei?"

"You want my MomoTalk details?"

"Eh?! I'd be honored!" Hifumi smiles like I just told her I was giving her a reward. She brings her phone out, and I do the whole process yet again. "I look forward to seeing you again, Sensei! I'll see you later!"

I wave Hifumi off, watching as she enters the library. I then look around, seeing that I've basically stolen the show again; students all around are looking at me like I'm a celebrity. I once again flash them a thumbs up, and return to the road again. This time, I'm actually heading to my destination.

...

I arrived at the main Trinity campus. Now this was a sight to behold.

The main building itself was huge, but they also had a hospital right next to it. And sharing the plot of land was some sort of religious building that had by far the most elegant design of all Trinity buildings. Something tells me these three being next to each other was no coincidence, given how central the academies are. Related to the Tea Party, maybe?

Once again, I drove around, looking for a parking lot. I found one that was standalone, but empty just like the last one. I park the bike, switch off the engine and take the keys out, shutting off the music.

Alright, first impression; there were more kids walking around on campus then even Gehenna. There were also a good amount of them sitting on benches, enjoying the nature around them. I also saw more than a couple groups of students talking and laughing amongst each other. The vibe of Trinity definitely felt more upper class.

That led me to wonder about something; Trinity's chosen faith.

In the Origin System, religion has been dead for millennia because of the Golden Lords' tyranny. In spite of that, there is one that still refused to fade: Dualism.

In not just Höllvania, but that Earth in general, Dualism is omnipresent. Through osmosis, I've discovered that there's been many other sects of organized religion: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism and Shinto to name a small handful. As far as I know, every single one of them has died out in favor of Dualism. It also lived long enough to see the rise and fall of the Orokin Empire.

The Golden Tyrants almost completely supplanted Dualism with artificial worship to themselves. But even during their reign, they could never truly bend the people to practice a preferred faith. In the wake of the New War, it's now had a major resurgence in the Origin system – especially in the wake of the Narmer cult's near-demise. You can thank Ticker for that.

Just months before the New War broke out, Star Days was revived for the first time in eons. This ancient holiday received official Tenno backing, courtesy of the Lotus, but it was more a Fortuna thing the first time. But after Ballas' attempt to impose his "all as one" doctrine on everyone, civilians and other people from all over the system started practicing Dualism.

As for me... I didn't have an appreciation for Dualismm, but I can see the stablizing effect it had onthe people of the Origin System and 1999.

The Indifference has soured the concept of faith for me. I personally can't find myself to have faith in gods, when the equivalent of one has screwed me over not just once but twice now. Even so, If belif in Sol and Lua bring peace to people's lives, then it's not my place to judge them.

A many-thousand year old religion has lived through the collapse of the empire that tried to stamp it out. That's poetic.

I sauntered down the path towards the religious building, while also doing a little people watching as I walked. It was a different kind of atmosphere than Gehenna, where you could just feel their excitement in the air. The Trinity students were more restrained with it.

Ascending up the stairs leading into the religious building, I gently pushed open the front doors... and wow, this interior was massive. Rows upon rows of benches, massive stone pillars with multiple... chandeliers, I think they were called? And many, many ornate windows. If it had some gold embellishments, this place might pass off as Orokin.

There were a few students in the benches, hands intermeshed and centimeters in front of their face. And on the opposite end, there were a few more students wearing a long black uniform with some sort of veil over their head. Presumably religious members. All of them that I could see had their eyes closed.

Did I interrupt their worship? If so... they didn't seem to care?

However, there was one student that caught my attention at the front. A girl on her knees in the middle of the row, with some sort of animal ears covered by her own veil. Even though I was religion-blind, I could tell her dedication to the cause from here.

Her level was 500, standard fare. But for some reason, my HUD was reporting her as having a shield. The only other kid I've seen with that was Yuuka, and she required the shield to be actively deployed. Somehow, this religious member had one passively.

I carefully, quietly advanced down the main chamber and took a seat on one of the rear benches. There was no need for me to interrupt this, so I decided to wait until they were finished before I started asking questions. Having said that, it didn't seem to take long before they were done—just a couple minutes later, the animal-eared girl rose, followed by her peers, and then the visiting Trinity students.

"I thank you for joining me in prayer." the animal-eared girl spoke with a soft and gentle voice. She then turned around, revealing her yellow hair for me to see. "May peace and happiness grace you all. Please don't hesitate to visit again... H-Huh!? S-Sensei!?"

The Trinity students then got up from their benches and turned around, followed by the religious members opening their eyes. And like that, I became the new focus of attention.

"S-Sensei!?" one of the Trinity students exclaimed loudly in surprise, coming to a stop next to my bench. "W-When did you get here!?"

"Just now." I answer honestly. "I hope I didn't disturb your prayers."

"N-Not at all!" another Trinity student spoke up. "We didn't even hear you take a seat!"

"...Is that so?"

Wow. They must've been really focused, because I wasn't using any Void magic to suppress my presence. The visiting Trinity students all suddenly bowed.

"Welcome to Trinity, Sensei! We hope you enjoy your visit!"

I raised my hands and rested them on top of the backrest of the bench in front of me. "Yup. You kids have a nice day now."

The visitors continued down the center lane and departed from the building, leaving only me and the religious members in the building. Those members in the back continued staring at me with surprise, while the animal-eared girl walked up the lane and came to a stop next to me.

"On behalf of the Sisterhood, I formally welcome you to the Trinity Cathedral, Sensei." the girl bowed formally. "I am Iochi Mari, a Sister-in-training. I am responsible for the Cathedral."

"The Sisterhood, huh." I nodded thoughtfully. "Of all the things I'm surprised to see in Kivotos, religion is one of them."

"Eh?" Mari stared at me in surprise. "Is religion... not a thing, in your home country?"

"It is." I reply with what is technically the truth. "But it's probably not the same type of religion. What exactly does the Sisterhood– correction; what does Trinity believe in?"

Mari adopts a more formal posture, placing her hands atop one another one her lower torso with elegance. "Trinity believes in two things equally: the veneration of saints, and the reverence of the celestial bodies. The Sisterhood believes that each person has spiritual needs that must be met to achieve inner harmony. Such needs can be met through veneration of those of perfect balance, and harmonization with the mind and body of the self. Have you come to pray, Sensei?"

"Not today, unfortunately." I slowly shake my head. "I'm here to visit Trinity for the first time. But it's good to know that people worship the astral here too."

"Is it the same in your country?" Mari responds with a surprising amount of glee. "That is wonderful to hear. I could not imagine life without the guidance of Sol and Lua."

Whoa. Now that was an Arca Plasmor blast to the face.

"Wait." I lean forward in my seat, looking Mari square in the eyes. "You also practice Dualism in Kivotos? I thought that was just my home country."

"Indeed!" Mari smiles with such radiance that I am taken aback. "I am so glad to hear it exists outside of Kivotos! May I ask how your faith is applied in your home country?"

"A different time." I reply gently. "I am a bit pressed for time today. But now that I know Dualism exists in Kivotos, I'll be back here soon."

"Oh... Okay." Mari looked at me with slight disappointment, and the way she said that made me feel guilty for that answer. "By the way... Do you have a MomoTalk account? It would be beneficial if you could contact me when in need of guidance."

"I do." I answer while getting up from my bench, pulling out the Shittem Chest. "Here."

Yet again, I do the whole process and add Mari as my first Trinity contact.

"Thank you, Sensei." Mari says with a smile, returning her phone to a hidden pocket in her uniform. "I will always be available to help provide for your spiritual needs. Please send a message when you require my help."

"Only if the offer goes both ways." I say as I hold out a hand. "As one of my many students, I will also be ready to help you in whatever ways you need. Don't be afraid to contact me if you need the type of help a Sensei can provide."

"..." Mari looks up at me with a thoughtful stare. After a couple seconds, her smile returns. "Yes, I will keep that in mind. Thank you."

"Alright. I'll see you later, Mari."

I make my way towards the entrance and look back, giving Mari a wave. She returns it, and I leave the cathedral and get hit with unexpected warm air. Damn, it was this warm out and I didn't even realize it?

"Arona, I've got a random question."

≪ Yes, Sensei? ≫ Arona replied, suddenly materializing and walking ahead of me.

"What season is it in Kivotos?"

≪ Late Spring. ≫ Arona immediately replies. She walks with a spring in her step, her halo going spikey. ≪ Summer is just a month away! That means summer break! ≫

"I bet the kids will be looking forward to that."

As I started walking the way I came, my destination being the school building, I took note of how excited the kids appeared to be. I thought it was just initially Trinity students' nature; but now that I knew summer was around the corner, it made a lot more sense. Even in my time, summer was a special thing when I was a kid—no matter what planet you were on, it always meant you'd have more than a couple weeks off.

I walked up to the front of the enormous main school building and up its stone stairs. As I entered the building, I was genuinely impressed by the interior design. Similar to Gehenna, but different enough to be unique. Question is... which common branch did they share on the tree?

Wandering down the hallways, I mostly kept to myself and avoided disturbing the students walking around. I also observed that the students behaved differently in subtle ways compared to Gehenna: They kept to one side of the hallway, mirroring the direction the traffic on the roads flowed. Whereas in Gehenna, they walked every which way, making the hallways a jumbled mess. There was also a lot less casual talk, allowing me to hear my echoing footsteps on the polished floor.

Once again, students paid special attention to me, gossiping to themselves or just watching me walk right past them.

Noting this down for later. Gehenna; chaotic and energetic students. Trinity; orderly, composed students.

"...And that's why we should patrol a bit more vigilantly today. They might get arrogant because Sensei paid them a visit first."

"I agree! We've gotta make sure our justice won't falter!"

I am dragged out of my thoughts by the sound of a familiar voice and an unfamiliar one conversing in the hallway ahead. Moments later, they round the corner. I already knew who the first one was; Suzumi. The other one was a new face. She had light blue hair with light pink streaks in her hair, and had a bounce to her step. She also had a cute star-shaped halo.

Level 700. Strong kid, stronger than Suzumi even; Suzumi was level 600 exactly.

The two of them were initially looking at each other while walking. But shortly after rounding the corner, Suzumi looked ahead of herself and saw me.

"...Sensei?" Suzumi said with delayed surprise.

This got the other girl's attention, who also looked ahead. Both of them stopped in their tracks.

The girl with blue hair brought her hands in front of her mouth, covering it. "H-Holy moly! It's Sensei! Hello Sensei! I'm Uzawa Reisa, The Apostle of Trinity!"

"The what now?" I tilt my head forward in confusion.

"Please don't pay it any mind." Suzumi shrugs. "Reisa is a fellow Vigilante Crew member. I guess you overheard us?"

"Only those last two lines." I shrug. "Who were you talking about?"

"Gehenna." Suzumi replies bluntly. "Sometimes their students cross into Trinity and cause chaos. Usually the Justice Task Force handles it, but Trinity's been on edge today because of you... and to be fair, probably Gehenna too. So we're gonna patrol some of the lower density areas that the JTF would overlook."

"Yeah!" Reisa follows up with the energy befitting a kid. "A lot of Trinity students don't like Gehenna, but we're a-ok with 'em! That's why we've gotta make sure our fellow Trinity classmates don't do anything bad!"

I lean on the wall. "So it goes. Say, are there any more of you Vigilante Crew members?"

"Yeah." Suzumi smiles. "We're not as big as the JTF, but we're also not an official club. That means anyone can join if they want, as long as their aim is to keep the peace. It also doesn't need any sort of formal application process like all the others."

"Huh... that's smart, actually." I remark with a hand to my warframe's chin. "Is your jurisdiction limited to Trinity?"

"Well, we are the Trinity Vigilante Crew!" Reisa cuts in. "And we take our duty seriously!"

"I do wish we could patrol in Gehenna, though." Suzumi says, hands behind her head with one eye closed. "Actually, not just Gehenna. Sometimes we get problem kids from Millennium or Hyakkiyako."

"I've got an idea you might like." I comment cheekily.

"...What?" Suzumi's eyes then widened. "...No, don't. I was only venting. We've got our hands full with just our district."

I shrug again. "Alright, then. If you change your mind, come to me. You've got MomoTalk?"

"Yeah. Let me get my phone out..." Suzumi says, reaching into her pocket.

"Ooh, ooh!" Reisa raised her hand. "Can I also get your deets!?"

"Heh." I involuntarily chuckle a little at Reisa's familiar slang. "Sure."

I've lost track of how many kids I've added now. Two more go into the list. Also, Reisa is one loud kid. Not that it's a bad thing, but someone forgot to teach her the concept of 'inside voice' and 'outside voice'.

"Thanks." Suzumi bows, and then holds out a hand. "You mind if I get in touch if we find a big enough problem? Sometimes the JTF gets stretched too thin and the opportunists take advantage."

"Of course." I take her hand and shake. "Speaking of the JTF actually, you know where their office is? Might as well go see Hasumi while I'm here."

Suzumi points the way she came. "Take this hallway, go a few stairs up and then take a left. Oh, and tell Hasumi I said hi."

"W-Wait!" Reisa suddenly holds out both of her arms fully outstretched before I can walk away. "Sensei! D-Did you see my student application?"

That little question gets my attention. "You sent one in?"

"Y-Yeah!" Reisa smiles confidently, but I can tell the nervousness behind it. "I, uh, think it might've got lost in transit... Or maybe auto-rejected? I sent it in the day after you powered up the Sanctum Tower!"

"Really? Well, it's a good thing I'm here then." I say, pulling out the tablet. "If you are willing, I'll recruit you and bypass that whole application process."

"Y-You will!?" Reisa's eyes lit up with excitement. She then deeply bowed forward, arms raised straight out to the side. "Thank you so much, Sensei! I'm gonna do my best not to disappoint you!"

I then turn to Suzumi. "You know, you were pretty good on that day. I'd also like to recruit you."

Suzumi's eyes widened again. "Me? I didn't submit an application, though."

"I like what I saw that day." I state bluntly. "And knowing what you do, I think I could give you a few pointers. I've got a soft spot for vigilantes."

Reisa's eyes lit up even more. "You'd train us?! REALLY!?"

Suzumi smiled. "Well in that case, I'll take you up on your offer. I wouldn't mind joining Schale."

I give them a thumbs up. "Then it's settled. I'll let you two know when I've got time... Kinda have a busy schedule right now."

"It's okay!" Reisa returned my thumbs up with gusto. "We've got a busy schedule too!"

"We'll be in touch when we have free time." Suzumi says, walking past me before stopping and turning around. "See you soon, Drifter-sensei. C'mon Reisa, we're gonna leave now."

Reisa bows again. "See ya, Sensei! Thanks for recruiting me!"

I wave the two of them off. "Good luck on your patrol, kids."

Well, that was a pleasant exchange. It was already nice to see Suzumi again, but Reisa sure was a character.
I've actually found someone who outclasses Arona when it comes to youthful energy. How about that?

Anyways, I followed the directions as laid out by Suzumi. That led me up the stairs and past more and more students. I think by now the word's gotten out that I'm here, because instead of being met with surprise, I was being met with excitement. I had to gently shut down more than a few kids trying to strike up conversation, even though it disappointed me to do that.

Anyhow, I ended up in an area in front of a door with several seats arranged in a line. This was probably the JTF clubroom, and I took a seat and waited.

...

Oh, wait. I almost forgot something.

"Arona, approve Suzumi and Reisa as Schale students on my behalf. I might forget otherwise."

≪ You got it, Sensei! ≫ Arona replied excitedly. ≪ ...And done! Sensei, you should know that there's more you haven't seen. You should really have a look when you get back! ≫

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind. But if I don't have time, I'll do it tomorrow... we also really need to get Amir and Arthur some phones."

≪ I agree! Maybe they could approve those applications for you? They are Sensei's, after all... ≫

"That's the idea."

For all of Schale's strengths, I haven't been utilizing its biggest one; the students themselves.

I've always been the type to do things mostly by myself, with only a few Tenno or Hex members tagging along maximum. Right now, I didn't see much of a reason to recruit that many, apart from helping in day-to-day tasks. That said, I also didn't see a reason to refuse any outright, so long as I could see the students in person to get a first impression of them.

I really hope I don't have 1,000 sheets of student applications waiting for me. That sounds like a nightmare.

"Sensei?"

Interrupting my thoughts, I look to the right to see a small girl with pink eyes, pink hair in short twintails and wings on her head. She also had the JTF uniform on, carrying a rifle wrapped in some sort of cover on her back.

Young junior member of the JTF, maybe? Her level was impressive, though; level 600. Again, same as Suzumi.

"Hello, kid." I give her a respectful nod. "Would this be the JTF club room? Or am I lost?"

"I-It is." She replies with a tone that indicated she was on guard. "Do you have business with us?"

"As a matter of fact, yes." I nod again. "I'm here to see Hasumi. If she's available, I'd like to talk with her."

"Oh, okay." She replied with an exhale. "Follow me."

The girl then leads me inside the room. Their clubroom was... perplexing. There were several couches and large chairs that looked very comfortable scattered about, usually in front of some low tables; but juxtaposed against that, there were several office desks being crewed by students that looked very similar to each other, while there were rows upon rows of gun lockers against one of the walls. In the back, I even saw some members doing maintenance on their guns.

"This is the Justice Task Force headquarters." The young girl stood in front of me, hands atop another on her lower torso as the door closed behind me. "We are Trinity's sword and shield! The righteous defenders of justice!"

"Well said, Koharu."

I hear a soft-spoken voice, followed by a girl with short black hair, small black wings and the standard JTF uniform walking into my field of vision. She is carrying a... a...

"...That is the most glorious sniper rifle I have ever seen." I remark with genuine awe upon seeing the massive behemoth of a gun on her back. "And also the biggest gun I've seen a kid carrying around so far. That is so delightfully impractical."

I need to get my hands on one of those. That is a weapon perfect for Cyte-09. Maybe that big-ass sniper rifle would explain why she's marked as level 1000, too.

"See?" The girl gives Koharu a prideful smile, taking the rifle off her and showing it off. "Sensei gets it."

"Sensei's definitely the exception, Mashiro!" Koharu indigently claps back. "A sniper doesn't need a gun that big! We're defenders of the peace, for crying out loud!"

"And this rifle is the best way to administer swift, decisive justice from a distance." Mashiro replies as if it's common sense. "Anyways, welcome to the Justice Task Force clubroom, Sensei. I am Shizuyama Mashiro, dedicated fire support element of the Justice Task Force.

"And I'm Shimoe Koharu!" she struck a confident pose. "And don't you forget the name of an elite like me!"

"Anyways..." Mashiro immediately followed up the silence Koharu deliberately left. "You being here has us on edge."

"...In a good way or a bad way?" I ask with a bit of concern.

"See for yourself."

Mashiro turns and takes a few steps to the side, allowing me to see the room behind her again. It's now that I've noticed that the clubroom has gone almost completely quiet; every JTF member in the room was staring at me instead of carrying out their duties. Some with awe, a couple with fear, but most of them with sparkles in their eyes.

Well, this was a different reaction than the Prefect Team. They were looking at me as if I were some sort of proven myth.

Mashiro then steps back into the picture. "Ever since Hasumi regaled us with her account of your assistance during the Kivotos Riots, we've been looking forward to your inevitable visit. When news broke of you tearing the Stygian Bank apart in the name of justice, unveiling the true extent of Kaiser's filth, and then publicly saving the Abydos students from their debt... You showed us what it truly means to deliver justice. It inspired us."

I notice Koharu fidgeting a little, before trying to suppress it. The rank-and-file JTF members had a similar reaction. Mashiro herself, though, was perfectly level-headed right now.

"That so?" I shrug. "I only did what I felt was right. My home country has a morally bankrupt megacompany just like them. I've seen what their kind does to people, so I wanted to put a stop to that immediately."

"True justice." Mashiro smiles. "Now, may I ask what brings you here, Drifter-sensei? I understand you are paying Trinity an official visit, like you have with... Gehenna."

"Of course I am." I nod. "Do you know where Hasumi is? I've got something important to discuss with her."

"She is responding to an incident in the field." Mashiro replies stoically. "Would you mind waiting? We could prepare a cup of tea for you—"

–Rmmm...–

Suddenly, I heard a deep rumbling in the building. I immediately drew my Fulmin Prime, slowly walking to the window and expecting the building to be under attack. However, there was nothing but the hustle and bustle of the students out there. I look back towards Mashiro and Koharu, expecting them to be similarly alert. Instead, they had a reaction I wasn't expecting; indifference.

"...Ah." Mashiro sighs. "This is inconvenient timing. But I guess now's as good a time as any."

"What is?" I retorted seriously.

"...That's the club president." Koharu answers with that same indifference.

"The club presi—"

-BAM-

I am interrupted by the opposite wall being busted clean open by a girl wearing the JTF uniform, who had long spiky wings and was holding a pair of shotguns. She looked utterly insane. Also, was her halo bleeding?

To give her credit though, her manic appearance was backed up by her level reading: 1750. Easily in the top 5, and stronger than Wakamo.

"Keeheeheehee! Kyahahaha!" The girl stood there, laughing like a Grineer Manic.

"Tsurugi." Mashiro abruptly cut in. "We have a visitor."

"Kye?"

Tsurugi(?) turned her head in our direction. She promptly laid eyes upon me and immediately froze up for a solid 5 seconds, like she was being paused in a video game. Once she was metaphorically unpaused, her pupils dilated as her face while her face went red as a traffic light. Somehow, she appeared 80% less scary the moment she started blushing.

"S-Sen... sei!?" The girl spoke in a surprisingly cute voice as she stared at me. "What... um... when?!"

"I just got here." I reply, keeping my weapon drawn but not brought up. "I did not expect someone like you to be club president."

"Ah, uh, ah..." Tsurugi seemed unable to form complete sentences. "I..."

"I know you're here to see Hasumi," Mashiro cut in. "But now that Tsurugi's here, this works out. Don't let her looks fool you; she might look scary, but Tsurugi's actually the most girly of us all. I mean, her voice already gives it away."

"That so?" I say, slinging my Fulmin Prime on my back. I walked up to her stone-still self and held out a hand "Hey Tsurugi. Nice to meet you."

"Ah... uh..." Tsurugi continued to make only basic sounds, before slapping her own cheeks a few times. She slowly and shakily reached her own hand out and grabbed mine. "...N-Nice to meet you... I'm Kenz-... Kenzaki Tsurugi..."

Wow. I can feel how nervous this girl is just by how much her hand was shaking. Her eyes were also jittering all about like a pinball in a pinball machine. This won't do.

"Hey Tsurugi..." I say a little more gently than usual as I let go of her hand. "Let's take some deep breaths together. Follow after me; breath in... out..."

Tsurugi complies and follows my example by breathing deeply. She holds it for a couple seconds, and then breathes out.

"Good." I say with deliberate patience. "Now, let's do it again. Breathe in... out..."

I have her repeat this with me a couple times. Each time she cycles her lungs, I can see her shaking less with each successive deep breath.

"...Wow." Koharu stares at us with wonder. "He calmed her down so fast..."

"Look at him go!" one of the other club members says aloud.
"He's a natural at this!" another says in a more hushed tone.
"He's calming Tsurugi... amazing!" a third one remarks with wonder.

"Well done, Sensei." Mashiro directs me a smile. "She would've ran off in a nervous fit by now. Normally, she only exists on her own wavelength... I guess you've got what it takes to bring her back down from the clouds."

I looked from them to Tsurugi, who was still taking deep breaths in and out. Yeah, I can definitely see what they mean.

"Feeling better, Tsurugi?" I ask her, not intending to pressure her.

She stops her deep breathing exercise and looks up at me with a significantly calmer expression "...Yeah... What brings you to the Justice Task Force...?"

"I was here to see Hasumi. But now that I know you're the club president, maybe I can talk to you instead."

"Ah, um..." Tsurugi looks down at the floor nervously. "...Hasumi takes care of the difficult stuff for me. I just take care of incidents."

"Hah." I chuckle. "Kinda like me."

"Eh?" Mashiro chirps up. "What do you mean by that, Sensei?"

"I'm the type who thrives in the field." I answer. "I don't like paperwork. I was already doing hands-on stuff like this for years before I was in Kivotos, so I prefer to leave paperwork to others unless I absolutely have to."

"R-Really?" Tsurugi looks back up from the floor to me. "W-What was it like, working before you ended up in Kivotos?"

I shake my head slowly. "Story for a different time. For now, I'll just put it like this; Gehenna is a paradise compared to what me and the two Sensei's put up with. At least you and Gehenna have a functioning society."

"It sounds like there's a critical lack of justice in your home country." Mashiro remarks. "But could it really be worse than Gehenna?"

"Yes." I answer seriously. "You kids do not realize how good you have it. Do not take the simple things for granted, because some people are in situations where water is like gold. Or, their country's military is actively oppressing them for their own selfish interests"

"Is that... so?" Tsurugi squeaks out. "I... see."

"Speaking of water..." Koharu speaks up. "...Do you still want something to drink?"

I was about to say 'yes'' when the doors suddenly swung open. In walked Hasumi, her huge wings accounting for most of her presence. She appeared to be visibly exhausted, with several scuff marks on her uniform.

"-sigh-... I swear to Sol, If I see another one of those Helmet Gangsters again..." Hasumi muttered to herself, probably not caring who could overhear her. She then looked up and saw me, and her eyes widened. "...Sensei? I wasn't expecting to see you today. It is good to see you again... What brings you to Trinity?"

"Well, I've got free time, so I'm visiting a few of the schools to get my first impressions. Already visited Gehenna earlier."

"Gehenna..." Hasumi mutters again, and I could see her fail to suppress her anger. She clears her throat and slings her rifle onto her back. "What I can do for you?"

"I want to talk to you and Tsurugi. Now that both of you are here, I can get down to business."

"...Ah." Hasumi notices the hole in the wall. "Tsurugi, could you please use the door next time? I do not know how long Sensei has been here, but I imagine you must've startled him."

"Sorry." Tsurugi replies in a more casual, 'normal' tone than what I've heard so far.

Hasumi then turned to Mashiro and Koharu. "Mashiro, Koharu, could you two go out on patrol? The miscreants are being a bit uppity today. I've nearly overexerted myself, so I shall be relying on you two more than usual."

"I've been waiting for this." Mashiro smiles with a glint in her eyes. "Goodbye, Sensei. Hope you've enjoyed your visit so far."

"Will do, Miss Hasumi!" Koharu nods excitedly. "I'll see you later, Sensei."

The two of them promptly left the clubroom, leaving us three behind. I then turned my attention to Hasumi.

"Alright. How about you two have a seat with me?"

I promptly disembarked from the warframe and sat down on one of the couches. This got a wide-eyed look from both of them. However, neither of them ultimately said anything and instead sat on the couch opposite of me.

"So..." Hasumi begins. "What is it that you wish to ask? I take it you aren't here purely for sightseeing."

"Bingo." I gesture with a pointed finger. "I want to know what the Tea Party is like."

Instantly, I felt like the whole room went cold. All the background activity that was going on stopped again.

"The Tea Party? Ah. Because you are Sensei... right." Hasumi blinks. "For starters, you normally cannot interact with them unless they invite you personally. Given your position, you are probably the only one... -ahem-; You, Arthur-sensei and Amir-sensei are probably the only three who could bypass that restriction."

"...The Tea Party is the student council." Tsurugi meekly adds. "They're a group of three who rotate between being the 'president', and not being the 'president'."

I lean back on the couch, getting a bit more comfortable. "I'm going to guess there's a good reason for that."

"Correct." Hasumi nods. "Trinity General School was historically the union between three academies: Pater, Sanctus and Filius. They used to quarrel badly in the olden days, so to put an end to their disputes, they hosted tea parties as mediation. This endured until today, and the tradition became the way of the official student council body as the method of ensuring continued unity between the three factions that still bear their name."

"...Interesting. Where are these tea parties held?"

"On a rooftop of a building near the main academy." Hasumi replies. "You cannot see their venue from here, but it is open-air. You may be able to jump right into their venue, but I advise against that."

"I wasn't going to." I shake my head seriously, even though I know damn well I'm gonna do exactly that. "Who's the current three members?"

"Kirifuji Nagisa of Filius, Yurizono Seia of Sanctus and Misono Mika of Pater. Are you wishing to get in contact with one of them? Perhaps all three?"

"Yeah. The way you make them sound so important... either I get in contact with them and arrange something, or they get in cont—"

-Squeak-

...People all day today.

The doors open again with a loud creak, and a girl not donning the JTF uniform walks in. At least she had the decency to open it quietly. The girl was a rank-and-file member of some organization; she had a generic halo, and was wearing an all-white uniform accentuated by small white wings. In her hands was a small envelope with an insignia I couldn't recognize.

"...Ah." Hasumi vocalized a simple sound as the girl in white walked in, the doors closing behind her.

"Hasumi-san." The girl began, bowing respectfully. She then turned to me. "I am here to deliver a message on behalf of the Tea Party to Drifter-sensei. Please accept this envelope, sir."

"Thanks, miss." I said as I took the envelope from her. She then bowed again and promptly took her immediate leave.

As I cleanly ripped it open, Tsurugi spoke up. "...T-That was a bit unexpected. Usually they don't directly enter our clubroom like that..."

"It is certainly a special occasion." Hasumi replied. "Drifter-sensei is a one-on-a-kind figure as the head of Schale, responsible for every student in Kivotos. Even the Tea Party is beheld to his station."

I ignored their voices and took out the piece of paper enclosed. Interestingly, It was handwritten. I began reading it in my head.

—

Greetings, Drifter-sensei.

We have made the observation that you are currently present in Trinity for your first official visit representing Schale. We, the Tea Party, hereby formally extend an invitation to you to join us at our venue for a tea party. We look forward to discussing certain matters with you.

-Kirifuji Nagisa

—

"...Well, it looks like they got to me first."

"W-What was it?" Tsurugi asks innocently.

"An official invitation."

This got gasps from the entire room, sans Hasumi and Tsurugi. Hasumi gave me an amused smile, while Tsurugi was smiling for some other reason I couldn't discern.

"Congratulations, Drifter-sensei." Hasumi spoke warmly. "You are officially the first non-Trinity individual to be invited by the Tea Party in its entire history. I suppose it isn't a surprise, but it is a special occasion nonetheless. I wish you a safe trip."

"Actually, before I go..." I hold up an index finger. Folding the piece of paper neatly and putting it inside my pocket, I grab the Shittim Chest off my warframe's hip. "...You want my MomoTalk details, don't you."

"Yes." Hasumi immediately replied.

"W-What!?" Tsurugi replied with shock for some reason, eyes darting around. "...You'd accept me as a contact?"

"Of course." I replied without hesitation. "Especially since you're the JTF's president. But beyond that, no-one is unworthy of guidance."

To this, Tsurugi just closed her mouth and blushed again. The two of them got out their phones and I gave them my details.

"Oh, by the way..." I pause as I clip the tablet back onto my warframe, transferring into it again. "...Pass those details along to Koharu and Mashiro as well."

"I shall." Hasumi gives me a warm smile. "Have a good rest of your day, Drifter-sensei."

Tsurugi awkwardly gave me a warm smile. "G-Goodbye, Drifter-sensei!"

"See ya two. Don't be afraid to call on me if you're having JTF-related trouble, or need some help with your studies."

Hasumi nods. "We will keep your offer in mind."

I get up from the couch and walk out of the JTF's clubroom. As I walk down the hallways, I reflect on the visit I paid them.

Tsurugi was the most unorthodox kid I've met so far. She gave me a 1:1 impression of a Grineer Manic, but she was also an awkward kid. Not awkward as in 'tough to interact with', but more like 'doesn't know how to handle social interaction.' Thanks to her, she made me understand that I'll have to put extra effort into not judging books by their covers here; I almost regarded her as a threat.

Now, my perception of her has gone from 'homicidal maniac' to 'socially awkward fluffball with homicidal tendencies'. Usually a dangerous combination, but she's not what they call a 'manic pixie dream girl'.

...

As I walk out of the main doors of the academy into the fresh outside air, I look up towards the rooftops of the nearby buildings. Hasumi said not to barge in on them uninvited. But what about if I was? Realistically, it was going to be a hell of a lot faster doing things my way, so that's what I was going to do.

If you tell a Tenno to use the elevator in an Orokin Tower when it's destination is a platform, they're gonna scale up the wall instead. A warframe's mobility is its greatest tool, bar none.

I turned around and jumped onto the wall of the school building, running straight up it vertically. I ignored the surprised gasps from the surrounding students and mantled onto the angled roof, using one hand to 'magnetize' myself to it using Void energy. There, I ran around the perimeter of the school roof, scanning the nearby buildings for a roofed terrace of some sorts.

I saw a building a small distance away with a roofed terrace next to a clock tower, with a long horizontal table and a few students sitting at it. Next to it was also a clock tower. This was probably the Tea Party venue. Could I have just asked Arona to tell me where it was? Probably. But if the Tea Party venue wasn't that far, then why not just locate it myself?

I jumped down from the school roof and started running towards the waypoint I made in my own head. I specifically ran towards it and jumped over a few students that were in my way. When I reached the base of the building, I bullet jumped upwards and scaled right up one of its narrow sides vertically. When I reached the top railing, I edge-grabbed the bar and rotated my entire warframe in a semicircle, landing on my feet.

"...Huh? E-Eh!?"

I landed right in front of a staff member in all-white who saw me rotate using the railing like that. She looked at me, mouth hung open.

"Greetings. Is this the Tea Party venue?"

"...Uh, y-yes." She calmly replied after recomposing herself.

"Good."

I then walked past her, even though she looked like she wanted to say more. As I made my way towards the table, I could see that one of the students sitting at the table was already staring at me—a yellow-haired student with a fancy dress and large animal ears. I saw her mouth 'sensei is behind you' to her friend, which caused her friend to rapidly turn around with surprise.

"D-Drifter-sensei!?" the tan-haired girl spoke with utter shock as I approached. "W-We did not expect to receive you so soon...!"

"Yeah? It just so happens I had nothing else to do after my last visit. So, here I am."

"I-Is that so?" The tan-haired girl then cleared her throat. "In that case, I—Kirifuji Nagisa—welcome you to the Tea Party. Please procure a seat."

"Greetings, Sensei." The yellow-haired girl spoke up as I walked past Nagisa. "I am Yurizono Seia. It's a pleasure to meet the famed Drifter-sensei in the flesh."

"Good to meet you girls, too." I politely answer.

Nagisa and Seia sat on the two long ends of this strangely-shaped table. I walked over to the side facing the outside view and stood behind the seat. I disembarked from the warframe again, which greatly surprised Nagisa and intrigued Seia.

"E-Ehhh!?" Nagisa almost dropped her teacup right as she was about to take a sip. "H-how did you do that? I-it's not a mechanized suit!?"

"I can't answer that." I replied. "That's Classified."

"Classified?" Nagisa remarked with curiosity.

"Understood." Seia for some reason readily accepted that, and interjected before Nagisa could continue. "By the way, I have a question. Is that real gold on your armor?"

"Yes." I answer honestly. "It's not as malleable as normal gold, but it is."

"Interesting." Seia paused to take a sip from her teacup. "Would you like some tea? It would be a shame to take part in an official Tea Party without the beverage of the same name."

"Ah, yes. I concur." Nagisa interjects. She then clapped twice, which prompted one of the staff members to place a tea cup and saucer in front of me. Another one then walked over and grabbed the kettle from next to Nagisa and poured me a cup.

I grabbed the teeny tiny tea cup and took a sip of its contents. The temperature of the tea was perfect, not being too warm or too cold... and the taste was astonishingly good.

"Under usual circumstances, we would be joined by our third member, Misono Mika." Seia says while maintaining eye contact with me. "However, she's currently preoccupied with assisting the Remedial Knights. Please forgive her absence."

"I don't mind." I hold up a palm in gesture. "Just as long as I can talk to whoever the 'host' is."

"That would be Seia at present." Nagisa paused to take a sip herself. "Now then, moving onto more official matters... We understand you've visited Gehenna before you've arrived here in Trinity. Are you aware of the Eden Treaty?"

"Only its name." I reply, leaning back in my chair a little. "All I know is that you and Gehenna have inter-generational hatred towards each other, but I don't know the reason why. Or, the extent of that hatred."

"Ah... I suppose that makes sense, given you've been occupied in Abydos." Nagisa answers thoughtfully. "Allow me to explain both matters. Firstly: The history between Trinity and Gehenna. You see, our academies have historically despised each other over ideological differences. Trinity believes in unity through order, etiquette and faith. Gehenna believes in freedom of the individual, and appreciation of chaos. Naturally, these polar opposite ideologies mean endless conflict."

"To clarify," Seia abruptly interjects. "Neither I nor Nagisa carry this hatred of Gehenna within us. And within Gehenna, Sorasaki Hina of the Prefect Team is of the same opinion."

"Yeah, I heard that from Hina herself." I answer. I then lean forward on the table and look at the two of them seriously. "...I also heard directly from her that your third member, Mika, seems to hold special hatred towards Gehenna. Why is that?"

That made the two of them pause. They exchanged some sort of look with each other, but they didn't say anything aloud or use their phones. Seia looked at me with equal seriousness.

"-sigh-... Yes, it is true." Seia replied with apparent exhaustion. "Mika tries to keep it under wraps, but sometimes it comes out. Such as when some of Gehenna's resident troublemakers cross over to our district, and we hear about it directly. She has never given a concrete reason as to why."

"So it's ingrained hatred, then." I bring a hand to my beard, stroking it thoughtfully. "I'll come back to this later. What is the Eden Treaty?"

"I am glad you asked." Nagisa replied elegantly. "The Eden Treaty is a non-aggression pact between Trinity and Gehenna, primarily intended to help resolve the problem of cross-border troublemakers. It was another product of the absent General Student Council president, who intended to help lessen tensions between our school and Gehenna."

Nagisa paused to take a sip again, and then continued.

"Are you aware of how cross-jurisdiction crimes and offenses are handled?"

"No." I answer straightforwardly. "I am still wrapping my head around how things work in Kivotos as a whole. In my home country, the government has ceased to exist."

"...It has?" Nagisa asked with concern.

"Yes. The crisis that collapsed my country took down everything—the government, the banks, companies of each and every type... the only surviving institution, the military, stepped in and took control, stripping the people of basic necessities for their own gain. Everything in Kivotos is opposite to my common sense... everything."

"I... see." Nagisa paused, taking a deep breath. "My heartfelt condolences."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Seia's ears fold forward a little as well. She appeared even more saddened then Nagisa.

I shrug. "Yeah. Please continue."

Nagisa cleared her throat, evidently also clearing her mind. "Allow me to explain it in a more broad sense: Whenever a student from a different district crosses over and causes mayhem in a different district, such as ours, and gets detained by their resident peacekeeping school club, the detainees are exchanged with the official peacekeeping group from the offenders' home district. The student may also be handed to Valkyrie Police School, depending on how severe the offenses were. For Trinity, almost all troublemakers come from Gehenna exclusively."

"Right." I nod, taking in the information. "What about if a severe case, such as Kosaka Wakamo, were to appear?"

"A case like Wakamo?" Nagisa pauses, furrowing her brows. "Then we would contact the SRT Special Academy. Their mission is to capture and detain severe criminals and have extrajudicial jurisdiction to carry out their duties. However..."

Nagisa trails off. I tilt my head and look her in the eyes. "But what?"

"...SRT has been recently closed down." Seia answers seriously. "The General Student Council President was responsible for them. But since she vanished into the wind, SRT lost their ability to do its job. Without jurisdiction over SRT, the General Student Council was forced to close the school. I believe the student body was forced to transfer to Valkyrie Police School, but the GSC declines further comment on the situation."

I look off in the distance and take a moment to process this information.

So... they had a unique academy specialized in dealing with more dangerous criminals, and they just... shut it down? That doesn't sound right at all. The GSC President was the one holding the reins, but her disappearance shouldn't magically mean they're incapable of doing their job. It also shouldn't mean their entire academy is worth putting on the chopping block.

It's like if the Tenno were obstructed from doing their duty because the Lotus wasn't there to guide them. Really, what kinda sense does that make?

...Am I the odd one out here? Is my sense of normalcy too out of sync with Kivotos?

Ugh, I'll have to revisit this later. For now, I take a deep breath and return to reality. "...I was not aware of this. The moment I get back to the Schale building, I'm gonna plan a way to address that. Thank you, you two, for bringing this to my attention."

"It is our pleasure." Nagisa replies formally. "Now, may we get back on track?"

"Yes. How will the Eden Treaty address that nasty problem?"

"With the Eden Treaty, we will establish a neutral committee, the ETO—Eden Treaty Organization—between us and Gehenna to resolve potential disputes. These include crimes between our borders, or more severe issues such as school clubs having conflict with each other. In more simplified terms, it could be described as a peace treaty, even though that isn't necessarily what it is."

"So I see." I pause to take a sip of my own tea again. "...Is the Eden Treaty able to continue without the GSC president?"

"It is." Seia answers in place of Nagisa. "We don't need her authority to carry out the treaty. Besides, Hina of the Prefect Team has advocated quite heavily for its value and for establishing diplomatic relations between us. She is quite firm in her belief that it should go through."

"Alright. Now's a good time to ask; when's it happening?"

"It is slated for sometime after the end of summer." Nagisa takes her turn. "Efforts are ongoing between our advocating members to prepare for it. Most factions in both of our academies still have yet to be convinced of the Eden Treaty's value, either due personal feelings or perceived lack of value. Therefore, it is too early to succeed."

"Sometime on the horizon, then." I cross my arms. "Now's a good time to revisit the other matter; Mika. Have you tried to talk to her about the Eden Treaty?"

"...Yes." Seia answers after a delay. "However, she is evasive on that matter. Whenever we try to talk about it with her, she immediately changes topics. We have also attempted to convince her of its value, but she does not seem to believe Gehenna is capable of coming to the negotiating table."

I lean forward in my chair and place the tips of my fingers together. "I think you shouldn't be hasty. To me, it sounds like she hates Gehenna on a fundamental level, and cannot be convinced otherwise. If you continue to push for this without considering what Mika feels, you might find a knife stabbed in your back."

This makes the two of them flinch, and the staff members bring their rifles out but not up in response. I am unfazed by this silent threat.

Nagisa clears her throat. "Staff, I kindly request you leave us. This is a personal matter now."

The staff bow respectfully and return their rifles on their back, promptly making their departure. Only me, Nagisa and Seia are present now.

"Mika is my childhood friend." Nagisa begins with a much more serious tone. "I am certain she wouldn't harm us, even in spite of her ill-will towards Gehenna. To do so would jeopardize our decade-long friendship for no good reason."

"I also don't think she would do that." Seia adds. "I have not known her as long as Nagisa has, but I trust her to do the right thing. She is a bit... rude towards me in particular, but she has an earnest desire to serve the people of Trinity."

"I wasn't deeming her a threat." I look at the two of them seriously, individually. "If you trust her so much, then I trust your faith in her character. What I'm saying is this—you should not go through with this treaty without factoring her stance in. Some people, under the right circumstances, can feel like they're backed into a corner; if you don't come to an understanding with Mika, she might take this as a hostile move and react according to her own beliefs."

"...A valid concern." Seia inquires, her ears twitching in a curious way. "While It is quite disrespectful of you to assume ill intentions of Mika, I understand you have valid precedent. Although we still doubt you, I shall keep what you said in mind."

"I will not." Nagisa replies with sudden defiance. "I refuse to entertain such baseless slander against my friend. She may hate Gehenna, but she is responsible enough to hold a position in the Tea Party."

Ah. It sounds like Nagisa let this get under her skin. Not good.

"You aren't being forced to heed my warning." I reply stoically, attempting to diffuse the tension. "I'm just saying, as an outside observer, that I see a potential problem. Consider the following: Mika is in a place of power, harbors hatred for Gehenna, and is evasive about the Eden Treaty. What do you think will happen if you decide to push through with the Eden Treaty, when it's the exact opposite thing your friend wants?"

"...He has a point." Seia points out reluctantly.

"And I refuse to see said point." Nagisa replies adamantly. "There is no good reason she would let her personal feelings jeopardize her position as a member of the Tea Party, and she would not forsake the right path forward for Trinity because of them. You are speaking heresy."

"Then interpret it that way." I shrug, choosing not to meet emotion with more emotion. "If it turns out that I'm wrong, then I'd be happy to be proven wrong. It's not like I want to suspect a student of wrongdoing that hasn't happened yet. I just have the eye for stuff like this."

Nagisa breathes in deeply, and exhales. "...Now... Putting aside this matter, are there any points of discussion you wish to raise with us while we are gathered here today?"

"Actually, yes. There is." I look at Nagisa square in the eyes. "Could I request you to provide aid to Abydos?"

"Aid for Abydos?" one of Seia's ears twitches. "...I don't mean to sound rude, but why?"

"Well... If nothing else, it's because Hina beat you to the punch." I respond with deliberate wording. "She was the first to reach out to me while I was in Abydos—visited me in person, even—and offered me a deal. The Prefect Team would provide aid to Abydos in exchange for a defense pact between Schale and them. Now, I am going to offer a similar deal to you."

"...I am listening." Nagisa leans forward in her chair, brow furrowed.

"I want to request you to provide aid to Abydos." I say, not even blinking as I speak. "In exchange, Schale will establish a defense pact with the Justice Task Force. If the JTF ever needs assistance to handle an extraordinary threat, we at Schale will be willing to extend a helping hand. We'll also be willing to assist in training drills, provided we have time to allocate. These are near;y identical to the terms I discussed with Hina on behalf of the Prefect Team."

Nagisa gives a diplomatic smile. "Seia, what is your decision?"

Seia immediately speaks without hesitation. "I formally agree to your terms. Please forward a contract to us as soon as you are able."

I nod. "Right. In that case, do you two have MomoTalk?"

Nagisa stops herself from taking another sip. "MomoTalk? We do."

"Good. Can I get both of your details, then?" I say, grabbing the Shittim Chest again. "I will notify you two when I've got something drawn up and ready to send. You can also get in touch with me if you need guidance or help with your studies."

Seia rises from her chair, phone in hand and with a nice smile on her face. "I humbly accept your generosity, Sensei."

Nagisa also gets up from her chair. Both of them walk over to me, allowing me to carry out the process again. When it's done, the two of them promptly return to their seats.

"Have you considered making your MomoTalk details public?" Nagisa asks a valid question, pausing to take a sip of her tea. "It would certainly be more convenient if you did."

"Maybe it would be." I say, clipping the tablet back onto my warframe. "But knowing I have 500 million eyes on my Z account, I don't want my MomoTalk to be flooded with messages every second."

"Ah..." Nagisa nods understandingly. "Understandable. I suppose you do require order in your affairs, given your position and importance."

In all likelihood, if I did post my MomoTalk account publicly, Arona could probably filter out all the spam from real people. But again, that was 500 million people. I wanted her processing power devoted to more important things than that.

"Sensei." Seia abruptly spoke up. "Have you met the Sisterhood?"

"Only Mari." I admit it plainly. "But I was in the cathedral. It's kind of nice to know Dualism exists in Kivotos."

"Dualism exists in your home country?" Seia's ears twitch again. "I did not know its reach extended so far."

I give her a smile. "That's roughly what I said, too."

"Do you practice Dualism?" Nagisa asks another good question.

"Sometimes, but I'm also not fully religious. Sort of on the fence." I answer candidly. "Arthur does. He grew up practicing Dualism."

"I see." Seia brings a hand to her chin. "What about Amir?"

"Sort of like me. He practices Dualism, but not as rigidly as Arthur."

"This is interesting information." Nagisa smiles, but I can't tell the emotion behind it. "Are there any further matters you wished to discuss with us?"

"Not anymore. Now? I'm just gonna enjoy the tea."

"Understandable. Cheers to that." Seia holds up her tea cup, pinkie out, and takes a sip.

"Cheers." Nagisa does the same.

Seia then gets up from her chair and walks over, grabbing the kettle. "Would you like another serving?"

"Yes." I nod.

She smiles and refills my cup, which was empty before. I raised the tea cup, but didn't do it with my pinkie out.

"Cheers."

I then took a nice swig of the tea. This was some actual good tea.

The Zariman Ten Zero never had anything this good, and neither did Duviri. Tea made by the Ostron is the only type that comes close to something this good, primarily because they're the most in-touch with nature of all the colonies I've visited.

Arthur would kill for tea this good. I'll have to brag about this to him later.

Although I was on a limited schedule, I still continued to sit there, enjoying the moment of quiet peace. Moments like this were hard to come by.

---

It's been about an hour since I bid the two Tea Party members farewell.

I was going to visit Shanhaijing next; I still technically had enough time to do it. But after learning about SRT from those two, I've decided that this was more important. Before Kasumi and Megu will show me Gehenna's best hot spring later, I wanted to see what I could learn about SRT, and then I'll decide where to go from there.

I do not know why, but hearing about what role SRT served had me personally interested. If there was a need for a force like SRT to exist, then the need wouldn't just disappear in tandem with the academy.

As I pull into the vehicle bay of Schale, I park my motorcycle in the space next to the other two bikes. Judging by the fact that the other two were still here, Arthur was probably hard at work and Amir was probably gaming somewhere, or still enjoying that Simulacrum.

I stepped into the elevator and hit the button for my office's floor. As I did so, Arona suddenly materialized next to me.

≪ Drifter-sensei. ≫ She looked up at me, evidently curious about something.

"Yes?"

≪ What do you plan to do about SRT? ≫

"Well, first off; is what the Tea Party said true?"

≪ Yes... ≫ Arona looks at the ground, her halo becoming drippy. ≪ SRT was recently shut down. To make matters worse, the Sanctum Tower was attacked before you arrived in Kivotos, which is what sealed its fate. ≫

"The Sanctum Tower was attacked?"

≪ Yeah. The perpetrators were never caught. They even destroyed a few parts of Sanctum Tower. ≫

Now that was interesting. If someone was ballsy enough to raid the most important building in Kivotos, they had to be pissed. Given how schools were the pillars of this strange city, closing a school down against its will wasn't free of consequences. The GSC learned that the hard way.

Just what kind of mess have I stumbled upon here...?

"Arona. How long ago was it closed?"

≪ Let's see... ≫ Arona paused for a moment, loading circles appearing in her eyes. ≪ ...The same day you began helping Abydos. ≫

"Oh, for fucks' sake... What about the building itself?"

≪ Demolished. ≫ Arona said, her halo going drippy again. ≪ It just happened yesterday. ≫

"Yesterday!? But they just closed it a couple days before that!"

I facepalm my warframe and groaned aloud. So even if I knew, I probably wouldn't have been able to do anything on time. I could see the blood in the water from here; this matter was personal to the GSC. Was it the Sanctum Tower attack that antagonized them, or was it something before that I don't know about?

The elevator dinged at that moment, distracting me from my thoughts. I strode out with a little extra speed in my step, somewhere between speed walking and running. I already knew what my first course of action would be the moment I stepped into the office.

It might be too late to do anything, but I want to at least show the people I am aware of this.

As I stepped into the office, I saw Arthur and Yuuka talking with each other, coordinating over some sort of office work. I could see stacks on stacks of documents on the desks, which gave me a headache just looking at them. I'm gonna have to buy Arthur more than a couple beers later for his help.

The two of them stopped their discussion the moment they heard me enter the office.

"Ah, Drifter-sensei!" Yuuka smiled. "Perfect timing!"

"Perfect timing, how?" I responded as I was approaching her desk.

"I was about to contact you." She replies plainly, definitely sounding like she's in work mode. "I've received a formal request from acting president Rin. She requests your cooperation to resolve a matter regarding Kousagi Park. It is being occupied by a group of students protesting the closure of SRT."

Upon hearing this, I immediately sped up my steps and walked past her. All of a sudden, I had to fast-track what I was going to do—I wanted to give this my personal attention.

"Arthur, can I have the PC for a moment?"

"Sure." He nods, getting up with a grunt. "Make it quick, though. Still working on something."

"Don't worry, this won't take long." I say, as I get in the chair and crack my warframe's knuckles.

I minimize the document he was working on and pull up the web browser, quickly bringing up Z's desktop site.

"Drifter-sensei?" Yuuka spoke up with concern. "What's the matter? Why did you walk so fast?"

"It's related to SRT."

"Oh." Yuuka gives a simple sound in response. "Were you already aware of the issue?"

"No." I answer. "But I might be about to put myself at odds with the GSC."

"What!?" Yuuka shouts. "Don't tell me you're going to overthrow them!?"

"Huh? No." I responded, befuddled by her assumption. "Why would I do that? I don't have a reason to."

"What if you had a reason?" Yuuka immediately follows up.

"..."

"...Drifter-sensei?"

As I pull up my account on Z, I immediately begin composing another announcement message. Because I already knew exactly what I wanted to say, I didn't deliberate on how to word the post. I typed so fast that the computer keyboard kept skipping letters, so I was forced to slow myself down a bit.

"Sol, you're typing as fast as Amir." Arthur remarked with casual amusement. "How can you do that...?"

The moment I finished, I hit send and got back up from the chair, closed the browser and brought the document program back up for Arthur.

"Alright, the PC's yours. Thanks."

"Right, thanks." Arthur says as he gets back in the chair. "By the way, what were you doing all day?"

"Visiting two important schools." I answer, walking up to Yuuka's desk. "I'll tell you more about it later. Yuuka, what exactly did Rin want me to do?"

"She wanted you to assist the Valkyrie Public Peace Bureau in evicting the protesting students from the park." She said, turning her body to face me in the chair. "...You didn't answer my question."

"Where's the park?" I ask, looking her directly in the eyes. "I'm heading there right now."

"I'll send you the details via MomoTalk." Yuuka answers. "...Are you mad about something?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Yuuka asks with an innocent tone that implies she's concerned. "...Did something happen earlier?"

"No." I give her a genuine response. "I'm just frustrated with the GSC right now."

"Please don't overthrow them." Yuuka requests with more earnestness. "They might be flawed, but they're doing the right thing."

"I said I'm not going to." I answer austerely. "But if they have a bad enough misstep, I'm going to intervene in their affairs. They're starting to look like incompetent fools to me."

I promptly left the office, not sparing extra time to hear Yuuka's subsequent response. I was not in the right headspace to have a talk like that right now. I could only have that kind of discussion when I wasn't working in the field.

True to her word, when I was already in the elevator and halfway down the building, I heard my Shittim Chest ping. I pulled it off my hip and saw a MomoTalk notification from Yuuka, pulling up the message to see the details of Rin's request.

...

It wasn't just that she wanted me to cooperate with Valkyrie in evicting the students from the park. She also wanted me to then convince them to enroll in Valkyrie instead?

No.

Fuck that.

The moment the doors opened again, I was already walking to my motorcycle.

---

≪ The enemy is finally relenting! RABBIT-2 to RABBIT-1, requesting further orders. ≫

≪ RABBIT-1 to RABBIT-2, disengage and pull back. Our objective is defending the park, not eliminating the enemy. ≫

Tsukiyuki Miyako concealed herself with the vegetation, taking the momentary cease in Valkyrie's assault to check her ammo. She's burned through more than 4 mags, even with well-placed shots. Valkyrie was being more persistent as time went on, and she wasn't sure their supplies would last. Who would run out first; their supplies, or Valkyrie's spare manpower?

-BOOM-

The sound of another landmine going off immediately prompted Miyako to raise her rifle again. Despite Saki's observation, a few more Valkyrie students appeared to be intruding on their perimeter. But from where Miyako stood, she could tell they tripped the mine while they were retreating, rather than advancing.

≪ RABBIT-2 reporting four eliminations. ≫ Saki dutifully noted over the comms. ≪ No further hostiles in my vicinity. ≫

Miyako put a hand to her rig. ≪ Roger. Hold your position and watch the eastern entrance. ≫

≪ Affirmative. ≫

≪ R-RABBIT-4 to RABBIT-1...! ≫

≪ I'm all ears. ≫

≪ W-When we regroup, you might want to see this! ≫

≪ See what? ≫ Miyako replied, as she ejected her mag to check its weight for guessing the remaining ammo count.

≪ Schale's Z account. ≫ Moe cut in. ≪ I just showed Miyu this, but... You really need to see this. It's important. ≫

≪ ...Understood. ≫ Miyako reacted with equal parts suspicion and intrigue. ≪ RABBIT squad, pull back. ≫

≪ Roger, RABBIT-2 is disengaging. ≫

Miyako checked her surroundings for any more Valkyrie students that were encamped. Upon taking a dozen seconds to confirm, she evicted her shrubbery concealment and made a hasty advance towards their makeshift camp. She expected to take a few rounds to her head when she started moving about in the open, but the park appeared to be relatively clear.

As she regrouped with her squadmates at their tent, they appeared to be mostly unscathed. Moe and Miyu, however, were especially ecstatic.

"So, what's the matter?" Saki asked, adjusting her helmet. "We might be in the clear, but we're still actively under siege. We can't stay away from our stations for so long."

"Here." Moe brought out her phone. "Take a look at this!"

"Let's see here..."

Miyako and Saki got next to each other, as Miyako started reading the contents of the message in her head.

—

『Official comment by Drifter-sensei regarding SRT Special Academy's closure』

Today, I have just discovered that SRT Special Academy has been closed by order of the General Student Council. This seems to have occurred on the same day I began providing my assistance to Abydos. Additionally, I have also discovered that the SRT Special Academy building has been demolished as of yesterday. I am saddened that I learned of this academy's fate too late for me to take any sort of action as the head of Federal Investigation Club Schale. Right now, I understand I do not currently possess enough knowledge on the matter, and that what's done has already been done. Therefore, I formally extend an invitation to all former students and academy personnel of SRT to pay me a visit, beginning four (4) days from now. I wish to know more about SRT from the very people that attended it.

Your visits will help me decide what course of action I should take in regards to SRT. If you wish to see it reinstated, I will do everything in my power to make this a reality. If you wish to continue down your new paths, I will respect your wishes and leave it in the past where it belongs.

—

"...No way." Miyako stared at the phone in shock. "He actually..."

—

"...Wants to know more? And he's willing to restore SRT?"

"It seems so! Isn't that lovely news, Yukino?"

"Holy moly... I didn't think this would happen."

What in hell...? Was this real?

FOX Squad was currently enroute to the Sanctum Tower after summons from their ally, Kaya. But while they were enroute to the designated meeting spot in the extreme outskirts of some district, Niko got a notification on her phone. She promptly showed the phone to the other three with great excitement. Kurumi and Otogi were positively astonished by the news, while Yukino was at a complete loss for words.

In light of this abrupt development, they've halted their navigation.

Of all the people to give special attention to the closure of SRT, it was the one person who actually had the power to change things. This new development has uprooted Yukino's entire long-term plan.

Her initial hedged bet was Shiranui Kaya, chief of the GSC's defense office. She had promised them the revival of SRT Academy in exchange for their services. They've only done one or two ops so far, and Yukino's barely gotten to know Kaya beyond their relationship as contractor/contractee.

Now that the Head of S.C.H.A.L.E, Drifter-sensei, has posted a request for all former SRT members to pay him a visit, this working relationship between FOX Squad and Kaya is looking less viable. It would've been a mere trifle if he said "I want to know what SRT is like" and left it at that. But he's the adult who's gone to extraordinary lengths to help Abydos.

The very academy which was considered lost until he got here, declared a civil emergency and eradicated their debt with his extrajudicial power.

That's not a politician. That's a person of action.

"What do we do now, Yukino?" Otogi asked a strong question. "Drifter-sensei's just opened a new door out of the blue. The Drifter-sensei."

"Forgive my rudeness, but..." Kurumi chipped in. "If Schale's head Sensei is asking all of SRT to come talk to him, telling us that our visits will help him decide what to do with SRT? Well, we don't need Kaya now. He's our new best bet."

"I agree with Kurumi and Otogi." Niko says just as warmly as ever. "But whatever decision you make, I support you Yukino. You are our trusted squad leader, after all~"

Yukino looked up at the sky, considering the choice from an analytical perspective.

The revival of SRT is paramount. SRT was closed and demolished within this week. Almost all students of SRT were transferred to Valkyrie, save for themselves (FOX Squad) and a brave group of underclassmen (RABBIT Squad), who's acting independantly of themselves.

The General Student Council is restrained by bureaucracy and due process. They are led by a network of interconnected departments that have to do constant back-and-forths to get anything done, and accurate paperwork is more important than decisive action to them. Their president is currently missing, leaving the CAO Nanagami Rin to assume her duties until the GSC President returns... if she returns.

FOX Squad has given the GSC a black eye for proposing the shutdown of SRT, but that led to the accelerated downfall of SRT – ergo, they have bad relations with the GSC, Kaya being the sole exemption.

S.C.H.A.L.E has extrajudicial power, and operates independent of the GSC within its own bubble of authority. They are led by the infamous adult Drifter-sensei, who wields this authority decisively to resolve requests made directly to Schale. The head of Schale has access to anomalous unidentified powers that vary between his suits of armor, some of which break the laws of physics. But he chooses to use them for the benefit of the students—even if it means antagonizing Kaiser Group, who he seems to have personal feelings against.

FOX Squad is currently neutral towards Schale. Nothing more, nothing less.

...

The General Student council failed to help Abydos in its time of need, and has hostile relations with FOX Squad.

Schale has gone way above what was necessary to help Abydos, and doesn't know what the FOX Squad has done.

...

This choice is crystal.

The GSC is the inferior option. Schale is the superior option.

"FOX Squad, the alliance with Kaya is a no-go." Yukino began, her face still as stoic as ever. "Let's go find somewhere to post up for the day. We are going to lay low for now."

—

By Sol's light... I am frustrated.

I understand that Kivotos is basically run by kids. Kids who haven't lived long enough to make as many mistakes as people like me, Amir or Arthur have. They haven't gained the wisdom that results from these mistakes because they're still in the rooms, studying and enjoying life like kids should. Ultimately, I'd say that's a good thing.

But even still... The General Student Council is starting to get under my skin.

The first strike was the lack of succession of power leading to the city nearly collapsing. The second strike was forsaking Abydos for assistance that could've saved it from its fate. The freshly minted strike three is learning they shuttered an academy without considering how that would affect its students; in a city full of, and run by students.

Can you imagine what would happen if a country's government decided to shutter a colony and evict its people from the homes they've known all their lives, all because their president was missing in action? I can't. That's why this is so insane to me.

My benefit-of-doubt well has been tapped dry. If this continues, I'm gonna have to start handing out some damn discipline.

As I rounded the corner, I could see the road ahead being blockaded by police vehicles. I approached them on my motorcycle, maneuvering around the road barriers they've erected.

"Stop!" one of the officers on guard placed themselves in front of me. That is, until they saw who was on the motorcycle. "Oh, it's Sensei! Sorry, you can go through."

They promptly moved aside, allowing me to drive past the blockade. Beyond the roadblock, I saw various trailers and equipment stations that made the area look like a mobile command station. I found an appropriate place to park and disembarked off the motorcycle, strolling down the street while looking for a vantage point.

I was about to start walking towards the park myself, but I heard a deep voice call out behind me.

"Ah, Sensei. Greetings."

I turned around and saw a woman with blond hair and Kubrow ears, said hair covering her right eye. She was wearing a dark uniform, and was holding some sort of coffee mug in her right hand. Despite the coffee mug, she appeared to be tired. Not tired in the sleepy sense, but tired in the 'I am so done with today's shit' kind of tired. And why were her teeth so sharp?

"...Who are you?" I ask, genuinely confused at who this was.

"My name is Ogata Kanna. I'm the Public Peace Bureau Chief, and the one in charge of dealing with this situation."

"Valkyrie, huh?" I say, crossing my arms. "Sorry. I was planning to visit Valkyrie soon and get introductions done, but I got caught up in business. And now this happens."

While I wasn't initially planning on visiting Valkyrie today, they were on my docket... for a later day. An actual functioning police force, combined with the strange way Kivotos does things? I had to see that for myself.

On an unrelated note, this girl's voice was nice. And here I thought Aoi had the best sound voice, but Kanna's voice was something else.

"You certainly sound frustrated." Kanna noted, sounding tired herself. "Just as bad of a day as me?"

"My day was great, actually." I remark. "But then I discovered how SRT Special Academy got treated, and my mood took a face-first landing on the pavement."

"Ah." Kanna nods slowly. "You're talking about the school's closure, I assume. Not much that could've been done. That aside, are you here to help us with the SRT students in the park?"

"Not necessarily. Fuck what Rin said." I said bluntly, making no attempt to hide my current temper. "I'm here to talk to those kids on my own, not fight them."

"You're going to talk to them?" Kanna remarked with light amazement. "You might be as strong and capable as you are, but those are skilled students. You shouldn't go in there unprepared."

"With all due respect, officer." I say, turning my head towards the park. "I've dealt with things that make SRT kids look like pretenders. Their level of skill is nothing new to me."

"I can see that." Kanna remarked, also looking towards the park. "If there's anyone who could evict them, it's you. But it's my job to handle situations with adequate preparedness."

"I understand." I turn back towards her, speaking in a more assertive tone. "Now that I'm here, what I want you to do is stay put. Whatever orders Rin gave, consider them countermanded. Your new orders are to hold steady and maintain the blockade. If I walk out of there with the SRT students in tow, you are not to try and arrest them. If I walk out of there without them, but you don't hear fighting breaking out, then I've probably reached an agreement with them. Our new goal is a peaceful resolution, not evicting them and risking more injuries to your officers."

"..." Kanna looked at me dead in my Lavos Prime's eye, and then let out a heavy sigh. "...Understood. You hold superior authority, I guess. What is your plan to try and get them to stand down?"

"Like I said; going in there by myself, weapons not drawn, and talking to them. Hopefully they'll have seen my Z post."

"You made a Z post?" Kanna tilted her head. She then reached into her phone with her other hand, and paused a couple seconds, scanning her eyes across the screen. "...Oh. Well... I guess that might help convince them to trust you."

"And that's why I'm going in alone." I say, turning back to gaze upon the park.. "By the way, I'll be back here soon. I have more I want to talk about outside of this situation, mostly related to Valkyrie."

"Okay." Kanna paused to take a sip of her mug. "...Good luck. Entrance is over there."

Kanna pointed in a direction. I promptly bullet jumped over the defensive wall Valkyrie erected and started walking towards the park's normal entrance. Normally, this would've been a stupid idea, but I was fully expecting and intending for those SRT kids to see me. As such, I kept my weapons stowed, not intending to provoke aggression. Once I reached the overhead sign, I stopped right under it and took a deep breath. I then began shouting as loud as I could.

"SRT KIDS! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! I'M HERE TO TALK! I HAVE NO QUARREL WITH YOU, NOR ANY INTENTION OF DETAINING YOU! IF YOU UNDERSTAND, I WISH TO BE ESCORTED INSIDE THE PARK BY YOUR LEADER!"

That was the loudest I've shouted in a long, long time. There is no way they wouldn't have been able to hear that. Hell, I bet every Valkyrie student here also heard it. And so, I leaned on a nearby tree, awaiting a response from the occupying SRT students.

If I don't get a response in 5 minutes, I'm walking in there myself.

...

About 2 minutes into my wait, I saw movement down the path. A girl with long silver hair and body armor on. She approached me, weapon drawn but not brought up at the ready. She came to a stop several persons' distance away from me and bowed lightly.

"Hello, Sensei. I am Tsukiyuki Miyako, leader of RABBIT Squad. Please follow me."

"Lead the way."

This girl's attire was substantially different to other students. A chest rig and body armor was almost entirely covering her uniform, whereas she was also wearing knee protection... to a strangely retrained degree. Her gun, presumably an SMG because of it's small size, took enormous mags that looked more at home on a machine gun. And the way she moved was a lot more practiced then the Prefect Team or Justice Task Force members.

It reminded me of the way Arthur and Quincy moved.

While Miyako led me down the path, I looked around and admired the work these kids have done. This park was almost completely converted into a forward operating base; I could see various tents, makeshift supply areas... landmines. They were clearly intending to post up long-term in this park.

Yeah, no wonder Valkyrie wanted my help. There is no way they're going to get in here if the SRT kids prepped the park this much.

"Did you kids see my Z post?" I attempt some small talk as she guides me through the park.

"Yes." She replies simply. "It is reassuring to know someone in a position of power cares."

"I'm hoping you'll tell me more about SRT when you introduce me to your squadmates."

Miyako doesn't reply to this. We just keep walking inside.

...

"Welcome back, Miyako. And... hello, Drifter-sensei."

Miyako leads me to a tent past a wooden perimeter fence. A girl with a big ass helmet stands in front of another pair of girls, greeting us warmly. I can see some faint distrust in her eyes, but no hostility.

I came to a stop a couple persons distance from the trio. "You girls are impressive, converting a park into an FOB like this."

"Heeheehee~ Like our handiwork?" One of the girls wearing a blue uniform gives me a smile like she's flooded with dopamine. "Ah, sorry, wrong time for that. I'm Kazekura Moe, the army knife of the squad. Pilot, electronic warfare specialist, demolitions expert... so on."

"U-Um...!" the girl next to Moe shifts nervously. "...My name is Kasumizawa Miyu. I-I'm the sniper of RABBIT Squad..."

I stare at Miyu for a bit longer than necessary. There was something... peculiar about this girl. Before she introduced herself, I had trouble noticing her, like I could only perceive the essence of what she was. No wonder she's a sniper.

"And I'm Sorai Saki, pointwomen of RABBIT Squad." Saki butts in, saluting for some reason. "These are some strange circumstances to meet you under, Sensei. But at least you want to talk to us, instead of trying to evict us."

Miyako moves to rejoin her group, standing at the front, weapon still drawn but unreadied. "Together, we are the RABBIT Squad. We understand you want to talk with former SRT students about our shuttered academy. Is that why you wished to be escorted inside our base?"

"Yes." I nod my head, standing arms crossed at the front. "But not at this moment. I'm here because I wanted to know why you chose a park, and then I'll get to that."

"Because it's a defensible location." Miyako answers. "And because we refuse to relinquish the memory of SRT Special Academy."

I direct my head towards Miyako. "Right... What did they tell you when the school was closed?"

"They said to pack up shop and accept transfer to Valkyrie's Security Bureau." Saki interjects with barely restrained fury. "Or, enroll in a different school at no cost."

"Like hell we're gonna do that!" Saki shook her head vehemently. "None of 'em have the kind of toys SRT does. It's like comparing a 500kg bomb to a simple RPG!"

"They lack the specialized training of SRT students." Miyako furrows her brows. "SRT was meant to be the sword against dangerous criminals, and shield protecting the people against said criminals, which allowed us extraordinary authority to carry out our missions. And besides that... SRT was our home."

The other three nod in unison with Miyako's sentiment. I scanned over each of the members present; each of these girls were level 1200 and had indicated armor readings, but I didn't need to read their eyes to see the unvoiced determination leaking from them. These four had a vision and they were committed to it.

Sort of like Hoshino, in a way.

"What's your long-term plan?"

"We are going to remain here until SRT is reinstated." Miyako stated matter-of-factly. "This is our way of protesting SRT's closure."

"If I offered you residency in Schale, what would you say?"

"No." All four of them answer in unison.

Miyako then continued. "That would defeat the point of our protest. Our struggle would go unnoticed, swept under the rug like SRT was.

"...I see." I nodded empathetically. "This... is an interesting situation. I'll be transparent with you kids; I was requested to evict you by force by the GSC themselves. I'm not here to carry out their request; I'm here because I wanted to talk to you as myself."

Miyako tensed, as did the others. "...So you're not here as an enemy?"

"No." I reply seriously. "I said I had no quarrel with you four, and I wasn't lying. Really, it was actually perfect timing; you just happened to appear on my radar right as I learned about the SRT issue. Your protest is justified in my eyes."

This earns me a smile from all present. Saki gives me an especially bright smile. "Thank you, Sensei. For believing in the validity of our desires."

I hold up a hand. "Let's save those thanks for later. At this moment, I can't do much for you kids... I'm sorry. I'm still committed to helping the Abydos kids with their own problems, and I don't want to abandon my obligation to them."

"We understand." Miyako gives a surprisingly warm smile. "Abydos High School deserves the help they are receiving. We shouldn't be prioritized over them."

"Hold on, I wasn't done." I close all fingers on my raised hand except my index finger. "There is one thing I can do."

"What is it?" Saki tilts her head in curiosity.

"Ooh, could it be more supplies!?" Moe's eyes light up. "I don't mean to sound demanding, but we're gonna run low sooner or later. We took as much as we could before SRT Academy was demolished, but it can only last us so long."

"Y-Yeah..." Miyu says something for the first time in a while. "I-I'm starting to run low on 7.62x53mmR..."

"That wasn't what I was gonna say, but I can deal with that myself." I say, taking Lavos Prime's natural stance. "First off; I'm going to give you kids provisional autonomy over this park for the next month. Kousagi Park, by executive decree, will be your home for now."

"Y-You would do that for us?" Miyako's eyes widened, but so did those of the other three. "The General Student Council might not accept that so readily if they requested you to evict us."

"Yeah? Well, fuck 'em." I retort abrasively. "This whole SRT mess is strike three with them. Learning they shut down an entire school without even trying to reach a compromise got under my skin personally. If that's how they want to do things, then I'm gonna give them the same lack of respect they've failed to extend."

I opt not to voice the fact that SRT students had bombed the Sanctum Tower because it doesn't factor into my point. The GSC could've been the more mature group by not cutting down the tree for the few bad apples it dropped, and they chose to do it anyway. I didn't know if these kids were responsible for that bombing—mentioning that could severely hamper the talk regardless.

"T-Thank you Sensei. Truly." Miyako abruptly bows, which the other three immediately do as well. When she raises her head, she gives me that same smile. "I don't know how we could repay you for this."

"You don't." I answer. "But if you want to help me, I know how you can. Does... or rather, did SRT get mobilized for relief efforts?"

"Not historically, no." Miyako gently shakes her head. "However, it was in our written constitution that, should a severe crisis arise, it would be our duty to help provide relief and security for the affected zone."

"Good. I want you kids to help in the relief efforts of Abydos." I say as I pull out the Shittim Chest. "And if you would accept, I'll have you four do it under the umbrella of Schale."

"H-Holy moly...!" Moe's eyes light up. "Under Schale's authority...!? Just thinking about all the explosives and stuff I'd have access to, I... I'd...!"

"Y-You're kidding." Saki's brow furrows. "There's no reason you'd come here and do the exact opposite of what you're requested. It's too convenient."

"Then I can just leave." I shrug. "Wouldn't be any trouble to me."

"W-We weren't saying that." Miyako quickly interjects before I could do anything more. "Although we were never mobilized for times of crisis, it is part of SRT's mandate – and we are students of SRT. I accept."

"A-As do I." Miyu gives an ever-so-slight smile and steps forward, now side-by-side with Miyako.
"Yeah, there's no way I'm missing out on this!" Moe has an absolutely euphoric expression as she also steps up.
"All three of you? Well, I'm not being left behind. I'm in." Saki is the last one to stand alongside her squadmates.

"Alright then. If you've got phones, pull 'em out and open up MomoTalk."

How many times have I done this today? This was starting to become mind-numbing because of how repetitive it was. Maybe I should take Nagisa's suggestion and just post my contact details publicly.

"So, uh, Sensei..." Moe is the first to speak after they put away their phones. "...About that diminishing supplies issue."

"Ah, right." I clear my throat. "Secondly; do you have spare ammo you're not gonna use? Like, say, mags retrieved from Valkyrie students' guns?"

"Yeah." Saki nods. "Follow me, I'll take you to the storage area."

Saki begins to walk off in a direction. I take a few steps forward, but pause and turn back to face the other three. "I want all of you to come with me and Saki. This concerns you too."

"It does?" Miyako tilts her head.

"O-Okay." Miyu obediently begins following me.

Seeing Miyu tagging along, Miyako and Moe follow after us. Saki brings me to an area with a bunch of discarded mags of too many types to list. The pile was huge... just how long have they been fending off the Valkyrie kids?

"It's funny, isn't it?" Saki turns around and gives a wry smile. "We have more junk ammo here than usable ammo for our actual guns."

"No kidding." I remark casually. "Okay, so next up; all of you, separate the ammo into four roughly equal-sized piles. After you're done with that, I want each of you to eject a round from the chamber of your guns and hand them to me."

"This is oddly specific..." Miyako remarks with skepticism, but ultimately complies.

"...Wait." Moe's eyes widened. "You're gonna do that thing from the video, aren't you? Magically transforming those mags into other ammo, right?!"

Moe's sharp realization stops the others in their tracks right as they were about to reach the pile. They look back at me, eyes wide and sparkling in realization.

"...Yes." I answer honestly.

The four of them immediately close the rest of the distance and start frantically separating the ammo into four distinct piles like I asked. After they were done, three of them pulled out their respective guns and ejected a round from their weapon. Miyu just handed me a spare round from a... 'stripper clip', whatever that is.

Moe didn't hand me a spare bullet: Her reasoning was that she rarely engages in direct combat as herself, given her backline position. One look at her equipment belt and the mags still chock-full of bullets backed this up. That raises the question... Why was she level 1200 when she only had a sidearm on her?

Ignoring that peculiarity, the reason I asked for a bullet from each of them was because their ammo was new to Lavos Prime. He can convert any ammo into literally anything else, but requires a spare bullet to memorize new ammo types. Once that's done, the process doesn't need to be repeated.

I take each of their rounds and inspect them individually. One of them was a pistol caliber round for Miyako's SMG, but the other two were the same caliber round for both Miyu's sniper rifle and Saki's... assault rifle? Machine gun? Clearly a machine gun if it had a bullet as big as this.

"Excellent. Now girls, stand back for me."

As the girls stepped backwards, I stepped forward and held out a hand. A Transmutation Probe manifested in it, ready to be thrown. I looked at my other hand at the three bullets within; I clenched the hand full of ammo, throwing the probe in my other towards the three piles of ammo. It glides forward in a line, zapping both piles into fresh mags for their weapons.

"...What the fuck?!" Moe's jaws drops. "It actually works!?"

"Moe, w-watch your language." Miyako admonishes her colleague, but fails to apply the strict tone necessary due to also being surprised. She stepped forward and grabbed one of the new large drum mags for her weapon, clipping it to her leg.

"A-All of this... for me...?" Miyu walks forward with her barely audible footsteps, gently kneeling down and grabbing a mag for her sniper rifle and swapping it with her old.

"I... can't believe this is real." Saki remarks in disbelief, as she chambers in the first round from one of the fresh mags. "How can you even do this...?"

"Sorry, I can't answer that." I shrug. "That information is an infohazard. But I can assure that ammo is genuine and untampered."

"R-Really?" Miyako gives me a confused stare, as she swaps her mag for a fresh one.

"Yes." I reply with 100% seriousness. "It's best to think of it like magic. I transmuted the junk ammo into usable ammo."

Moe gives a devious smile and starts giggling unsettlingly. "To think... With that kind of power, not only will our supply issue become a nothingburger, but we can also turn ammo into explosives! All the carnage to be wrought...! Heeheehee!~"

This girl might have a few screws loose. Why was she so excited to cause devastation?

"So, what are you going to do now, Sensei?" Miyako walks up to me, rifle slung over her back instead of drawn. "Was this part of your work?"

"Technically, today's an off-day." I answer honestly. "I've been visiting some of the major schools. Already visited Gehenna and Trinity, and I was gonna visit Shanhaijing until I was told about you kids. Now, I'm gonna go tell those Valkyrie kids that you have my permission to be here."

"Okay." Miyako gives me a smile. "When you're done, please come back and give us orders. We are eager to help."

"Yup!" Moe chips in. "Plus, sitting around is gonna be boring. Now that we don't have to defend the park, all that we'll have to do is sit around and do logistics."

"Hey, it has to be done." Saki comments sharply. "We can't neglect such basic essentials. Our training dictates that we must make sure everything is in its right place."

"Yeah, yeah..." Moe shrugs.

"I'll be back in a moment, kids."

"Ah, Sensei—"

I ignored Miyako's attempt to get my attention and bullet-jumped into the air. Instead of traversing through the grass, I bullet jump from tree to tree until I am out of Kousagi Park to avoid the landmines they've placed. As I soar over into the park wall and into the police blockade, I land in an empty part of the blocked-off road, startling a few police officers.

"W-Whoa! Where do you come from?"

"Where's Kanna?" I ask the officer.

"O-Over there." The officer points in a direction.

"Thanks."

I speedwalked in the direction I was given. There, I found Kanna talking to a few officers about something, but she noticed me approaching and dismissed the officers.

"Ah, Sensei. Welcome back." Kanna gives me a tired look. "You don't look banged-up and we didn't hear any fighting. I guess it went well in there."

"That it did." I nod. "You can pack up shop and go home. By executive decree, I'm giving them permission to stay in the park for the next month."

Kanna's eyes widen as she gives me a nonplussed look. She looks to her left, then her right, and steps closer. She then spoke with a lower tone of voice.

"I hope you realize that's a bad idea." Kanna says seriously. "The General Student Council was insistent on the protesting students getting evicted from the park. They may attempt to punish you."

"Why?" I answer with a similarly hushed voice.

"I'm not at liberty to answer." Kanna answers with even more seriousness. "Certain people are not going to like you asserting your authority over theirs. If they directly requested your assistance, then it was a problem important enough to be resolved absolutely. Because you decided to do the opposite of what they wanted, they might take that personally."

I meet her serious gaze by angling my Lavos Prime's eye directly into her left one, as I compel it to glow. "Is that so? Well, you can continue to play messenger by passing along a message for me."

"...What is the message?" Kanna shifts nervously.

"It's as follows; I'm cleaning up the mess you made. If you want to protest me fixing your problem, you should remember the role that these academies serve to their students. You cannot usurp a person's home without consequence."

Kanna's ears fold flat slightly, as her nervous shifting grows more pronounced. "...Understood. Please don't take it out on me if they interpret it as hostility."

"I won't. You have my word; I don't shoot messengers." I remark with due gratitude, as I then clear my throat and stop whispering. "Now then, I'm gonna go back in there because I have unfinished business. Before I go... you want my MomoTalk details?"

Kanna's ears go back to their normal position as she tilts her head. "Really? Why are you offering so suddenly?"

"I've been giving the damn details to everyone, so may as well offer." I remark with a flat tone. "Plus, you're a managerial officer. It would be better if you could."

"I agree." Kanna closed her eyes for a moment in tandem with a sigh. "Alright then."

Kanna pulls out her phone and I do the whole process for the umpteenth time today. Is there really no better way of doing this other than posting my details publicly?

"In accordance with your orders, we will be taking our leave soon." Kanna pauses to take a swig from her mug. "...Anything else?"

"Nope." I answer as I turn around. "Have a nice day, officer."

"...Thanks." Kanna replies neutrally, turning around and walking away.

With her departure, I jump back over the temporary walls and into one of the trees of Kousagi park.

≪ Sensei, Sensei! ≫

...But as I prepare to bullet jump again, I abruptly hear Arona's voice over the comms.

"What is it?"

≪ It's an emergency! Hina just sent you a concerning message on MomoTalk! You should read it right now! ≫

I can feel my heartrate immediately quicken. "...Fuck. Okay."

I quickly pull out the Shittem Chest and open MomoTalk. There at the top was Hina's message. I tapped on her icon and began reading the message.

Sorasaki Hina: Sensei. You should cancel all your plans and head to Abydos *now.*
Sorasaki Hina: I've witnessed Kaiser PMC forces in the Abydos desert preparing to mobilize. Their likely destination is Abydos High School.
Sorasaki Hina: I am preparing the Prefect Team to defend Abydos High School. Hoshino has already been notified.
Sorasaki Hina: Since you directly antagonized them for all to see, they could also be preparing forces from outside of Abydos. They might have chosen to try and attempt seizure of Abydos High School by military force.
Sorasaki Hina: As soon as you are able, come to Abydos. Your extraordinary power is needed.

With the deepest breath imaginable, I muster up every ounce of self control I have to type up a message and not immediately explode.

Drifter: Thanks for the heads up. I'm enroute with some backup. Expect Arthur and Amir to show up independant of me.

I then shut off the screen and clipped the tablet to my hip.

"...Arona, please message Arthur and Amir for me. Tell them we've got a military emergency in Abydos."

≪ A-As you wish, Sensei! ≫

I have never been so angry in my entire life. Not even learning how Entrati willingly forsook Höllvania and the Hex to the Infestation for his own ends angered me this deeply. However, learning how the Scaldra took resources from the civilians and treated them like disposable trash was a close second on the ranking. Maybe it was because I personally saw the Scaldra's atrocities firsthand, compared to arriving in Höllvania when it was already too late.

As I start jumping from tree to tree, I consider if I want to employ the Railjack for this. I decide not to unless it's absolutely necessary. The Railjack is a spacecraft, not an aircraft; using it in atmosphere would risk some nasty shit I don't want to think about unless I have to seriously consider the positives of using it.

As I said; If I bring the Railjack out, Kivotos will know. And they'll never be the same again.

As I jump through the final few trees, I can see the RABBIT Squad still doing inventory on the ammo I transmuted. I soar over the grass again and land right behind them with a hard landing, unmitigated by void energy.

"S-Sensei!" Miyako and the others quickly turn around and greet me. "Welcome back. Did you talk to the Valkyrie students?"

"Yes." I answer, unable to keep myself fully composed. "But something's just come up. Sounds like I have orders for you after all."

"Ooh, you sound pissed." Moe brought a hand to her chin. "What'dya need us to do?"

"We're going to Abydos. Those Kaiser fuckers have dared to mount an attack on Abydos High School." I say, clenching my fist hard. "You're going to assist in it's defense."

"Really?" Saki's eyes widened in shock. "I mean, you kinda aired their dirty laundry for all to see, but still... on the same day?"

"M-Maybe they're desperate." Miyu squeaked out. "I-If they have nothing to lose, they have everything to gain... something like that?"

"Understood, Sensei." Miyako nods with a slight fire in her eyes. "RABBIT Squad, prepare to mobilize. Gather your equipment and optimize for heavy combat."

I pull out the Shittim Chest, turning it on. "I'm gonna call a Schale chopper in the meantime. I hope they can get here on time."

"Oh, there's no need for that." Moe smiles widely. "Remember when I said I was a pilot? Follow me."

Moe gestures for me to follow, and I comply, leaving the other three behind. She leads me down a path, which ends up in front of... a Blackhawk helicopter, equipped with weapons and bearing SRT's insignia. Wow, how did they manage to bring one of these with them? Maintaining and operating a vehicle like this should be pretty high cost. This revelation partially converted some of my rage to confusion, a more neutral emotion.

"You're probably thinking 'Maintaining and operating a vehicle like this should be expensive', right?" Moe points out my thoughts with disturbing accuracy. "Well, let's just say I have good connections. Good enough to let us keep using this bird of misfortune! Heeheehee~!"

"Huh..." I stare at her as she opens the front door and gets in. "...No kidding."

I jump into the rear and stand in the passenger bay, closing one of the side doors. Moe immediately begins the startup procedure of the helicopter, with much more practiced and precise movements then those I saw Serpent do. I guess it shouldn't be surprising for an SRT student, but still...

...What year are these students anyways? Apart from Moe, they all seem pretty young.

About a few minutes of waiting later, the rest of RABBIT Squad appeared, right as the blades of the helicopter started spinning. They got into the helicopter with several boxes of equipment and shut the other side door behind them, taking their seats on those barebones seats and strapping themselves in. I grabbed one of the hanging headsets and spoke into it, not taking a seat myself.

"Moe, are we ready?"

≪ Yup! ≫ She answered back, as I put the earphone near where my ear would be. ≪ Abydos, right? Get yourself strapped down. Or, uh... grab something I guess? ≫

"I'm fine, this suit of armor is sturdy." I answer back with a thumbs up. "If anything happens, I can handle my balance."

≪ If you say so, Sensei~ ≫ Moe shrugs. ≪ By the way, there's a spare earpiece in that notepad holder next to the headsets. I'm, uh, not sure you can use that with your suit of armor, but it's there. If you can somehow use it, you'll be able to patch into our communications. ≫

"Good to know, thanks."

I grabbed the earpiece and held it next to the Shittim Chest, which I hoped Arona would take the hint on. Thankfully she did, as I heard some static for half a second, followed by the voice of Saki.

≪ ...Which is why I think we should do a hot infiltration. It'll be easy to lay down suppressive fire. ≫

≪ No, Saki. ≫ Miyako answered seriously. ≪ We cannot risk losing this helicopter. We are going against a paramilitary force, one of the most well-equipped in all of Kivotos. Even though we have Sensei's backing, this is our helicopter. ≫

"Testing, can anyone hear me?"

≪ Huh!? ≫ Saki and Miykao jumped in surprise, then looked up at me in surprise. ≪ How did you do that!? You don't have the earpiece with you? ≫

"I do." I held it up for them to see, then placed it back in the holder. "Thanks to some classified technology embedded into my armor, I can interface with tech like that."

≪ N-No kidding? ≫ Saki's expression grew even more shock, buying my white lie. ≪ Doesn't that present a massive security risk? ≫

"Not really. I have multiple failsafes in place." I answer with what is technically the truth. "Now, are we all ready?"

Each of them raised a hand, save for Moe who had seemed to finish final checks. Although a couple seconds later, she did as well.

≪ By the way, straps yourselves in, it's time for departure! ≫ Moe looks back with a devious smile. ≪ We're gonna show Kaiser what SRT is made of! ≫

≪ Yeah! ≫ The other three, including Miyu raise their fist up into the air with a cheer.

"I like your spirit, kids." I give a smile they can't see. "I can't wait to be impressed."

We then lift up into the air with Moe at the helm. As we rise over the trees, my thoughts return to the messages Hina sent me... as does my rage.

These clankers... I burned the Promissory Note on that broadcast specifically to deter them from taking action, and my executive decree to return their territory to Abydos reinforced this. And what do they do? They take a page from the fucking Grineer playbook and decide that the best course of action is to take the school by force. It was never about profiting from the debt; It was about control over the territory. They wanted to make Abydos their own little playground.

...I'm going to murder these clankers.

I am going to slice them into SHRAPNEL AND TURN THEIR METAL CORPSES INTO SPARE BULLETS FOR THE VERY GUNS I WILL USE AGAINST THEM. The last thing they will hear will be the sound of my Innodem cruising straight through their MOTHERFUCKING CIRCUITS. And if they dare bring students to this fight? May Sol show those clankers the same mercy I'll show their indentured student servants, because I will RIP THEIR FUCKING HEADS OFF AS RETRIBUTION.

I hope their leader is on the field. Because if he is? Hoo boy... I'm going to take great joy in making an example out of him.

He'll wish he were never manufactured.

...

Sorry, Hoshino. My promise isn't valid for robots.

---

-Postscript-

You know... I didn't expect this story to get the kind of attention it has. I honestly expected maybe 40 favorites max after a year, because I thought Warframe was a niche canon to cover in fanfiction. I also thought it would be even more niche when crossed over with Blue Archive.

Apparently, I was wrong.

I'm not a numbers guy. My goal isn't popularity or high numbers because I'm writing this story as a form of escapism. And by writing this story, it gives me meaning and personal happiness regardless of who is or how many are reading it. The details of why this is are irrelevant—but all you need to know is that the Blue Archive IP fills a void in my soul that's been there a while. Had I not posted this story publicly, I would have still continued writing it for myself in private.

The current level of attention might not be a lot on paper. But in my eyes, it means I am decent enough at this to continue keeping it public.

Although you may agree or disagree with the way I am doing things according to my vision... the one thing I hope is that you are enjoying the story. That, first and foremost, it is fun to read. In my belief, that is the most important quality in a fanfiction. if a fanfiction story fails to be fun to read, it is not worth my favorite; from there, my entire writing style follows.

That concludes my personal message. Now, onto what I originally wrote. I have a lot to say.

—

There's a lot to unpack here. I want to start with the most important matter: FOX Squad.

This marks the second story-original liberty I've taken. One of the biggest points I hold against Blue Archive is their treatment of SRT as a whole. While at present there are only two chapters in Volume 4, meaning it's story is likely incomplete, Sensei was at his most frustrating during V4C2.

I have major issues with Sensei's passivity at times across the whole story. The worst offender incident to me, across all of BA's story, is how he handled FOX Squad. He could've prevented their downfall during the first exchange between the RABBITs and FOXes. But when he had the chance to do that, he let them just walk away towards their fate with minimal to no resistance.

This same person who saved Mika and Arius Squad in the glorious way he did in V3C4, failed to do the same thing for FOX Squad. Not even a shred of guiding light for them.

Maybe I'm missing the point of his inaction—but to me, Volume 4 was a textbook example of "let's have the gacha protagonist not assert himself in any way" in such an egregious manor that it UN-suspended my disbelief. I find his inconsistent character writing frustrating.

I genuinely hope Professor Niya springs the FOX Squad like she's doing with the Seven Prisoners. Free my FOXes, they did "nothing wrong".

—

Next up, I want to address something you might have started to think. Despite what the story says, I personally do not hate the General Student Council. I have no ill-will towards them, even if I do feel they could've made certain choices differently. Anything that goes in the story is confined to the story, as I make explicit efforts not to let my own biases affect the direction of Call of the Void.

I like fleshing out characters. It's one of my personal joys since the time I started writing. I especially enjoy fleshing out the Drifter because there's a lot of room for personal interpretation with Warframe's 'unsaid lore'. I also like exploring how crossed-over characters might react to and behave towards a protagonist who is radically different from the canon protagonist. And most of all... I like writing already masterfully portrayed characters like Hoshino or others yet to come in CotV.

—

Let's talk about the motorcycles. Despite how nice the Atomicycle is, I didn't prefer it as much as certain other motorcycles. Really, I just wanted an excuse to bring actual motorcycle models into the story. I am about 60% a motorcycle guy, 100% a car guy, and the nature of fan-based works allows me to pull out actual vehicles in this story. Don't think too hard about the history, or the companies who made them; just accept it as-is or your brain will start hurting from the dissonance—and I'm not gonna delve into that detail because it leads to a black hole of unnecessary overexplanation.

This also extends to aircraft, firearms, and other things that are relevant. Again, don't think too hard about this.

I also decided to take certain liberties with the details of Atomicycles. The only details you can find about them are those that were on Warframe's official website, and some other breadcrumb tidbits. There's nothing said on how the Atomicycles became able to use their abilities, and only surface level details of what exactly Entrati did to modify the Hex Atomicycles. So I took liberties in the explanation because I felt it was necessary.

If you were wondering why the Atomicycles weren't present until now? Well, now you know.

—

You might think I'm gonna include unreleased characters in the MomoTalks. I'm not.

MomoTalks are the window into how the Blue Archive students get fleshed out. Through them, you are able to find out certain things about the students that aren't already immediately apparent: For example, Haruka taking care of weeds, Iroha being an absolute seductress to get Sensei to slack off, Reisa being too hardworking for her own good, or Yuzu taking up jobs to fund her club (and being very good at one of them).

I do not want to do that for unreleased characters, because I don't feel like it's my place to flesh them out in that manor. It's up to the BA devs on how they wish to characterize the students.

However, that doesn't mean they'll be simple characters—I am still going to expound on them outside of MomoTalk. It just means that I'm not gonna make up those deeper character quirks on my own. When they're finally released officially, then I'll consider retroactively characterizing them if need be.

—

I'm also getting so fucking tired of the artist spam on this site. Every warning under the sun isn't enough to convince them that I don't want to do business with them.

Therefore, I have some choice words to say. Words that will burn bridges.

I'm not here to invest money into my story, I'm here because I just want to write. If I wanted art drawn, I would use Stable Diffusion. I never have, and never will have an interest in commissioning artists; this has been my stance since before AI art was a thing, and it's not ever going to change ever since I got my hands on SD 1.5 when it was released a couple years ago and fell into that rabbit hole.

Programming pictures suits my personal needs and interests more then paying an actual person. I don't care for your plight. If I can generate a picture in 1 minute and iterate on it the exact way I want it, instead of paying an artist 3 digits and waiting potentially a month while doing constant back-and-forth, I'm going to take that path. On top of that, I like the process of using Stable Diffusion anyways.

HOWEVER, I have a contrasting message for potential fanartists: If you want to draw art for this story anyways because you want to, and not because you're trying to get paid, then go ahead—Out of respect for your creative desire, I'm not going to use your art in any way, especially not for Stable Diffusion if I choose to utilize it. But if it's good enough, it may inspire me in the story content itself.

I suspect these choice words won't solve the issue, but it might damage relations in the way I'm hoping. My stance may seem heartless, but I simply don't give a fuck. I am just another random in the internet, not an influencer or a role model.

—

The next chapter is a ways out. I need a break after this one.

As usual, things probably slipped through the cracks, but I'm taking an extended break this time. I need it.

ArchiveOfOurOwn's comment section is a superior form of review system. I highly recommend you make an account on ArchiveOfOurOwn and search up Call of the Void on there so you can leave a comment instead of a review. This site prohibits external links, so you'll have to search it up yourself. I now prioritize the AO3 comments section over reviews due to high amounts of engagement, and I'll be able to directly reply to you publicly.

Until next time, readers. See you after Techrot Encore.

-llJaysimll