In the aftermath of the aquarium fight, the JTF moved to secure the location and the Gehenna criminals while the hostage—who turned out to be Gehenna's School Lunch Club President, was currently talking to Sensei to listen to her side of the story after he exchanged a few words with Mika.

Shortly after, It was decided that Sensei, as a neutral party, would be joining the escort team in turning over the Gourmet Research Society and the School Lunch Club President to Gehenna's Prefect Team, who would be meeting them at the border between the two districts. This was to reduce the political burden on both sides.

That was what Mika had been informed about by Hasumi anyway.

Mika thought about making things harder, but Saori told her to lay low for now until the plan to take over Trinity was ready. That, and—

Mika quickly glanced to her right where she saw Sensei and Yume talking to each other, with the latter giggling before Mika turned her attention back to Hasumi.

"Got it~! I'll get out of your way now, Hasumi!" Mika said. "Thanks for your hard work~!"

"Thanks for your assistance, Mika," Hasumi replied. "You're far more skilled than most give you credit for."

After that, the JTF Vice-President excused herself and went back to giving out orders. This left Mika by herself to look around at the situation.

She could see the members of the Make-Up Work Club talking to one another, with Mika's gaze lingering just a bit longer than usual at Azusa, who seemed to notice her and nodded before going back to the conversation. Yume joined them not long after to catch up. She heard Yume mention the Gold Maguro's fish tank relatively unscathed and suggested that the girls take the opportunity to see it since they're already here.

Mika didn't want to disturb them, and considering the time she decided to quietly make her way out, greeting members of the JTF who let her pass. Though she soon heard footsteps behind her.

"Hey~! Wait up, Mika!" Yume called out as Mika faced her. "You're leaving already?"

"Yup! It's getting a little late and I didn't want to intrude on you guys," Mika replied. "You didn't join Azusa and the others? And where's your shield?"

"Oh, I put it away! And I did take a group picture with Hifumi and the others and was going to invite you to join. That was when I noticed you left," Yume said before her shoulders sagged. "Sorry about what happened."

"Why are you apologizing? It wasn't your fault! It was those Gehenna students who started it!" Mika exclaimed. "Besides, I know you tried everything to remain diplomatic, even when we were already fighting! It's on Haruna and the others for not taking it! And I hate Gehenna!"

Mika widened her eyes as she put a hand over her mouth. "Um, forget I—"

"Is…Is there a reason you hate Gehenna?" Yume asked, confused.

"You mean aside from the fact that they're an unruly bunch?" Mika replied, to which Yume nodded. After thinking about it for a bit, she answered, "No clue~! I just don't like them!"

"Eh?! You don't know?!"

"How could I? I hardly leave the district, you know?" Mika said. "This might be the first time I ever interacted with someone from Gehenna outside of a formal setting. Though I can't say I'm surprised with how it turned out."

She was a little disappointed though. The Head Prefect seemed nice enough in the few times Mika met her during negotiations. Mika could also tell from the way she carried herself that she was strong.

Not as strong as me, of course! But enough that Mika could see herself losing if she ever let her guard down.

"You…hardly leave?" Yume tilted her head, unaware of what Mika thought just now.

"Outside of field trips when I was younger, not really," Mika said. "In the past I was really looking forward to a trip to Abydos with Nagi, but this and that happened so we ended up camping in the mountains instead! I'd like to visit even now, but it's not like I can just travel to the Abydos district due to my position nowadays. I actually feel a little envious at how you can easily travel between districts due to being Sensei's student assistant~!"

Ah, I didn't mean to say that, Mika widened her eyes. "Um…Sorry, I didn't mean it that way…!"

"It's fine, it's fine! It's…Yeah…Sometimes I wonder if I'm being a burden to him…" Yume said as her shoulders dropped before she regained her cheer. "Which is why I try to help him in any way I can! Right now, what he wants most from me is that I…recuperate and make friends!"

"That's a low bar! Knowing you, you're bound to make friends anywhere you go!" Mika said with a joking tone.

"Sensei's that kind of person after all! It's why I want more people to get to know him…" Yume said with a warm smile. "But anyway, we were talking about you! You should explore Kivotos more!"

"Ahaha…Like I said, I can't exactly just drop everything and explore," Mika said. "I mean, maybe I could ask Sensei for help, but I think he's a little too preoccupied at the moment."

"Hmmm…" Yume closed her eyes as she seemed to think about something. "Okay, maybe not right now, but maybe in about a week or so when there's no conflict of interest?"

"'No conflict of interest'?" Mika tilted her head.

"Yup!" Yume nodded. "Right now, I'm officially a Student Assistant of SCHALE, so anything I do will reflect Shirou-sensei's reputation. Sensei might not care about it, but I do!"

"Ah. Politics," Mika groaned a little. "I'm surprised you know a lot about it though!"

"Shirou-sensei is also my teacher after all, so he makes sure that I learn everything I need to!"

"Including politics?"

"Including politics…" Yume said with a tired sigh. "It's fun to learn about it in its own way, but putting it into practice is…Anyway! Just wait for a week or so!"

Mika wondered if her new friend was somehow important back in Abydos, but she decided that Yume was Yume and Mika wouldn't let their political positions strain their personal relationship.

She didn't need that to happen a second time around!

After talking for a bit more, the two bid each other good night and went their separate ways.

Mika hummed with a smile on the way back.

Just for tonight, she thought as she gazed at the moon.

The scheming could wait.

Right now, underneath the stars, she was simply a girl returning to her home after a fun excursion with a friend.

Author's Note:

One of perks of fanfiction is the ability to explore other facets of a character that couldn't be shown in canon. In the earlier parts of Volume 3, Mika didn't have a lot of screentime as the focus of the story was in the Make-Up Work Club. Sensei is many things, but being in two places at once is beyond him.

Yume on the other hand has a lot more free time to do her own thing. Whether it's to study more, practice her Magecraft in secret, join Hifumi and the others, or even making Trinity friends outside of the Make-Up Work Club.

I could say a few more things, but I'll leave it for you, the reader, to ruminate.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.