The Pandemonium Society's baseless troublemaking naturally dissolved into nothing with Hina's return.
When Makoto, who had been thoroughly beaten, covered in wounds, sprawled on the ground with Hina's gun pointed at her forehead, frantically called her juniors back through the communicator and firmly declared that the Prefect Team's tactical training budget would definitely be fully allocated, Iroha took Ibuki and departed.
I have to say, Makoto's attitude changes, from "What do you think you're doing, I'm your superior" threats, to "Is it really necessary to be this angry, how is this any different from usual" confusion, and finally to "Stop hitting me, I give up, isn't that enough" begging, were especially amusing to think about.
At the very least, everyone in the Prefect Team, myself included, was smiling from ear to ear.
A short while later, Hina, completely unscathed, walked into the conference room.
"President!"
Ako rushed over with teary eyes, as if she had seen her savior, her tone filled with both emotion and concern. "Why did you come back? Weren't you on a business trip…?"
"Yes, but the distance wasn't too far, so I was able to make time to come back and handle this."
Hina said calmly. "If something like this happens again next time, Ako, just tell me directly. I will naturally judge what matters more."
"How could I trouble the Presi… yes, I understand…"
Ako, who had been about to argue back, agreed under Hina's calm gaze.
"Iori, Chinatsu, you as well."
Then Hina looked at me and gave a slight nod. "This time, we also have you to thank, Sensei. If you hadn't notified me in time, the people from the Pandemonium Society might have gotten their way."
When I realized that Iroha was not giving me any face at all and seemed determined to cause trouble for the Prefect Team, I quietly contacted Hina. That was why Hina, who should have been out on business, suddenly appeared.
"Not at all. It's what I should do."
As I spoke, I felt an oddly compelling pull from Hina's lowered head. By the time I came to my senses, my hand had already moved on its own and instinctively rubbed it.
The feel was just as good as expected.
Everyone who witnessed this scene showed shocked expressions in unison.
Ako in particular pointed at me and shouted loudly. "Y-you, what are you doing to the President?!"
"…It's fine."
Hina slowly brushed my hand away, her expression dark. "This time, I'll pretend nothing happened. Please don't do this again next time, Sensei."
Got it. Do not do it in front of others, she would get embarrassed.
I hurriedly agreed, then, while everyone was still present, brought up another purpose of this visit besides helping out.
That was to reserve enough combat strength to allow me to exceed expectations in completing any special commissions that might arrive at any time afterward.
As Schale's official debut to the General Student Council, the better I performed, the more importance I would be given.
After learning of my request, the Prefect Team, which already had a cooperative relationship with Schale, naturally agreed.
Roughly speaking, as long as Iori, the assault team leader, was not in the middle of executing a Prefect Team mission, she could lead an elite unit to assist in combat at any time.
Iori snorted. "Since it's a mission, I'll follow your commands. But let me say this first, don't even think about taking the opportunity to do anything weird!"
I felt deeply pained by Iori's prejudice against me.
When have I ever done anything weird? Wasn't it always Iori, who coveted my good looks, forcing me into things? What is this, accusing first?
Truly the scum of the Prefect Team.
"If I can make time, I will also do my best to help," Hina said calmly. "For more detailed matters, please discuss them with Ako. Then, please excuse me."
With that, Hina hurried off, probably to finish her unfinished work.
"Tsk. It's all your fault."
The moment the Hina left, Ako shot me a vicious glare. "If you weren't so useless, the President wouldn't have had to rush all this way back!"
How is that my fault? No, if it's coming from Ako's mouth, maybe it could be taken as some kind of invitation.
However, before I could speak, Chinatsu frowned slightly and emphasized in a somewhat stiff tone. "Ako, the Sensei came all this way after receiving your request for help, setting aside his busy work, and stayed with us to deal with the Pandemonium Society until now."
Iori also spoke hesitantly. "Th-that is... Ako, I also think… saying it like that might be a bit inappropriate?"
It seemed that under my world-shaking charm, both Chinatsu and Iori had developed no small amount of goodwill toward me.
Of course, that also had a lot to do with Ako's genuinely bad attitude and the fact that they did not know how Ako and I usually got along.
"Guh…"
Ako stubbornly pressed her lips together and said nothing.
I stepped in to smooth things over. "It's fine. Actually, Ako and I are very close. She was just joking, right?"
"…Yes."
"Besides, it's not like I helped for free."
I looked at the blue-haired girl who had turned her gaze aside. "Ako agreed to come to Schale to help me handle work."
In reality, there had been no such agreement.
But after a brief hesitation, Ako nodded, put on a gentle and polite smile, and said, "That's right. I'm sorry, Sensei, I lost my composure just now. Then, without further delay, shall we head out now?"
I smiled slightly. "Perfect timing. We can also discuss the specific details of the support."
Seeing Ako's attitude toward me improve, Chinatsu and Iori no longer had any objections.
Thus, two or three hours later.
Sweating all over, touching the bite marks on my shoulder, I could not help but sincerely lament how arduous the work of dog training was.
Even after preliminary domestication, it was inevitable that they would still hurt their owner during stress responses.
However, the results this time were also quite remarkable.
Student Amau (Ako) initially sternly questioned what my relationship with Chinatsu was, what strange things I had done with Iori, whether I had ill intentions toward Hina, and also vented a large amount of resentment about being bullied by the Pandemonium Society. Her tactics were also quite reckless, making it clear she had accumulated a great deal of stress.
But in the end, through my unremitting efforts, it seemed that she had more or less fully released it.
Along the way, Ako also promised me that she would no longer pry into things she should not ask about, which could be said to be a happy ending for everyone.
After everything was handled, I went to the bathroom to take a quick shower and change clothes, then went downstairs, preparing to buy a bento for dinner at Angel 24.
However, the moment I stepped out of the Schale building, I saw a pink figure waiting not far away, looking at me with a bright smile.
"Ah, Sensei, it's been a long time~"
The girl walked over, then revealed a surprised expression.
"You… are you injured?"
Serina looked at my shoulder and asked worriedly.