Early the next morning, after sleeping soundly and fully recovering, I arrived at Millennium bright and early.
As I walked down the corridor, I heard a burst of noise. When I stepped through the doors of the Veritas Department, an extremely striking scene came into view.
At this moment, the Veritas activity room was clearly split into two camps by an invisible boundary.
On one side, people were gaming with great enthusiasm. On the other, people worked in silence.
And the number on the former side was a full seven times that of the latter.
Aside from Himari, who was said to be unwell and had gone back to catch up on sleep, there were a total of eight people from the Veritas Department and the Game Development Department combined. Yet only Chihiro was at a computer, tapping away at the keyboard, seemingly processing data.
Set against the nearby noise, the girl remained focused and undistracted, immersed in her own world. In my eyes, she held a different kind of charm.
I suddenly felt that Schale's network security system might need a comprehensive upgrade, which meant I would have to ask Chihiro for help.
At this point, the girls finally noticed me and greeted me one after another.
After responding in turn, I saw that Arisu and a few others were in the middle of a game they could not pause, so I walked over to Chihiro's side.
"Just a moment, Sensei," Chihiro said without turning her head, staring intently at the constantly scrolling characters on the screen. "It's almost done... okay."
With a light tap on the Enter key, the Veritas deputy director picked up a can of black coffee beside her and took a sip, then spun her chair to face me.
"Sensei, Himari asked me to pass a message to you."
"What did Himari say?"
"It's about the conclusion of Arisu's examination."
Chihiro adjusted her glasses and explained as concisely as possible.
In short, with the technology currently available to the Veritas Department, they still could not investigate whether Kei remained inside Arisu.
However, one thing could be confirmed. Based on some of Arisu's descriptions, it could be inferred that Kei had paid a heavy price while fighting Arisu for control of the body. Theoretically speaking, at least for a long period of time, she would not appear again.
Judging from the activation phrase of that previous [Ark of Atrahasis], without the sacrifice, the Princess of the Nameless Gods could not independently complete the program's activation, and could basically be considered safe.
"...Himari has already relayed this information to Seminar President Rio."
I was not surprised at all. I nodded and asked, "Then what did Rio say?"
"President Rio hopes you can go see her," Chihiro's gaze shifted to the side, toward the black haired girl who was in the middle of a critical moment in a game. "And bring Arisu with you."
As if she had heard this, Arisu's hands did not falter in their playthrough at all, but she straightened her posture.
"I understand. Still at Millennium Tower?"
"Yes. This time it's the office."
After waiting for the girls to finish their game and politely declining their seven short one team invitation, I met eyes with Arisu as she silently stood up.
I saw resolve in her eyes, and could not help but smile.
"Don't be too nervous."
After rubbing her head and saying goodbye to the others, who seemed to vaguely realize something, I took Arisu with me toward Millennium Tower.
After arriving at the Seminar's location on the top floor, unsurprisingly yet reasonably, I ran into two girls walking side by side.
"Ah, Sensei, good morning."
Upon seeing me, Yuuka's face immediately bloomed with a bright smile, her voice turning sweet. But when she looked at Arisu, both her expression and tone took on a meaningful edge that made Arisu tremble.
"Hm? Arisu? How is your game development coming along?"
Arisu's face went pale. "W-we're working on it!"
To be fair, even I had only just remembered that there was such a thing as the Millennium Club Activities Awards. Let alone the Game Development Department, their progress over the past few days was probably zero.
Seeing through Arisu's guilt, Yuuka let out a cold laugh. "Then I'll be looking forward to you winning an award. Well then, Sensei, I still have work to do, so I'll be taking my leave."
After greeting me, Yuuka hurried off, clearly very busy. Pausing here deliberately was likely not only to say hello to me, whom she admired, but also to remind the Game Development Department not to slack off.
She was just a bit too good at scaring children.
"Then I'll be off as well." Noa smiled and waved at me before quickly catching up to Yuuka.
Noa's attitude toward me remained as lukewarm as ever, but I believed that even knowing how fickle I was, one day Noa would still be lured into falling for my personal charm.
I was never in a hurry.
After this small interlude ended, Arisu and I soon arrived at Rio's office.
Once again, I soothed the anxious Arisu with a pat on the head, filling her with resolve, then pushed open the office door.
The slender beauty with black hair and red eyes stood up from behind her desk and fixed a cold gaze on Arisu.
Arisu, slightly stiff, pinched the hem of her clothes. "Hello, Rio-senpai. I'm Arisu, a first year..."
But Rio did not respond, only continued to stare.
Arisu took a deep breath, mustered her courage, and returned her gaze with clear eyes.
As their eyes met, the atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive and heavy.
I observed the silent confrontation between the two without speaking rashly.
Mainly because if I showed any favoritism, Rio would get upset, and what should have been a simple matter would instead become complicated.
And besides...
Given Rio's personality, this might not actually be about giving Arisu a warning.
After a long while, Rio spoke. "This should be our first meeting."
"Yes, but I've already heard a lot about Rio-senpai from others."
"...Oh."
That was bad. Arisu's carefully forced politeness had instead poked right at Rio's sore spot.
But Rio would adjust her own emotions.
"Sensei is willing to regard you as a student, and Himari has assured me that you have lost your threat," Rio paused, then said calmly. "I hope you understand that this does not mean I share their viewpoint."
"Yes!" Arisu replied loudly. "I will work hard to earn your approval, Rio-senpai!"
"...You may have misunderstood something, but I have no intention of building a friendly relationship with you."
Rio continued. "I will not regard you as a student. I am merely permitting you to use the identity of a Millennium student. In exchange, you must cooperate with the joint research of the Veritas Department and the Engineering Department. During this period, if I determine that you pose any threat whatsoever, I will spare no effort in eliminating you."
Arisu swallowed, then puffed out her chest. "Yes, Rio-senpai. Arisu will do her best!"
Rio frowned. "Do not address me as senpai."
Arisu's eyes lit up, excitement bubbling over. "Okay, Rio!"
Rio choked for a moment, shot a glare at me as I struggled to hold back my laughter, hesitated, then said, "You should still call me senpai."
"Oh..."
Ignoring Arisu's disappointment, Rio continued.
"That is all I have to say."
"Yes, thank you, Rio-senpai."
Rio did not reply, and even turned her back. "If there's nothing else, you may leave."
Yet for some reason, I felt that this might be a good beginning.