When the meeting ended, Makoto left with a dark expression, as though her mind was filled with worries.
She probably couldn't understand why, after proudly boasting that Schale's sensei had spent the entire afternoon alone with one of her council members and that cooperation with the Pandemonium Society was just around the corner, Ako's reaction had been so indifferent, almost unconcerned, even faintly tinged with contempt and amusement.
Could it be that the Prefect Team really had such poor judgment that they couldn't see sensei's value, nor recognize how handsome he was?
Even though this should've been a good thing for the Pandemonium Society, Makoto still felt inexplicably frustrated. Naturally, the reason was that she had already fallen deeply in love with me without realizing it herself, and thus couldn't stand seeing others show even the slightest disregard toward me...
Everything above was merely my attempt to speculate on Makoto's mental state using relatively normal logic.
As for Ako, who had been holding herself back this whole time, the moment the Pandemonium Society group left the meeting room first, she immediately burst into delighted laughter.
"Hahaha∼ sensei, did you see that? She was seriously trying to make a big deal out of something at that level. Is she an elementary schooler? And you noticed it too, right? The way Iroha looked at Hanuma Makoto back then, like she wanted to kill her∼ it was absolutely hilarious!"
The administrative officer who had already spent many sleepless nights together with me laughed as though finally venting her frustrations.
I nodded along in agreement.
"Exactly. She didn't even gamble with me using a double-sided coin or deliberately send her subordinate to spend time alone with me. I can't see any sincerity at all."
Despite saying she wanted to slack off together with me, Iroha had really only slacked off together with me. She seriously didn't know how to seize an opportunity!
Ako suddenly stopped laughing.
After a brief silence, she spat out.
"Scumbag! What kind of delusions are you having now, and who exactly are you implying did that!? Who would ever do something like that!? Don't tell me you've actually been bribed by the Pandemonium Society and are trying to smear dirt on me, the administrative officer of Gehenna's Prefect Team!? Fine then, if that's really what you think, want to make a bet?"
Good, good. Faced with ironclad facts, her mouth was still this stubborn, and she was even clamoring to make another bet she had no chance of winning.
As expected of Ako.
It made me hard as iron.
"What are we betting on?" I asked.
A subtle flash of joy crossed Ako's face as she hurriedly replied.
"The loser has to... eh?"
Before she could finish, she noticed something and shifted her gaze from my face to somewhere behind me.
"President Hina?"
I turned around and saw Hina, who should have still been away on business, already standing nearby with a calm expression.
"Ako, sensei, thank you for your hard work. Did the meeting just end?"
"Yeah." I suppressed my restless thoughts and asked, "Hina, weren't you supposed to be away until tomorrow?"
Hina answered.
"Things were resolved faster than expected, so I came back early."
Personally, I suspected that after hearing the person she liked would be attending the meeting, she had worked more efficiently than usual to finish everything as quickly as possible, then hurried straight back without rest, just in time to ruin her subordinate's plans.
At that moment, Hina asked curiously.
"By the way, it sounded like you two were talking about something. I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"
"Ah, well... o-of course not! There's no way I'd discuss anything inappropriate for the President to hear with someone like him! Ahaha!"
Ako's tone only made her sound more suspicious, like someone with a guilty conscience.
I helped smooth things over.
"Actually, Ako was saying that Hina seems especially overworked lately, so she wanted me to accompany you again like last time..."
"Hah!? When did I ever say something like that!? And last time, sensei, you were just a tool for helping President Hina get proper rest! Don't phrase it so weirdly!"
Who was really the one phrasing things weirdly here?
Hina let out a soft sigh.
"Ako, calm down a little. And sensei too, don't tease people too much."
Notably, she never directly stated who exactly was being teased.
After she said that, both of us obediently nodded.
"Then, I'll walk sensei back," Hina continued in a matter-of-fact tone. "Ako, you worked hard too. Go back and rest for today."
"Ah, okay..."
Even though her carefully planned schedule for the night had been ruined, the loyal administrative officer didn't voice a single complaint.
The white-haired girl then turned toward me and called out.
"Let's go, sensei."
I gave a slight nod.
"Yeah."
Following her footsteps, I walked together with her through the dimly lit corridor, whose lights were far less bright than the moonlight outside the windows.
Until eventually, upon reaching a quiet corner, Hina suddenly stopped and turned around.
I had already guessed she wanted to say something to me, so I stopped as well.
The cool moonlight illuminated the side of the girl's face as she gazed at me and softly asked.
"...So, has everything on Trinity's side been resolved now?"
If the side signing the treaty couldn't first settle its own internal turmoil, then naturally it would be impossible to continue moving things forward.
And since the time and location for the treaty signing had already basically been decided, that meant I could finally answer that question.
First I shook my head, then nodded.
"Things have been temporarily suppressed for now, but there are still a lot of unresolved problems piled up. Still, once the treaty's signed and we finally have some breathing room, we can deal with them afterward."
But Hina sighed quietly.
"I see... so there were still quite a few things you never told me."
Wasn't her focus a little off?
Then again, after thinking about it, I realized the one who was actually off was me.
Hina liked me this much, so what was wrong with her getting a little jealous? What, did that somehow make her less cute?
"If everything you told me back then was all there was," Hina continued, "then it should've already been over by now, right?"
For once, I showed a bitter smile.
"Sorry. There are some things that simply can't be told to anyone besides the people directly involved."
"...I'm not blaming you. Trinity is different from Abydos after all. The situation there is far too complicated, and from sensei's perspective, there were many more things you had to consider."
"Really?" I thought for a moment. "Personally, I think there wasn't much difference at the core of it all. If everyone could trust each other a little more, maybe even if conflicts still happened, things wouldn't have escalated that far."
Sigh, it was all the pink-haired girl's fault.
"...That's true," Hina murmured. "And things were only resolved in the end because sensei trusted them, right?"
Though when it came to Hoshino and Arisu before, I'd actually been more of a counterexample.
And as for Mika...
Given Mika's current behavior, I still couldn't completely trust her either.
"I can only say I did my best. Between trust and suspicion, I simply lean more toward the former. That's all."
But Hina said seriously.
"That alone is already amazing."
I smiled.
"I'll gladly accept that compliment then. Of course, I trust you too, Hina."
"...Why are you suddenly saying things like that? Honestly... you already said it once before..."
And just like that, after talking about these things, I continued walking together with the shy yet happy Hina.
Only after escorting me near the school gates did she stop once more.
"Be careful on your way back. And... until next time."
"Yeah." I nodded with a smile. "See you next time, Hina."