[To: Ms. Sorasaki Hina, Leader of the Gehenna Academy Disciplinary Committee.]
I pray for the peace and well-being of your academy and yourself. This is Misono Mika, Host of the Trinity Tea Party, greeting the Head of Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee by letter.
I'm sure you would agree that writing and reading meaningless pleasantries is a waste of time for both of us, no? So, if you'll pardon my forwardness, I will dispense with the preamble and get straight to the point.
I am deeply concerned by the current state of affairs, in which the conflict between our two academies, Gehenna and Trinity, only continues to deepen with no sign of improvement. It is with this in mind that I write to you now, in the hopes of discussing a solution to this situation through direct correspondence.
Though it will undoubtedly require much discussion, preparation, and time to build mutual trust, I am certain it will lead to a result that benefits both our academies.
I await a positive response from the Head of the Disciplinary Committee.
[With prayers for the eternal prosperity of your academy, Misono Mika, Host of the Trinity General School Tea Party☆]
[To: Ms. Misono Mika, Host of the Trinity General School Tea Party.]
I concur with your sentiment that meaningless formalities and pleasantries are unnecessary between us, Tea Party Host. Therefore, I propose we omit such greetings in all future correspondence.
To give you my unvarnished opinion on the matter of your concern, the effort required will be exorbitant. While a successful outcome would certainly be meaningful enough to justify such efforts, we must also calculate the risks of failure.
However, that is merely the stance of Gehenna Academy. Personally, I view your proposal in a positive light.
It is self-evident that if the conflict between our two schools is even partially resolved, the burden on the Disciplinary Committee will likewise be reduced. As its Head, I have concluded that it is an attempt worth making.
Therefore, I will spare no effort in deliberating this matter with my Senior Administrator to devise a way to bring about a meaningful result. If Trinity has already formulated any plans of its own, I hope you will not hesitate to share them.
[Sorasaki Hina, Head of the Gehenna Academy Disciplinary Committee☆]
[To my dear Head of the Gehenna Disciplinary Committee, Sorasaki Hina☆-san.]
Uhm, why the star…?
First, I accept your proposal and will omit greetings from here on out.
I am not without some ideas, but I have not yet consulted with anyone else on this matter. I ask for your understanding regarding my lack of preparation.
First, a student exchange program between our two academies.
The goal would be to select applicants, grant them the opportunity to experience the other's academy for a set period as exchange students, and thereby dilute the mutual animosity to a certain degree. This program would likely be feasible under the premise that Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee and Trinity's Justice Task Force actively guarantee the safety of the exchange students. I expect it could be of significant help in improving our academies' relationship in the long run.
However, this would also open a path for our respective intelligence sources to easily infiltrate the other's academy, so separate security measures for that issue would be necessary.
…summary omitted.
If the Head of the Disciplinary Committee is amenable, I would like to arrange a time when we can meet in person and speak freely. As this meeting must be held in secret due to my political standing, I would prefer if it could take place within the Gehenna Autonomous District, or a neutral third district that belongs to neither Gehenna nor Trinity.
If you are interested, I will do my best to accommodate your schedule.
[Misono Mika, Tea Party Host☆]
[To: Ms. Misono Mika, Tea Party Host.]
…It appears my Senior Administrator has played a small prank behind my back. I offer my sincerest apologies for that.
After a detailed review of your last letter, I have concluded that the program you proposed is well within the realm of feasibility. Unfortunately, your other suggestions seem difficult for our side to accept.
Here is a proposal from our Senior Administrator: to host a joint event between the two academies, aiming to sublimate our mutual hostility into something closer to a competitive spirit. I would like to hear your opinion on this.
It was suggested that modeling it after the Halo Games would be most ideal, but we can discuss that detail at a later time.
…summary omitted.
Regarding the private meeting you mentioned, it seems best to hold it in the D.U. It would only worsen relations between our academies if a problem were to occur in the Gehenna Autonomous District. Holding it in the completely neutral territory of the D.U. will be less of a burden on us both.
By the time this letter reaches you, it is highly likely I will be away on important business. Therefore, for the convenience of both parties, I suggest we continue this conversation via Momotalk.
My Momotalk ID is HINA0219. I will await your contact.
[Sorasaki Hina, Head of the Gehenna Disciplinary Committee.]
I wracked my brain.
How could I resolve even a fraction of the conflict between Trinity and Gehenna? What could I do to clear the path toward the signing of the Eden Treaty as cleanly as possible?
Unfortunately, my head isn't quite good enough for that, and no clear answer came to mind.
If there were only one or two problems, it might be different, but the issues were so widespread that they weren't something I could solve alone.
Gehenna looks down on and despises Trinity. Trinity finds Gehenna pathetic and untrustworthy.
Direct clashes have decreased compared to the past, but the emotional rift is by no means healed.
And to top it all off—to my damn rotten luck—the Pandemonium Society had already fallen into the hands of Hanuma Makoto. That Makoto, the one known throughout Blue Archive as the poster child for the word 'blockhead.'
When you talk about the three great blockheads of Kivotos, there might be some debate over the third spot, but the first two are fixed: Hanuma Makoto of Gehenna and Renkawa Cherino of Red Winter. That is an irrefutable fact.
This Makoto character hates Trinity. Much like the original Mika hated Gehenna, she was the type to be thinking of ways to backstab Trinity from the very beginning, Eden Treaty be damned.
The fact that a person like that was already the chairman of the Pandemonium Society was not good news for me. Easing tensions between Gehenna and Trinity would require proactive engagement, and there was no way Makoto would tolerate that.
But even in such a gloomy situation, a ray of sunshine broke through. To my immense relief, I had Sorasaki Hina-sama on my side—the undisputed strongest student in Gehenna and a light in the darkness.
I figured the chances of Hina cooperating with me were high. After all, the whole reason Hina pushed for the Eden Treaty in the first place was that she was tired of the endless incidents and accidents in Gehenna and wanted to retire.
Faced with the prospect of being the Disciplinary Committee Head indefinitely, I bet that Hina couldn't refuse a proposal that, in the long run, could drastically reduce Trinity-related incidents. And thankfully, my prediction was spot on.
Hina and I exchanged several letters before moving our conversation to Momotalk, and eventually, we were able to arrange this meeting in the Kivotos Central District.
[Sorasaki Hina]
[I've just arrived near Sanctum Tower.]
Our meeting spot was in front of a small fountain three blocks west of Sanctum Tower. Sitting primly on the bench there, I typed out a reply to Hina.
About five minutes later, I saw the silhouette of a girl with a height that could only be Hina approaching from a distance.
Both of us were in casual clothes, not our uniforms. It might not matter much if Hina was seen with me, given her unshakeable position, but my case was a little different. The head of the Pater Faction having a private meeting with the Head of Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee? If that got out, it would be far more than a mere controversy.
For my part, thanks to the Tea Party's mystique, simply wearing casual clothes and changing my hairstyle was enough. But Hina, as the Head of Gehenna's Disciplinary Committee, was a well-known face. The sight of her with a winged angel would be conspicuous enough.
Perhaps that was why Hina was wearing a black graphic t-shirt with 'Warning' written on it, tucked into light blue shorts, a black baseball cap pulled down low, and even a mask.
To be honest, with the unique shape of her halo and the wings just above her hips, I figured she'd be easily recognized anyway, but I guess I'd have to trust in the power of convenient plot devices.
In a world where you can identify a student by their halo alone, yet no one actually does, shouldn't that rule hold true even if it became reality?
I gently rose from the bench and walked toward Hina. Her purple eyes, with their distinctly demonic vertical pupils, shot me a chilling glare. Wow, she's intimidating already.
"I'm Hina, Head of the Disciplinary Committee. You must be Misono Mik—ah."
"…Ahaha, how cute."
Considering the conversations we'd had, she should have used formal speech, and she shouldn't have introduced herself as the Disciplinary Committee Head. In that moment, Hina had naturally introduced herself and used her usual tone of voice, only realizing her mistake after she'd already revealed her flustered state to me.
Naturally, Hina shot me a terrifying glare at my words, but I wasn't as scared as I expected to be. Starting a fight in the D.U. before the General Student Council President's disappearance would be ridiculous, and besides, it's not like I've been slacking off.
I mean, I managed to tie the original Mika's high score in the mock training at the Tea Party's firing range. At that level, my skills probably aren't that different from the original Mika's, which means I can hold my own against Hina. If you're asking if I'm confident I can win, well, that's another story.
Anyway, that's that. It's not important right now. First, I need to do something to lighten this mood.
"If you're more comfortable speaking informally, please do. Yup, it's more comfortable for me, too!"
In my case, it's more like my tongue rejects honorifics, but Hina is in a position where she often has to give orders, so it's understandable that she's used to speaking informally and would make a slip-up like that. She's a character who uses polite speech just fine when necessary, so there's no doubt it was a mistake.
"…If you're fine with it, I will. Would 'Misono' be an acceptable way to address you?"
"I'd prefer Mika-chan, but if that's too much, you can just call me Mika☆"
"Understood, Mika. Let's move to a nearby café before we talk. It wouldn't do for either of us to be spotted by students from Chronos News."
Wow, I think Hina is the first person to call me by my first name so unhesitatingly after I suggested it. The Head of the Disciplinary Committee is a real go-getter, huh?
"Yup yup, let's do that, Hina-chan."
"You know, looking at your letters, I thought you'd have the stuffy personality of a Trinity elite… but you're completely different in person."
"I'll take that as a compliment on how well I separate my public and private life☆"
By the way, is it because Hina possesses one of the highest-ranking Mysteries among demons? The reaction I'm sensing from my own Mystery is more intense than usual. It's seriously getting on my nerves.
The feeling is a little different from normal, too. This is… would you call it a competitive spirit?
…I really don't want to fight her. So please, for the love of god, don't.