An unexpected visitor arrived while Sensei was peacefully processing his paperwork. A group of six girls had visited SCHALE all at once.
"A pleasure to meet you, Sensei. I am Shiranui Kaya, head of the Defense Office in the General Student Council's Administrative Committee. And this person beside me is Squad Leader Shichido Yukino, who leads the SRT Special Academy's most elite unit, the FOX Platoon, and also serves as the head of ETO."
"It is good to meet you, Sensei. I am here today as a student of SRT, so please feel free to be at ease."
A girl with a friendly impression and narrow eyes took the lead in the conversation. Next to her, a student with distinctive fox ears atop her head, fully armed and standing in a perfectly disciplined posture, offered a businesslike greeting with a stiff gaze.
"As of today, per your request, I am here to inform you that the affiliation of the SRT Special Academy has been transferred under the command of SCHALE. Here, this is the documentation proving it. The ones behind me are the RABBIT Platoon, SRT's super-elite rising stars who will be directly assisting with SCHALE's duties from now on."
Seeing the dark circles under the girl's eyes, which contrasted with her bright smile, Sensei felt an unwitting sense of pity.
*This child must be going through a lot, too.*
"The processing speed is quite impressive... You've worked hard, Kaya."
Hearing Sensei's words, Kaya offered a silent smile. But her inner thoughts were different.
The fact that the GSC President's direct forces were handed over to an unknown entity like Sensei so quickly in the current situation was, without any exaggeration, largely thanks to the Defense Office. With the Defense Office, which had been the number one contributor to quelling the recent chaos, casting its vote in favor without hesitation, the choices of the other administrative committee members were naturally influenced.
And she had only lent her support to Rin to get the matter processed as quickly as possible because she had been told that this was all led by Mika. If Rin had initiated this herself, it never would have been processed so quickly.
Swallowing these thoughts that contradicted her outward expression, Kaya gave a signal with her eyes to the girl in the back who was standing in the most disciplined posture, all while directing a look of admiration toward Yukino.
The girl, Tsukiyuki Miyako, caught the signal, nodded, and stepped forward.
"I am Tsukiyuki Miyako of the SRT Special Academy, RABBIT Platoon. Though I am lacking, I am serving as the squad leader. I have received orders to assist SCHALE's activities from the closest position—"
"L-Like. I. Said. I don't agree with that. Hey, Sensei. The fact that SRT is now under SCHALE means you've received the authority to appoint *me* as the squad leader, not her, right?"
"...Saki, I would advise you to show some courtesy to Sensei. As of this moment, he is our direct superior."
"You're just chirping on and on, as if you're my sunbae or something—"
"...Enough."
A cold voice rang in Saki's ear just as she was about to start bickering as usual. Facing Yukino's gaze, Saki felt like a frog before a snake.
"RABBIT 2, Sorai Saki. The decision to give command of this squad to Miyako was based entirely on the instructions left by the General Student Council President. And I am, in fact, your sunbae."
"..."
"Furthermore, to argue over such a trivial reason in front of Sensei and the Defense Chief... as one who calls yourself an elite of SRT, do you not feel ashamed?"
"My apologies, Yukino-sunbae. Forgive my rudeness, Sensei. And Defense Chief-nim."
"...Kuhuhu. As long as you issue firearm permits frequently, I don't care either way, Sensei. I'm RABBIT 3, Kazekura Moe."
Yukino, having easily quelled Saki's complaint, nodded and turned her head to Sensei. With that, the introduction of the RABBIT Platoon was finished—
"U-Um..."
The last remaining girl in the room asserted her presence with a voice that was barely a whisper. Hearing it, Sensei turned his gaze toward her.
The girl's slumped posture, a clear sign of her faint presence, was proof of her lack of confidence. Seeing this, Sensei decided he would need to pay special attention when dealing with this child.
"RABBIT 4, sniper position, Kasumizawa Miyu... Um, I hope you'll at least remember my name..."
"...Of course, Miyu. I'll be sure to remember it, so don't worry."
"Eep... Th-Thank you..."
Confirming that the introductions for all of RABBIT Platoon were now truly finished, Yukino presented her business card to Sensei.
"Sensei, our SRT is fundamentally a special team that exists to respond to crimes that occur in areas of Kivotos beyond Valkyrie's reach, or to matters that require a preemptive strike. This will likely align to some extent with the kinds of cases SCHALE, as a federal investigation club, will take on. As the one designated by the GSC President, we at SRT will trust and follow you. However."
Sensei, accepting Yukino's card, looked at her with an interested expression. He was inwardly anticipating what she would say next.
"Should you walk a path that deviates from justice... please be aware that you may lose our trust."
"Although Yukino-ssi is speaking like that for now, I, as well as Yukino-ssi, believe that you will be able to meet everyone's expectations, Sensei. After all, Mika-nim... Oh my, pardon me. Would you please forget what I just said, Sensei?"
Hearing Yukino's warning and Kaya's words that seemed to soften its blow, Sensei stroked his chin with his finger.
*Mika, again.*
Thinking that he might need to investigate Mika a little more, beyond what he had already found out, Sensei opened his mouth.
"I'm grateful for that trust, but at the same time, it feels a bit daunting. More importantly, Yukino, could you tell me a little more about this 'justice' you speak of?"
That day, five students added their names to SCHALE's roster, bringing the total number of members, excluding Sensei, to six.
Naturally, the very first name to be listed was Misono Mika's.
***
Not many days after that, Sensei, who had woken up in SCHALE's basement, bought a can of coffee from the newly opened convenience store on the first floor and headed to the clubroom.
He was trembling at the thought of the hell of paperwork that awaited him today as well.
It was then that Arona spoke to him, reporting an anomaly.
[Good morning, Sensei. Um... I'm sorry to bring this up so early, but I think there's a letter you need to read.]
Hearing Arona's words, Sensei slowly began to read a letter.
---
To the Advisor of the Federal Investigation Club,
Hello. My name is Okusora Ayane from
I am writing this letter to shamelessly ask for a favor.
Our Abydos High School has lost the majority of its autonomous district due to a desertification phenomenon that began a very long time ago, but recently, the sandstorms have become uncontrollably severe.
There are several suspected causes, but that is not actually the biggest problem.
The desert monster we had only heard of in rumors, which is said to have existed since ancient times... the existence of a giant mechanical serpent is threatening our school and our entire district.
But this monster is far too powerful. I am writing this letter just after we fought a battle against this giant monster and successfully repelled it...
But all situational evidence points to a conclusion that the probability of succeeding in a second repulsion is remarkably low.
Furthermore, due to the sandstorms covering the entire district, there have been some disruptions in maintaining public security.
We have determined that this situation is a little difficult for our school to handle on its own, which is why we are contacting you, Sensei.
Our primary goal is to subjugate the desert monster, or at least drive it into a state where it cannot run rampant again in the near future...
And our ultimate goal is to seek your advice in devising a means for our school and district to survive amidst this ever-worsening sandstorm.
I know well that neither of these is an easy or simple task.
But... we desperately need help right now. There is no guarantee that our situation will improve even if we solve these issues, due to the multitude of scattered problems, but I still ask this of you.
Sensei, can you help us?
---
After Sensei had finished reading the letter, Arona carefully added an explanation.
[The Abydos Autonomous District... used to be a very large district, but it's been suffering many difficulties due to climate change of an unknown cause. It was so large that people could get lost and stranded right in the middle of town... Hmm, that part is probably an exaggeration, right?]
"Come to think of it, I think I heard something from Mika. That in its golden age, the Abydos district was as large as Gehenna and Trinity combined... But to think all of that has turned to desert now."
Hearing Sensei's words, Arona subtly puffed out her cheeks. *Misono Mika, again.* Grumbling silently that her role had been stolen because of that 'Kivotos Common Sense Class,' Arona spoke again.
[But for the desertification of Abydos to have worsened even more... I don't think this is an ordinary matter.]
"Yes, probably so. There's no telling how far this desertification will continue... and more importantly, it's a little hard to see this as a normal natural phenomenon."
[I agree... Something big must have happened, right?]
"I need to prepare for a trip to Abydos. I'll contact the RABBIT Platoon... If the sandstorm is severe, it might be difficult to travel by helicopter, so on foot..."
[Ah, for transportation, you can use the Desert-Crossing Train!]
Having decided to go to Abydos, Sensei neatly folded the letter and tucked it into his pocket. Feeling the earnestness of the student who wrote the letter, Sensei resolved to see this mission through to success.
***