[Abydos Foreclosure Task Force- Activity Room]
It was early morning. Normally, Hoshino would still be dozing off somewhere, but today she sat properly in her chair. Her eyes were half closed, her posture lazy as ever, yet it was clear she wasn't asleep.
Laughter and footsteps drew closer from down the hall, and the door slid open.
Serika, leading the group, froze in shock the moment she saw inside. "Hoshino-senpai? You're here this early?!"
Nonomi squeezed in right after, equally surprised. "What? Let me see!"
Hoshino's eyes opened lazily, just a narrow slit, as the rest of the Foreclosure Task Force members filed into the room.
"What kind of greeting is that? Shouldn't Oji-san me be asking why everyone's so punctual for once?"
She was about to close her eyes again for a nap when something clicked. Her brows furrowed, and her eyes flew open completely. "Wait. Why are all of you carrying so many bags?"
"Oh, we just got back from Schale," Shiroko said matter-of-factly, setting her luggage down.
Hoshino shot up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice rising in panic. "Hold on, hold on! What do you mean 'back from Schale'? Wasn't that helicopter sound just now because Sensei was coming? And what were you all doing there this early in the morning?!"
"It wasn't early morning," Shiroko tilted her head. "We went last night and stayed over."
"What?!"
Hoshino looked around at everyone, trembling. "You… you mean… all of you and Sensei…?"
"Hoshino-senpai! What are you thinking?!"
Ayane's face went crimson as she waved her hands frantically. "It's not like that! We were just worried about retaliation from Kaiser Corporation, so we stayed at Schale for a few days, that's all!"
Curiously, it was Ayane who panicked first instead of Serika, who was usually the fiery one.
Serika, meanwhile, tilted her head blankly, still trying to figure out what exactly Hoshino had been implying.
"Oh… I see…"
Hoshino frowned deeply, nodding as if she understood, then suddenly grimaced. "Wait a sec! Nonomi, why were you there too? You don't even live in Abydos!"
Nonomi blinked, replying with an innocent tone that made her sound perfectly justified. "Well, it was a group activity, wasn't it? How could I miss it?"
"But I wasn't there! I wasn't there!"
Hoshino flailed her arms, eyes brimming with tears, her voice full of outrage.
How could you call it a group activity when the President wasn't even there?! What an excuse! Nonomi, you traitor! You knee-pillow-giving, Sensei-stealing traitor! Running off without your Senpai, you disloyal backstabber!
Even the President didn't get her turn yet!
"How could you do this behind Oji-san's back! Uhee! I'm seriously gonna cry!"
"Uh… Hoshino-senpai, are you okay? Maybe you should get some rest?"
"Ah, I'm fine, totally calm."
Hoshino took a deep breath, her expression switching instantly. She smiled sweetly, voice soft and sugary. "By the way∼ Sensei didn't come today~?"
Serika shuddered. "...Actually, you were less scary when you were freaking out. This is worse."
"I am NOT freaking out!"
She even forgot to refer to herself as "Oji-san," which meant, of course, she was absolutely freaking out.
Anyway, after the commotion settled down, Nonomi explained patiently, "Sensei went to the General Student Council today to handle our paperwork. He said he'll help make the Foreclosure Task Force the officially recognized new student council."
"Oh, I see. That's great. Really troubling Sensei, though."
Hoshino squinted, her gaze sweeping across everyone in the room, a faint smile curling at her lips. "Well now, how should we ever thank him properly, hmm?"
Judging from the subtle changes in her juniors' faces, Hoshino had already reached a decision.
—
The process of registering a new student council turned out to be far more complicated than I'd expected.
The main problem was that the previous Abydos Student Council had disbanded long ago, and the Foreclosure Task Force wasn't even officially recognized as a club or organization. Every single step had to be redone from scratch.
General Affairs, Defense, Finance, Human Resources…
I spent the entire morning running between departments, filling out documents nonstop. Even with Rin and Aoi helping to fast-track the approvals, and Ayumu-san from the Arbitration Office lending her support, the sheer amount of paperwork and procedures was overwhelming.
The most aggravating part was when I got to the Defense Office, only to find Kaya leisurely sipping coffee.
You're seriously just sitting there? How do you even have time for coffee at your age?!
When she noticed me, Kaya greeted me warmly and even offered me a cup. But after I declined and explained my purpose, she tilted her head in confusion.
"Huh? Is that even under our jurisdiction?"
Hearing that from the Defense Office Head made my blood pressure spike.
I pulled up the relevant regulation on the terminal and showed it to her. Kaya's confusion gave way to embarrassment.
"Uh… I—I'm sorry, I'm not really sure how to process that. Wait here, I'll call my subordinates! Don't worry, Sensei, we'll handle it right away!"
And that was how I learned the true meaning of "like attracts like."
Kaya yelled at her confused subordinates, who in turn yelled at their even more confused subordinates.
Seriously, what does this department even do all day? Drink coffee?
Before the chaos could spiral out of control, I called in Ayumu from the Arbitration Office to guide them through the procedure. With her help, the task finally got done, and I escaped that insect-infested office as quickly as possible.
After running around all morning, skipping lunch in the process, I finally finished most of the necessary paperwork.
Sitting in Aoi's office, I filled my stomach with her stash of snacks while sending the digital forms to Hoshino for her signature as President.
But Hoshino's reply took me by surprise.
Hoshino: Ahaha, Sensei, Oji-san has a small request. Could we leave the Student Council President field blank for now?
Me: Huh? Why?
Hoshino: Just… some special circumstances. Nothing worth talking about. Just me being selfish.
Hoshino: I'll leave it to you, okay~
After setting down my phone, I recalled Seia's prophetic dream.
In the future of Abydos… there was no student council president.
So this was how that prophecy came true.
In that case… I had nothing left to fear.
After all, in the future Saya foresaw, I was still there.
That was why I'd risked everything to save Hoshino, because I believed I wouldn't die, and that I could change her fate.
Any prophecy that worked against me, I dismissed as falsehood. Any that favored me, I embraced as divine truth.
That was my stance toward prophecies and toward fate itself.