With all attendees finally present, the official meeting could at last begin.
"Wait a moment, Sensei."
Makoto raised her hand to ask, "Where's Millennium's student council president?"
Before I could answer, Himari let out a soft laugh. "Rio said she's feeling unwell and couldn't attend."
Naturally, that was only an excuse.
The real reason Rio did not come was not because she was still stubbornly refusing to meet me even under these circumstances.
Rather, Yuuka had discovered that she ended her business trip early, so she got dragged away to help balance the accounts.
My evaluation was, she brought it on herself.
"But it doesn't matter."
Himari confidently lifted her chin. "As long as I'm here, that will be enough."
After sizing Himari up a few times, Makoto asked again, "So what position do you hold in the Seminar? Vice president? Or are you that legendary accountant who truly stands at the peak of power?"
To think Yuuka's great reputation had already spread to other academies.
Did that include her weight too?
"I'm the director of the Super Phenomenon Task Force (SPTF)."
Makoto raised a brow. "What kind of third-rate club is that?"
Himari nodded sincerely. "I think it truly is a third-rate club as well. Especially the person who established it. Their taste is so terrible it's difficult to even describe."
At last, she had found an opportunity to insult Rio.
Before Makoto could ask, "Then what about the people who joined that club," I spoke in a low voice:
"This is Akeboshi Himari. She is an expert in the field of Decagrammaton research, and I personally invited her here."
"Kekeke... then I have no objections."
Makoto still gave me quite a bit of face.
"In any case, Sensei."
Seia proposed with a solemn expression, "Let us first confirm the situation we currently face."
So I briefly explained everything I knew to the upper-ranking representatives of each academy attending the meeting, omitting only certain private details.
The first use of the authority I obtained from Hina produced an effect far beyond expectations. A casual strike alone had forced Binah back.
And with their shared objective accomplished, the fragile alliance between the two members of Arius Squad, Azusa, and the ordinary passing pacifists naturally collapsed as well.
Although they initially fell into a disadvantageous position, they somehow really did call Misaki and Hiyori over, and those two truly came without hesitation...
That decision, whose original intention left me unsure what to even say about it, ended up becoming the necessary prerequisite for their eventual success once the situation suddenly changed.
In short, relying on their familiarity with the terrain, Arius Squad escaped through some unknown passageway.
After completely losing track of them, I received news regarding the changes in the situation aboveground.
Roughly speaking, with Binah's retreat as the turning point, the Sisterhood became weaker.
In order to verify this was not some enemy scheme, the students fighting them conducted several more probing attacks before finally confirming it as fact.
Not only had their behavioral patterns become sluggish and foolish, even their base combat abilities had declined. They also no longer remained fixated on their original target, me.
Thus, the girls finally gained a moment to breathe and had enough leeway to spare personnel to come here.
Even though there was no longer any need for it.
The current Sisterhood still possessed strength only somewhat inferior to when Binah was present, along with their most important trait, the ability to multiply infinitely.
But for now, they merely wandered the ruins of the ancient cathedral and only retaliated after being attacked. The clear purposefulness they previously displayed had disappeared entirely.
"So wouldn't it be fine to just leave them alone?"
Makoto frowned as she asked, "Mark the surrounding area as restricted, forbid unrelated people from approaching... in the end, isn't the rest simply Trinity's problem now? Kekekeke."
Toward the end, she crossed her arms and let out several smug laughs.
However, Iroha behind her sighed softly.
"It's not that simple."
Himari shook her head and corrected her. "Binah was only temporarily repelled. It's not impossible for it to return again. Besides, according to all reports of Binah sightings up until now, it has never displayed abilities like these before. Data analysis also indicates it merely acted as something akin to a base station responsible for relaying information. In other words, the other Prophets can most likely replace it as well."
Seia followed with a summary.
"...In other words, the [Converted Sisterhood], let us temporarily refer to them by that name, may at any time once again be controlled by the existence behind the scenes and launch attacks targeting Sensei."
"Uhee~, Acting Tea Party Host-chan, there's one thing you said wrong."
Hoshino swept her gaze across the room and corrected her.
"It's not just Sensei. Every academy represented here also has the possibility of becoming the next target, right?"
I could hear the hidden implication behind her words. No one should harbor the naive hope that offering me up, the primary target, as a sacrifice would settle the matter or let them stay uninvolved.
But in reality, even before Hoshino pointed it out, everyone present already looked sufficiently grim.
I felt like someone had underestimated my charm and my standing in everyone's hearts.
After all, even Arius Squad... never mind, I did not want to use that example for now.
"This is the same kind of problem as before, one we must solve together."
Hina softly said, "Therefore, now that another crisis could arrive again at any moment, we must act as quickly as possible."
Even Makoto, who normally clashed with her the most, gave an almost imperceptible nod of agreement.
"Hehe, everyone reached a consensus so quickly once it involved Sensei."
Hanako smiled, then looked toward me.
"So then, Sensei, what should we do next?"
She asked while pretending not to know, helping me organize my thoughts.
Thus, I informed everyone of our rough strategy moving forward.
First, as Makoto suggested, the area around the ancient cathedral should temporarily be designated a restricted zone. Sufficient forces should be dispatched to guard it and control the number of Sisterhood members, but this should be done through cooperation between the two academies, with additional support from Millennium's equipment and machinery.
Next was gathering information and data related to the Decagrammaton, with Himari serving as the primary person responsible for organizing and analyzing it. Personnel should also be sent to Abydos, where Binah had remained entrenched for many years.
And finally...
"If we truly want to resolve this incident, only two directions remain."
I said, "The first is approaching it through the Decagrammaton itself. The second... is continuing with our previous method and finding the culprit who created all these tragedies."
Even though unexpected changes had occurred, that did not mean the route of investigating the contract itself had truly become ineffective.
Besides, that person was most likely deeply connected to this mutation as well.
I took a deep breath.
"The Arius Satellite School, and the organization manipulating their hatred, Gematria."
Beatrice.
Silently repeating that name in my mind, I touched the wound on my abdomen.
In that case, from here onward, let us see which one of us dies in the other's hands first.