Hearing Saori's reply, Mika slightly raised an eyebrow.
"Hm?"
I, on the other hand, was completely caught off guard and shouted sternly,
"Saori, what are you talking about!"
The pink-haired one had gone off the rails, and now the blue-haired one was being just as foolish?
"Stop making things worse."
I tried to stop her.
"Let me keep talking to Mika..."
However, the response I received was two nearly identical lines spoken in unison.
"Sensei, you can't persuade her."
"Sensei, I'm not going to listen to you."
The words left me speechless.
According to them, was I really the only one here who couldn't see the situation clearly?
What kind of joke were these two ungrateful, self-righteous fools trying to pull?
To them, were all my hesitation, my restraint, and my sacrifices really such unnecessary things, things that deserved to be dismissed so lightly?
How utterly ridiculous.
Saori spoke to me in a low voice.
"Sensei, Mika is right. A happy future will never come to her again. She lost everything, became all alone, and even dragged you into this, Sensei... All of it happened because of me."
Although she hadn't responded immediately, it was obvious that she had listened carefully to every word Mika had said.
She was just as serious.
After a brief pause, the blue-haired girl continued,
"I have a responsibility to answer that hatred of hers. So please, do as she said. Go meet up with everyone else first and head to the Princess. Once I've subdued her, I'll catch up as quickly as I can."
Looking into her ice-blue eyes, filled with sincerity, I couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.
"So you're certain you can win?"
Saori answered,
"I won't betray your blood."
Such an ambiguous reply only made me angrier.
Just because you say you won't, does that make it true?
How many ridiculous boasts have you made up until now?
Yet when I thought about my own condition, my mood darkened once more, my mind filling with endless frustration.
I opened my mouth to speak, only to worry that anything I said would make things even worse. In the end, I couldn't find the words.
"We're out of time."
Saori urged me again. Then she called loudly toward the next room.
"Misaki! You heard everything, right!"
"Yes, I understand, Captain. We'll protect Sensei with our lives and rescue Atsuko."
Misaki's calm voice quickly came from the other side of the ruins. After making a rational judgment, she chose to follow Saori's plan.
"Yeah. I'm counting on all of you."
Then where exactly did my own opinion fit into all this?
You were all useless people who couldn't accomplish anything without me.
At that moment, I truly wanted to leave every last one of them behind, walk away exactly as they wished, and let them settle their pointless infighting themselves. Out of sight, out of mind.
When the anger inside me finally reached its limit, I let out a cold laugh.
"Heh. Fine. Have it your way. You ungrateful idiots."
With that, I didn't look at Saori again. I strode toward the only passage that might lead me back to Misaki and the others.
As I passed Mika, I kept my eyes straight ahead. I didn't turn toward her, even though she instinctively started to reach out before forcibly stopping herself.
Only after my figure had completely disappeared did the strange silence finally break.
"That's wonderful, Saori."
Mika sincerely congratulated her.
"Now your Princess can be saved... Though it looks like we've really made Sensei angry this time. Well, he's not made of wood. We've kept taking advantage of his kindness and throwing unreasonable tantrums. If anything, it's surprising he didn't lose his temper sooner... Personally, I think this is also proof that Sensei cares about us. Hehe."
After that idle chatter, she let out a soft sigh.
"This is the outcome I wanted after all. It's time for this to end, Saori."
Saori replied,
"Yeah. Come, Mika. You and me, one on one. Just as you wished. Let's settle this here."
"...Hehe, how interesting. By the way, you said you were going to subdue me? Sounds like you're underestimating me... But you know, don't let appearances fool you. I'm actually pretty strong."
After thinking for a moment, Mika continued,
"Hmm... Though if you can hold out until everyone else arrives with Sensei, then maybe you'll be the winner. Sensei definitely would come, wouldn't he? He's that kind of good person, after all. So this time, I'll be a little more serious... Try your very best to resist, okay? Though for someone like you, I suppose everything is meaningless anyway."
"I see. Then let me struggle until the very end."
Saori took a deep breath and shouted,
"If you want to keep me here, then come and try!"
"Mhm."
Mika answered,
"Here I come."
Before her words had even finished, they were swallowed by a deafening explosion, making me instinctively dig at my ears.
There was one thing, at least, that Mika had guessed correctly.
Although I didn't consider myself a particularly good person, no matter how angry or disappointed I was, I couldn't really abandon those two in a situation where every bit of fighting strength was desperately needed.
Otherwise, I wouldn't have quietly activated Serina's authority while walking away. The more I used it, the more I realized just how incredibly useful this seemingly simple, low-cost ability that could gather intelligence from afar really was.
In any case, since neither Mika nor Saori was willing to listen to reason, and the value of command in a one-on-one duel was reduced to almost nothing...
Even if I stayed, at most I could interfere with Mika to a limited degree. I couldn't truly decide the outcome.
The only option now was to reunite with the rest of Arius Squad as quickly as possible, gather everyone together, then return to settle this conflict.
Or...
Bring in an external enemy that would force them to put aside their hatred and fight together.
Given Saori's extensive experience in guerrilla warfare, she should be able to hold out long enough. And with Arona by my side, even if I had to take risks, my safety would still be guaranteed.
Walking alone through the corridor, I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
At the same time, I found myself anticipating Beatrice's ambush.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, I suddenly froze. My footsteps gradually slowed until they came to a stop.
It seemed...
My plan was no longer necessary.
"...How boring. You could've held out a little longer."
Mika said in a bored voice.
As for Saori, after a heavy thud of flesh colliding with flesh, all she managed was a muffled, pained groan.
Only a few minutes after I had left...
It seemed the winner between them had already been decided.
You could've held out a little longer...
I took a deep breath, calmed my turbulent thoughts, turned around, and rushed back the way I had come, even faster than before.