After returning to Schale, I pulled out the news footage on FOX Platoon again and confirmed that the three students on the sushi food truck were indeed Yukino's teammates.
I hope that after this setback, they won't be discouraged but will try again, driven by a mix of gossip and camaraderie, to find opportunities and excuses to appear before me. They should offer me delicious Inari Sushi and go to great lengths to get close to me, hoping to learn about my relationship with Yukino.
After all, given Yukino's personality, she would never discuss this with her teammates, a fact her teammates are surely aware of. Therefore, the only breakthrough lies with the other party, myself.
Looking at the video footage of the lovely and distinct girls, and thinking about the genuine bond between the members of their platoon, couldn't help but tear up, emotionally.
Harboring the expectation of getting along well with FOX Platoon's Niko, Kurumi, and Otogi in the future, I started working alone.
Recently, as Schale successfully recruited a certain number of students and its operations gradually normalized, the General Student Council decided that Schale was capable of taking on more societal responsibilities. As a result, Schale's workload has significantly increased.
This is not a good sign as it suggests that the General Student Council's current situation is not optimistic.
Since the GSC President went missing, the crime rate in Kivotos has soared and shows no signs of decreasing, compounding the already challenging public safety, which is as "virtuous" as Gotham and as "hospitable" as Yharnam.
Kaya, who oversees the General Student Council's military forces, is now blatantly intervening in the affairs of SRT Special Academy, which essentially served as the General Student Council President's private army. This is a side-reflection of how serious the problem has become.
They cannot even wait to complete the necessary procedures to legally dismantle SRT Special Academy and merge it into Valkyrie Police Academy, demonstrating how stretched the General Student Council's current power is when faced with the severe situation.
Fortunately, this matter doesn't affect me, a person with authority that surpasses law but virtually no real power in peacetime to worry about.
Well, as long as we are not directly facing a crisis concerning the very existence of Kivotos, it can still be counted as peacetime, even if gunfights happen on every street corner daily.
After working for over an hour, my phone chimed with a Momotalk notification.
I finished the file I was working on, dropped my pen, and leaned back in my chair, ready to take a short break before continuing, and also to check who sent me a message.
Airi: Sensei, Sensei!
Airi: It looks like "Crêpe Café" has released a new dessert!
Airi: Do you want to go together, Sensei?
Ah, it's Airi from Trinity's After-School Sweets Club. An image instantly appeared in my mind: a black-haired girl, pure as an angel, who would involuntarily flash a happy smile whenever she ate a delicious dessert.
Me: I have no problem with that.
Me: Is it just the two of us?
Airi: Hmm... Everyone seems to be busy with something...
Airi: Although it's a day off, there's an exam coming up soon.
Airi: I don't want to disturb others' studying. (;´⌒`)
Me: What about you?
Airi: I am studying seriously too, I'm just taking a little time to enjoy some sweets. (??ω??)?
Airi: Besides, the internet says that consuming enough sugar helps you study better!
Me: Alright, let's set a time then.
I put down my phone and brewed a cup of coffee to refresh myself, staring blankly at the matching mug for a while. I wonder what Yuuka is doing right now. Is she busy with work too?
Pondering this gave me the illusion that Yuuka was right beside me.
Feeling my thoughts, which had become sluggish from prolonged concentration, regain their agility under the influence of caffeine, I bent over my desk to continue working.
It wasn't until another notification sound diverted my attention.
This is my routine: a student always messages me in the evening.
Students have their own lives, which is why they only revolve around me when they have free time.
Just in case it's an urgent matter, I try to check immediately. For a qualified Sensei, handling student needs takes priority far above my own work.
It's absolutely not because I want to slack off!
I opened my phone and raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised to see it was another member of the After-School Sweets Club.
Natsu: Sensei, what do you think life is?
I glanced at Natsu's Momotalk status message and simply copied it.
Me: Life is a chocolate pretzel.
Natsu: Oh my, what a clever shortcut. Is this the smarts of an adult?
Natsu: A little unexpected.
Natsu: But you're right, why wouldn't this situation also be a cream cake?
Me: Hmm... So, what's wrong?
Natsu: Nothing, I've just suddenly had some fresh insight into reality.
Natsu: Instead of the uncertainty of the distant future, it's better to seize the tangible things nearby.
Natsu: Go wherever you want to go, and sleep when you feel like sleeping.
Natsu: Also, eat the new dessert you want when you want to eat a new dessert.
Natsu: Even if my self-indulgence comes at a cost with a probabilistically controllable deviation.
Natsu: It's merely like exploring the most suitable heat when baking cookies by hand.
Natsu: Baking them for too long might make them inedible, but if I fear trying and just stick to the status quo, I'll never reach a new level of enlightenment.
Natsu: That is the true meaning of life, the pursuit of romance.
Her messages were, as always, circling the point, but compared to Seia's baffling riddles, they were relatively easy to understand.
Now is the time to validate the effectiveness of my study of the article Seia recommended, "How to Quickly Understand Others' Euphemistic Expressions"!
Me: Hmm... Please forgive me if I've misunderstood, but are you having trouble resisting the new dessert despite the impending exam?
Natsu: Ehehe~
Natsu: "Crêpe Café," are you free tomorrow, Sensei?
Natsu: Desserts are such romantic things; if you don't share them with others, you can't experience the full joy.
Natsu: On a side note, my club members are currently consumed by anxiety over the exam.
Natsu: So please don't invite them this time.
Do you even look at what you said in the previous sentence? Who was just advocating for sharing?
Although that's the case, since both Natsu and Airi believe the other is diligently studying, for the sake of preserving their image in each other's eyes, I shall kindly cover for them this time and slightly stagger the scheduled times.
Tomorrow is a day without students on duty, but since I have an external mission in Hyakkiyako later, and no other arrangements, I had planned to catch up on work.
Since students have requested appointments, I will just have to push a little harder tonight.
I put down my phone and buried myself back in my documents.