In the afternoon, following the information Nagisa provided, I began roaming around Trinity under the pretense of observational guidance.
The Justice Task Force (JTF) had a total of two hundred members. Including around ten executives led by the chairperson and vice chairperson, all of them were implicated collectively and forcibly required to participate in the activities of other clubs.
Most of the members were assigned to the Remedial Knights and the Sisterhood, essentially working as volunteers to help out.
Since both of those major organizations were long established, deeply rooted, and powerful, there was no need for me to worry about what was happening on their end.
It was a slight pity that I could not take the opportunity to visit Sister Mari as part of the assignment.
As for the remaining members, they were relatively scattered, distributed among various small clubs.
And among them, there was one that Nagisa had specifically marked as a priority, and to my surprise, it was someone I already knew.
Rewinding time to the end of the tea party, Nagisa had explained things to me in detail.
"The After School Sweets Club, and the JTF. Please make sure to visit these two. The rest are up to your preference."
Nagisa had told me then, "Because the chairwoman of the Justice Task Force, Tsurugi, and the second in command, Hasumi, are respectively at those two locations."
But that alone did not resolve all of my doubts.
The core issue was this. Nagisa asked me for help to prevent the committee from causing trouble again during this period of reflection. Yet judging from her requests, it seemed that the ones she was mainly worried about were only Hasumi and Tsurugi, whom I had never met.
Then why send them to small clubs?
Nagisa patiently explained that as well.
"Well… hehe. You could call it a second layer of insurance, aside from Sensei. It's to keep any potential impact within a controllable range."
I roughly understood what Nagisa meant.
Simply put, if Hasumi and Tsurugi were sent to the Sisterhood or the Remedial Knights, and something really did go wrong, the Tea Party would inevitably face intense protests and might even have to pay a heavy price to quell their anger.
But if they were sent to small clubs like the After School Sweets Club, due to their limited influence, Nagisa could easily calm things down.
To be honest, I felt that Nagisa might be a bit too scheming, perhaps overly suspicious.
However, as a member of the Tea Party and one of Trinity's leaders, perhaps she had to possess such tactics, make preparations for the worst in advance, and take corresponding measures in order to live up to the responsibilities on her shoulders.
After thinking it through and deciding that there was nothing particularly wrong with her approach, I only asked why she chose to tell me about these considerations.
Her reply was completely unexpected.
Nagisa's answer struck directly at my heartstrings.
"Because the tea party has not yet ended," the noble lady's smile remained flawless, but upon closer inspection, her cheeks were slightly redder than usual. "So… I am still your princess, am I not?"
I think I might have fallen for Nagisa.
Objectively speaking, she was probably under too much accumulated pressure recently, which led her to open up a little and act slightly spoiled toward an adult trusted by Seia, whom she herself trusted, namely me.
And precisely because of that, it was especially adorable.
I therefore made up my mind to do my utmost and sincerely complete the task bestowed upon me by Princess Nagisa.
"There's no need to be that serious… I already said it's not something particularly heavy… honestly, you really are…"
Even though she said that, her tone was far from helpless, and her face was filled with a satisfied smile. It felt like she was not far from being conquered by me.
Returning to the present.
I decided to first visit the JTF and ask the familiar Hasumi to gather some information.
However, just as I followed the map's guidance and arrived at the JTF's activity room, raising my hand to knock, I heard a sharp shout from inside.
"Rather than drinking this kind of thing, I'd be better off rinsing my mouth with muddy water…!"
My raised hand froze stiffly in midair.
Although the voice had changed slightly due to intense anger, I recognized its owner. It was Hasumi.
Something really did go wrong?
In a panic, I pushed the door open directly and came face to face with Hasumi, whose expression was icy and furious, with several boxes held in her arms.
"…Sensei? Why are you here?"
Just as Nagisa predicted, the moment she saw me, Hasumi immediately calmed down. However…
I looked past Hasumi to the students sitting around a tea table filled with sweets behind her. They were wearing Trinity's standard uniforms, clearly members of the JTF, and every one of them was showing expressions of fear and unease.
It looked like I was too late.
Taking a deep breath, I said to the slightly tense Hasumi, "Hasumi, could you come with me for a moment?"
"Ah, okay." Hasumi set the things in her arms aside, then turned back and said apologetically to the JTF students, "Sorry, I'll step out for a bit and come back right away."
Although I felt that was unlikely.
Could it be… that Hasumi had been making death threats?
One of the students suddenly straightened her back and said loudly, "It's fine. Hasumi, your business is more important. We'll wait for you to come back before continuing."
The other students nodded vigorously in agreement.
With a strange feeling brewing in my chest, I led Hasumi out into the corridor and found a secluded corner.
Among girls, Hasumi was considered quite tall. Therefore, when facing her at close range, I hardly needed to lower my head at all.
Staring into Hasumi's dark red eyes, which seemed slightly shaken, I asked tactfully.
"Hasumi, I heard something from outside just now. Did some kind of conflict happen?"
"Eh?" Hasumi reacted quickly, letting out a sigh of relief. "So that's what it was. No wonder Sensei suddenly pushed the door open with such a serious expression. You misunderstood. I didn't have a conflict with everyone in the JTF. We were just preparing to burn the tea leaves we used earlier together with the fallen leaves."
…How should I put this.
Under normal circumstances, this would be called a conflict.
Seeing my hesitant expression, Hasumi added, "Because they're tea leaves produced in Gehenna. Trash like that absolutely cannot be brewed and drunk."
I see, that explains it… explains nothing.
"Hasumi, if I'm not mistaken, the current owner of those tea leaves is the JTF, right?"
"…Yes."
My tone grew serious. "In other words, because of your own emotions, you planned to casually destroy someone else's property. That can hardly be called justice."
Hasumi fell silent.
After a long while, she finally lowered her head and admitted her fault sincerely.
"I'm sorry… you're right. I really… whenever it involves Gehenna, I lose my composure like this. I will apologize to the JTF students."
I could not help asking, "Hasumi, if I remember correctly, you did not used to hate Gehenna this much, did you?"
"…Some things happened recently…"
Although I did not intend to probe further, Hasumi seemed to want to confide in me herself.
"Sensei, I want to ask you a question. A very important question," Hasumi said seriously. "Because it's you, Sensei, I think I can get an objective evaluation from you."
"Of course. Go ahead and ask."
"Thank you."
Hasumi took deep breaths, as if gathering her words.
My gaze unconsciously drifted slightly downward, catching the rise and fall of the girl. I swallowed and braced myself.
Finally, she spoke.
"Am I really very fat?"
Hasumi asked me with a pitiful expression.
The question stunned me.
A figure with such curves, full where it should be full and slender where it should be slender, nearly a golden ratio, could that possibly be associated with being fat?
"Did someone from Gehenna say that about you?"
"Yes." At the mention of it, Hasumi gritted her teeth in anger. "The speaker of Pandemonium… actually humiliated me like that in an official meeting…"
Haha, so it was Makoto. The frown on my face immediately relaxed.
Even though we only shared the connection of a single email, I already had a deep understanding of the Pandemonium speaker's nature.
"So… Sensei, you also think that I…"
"No, Hasumi's figure is very well maintained."
"…Please don't comfort me. No matter how much I deceive myself, my weight is still…"
As she spoke, Hasumi grew gloomy.
I truly did not expect that Hasumi, who usually appeared so calm, would have such a sensitive side.
If you care that much about your weight, then maybe do not eat portions meant for ten people or nine people alone every few days?
I thought for a moment. "Hasumi, don't say such discouraging things."
"Sorry for making you worry. But actually, I'm full of fighting spirit now. I've already made up my mind that I will definitely succeed in losing weight this time. I also brought this up with you so abruptly because I hoped to receive your help."
"Huh? Ah… how exactly would I help?"
If it was exercising together occasionally, that should be fine.
Hasumi said seriously, "With my self control alone, it's very difficult to completely resist the temptation of sweets. Although I've already asked the club members to help, that only works within the school. So please supervise me. If you happen to run into me indulging at a dessert shop in the future, please be sure to point it out to me directly and criticize me harshly."
…Why has she already taken it as a given that she will sneak sweets outside campus?
"Alright…" After agreeing, I still voiced my opinion weakly. "Honestly, I think… the way you are now is already pretty good…"
"I know Sensei is very kind. But that's not a reason for me to indulge myself. In any case, I'll be in your care from now on."
"I understand. I'll help."
Help Hasumi resolve her baseless weight anxiety, I added silently in my heart.
"I'm very grateful." Hasumi nodded, then remembered something. "Oh right, I haven't asked yet. Did you come looking for me for something else?"
I had almost forgotten the main matter.
"It's like this…"
Suddenly, a notification sound rang out.
I took out my phone and glanced at it, my expression changing slightly.