Earlier, after guessing that the Tea Party's pro-war faction might release the imprisoned Mika and use the chaos to launch a war against Gehenna, all kinds of unpleasant scenarios had crossed my mind.
Mika, who Hanako believed could wipe out the Sisterhood single-handedly, who was eccentric and entirely self-centered, and who even had a prior record of staging a coup, was currently the greatest destabilizing factor while Trinity's upper combat force was almost entirely incapacitated.
When I vaguely heard Mika's grandiose declaration from afar, I honestly thought things had already reached the worst possible outcome.
Yet when I arrived at the scene full of unease, I discovered the situation seemed completely different from what I had imagined.
Mika's once-pristine white Tea Party uniform was now covered in soot, footprints, and tears, yet she stood there stepping on an administrator's head while looking down arrogantly at everyone around her.
Meanwhile, including the one beneath her foot, all the pro-war administrators present still looked outwardly neat and presentable, yet every one of them lowered their heads obediently without daring to speak.
And then there was the person who looked most out of place standing off in the corner.
Wasn't that Koharu? Why was she here too?
Countless questions flooded my mind, making me unable to stop myself from asking.
The instant I spoke, the administrators suddenly seemed to snap awake. They hurriedly helped up their fallen companion while tearfully crowding around me, speaking over one another in aggrieved voices as they accused Mika of her crimes.
According to them, after seeing Seia become physically unwell and unable to maintain control of the situation, they had been forced to temporarily release Mika.
Yet they had never expected Misono Mika to be so violent by nature. The moment she regained her freedom, she launched a shameless sneak attack on them and even tried forcing them to support her declaration of war against all of Kivotos...
Did these people seriously think I was blind?
I casually replied with polite formulaic responses, but in reality I did not believe a single word they were saying.
"N-No, that's not what happened!"
At that moment, Koharu spoke up in Mika's defense.
"When I got here, all those people were surrounding Mika-sama and bullying her alone...! E-Even though I'm really dumb and don't understand what exactly was going on, they were definitely the ones using violence first!"
That sounded more believable.
And Mika probably had not resisted at first until something specific triggered her...
The exposed administrators all glared angrily at Koharu, but after instinctively shrinking her neck for a moment, she glared right back without backing down.
Though Koharu was obviously forcing herself to act brave, those people already had guilty consciences to begin with. They only looked fierce on the surface, and after being terrified by Mika earlier, it took barely any time before they lost in terms of intimidation alone.
Of course, being able to stand up and clarify the truth at a time like this was already incredibly admirable.
Koharu truly did already possess the most important quality needed to become an elite member of the Justice Task Force.
At that point, I finally arrived at a reasonable guess regarding Mika's actions.
"S-Sensei,"
Someone still tried to explain, "this girl only just arrived, so she doesn't know anything...! R-Right, she might even be working together with Misono Mika!"
"This girl is my student."
My smile remained gentle, though my tone grew somewhat firmer.
"How things actually happened isn't something you get to decide all by yourselves, right?"
"T-That..."
After hesitating for a moment, the pro-war administrators exchanged glances. Realizing they could not twist black into white, they threw out a cliché third-rate villain line like "You'll regret this," before fleeing in disgrace.
I made no move to stop them and merely gave Serina beside me a glance. She returned it with an understanding expression.
Successfully escaping did not mean escaping punishment.
Still, that was an internal Tea Party matter. Nagisa and Seia would naturally deal with it afterward, so it was not my concern.
I looked toward the pink-haired girl who had already hidden the expression I personally found rather interesting. Her face once again carried complete indifference, and she had remained silent from earlier onward, as though she had no intention of defending herself at all.
"Mika... mm, Misono-san, aren't you going to say anything?"
"What's there to say?"
She asked in return.
"Since you came all the way here too, you probably already know what happened, right? They're just a bunch of boring people."
After saying that, Mika suddenly wrinkled her nose for some reason and added:
"And also, I told you before, didn't I? Just call me Mika."
I awkwardly nodded.
"Right, Mika. I only know the rough outline though. I still have no idea about the details."
Mika casually looked me up and down a few times before smiling.
"Hahaha~ You still have enough composure for this, huh? You seem pretty energetic! But I think you're worried about the wrong person."
As expected of her, she still spoke to me just as mercilessly as ever.
Mika casually continued:
"Well, that kind of meaningless stuff, I've already forgotten all of it. So even if you go with whatever those people said, that's fine too~"
She probably knew the thing I truly wanted to ask was why someone who claimed to hate Gehenna would give up such a perfect chance to rise again.
I was still considering how to phrase the question when an urgent voice suddenly interrupted.
"It's n-not meaningless at all!"
Koharu's cheeks were red with anxiety.
"Right is right, and wrong is wrong... Mika-sama isn't the kind of bad person they said she was! A-And earlier, Mika-sama even protected me from them... th-thank you very much!"
So those people really had intended to do something to Koharu for speaking up.
Hearing that, Mika raised an eyebrow.
"...Oh? Your name was... what again?"
"Shimoe Koharu."
I reached out and rubbed Koharu's head through her hat while answering for her.
"One of the members of the Make-up Club. Probably a future pillar of the Justice Task Force."
"Wh-What do you mean 'probably'?!"
But even that much was enough to make her instinctively reveal a smug expression after complaining unhappily.
"Koharu, huh."
Mika nodded and smiled.
"Now I remember. We have met before. Mm, I'll remember it this time. Though sorry, you might have misunderstood. I just found them annoying, that's all. I wasn't specifically trying to protect you or anything~ So really, I should be the one thanking you."
Koharu immediately became confused and muttered:
"Eh? I-Is that so...?"
"Mm. Thank you."
After a brief pause, Mika turned her back to us.
"Well then, I should head back now. And so should you, Sensei."
She glanced sideways at me with her golden eyes.
"There's somewhere that needs you more right now, isn't there?"
After a moment of silence, I nodded.
"Yeah. Later, I'll come see you again."
"...What the heck, you really just say whatever you want. I'm not necessarily going to meet you, you know."
As Mika walked back toward her cell, only her lightly drifting voice remained in the air:
"So I'll decide based on my mood when the time comes."