Episode 2: Welcome to the Illuminati

"No wait, that's not a light novel reaction—that's more like an '80s romcom protagonist."

The next morning. Luna-san and I had gathered in front of Azure Academy. Compared to Luna-san, who looked somehow neat and tidy, I—having fled from the attack and spent the night camping with a goat—looked pretty rough.

"Luna-san, what did you do last night? You don't look like you roughed it outside."

"Hmm? Well, I used my body a bit."

"Huh?"

"Anyway, let's head to Von-san's place, was it?"

Luna-san walked off briskly. I froze in place.

(Used her body—used what exactly?)

Did she mean, like, a woman's weapons or something? You know, like getting a place to stay in exchange for... that kind of stuff. Too adult for a kid like me to understand.

(...W-why am I even shocked by this...?)

I stood there for a moment, staring at her large ribbon swaying back and forth.

* * *

"Welcome to the Illuminati."

Von Simon gave a thin smile as we walked down the corridors of Azure Academy. He was still tall as ever, a young man with a strangely unconfident smile. The dark circles under his eyes spoke to his daily workload.

"The Illuminati... you mean that Illuminati?"

When I asked, Von nodded with a wry smile.

The Illuminati—a secret society famous even in the surface world, the subject of countless conspiracy theories. An organization surrounded by ridiculous rumors about controlling the world from the shadows, manipulating people, and so on.

(I'd always thought something like that didn't actually exist—)

According to Von, the Illuminati was one of Azure Academy's organizations, and he was the one managing it.

"Azure Academy's activities can't be allowed to cause chaos on the surface, after all. We mainly handle memory management for witnesses and victims, as well as political arrangements to make it easier for our field teams to operate."

As we walked through the Academy's corridors, I spotted a familiar figure in a large glass-walled room, apparently in a meeting.

"W-wait a second. Is that President Richard!? The current U.S. President—"

The men in white coats on either side of President Richard removed his head and plugged it into something, beginning some kind of maintenance procedure. My jaw dropped.

"Oh, yes. About eighty percent of major economic powers have had their heads of state replaced with our humanoids."

"Wh... huh... wha... what?"

"Try not to tell too many people, okay?"

Von gave a wry smile. Wait, was this really a situation to be smiling about?

"Hello, Administrator. Have a nice day!"

The one waving at Von while saying that was clearly not human—no matter how you looked at it, it was a monster in a suit with a lizard head. Von responded casually.

"Th-th-th-that just now was..."

"I wouldn't recommend being so obvious about judging people by their appearance."

"But that was a lizard person!?"

"Let's avoid discriminatory language. They're Reptilians."

Right, I'd heard about that. The conspiracy theory about how Reptilians had infiltrated human society and were manipulating people from behind the scenes.

"Abababababa..."

Sure, I knew this place wasn't normal. Azure Academy, right? These were people who'd defeated a goddess and lived up in the sky. But still, there had to be limits!?

"Alert! Alert! Large-scale time paradox anomaly detected in Lab A-923! All Blank Makers, please report to Lab A-923 immediately!"

A blaring alarm started sounding along with flashing red lights. Von muttered "Again?" with a slightly tired expression. ...Again!? He just said "again" about a time paradox!?

"It seems a bit dangerous to stay here. Let's hurry to the student council room."

So it was actually dangerous. Behind us, I heard a scream that went "GYAAAA—!!" I could have sworn I saw blood-like red liquid (I couldn't face reality) spraying up from below the stairs.

"I-is everything going to be okay?"

I asked, completely terrified. Von smiled reassuringly.

"Probably."

Just probably.

* * *

"Are you well? Kotoyorozu Kotoha-kun. Luna-kun."

The student council room—a large, cavernous space with huge windows. Through them, the beautiful blue city—District 12—stretched out as far as the eye could see.

"...Yeah."

—Student Council President. Elif Anatolia. Personally, I had a lot of things I wanted to ask this person. Or rather, at this point, I was full of things I wanted to know. As if sensing that, she gave a small nod.

"You've got a 'where am I, who am I' look on your face."

"...That's exactly right, I'm afraid."

President Elif gave a small laugh.

"Then let me tell you. About this city, this academy. About the world. And about you."

And so she began to speak. A grand tale about the universe.

* * *

—The end of this universe is near.

For organizations that battled various realities, this was an established fact.

The reason was simple. Lifespan.

The universe had existed for far too long.

Long enough for the orderly, beautiful laws of science to begin fraying.

Those frays were what they called "Apocalypses."

"Apocalypses?"

When I asked, President Elif gave a small nod.

"Frays in science. Manifestations of strong Directionality. You could even call them things hostile to the universe."

"Strong... Directionality..."

Directionality—in other words, strong "wishes." Strong "desires."

"At first, they're small frays. Just enough to slightly alter how the universe works. But all Apocalypses share a common trait. That is—'evolution.'"

"Evolution..."

"It's a simple law of nature. Anything that comes into existence becomes ruled by the strongest Directionality—the drive to continue existing. To continue existing, it continues evolving."

This natural principle applied even to unnatural things.

"Even the smallest fairy will eventually evolve into a massive monster."

"...How massive are we talking?"

"Massive enough to devour even the laws of the universe."

That was the end of the universe. The end of the world, the small president declared.

"Take the Apocalypse you possess, 'Whisperer,' for example. Right now, it's just an ability to read the future. But in a few years, that power will grow strong enough to mow down armies of a thousand. In a few decades, it will surely kill tens of thousands. In a few centuries, it will bring ruin even to the universe."

"Th-that can't be..."

"It's true. This is how it's going to be. Real mood killer, right?"

Apocalypses. They were—frays in the universe that would destroy the world in the near future.

I was one. Luna-san was one too. And this academy was fighting against them.

"Well, rest easy, Kotoyorozu-kun. Your Apocalypse is Stage 4: 'Excitatio.' It won't destroy the world anytime soon. Besides, humanoid Apocalypses often lack resistance to destruction. Even if your stage rises rapidly, dealing with you wouldn't be particularly difficult."

"Is it really okay to be that casual about it?"

President Elif burst out laughing. As if she'd just heard an incredibly ridiculous joke.

"Of course it's not okay!"

"...Huh?"

"But we're not in a position to be picky. —Von."

At her call, Von Simon placed a terminal that projected holograms on the desk, still wearing that troubled expression. "Whoa, sci-fi," muttered Luna-san, who was herself the most sci-fi existence here.

"The number of Apocalypses confirmed since the start of this year is 12,897."

The hologram displayed a distribution map of Apocalypses confirmed around the world.

"Of those, resolved Apocalypses number 2,180."

Ah, I see. I understood why President Elif had laughed. This was truly a situation where you could only laugh.

"In short, humanity is already pretty much screwed. The number of Apocalypses increases every year. Hidden in the darkness where light doesn't reach, millions of people are disappearing after coming into contact with Apocalypses. It's the end."

"...Could it be... that's why..."

"That's right. We are—the 'Apocalypse Stagnation Committee.' The Apocalypse will definitely come. Through these countless pieces of shit Anti-Realities. We're desperately trying to make it 'stagnate.'"

Not stopping the Apocalypse. Not eradicating it. "Stagnation." That was the best they could do.

"Well, I don't think it's quite as dire as all that. Of the confirmed Apocalypses, only a few hundred are Stage 6 or higher."

"A few hundred is more than enough to worry about."

Von seemed to have a surprisingly positive personality. He was smiling in that unreliable way of his.

"Now then, let me tell you about some of the more dangerous unresolved Apocalypses—to properly scare a newbie."

President Elif said this with obvious enthusiasm as she swiped through the hologram display.

"First is this one. No. 017—'White Wings.' A humanoid Apocalypse primarily observed in countries with severe wealth inequality. It has the property of 'appearing before random humans and granting one wish.'"

"That sounds like a good thing by itself. Like a genie in a lamp..."

"She is a good person. Surely without malice. But she grants any wish. No matter how absurd, no matter how cruel or discriminatory."

"Ah."

In other words, if someone wished to "White Wings" for the world to end, that wish would be immediately granted. The universe could end because of a single careless wish.

"I-isn't that way too dangerous!?"

"Yes, it is. Well, there haven't been any sightings in the past five years, though."

President Elif laughed and swiped the hologram.

"Next is No. 5674—'Eiffel Tower Snail.' Currently, a giant snail 189 meters long is attached to the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of Paris."

"Huh... what's that about? I've never heard of it."

Wasn't it strange that something like a kaiju movie scene hadn't made the news?

"It has a strong Information Jamming property. Anyone who sees that snail immediately loses their memory of it."

Information Jamming? Did that mean interfering with or blocking the transmission of information?

"So... what does this snail do...?"

"It randomly swaps the personalities, information, and souls of people who enter the Eiffel Tower."

"What...?"

"For example, if a family of three enters the Eiffel Tower, they come out as a completely different family. Your information gets swapped with total strangers. A 72-year-old man might end up in a young couple's baby stroller, or a 12-year-old girl might become the CEO of a major corporation."

"D-does no one notice!?"

"That's right. No one notices. That's what makes it so nasty."

It was certainly a terrifying property. If I entered the Eiffel Tower, my body and history could be swapped with a completely different person. I would be an entirely different person without even realizing it.

"But... couldn't you just make the whole Eiffel Tower off-limits...?"

President Elif shook her head slightly.

"That thing grows larger while its property isn't being activated."

"What—"

"I hear that when the Eiffel Tower Snail was first discovered, it was only about 15 centimeters. After just one month in sealed storage, it had grown to over 3 meters."

"Then... if no one came to the Eiffel Tower..."

"It would grow even larger. The snail's area of influence would expand, until eventually it would apply its property to the entire Earth. People wouldn't be able to believe they are themselves for even a moment. ...Or rather, they wouldn't even notice that, would they?"

That would certainly be—effectively the end. People wouldn't notice their constantly changing situations, society would fall into chaos and paralysis, and eventually the world would perish. They couldn't seal off the Eiffel Tower.

"Can't you destroy it? The snail?"

"Who knows? My other Wing—Koito-kun might be able to destroy it if she went all out."

So that person really was that strong.

"But Von, what's the estimate if that happened?"

"The city of Paris would be devastated. ...If we're lucky."

How far would it go if they weren't lucky?

"From a micro perspective—from an individual's point of view—that snail is a huge problem, but from a macro perspective, its impact on society is low. That's why it's being left alone."

"R-really..."

By the way, "White Wings" was Stage 8: "Conflagratio." "Eiffel Tower Snail" was Stage 7: "Devastatio," apparently. Compared to those, mine was nothing.

"In other words, we've got our backs against the wall. We need to make use of useful, low-stage Apocalypses, or the universe might be destroyed as soon as tomorrow."

It was Von Simon who said that. I couldn't help but be surprised.

"Weren't you against using me...?"

"Officially, yes. There's a large faction opposed to using Apocalypses. If both Wings had the same opinion, resentment among the lower ranks would only build up. I'm the moderate. Koito is the radical, and that keeps things balanced."

"Not that she has the brains to think about such things," Von added matter-of-factly, as if he genuinely believed it rather than being snide or gossipy. He might be surprisingly sharp-tongued.

"That's the current state of this world. And what you truly are."

Right, I was an "Apocalypse" too. Someday, I would also grow to the point of destroying the world...

"Now, lastly, about this city—'Sky City Fructus.'"

"Yes."

"That's—something no one knows."

"Huh?"

President Elif waved her hand dismissively.

"At some point, this space appeared up in the sky—in a gap between dimensions. Apparently, it has an area more than five times that of Earth. Though the habitable space for humans is only about 1% of that. Most places can't even be entered, and research has made no progress at all."

"No one knows how it came to be?"

"Probably due to some kind of Information Jamming. No one knows this city's history. Azure Academy already existed when I was born, working to prolong the world's life."

What a bizarre story. My head was spinning.

"Well, that's about everything I needed to tell you for now," she murmured.

"Is there anything you want to ask?"

President Elif asked us, but I was already at my limit just processing all this information.

"—About the Boundary Region Trading Company."

The one who asked instead wasn't me, but Luna-san.

"...What are they?"

She murmured, trembling with fists clenched in fury.

"They're probably visitors from another dimension, based somewhere in the Sky City. One of those so-called anti-reality organizations. Cocky bastards who conduct business by distributing items imbued with Apocalypses. They're on the Apocalypse Stagnation Committee's blacklist."

"I see."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I'd just decided that once I'm free—I'm going to kill every last one of them."

Hearing that, President Elif laughed. As if to say, "That would help."

"Well, I think that's all for now. I've gotten rather thirsty. You two will be enrolling in Azure Academy from here on, but... Luna-kun, Von. Could you step out for a bit?"

"Huh?"

"I have... something to discuss with him alone."

President Elif pointed at me. I swallowed hard. Von nodded obediently and left the student council room with Luna-san. Luna-san looked at me with concern.

"Now then—"

President Elif murmured as she hopped lightly onto the desk.

"—Kotoyorozu-kun. Kneel here and kiss my toe."

My brain, which had been on the verge of overloading, completely short-circuited at that moment.

* * *

■

—I wonder if that boy's okay.

"Worried about him, Luna-san?"

"...Huh? Oh, no. Not really."

Saying I wasn't worried would obviously be a lie. That boy—Kotoyorozu Kotoha-kun—honestly, I couldn't trust him. No, wait, I could trust him. I just couldn't take my eyes off him.

"Don't worry. The president is the one person in this academy you can truly rely on."

Coming from the administrator of the secret society Illuminati, that carried some weight. Or did it?

"GYAAAH! Stop it! Stop making more of me!"

Because right at the edge of my vision, a brain in a cultivation tank with a speaker attached was screaming as it watched a massive machine mass-produce copies of its own body. I had no idea what kind of research this was, but it was clearly violating ethics at minimum, and the one directing it was this Von Simon guy.

"Finally, I found you. ...Von-senpai."

Suddenly, a beautiful female voice struck our eardrums. My own voice was on the lower side, so I had a bit of envy for voices like that. When I turned around, there stood a tall, dark-skinned girl.

"Mehleeza Janebekova-kun. Did you need something?"

Von asked, maintaining his gentle smile. The girl called Mehleeza was clearly in a bad mood, glaring at Von with obvious displeasure. Beautiful girls were intimidating when angry.

"Need something? This is about the new resident in the student dormitory."

"Ah, I sent advance notice, didn't I? Yesterday, about assigning the newcomer to you."

"I heard. However, I wasn't told this newcomer would be male!"

Ah, I get it, I realized. She must be the girl Kotoyorozu-kun mentioned—the one who'd sent him flying with a light-novel-style lucky pervert moment.

"...Is there a problem?"

Von asked with an expression of genuine confusion.

"Only girls live there."

"Yes."

"Having a boy living with us is obviously inappropriate."

"...There's no problem with the paperwork, though."

"Th-this blockhead..."

I heard a small, awkward laugh and looked down to find a small, cute girl standing next to Mehleeza-san, smiling with a troubled expression.

"Oh! Sorry for the late introduction! I'm a first-year in the middle school division! Koshiba Nyao!"

Koshiba-chan noticed my gaze and snapped a sharp salute.

"The 'ko' in Koshiba is the 'ko' from 'koinu'—puppy! The 'shiba' in Koshiba is the 'shiba' from 'Shiba Inu'!"

"I see. That's pretty dog-like."

She did look like a little Mame Shiba. I felt oddly soothed.

"Having a male living with us poses moral problems. He might try something."

"Does it? His combat ability is relatively quite low, I believe."

"That's! Not! The point!"

Leaving Mehleeza-san coldly pressing her case and Von-san completely failing to understand the problem, I started chatting with Koshiba-chan.

"Is Von-san actually kind of dangerous?"

"Preeetty dangerous."

Really? From his expression alone, he seemed like a weak-willed pretty boy.

"He's a paperwork demon—when it comes to efficiency and processing administrative work, he's number one in all of Azure Academy. They say if Von-senpai takes just five days off, this whole academy would collapse..."

Nyao-chan trembled. Apparently something truly terrible had happened in the past.

"On the flip side, he seriously cannot understand other people's feelings. He's useless at everything except paperwork. Because of that, his subordinates kind of hate him, and he's pretty isolated. But even isolated, he handles an insane amount of work by himself, so everyone has no choice but to rely on him."

"Sounds like a problematic asset."

The student council president had called Von and Koito-san the "Wings." They were probably the academy's number two. Koito-san also seemed to have zero leadership or personnel development skills from what I'd seen, but... was this organization going to be okay?

"Mehleeza-kun. For monitoring Kotoyorozu-kun, there's no one better suited than you and Koshiba-kun as a pair."

"That's... true, I suppose."

"I don't have the luxury of listening to your emotional arguments and taking inefficient measures. Sorry. All the dorms are full this time of year, and we're in a budget crisis."

Von put his hand to his chin, thinking for a moment.

"Ah, there is one efficient option, actually."

"! What is it?"

"Dispose of Kotoyorozu-kun. ...Ahaha, though I'd prefer not to, if possible."

This guy was terrifying. I found myself hugging Nyao-chan as we trembled together. It was probably a joke, but it didn't sound like one. He had the presence of someone who'd actually do it.

"Anyway, if that's all, we're done here. Do I really need to explain how busy I am at this point?"

"...Grrr..."

Mef-san glared at Von's retreating back with an expression like she was about to open fire.

(Still, Kotoyorozu-kun's going to be staying in the girls' dorm, huh. Damn. Not bad.)

His dream—it was like being a light novel protagonist. As his big sis, I had no choice but to cheer him on.

(Guess I'll provide some cover fire.)

"Um... Mef-san."

"...What is it? Luna-san, was it?"

She turned to look at me properly. Seen head-on, she was an almost frighteningly beautiful girl. She seemed way more put-together than me despite being younger. I instinctively wanted to run from intimidating girls like her, but...

"Can I ask you to look after Kotoyorozu-kun?"

"Huh? Why would you ask me...?"

"That boy's been through a lot."

"...What do you mean?"

Saying too much would probably be against the rules. I'd pick a sneaky angle.

"Did you see his palms?"

"His hands...? No..."

"Ahaha, they're something else. The scars. Apparently some of his fingers won't bend anymore."

"What—"

Every time I looked at Kotoyorozu-kun, I thought, damn. Despite being that beaten up, he still had room to worry about others. Or maybe worrying about others was the only thing barely keeping him standing.

"I don't know much myself, but... that boy's actually falling apart inside, barely able to stand. And yet he's dumb enough to try protecting me. I want him to be happy. ...It's wrong for someone like him not to be happy."

Mef-san watched me quietly as I spoke with my usual carefree grin.

"Then—why don't you watch over him yourself?"

Mef-san asked directly. She was absolutely right.

(But what can I do about it?)

When I looked at that boy—Kotoyorozu-kun—I started remembering things from the past.

If something that painful happened again, I thought I might really break.

Dying was fine. But breaking was terrifying.

"Heh. I'm not that smart, y'know. I'm not the kind of respectable person who can look after someone else. If anything... I'm the type who ruins everything."

Mef-san stared at me with eyes like glass.

(Ah, crap. I might really not be good with this girl.)

I was bad with people who had that kind of straightforwardness. They made me look pathetically shabby.

"I'll keep your opinion in mind. It seems I have no choice but to accept him."

"Yeah. Thanks."

I gave her a light wink and started walking quickly to catch up with Von. Behind me, Mef-san stood with her hand on her chin, deep in thought.

(The serious types like her, you gotta appeal to their emotions.)

For some reason, I had a feeling she and I were natural enemies. Just a hunch, though.

* * *

Von Simon was standing in the open courtyard before a broken white statue.

(What a weird statue!)

It was a statue of a woman, but only the left half and down to the waist remained. In its hand was a gun.

"What's this?"

"'Angel of Gunscar.' —A Stage 6: 'Perturbatio' Apocalypse."

Ah, the Apocalypse they'd mentioned during the Inquisition. Koito-san got her guitar from this thing, right?

"'Angel of Gunscar' distributes guns—'Gunscars'—to all Azure Academy students. Once you formally enroll, you'll receive one eventually."

"...Gunscar?"

"A special gun that manifests its owner's Directionality."

Ooh, cool. Like something from a battle manga. Come to think of it, Koshiba-chan and Mef-chan had been using weird weapons too. Von stared at the Angel of Gunscar with a distant look in his eyes.

"Thanks to this thing, we can fight many Apocalypses on equal footing. ...However."

Von waved his hand lightly. In that instant, a rifle with a long magazine appeared in his previously empty hand.

"Because of this thing, warriors multiply. Endlessly. Warriors with special powers."

"Huh?"

"I don't like this thing."

At the feet of the "Angel of Gunscar," many flowers and sweets had been left as offerings. It was probably treated as a guardian deity at this academy. But Von's eyes held hatred as he looked at the statue.

"Luna-san. No—Synthetic Servant, Model L-200B."

"...Ah, so you looked into me beforehand. Very psycho of you."

"Of course. That thread attack was impressive. As expected of something that originally retailed for forty thousand dollars."

I couldn't help but laugh. Forty thousand dollars. That was indeed my price when I went on the market. I'd heard that every unit produced had sold out and I was now a collector's item.

"I've seen the operation manual posted online. Who is your current User?"

"...No one."

"? You haven't contracted with anyone?"

"Looks like I was bought as an investment. Registering a User would lower my value, y'know."

I was one of 3,000 limited-edition humanoid robots. Constructed from terrifyingly complex Miracle Theory and multidimensional Necromancy.

"For a Synthetic Servant, not having a User must be stressful."

Oh, it was stressful. Tremendously stressful. Just not having my own dedicated User made me feel completely alone in the universe. I cried every night from the loneliness.

"I'm not an ordinary Synthetic Servant. —I used to be human."

"...What?"

"I was made by copying a certain human's nervous system. I was copied into 3,000 units and sold as merchandise."

Once, I had been foolish. I'd believed that if I tried hard enough, I could even save the world. So honestly, the activities of this Apocalypse Stagnation Committee looked ridiculous to me.

"That's..."

"Inhumane?"

"Irrational."

I burst out laughing. Because that meant this tall young man had studied Necromancy properly. Most humanoids formed their consciousness through simple programming and mechanical free will. Because a living human's will was terrifyingly strong and might break through commands or Miracle Theory restraints.

"But in that case... you must have been quite famous."

"Yeah. In a totally different, crappy place from here."

I didn't want to talk much about the past. It made me want to cry. Made me want to die.

"But seriously, am I really going to enroll in school? I'm totally not the right age for that."

"Age doesn't matter. What matters is—will."

"...The will to protect the world?"

"I don't have anything like that either... I'm not that noble. What drives me is a completely different will and resolve. I've decided to give everything for that."

I see. What was this tall man's will rooted in? He didn't seem like he'd tell me, and I didn't particularly want to ask.

"Will, huh. ...I don't think I have anything like that."

I was like cigarette smoke, drifting aimlessly, hoping to fade away someday.

I thought that clumsy boy would probably be sad if he heard that.

■

"—Kotoyorozu-kun. Kneel here and kiss my toe."

President Elif held out her toe, and when she realized I was completely dumbfounded, she tilted her head with a slightly troubled expression.

"Huh. Did that fall flat?"

"It's not about falling flat or not..."

I had absolutely no idea what was going on.

"—Kotoyorozu Kotoha-kun. I've had you thoroughly investigated."

"Huh?"

"Born in Manazuru-machi, Kanagawa Prefecture. Seventeen years old. You were raised at a temple as a child. At fourteen, you were abducted by the Mexican cartel 'Sangre Oculta'... well, several yakuza-affiliated organizations seem to have been involved. You've been held captive ever since."

"..."

"Must have been rough."

When she summed it up in one sentence, I almost wanted to laugh. Rough. That was certainly true.

"—Your background is useful."

"...Huh?"

"Because you're broken and desperate. That's precisely why I can trust you. Sorry. I'm about to exploit that."

She was strangely honest. Normally you'd exploit someone without announcing it first.

"—Would you like to become my hunting dog?"

Student Council President Elif Anatolia smiled, her emerald eyes gleaming.

"...Hunting dog?"

"I need someone I can trust who can work in the shadows. Finding someone better suited than you would be difficult."

"What about Von-san?"

"He doesn't understand people's hearts. What I need is someone who can handle subtle human nuances."

"Understanding people's hearts." In that one regard, there were probably few people better than me.

"I see. That's why you had me hide my Apocalypse during the Inquisition."

There were several ways to evade this mind-reading ability. President Elif had wanted to prevent my ability from being leaked to too many people.

"If you need my 'Whisperer,' that means—"

The possibilities were limited.

"—There's a traitor in this organization, isn't there?"

I stared intently at President Elif's face. She smiled.

"Nope♪"

"..."

"Hah, just kidding. As if I could lie to you. I've always gotten by on my charm as someone whose true feelings were impossible to read, you know."

I could tell that President Elif was trying to calm her mind and stay as blank as possible, to avoid giving me information. But even from small ripples in her thoughts, I could tell whether a statement was a lie.

"I have no proof. But we have many enemies. I don't know when such a situation might arise. It would be too late to act after a problem occurs, wouldn't it?"

"...I see."

"In a 'what if' scenario, you'd be a terrifyingly powerful trump card. In battles of deception and probing, there's practically no one who could match you."

And, she continued. Staring at the sky with terrifyingly sharp eyes.

"—The smartest way to use a joker is to keep it hidden up your sleeve."

I understood what she was getting at. She wanted me to become a spy.

"A hunting dog needs loyalty. Right?"

"...So that's why you told me to kiss your toe."

But that meant—

"Are you telling me to become a slave?"

Was she going to force me to obey, like those cartel guys? She could probably do it far more skillfully than they ever did. But President Elif shook her head.

"I believe in humans."

"Huh?"

"Free will. That's what's needed. Because it's free and limitless, people can rise up with love and courage. Can face terrible fears. Force and commands sometimes cloud that."

But then how? I asked with my eyes.

"Manipulating humans is much simpler than dealing with animals. —Just satisfy them. Make them think that pledging loyalty to me is the most rational choice, that there's no benefit to betrayal."

It was brutally rational, simple and clear. That was probably true. But I...

"—Tell me your wish. As long as you follow me, I'll grant it."

Money, for instance? —No, I didn't really need much.

Power, then? —That would just be a hassle.

"I... don't have anything like that."

"...What?"

"I just want to live normally. Like a normal kid. That's about it, if I had to say."

Because I knew painfully well how precious that was.

"—That's a problem. That's the one thing I can't give you."

The one thing, huh. This girl who ruled over this magical academy probably had powers far greater than any genie in a lamp. She held her head in her hands, thinking.

"Isn't there anything, if you really had to say?"

"If I really had to say... hmm."

There was something, but I was embarrassed to say it out loud. But she'd been straightforward in trying to recruit me, so I wanted to be straightforward too.

"I'd like to... experience youth, I guess."

"...Y-youth? ...Hmm. I'm not exactly an expert in that either. Be more specific."

Specific was tough. Like, hanging out with friends after school, throwing myself into something wholeheartedly, maybe having some bittersweet romance. When I said all that, President Elif murmured, "I see."

"Then you can do that!"

"—Huh?"

"Hanging out with friends and throwing yourself into things would be difficult. I don't intend to involve anyone besides the two of us. But romance—that's doable."

What did that mean, exactly? I thought I understood, but I didn't want to.

"—Then let's have this romance thing, you and I."

President Elif hopped lightly off the desk and grabbed the front of my shirt. The next instant, my view shifted—I was sitting on the leather sofa in the student council room. And she was on my lap.

"Nwah!"

"What a convenient arrangement! Love is the strongest bond there is. If you come to love me, I'll be able to trust and utilize you completely."

"Th-that's way too calculated!"

"Calculated? That's not all there is to it."

She pressed her body against my chest and traced a teasing finger near my heart.

"Hyahih!"

"I'd been thinking it was about time I tried romance myself, as a life experience. Well well. This is killing two birds with one stone. A duck walking in with a leek on its back. It seems I don't feel any physiological aversion toward you. How about it? Not a bad deal for you either, right?"

I could feel her thin, slender body directly against me. That alone was enough to make my head go blank—my resistance to women was practically zero. But that wasn't all.

(President Elif—she's super embarrassed!)

Her expression looked composed, but inside, her mind was flailing like a sheltered maiden.

Wh-what is this feeling? I thought getting a little close would be totally fine.

My heart is pounding like crazy.

A boy's chest is so... firm... Did I miscalculate? Oh well, here goes nothing!

Apparently she had zero experience with this kind of thing too. Yet she was keeping a calm face while staring at mine, and that was somehow endearing and cute.

"Heh. You don't seem entirely opposed."

"Wha—"

In contrast to President Elif, my face was beet red and drenched in sweat.

"Well, let's try it and see."

She grabbed my chin and touched my lips with her thumb.

"—I'll make you my captive. My adorable little puppy."

Her salmon-pink lips drew closer to mine. I caught a sweet, milky scent from her hair. Slender fingers intertwined with my hand. Warm breath touched the tip of my nose.

"W-w-wait a second!!"

"Hm? I'm not your type? I know I don't have much of a figure, but..."

"No, you're totally my type! Actually, I've been thinking you're really cute!"

"Cu—"

Her composed cheeks flushed red for an instant. But she quickly regained her composure and gave a small smile.

"Then why?"

"B-b-because! This kind of thing should wait until we know each other better...! Until we, you know, actually like each other...!"

I grabbed President Elif's too-thin shoulders and pushed her back. She burst out laughing.

"Ahahaha! What's that? Hehe. That's so. Pfft. Childish!"

"Urgh..."

Yeah, I know. I haven't interacted with girls since around middle school! My emotional development probably stopped completely! My face burned with embarrassment.

"Hehe. ...Ahh. You're right, sorry, sorry. My bad. This isn't something you can do like signing a contract, is it? Romance, I mean. Aww, I got rejected."

"...Sorry... somehow..."

"No, it's fine. Totally fine. Ah... hehe... When's the last time I laughed this much?"

Apparently I'd hit her funny bone. Still sitting on my lap, she turned her round, large eyes toward me. Her smile now was completely different from before—incredibly gentle.

"Then let's start as friends, you and I."

Her fingers slipped away from my palm, and instead she gently stroked my cheek.

"And if we come to like each other, we can pick up where we left off someday, okay?"

"...!"

"Hehe. You're so flustered you can't even talk anymore."

Laughing from the bottom of her heart, she hopped off my lap.

Haah, that was nerve-wracking.

I thought this would be nothing...

...My heart's still pounding.

President Elif smiled, looking a little embarrassed.

"Forget all that hunting dog stuff for now. It seems there's nothing I can give you."

"Is... that so...?"

"But I'll definitely make you swear loyalty someday. When that time comes, you'll kneel and kiss me."

That seemed like a fair proposal. I was going to be living in the organization she ran from now on. Though I couldn't imagine it now, if I ever truly felt loyal to her, I would kneel before her again.

"Until then, we're friends."

"Yes. I'd like that."

This was troubling. I already kind of liked her. She was fair and wonderful. I wasn't anywhere near ready to think about romance or anything like that, though.

"...Hmm. But friends do at least this much, right?"

She grabbed my shirt collar again and pulled me toward her with surprising strength.

"Chu♡"

Something soft touched my cheek.

"See you later!"

Her face too red to maintain her composed smile, she waved her hand.

".................."

My movements stiff as a robot from shock, I somehow managed to leave the student council room.