Chapter 39: Ugh~ That’s exactly what an accident is about~

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“That was when I roughly guessed Caesar was trying to drive a wedge between the two academies, though the reason was unknown.”

“When I later reviewed the Abydos Main Battle Tank incident, my first impression was the same.”

“I suspect Caesar is trying to sow discord between the Federal Student Council and Abydos this time.”

“So, based on what those children said, plus the fact that they have no reason not to be involved, I think Caesar is very likely the mastermind behind it all.”

Finishing his last sentence, the teacher sighed, turned his head, and bit down on the straw of his unfinished strawberry milk, draining the rest in one go.

Feeling his body still thirsting for water, he let out a wry chuckle.

He really was just flesh and blood, nowhere near these children.

Even Hua Ye had strength and endurance he couldn’t match.

Ersi Hemo simply tilted her head in puzzlement, letting her golden hair cascade softly from her shoulders onto the cake resting in her hands.

A strange expression crossed her face as she pressed on with a hint of curiosity.

“The Helmet Gang?”

“That’s true enough… but, Sensei, looking at it that way won’t give you the full picture, you know?”

“Based on only one side’s account.”

The teacher gazed into those magnificent eyes, and at the orange-yellow triple ring hovering atop the child’s head, finding it hard to move.

He merely smiled wearily.

“If even these children, who cry while doing things they don’t want to do, can see that Caesar is a liar who would hurt them…”

“Then as their teacher, I could never in good conscience defend Caesar—even if it is important, even if it really might just be a simple corporate entity.”

“I’m their teacher.”

“I have to protect them.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m no saint.”

“I’m just a teacher who wants to protect their youth and their future.”

“I’m not that President.”

“I get tired, and I make mistakes.”

Ersi Hemo paused for a moment, opened her mouth as if to speak, but nothing came out.

In the end, she simply revealed a smile, though the reason behind it was unclear.

“Ah, exactly.”

“No one’s a superhuman, you know~”

“People get tired, hmhmhm~”

“Sensei knows that well.”

“For once, I actually think the same way you do~”

The girl hopped lightly off the bed, landing steadily on the floor.

Her specially made pure-white defense office uniform skirt fluttered through the air along with her golden hair.

Then, with a slight bend of her knees, she smoothly pressed down the rising hem with an elegant curtsy.

Those lavender-purple eyes glided gently across the teacher’s face, across his thoroughly bound body.

Then, a radiant and sincere smile spread across her face.

“Alright, alright.”

“That’s enough visiting for today!”

“Advisor, get some good rest, okay?”

With that, she bounced out of the rest room, leaving one last remark behind.

“Do your best~ Advisor~”

“And one last little secret—don’t let the children, or anyone else, fool you, alright?”

The teacher simply stared at her retreating figure, saying nothing.

In that instant, the child’s silhouette overlapped with that President’s for a brief moment—even though their halos shared no resemblance whatsoever, and yet…

[If you carry arrogance and prejudice in your heart, do not set foot in Kivotos.]

That argument with the President resurfaced in his mind.

He shook his head and looked at the Shittim Chest before him, still displaying the Momotalk comic page.

Compared to when he’d last seen this child, she was speaking far more meaningfully this time… and—

Though when he first met this child, he’d told her this was a tool left to him by the President, he had never told anyone other than Hua Ye that this tablet in his hand was called the “Shittim Chest.”

‘Did she hear it from the President herself?’

‘Sigh, since she doesn’t want to say, then I don’t need to ask.’

When Ersi is willing to speak, no longer wearing that wary, somewhat weary expression… then I’ll go ask her.

As for that advice about not being deceived by the children—was it a warning?

I’m afraid I won’t be able to satisfy Ersi…

What I need to do, what I’ve promised, was never to interrogate and doubt these children down to the last detail, but to bear the consequences of their actions, and the responsibility that comes with them—the duty of a so-called “adult.”

With that thought, he used his gaze to command the Shittim Chest and reopened the drone’s camera feed—there was roughly half an hour before they reached the commercial district.

He needed to think carefully about what their side could do.

The shadow cast by Caesar Group and a vague sense of unease hung over this seemingly perfect opportunity for a military operation.

“What exactly are they trying to do…”

Could their goal really be as simple as intercepting the defense office, then using that window to accomplish something in Abydos?

Then why would they rush to provoke such an obvious riot, drawing the defense office’s attention, when they could have completed it all without anyone knowing?

Luring the defense office out deliberately—what do they actually want…

An indescribable sense of dissonance persisted between Caesar’s possible demands and their actions.

That was the teacher’s impression, as an adult who had experienced much, when reviewing the details of the just-finished battle.

Not a dissonance in their technology or tactics, but a dissonance between some underlying purpose and their outward behavior.

The defense office forces within the Shittim Chest continued their smooth advance.

Through the drone’s high-precision camera, the teacher could see how those children marched while curiously glancing around, staring in astonishment at Abydos’s severely desertified border—now nearly a full desert—quietly exchanging words with one another.

He let out a breath.

The siege on Abydos didn’t seem fake, but the goal was probably not just that…

Were they trying to accomplish one goal while completing the siege at the same time?

—If the aim were to defeat the defense office forces, to undermine the Federal Student Council’s authority and reliability, they wouldn’t have simply stationed troops at the border and waited until the formation change to fight.

They would have intercepted and annihilated the entire force directly…

And why would they deliberately station troops at the edge of the desert?

Why set up camp precisely at the desert’s edge that the President had warned Hua Ye not to enter?

A simple border lockdown doesn’t make sense.

In a place with nearly nothing but blowing sand, no one would want to enter even without a blockade…

That main road was practically buried under the sand.

And when he’d just looked up commercial district topics on Momotalk, a handful of students who had once tried to pass through there to sample Abydos’s specialty ramen all complained—

That while the main road led to the main campus, it actually cut across nearly half of an area marked as desert.

It was extremely difficult to traverse and desolate, making one wonder just how Abydos students even got in and out of the main campus.

It even made one suspect Abydos had already fallen.

Though the teacher had never been to other parts of Kivotos, judging by the astonished looks of the defense office children, Abydos’s desertification was probably quite rare even in Kivotos.

For these children, a place with nothing but yellow sand and blazing sun would probably be quite uncomfortable too.

And Caesar’s garrison sealing the border along such a vague boundary, blocking the defense office from entering the main road…

Not to mention, refusing all communications with the defense office.

It was practically an open provocation, trying to make Hua Ye angry.

—Could it be…

In the teacher’s mind surfaced the image of that girl office chief—sharp-tongued, yet genuinely gentle inside, who had shielded him in the face of danger.

That child who, despite sometimes talking tough, always struggled to present herself as an adult, willingly accepting sacrifices she never wanted.

Hua Ye, who had decisively stepped in front of him against the Helmet Gang, urging him to retreat in clear words.

Hua Ye, whose halo had dimmed and cracked, seemingly without her even noticing.

“An abnormal desert… one must not stay long, and must not enter…”

—Could Caesar’s other goal be… to lure out Hua Ye?

Or to put it more plainly…

“They, or someone behind them, for some reason, want to draw Hua Ye and the defense office forces into the desert?”

Was the President warning about this?

—If so, then Hua Ye’s safety probably doesn’t need further worry.

She almost never defies the President’s orders.

From her occasional remarks to him, one could see she held absolute trust and support for that superhuman President.

And Hua Ye herself was quite calm and rational.

Even when provoked by Caesar, she could keep her composure, investigate first, then act.

If Caesar wanted to lure her into the desert, they’d first have to contend with Hua Ye’s suspicion and hesitation.

Unless Hua Ye suddenly…

…Suddenly, like the time her halo was damaged, in some unexpected moment—due to missing information, misjudging the enemy, and my not being there in time to warn her—she made a fatal mistake.

He muttered to himself, watching the small icon representing the Black Hawk Helicopter move across the Shittim Chest screen, lost in thought.

But before he could dwell further, his earpiece finally crackled back to life with Hua Ye’s serious, earnest—yet slightly stiff and awkward—voice, alongside the low hum of the Black Hawk.

“Advisor.”

“We’ve arrived at the commercial district.”

“Caesar Group is constructing defensive fortifications, and Black Market security forces are stationed on-site for protection.”