Vol 2 Chapter 5 (2/2)

Homura and Touya’s names did not come up in the report.

The stranded child Suzuran who they’d encountered on Nutella was also simply introduced as a missing child of unknown age.

The only moment one of their names was directly brought up was regarding the subject of how Misasagi-senpai herself was related by blood to the Nutellan in question from long ago in her ancestry.

The Seiran High presentation was smoothly conducted.

At that point, Misasagi-senpai halted her speech for a moment.

Nagas.h.i.+no, who had seemed stiff and uncomfortable during the entire presentation, then announced that they would be starting a questions-and-answers session in a strained tone of voice.

Just as Homura expected, the entire hall was silent.

As everyone seemed to carefully scrutinize the information and cautiously examine each other’s att.i.tudes, a single hand was raised and limply waved in the air.

“Go ahead, Nana-senpai—ah, I mean Nanakubo-san…”

As Nagas.h.i.+no turned red-faced at saying that nickname out of habit, a long-haired girl wearing headphones feebly stood up.

Behind her gla.s.ses was a slightly hard-looking gaze.

“I’m Nanakubo, a second year and low-ranking club member at Nagumo High. I’ve understood the gist of everything. So, I’d like to ask what Seiran High plans to do next.”

“Of course. First, we plan to, prioritize rebuilding, our base camp as, an urgent matter.”

…Senpai’s usual halting tone had returned.

“We’ve already contacted, the UNPIEP headquarters to request, the construction of a new, Transport Ring.”

“So you’re waiting for them to issue you one of Dr. Chandler’s transport keys, huh? Then that means you still haven’t settled on a location to set up a base nearest to the Nutellan. Then let me ask about your plans after that. What do the second and first year members of Seiran High’s club think? Do you have a vision for your future investigations? Or do you plan to stop exploring new unknown regions and s.h.i.+ft to focusing on cultural exchange?”

“I don’t think that’s, something we should decide, by ourselves yet.”

“Ah, is that so? But, after all, you can’t say that it’s fair and impartial for an investigator who’s related to the Nutellan in question to be in charge of investigating her. It’d make things difficult if something inconvenient happened with the Nutellan, right?”

“N-Nanakubo-san, if you have more than one question, please sit down and wait your turn again later.”

“I’m just asking what everyone else is already thinking, though?”

Nanakubo coolly ignored Nagas.h.i.+no’s warning.

Unable to let this insolence pa.s.s, Oozore reprimanded him further.

“What are you trying to do, Nanakubo? Do you have no intention of cooperating with the moderators of this a.s.sembly?”

“Aren’t you the most who most wants probe into this subject, Oozore-san?”

“That’s a separate matter entirely.”

There was a short silence.

As Oozore stared at her with sternly pursed lips, Nanakubo eventually gave in to the pressure and sat down disagreeably.

……

That short exchange between Nanakubo and Oozore seemed to reflected the internal discord within Nagumo High’s club, the pressure enough to give a third party like Homura a cold sweat.

However, Homura noticed that, as Nanakubo stared at Oozore like a petulant child after surrendering in the face of the vice-president’s pressure, her expression contained more than simple rebelliousness; there was also a hint of expectation.

What kind of effect would a demonstration showing how club members couldn’t be controlled by the moderators in front of government officials have on everyone present…? Homura still hadn’t thought that far, though.

For a while, no hands were raised, as if to support Nanakubo’s words, but eventually one person tentatively raised their arm.

After being given permission by the moderators, a slender female student with slopped shoulders stood up.

“I’m s.h.i.+ragiku, the Kanazawa Asano High club president. I have a proposal regarding the investigation centered around the Nutellan from now on. I’d like to ask that you accept representatives from every school to join in on the investigation.”

“Of course. For that, too, the increase of, Transport Rings, and a secure base, will be necessary.”

Misasagi reflexively agreed to the proposal, but that discussion was a still bit too far ahead to be settled on right now.

The moderating aid Nagas.h.i.+no promptly asked for that bit to be stricken from the record and warned the questioner.

“President s.h.i.+ragiku, please leave any concrete requests for the club president meeting later tonight. Please limit yourself to basic questions for now.”

“Then, what I wish to say is… I and the other members of the Kanazawa Asano Exploration Club want to directly meet this Nutellan.”

“…………”

Nagas.h.i.+no inadvertently turned speechless. Nods of agreement spread throughout the hall.

Bewildered, Touya turned around questioningly, but the advisor Fujimori kept her arms folded behind her head and reclined in her chair with no change.

It seemed that she had no intention of interjecting.

At this point, Homura’s expectations had been completely overturned.

At first, she’d just thought that the profile of an inhabitant of another word, the Nutellan Subaru-hime, would garner interest and excitement. Like a movie actress or a famous celebrity.

Misasagi-senpai had explained the basics of her and her situation, but that was merely a summary, nowhere near enough to satisfy everyone’s curiosity.

In the first place, Homura had yet to interact enough with Subaru-hime to her own satisfaction either.

—Princess Iotsumisumaru.

The woman who Suzuran called Hime and had lived a life of solitude for a thousand years.

“Now, now, wait a bit. I understand everyone’s feelings of dissatisfaction, but there’s no point in reproducing the s.n.a.t.c.hing compet.i.tion between major powers from before the Antarctic Treaty here.”

Tenryuu stepped forward to intercede.

However, at that moment, accompanied by a huge sneeze—

“Achoo… It’s not pointless! Keeping quiet here is the same as losing!”

A voice that Homura recognized rang out through the hall from the back.

Whispers of “Who’s that?” and “I can’t see” echoed through the hall.

A short-statured girl pushed her way through the crowd of people standing at the back of the hall and spoke up again as she stood atop one of the backmost audience seats.

“You guys, even if she stole a march on you all, try to tone down your jealousy of Mayo, all right?”

……Inari-senpai!

Homura gasped. That was definitely Inari Sunao. Wearing the Seiran High uniform for the first time since Homura had met her, Inari continued to walk over the audience desks.

“First of all, get down from the desk, Inari,” warned Oozore.

“I only climbed up because they said they couldn’t see me!”

She casually jumped down to the audience aisle and calmly headed to the stage, many voices calling out from behind at the sight of her familiar small back.

“Inari!?”

“Sunao-chan…!”

“You’re late, idiot!”

“What did you come here for, you shorty fox!?”

“Is she a child that got lost from her elementary school field trip?”

“Someone call the zoo caretakers. A special natural souvenir ran away!”

…Those were the kinds of merciless comments that came her way. Nanakubo visibly clicked her tongue. However, Homura felt like there was affectionate warmth and happy surprise contained within each of those voices.

“Inari…san.”

Misasagi unconsciously slipped out her name while standing frozen on the stage.

The dumbfounded Nagas.h.i.+no finally managed to speak up.

“Seiran High’s Inari-san… correct? Have you returned to the club? Actually, are your injuries all right now?”

“Can I borrow a tiepin mike? I’m tired of yelling at these guys.”

“S-Sure.”

Overpowered by Inari’s intensity, Nagas.h.i.+no hurriedly handed her a spare mike.

“Umm, just to confirm, Inari-senpai, this is technically a nationally cla.s.sified meeting, so do you have p-permission to be here—?”

“I called her here,” Fujimori announced.

In Inari’s lightly raised hand was a guest ID card of a different color than those belonging to investigators.

“Welcome back, Inari—however, we’re in the middle of Misasagi’s presentation right now.”

Tenryuu spoke to Inari in a cool voice.

“…You too…?”

Inari glared harshly at Tenryuu.

“Tenryuu… whose representative are you? The representative all the investigators here? Or are you just a cheap signboard hung up by the adults? Am I wrong?”

And then Inari turned to stare at Misasagi-senpai next. Misasagi was staring down at the ma.n.u.script in her hands with her lips tightly pursed.

“Mayo…”

—Homura could have sworn she heard Inari quietly murmur that single entreating word that only reached up on stage

Holding the offered mike between her fingers, Inari, despite her earlier words, then began to shout in a resounding voice at the entire hall.

“In the end, do you people simply not want to make waves? That’s just doing what the adults tell you. Just what did all you come here from all over j.a.pan for?”

Glaring challengingly at Tenryuu, Oozore and the entire a.s.sembly hall in turn, Inari then turned to her gaze to Touya beside her.

“All right! Touya, lend me that Q&A summary! And Homura! Why the heck are you sitting over there while I’m standing here? Come on over!”

“……Eeeeh!?”

Homura stood up with a start, causing all eyes to gather upon her.

“Kuku, when that’s girl’s present, the only thing you can do is resolve yourself and give in.”

Kamikoma laughed and pushed the bewildered Homura’s back with a slap.

“In that case, I should also go on stage, right? Right?”

Unable to wait any longer, Ameno pushed Homura from behind and accompanied her to the stage.

As Homura timidly walked onto the stage, Inari spoke while looking straight at her.

“You’re an investigator, aren’t you, Homura? You went to Nutella. You weren’t made to go there. You went there with your own two feet! You can talk about all your hards.h.i.+ps and painful experiences on Nutella here. Everyone wants to hear it.”

“Eeh, but recounting my hards.h.i.+ps is a bit… And besides, I didn’t prepare any ma.n.u.script to read off of!”

“What, you need something like that?”

“I have it.”

This time Misasagi-senpai interjected. Her expression was still a bit sullen.

“—I also, prepared a, ma.n.u.script for, you too, Hinooka-san.”

“What!?”

Just when did she make that…? As Homura stood there dumbfounded, Inari pa.s.sed her and stood before Misasagi.

“Like I thought. This is the real one, right…? Geez…”

“……”

Inari took the ma.n.u.script from the silent Misasagi’s hands—though she did stubbornly resist handing it over a little first—and then Inari pushed the papers onto Homura along with the mike.

—It contained the record of Hinooka Homura and Touya Tak.u.mi’s adventure, which had been omitted from the earlier announcement.

This was the account they had told to Misasagi and Ameno after they safely returned to the club building on Earth. They had talked together all night on after school hours, eating the tea cakes on the desk as they talked and adding in jokes every once in a while.

It was an unorganized account full of derailments, which was why they had hesitated to add it to the club president’s log, and yet Misasagi-senpai had written it all down with great care.

“Eh… Eeeh… Err… T-T-T-Touya-kun…?”

Homura was utterly fl.u.s.tered, uncertain where to begin from as she was bathed in the audience’s eager expectations.

Even when looked to Touya for help, he appeared greatly perplexed himself as he looked back at her.

“Sorry, Hinooka… If you give up at some point, I’ll switch with you partway through.”

“I give up.”

“Well, do your best.”

—On the other hand, the moderating a.s.sistant Nagas.h.i.+no also looked at a loss as she turned to seek instructions from the people in charge of the meeting, but Oozore was just looking up at the ceiling at this point and Tenryuu merely shrugged with a grin.

“I-Is this really all right? …In that case, please continue with the presentation…”

Still full of uncertainty, Nagas.h.i.+no hugged her stomach from the stress.

Chapter 5 END

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