The kids all nodded with nervous expressions at my stern telling-off, and I could hear a collective sigh of relief after we moved on out of their sight.


    "My apologies, Ms Larson. Let us go."


    Swiftly turning around, I apologised for the holdup and went to exit the school building.


    At the end of my sight, a certain student suddenly came into my view, caught watching me from a distance.


    "..."


    Her unique golden hair reminded me that it was the same girl I had locked eyes with for a brief moment earlier.


    As there was no window between us this time as well as a lesser distance, it was made clear that we were probably about the same age, as I had guessed.


    The enigmatic look carried in her subtly glowing, plum-like amethyst eyes conveyed a sense of something unknowable and mystifying.


    I was hit by an abrupt feeling of discontinuity as I stared deeper and deeper into those eyes; as if something wasn''t entirely as it seemed.


    "..."


    In the end, I chalked it up to her unique features driving my inquisitiveness.


    She must be a curious one, I surmised, seeing someone as young as herself yet with two older children.


    My thoughts on the matter ended there as I nced away and forgot about it.


    I had already confirmed that there were no students nor staff within the academy for me to be wary of, and that remained true even at this moment, so there was no need to look further into it.


    The twins followed my brisk steps out of the main building and all the way to the gate.


    Turning my back on the school for thest time, I spotted the ck limousine waiting for us. Sana and Sona joined me as I took a seat in the well-cushioned back, and I spoke one word to the chauffeur.


    "Go."


    ----------


    To prepare for the uing Winter Break, there were a few things that needed to be done.


    Well, that''s a bit of an exaggeration.


    By the end of the Winter Break, whichsts three weeks from midte December until the middle of January, I aim to take the Order down, or at least cripple them substantially.


    As mentioned previously, the best way for me to annihte thempletely without too much cost is to expose them to the Wardens, who take the matter of humanity''s safety into their own hands like the vignte bastards they are.


    In any case, that itself shouldn''t be too hard in theory, but... It might get a little tricky.


    First of all, the Wardens aren''t going to want to listen to a word I have to say regardless of the contents, so I have to somehow let them know about the Order''s atrocities whilst undercover.


    Fortunately, I already recovered a bunch of the documents from thest time I was kidnapped, so I don''t have to worry about evidence.


    The fastest way to do it would be to sneak into the Wardens'' offices and nt the documents myself without them knowing, but that''s a n with many holes, and if I was going to sneak in there in the first ce then I would just eradicate them then and there.


    Obviously, I cannot do that, and I don''t n on taking unnecessary risks by foolishly trying.


    I thought about nting the evidence in Tarou or Atsuko Fushigimi''s locker since Saburou and her are both deeply connected to the Wardens, but neither of them has returned to school sincest time, so it''d be pointless.


    Other than that, the only realistic option remaining was to use Minami''s contacts.


    Because the Wardens affiliate themselves with the government in order to receive their permission and support for all sorts of things, one way is to go through them.


    Minami has a few ties with the government, so it wouldn''t be out of the question to go down that route, and in fact, that seems the most likely option at the moment.


    Ding~!


    As I was contemting how I would go about this, I noticed a rather abrupt buzz from my smartphone on the side.


    I received a text.


    [Izumi~ - (1)]


    The sender was apparent.


    Izumi Yamazaki, the so-called ss representative.


    Ding~!


    Suddenly, the phone sounded a second time as I watched the ''1'' turn into a ''2''.


    Ding~!


    Ding~!


    It quickly became 4, and then 5.


    Wondering what the fuss was about, I opened the message log.


    [Izumi~: Heya, Itou~! We''re going to be holding a discussion on Friday about the end-of-year celebration and the Winter Festival! So, I was wondering if you would be free to join? No pressure if you''re busy of course! We''re just talking about some ns in the group chat now, so if you have any ideas feel free to let us know!]


    Uh.


    A very lengthy and emotive paragraph took up half of my screen, but I continued reading the rest.


    Her next message caused my eyes to narrow.


    [Izumi~: By the way, I''ve been meaning to ask if you know where Fushigimi-kun has been?]


    In a tone vastly graver than in her first text, she asked about the location of the missing Tarou Fushigimi.


    My gaze sharpened as I looked down at Izumi''s following texts.


    [Izumi~: I''m not sure if you''ve realised it as well, but I''ve noticed his abnormal tardiness ever since that day we went to the cafe a while ago.]


    [Izumi~: He hasn''t been opening or responding to my texts, and I''m getting worried.]


    [Izumi~: Since he and his sister left right after you on that day, I was wondering if you knew anything about it? I even asked Hayashi-sensei but she said there was nothing to worry about. Anyway, so it could be a needless worry, I''m probably just overly concerned. Thank you, I''m sorry for bothering you.]


    I stared at the screen for a few seconds before leaning back with a sigh.


    There seemed to be more she wanted to say, but out of a reluctance to bother me, she held herself back.


    It was clear she didn''t know anything about the situation. She didn''t even mention that his sister was gone from school too, so I doubt she dug into it.


    Tarou and Atsuko Fushigimi both disappeared on the day I met Space for the first time.


    Well, Atsuko returned home, but her brother actually vanished.


    It''s been about a month and a half since then, but was he still wandering around with one arm and a thirst for vengeance?


    No.


    Of course, as I knew what had happened as well as where he had been the whole time, I hadn''t been thinking much of it, but everyone else in the ss? They wouldn''t have a clue.


    In the first ce, why did she think our teacher said there was nothing to worry about?


    Obviously, that would have been because she knew where Tarou had been, right?


    That kid, he''s not something I need to care about in any case.


    [Oscar Itou: Sorry, I don''t know anything about it.]


    Leaving a single sentence as my only reply, I pressed the power button on the smartphone and got up from my seat.


    Now that I was sorting everything in my head, there was a lot more to do than I realised.


    Time to get to work.


    ----------


    "Ahaaah! You idiot! Buffoon! Ape!"


    "Shut up! It isn''t fair!"


    Sitting pensively at my desk, I observed the two clowns Yuu Shimura and Chihiro Suzuki argue over something petty.


    "Hahahaha! ''Unfair''? All I hear is loser-speak! Is a peanut-brained fool like you jealous of this great one''s eternal wisdom?"


    "''Loser'' my foot! Everybody here knows you aren''t smarter than me, jackass!"


    "Hmph! Mortal envy consumes you, dear! How else would I have scored higher than you on the exam?"


    Of course, the topic matter was the prior mock exams we hadpleted on Halloween day.


    The two seemed to be getting into an intense row over who was smarter. I think they made a bet or something?


    In any case, Chihiro was mad that Yuu somehow scored higher than her despite his usually abysmal grades.


    "You freaking cheated, that''s how! Fraudster!"


    "Cheated? How dare you! Resorting to a baseless usation because you can''t stand my innate intelligence being realms higher than your own, huh? How petty!"


    "Oh, ha, ha! Ask anyone in this room and they''ll confirm that you''re dumb as bricks! Do you want me to do it for you? Hey, It--"


    "No! Shut up and bask in my glory!"


    Was she about to call my name...?


    I sighed. By the looks of things, this would go nowhere.


    There were still a few minutes until ss started, so I stood up to go to the quieter bathroom until then and to avoid the risk of getting dragged into a mess, but the two suddenly jolted in my direction.


    "Itou!"


    "Itou-sensei!"


    I felt a piece of my soul die.


    ncing around the room, everyone either watched in amusement while chuckling or averted their eyes from my gaze.


    ...You bastards. Every single one of you.


    There was no choice.


    Looking at Yuu Shimura first, I opened my mouth.


    "You are an imbecile. The only reason you scored higher was because I gave you the answers beforehand, so don''t go causing a ruckus,uding yourself for just that. If you continue, I won''t give you the answers next time."


    "Ah..."


    "Hahaha! See?"


    Satisfied with his expression as if all the vitality had been sucked away, I turned to Chihiro Suzuki beside him, who pped Yuu on the back andughed.


    "You. Don''t encourage him. You know you''re smarter, so why do you fall for his taunts? It''s annoying."


    "Huh...? Uh..."


    Turning the two around, I moved their puppet-like bodies back to their desks where they sat without another word.


    I nodded.


    That''s better.


    Like soulless beings, they didn''t even try to resist and sat in silence, waiting for the lesson to begin.


    Now that it had turned out like this, there was no need for me to leave the ssroom, so I took my seat again.


    "..."


    Ignoring everyone else in the ss who stared dumbfoundedly in my direction, I went back to my isted thoughts.


    Soon, the lesson began.