There were four participants in this meeting.
Myself, Yuuka, Akane, and…
"Noa, why did you leave on your own?" Yuuka asked in confusion.
"Ahaha…"
The white-haired girl, who had proactively left to avoid suspicion only to be called back again, gave an awkward yet polite smile.
"Yuuka-chan, you never said I was participating too, did you?"
Hearing that, Yuuka looked even more puzzled.
"Well, it's true I overlooked that part, but I asked you to bring Sensei over, and this is a formal meeting. Normally speaking, of course you'd be attending too, right?"
After all, Noa's role in the Seminar was secretary. Recording the contents of meetings was already part of her daily work.
Faced with that question, Noa did not answer directly. After a brief silence, she instead apologized.
"Sorry, that was my oversight. Please forgive me."
"Eh, eh?"
Yuuka immediately became flustered and hurriedly explained herself.
"I, I wasn't blaming you or anything! I just thought it was a little unusual for you not to realize something like that, so…"
Suddenly, the white-haired girl covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Hehe~ Yuuka-chan suddenly becoming serious is really amusing~"
Yuuka jumped in surprise.
"Eh!? D-don't tell me you were teasing me again!?"
Rather than teasing her, it was more like Noa was using "teasing" as an excuse to dodge the issue while easing the awkwardness.
I coughed lightly.
"Yuuka, Noa, let's get to the main topic first."
Noa silently nodded and opened the notebook she normally used for recording.
"R-right. Let's get back on topic."
Yuuka patted her cheeks, took a deep breath, and spoke seriously.
"In any case, everyone present should already understand the situation by now. And just now, through our efforts, we've already confirmed Koyuki's current location."
I could not help asking,
"Don't tell me she really ran to Schale?"
Yuuka shook her head.
"No. At least not right now. She's currently neither in Millennium's district nor in D.U., but in another district instead."
"Another district?"
I could not help frowning.
Could it be that Koyuki had been manipulated by someone with ulterior motives?
"Yes. Odyssey Marine Academy… it's a school made up of multiple ships. According to witness reports, that child is currently hiding aboard one of the ships called the [Golden Fleece]."
Yuuka paused before continuing.
"Odyssey has some level of exchange with Millennium, so I tried contacting their student council earlier. But according to them, that ship is currently in a semi-outside-jurisdiction state."
I raised a brow.
"In other words, Odyssey's student council can't force them to hand over Koyuki, is that right?"
"That's right. And because the Golden Fleece operates independently using its own earned budget, the situation onboard is also completely unknown."
"My, my…" Akane murmured thoughtfully. "Our problematic student has fled into their problematic zone… and while mass-issuing bonds too. Just what is she trying to do? Planning a coup?"
Yuuka sighed.
"We have no idea about that either, but it feels really bad… I just hope she hasn't teamed up with some evil organization or started planning something ridiculous… Ah, seriously, all these unpleasant possibilities just keep expanding…"
As the Seminar's accountant and the person in charge of its finances, every unauthorized bond being issued was adding unnecessary work onto her already overwhelming workload.
"And that is also the reason I'm requesting C&C's assistance."
After seeming to sort through her emotions, Yuuka continued.
"Although Odyssey declared that the Golden Fleece is outside their jurisdiction, it's also outside our school's jurisdiction."
Akane nodded.
"So we can't solve it the usual way with drones and overwhelming numbers."
"Exactly. Because that would be a clear violation of regulations."
In Kivotos, every academy possessed autonomy within its own district.
Even the General Student Council did not have the authority to freely deploy force in other districts. That was precisely why SRT and Schale existed.
I pondered for a moment.
"So this time we'll be acting under Schale's name?"
"No. If we do that, it defeats the purpose."
Yuuka said seriously,
"Even the lowest probability must still be accounted for."
I smiled.
"That's the basic quality of an arithmetic user."
"Y-you're saying strange things again!"
Yuuka's face reddened.
"Anyway, if the operation or even the intelligence turns out to be wrong, there's still a fairly high possibility that Koyuki will seek refuge at Schale. So we can only use methods like disguising ourselves as ordinary tourists to board the ship. And I would also ask that Sensei hide your own presence during this operation."
"Oh my?" Akane asked curiously. "Does that mean Master will be accompanying us this time?"
Having only just learned this myself, I also looked at Yuuka questioningly.
"…That's right."
The corner of Yuuka's mouth twitched as she began lecturing irritably.
"Every single time I tell you all to 'handle things quietly,' and not once have you listened! Every time it ends with destroyed property and blown-up buildings. Do you know how long those invoices are? Do you know who always has to clean up after you in the end!?"
Naturally, Yuuka herself.
Recalling C&C's rather violent style of operation, I could not help laughing as I more or less understood my assigned role.
Sure enough, Yuuka smiled as though her scheme had succeeded.
"Well, you could say you'll be acting as a sort of brake to stop them from going too overboard? Of course, the nature of this incident itself means we absolutely cannot cause too much of a disturbance, which is why I'm asking Sensei to accompany all of you this time. Are those constantly escalating damages really unavoidable every time? At the very least, let me confirm that much."
To think she even factored in the feelings the girls of C&C held toward me, as well as their desire to maintain a good image in front of me. Truly worthy of the cold-hearted arithmetic user!
But that led to another problem.
I raised my hand.
"Hypothetically speaking, if the intelligence really is wrong, and while I'm away with C&C, Koyuki actually runs off to Schale, then what?"
"Hehe. As for that, of course I've already prepared a countermeasure."
Yuuka looked toward the secretary, who had been silently recording notes this whole time.
"Noa, until Koyuki is apprehended, I'll leave staying overnight at Schale to you, okay?"
The sound of a pen tip slipping and scratching across paper could be heard clearly.
Noa slowly raised her head. Looking at the encouraging smile on her friend's face, she hesitated for a moment before letting out a bewildered sound.
"…Eh?"