Evening, Schale residential area.
The white-haired girl carrying a suitcase looked around the surroundings and seemed to sigh.
"Although I've come to Schale for duty shifts before, I never imagined there would be a day when I'd actually need to stay overnight here, and at Yuuka-chan's request no less… Hehe, this is quite a novel experience."
Standing beside her, I was similarly filled with emotion.
Exactly. Who could have guessed that Yuuka would suddenly come up with such an astonishing strategy?
Turning back time to the earlier meeting.
When Yuuka confidently declared that Noa should stay overnight at Schale, the two of us involved both froze in astonishment at the same time.
On the contrary, Akane's eyes flashed behind her glasses, and she immediately approved.
"Ara~ I see, what an excellent idea. In that case, I propose that I also stay overnight at Schale before the operation begins."
That girl's intentions really were painfully obvious.
"No."
Yet Yuuka rejected it decisively.
"Noa alone is enough. Too many people would only alert her. Rather, during this period, I'd ask that you and the rest of C&C focus on preparations and absolutely avoid appearing anywhere near Schale."
After saying that, the cold-hearted arithmetic user ignored Akane, who still looked like she wanted to argue further, and turned toward her still-hesitant friend with sincerity.
"Noa, I'm counting on you this time."
"…Why," the Seminar secretary, who no longer had the composure to continue taking notes, asked quietly, "did you choose me?"
"Eh?"
The question seemed to catch Yuuka by surprise.
"D-don't tell me you don't want to?"
Noa shook her head.
"No, it's not that… But you see, choosing someone else should also be possible, right? Like Akane-san, for example?"
Beside them, Akane nodded repeatedly.
"Correct. I would be very happy to take on this responsibility."
"That's true, but after calculating things, Noa, you're still the most suitable candidate."
Yuuka began listing the advantages Noa possessed for this task one by one.
"This mission's highest priority is stability. Noa, you're familiar with Koyuki's behavior patterns, you're attentive and observant, and you naturally intimidate her.
"Since we need to maintain the illusion that Sensei is still at Schale and hasn't gone out, and because Sensei will later need to accompany C&C on the operation, I'd feel kind of bad making Sensei work overtime too, so I thought that since you already have experience doing duty shifts, maybe you could also help support Sensei with some work while you're there.
"And besides, during this chaotic period, there probably isn't any other work to assign to you anyway… Ah, of course, I'm not trying to exploit you or anything, I just thought that while everyone else is busy, wouldn't you get a little bored sitting around with nothing to do…"
No, this was straightforward exploitation.
But putting that aside, Yuuka's shocking strategy actually included consideration for reducing my workload?
It was truly touching!
However, while analyzing the pros and cons, she seemed to have unintentionally revealed a rather dangerous inner thought.
"Yuuka-chan, putting everything else aside," Noa asked with a smiling expression, "what exactly do you mean by 'naturally intimidating'?"
"Ah, w-well…"
Faced with her friend's questioning, even the cold-hearted arithmetic user was momentarily speechless.
Obviously, what Yuuka meant was precisely the current situation.
After calming herself down, the Seminar accountant coughed lightly and stiffly changed the subject.
"Of course, the most important thing is that I trust you, Noa."
"…Hehe."
Noa laughed softly and shook her head. Her tone became noticeably lighter, as though she had cast off some invisible restraint.
"Since you've gone this far, then I suppose I can only agree."
Yuuka and I both revealed pleased expressions at the same time, while Akane alone looked somewhat disappointed.
"Still, Yuuka-chan, I should warn you in advance."
Looking at her friend, a mysterious glimmer appeared in Noa's pale violet eyes.
"If something unexpected happens, then it will all be because of the decision made by you, the one who chose to trust me."
"Of course."
Yuuka showed a bright smile.
"Since President Rio handed full responsibility for this matter to me, then naturally all responsibility should also be borne by me. Noa, you just need to do your best and give it everything you've got!"
"Mm."
Noa nodded slightly, then looked toward me. Her smile was gentle and her voice soft.
"Sensei, I'll be in your care for the next few days."
Thus, after the meeting ended, Yuuka returned to the Data Management Center to continue directing operations, while Akane went back to prepare for the mission scheduled to begin two days later.
As for the Seminar secretary, after returning to her dormitory to pack her belongings, she returned to Schale together with me.
"Sensei," the white-haired girl turned toward me, "which room will I be sleeping in tonight? I'd like to put down my luggage first."
"Mm, follow me."
After saying that, I led Noa upstairs and stopped in front of a door.
"This room is my bedroom."
I deliberately paused before continuing.
"Other than this one, you may choose any room you like. They're all the same."
The slight crease in the white-haired girl's brow relaxed after hearing the second half of my sentence.
"Hehe~ Schale really has a lot of guest rooms. Hmm… then… may I choose this one?"
The room she pointed at was diagonally opposite from my bedroom.
I nodded.
"Of course. The key is already in the door. If there's nothing else, I'll head to the office area to work first."
Noa smiled.
"Mm. I'll come help after I put my things away."
"Should I make you a cup of coffee first?"
"Yes, thank you very much."
Parting briefly with Noa, I returned to the office. When reaching for the cups, my gaze unconsciously settled on the pair of matching mugs Yuuka had specifically bought for us, and suddenly a thought crossed my mind.
Yuuka allowing her friend to stay overnight at Schale with me, a lone man and woman under the same roof, was not only trust in Noa, but trust in me as well.
In that case…
If I did not take this opportunity to make something happen with Noa, wouldn't that be betraying that trust too much?
I took out two ordinary mugs instead, brewed two cups of coffee, then devoted myself entirely to the mountain of paperwork.
A short while later, Noa also entered the office and sat across from me. I handed her the documents I had prepared earlier. After briefly skimming through them, she began handling them with practiced ease.
During that time, our conversations remained mostly limited to work. There were occasional jokes and casual remarks, but nothing particularly noteworthy.
As we busied ourselves, the sky gradually darkened. It felt as though only the blink of an eye had passed before night had already arrived.