Chapter Text
This is not my world.
My eyes opened to the sight of an unfamiliar sky through a window. A heaven nothing like the one that stared down upon us our whole lives.
A fierce, desperate firmament protecting a fragile existence filled with hopes.
With great effort, I turned away from the phenomenal sight. Gather information first and start accumulating contingencies. If not my world, then where, how, and why? Every second mattered when drowning in the unfamiliar. Instinctively, I began to categorize and comprehend my surroundings.
I'd woken up sitting in what only could have been an advanced locomotive. The long room was separated into three sections, each of which had eight connected cushioned chairs enclosed by a vertical metal pole and guard rail on opposite walls. The two metal poles were connected by a horizontal metal pole a bit lower than the ceiling from which hung fourteen handles.
Large windows were set behind each grouping of seats, opening up to a view of beautiful waters and a slowly moving cityscape far in the distance filled with tall buildings. The star shining on the water ushered in a purplish tint that ricocheted off the metal inside the room to make the room almost glow. Each clatter of wheels caused the room to pulsate with a phantom aura.
I stood up and walked to the center of the room, naturally slipping into a more guarded stance. Everything around me was precise. Equally spaced, free of blemishes, and perfectly identical. A precision that stood out to me as unnatural even for something manmade.
If fourteen people could sit and stand on both sides, then all together this room alone is built to accommodate... around seventy-five, no, maybe one hundred or more people? And there are identical doors on both sides. More cabins? How vast is the population to need to move this many individuals at once?
Or perhaps it wasn't the size of the total population, but a single purpose that needed a large number of participants. The movement of military assets was one possibility. Or the space could even be used for some ritual that required travel and unified behaviors.
Neither boded well for my sudden appearance inside a room void of all signs of life.
My eyes flickered around the room for any inconsistencies or differences in the perfectly symmetrical room. It didn't take long for me to find a single difference. The door at the end of the room to my left, the side in the direction the train was moving, was slightly ajar.
Wishing I had anything to throw through the opening, even a simple pebble, I approached the door. When I stood in front of it, it automatically slide open to reveal another, nearly identical cabin.
With one major difference. I was not alone anymore.
Just as my eyes had been drawn to the unfamiliar heavens, my body was drawn towards a woman sitting in the center seat with her back towards the star. With measured steps, I approached and sat down directly across from her. While it was possible to fight the impulse, I chose to simply obey.
This was who awaited me.
The mysterious woman sat with a straight back and hands folded on her lap. Her long, light blue hair transitioned to pink on the inner side and reached all the way down to her seat with bangs that covered her left eye. A blue braid mixed with a few strands of pink reached down from the left side of her head to cover the source of the bloodstains that flowed down her white military jacket.
It was easy for me to guess that she was a combatant or military commander considering her medals and insignias on her jacket. A combatant who'd seen recent combat judging by her state. Both cheeks were bloodstained, and she had a tear through the right side of her torso that also seeped into her white dress. It was still the chest wound that was the greatest cause for concern as it still quietly oozed all the way down the back of her white boots onto the floor below. The puddle of blood beneath her feet showed she had spent at least several minutes sitting in this space.
"It was my choice..." she began, smiling faintly, showing no pain in her expression. "And all my fault. My decisions, and everything they led to."
I sat straighter to match her and present her with absolute respect. Though her injuries seemed manageable with minor medical attention, she made no attempt to heal herself. Perhaps she had already given up.
If that is the case, I may be listening to a final confession.
She continued on, the light of the star and her bangs obscuring part of her face. "Only when things reached this point, when my control failed and everything spun out of control, have I finally understood what you kept trying to impart to me. The sheer significance of the role I requested and the consequences of my ignorance..."
To the best of my knowledge, I had never met this woman before. Natural blue and pink hair did not appear commonly in my world. So, how did she know me?
"... That knowledge makes this all the harder, because I now see my request for what it truly is. Still... I know this is very shameless of me, but I must ask for your help."
"Sensei."
The word sent a jolt through me. I didn't recognize the word at all. Perhaps a title of some kind, or another alias used for a mission I was made to forget. And yet something deep within knew that the word referred to me and no one else. A sense of familiarity and respect for the term and an understanding that it held incredible weight.
"You'll forget these words, but it won't matter. Even without your memories..."
"... you will be able to make the decisions I prevented you from taking. When faced with the same circumstances once again, you will not find ropes binding you."
Her folded hands clenched and then relaxed. A metaphorical release of a constriction.
"..." So I did lose my memories already. Or perhaps there was another me who had advised this woman before. Did 'I' ever have those memories to even lose?
Her shoulders relaxed as a great burden left. "Which is why... what matters is what we make possible, not our past experiences. There are choices only you can make... choices that are utterly unimaginable to us. Yet I know you would be the one to see them for what they are."
Who was I to you, you who tries to create one last hope? What did 'Sensei' mean to you? Why didn't you listen to my words?
How we were entwined that I was willing to avoid possibilities?
Blood dripped into the puddle beneath her feet. And how did things become so horrible that you learned of your own folly?
"I've spoken of responsibility before. I didn't truly understand it back then, but I do now. Adulthood, responsibility, obligation ... and the choices you make that extend beyond those ideals. Even the meaning behind these justifications."
Adulthood? I sat up even straighter and examined her again. Was she much younger than she seemed and looked up to me as an adult? Or did I have a role working with children?
It was a strange word to appear here. But with relation to responsibility... not enough pieces to be sure. Enough to form a guess.
"… I wish I could have done it differently. If I hadn't fed into my discomfort and suspicion. Focused on the intentions behind your words rather than the similarities to our foes'. If instead I could work by your side again and…
She stopped herself and let her smile droop a little in resignation. "No. Even here as new miracles begin, there is a limit to what can be asked for. My regrets and faults are mine."
She hadn't intended to say all that. A selfish wish that slipped into a confession. A plea she knows goes against the acceptance of the flow. I sighed as I bore witness to a natural resignation, but never let my gaze leave her. It was all someone like me could do.
"Sensei."
Another jolt. A word I would never take lightly. A role 'that extended beyond ideals' to use her words.
"You're the only one I can trust. In the way you once asked me, I now beg of you."
"Only you can unravel this twisted, distorted fate..."
"... and find the choices that will lead us to a new reality."
Ah, now I see.
I understood then.
"This place does not exist," I declared to the World.
Strings and cords in a variety of colors criss-crossed my vision. A complicated web of thread and yarn-like rainbows erupted from behind the dying woman and laced its way through the locomotive cabin. Falsehood peeled away to reveal the truth of the space that drove towards eternity.
Behind her, the windows flickered and cracked until the city and water vanished from sight entirely. Instead, they displayed a different scene entirely. Another unrecognizable memory.
Through the window's portal, I was presented with a tragic sight. Smoke rose from destroyed buildings. Rubble made of shattered chunks of stone and rebar scattered in every direction. Grey clouds filled the air, and soot-colored rain splattered across the annihilated land. The skies themselves seemed to weep with despair over the devastation.
The firmament had been shattered and the promise that beautiful heaven had sang of was no more. I bore witness to a world's final death throes as its name was revoked.
Yet, 'I' stood in the center of the devastated battlefield carrying my own marks of conflict and struggle. Without my usual hairband keeping my ponytail together, my long, dirty purple hair spread across my shoulders, discolored by grime. Blood dripped from a wound in my side, and my grey and white clothes were burnt and disheveled. I didn't recognize the make of the clothes, but they seemed to be some combination of jacket, shirt and pants.
Sitting in the locomotive, I wore a pristine version of the same unknown outfit. However, it wasn't my attire that stood out the most.
The side of my face had changed into a distorted black mass with glowing white cracks skirting across the transformed skin. The corruption reached down into my neck, and black mist seeped out from beneath my clothes. My left eye was sealed shut by the deformation while my right eye pulsed with a faint green light atop its black iris.
Something was eating away at me. Even as a veritable storm of colored strings floated and flitted around my head, the pile of transparent, torn apart strings at my feet showed the extent of its consumption. Proof of a name being invoked past its limit.
Across from my doppelgänger in the windows stood another woman wearing a black, long-sleeved dress with a dark-green underside and a notable cut on the left side to reveal her legs. A pair of gray wolf ears sat atop her head, connected to long hair of the same color reaching down to her lower back. Both her eyes had slit pupils, though one was white and the other black.
Above her head, a black with a greenish tinge... halo? floated. It consisted of two rings, both broken, with the outer ring having four points each going in different directions.
In her hand, she carried some sort of metal tube device I didn't recognize. I could only assume it was a ranged weapon of some kind considering how she pointed it at the other me. No obvious sharp edges or large surface areas pointed to a usage for slashing, stabbing, or brute force trauma. Perhaps it worked as a highly complicated crossbow.
What was obvious was that it was a weapon that had killed the hopes of many. Perhaps even her own. The dying world bore identical scars to the black and green shadows that circled her. Death clung to her.
It's job unfinished, she gritted her teeth and moved the weapon to point at a flat metal object in my right hand. A blue light pouring from the window of my possession flickered in opposition towards the grey-haired woman.
A loud noise erupted from the weapon as something fast careened into what was mine, cracking its glass.
To my left, in the locomotive, a window exploded, and glass scattered across the floor. The blue-haired girl in front of me did not even acknowledge it, still staring at me with her one visible blue eye.
Another loud noise and the object was struck again. This time, the 'me' I viewed from outside staggered backwards from the force of the impact. The window on my right shattered as the entire wall crumpled inwards. The colored threads nearby fell to the floor, torn asunder by the glass shards. Nothing remained of their intricate design and carefully constructed purpose. Killed before completing their duty.
Why do I not act? With that great power at my side, let alone what must have been gained in exchange for that corruption, I am perfectly capable of doing something. Even if I might be unsuccessful, even if it is impossible to stop this, why not try? For once... for once... there would be a purpose behind that effort! What I would need is right there in my grasp!
Was it resignation? Was it rebellion? In the depths of my silence, even I could not understand this version of me. The choice to merely accept this distorted fate.
"Please..."
The woman's voice wavered in the quiet. Tears filling her eyes as she aimed the weapon again. "With this... everything will be over."
A loud bang. The target received a third hole as it flew out of my corrupted hand and clattered against the ground, its blue light fading. Still, I stood my ground and actively chose the unimaginable.
Stillness.
More windows in the locomotive broke, the ground quaked, and the walls bent inwards. Only the small space where the girl in white and I sat remained unaffected as the cabins collapsed around us.
I see.
I closed my eyes.
"Sensei, I'm sorry. It's my fault," the girl in black cried out.
This place does not exist, it is merely a Last Will. A final request. A space to request a Miracle's advent or its eradication.
In the wreckage of the imaginary space, a knotted lump formed before me. A will formed from more than a single person.
I didn't know the me who stood on the battlefield across from the woman in black. The man whose eyes shifted to meet mine for a mere moment.
I didn't even know the me who sat across from the woman in white. The man who was forged in this space to make this decision.
What I did know, was that we were the same. Both listening to a desperate confession and anguished entreaty.
"It's not your fault." Both versions of myself spoke in unison.
The girl in black groaned; the girl in white shook with shame.
You say that a different outcome would have occurred if you had trusted me more. If I had been able to make decisions unbound from the rope of your will. Then, it is my failure for not establishing that trust.
Then 'I', 'we', both must make every effort to make up for that failure.
I looked at both girls who called my name as Sensei and thrust my left hand into the knotted lump. In a dying world, a doppelganger mirrored my movements.
If someone once again called to me with the final thoughts and prayers. If someone trusted me enough to deliver me this Last Will...
My responsibility is to answer.
Once more. One more time.
To claim a new destination for those who called me by that name.
"I ☐☐☐☐☐☐, accept the role." We both stated our resolution.
One woman shouted in terror. The other's sad smile exuded hope.
And then the world collapsed.
---------------------------------------------------------
This is not my world.
Unfamiliar walls, ceiling, and floor appeared as he opened his eyes. Not just unfamiliar, but fully foreign. Multiple objects in the room stood out as completely unknown with unclear functions.
So, not a kidnapping to another country. A completely separate world, perhaps?
Separate world or not, he recognized an office when he saw one. A wooden desk, papers stacked up, an electric lamp, and other objects showed someone used it in a bureaucratic role.
He patted the sofa underneath him and then looked at the side table next to the sofa. On it sat his leather duffel bag.
So I'm not without supplies. That also helps rule out kidnapping. Somebody placed it here specifically.
"So you really are here... Sensei."
A girl with long black hair, blue on the inner layer, stepped into the room. Her white uniform, which ended in a short skirt, and white jacket had multiple gold buttons and accents. A military outfit perhaps, maybe one of a high rank. The gradient blue inside her coat matched a night sky, giving her an ethereal look.
She adjusted the thin glasses sitting atop her pointed ears and stared down at him with piercing blue eyes.
"I didn't think it'd be true, but... you are here as she said you would be, Sensei."
He pointed at himself and raised an eyebrow. The term 'Sensei' struck him as familiar and unfamiliar in equal measure.
"Yes, let me explain the situation."
She gave a detailed summary of the main points he wished to know.
Someone called the president of a body known as the General Student Council summoned him from his world to this one: Kivotos. He was called upon to serve as the teacher, no, the Sensei of the entire city. This was to handle some grave matters that threatened the existence of the city.
The woman in front of him, Nanagami Rin, served as the Vice President and the second in command of Kivotos. As expected, the uniform indicated her high rank.
Throughout her explanation, he remained silent and answered only in pantomime. It was far too dangerous to speak when too many variables remained unanswered about the summoning itself. Even despite his years of schooling, he'd never heard of a method to summon a single individual to another world. By some miracle, it occurred anyway.
Rin frowned at his continued reluctance to speak. "Sensei, you..." she interrupted herself and pulled out a letter. "The president mentioned something about this in her notes on how to handle you."
My summoner knew enough about me to devise specific plans and notes? That's... concerning. I'm completely ignorant of this place, and yet they know me?
"Hmm... she says if I'm struggling to communicate with you, I should tell you..." she stopped and pulled the paper closer to make sure she followed the instruction correctly. "To tell you that she 'already paid the toll'?"
Ah, that changed things then. If she had already paid the full cost, then his summoner knew what she was doing.
He couldn't even guess the scale of the cost and toll sacrificed, only that it must have been significant.
Spitting on that effort went against his moral compass.
The first step was to test his use of language by accepting her greeting. "Nice to meet you, Rin. May Cestarok grant you the blessing of Masetov."
Thankfully, some quirk of his summoning allowed him to understand and speak in Kivotos' language without issue. As long as he intended to utter his words and didn't think about how to word it in his language, his words were automatically translated. But if he intentionally spoke in his language, then the words remained indecipherable to Rin.
"... If he grants you the blessing of Masetov, say, 'May good luck find you'."
Eerie! Who taught her a correct, non-standard response?
After finishing some more introductions and short greetings, she guided him to an elevator while he continued his fact-finding observations.
The decor and technology seem to be on a higher level than my own world. Even if the technological levels aren't vastly different, the scale of their industry easily outstrips my own. He looked out the window of the elevator at the vast skyline of towering buildings and pristine waters. In addition, the population of Kivotos is at least tenfold our own judging by the size of these structures.
Far out in the distance, he could see a large white tower with a glowing white pillar emanating into the heavens. Around the pillar floated several light blue halos, easily covering the size of a small town.
When he pointed it out, Rin explained that the building was the Sanctum Tower, the heart of the Academy City. Nobody knew what the halos were or why they existed, but they had floated above the whole of Kivotos since long before anyone remembered.
"I didn't even think to mention them; they are such a natural part of our day-to-day lives."
"And your own halo?" He asked as he looked at Rin's light blue halo with three star shapes on the right side. "As far as I can tell, I don't see any angel wings or other relevant heavenly authority."
She looked pleased to have personally caught his attention, breaking his streak of questions about the city/country. "Students within the thousands of academy districts have halos that protect us and buffer most harm that comes our way. This makes us much more resilient than the other residents, like yourself."
As he looked down at the streets below, he saw many other 'students' walking around, each with their own unique halo above their heads. Among the crowds there were also some people made entirely of mechanical parts. Bipedal animal people, including cats, dogs, and birds, composed the last group of citizens. Neither the animal or mechanical people had halos, setting them apart from the 'students'.
In that case, he stared out the window at the Sanctum Tower again. These larger halos are likely connected to the halos the students have. Perhaps a system that manages their abilities? Something that designates the 'students' from the other races?
The elevator trip, more advanced than at home but still recognizable, was too fast for him to glean anything specific. The only thing obvious to his eyes was that the heart of the city was an apt term. All the arrays of halos in the air seemed to stem from that one singular spot. Strange to imagine the residents didn't even think about the phenomenon.
Still, if it was a rule to be accepted, then he'd accept it without further questions as well. Being a teacher, a 'Sensei', didn't seem to involve objects of power.
Once they reached the ground floor, four students marched up to Rin demanding answers for the chaos across the city. Apparently, crime was on the rise. Parts of the city's infrastructure were also collapsing for unknown reasons.
According to Rin, the top administrator of the Sanctum Tower, the GSC President, vanished from the city, leading to the cascading issues.
So... right before or immediately after my summoning? But it seems the chaos started earlier than that.
"We had been searching for a way to bypass verification, all to no avail... until now," Rin explained.
Sensei scratched his chin. Loss of control of the city, a toll paid, a summoning completed, a chaos impossible to manage, and only now a sudden solution appeared.
The pieces fit. "I suppose I'm somehow the answer then," he tried to confirm with Rin. The other girls, who hadn't paid attention previously, now stared at him in shock.
"You? Who even are you?" The impatient, blue-haired girl asked.
Oh, isn't that a loaded question? Rin pressed me about the same thing. How to respond?
"This is Sensei. Not only is he going to be teaching in Kivotos, he's also been personally selected by the General Student Council president." Rin answered for him, preventing him from needing to wax philosophical again.
"The president selected a man without a halo to teach us all?" The black-haired girl with large wings questioned.
"I've never even seen an adult human before..." A silver-haired girl muttered.
Hold up.
"Rin." Pause. "Please elaborate."
"I already explained that since you aren't from Kivotos you do not have a halo, right? In addition, all students are female,of and we don't have any other adult humans in the city. So, you may attract a lot of attention both for being an adult and a man."
"Understood."
........ What's a human? Context clues pointed to those who were neither beast-person nor mechanical-person, but he wasn't sure of that. The number of details to understand the rules of the world fluctuated with each explanation.
Sensei decided to simply listen for now while observing anything and everything in the room. The more he learned, the better his chances of not being caught by surprise later. Differences in common sense were normal between worlds, and it seemed his responsibility was much higher than initially assumed.
Each revelation slapped him with the absurdity of the situation.
"... You're here to serve as the advisor for a club that was formed by the General Student Council president."
"The Federal Investigation Club: Schale."
"This isn't your average club—more like a type of extrajudicial organization. Since it's a federal club, you'll be allowed to register students from any academy in Kivotos. You're also permitted to conduct battle activities in each academy district without restriction."
From Rin's earlier explanations, it sounded like there were thousands of different academies across different districts. This meant that he was not just summoned to deal with problems in Kivotos, but granted with authority over tens or maybe even hundreds of thousands of students.
And if he was not just the only 'Sensei' but effectively the only 'Teacher' or 'Instructor' and all other teaching was handled by 'Blue Ray lessons', whatever those were, then essentially....
I've been called to serve as a benevolent dictator of what might even be a continent-sized city. The exact opposite of that bastard on the throne. A person who could teach, lead military campaigns, stood above the individual district authorities, and lacked a proper check on power with the president missing. Did they even realize the threat this posed, or was Rin's desperation just so deep that she would turn a blind eye?
Even a wildfire seemed pleasant when freezing to death.
A snag revealed itself immediately, though. Apparently, in Schale's club room sat an item he needed to perform his duties. And said building was being raided by a group of thugs.
"If we need to retake a building, then..." he muttered and glanced at Rin and then the four girls standing in front of them.
It seemed she came to the same conclusion, with perhaps several levels more spite and malicious glee in her thoughts than his. "How fortunate of us to have you trustworthy academy representatives here with us."
"Huh?" The blue-haired girl, Yuuka, asked in confusion.
"We're going to need your help in bringing peace back to Kivotos. Let's go."
"Not yet." He held up a hand. "I need to take some preliminary steps before we leave."
Rin frowned, but acquiesced to his delay. "What do you need, Sensei?"
"For starters...."
He looked at the strange tube-shaped objects each of the girls held.
"Let's get some introductions, and how you fight."
"Hanekawa Hasumi, vice chairwoman of the Justice Task Force. We serve as the protectors and enforcers of justice for Trinity General School. "
If he was going to bring students to battle....
"Hayase Yuuka, treasurer of Seminar. Seminar is the student council body, and thus the highest authority, of Millennium Science School. And don't you forget it!"
... and the toll was paid to summon him upon this land to serve as 'Sensei'....
"Morizuki Suzumi. Member of the Trinity Vigilante Crew. We are an unofficial club of volunteers who help where the JTF might not reach."
... then he would bring everything he had accumulated over the years to bear....
"Hinomiya Chinatsu, I'm a member of the Disciplinary Committee of Gehenna serving under the Head Prefect. We keep the peace."
... and pull out every scrap of capabilities and potential these girls held within themselves.
He gave a nod to each of them in turn and smiled.
"Hasumi, Yuuka, Suzumi, Chinatsu. Nice to meet you. I'm Sensei."
Class begins once more.
"Let's all learn from each other today and save a city."
. . .
From there, things progressed smoothly. He learned about each of their weapons, so-called 'firearms', and led them into a battle against a group of thugs and a tank to retake the battle.
For a cobbled-together squad of those bothered by the GSC's inaction, the composition of the team worked far better than he expected. Chinatsu served as a backline healer. Yuuka's shields allowed her to protect herself on the front lines from the opposing gunfire. Suzumi used explosive flash grenades to stun her opponents. Finally, Hasumi carried the strongest weapon to tear through the Crusader Tank.
Rin's worries about his ability to stand on the battlefield without the durability of a halo seemed to be accurate. While nobody let him find out how effective a gun would be against his flesh, even small wounds would accumulate. Meanwhile, the students and punks alike took multiple bullets before they went down.
It was rare to see such sights on the battlefield. Rarer to be standing on the side of allies with such abilities to shrug off damage so easily rather than in opposition.
Still, it was at least a six to one battle, so he brought all his commanding experience to keep track of his four special agents as they maneuvered through the abandoned streets to take down their opponents. Thankfully, three of them worked daily to take down thugs and delinquents and keep the peace of their schools.
The fact that this was a daily occurrence raised numerous questions about the possible revolving door of justice or even lax prison maintenance, but he didn't consider that his job nor his concern.
Completing the wish of his summoner to bring order back to Kivotos remained his number one priority.
With only... a few irrelevant hurdles that got Rin to glare at him repeatedly stemming from extreme differences in common sense... they soon liberated the Schale building.
But one delinquent remained without being secured.
Who is this now? Sensei wondered as he reached the basement and peeked inside.
In the center of the room was another desk with electronics on it sitting in front of an altar of some kind. Above the center of the altar, a broken stone slab floated silently.
"Mmm... how am I supposed to destroy this if I don't even know what it is?" A woman with a fox mask and large fox ears murmured as she spun around a firearm with a blade attached to the end. The red and black flower prints on her black clothes matched the black flower in the center of her five pointed, red halo. More shocking than her unknown style of attire, though, was her power.
This must be Wakamo, the dangerous escapee Rin mentioned.
He'd seen her from up in the helicopter but paid little attention with his focus taken by the tank. Now that he was much closer, he could sense that she oozed with power. At least a tier or two above Hasumi, who was the strongest student he'd seen so far. From her nonchalant attitude to her fit arms and legs, his instincts told him she was a force on a battlefield.
Truly someone built to be a destroyer.
And now that he was in the room, that very same destroyer was staring him down.
Still, even if she was a criminal, didn't she count as a student if she had halo? Rin didn't state that he was only Sensei to a specific group. In fact, she heavily implied Sensei served every student, insane as that workload sounded.
With that in mind, he readjusted his ponytail and smiled at her. "Good afternoon."
She stuttered. Stepped back. And bolted!
Without a hint of hostility — no, perhaps something else instead — she streaked past him through the only door out of the basement and vanished.
"... Nice to meet you!" he called to her afterimage.
Strange woman. Kid? I should probably ask about that later.
"... Hm? Who were you addressing, Sensei?" Rin asked as she entered.
"Ah, I thought I saw somebody. But maybe it was just a shadow." He didn't need to explain about Wakamo if Rin didn't notice her.
"I see. Well, here is what the General Student Council president left behind. The Shittim Chest."
She handed him a flat metal object that looked similar to a picture frame with what looked like black glass covering the center surrounded by a white frame. It didn't look constructed of shittim wood from the shittah tree? Nor did it appear as a chest.
"And this is...?"
Rin frowned and then looked pleadingly at Sensei. "Please tell me you know what a smart tablet is, Sensei."
"Should I!?"
"... I'll try to help you navigate it. The president said you'd be able to take control of the tower with it. None of the other members of the council could activate it."
Her esteem and hope declined before his eyes.
However, he didn't hold the same opinion.
You didn't pull someone from another planet, an alien of a completely separate race and rule set, without being sure you picked the correct target.
He followed her instructions on how to activate the 'OS' and navigate the 'screen' to reach a 'password entry'.
A blue light appeared on the screen, and a large stylized S appeared in the center.
'Please enter the system password'
"I'll... step away so as not to interfere." Rin said as soon as she helped him reach the screen. Glad to see the activated Shittim Chest, but he suspected she still didn't believe he would know how to proceed.
After looking behind only four times in concern, she exited the room.
Left alone, he tapped the side of the tablet and stared at the password screen.
There was no reason in the world for him to know what the password was. This wasn't his world; it wasn't his language; it wasn't his technology.
But he remembered.
Deep in his core, from whatever place the importance of the word Sensei lurked, came the answer.
"... We thirst for the seven wailings."
"... We bear the koan of Jericho."
The screen changed as a new message appeared over the password entry.
Password accepted. User identified as ☐☐☐☐☐. Confirmed.
Welcome to the Shittim Chest, ☐☐☐☐☐ Sensei.
Converting to operating system ARONA for biological authentication and generation of a verification certificate.
The world warped around him as a blinding light emanated from the tablet. Colored strings, threads, and letters burst out of the Shittim Chest as a miracle manifested itself in the basement of Schale. Faster than he could process. Dense beyond measure.
When the pain finally stopped ravaging his eyes, he found himself in an entirely new space.
Water lapped at his feet.
Chairs and desks were scattered in every direction across a dilapidated classroom whose walls and roof had long collapsed. Past the destroyed wall, he could see water stretching out to the horizon under a bright sky with scattered clouds.
At the nearest desk, a young girl with short blue hair and a small braid on the left side of her head slept with her face on the surface of the desk. She wore a white hair bow on her head and a blue uniform top with a short white skirt.
... Who?
---------------------------------------------------------
"Mmmm. H-huh?"
The young girl opened her eyes and yawned. Slowly, her classroom came into focus.
Standing there was a tall man with purple hair tied into a short ponytail. He pointedly looked towards his right, at the sea extending to the horizon.
"S-Sensei!?"
For how long had he been standing here! She'd waited so long for his arrival and slept through it!
"If you're here, th-th-that must mean you are Sensei, right?"
He glanced at her, winced, and glanced away. "And you are?"
She urged herself to calm down and collect herself. This was her big moment. First impressions were important, and she failed the very first one badly by sleeping!
"My name is Arona! I'm the system manager that lives inside the Shittim Chest, serving as its main OS. Think of me as your trusty secretary, Sensei! No matter what you need to do, or if you have any confusion about technology, I'll be here for you!"
He nodded and continued staring out at the sea. "So you are aware of my ignorance of this world's machinery? I certainly didn't expect to be transported to another world after entering a password."
"Well, that last part is something only the Shittim Chest can manage. Whenever you want, you can activate the chest and come join me here in my classroom. Time moves slower inside here, so we can chat in this mental space while your body stays standing outside. I can even talk directly to you while you are outside as well though!"
She jumped to her feet and bounced over to him. "But yes, I've been waiting for you all this time! Just for you, Sensei! I'm so glad to finally meet you. It took a long time, but you came!"
She was so excited, but Sensei didn't seem to match even a fraction of her exuberance. "Well, it's nice to meet you too," he finally spoke after continuing to stare around the classroom.
At least his words were polite even if she wasn't sure how much she could believe them.... Did she screw up from the beginning? Was he mad because she was sleeping?
Well, she'd just do everything right from now on! Starting with the biological authentication. If she proved herself useful, he'd eventually warm up to her, right?
"Umm... would you mind standing a little closer?" She asked with a twinge of fear. She honestly didn't know what she'd do if he simply said no.
Thankfully, he shuffled closer, waters lapping around his leather shoes.
"Just a littttle closer," she requested so she could get a full sense of the tall adult. He had to be at least over six feet (183 cm)! Soon she'd know his exact details once they completed the authentication.
"Now, place your fingertip against mine."
He complied with her request, and a shock transferred through both of them.
Instantly, the information about his vitals poured into her.
He really is an alien... she marveled. Most of him was the same as what she'd expect from a human. But there were a variety of differences, some large and some small. A familiar shell with unfamiliar internals.
"Almost... and all done! ♪ Now I'll be able to recognize you whenever."
He glanced down at her for a moment as he stepped back. Again with the distance. What could she do to improve this situation?
"Um... umm.... I can show my capabilities! Is there anything you need right now?"
"Then, the most important thing right now is the restoration of the Sanctum Tower's permissions. With the president missing, the city is falling into chaos."
"I can do that!" Anything to prove her worth. "I'll restore access permissions to the Sanctum Tower."
With it, Sensei would control all of Kivotos. A change to the entire city.
The GSC would certainly want to have the power sent their way, but....
I'll trust Sensei. Whatever he wants to do will be the right choice.
She'd waited for him for so long. Now was the time to prove herself.
Just as all his other students had proven themselves earlier today.
---------------------------------------------------------
What a day...
Hayase Yuuka, treasurer of Millennium School's student council, leaned back in her train seat as it barreled along towards her home academy.
From the start, it had been a mass of chaos she couldn't even try to calculate. Since she woke up, she'd been fielding complaints from across the academy about the power outages from the wind generator shutting down. Naturally, this was in place of the seemingly ever-absent President Rio. Then, fed up with the GSC's seeming inability to handle their job, she made her way to the District of Utnapishtim to complain directly.
Instead of what she expected — a talk with the GSC President including an explanation and plan to address the issue — instead she met the vice president. Rin then announced that the president was gone and that some strange adult would be the Sensei of the Academy City.
She hadn't taken it well.
"I was way too harsh in the beginning... but how was I supposed to react!"
Her mutterings turned into a shout that caught the attention of a cat couple a few rows down and a fellow Millennium student to her right. She couldn't place who the student was immediately, but she recognized the behavior of desperately avoiding her gaze. They were almost certainly from a club that burned the school's cash as if they had an infinite money printing machine.
Which they didn't!
She put the thought of the endlessly burnt budget aside to think back to the man called Sensei.
He really didn't seem all that impressive when he introduced himself.
He was tall, by her calculations about six foot two (187 cm), though with a slouch that made him look closer to six feet even. His long purple hair nearly went down to his shoulders in a messy ponytail, and long bangs obscured part of his face. He had unkempt stubble on his chin and black bags beneath his eyes. All that, plus his ancient style of clothing, erased any gravitas the title might have given him.
She'd believe he walked out of a historical film rather than accept he was supposed to be in charge of students. The out-of-place black tie that didn't match the rest of his old clothes, likely provided by Rin, didn't help.
And then having his first question to her be to point at her gun and ask what it was? And then not know what a gun even was!? Nobody could blame her for thinking it all was a sick joke.
But after she explained its purpose as a ranged weapon...
Yuuka looked out the window at the skyscrapers of the approaching Millennium district and remembered the barrage of succinct questions he leveled first at her, then the other representatives of Trinity and Gehenna Academy.
"What propels the projectile? What is the expected range? How much time between one projectile being fired before the next is ready? If fired from the same location repeatedly at a non-moving target, how many attacks will strike true?"
The questions might have seemed obvious, were obvious, but what caught her attention was how fast Sensei gained an understanding. By the time he reached Chinatsu, the last student he grilled for weapon details, his questions became more focused on comparing the weapons and their unique attributes.
"Seems my world doesn't have an equivalent to this gunpowder you described. Otherwise I could imagine we would have pursued something similar," he had explained while examining the firing mechanism of Chinatsu's handgun.
Then, after she showed her ability to generate shields around herself, he fired the gun at her shield just to confirm its effectiveness!
And he almost completely missed even at close range!
"And then all the questions about my shields. How many shots of equivalent strength to breach them, and are there possible weaknesses when hit repeatedly in the same location. Is this why he is a Sensei? Because he can spring a pop quiz on us that quickly?"
Despite her grumblings to herself, she couldn't help being intrigued by that point. He had been intensely logical and thorough in his fact-finding endeavor. Just through listening to him asking Hasumi about her sniper rifle, Yuuka had understood far more about the winged Trinity student's capabilities and role in combat.
And then that proved invaluable when they actually went to retake the Schale club room.
Even while up in a helicopter with Rin, Sensei's orders from his headset (also a piece of technology completely new to him) were clear and concise.
Before they fought, she wouldn't have believed for an instant that four students from different academies working together for the first time could manage that level of coordination. Honestly, she expected she would need to take charge the moment combat started as the front-line tank.
Instead, Sensei had monitored how many bullets had impacted her shields, told her to take cover to replenish them when they were close to shattering, and directed her to intercept the reinforcements the moment they appeared. Only someone with a deep understanding of her condition and the state of the battlefield could give commands that effective.
She hated to admit it, but she could not replicate that feat.
Perhaps that is why the president granted him so much authority despite being from somewhere outside of Kivotos. For all the GSC's many faults, the president's immense talent and intellect caused her to be chosen for the role unanimously. She must know something that the rest of us don't.
As she got off the train, she turned to look back in the direction of the Sanctum Tower and the Schale club building far beyond it.
She needed to find a way to speak with Sensei more. Not only for her own curiosity, but also to get more information for President Rio and the rest of Seminar.
"Wait... Sensei never discussed reimbursements for all the bullets I used..."
She had her in!
---------------------------------------------------------
How do I even begin reporting this?
Chinatsu stared at the empty document on her phone and groaned. Whatever she wrote would first have to go through executive officer Ako before it reached the Head Prefect. Which meant she would need to have the details that would satisfy both parties.
There was just so much to record. Sensei was of course the most important, but she wasn't sure whether to focus on the objective details or instead give her personal impression.
Lacking a better way to approach it, she chose to modify the SOAP note format she would use for medical examinations. It was familiar and gave her something to grasp onto.
The first was the Subjective section. She focused on what information Sensei provided directly.
He referred to himself only as Sensei and, when prompted for a name, demurred and said, "Just Sensei will suffice."
When Rin described him as coming from outside of Kivotos, he didn't give any follow-up explanation.
He was unfamiliar with firearms and most of the technology shown that relied on computer infrastructure, such as phones. However, electric lights, automatic doors, and the elevator didn't bring about any particular reaction.
He explained that he had "some" experience on the battlefield with very different weapons. After trying her handgun (and nearly losing his grip from the recoil) he grumbled about...
She tried to remember his exact words as he handed the gun back. It was a strange phrase.
"Won't work. Completely incompatible."
As she glanced through the other subjective notes, one thing became obvious. Sensei provided little information about himself.
The first part of the Objective section was easy to describe based on Rin's information. The GSC President was missing and arranged for an adult to serve as Sensei for Academy City as leader of an independent investigation club. Essentially, the president had chosen someone who was unaccountable to the GSC to grant near-unlimited power. While the schools still had their own authority over their affairs, Sensei's position allowed at least some interference.
Then came the objective information about Sensei as an individual.
"... He frequently observes his surroundings."
Even when testing Yuuka's shields or examining her handgun, his eyes would quickly flit in a different direction before returning to what he was previously scrutinizing.
Chinatsu wasn't sure if the others even noticed; that was how quick the movements were. But when he did it while talking directly to her, she realized it wasn't a trick of the light. His eyes were actually darting about mid-conversation.
And that wasn't all related to his sight. She couldn't be 100% sure without a proper test, but she still marked it down.
"Sensei has an unusually wide field of vision. He waved back when I waved at him from what should have been a natural blind spot. It is possible that it resulted from his previously mentioned fast eye movements, but I do not believe his eyes moved to capture my movements."
Then there was her Assessment.
Who was Sensei?
From his personal descriptions and objective abilities during the mission, he had combat experience, likely in a leadership role. Quick to gain assurance that all his students would follow his orders exactly as commanded. Highly observant, with fast cognitive abilities to pick up brand new concepts.
He cared enough about the students to express concern about them entering combat until they demonstrated how effectively halos reduced damage. He was quick to pivot upon understanding that lethal harm was nearly unprecedented in a firefight and showed no further qualms afterwards.
While he will probably struggle initially to acclimate to a different world, it does not seem like it'll take long for him to become familiar with the concepts necessary to live in Kivotos.
Unfortunately, as his goals and background are unknown, it is too early to make a guess on how his presence may impact the Pandemonium Society or the Eden Treaty.
"As for the Plan...."
It really wasn't her place to make one considering that should be Ako or Hina's position to make any calls on how the Disciplinary Committee should proceed. But if she had to give her opinion.
"The Prefect Team should seek more opportunities to reach out to Sensei and establish a rapport. We should avoid any actions that may allow Sensei and his near-unlimited power and unknown desires to be used by the Pandemonium Society."
And now... now she could only hope Ako would actually read the report this time.
---------------------------------------------------------
"Here you go, Miss. That is one Triple Scoop Choco Mocha Parfait, two cherry tarts, a plate of macaroons, a chocolate hazelnut pudding and a honey milk tea."
"Thank you," Hasumi smiled as she accepted the plates of dessert from the waitress. Her eyes gleamed as she looked at them, trying to decide which to eat first.
"Are you... expecting anyone else to join you today?" The waitress asked, a bead of sweat appearing on her forehead.
"No?" Hasumi answered, confused by the sudden prying.
"Ah. ... Understood. Let me know if you need anything else." The waitress bowed slightly and walked into the kitchen.
"Hmm, it tastes even more delicious after such a stressful combat." Her large black wings flapped happily as she started on the first tart.
When she first heard that their opponent was Wakamo of all people, she honestly considered the operation doomed for failure. Kosaka Wakamo, the Fox of Calamity, was among Kivotos' most infamous criminals. Some would even argue she is the most dangerous of the seven escapees.
She remembered reading about how much difficulty even the SRT Special Academy's legendary FOX Platoon had in apprehending Wakamo in the past. Even though Hasumi was second in command of Trinity's Justice Task Force, she wouldn't even pretend to be on par with any member of FOX Platoon in sheer tactical training and armaments. If Hasumi had been tasked with developing a plan to take on Wakamo herself, she would have needed to send multiple squadrons of the JTF and mobilize Tsurugi with full artillery support to even stand a chance.
Still, she followed Sensei's orders when he insisted on pressing forward despite Wakamo's presence and the arrival of a Crusader tank. In all honesty, that was more to display her willingness to listen to the orders of a commander than faith in the plan. To her shock though, following those same orders resulted in Wakamo retreating, the assembled delinquents vanquished, and the tank destroyed.
She did her best to maintain her poise and composure, but the urge to shout in triumph at their success was difficult to hold back.
Next time she wouldn't have any hesitation if Sensei gave them orders to fulfill. He had proved his worth as a commander in that combat. Even putting aside Wakamo, having a hastily cobbled together group take down a Crusader tank was enough of an accolade.
Also, I need to make up for failing to instantly respond to orders earlier.
After nearly losing his grip on Chinatsu's weapon while testing their capabilities, he had turned his gaze to Hasumi and told her to fire on Yuuka as well. Questioning the order... had been a mistake. Even though she had only known him for a few minutes, the irritation and disappointment in his expression were obvious.
"Hesitation leads to mistakes, and mistakes lead to failures. And failures lead to... hm, I suppose they only lead to a bout of unconsciousness here. But even that places excess pressure on your teammates and can jeopardize everything you are fighting for."
Which really just raised more questions about what exactly Sensei's home was like and what his previous job responsibilities were. In that moment, he sounded like he had stepped out of SRT Academy itself. The Special Response Team formed by the GSC brooked no arguments when they were on missions and took combat deadly seriously.
Hasumi dug into the parfait as she cast thoughts of SRT out of her head. They were certainly impressive, but comparing the JTF to them was comparing apples to oranges. They each had their own responsibilities, and teaming up with Tsurugi naturally lead to a different combat environment and tactics.
An errant swing of her wings as she continued demolishing her desserts nearly took out a fellow customer. Embarrassed, she pulled her wings closer in and looked at her black feathers.
She was sincerely glad that they had corrected their misunderstanding quickly. When he mentioned he was 'impressed by their size' she had assumed he was talking about... something else that was big... but his following clarification about wingspans kept her from saying something stupid.
"But what did he mean by them being far more integrated into my body than his world normally allowed?"
It apparently wasn't the first time he had seen a person with wings, even if they were rare. But if they weren't usually "integrated", did that mean people weren't born with them in his world? Or maybe they were more like the featherless wings of Gehenna students? She would need to discuss that more in the future when they got a chance to speak again.
At least they had exchanged contact information for MomoTalk so she could reach out in the future. Though with how perplexed he was when we tried to introduce him to the app... and apps in general.... it might be best to hold off for a bit. Let him acclimate.
But as if to address her concern, a MomoTalk notification appeared on her phone.
Though its contents only raised new concerns.
---------------------------------------------------------
President, what sort of person did you send to Kivotos and how did you even find them?
Sensei was... an enigma.
It had taken no time at all for her to realize he was a strange man, even for a mysterious adult summoned through unknown means. Her first question after introducing herself and explaining the situation, following the President's notes, was naturally to ask his name.
'Names have too much power to be expressed to a stranger. Feel free to call me by whatever moniker you prefer.'
Things didn't start off well, to say the least.
Here was the last hope the President left before vanishing, and he refused to discuss his name, didn't know what a Sensei was, and had never seen a firearm or explosive before.
But then the irksome school representatives had barged in, and his mannerisms slowly shifted.
When she spoke with him, he rarely looked at her, more focused on the scenery outside the windows. But with the others, he instead switched to a very focused approach and began fielding questions and examining every aspect of their fighting capabilities. Did he treat them more seriously because they were acting under his command?
Perhaps it was only when truly faced with the role that he began to take it seriously.
Then, just as her faith started recovering... they got to the helicopter.
Sensei did not like the helicopter.
Sensei really didn't like the helicopter.
Rin would forever be glad that the other girls didn't see the fit Sensei threw the moment he found out that they intended to use a helicopter to fly to the Schale club building.
'How are you certain the amount of lift it generates will consistently hold it up?'
'We are crossing territory, correct? Then why are we using a vehicle for travel between them?'
'I am not getting on something that relies this much on faith.'
'What does science have to do with flight?'
Nothing she said convinced him to trust the helicopter. Only reminding him that his other students were alone without his guidance unless he got on managed to sway him. And then he exhibited other strange behavior like jumping repeatedly before takeoff and then while they were in midair. To 'verify' something.
And he looked at her like she was the strange one for not jumping as well!
Then the fighting began, and his demeanor shifted entirely. Whether he suppressed his concerns about the chopper or stopped caring, he no longer commented about it for the rest of the flight. Instead, he was fully focused on giving commands and leading the battlefield from afar.
His efficient control of the battlefield was already impressive for an outsider, but midway through he did something even more surprising. Something Rin was very thankful the others were unaware of, especially Yuuka, who would have certainly complained.
He stopped watching the battlefield. Instead, his focus was on the large halo that floated above this section of the district.
While still giving commands.
Rin's role was an administrative one, and combat-related activities were overseen by Chief Defense Officer Kaya, so she wouldn't purport to be an experienced tactician.
But rhythmically tapping the chopper's window at a steady tempo with only the occasional glance down at the ground did not seem like what a commander should do.
And yet it worked.
He accurately called for Yuuka to refresh her shields when they were running out, called for Suzumi's grenades as she readied another volley, and ordered Chinatsu to heal each time she prepared another mystic syringe. The latter being one of the few times he looked down at the battlefield, if only to determine who to target.
It was eerie. Even creepier when he grinned, no, leered at the sky above Kivotos and started muttering to himself. Something about... understanding the rules now?
After that, he resumed watching the battlefield properly and didn't spare another glance at the sky. But that look was one she wouldn't soon forget.
Nor would she forget when the Crusader tank came out, and he asked for an explanation 'as if he was stupid'. And upon hearing Yuuka's impolite but accurate 'big gun, big boom', opened up the window and chucked one of Suzumi's grenades onto the tank. Then used the commotion to have Hasumi blast it with her armor piercing rounds.
She still wasn't sure when he had stolen the grenade.
From Suzumi's confused sputter on the comms, it didn't sound like she knew he'd swiped her weapon either.
"He is effective as a commander; that much is true. But is he effective as a Sensei? I hope we get a chance to find out."
Now in the basement of the Schale Club building, she leaned against a wall and continued to pass the time by reviewing her memories. So many events had happened one after another in only three hours.
And now she waited for this stranger to activate the Shittim Chest and take control of the Sanctum Tower. He didn't even know what a tablet was, and yet for some reason the President had left it to him while informing no others. It was essentially nothing more than relying on a miracle to save the city. But she grasped onto that miracle.
Even if he did somehow manage to activate it, would he know how to transfer authority?
Would he be willing to?
Rin was careful to explain only exactly what Sensei needed to know about how important the Sanctum Tower was, but he displayed a worrying shrewdness. If he dug into her words, the truth that whoever controlled the Sanctum Tower effectively controlled the entire Academy City would come to light. That kind of power would certainly tempt an outsider who didn't have any reason to respect the current order.
She stepped away to not interfere. But she also didn't want to be present to see her last remaining hope commit a crushing betrayal.
"It's been several minutes now, and nothing has happened. Maybe it is worthwhile to enter the storage room again and see if Sensei needs assistance. If he has bypassed the password but is stuck on some other authentication..."
A rumble through the ground and the flickering of lights prevented her from continuing the thought.
"Is this the aftershocks of the Sanctum Tower being activated!? Did Sensei really manage it?"
If he did... then all that remained was the transferring of authority. In exchange, he would give up everything for little in return.
Nervous energy forced her to pace outside the door. Perhaps she should have explained more about how much authority the position of Sensei has. Or given guarantees for his position and benefits once the GSC resumed control of the tower.
Was it right to solely believe in someone's goodwill?
Her phone rang.
With shaking hands, she answered it.
"We have control of Sanctum Tower again. The whole GSC, not just the president, now has access to all of its authority! We can start handling all of the issues Rin!" Ayumu, Rin's secretary, yelled in happiness through the call. Normally Ayumu wouldn't resort to shouting, but even she was being carried away by relief now that the end of the city could be averted.
"Good. Understood." Normally she would have said more, like thank Ayumu for her hard work during this time, but Rin needed to take a moment for herself.
Discussing everything with Sensei was important, but he could wait a minute. She put a hand over her eyes and leaned against the wall again, enjoying the cool metal.
He wasn't just an enigma. Sensei would now be upgraded to an impossible person.
And thank goodness for that.
. . .
Her tasks were effectively over now that control had been transferred, and she could chip away at the avalanche of accumulated work that had been put off due to the lack of authority. Still, it felt wrong to leave without finishing a tour of the building.
Now with the chaos quelled, she would fully embrace him as the Sensei of all Kivotos. He easily earned her trust.
"You can consider this to be the Schale club room. This is where you'll be working starting now. You do not have any particular goals outlined, but in exchange you have tremendous freedom in how you can pursue what you need to do."
"I see." Sensei glanced around the office quickly before refocusing on her. "Then I have something I'd like to discuss with you regarding that." He held onto the Shittim Chest a little tighter.
Rin nodded. There were certainly more than enough things he would be seeking clarity on if she had an understanding of his character. "Feel free, I'll provide any knowledge I have."
"I'm quitting."
".............................................What?"