Editing Apocalypse Witch:Volume3 Chapter1 (section)

===Part 7===

Karuta had known they would have multiple plans for the one problem.

If he had not had an inkling that they had some form of insurance, he would not have been able to order a withdrawal so reluctantly but readily.

However…

“You’ve lost contact?”

He was in the deserted airport control tower.

It had apparently been turned into the temporary Student Council Room, but with everyone else sent away, only President Omotesandou Kyouka was there.

This was a conversation between only the strongests.

Karuta had completed the withdrawal after confirming that the Threat was not attacking Kobe and was instead returning to the ocean where Second Grimnoah was drifting away.

It was already transitioning from evening to night.

Nevertheless, the ocean refused to take on an ominous black color. The floating general airport was about 30km from the Port of Kobe, but an orange light was still visible from beyond the horizon. That unnatural light came from the crude oil fire spreading out across the ocean.

President Omotesandou Kyouka responded to his question with a soft sigh.

And a confirmation.

“Since we saw those weird sea urchins covered in what look like TV antennas, I told them not to use their radios so the Threat couldn’t detect them, but the satellite still hasn’t detected the IR signal they were supposed to send into the night sky at set times. It is possible the black smoke from the fire is blocking their signal, but…”

Kyouka’s rule was to assume the worst when you did not know for certain.

Because that way you could survive.

“We have no idea if Marika-san and the two volunteers are still alive and we should not be optimistic about their chances.”

“That was our real plan, wasn’t it?”

“It was.”

“The point was for my diversion to reduce the risk for them, right!? I…I said we needed to look after the people we asked to cooperate with us, yet you…!!”

“Sacri-sama.”

He had not ordered her to, but Aine interrupted while standing at his side.

Her expression remained blank.

“Criticizing Miss Kyouka will not improve the current situation. She is stuck providing logistical support, so she has no way of directly controlling what happens on the front line. On paper at least, her plan was a reasonable one. What actually happened on the battlefield is the responsibility of those fighting on the battlefield.”

“Kh.”

That would mean Marika’s group on the underwater route since they had accepted that plan while fully aware of the risks and it meant Karuta’s group on the surface route since they had failed in their diversion and been forced to withdraw early.

Kyouka smiled thinly.

“You can be angrier with me if you like.”

“No, I’m sorry. My own weakness is partly to blame. It was wrong of me to shove all the blame onto you.”

When he clenched his teeth and lowered his head, Kyouka’s usual confident smile was replaced by a much more unusual look.

It was the troubled look of a lost child who had been left behind.

“Karuta-kun. One of your few faults is how overly polite you are.”

“…?”

“It would be a lot easier on you if you chewed me out at times like this. Then you could make me the one and only villain who betrayed everyone’s expectations.”

Silence fell.

The atmosphere between them had never been this heavy when they were pursuing the Problem Solvers or when they had been struggling to survive in the blizzard.

One of the four was missing. This was the first time that had happened.

“Miss Kyouka.”

“Yes?”

The silence was broken by Aine. At times like this, they could always count on the crystal girl who could not read the room (because she was not actually human).

“Tell me what I should do next. My Sacri-sama has become entirely useless, so I feel like obeying him right now would only serve to shorten his life.”

“True,” sighed the President.

She seemed somber, but her instructions were precise. Although that did make it look like she was using her work to distract herself from emotions she was unsure how to process.

“Let’s put together a rescue operation for Marika-san’s group. Have we confirmed the Sparkle is shaped like a lion? Regardless, you’ll have to force your way past those anti-air lasers with it still around, but we can’t just ignore this.”

“…”

“This plan will lead to a lot of losses and it provides no guarantee of success. After all, it gives us nothing at all if Marika-san is already dead. So I suppose we’ll need a solid justification for it. Instead of keeping anyone from questioning it, we’ll want something that will keep them from backing out.”