Back To High School Part 2

February 6th
Amari High School, Aoyama-Itchome, Tokyo
12:00

When the lunch break came, the whole class jumped out of their seats and gathered around Tamamo and me, asking us about all the doubts we had. Instead, when the bell rang, I took the goddess by the hand and immediately led her out of the classroom. The others, sensing the awkwardness of the situation, decided not to follow us, except for one more companion who appeared in front of us.

She was a fairly average girl, with short black hair, fair skin, and a petite build. The only notable thing about her was her perfect uniform and the class delegate armband she wore, which I'm not sure what exactly it means because my previous school never had anything like it, but I imagine it means some sort of authority or responsibility.

"What's all the fuss you two are making in class?"
"Your uniforms do not comply with school regulations, and your behavior is not that of a model student!"
"It's because of this selfish behavior that foreigners aren't liked in the first place," said the girl blocking our way.

"Excuse me? I don't think we've been properly introduced."
"May I know who you are?" I tried to speak a little outside of this situation.

"My name is Haru Yamamoto, remember it well! I'm the future star detective of the special police!"
"I'm the granddaughter of the current Chief Inspector of the Tokyo Investigation Section."
"Although for now I'm content to be the class representative."
"I make sure others follow the rules, just like a policeman would with citizens."
"And you two foreigners are breaking the school rules."
"Therefore, it's my duty to deal with you before things get worse."
"That's what the police call preventive de-escalation."

"Damn meddlesome kid..."
"I mean, I'm sorry, but I've been albino all my life, since birth."
"As for the uniform, I have permission because of my albino condition; I prefer to wear thicker clothes because the school uniform wasn't enough to prevent burns."

"I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about the hat and the heavy coat tied around your waist when you already have one on."
"Do you have a cold or something?"
"And what about her, cosplaying in the middle of class?"

But Haru hadn't even finished speaking when suddenly our teacher from earlier came out, who strangely seemed to put on a happy face when she saw us. Shortly after, she approached us to talk to us.

"Ah, I finally found you."
"Please don't leave the classroom so quickly, I need to talk to both of you."
"Please follow me."
"Haru, you can go back with the others, I'll take it from here."

Haru looked back at us with a slight sense of pride, as if to say "I told you so" without saying it out loud, but the truth was that I was also interested in talking to the teacher and finding out exactly who she was, so this was a good opportunity. Without complaining, we left behind her. She led us up the stairs to the top floor of the building, and after entering through a locked door, we were able to access the roof of the school, where no other students could be, making it a good place for a private conversation.

"Okay, I think we're in a good place now to talk like you wanted."
"So, may I know what this is about?"
"You didn't come here to attack me, did you?" I asked the teacher when we reached the roof.

"????"
"Actually, I should be the one to ask."
"Are we okay between us? No hard feelings about Vienna, right?"

"......"
"Look, I think there's a big misunderstanding here."
"No, I'm not chasing anyone right now; I'm fine, thank you."
"Maybe we should start over and introduce ourselves properly this time?"

"!!!!"
"Oh, right! Yes, that's better since we'll be working together from today."
"My name is Xian; I'm actually Ms. Adelis' personal secretary."
"I'm currently pretending to be a teacher to help Maria at school."
"......."
"I also owe you an apology for what happened in Vienna."
"Due to my mistake, I thought the mission at that time was to eliminate you, when in fact it was to make it appear that you had been eliminated."
"Because of my incompetence, the I.S.C. rescue plan failed and you had to improvise your escape on your own."
"Because of me, I almost killed another of Adelis' daughters and Maria's sister.
"I'm very sorry; I'm deeply ashamed of my mistake."

The girl in front of me bowed her head in a sincere apology for a mistake she hadn't actually made, but was probably the lie my mother told to explain that we weren't really enemies, but allies. Her clothing was also quite skimpy and revealing, to say the least; her qipao made of latex seemed to be bursting at the seams with her assets. While she was undoubtedly beautiful to look at, it was rather inappropriate attire for a teacher.

"Forgive me for asking, but don't you think your outfit is rather naughty for a teacher or a secretary?"

"And how were you in the middle of the final battle in the capital of the Empire?"

"Oh, that? The tight clothes? That's how I always dress."
"Even at home I'm like that."

"Yes, and I'm a man." I said sarcastically.

"Well, actually, it's because the word 'secretary' is not the exact word to describe my real job."
"......"
"You know, I usually help people 'disappear' with no questions asked."
"A punch here, a bit of poison there, the occasional stray bullet."
"Dig a hole in the woods, destroy evidence, keep the cops out of trouble."
"I'm actually a professional killer, like in the movies."
"The suggestive clothing and the beauty, well, let's just say men get a little dumber when I'm around, so I can use that to stick one of my hidden daggers in them."
"The tight clothing helps me to surprise them even more when I pull a weapon out of nowhere."

"......."
"......."
"May I know where you keep the daggers?"
"I'm just curious... ...."
"I mean, seriously? A killer?"
"And how did you meet my mother? Did she hire you for... well..."

"Oh, no, no."
"Your mother never hired me to take out anyone, at least not directly."
"Once or twice, it was more out of self-defense."
"As for how I met her... let's just say it was on bad terms, too."
"A while back, I was working... for my mother's company and one of my sisters... and some guy out there paid us a good amount of money to... well... remove Mrs. Adelis from her career in the Alliance."
"But things went very wrong... and I accidentally hurt an innocent child."
"......"
"'That event... made me think a bit about my life and what was happening in the war.'"
"I was afraid that my legacy, what my actions would leave behind, would never be remembered as a person at all."
"To be forgotten by others like a poisonous insect that leaves only horrible death."
"......"
"Interestingly, it was your mother who visited me in my prison cell. .... I mean, visited my hotel room, and she was the one who talked to me about the same subject."
"She was... quite compassionate with me despite what had happened, and the truth is that her conviction to end the Continental War was quite strong."
"I could see the pain of a mother who had lost a child in the war.
"And with it, the honest desire of an even more honest person to legitimately end the pain caused by the conflict."
"So I decided to join her cause, but not as the dirty work of a professional killer, but as a legitimate effort to make the world a better place, a world without war."
"So my loyalty to her is not for something as simple as money, but out of a genuine interest in becoming a better person and leaving a better legacy."

"Oh, well, I was expecting something like that, but you still managed to surprise me."
"It's good to see people trying to make the world a better place, that's pretty rare these days."
"All right, I won't bother you anymore about the past you're trying to leave behind."
"Just keep up with your job of keeping my mother safe and I won't have to become your worst nightmare by chasing you like an animal."
"......"
"Though I still wonder why you're pretending to be a teacher? Isn't the war over already?"

"......"
"Well... people need to eat even after the war... besides, like I said, I didn't want to be a hired assassin anymore."
"My life may have been exciting before, but everyone still needs a place to sleep and bills to pay."
"Your mother is offering me good money and a chance to learn something new."

"Okay, that sounds good to me."
"Well, then it's a pleasure to have you on the team, Xian." I said as I shook her hand.

"Thank you very much!"
"I'll make sure to work hard to repay the huge debt I owe to your family, Ms. Elise!"
"......"
"Oh, speaking of which, here!"
"I spoke to the other teachers earlier and managed to convince them that you might want a more private place away from the others."
"This key opens the rooftop door, don't lose it, only you two are the students who have access here."
"You can use it to have a moment alone or to talk to me about topics other than school or related to my old job."

Xian said before saying goodbye and descending the stairs to return to the school to resume her role as a teacher. Since we were passing by, we picked up our lunches and started eating them on the roof as well, away from the annoying questions of the other students.

"Wow, the view from this tall building is amazing!"
"This school is much taller than the palace I used to live in."

"People look so small from here."
"It's like looking at humans from the sky," Tamamo said cheerfully as we ate.

"Wait, what? What did you just say?"
"Can you see people from the sky?"

"Well, yes, I am a goddess after all, I can even change reality easily."
"But it's not like it makes things more fun or makes me seem more human."
"I can see people from above, but it's no big deal because I can't interact with anything or anyone."
"It's more like floating around and seeing what people are up to."

"Wait, are you omniscient or something?"
"Can you read minds? Do you know what all of humanity is thinking at the same time?"

"What? Of course not, I died betrayed by humans, remember?"
"Only THE BOSS can do that, none of the other gods have any power compared to him."
"Mine is more like watching humans go about their daily lives, keeping up with the fashions and inventions of the day."
"In my opinion, the magic box in your living room is much more fun; now I understand why hardly anyone uses that magic anymore."
"But if you want to see me as an all-powerful goddess capable of changing all known reality, how about I bring you a giant piece of the moon to collide with the earth, so that the miners have to drill a hole in the meteor to detonate it from the inside, or else all life on earth will perish?"

"Tamamo, please try not to recreate the Armageddon movie you saw on TV yesterday.
"I don't like to see panic in the streets, and besides, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but my whole family, including us, are part of the idiots living on the same rock in space right now."
"How about we just eat the bento my mom made instead?"
"You better eat everything she made, or you'll learn the power of THE SANDAL."
"If my mom hits you with it, I assure you, you'll prefer the meteorite instead."

"Does your mother really like to cook that much?" Tamamo asked as she tasted the rice.
"Well, maybe, this is delicious."

"She always loved to cook. As far back as I can remember, she always dreamed of having her own restaurant."
"It's surprising to me that it actually took her this long to make it happen."
"Just the fact that she ended up as one of the big bosses in the Alliance before that seems even more absurd to me."
"She just wanted to have a family restaurant, a quiet place where everyone could go and get away from the worries of life."
"My mother always dreamed of being with my father, working in the restaurant and cooking something delicious that people would ask for."
"......"
"It was unfortunate that Maria's illness came first, but it's not my sister's fault that she was born sick."
"Maybe if things had been different and they had opened the restaurant earlier, my father would have been able to see it in his lifetime."
"....."
"But those are things of the past, and now in the present, I'm happy to see my mother finally fulfilling her dream."
"Although she still doesn't have a proper name for her cafeteria.

"Sorry to bother you, but may I ask what happened to your father?" Tamamo asked with real curiosity.

"To be honest, I have no idea what actually happened."
"I remember something about him being a bodyguard for someone important just before the Continental War started."
"He had left his job as a hotel bellboy for something that paid a lot more."
"I still have no idea why he made such a big leap with his job change."
"From what I heard, he was pretty good at his job."
"Apparently, on the day the war broke out, my father was near the border between Germany and the Empire, so he was actually one of the first to fight against the Empire."
"It seems that his last days were spent trying to get his employer's daughter to safety, away from the war as it began."
"It's hard to know exactly what happened."
"I don't know if you can imagine, but those early days of the Continental War were a complete disaster and chaos."
"I asked a few people what happened, but the answers were all different.
"Some say he was betrayed after discovering something super secret."
"Others said he was one of the first to fight the Empire's DOLL, sometimes adding that he was the first to defeat one and helped create countermeasures to stop them at the cost of his life."
"I even heard that he died defending a field hospital full of civilians from an attack by a tank unit... on foot... defeating them by tossing a grenade into the cannon barrel, but unfortunately could not get away in time from the explosion of the four tank."

"Oops, sorry, I'm so sorry I asked."
"It must be hard to talk about it."

"Don't worry."
"I'm fine, and I know he's in a better place now."
"Although sometimes I wish he was alive here with me."
"......"
"That way I could send him to heaven myself for stealing my money and betting it all on card games."
"And what about those parties he throws? Why the hell is there a statue on another planet commemorating just one party? Why are they making a movie about it?"
"Not even Momo could stop him."
"....."
"....."
"But I also understand a bit why he does it; the truth is, I'm no better than him."
"Being away from my mom has definitely affected him a lot."
"Surely gambling and parties are a way to keep his mind occupied and to deal with the loneliness he feels inside."

After we finished eating, the bell rang again and classes started again. So Tama and I gathered everything up and went back to class to continue.