Epilogue
♯♯♯
Mid-August. A few days after the grand summer festival 《SFIA Sufia》 came to a close.
I was at home, casually watching a recap stream of 《Libra》 on island tube Ai-Chube,
sipping the tea that Himeji had brewed for me in our living room.
In the end—《SFIA》’s final battle 《Tower of Lore》 concluded with the victory of our Revolutionary Faction.
Our team consisted of me, Minakami, Saionji, and Kirigaya—four members. As players who took the top spot
in a massive event with 250,000 participants, we’re still trending on STOC’s hot words.
However, regarding the distribution of the star rewards, nothing has been finalized yet.
…The thing is, in addition to 《SFIA》’s standard reward, the “Orange Star,” both Saeki
and the Fuwa siblings possessed Unique Stars. The latter, in particular, had a special
condition of “two as one.” Furthermore, with 《Hexagram》’s cheating confirmed, there’s even
debate over whether the losers’ stars should be confiscated altogether… The situation is quite complicated.
It’d be nice if they could settle on a policy during summer break, but we can only leave that to the organizers.
“That said, there’s no doubt that Eimei Academy has made even greater strides with this victory.”
As my thoughts wandered there, Himeji Shirayuki, dressed in her maid outfit, returned from the kitchen
and placed a plate of tea snacks on the table with a soft clink, speaking those words.
She sat gently beside me, her silvery-white hair swaying as she continued.
“After all, two of the four winners are affiliated with Eimei Academy. As for the Unique Stars,
it’s unclear what will happen, but there’s a high chance they’ll come to you, Master.
A seven-star holder with all five colors—no player can stop you now, can they?”
“Hm… I think that’s a bit of a different matter.”
I gave a wry smile and shook my head slightly. This event, too—partly because cheating was prevented—
could’ve ended with us eliminated if we’d made one wrong move. The reason we survived was thanks to
the cooperation of 《Company》 led by Himeji, the alliance with players from other districts like Saionji
and Kirigaya, and the support from Enomoto and others.
“…Speaking of which, what’s happened with 《Hexagram》?”
I voiced the question that suddenly came to mind.
Through 《SFIA》, their true nature as an organization was exposed, and in the very end, Saeki Kaoru’s
true colors were laid bare. With all that piling up, 《Hexagram》’s reputation has hit rock bottom.
Since the 《Duel Game》 ended, Saeki Kaoru hasn’t shown her face in public even once.
Touching her lips lightly to the teacup, Himeji answered in a clear voice.
“Let’s see… Due to the off-board battle that took place behind the scenes of 《Tower of Lore》…
thanks to Enomoto-sama’s leadership in filing accusations with the administration, almost all of
《Hexagram》’s misdeeds have been brought to light. Fact-checking is still ongoing, and it seems
Saeki Kaoru and other members are being questioned individually.”
“I see… I wonder if Minakami’s doing okay.”
“I can’t say for certain, but… Minakami-sama knows almost nothing about 《Hexagram》’s darker side,
so I don’t think there’s any need to worry. Especially considering that.”
Himeji said with a slightly mischievous expression.
By that, she meant the full-on apology Minakami Mari gave during the recent winner’s interview.
Before I could stop her, she spilled her entire background and bowed in apology—right in front of
tens of thousands of viewers watching through their screens. Partly because 《Tower of Lore》 had already
earned Minakami a ton of fans, there’s hardly any backlash against her.
However—Himeji’s expression clouded just a little.
“One thing that concerns me is, as expected, Akutsu-sama. I saw 《Hexagram》’s member list through
Enomoto-sama, but the name ‘Akutsu Masami’ wasn’t on it. Even now, since the event ended, she’s
vanished somewhere.”
“…Yeah, that’s right.”
Indeed, 《Hexagram》 was destroyed after their cheating was exposed. But amidst that, Akutsu, who was
considered a key figure second only to Saeki, is the only one who’s gone missing. It’s impossible not to be concerned.
“However, even if Akutsu-sama makes a move again, it won’t be as part of 《Hexagram》.
This time, we can call it a complete victory—well done, Master.”
“Yeah… Thanks, Himeji.”
I responded with honest gratitude to Himeji, who gave me a gentle smile of appreciation.
The large-scale event, spanning about two weeks from late July, has finally come to an end.
I could feel the tension that had been strung tight all this time finally starting to unravel.
Seeing my expression, Himeji spoke in an even more relaxed tone.
“With this, summer break can finally begin… The next school event is the field trip in the second semester.
I think it’s fine to take it easy and stretch your wings for a while, don’t you?”
“Field trip, huh… I just transferred here in April, so it feels a bit strange, but it’s already that time, huh.
Well, knowing this island, it’s probably not just a regular trip.”
“As expected of you, Master. And… actually, there’s one issue regarding that.”
Himeji shook her silvery-white hair lightly, looking at me with an indescribable expression.
“You’ve probably already guessed, but the field trip at Academy Island is a ’district-versus-district
《Duel Game》 event.’ Moreover, due to the nature of the field trip, only second-year high school students
can participate.”
“Yeah, that makes sense… Wait, is there something bad about that?”
“Yes… Please think carefully, Master. Enomoto-sama, Asamiya-sama, and Akizuki-sama are all third-years.
Minakami-sama is a first-year who just enrolled this year. And Tsumugi-san is still a middle schooler—
that’s right. Eimei Academy’s main force doesn’t have a single second-year besides us.”
“…Oh.”
“Um, well… What should we do?”
As Himeji looked at me with a troubled expression, my face paled silently.
The moment one event ended, a new concern had already arisen—
♭♭♭
“—The field trip is gonna be ***, right?! Yup, I’m super excited too!”
“I never thought I’d get to go to something like this normally… I’ve gotta thank Rina.”
“Huh? …N-No, no! I just misspoke there!”
“Yup, that’s right. Because—”
“I’m not a genius or an heiress or anything—just an ordinary high schooler you can find anywhere.”
