In the afternoon, after the staff meeting, I was walking alone in the hallway of the school building.
　I remember that some of the instructors were upset when I told them that my class had decided to have a "maid cafe".
　Not only Iris, but also Aena would be coming to my class as a foreign student.
　There was an opinion that it would be a little problematic to have a maid cafe as an event in a class with these two students.
　It's not that the students disagreed with me, it's just that we discussed it and came to a decision, and I told them that I would give priority to it. ...... Well, if we prioritize it, I might have to wear a maid's uniform, but let's not think about that for now.
　The students will be the main organizers of the school festival, and the instructors will be in a position to support them.
　Of course, there is security work to be done in the school, but I am still doing that.
　What I should be thinking about now is something other than the school festival.
　I came to the rooftop. There was a girl in a military uniform looking down on the students as they started to leave the school.

"This is a nice school. I've never been to a school myself, but the students are lively. I've been to imperial schools, but they have a very rigid atmosphere.
I think it's because of your position. I think that's because of your position. You may have gotten over it with a little bit of energy earlier, but from the students' point of view, you may seem to be as distant as Iris-san, or even more so. In that sense, your momentum in homeroom may have been the right choice.
"Huh, right?　It's not that I foresaw it, but there's something interesting you're talking about in passing. I couldn't help but join in.

　Aena turned around and said with a smirk.
　As usual, I suppose. I was expecting to find her guards in the school, especially Mercier, but there was no sign of him nearby.
　Now, someone as big as Aena was standing here alone.
　Perhaps she was confident enough to do so, but considering her position, she was too careless.

"You don't have any guards with you?
It's a bit ostentatious to go to the academy. Well, Iris may have a bodyguard named you, but I don't need one.
You really are the same as always, aren't you?
You're still the same, aren't you? By the way, you are the teacher here, aren't you?　Even though it's just the two of us, you could use a more relaxed tone.
I've always had this way of speaking. Well, if you say so, I'll leave it at that. Anyway, I didn't get a chance to ask you before, but can you tell me why you're here?
Hmm, that's the story. Well, I'll tell you why I'm here. I'll tell you why I'm here, but it's already starting to deviate from my original purpose. ...... I'm trying to figure out where to start. Besides, I have a question for you.
"Me?

　Aena nodded at my words and her expression turned serious.
　It's not the same as before, it's as if she's looking at an enemy.
　She's wary of me, though I don't remember her being that wary of me.
　As I was thinking this, Aena suddenly took a stance.
　She pulls out the rapier on her hip and points it at me.

"...... What do you mean?
I told you.　You said there was something you wanted to ask me. There's something I need to find out again. To do that, I need you to really fight me here.

　...... He wasn't joking.
　I never thought I'd hear from Aena what Iris once said to me.
　Unlike Iris, she had already drawn her sword and was in a fighting stance. It seems that she has no intention of giving me the option of refusing.

I don't know what you're trying to ascertain, but it doesn't look like ...... you're playing around.
Of course not. Whenever I draw my sword, I mean it. ...... Don't worry. It's not your fault if something goes wrong in this fight. I'm not going to get hurt in this fight.
"Well that's a lot of confidence. If you need to fight, that's fine, but this is school grounds. The use of magic on a large scale is prohibited. And I won't be using Serious. Is that clear?
"...... Well, okay. What I want to see is your swordplay.

　Aena nodded approvingly.
　I was going to listen to her, but somehow I ended up crossing swords with her.