Hidan no Aria:Volume7 Chapter4

Returning to Butei High in the night....

After the Masters ensured that there were no severely wounded casualties, they quickly split us up by subject and distributed debriefing records. Disgusting. Let us rest a bit first. At least allow us a bowl of katsudon. Aria was taken by the Assault instructor Ranbyou to the principal's office. Riko and I were Inquesta while Mutou was of Logi; we were all interviewed by our respective instructors. After that, the Masters got into contact with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, the media and the JR. I thought we would be castigated for cutting the Shinkansen however with the capture of the perpetrators, this did not happen.

On the contrary we were lauded for resolving the issue. Officially to boot. Like this, Butei High did not have to take responsibility for Koko and her group's hijack of the Shinkansen to extort money from the Japanese government. This was a very nicely done maneuver no matter how you look at it.

"Tohyama-kun, I'll tell you this before the start of legal hearings for a plea-bargain. The fact that you all were targeted must be kept strictly confidential lest some very important person gets upset."

The Inquesta Master Takamagahara Yutori said. With the presence of the black suited man during our debriefing on top of Yutori's words, I could somehow understand that. Judging from his badge, that guy was an official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. And holding the class of a vice-minister. Probably, this was due to Aria. As a general rule, regardless of whatever cases Butei are involved in, international ones are their own responsibility. However, Aria is a foreign aristocrat.

It was better for Japanese-British relations that the fact that she was exposed to great danger on Japanese soil not be made public. That is the so-called "adult matter." Well on this, I can only listen to what the adults say. This isn't exactly a very good point either because if it continues to worsen, it would prove troublesome indeed.

Perhaps there was an attempt to offer us hush money, for the official mentioned something about " the government offering us distress money in the future" of which our polite refusals of his good-will caused us to be eventually dismissed very late.

Once done, I headed to the No. 2 girls dorm. To the highest floor......to Reki's room. Opening the door with the cardkey I got from her before, I found the interior dark. Although I already expected this, still there really was no one in.

(Reki...)

A naked light bulb cast its light to no purpose on a room of bare concrete. The living room window was shut and the silence was deafening.

The wind.....didn't blow here.

It wouldn't anymore.

Returning to my own room in the boy's dormitory, here too, there was nobody. According to Ranbyou whom I crossed paths with on my way, Aria had headed to Toranomon for a preparatory meeting with a female lawyer whom she had hired, before the trial of her mother Kanzaki Kanae. Doing so after such a major operation; she really is tough.

I entered the living room....

*Chika*, *chika*

I noticed the flicker of a light.

.....What? The answering machines of those rarely used landline phones are at maximum record capacity? This can record 30 messages a minute and with 30 minutes of recording time....With an unpleasant feeling in my heart, I pushed the playback button.

"Kin-chan, are you alright?"

As I thought, Shirayuki.