V2 Chapter 18: Hurry Up and Make Kaiser Pay

The location for our private discussion was the Problem Solver 68 office, now set up in the Abydos district.

The moment I stepped inside, I noticed a calligraphy scroll hanging on the wall that read, “One Evil a Day.”

“Hahaha~ Sensei, welcome to our office! Haruka, go make some tea, will you?”

“I understand, Aru-sama.”

When Aru noticed where my gaze had landed, her confidence wavered a little. “Uh, Sensei, is something wrong?”

“Nothing. I just thought that calligraphy was pretty interesting.”

The brushwork was nothing special, but the content was definitely a bit rebellious.

Aru breathed a sigh of relief, then proudly puffed out her chest. Mutsuki giggled and said,

“That’s actually Aru-chan’s homework from calligraphy class~”

That
 made a lot of sense.

I sat down on the sofa, with the Problem Solver 68 girls sitting opposite me.

Well, three of them.

Aru, Kayoko, and Haruka. As for Mutsuki


“Hello~

Sensei, hope I’m not bothering you.~”

Mutsuki plopped down right next to me, grinning mischievously.

Feeling awkward, I shuffled a bit away. I wasn’t used to someone I’d just met being this forward.

Aru’s eyes widened. “Mutsuki, what are you doing?! Get back here!”

“Eh~ But four people on that side’s too cramped. Fine, fine, I get it.”

Instead of sitting properly, Mutsuki leaned over the back of the sofa opposite me, resting on the cushions and staring at me with clear amusement. I couldn’t tell whether she was teasing Aru, teasing me, or trying to tease both of us at once.

Probably both.

“So, Sensei, what did you want to talk to us about?”

“Well
 I doubt it’s likely, but just in case, let me ask first. Would you be willing to sell me information about Kaiser Corporation? Price is negotiable.”

“Sorry, Sensei. Even villains have principles. Selling out a client is taboo in this business.”

Aru rejected me flatly.

I shrugged. I hadn’t expected this proposal to work anyway. The important part was to set up the real offer. Kivotos students love compromise. If you first suggest tearing off the roof, then asking to just open a window sounds much more reasonable.

“That’s a shame. In that case, how about making Kaiser pay you more without breaking your code of honor?”

“Oh? Please, go on.”

“Before that, I need to ask you something.”

Just thinking about it made my face twist awkwardly.

“Don’t tell me you blew all your money on mercenaries and now you can’t even afford to eat? Actually, I can already tell that’s exactly the case.”

I didn’t need an answer. Their expressions said everything.

It fit perfectly with what I’d come to understand about Aru.

“Aru, don’t look away. Look me in the eyes,” I said gently. “This isn’t really your fault.”

“
Eh? Really?”

She didn’t even wait for me to explain. Just hearing that was enough to make her grin ear to ear, showing her straight white teeth in a ridiculously happy smile.

I felt oddly guilty, like I was tricking a child.

“Kaiser must have given you an advance payment, right? You spent all of it on the mission, even dipped into your own savings, and still couldn’t complete it
 That’s clearly not right, is it?”

Aru furrowed her brows. It was finally sinking in.

“So, there are only two possibilities. One, Problem Solver 68 isn’t capable enough. Two, Abydos was far stronger than expected. Either way, it’s Kaiser’s fault.”

Naturally, I ruled out the idea of Aru just being incompetent.

Aru suddenly sat up straight in shock, smacking the back of her head on the butt of the machine gun Mutsuki was leaning on.

“Ow!”

I almost burst out laughing but quickly covered it with a sip of tea.

How did Aru manage to turn everything into a comedy skit?

I continued, “It’s obvious Kaiser gave you faulty intel.”

“Eh? Really?!”

“The strongest proof is that you didn’t even know I was Schale’s Sensei, and that I was working with Abydos.”

That was the crux of it.

The Helmet Gang had known who I was when they kidnapped Serika, but Problem Solver 68 didn’t.

Most likely, Kaiser thought I wasn’t significant enough to affect the outcome. And after the Helmet Gang’s failure, maybe they worried that giving my details to Problem Solver 68 would just hold them back.

In any case, now that I had established some trust with them, this was something I could use.

“It’s Kaiser’s concealment of information that caused your failure today!”

“I knew it! That explains everything!”

“Which means, as the victims, you’re completely entitled to demand more money from them!”

“Eh, but the contract
”

Kayoko cut in. “President, according to the contract, if the client’s incomplete intel causes failure, we’re entitled to demand compensation. We could even terminate the deal.”

Aru was shocked. “We can do that?!”

“Oh? Even better.” I smiled. “If they refuse to pay more, then rip up the contract and accept my commission instead. At that point, providing me with Kaiser intel wouldn’t break your code at all, right?”

“
That’s true! Then Sensei, I’ll be in your care from now on!”

“
?”

I felt suffocated.

Wait, how did you already decide to switch sides to me? Aren’t you a little too easy to convince?

Glancing at the others, Mutsuki was grinning, Haruka’s eyes sparkled with admiration for Aru, while Kayoko just looked exasperated.

Meeting Kayoko’s gaze, I felt a strange kinship with her.

“What I mean is, if they won’t pay more, then you should threaten them like this
”

And so, I patiently instructed Aru on exactly how to confront her employers, how to seize the initiative, and how to force Kaiser to cough up more gold.

For details I didn’t know, Kayoko filled in the gaps. Before long, the plan was clear: put Kaiser on the defensive, demand more funds, and if nothing else, sabotage their image a little.

I didn’t consider it aiding the enemy. Even without the extra money, Aru’s stubborn sense of duty meant she might have taken out loans to finish the job.

Helping my cute students while sticking it to Kaiser, this was a win-win.

Once the discussion was over, I declined Aru’s invitation to stay longer, since it was already late at night.

The Problem Solver 68 office was close to Abydos’s residential area, so it didn’t take me long to return home safely.

The lights were off when I arrived. Hoshino must have gone out patrolling again.

I took out the gifts I had prepared for her: an illustrated encyclopedia of marine life, and a blue whale plush pillow. I set them on the coffee table.

I sincerely hoped Hoshino would like them.

Since she wasn’t home, I didn’t intrude on her room. Instead, I lay down on the sofa and drifted off to sleep.