I decided to find some of the guys and propose a deal.
The idea was that in exchange for providing them with food, clothing, and shelter, I’d have them handle information gathering through exploration and resource collection.
It wasn’t a bad bargain for us, and it was something Professor Luminas had strongly requested anyway.
As the teacher, she probably idealized the class sticking together as one, but the boys’ standing on this island had, regrettably, sunk to rock bottom.
Right at the start of the transfer, two of them had tried to take advantage of Senpou.
Sure, their first five days of survival on an desert island were likely rough, but they were still the ones lying during events and firing guns wildly.
On top of that, they were currently in the process of trying to take advantage of members of the Seho Party again.
Not only were our own party against it, but the Seho Party had managed to unite specifically by excluding the boys, so I was sorry, but I couldn’t exactly say I wanted them on our side now.
That said, we did have more room to breathe in our daily lives, and considering the future, nobody objected to making a deal.
“Where should we start?”
Professor Luminas asked from behind Mashiro’s back.
Mashiro was sprinting through the forest.
“Probably those guys harassing Team Seho, I’d say.”
Technically, though, their attempts had been aborted, so ‘attempted’ might be the more accurate term.
By the second event, the abilities of the Seiou party’s members had mostly become clear.
Given that most of the boys lacked abilities altogether, it was understandable how they’d managed to defend themselves up until now.
Enhanced archery, physical manifestations of clones, boosted leg strength, immortality, shadow manipulation, and so on.
However, possessing the power to repel an attack is vastly different from actually wielding that power against a person.
It’s like saying anyone can fire a gun just because you hand them one.
With penalties in place, they were forced to exercise extreme caution when using their abilities on other humans.
“Right…
I hope those kids will come around and change their hearts,” the teacher said, his expression growing complicated.
He was likely caught between sympathizing with the feelings of the girls who had been made to suffer and an inability to give up on his male students.
Being a teacher must take a tremendous toll on one’s mind.
“Are you going to show your face at Suzuka’s place?”
Shouko asked.
“The boys first. Once I’ve finished convincing them, I think it’d be best if we make Seiou apologize. Whether we do that today or later, we can decide on that after.”
Setting aside the question of whether handling all this was actually within their scope of work.
We are destined to return to Japan eventually.
It’s still unknown who will retain their memories and who will forget them when the time comes, but it would be best not to leave any lingering discord between us.
As things stand now, even if everyone were to keep their memories, the boys in the class would likely be looked down upon by the girls.
On top of that, since we just entered our second year, we’d have no choice but to spend the entire year in an atmosphere at its worst possible.
“Uh-huh. I wanted to meet Sou-chan and the others too, but there should be other chances besides today.”
The Megumi group was mostly composed of members from my party, though not everyone had gathered.
Some of them belonged to Juno’s party.
“I’m curious about Juno’s party too, but I’m a bit worried whether the boys will actually listen to reason…”
Shino’s concern was quite valid.
“Hmm. On that note, there’s a magic spell that might come in handy. I just mastered it.”
Chiyu stated this with absolute confidence.
Though “confidence” is probably how she herself described it; to anyone else but me, her face would have looked like its usual blank expression. “A new magic? I’m counting on you.”
Masiro snorted dismissively as he continued moving forward at a rapid pace.
For Masiro, who loved girls so dearly, tracking the scent of boys was perhaps a bitter trial indeed.
Despite that, they obeyed the request of Shoushi and carried us.
“Ah, Mashiro said it’s ‘almost’ there!”
Soon, through a gap in the trees, we saw what looked like the place.
Deep in the forest was an area enclosed by rough, crude fences.
Inside, three boys were dressed in tattered clothes. They were all devouring fruit together.
”…!
W-What the hell?!”
“Wolves?!”
“No, it’s not that—it’s those guys I saw at the event earlier!”
Noticing us, the three boys jumped up in shock.
“Please calm down, teachers are—”
Professor Luminus called out to them, but his voice didn’t reach the boys.
“Fuck! What do you want?!”
“D-Did Sumhou or the others send you here?!”
“Don’t you think it’s unfair that only you guys got this weird power?!”
“Silence.”
As Chienyu chanted the spell, the frantic light in the bloodshot eyes of the young men faded, replaced by a rational glow.
“Teacher… it’s okay now.”
“Y-Yes. Uh, we’re not here to cause any harm, I swear!”
”…Wait, is that Lummy?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Dude, you said in a dream that they were going to be deployed as reinforcements.”
Instantly, the three young men regained their composure and began chatting with the easygoing demeanor of guys who had just stumbled upon their substitute homeroom teacher out in the city.
So it’s a spell that calms the mind.
Perhaps she drew the association from white magic used in games to clear confusion status effects.
Turning to the now-calm young men, the Teacher laid out a proposal.
In exchange for food, clothing, and shelter, they were to assist with gathering materials and mapping the area.
And in their specific case, there was an added condition: never to cause trouble for the Seihou Party again.
Furthermore, they would accompany her to apologize to the girls personally.
Backed into a calm and logical state, the three of them agreed immediately.
By the way, I checked with them just to be safe, confirming that their understanding aligned with what had been established by Sehou’s party.
I had Shiin verify things during her time with Sehou’s party as well, but even with a lie-detection ability, she couldn’t see through a lie if the person didn’t believe they were lying themselves.
So, I decided to hear the boys’ side of the story too.
Generally speaking, they admitted their faults.
They said that at first, their desire to be accepted by the group was strong, but after being rejected, their actions escalated into something resembling harassment.
For starters, I gave each of the three boys a cabin.
I also handed over clean clothes, towels, soap, water, handmade bread from Shiin, meat and fish, salt, and other seasonings.
“Hoooray!”
“Y-you’re really okay with this?”
“Thank you… thank you…”
Some even teared up, but no one laughed.
Perhaps the girls could empathize with their feelings, as they nodded in agreement.
“Maybe your minds were too cluttered to think clearly, but that doesn’t mean you can burden your classmates. You need to go apologize properly.”
“Yes…!”
The boys nodded earnestly.
It had all been resolved surprisingly quickly, but looking at Shiin, I could tell they weren’t lying.
I suppose it just goes to show that deep down, they were decent guys.
I wish everyone felt the same way.
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