Mika really was crying.
Saori's heartfelt confession had resonated with her completely.
"I... want to be happy too... But just like you, I... I threw that possibility away with my own hands..."
Speaking in broken fragments, Mika continued,
"When I saw how close Sensei was with the Gehenna students and Seia-chan... I hated him... Then, after what happened to Seia-chan, I convinced myself that Sensei had betrayed her trust... and I took my anger out on him..."
I'd suspected as much before, but it really was the reason she had always treated me so coldly.
At this point, I couldn't even bring myself to blame her anymore.
It didn't even seem unreasonable.
After all...
It was Mika.
"After that... I treated Sensei like a tool... a way to keep Nagisa-chan in check while searching for Trinity's traitor. I deceived him, used him... Even now... I'm still treating him the same awful way. I keep demanding his affection without restraint... wasting all the kindness he shows me..."
...So Mika really was aware of that?
"I know it's wrong."
She lowered her head.
"If I just keep throwing childish tantrums, eventually Sensei won't be able to take it anymore... But I... But I... Even if that really happens... wouldn't it all just be my own fault?"
It sounded as though she was seeking Saori's opinion.
Naturally, no answer came.
Who but herself could answer a question like that?
After a brief silence, Mika continued,
"But even so... I keep wondering... If I'd met Sensei sooner... If I'd been more honest with my own feelings... would things have been different? But... there's no such 'if.'"
"So I accepted everything that happened as the punishment I deserved. I even thought it'd be better if Sensei stopped caring about me, just like everyone else... But when Sensei said he wouldn't come see me anymore... I... I knew he was busy. I knew those people online were right... But I was so scared... What if... even Sensei gave up on me..."
At that point, Mika choked up.
Soft sobbing followed.
Maybe it was just my imagination...
But somehow, I couldn't help noticing how often I came up in her confession.
"I still... hoped to be forgiven. I've kept praying for it... But... it's useless. I don't know what I could possibly do to be forgiven for all the sins I've committed... I really don't know... If Sensei had just kept treating me kindly... wouldn't it have been like everything had stayed the way it used to be...? But now... even that second chance..."
From Mika's perspective, believing she had once again committed an unforgivable mistake and that Seia would never forgive her...
That was simply how things were.
I sighed silently.
More than pity, all I felt was exhaustion.
Honestly...
She hadn't listened to a single word I'd said.
Granted, expecting Mika to think rationally in a situation like this was asking a bit much.
Still, I couldn't help feeling frustrated.
Mika continued.
"If Sensei and everyone gathered together because of me... maybe we could've started over. I wanted to believe there was a future like that... But there wasn't... There was never such a future... I was only searching desperately for salvation in a world where everything is meaningless..."
Lost and confused...
She spoke of emptiness, pain, and despair.
At that moment, the understanding that had steadily grown between them finally reached its peak.
At last, Mika admitted from the bottom of her heart,
"You... you're just like me, Saori..."
One had been born in Trinity, living beneath the sunlight, cherished by everyone, enjoying youth and friendship.
The other had been born in Arius, hidden away in darkness, raised on lies of hatred and meaninglessness, enduring nothing but suffering.
Their lives should have been completely different.
Yet kindness brought them together.
Then conspiracy and betrayal intertwined their fates, dragging them both into an even deeper hell.
But...
It was never supposed to be this way.
Azusa becoming the "symbol of reconciliation."
Mika's clumsy dream earning the approval of Nagisa and Seia.
Trinity and Arius setting aside their hatred and walking toward tomorrow together.
That fairy tale, so beautiful and full of hope...
Had become what it was now because of one person's sins.
Whether it was Mika...
Saori...
Or me...
We'd all completely mistaken where the blame truly belonged.
After hesitating one last time...
I stepped forward.
"You can't become happy... just as I can't become happy."
Mika was still speaking.
"That's impossible now. For people like us, who've committed unforgivable sins... who've hurt Sensei over and over again... It's impossible. Maybe... that's why I wanted you to suffer too... so things could be 'fair.'"
She paused.
"But precisely because of that... I can't do it... If I give you that ending... wouldn't it mean... I'd be proving that I can't be saved either...?"
"Mika... you..."
Saori instinctively called out.
Then suddenly her expression sharpened.
"Who's there!?"
"It's me."
Under both their gazes, I slowly shook my head.
"Seriously... I've had enough of listening to this."
If I kept listening to the nonsense the two of them were saying...
I might start becoming strange myself.
Actually...
Maybe that had already begun.
"Eh!? S-Sensei!?"
Mika's eyes flew open.
"You weren't...? W-Wait... since when were you..."
Saori looked at me blankly.
"Weren't you supposed to be rescuing the Princess with everyone else?"
I answered irritably,
"I never went very far."
That wasn't exactly a lie.
After all, whose fault was it that I had to turn back before I even managed to find the others?
Didn't you promise you wouldn't betray my blood?
Never mind that your stunt just shaved a few more days off my lifespan.
If you couldn't beat her, then don't act so confident in the first place.
Though...
Saori had probably genuinely believed she could.
I continued,
"I heard everything. Every single word."
"Eh...? H-How could you...? A-Awah..."
"W-What...!"
Now it wasn't just Mika.
Even Saori's cheeks flushed bright red.
"Listening in on girls' private conversations... Even for Sensei, that's way too much..."
Mika muttered quietly, stealing glances at me every now and then.
Saori remained speechless, staring at the ground.
Back then, caught up in the moment and speaking one-on-one, none of those words had seemed embarrassing.
But now that they'd calmed down...
Realizing the person they admired had heard everything...
Of course they were mortified.
As for why, after looking carefully at Mika's expression, I realized there was actually more joy than embarrassment...
Honestly, I would never understand how that pink-haired girl's mind worked.
"You two..."
I sighed again.
Standing before them, I spoke with weary resignation.
"Anyway... I don't want to keep agonizing over this anymore... I don't want to keep worrying about this..."
More than anything...
I didn't want to keep running away from my true feelings.
I'm an adult.
I can't be less courageous than my own students.
Sometimes...
I should be looking up to the students I'm proud of.
Like Hifumi, who always has the courage to say exactly what's in her heart.
Isn't that what it means to be a proper teacher?
The pain I'd suffered wouldn't simply disappear.
But precisely because of that...
To stop hiding it...
I had to gather my courage and say what I truly felt.
"Honestly, both of you have caused me more trouble than I can count. Even if I chose not to forgive you, and made you carry those regrets for the rest of your lives, no one could blame me for it."
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before looking at the two girls before me, one forcing a smile, the other drowning in despair.
"But since you've both wished for it so desperately... I'll try as well."
"I'll try... to give you a second chance."
The moment those words fell...
Both Mika and Saori stared at me in stunned disbelief, as though wondering if they'd misheard.
At the very least...
They were finally willing to listen to what I had to say.
For these two hopeless girls...
That alone was tremendous progress.
"Of course, I can't promise that you'll definitely find happiness. I can't guarantee you'll reach a perfect ending."
"I... can only speak for myself."
"I forgive you."
Perhaps...
It wasn't only Mika and Saori who resembled one another.
Deep inside...
Hadn't I been wishing for the same thing?
Forgiving them...
Was also forgiving the arrogant, cowardly, stubborn version of myself.
"Sensei... You... But I..."
Saori started to speak before trailing off.
The sadness still lingered on her face.
She clearly hadn't let go of her guilt.
After a long silence, Mika forced another smile.
"Thank you for your kindness... But what's the point, Sensei? I'll definitely... be expelled. And Seia-chan already..."
"Enough."
I hardened my expression.
"I'm tired of hearing that pathetic nonsense."
Mika froze.
Tears instantly welled up in her eyes.
"I guess you're right... Someone as pathetic as me only knows how to say pathetic things... So Sensei, you should just leave me behind and..."
"...Eh?"
Unable to endure it any longer...
I reached out and pulled both Mika and Saori, these two hopeless idiots who'd been giving me nothing but headaches, tightly into my arms.
Rather than lowering myself to the level of these children throwing tantrums and trying to soothe them with pretty words...
I'd use my own way.
I'd act.
That was my greatest strength.
My goddamn overwhelming charm.
Sure enough...
The moment I suddenly embraced them...
Both girls froze stiff.
"S-Sensei...?"
"W-What are you..."
They both stammered.
Ignoring them, I continued speaking, just as they'd done to me.
"Stop saying stupid things. Listen carefully."
"I said I'd give you a second chance."
"So even if you don't want one..."
"I'll force it on you."
"I won't allow either of you to reject my kindness anymore."
"If you understand, then answer me properly."
"...I understand..."
"...U-Um... okay..."
Now that...
Those were proper answers.
Though they still carried traces of hesitation.
If you'd just been willing to listen from the beginning...
None of this would've happened.
Still...
I suppose I had to be this forceful first.
Had things not reached this point...
Had I not heard their true feelings...
The one unwilling to do this would've been me.
Satisfied enough with their responses, I softened my tone.
"Then I'll search together with you."
"We'll find a way for everyone who can still be saved, including both of you..."
"...to reach a happy ending."
Saori asked quietly,
"What if we can't find one?"
"Then we'll keep searching."
"Until the very end."
Mika asked timidly,
"Can... can we really?"
"I heard your prayers."
"I heard them."
"So if I say you can..."
"Then you can."
"And you're not allowed to argue."
"[Forgive their wickedness, remember their sins no more. Let them turn back, for Your redemption.]"
Madness-chan...
It is you who lack faith.
I'm simply doing what I want to do.
Using an ego even greater than theirs...
To force them to follow my will.
I don't care what anyone else thinks.
As long as they stop rejecting my kindness...
That alone is the greatest reward I could ask for.
For a fleeting instant...
I thought I heard a quiet chuckle filled with inexplicable meaning.
So what if...
I really had been hoping for something all along?
What's wrong with that?
What's there to object to?
"...So don't even think about escaping judgment."
"Don't keep acting selfishly."
"And above all..."
"Don't give up hope."
That was my conclusion.
The only reply...
Was silence.
And then...
Warm tears suddenly fell onto my shoulder.
"That's... so unfair..."
Mika struggled to hold herself together.
"Saying something like that, Sensei... You really... really are..."
"Waaahhh!"
Before she could finish...
She completely broke down into loud sobs.
A moment later...
My other shoulder grew warm as well.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."
Saori could only repeat those words through her tears.
All I could do...
Was gently pat their backs.
In return...
They cried even harder.
...Sigh.
If...
Just if.
If only...
I could cry as honestly as they could.
Carrying a strange feeling of envy that I didn't want to examine too closely...
I silently stayed by their side.
Until...
Several sets of footsteps approached from behind us.