Chapter 27

1.

The Federal Investigation Club <S.C.H.A.L.E>.

Commonly known as ‘SCALE’, the launch of this new club became a major issue across all of Kiburatos.

The fact that it was a club directly under the Kiburatos Student Council President, that the teacher affiliated with SCALE had restored Sentum Tower and handed over its authority to the Student Council, and that SCALE wielded extralegal powers as the president’s proxy—these points commanded attention.

It wasn’t just the existence of a “teacher,” but the emergence of an organization wielding extralegal powers that inevitably drew the focus of everyone across Kiburatos.

Politically, diplomatically, and even territorially, the launch of SCALE sent shockwaves through many and naturally made it an object of suspicion.

What is SCALE?

What is its purpose?

Who is this teacher?

These were questions that each autonomous district naturally had to listen to, and they were no less important for it.

Since the appearance of the hero Silk during the state of anarchy, another figure that all autonomous districts were watching had arisen.

If the hero Silk was an extralegal superhuman figure, then SCALE was an entity wielding extralegal powers—an organization of superhumans.

For this reason, it was approached with caution. People sought information about the teacher, but all they could find was the bizarre fact that the teacher seemed to have no intention of wielding extralegal powers.

It was behavior incomprehensible by conventional standards.

Even though the teacher had been given extralegal powers capable of shaking Kiburatos, they had immediately transferred the authority of Sentum Tower to the Student Council? Why? What was the intent?

Students who had witnessed the typical behavior of adults before were suspicious of the teacher’s choice—but the teacher dismissed these many questions and proclaimed that SCALE’s main purpose was to solve problems arising across Kiburatos.

This unpredictable course of action by the teacher left many baffled, but it was enough to make people realize they had to take a different approach than they had with previous adults.

Of course, there were some who harbored unattainable greed against the teacher, though this remained hidden for now.

Curiosity. Perplexity. Bewilderment. And suspicion.

The judgments and choices made by the new teacher had embedded questions and curiosity into the minds of all the students of Kiburatos, and most of them came to one conclusion:

An enigmatic adult whose true intentions were unknowable.

This was the initial evaluation and perception of the teacher at the time of SCALE’s launch.

As news of Sentum Tower’s restoration spread across Kiburatos like lightning, students, ordinary citizens, and minor factions alike focused their attention on this teacher.

And everyone must have faintly realized:

Perhaps the future of Kiburatos would greatly change according to the movements of this “SCALE.”

2.

After the teacher’s appearance, D.U quickly regained stability. Led by the teacher, the Student Council students worked tirelessly to fill in the gaps that had appeared.

The administrative system, which was practically paralyzed, was swiftly restored, and the collapsed economic and transportation systems were gradually recovering.

Though recovery was rapid day by day, it wasn’t without significant challenges along the way.

Most of the backlash and calls for accountability for the state of anarchy were directed at the Student Council, making its members pull their hair out.

Amid this, the disappearance of the Student Council President became a widely known fact, causing more turmoil before quickly subsiding. While the Student Council’s efforts played a part, it was also because everyone was focused on restoring their broken daily lives that they had little time to dwell on it.

At this point, with all academies—large and small—equally affected, there was an implicit agreement to focus on recovery rather than creating further chaos.

And, inevitably, those suffering the most during this process were none other than…

“Ugh…”

“Kuh…!”

Hibiki and Utaha from the Engineering Department and the skilled members of Veritas were at the forefront of these efforts.

“Are you two okay?”

“No…”

“I feel like I’m dying….”

Engulfed in a barrage of requests for repairs, restoration, and creation, the members of the Engineering Department—aided by the Seminar’s efforts to restore Millennium—were struggling to keep up. Hibiki and Utaha looked apologetically at me, unable to even touch the requests I had made.

Understanding their situation, I could only give a wry smile.

“I’m fine. I’ll be busy focusing on hero activities for a while, so we’ll have to delay other requests until things stabilize.”

“Thanks, Hiiro…”

“You’re my angel…”

“What? An angel? Here, have this if you’re tired.”

“Ugh… Thank you….”

“Thanks…”

Hearing their drained voices, I felt just as exhausted. I handed them some chocolate and cookies to help regain their strength, which they gratefully accepted.

“Ah, right. Hibiki.”

“What…? Hiiro.”

“…”

No matter how many times I hear it, I still haven’t gotten used to being called “Hiiro.” Nanashi also called me that, though the name still feels a little strange.

“Didn’t you finish my new mask last time?”

“Oh… right…”

Shaking off the thought, I brought up the main topic, prompting Hibiki to groggily stand up and shuffle to the corner of the workshop. She returned with a black box. Inside was a fox mask similar in design to the one I had worn before—a white base with blue patterns, reminiscent of Wakamo’s mask.

The difference was that while the previous mask covered my entire face, this one only covered the upper half, leaving my mouth uncovered.

Additionally, the mask had new features.

“Try it on….”

“Yes, thank you, Hibiki.”

“Mhm…”

Hibiki, looking utterly exhausted, nodded while rubbing her eyes, her yawning face resembling that of a cute puppy.

Smiling slightly, I placed the mask on my face and pressed the button on its side—

Kiiing-

The mask’s eye sections lit up, and a hologram only visible to me began projecting in front of my eyes—a translucent message window in blue. It reminded me of the system windows from novels and manga.

“Wow.”

I couldn’t help but be impressed.

This was the new hero equipment for Silk, called “Vision,” co-created by Veritas, Hibari-senpai, and the Engineering Department.

“Vision” was a piece of equipment I had requested even before asking for the vibranium shield, meant to replace the mask that had nearly broken during my duel with Wakamo.

Initially, I had only intended to commission a simple mask, but I decided to add various features and turn it into a completely new piece of equipment, having unexpectedly acquired some funds.

According to my view, the holograms moved accordingly, displaying various pieces of information across my field of vision. While it currently only recognized objects in sight and output relevant information, I expected more during actual operations when Hibari-senpai and the Veritas team assisted by providing additional data.

“The lack of artificial intelligence is a bit disappointing, though.”

Though it didn’t have an AI like Iron Man’s, I planned to collaborate with Veritas to develop one to assist my activities.

“Of course, the name had already been decided—JARVIS. There was no other choice.”

It was a universal rule. Even if I became a villain in the future and threw a meteorite at Kiburatos, the name “JARVIS” would remain irreplaceable.

Pleased, I nodded and removed the Vision.

“Is that all…?”

“Phew, thank goodness…”

“Fufu…”

Hibiki wore a lazy yet delighted smile, and beside her, Utaha joined in with her thumb up.

After spending some time ensuring they could rest comfortably, I left the Engineering Department.

3.

When exactly does the main story begin?

The lack of a precise timeline, unmentioned in the game, was always a factor that stopped me in my tracks.

Though I remembered the general sequence and major events of the main story of <Blue Archive>, it was hard to pinpoint the exact timeline or starting point.

“At the very least, it won’t begin immediately after SCALE’s launch.”

Even now, the teacher of SCALE is rapidly traveling across Kiburatos, solving various problems. Their reputation and recognition improve visibly each day, and their integrity is spreading rapidly across the realm.

This explains why, despite political caution from students of other academies, there isn’t much personal enmity or guarded behavior against the teacher.

“And this is also a hint for me to estimate the approximate timeline.”

Let’s think for a moment.

How did the early parts of most main stories in <Blue Archive> unfold?

“The main academy in the story requests the teacher’s help, and the teacher accepts and visits the respective autonomous district.”

This is practically a cliché that starts every main story. Within the game’s main storyline, every request to the teacher follows a similar setup.

The Abidos Countermeasure Committee’s threat of school closure.

The Millenium Game Development Department’s near collapse.

The Trinity Remedial Education Department’s mentoring request.

The plight of students and their earnest requests are met with the teacher’s response. This format helps me vaguely estimate the starting point.

Given SCALE’s current position, reputation, and recognition at this moment, how is the teacher evaluated within Kiburatos?

Not just public perception, but the views of the “leaders” of each academy toward the teacher.

“At least, they’re seen as a minimum cautious target, at most as a threat to the academies.”

Since the teacher is the proxy of the currently missing Student Council President and wields extralegal powers, they are being politically watched by each academy. While the teacher’s actions and integrity are becoming known step by step, the perception of the academy leaders toward the teacher remains firmly rooted in caution.

Would the cautious teacher be asked for help?

At least at this point, that is impossible.

What if the teacher betrayed Abidos?

What if the teacher interfered with Millenium?

What if the teacher posed a threat to Trinity?

The leaders of each academy, unable to yet fully predict the potential impacts of this “unknown variable,” cannot hastily approach or request help from the teacher at this point.

Thus, my conclusion was:

“At the very least, it’ll be a month. It’ll start then, right?”

While there was a possibility for it to start faster, my conclusion was that it would require at least a few more weeks.

“Besides, the weather at Abidos wasn’t winter back then, after all.”

Through these fragmented pieces of information, I roughly estimated the starting point of the main story.

If that’s the case, I needed to adjust my activity plan as well.

“Originally, I thought about taking on some commissions while pretending to be a student to secure funds, but with Sentum Tower restored and the city in chaos right now…”

Expanding my activities as the hero Silk might be the right decision.

After some brief contemplation, I quickly made my decision.

“Let’s head to Gehenna first, shall we?”

An autonomous district known as the worst lawless area in Kiburatos.

Gehenna Academy.

The next stage for the hero Silk—its destination was right there.

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