Arriving at Schale, Lina, who had remained quiet the entire ride, stepped out of the car and headed straight inside the building without a word.
Sensei, just stepping out of the car, watched her leave with a puzzled expression. "?"
The others exited the car as well, their gazes lifting to take in the massive structure before them.
A towering building stretched high into the sky, at least 500 meters tall, its sleek white and azure blue design giving off an almost futuristic, sci-fi impression.
"Is this Schale?" Sensei murmured, tilting his head as he took it all in. "It's far beyond my expectations."
Yuuka, sensing an opportunity, huffed and puffed out her chest proudly. "Hehehe, this level is far from being amazing! If you ever visit our Millennium Science Academy—whether it's our teaching building or our science laboratory—you'll be so amazed you won't be able to close your mouth!"
Sensei glanced at her, unimpressed. "No, I'm not amazed by how great this building is."
Yuuka's smug expression faltered, her small fists clenching involuntarily.
Sensei sighed. "I was just thinking… in a building this huge, it probably takes an entire day just to clean it."
Hasumi, standing behind them, sighed in exasperation. In a tone that sounded like a teacher scolding a child for not washing their hands before dinner, she muttered, "Sensei, although there is no danger now… can you please not tease Yuuka?"
Yuuka, gritting her teeth, tried to hold back her anger. "Who was teased by him?! Who was teased by him!"
Sensei blinked innocently. "Oh? Did I tease Yuuka?"
Yuuka clenched her fists. "I wish I could bite him to death right now! How could I be teased by him?!" She turned to glare at Sensei, her eyes radiating pure murder. If looks could kill, Sensei would have died at least ten times over.
But instead of backing down, Sensei simply smiled and turned to Hasumi. "But Hasumi, don't you think Yuuka is even cuter like this?" He grinned as if he had just discovered something amusing.
"She clearly wants to punch me, but she has to hold back because she's a good student and cares about her image in front of her classmates. Watching her struggle between rationality and pure instinct is really—"
Thud.
Yuuka withdrew her fist from Sensei's stomach, sighing in satisfaction. "Ah, I feel so refreshed somehow."
Sensei, meanwhile, was hunched over on the ground like a cooked shrimp, clutching his stomach in agony.
Hasumi, completely unfazed, shook her head and turned her attention back to the door in front of her.
Chinatsu walked over, adjusting her glasses. "Sensei, do you need any medicine?"
Sensei, still hunched over, groaned but waved her off. "No, 'tis but a scratch..."
Slowly, he forced himself back to his feet, one hand still pressed to his stomach as he tried to maintain his dignity.
Hasumi stood in front of the door, looking puzzled. "It's locked?"
Chinatsu stepped up beside her, testing the door herself. "Locked?" She frowned as the door refused to budge.
"How did Lina-san enter then?" Chinatsu wondered aloud.
Hasumi sighed. "I don't know. Let me ask the acting president for the code." She reached for her Momotalk app, but before she could even send a message—
Click.
The door automatically opened.
Lina stood there, arms crossed. "Why are you all just standing around?"
Hasumi and Chinatsu blinked in confusion. "...?"
Lina blinked back. "...?"
Sensei, who was busy dodging another possible punch from Yuuka, finally noticed. "Oh? It's open!" He hurriedly stepped inside before Yuuka could resume her attack.
Yuuka sighed and followed after him.
Inside Schale
Stepping inside, Sensei expected dust-covered floors, abandoned desks, and broken furniture. Instead, he was met with immaculate cleanliness. Apart from a few strands of floating hair catching the light, the floor gleamed so brightly that his reflection stared right back at him.
Sensei whistled. "Did you clean this place, Lina?"
Lina, already ahead of them, responded without looking back. "Yeah. Since I'm staying here, I don't like it getting dusty."
She stopped at the bottom of a staircase, turned slightly, and waved. "Well, I'm going to my room now. You guys can do whatever—go find that thing the GSC president mentioned."
With that, she casually walked away.
Sensei watched her disappear up the stairs, then turned to the rest of the group. "Wait… does that mean I live with Lina?"
Lina, now halfway up the stairs, twitched.
"Who's living with you?!" she shouted from above, her voice echoing down the hallway.
20 Minutes Later
Sensei wandered through Schale, his footsteps echoing in the empty halls. The place was too clean, too perfect—yet something about it felt oddly… familiar.
Hasumi, ever observant, noticed his distraction first. "Sensei?"
Sensei blinked, turning to face her.
Hasumi tilted her head slightly. "Is something wrong?"
Sensei hesitated. The words felt strange in his mouth, but he spoke them anyway.
"Oh, no, no, it's just..." He smiled, though it was slightly forced. "I keep feeling like I've been here before."
The feeling was unsettling. Like a dream where you watch yourself break a glass of water, only to wake up and know it's about to happen, even before you reach for it.
Déjà vu.
This place... it felt like he had lived here before.
Sensei looked around.
This should be the hall for receiving guests. It was tall and spacious, almost unnervingly so.
The floor was paved with steel sheets for some reason, giving off a cold, industrial feel. The furniture and decorations followed a blue and white futuristic style, sleek and minimalistic. The linear lights embedded in the ceiling and the large wall lights were eerily silent, their power source seemingly inactive.
Apart from the books collected in the bookshelves, there was almost no other wooden furniture in sight. The entire place felt... calculated. Designed for function over warmth.
"Déjà vu?"
Yuuka carefully observed the surrounding environment again. "Most of the laboratories or research institutes in Millennium Academy have this kind of design. Maybe Sensei worked in a similar place before coming to Kivotos?"
Sensei shook his head slightly. "I think... there's a slight difference between déjà vu and familiarity."
He looked up at the ceiling, deep in thought. There was something about this place.
After struggling to put his feelings into words, he sighed. "Forget it, I'll just show you."
The four girls exchanged confused glances as Sensei walked straight to the desk in the middle of the hall.
A Familiar Motion
As he moved, his body seemed to act on its own.
His mind emptied, allowing instinct to guide him.
Step. Step. Stop.
Without hesitation, he kneeled before the locker under the desk and stopped.
It felt natural—as if he had done this before.
As if he had rehearsed it thousands of times, Sensei squatted down and opened the drawer on the second layer.
Click.
Inside, resting quietly in the dim light, was a tablet of an unknown brand.
Sensei raised his eyebrows, reaching inside.
He picked up the device, turning it over in his hands, his breath hitching.
A murmur escaped his lips.
"It really is..."
Yuuka came closer, standing on tiptoe as she poked her head out from beside Sensei's arm. Her eyes locked onto the device he was holding.
"A tablet?"
"No, it's not just a tablet." Sensei shook his head, his voice unusually firm. From somewhere deep within his mind, a name surfaced—one that felt both foreign and familiar at the same time.
"To be precise, it should be called [Shittim Chest]."
Yuuka blinked, confused. "What's that? Is it the brand name of this tablet?"
"No, it's not."
Sensei pressed the power button.
Click.
The screen turned black for a brief moment—no logo, no startup music—before fading into a sky blue background interface. At the center of the screen, a vertical [∞] symbol pulsed faintly.
The girls stared at the seemingly ordinary white tablet, their eyes filled with curiosity and surprise.
Sensei glanced at them before speaking.
"This... is what the acting president of your General Student Council asked you to bring me here to find."
Just as he finished, a soft "beep" echoed from the tablet, and a line of text appeared on the screen.
[Connected to the Shittim Chest...]
[Please enter the system connection password.]
Staring at the small keyboard that popped up on the screen, Sensei's fingers moved instinctively.
Click.
Click.
Click.
It felt as natural as a bird flapping its wings, as effortless as a spider weaving a web.
His lips parted slightly as he typed words that felt engraved deep within his soul:
[We thirst for the seven wailings]
[We bear the koan of Jericho]
With each keypress, a strange sensation washed over him.
Somewhere—just on the edge of his consciousness—another voice whispered along with him.
A voice exactly like his own.
...If the paradise promised by God does not exist...
Then we will build our own [Kingdom of Heaven] on earth.
The screen flickered.
[The current information of the person connecting is: Sensei, which has been confirmed.]
[To complete biometric authentication and generate authentication certificates, switch to the main operating system: ARONA.]
(A/n: Eating Mandarin orange yum)