Chapitre 3: Chapter 3) The Shittim Chest
...
"Finally!" Yuuka exclaims in relief as we all stand in front of the Schale building.
"Indeed," Hasumi says with a nod.
"We've successfully reclaimed the Schale club room," Rin says through the comms. "I'll be arriving shortly. Let's meet in the basement of the building, Sensei."
"I'll be waitin', Rin," I say.
I turn around and look up. Damn, this place is taller up close. I turn back to the girls. "You four stay here, keep a lookout."
"Will do," Suzumi says.
"Be careful, Sensei," Chinatsu says. I nod and enter the building.
________________________________________
I walk through the darkened building, descending into the basement. Guess they cut the power.
Entering the basement, I see it's set up like a kind of lounge, complete with a sofa, tables, and shelves. In the back of the room is a rock floating above a pedestal of sorts. What the hell? I also notice someone familiar staring at it, Wakamo.
"I don't see what the big deal is about this place." She complains to herself. "What am I even supposed to destroy?" Guess she likes blowing stuff up? Certainly not the weirdest hobby I've seen.
"Oh?" She says, turning her head towards me.
"Come here often, Kitsune?" I say, rhetorically, a smile on my face.
"Uh.." She tries to say something but cuts herself off.
"Well, I can't blame ya. This place is pretty cool, from what I've seen thus far." I continue.
"..."
"...?" I stare at her questioningly.
"..." But she remains silent. "Well..." She stammers out behind her mask. What's with her? "I, uh..." Okay, now I'm getting worried.
"You okay? Still upset about the throat punch?" I awkwardly ask, jokingly.
"N-No! Well, uh..." She stammers again before shouting."I WAS JUST LEAVING!" and sprinting away.
I stared at the door she ran through, confused as all hell. "What was that all about?" I ask myself.
A few minutes later, Rin walks in. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm here now." She says, causing me to jump a bit. "Hmm? Did I miss something?"
"Eh, nothin' much." I shrug.
"If you insist. Well, here is what the General Student Council president left behind." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tablet. "Thankfully, there isn't a scratch on it." She walks to me. "Please, take it."
Slowly, I grab the tablet, confused as I inspect it. "The Prez left me a tablet?"
"Yes, this is what she left behind for you. The Shittim Chest." Shittim? The wood used for the Ark of the Covenant? And that name sounds... familiar. Why...?
"It may seem like a normal tablet, but its origins are a complete mystery. Its manufacturer, OS, system structure, and components are completely unknown." The dark-haired explains. "The General Student Council president left the Shittim Chest to you. She said that you'll be able to take control of the tower with it. None of the other members know how to activate it. Perhaps you may be able to figure it out, Sensei, but if not..."
We both remain quiet for a moment. "My job here is done," Rin says. "I shall let you take the lead. I'll step away so as not to interfere." She says as she begins to walk away.
I look down at the tablet and press the button on it. It lights up.
"Please enter the system password."
Password... I have no idea, so let's-
We thirst for the seven wailings.
We bear the koan of Jericho.
As I move to enter a password, my fingers move on their own and enter these two lines. How?! When?! I blinked, and they were typed in!
Seven wailings? Jericho? More Ark of the Covenant references...
"...Welcome to the Shittim Chest, Joshua Sensei. Converting to operating system A.R.O.N.A. for biological authentication and generation of verification certificate."
The 'chest' lights up and blinds my vision. After it dies down, I find myself somewhere new, a strange classroom. The floor has water on it, and the wall is broken, allowing a view out toward the endless blue sea and sky.
Hearing a soft noise, I notice the only occupant in the room, a small girl, sleeping on a desk. She has pale blue hair with pink highlights, held with a white tie, resembling rabbit ears. She wears a blue sailor uniform with a white collar and skirt. On her feet are white shoes. Above her head is a circular blue halo. There also is an umbrella next to her feet... no, it's a rifle in the shape of an umbrella. Wasn't something like that used to kill a guy in Bulgaria back in the seventies?
"Zzz..." She snores, her head resting on a desk. This is odd. She mutters something about banana milk in her sleep.
I walk to her. How can I wake her up? I swear, this is some kinda magic stuff, so...
I poke her cheek. It's soft and squishy.
"Huh...?" She says. Her blue eyes open slowly. "H-Huh?!" She shouts as she jumps to her feet.
She lets out a cute yawn. "What's going... on?" She still looks half asleep. "Huh?" Her eyes widen in realization.
Flustered with a blushing face, she stutters. "Uh... Huh? Wha..?!"
"You okay?" I ask, concerned. Did she break?
"S-Sensei?!" She shouts. I notice her halo has spikes in it, no longer perfectly circular. "If you're here, does that mean you're Joshua Sensei?!"
"That's me."
"What? I'm right? What time is it?" She begins to freak out.
"Calm down, gather your thoughts," I say.
"Okay, okay. I'm calm. I'm calm." She says. Her halo has become circular again but is now 'dripping' and is a dark blue.
Her halo returns to normal as she clears her throat. "Um, so... Oh, that's right! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Arona!" She says cheerfully. "I'm the system manager that lives inside the Shittim Chest, serving as its main OS. Think of me as your trusty secretary, Sensei!" Her halo then turns into a red heart. "I'm so glad to finally meet you! I've been waiting a long time!"
"It must've been a while if it caused you to pass out." I point out.
"Yeah, well... I guess I might've dozed off there." Her halo turns spiky again.
"Well, it's nice to meetcha, Arona," I say, flashing a grin.
"Yeah? I'm happy to hear that." The little OS says, her halo becoming a heart again before it turns back to normal. "My physical form is still small, and my voice could use a serious upgrade, but I know I can still prove to be useful to you!" She says with a smile. "Still, I'm surprised you could enter this place."
"This place?" I ask.
"This is inside the Shittim Chest," Arona explains, causing my eyes to widen. "Your real self should be in the same position you were in when you came in here."
"So this is some kinda metaverse?" I ask, chuckling. "Eat your heart out, Zuck."
Arona clearly doesn't get the joke but giggles cutely nonetheless. "Oh yeah, let's complete your biological authentication."
"Okay?" I ask, hesitant. "How do we do that?"
"Umm, this is a little embarrassing." She shuffles awkwardly. "But it's all part of the protocol. Would you mind standing a little closer?"
I move close to her and kneel down as she holds out a single finger. "Okay. Now, place your fingertip against mine."
Smiling, I raise my hand and press my fingertip to hers, causing her to giggle. "Hehe, it's kind of like making a promise or something, isn't it?"
I chuckle, too. "I suppose. Though it kind of reminds me of an old movie back home." E.T. is a classic, after all.
With a deadpan expression, she says, "This is just how I'm supposed to verify your fingerprint! I'm the one who has to scan every fingerprint that is left on the screen." She then smiles. "But don't worry! I've got eyes like a hawk, you know!"
"And, done!" She says as we move our arms away. "Let's see..." She begins to focus on something else while staring at me.
"Hmm..."
"All done!" She says, smiling.
"You sure you did it right?" I ask, curious. She took about 10 seconds to finish.
"What? I did it the way I'm supposed to!" She shouts, upset, her halo spiky now.
"Aren't those fingerprint readers supposed to be instant?" I ask. I've had to use them in the past. They're usually really quick.
"Huh?! But... I don't have that sort of high-tech feature..." She says, a bit sad, before shaking her head. "I mean, I don't need those kinds of features! My eyes will do the trick just fine!"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." I say as she crosses her arms and pouts. Her halo turns into a mess of red and orange triangles, barely even a coherent shape.
I sigh. "Fine, just let me catch you up to speed. I figure I should explain all that's been going on."
________________________________________
"...got it. A lot's been going on, hasn't it?" Arona asks after I finish my explanation. "The General Student Council president went missing, and there's no way to control the Kivotos tower now..."
"Yeah, it's been pretty crazy out there," I say, a bit jokingly. "Say, you know anything about the Prez?"
"I have lots of data on Kivotos, but I know very little about the president. I don't know who she is or why she disappeared, unfortunately." The cute AI girl says, apologetically.
"Well, that's a shame."
"I wish I could be more helpful..." Arona says, despondent.
"Nah, it's fine. I'm sure you're useful in other situations, you said you were gonna be my secretary, right?" I ask, hoping to cheer her up.
"Yeah! I'll show you how useful I can be, Sensei!" She says happily. Good, I hate to see this girl sad. "Ah, I think I can help with the Sanctum Tower problem, at least!" She says, as her halo turns lime green and has bits of it pointing upwards here and there.
"Oh?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Yup! Just let me restore the access permissions to Sactum Tower! Just give me a minute!" She says before pausing. "Though, you'll need to go back out for me to do this."
"How do I do that?" I ask.
"Just think about leaving," Arona says. Think about it. How's tha-
My vision blurs, and I find myself back in the dark basement of Schale, tablet in hand with Arona on screen.
"Okay, here I go!" She says. Looking away from Arona's classroom on screen, I hear whirring around me in the dark basement, the only source of light being the small tablet in my hands. A moment passes, and the lights click back on, my eyes taking a moment to adjust to the sudden increase of light.
"Sanctum Tower admin permissions acquired." The small OS girl says. "We've successfully regained Sanctum Tower, Sensei! The tower is now under my control!"
"That quick? Nice." The fact she can do all of that from the little tablet is pretty damn impressive.
"That means all of Kivotos is in the palm of your hand, Sensei." She points out.
I suddenly feel uneasy as she says that. Having that much power reminds me of...
Perhaps sensing my inner turmoil, Arona speaks. "I can transfer control of Sanctum Tower to the General Student Council with your approval, Sensei."
"Do it," I say, immediately.
"Are you sure that's what you want to do? You would be giving total control to the General Student Council?" She asks, tilting her head.
"Yeah, I ain't fit to handle that much power, and I doubt I'd like anyone who could." Brings back memories of that bastard... I clench my fists as an idea pops up. "But! Leave a back door that can only be accessed by you AND me, just to be safe."
Arona and I stare at each other's eyes, serious as can be. "All right, then. Control of Sanctum Tower will now be transferred to the General Student Council!" Arona says.
"Good. Understood." Rin's voice says, outside the room. She then walks in. "Control of Sanctum Tower was just confirmed. This will allow us to manage the city as well as we could before the president's disappearance."
"Good to hear," I say.
"Well done, Sensei. I want to thank you on behalf of the entire General Student Council for preventing Kivotos from falling into utter chaos." The black-haired girl says.
"Eh, it was Arona who did all the work. You should be thanking her." I shrug.
"Arona?" She asks.
"He means me, Miss Rin," Arona says, drawing Rin's attention to the tablet. "I'm Arona, the Shittim Chest's OS. Nice to meet you."
Rin looks at Arona with wide eyes before relaxing them. "I see. It's nice to meet you as well, Miss Arona." The elf girl turns back to me. "Also, you needn't worry about the suspended students and thugs that attacked us before. They will be tracked down and punished before long. My duty was only to see that you received and activated the Shittim Chest, so my job here is done..."
She trails off before her eyes widen, likely remembering something. "...but there is one more thing we should do for good measure. Could you follow me? I'd like to introduce you properly to the Federal Investigation Club: Schale."
"Lead the way then," I say, grabbing the tablet, Arona disappearing from the screen.
________________________________________
We walk upstairs before reaching a door with the Schale logo on it. "This is Schale's main lobby," Rin explains. "It's been empty for a long time, but now it finally has an owner."
She opens the door and I finally see my new office. It's a large room filled with shelves and the like all around, covered in various documents. In the center of the room are two big desks, and computer monitors on either side. The most noteworthy thing about the room is that one of the walls is comprised entirely of windows, allowing us to see the bright, blue sky.
"And you could consider this to be the Schale club room." The elf girl says. "This is where you'll be working starting now."
"So, what should I do now? I mean, what's the point of this club?" I ask, sitting down on a chair.
"Schale may have authority, but it has no particular goals at the moment." Rin lectures. "But even though you don't have a specific job to do, you can freely enter any of the academy districts. From there, you can register any of the students you find as club members, among other things. Fascinating, isn't it? It may be called an investigation club, but the president never specified what it would be investigating or what its purpose is."
This gives me a lot to think about. This whole thing's just one big damn mystery!
"In that sense, you have quite a lot of freedom, don't you?" She sighs. "As much as I wish you could ask the president for further details, the fact of that matter is he remains missing. We're using everything at our disposal to look for her, but that leaves us short-handed at dealing with the other problems around Kivotos. The General Student Council is being flooded with civil complaints as we speak. Requests for support materials, environmental aid, make-up work for failing students, requests to save clubs, and so on..."
"And that's where Schale comes in?" I guess.
"Indeed. Perhaps Schale can be the one to look into these requests. Since it looks like you have plenty of time now, I put all of the documents on your desk. Please review them when you have the time." The black-haired girl concludes. "We'll be counting on you."
I nod, look over to my desk, and see a big stack of papers. Kivotos really must've been in trouble with the Prez disappearing and all...
Dammit, I'm gonna be busy for weeks with this.
"And the best of luck with your new position, Sensei. Let me know if you need anything." She says, preparing to leave.
"Will do, thanks, Rin."
As she leaves, I look around the room. Come to think of it, those four might still be hanging around outside. I'd better go send 'em off.
________________________________________
As I walk out of the front door of the Schale building, I see the four girls still standing around, talking to one another. "Yo," I call out.
"Sensei!" Yuuka says as she and the other three approach me.
"I figured y'all'd be hanging around," I say, smiling. "Everything ended well, huh?"
"That's correct, Sensei," Yuuka says. "I've confirmed the General Student Council has regained control of Sanctum Tower."
"Wakamo fled to the student district, but I'm sure she'll be found and arrested soon." Hasumi points out. "I'll leave the rest to the person in charge."
Yuuka smiles. "Not too shabby, Sensei. Everyone in Kivotos will be talking about you now. I bet it's all over social media already."
"Great..." I drawl out. "Internet clout, just what I needed." I joke.
The girls chuckle. "We'll have to say goodbye for now, but I hope you'll visit us at Trinity General School soon," Hasumi says.
"Agreed," Suzumi says.
"Of course. I'm in a new place, I'd love to visit all of Kivotos. Though judging by my new job, I'll be doing just that." I say.
"I'll be reporting here what happened here to our head prefect," Chinatsu says. "You're welcome to stop by and visit if your work ever takes you to Gehenna Academy."
I smile and nod at her. "Will do."
"I'm sure we'll see each other again whenever you come to Millennium Science School," Yuuka says. Every school I know about so far has mythological connections. What about Millennium? Since it's science, would it be atheism? I hope to any and every god out there that it isn't Scientology. "Bye, Sensei!"
As the four girls begin to leave, I stop them. "Wait!" They turn and look at me. "How would you four like to join Schale?"
________________________________________
"Oh no. This won't do." I speak to myself, thinking about that Sensei...
I wasn't expecting to run into him in that building's basement.
There's something about him that fills me with an odd feeling.
"Hehe... hehehe." I can't help but chuckle to myself.
"Hehehehe!"
~I'm sure I'll meet that handsome Sensei again!~
________________________________________
After the four girls left, surprisingly, having agreed to join Schale, I returned to my office. Arona used one of the monitors on the wall to talk to me.
"Things got a little hectic, but I think everything is okay now." The tiny OS girl says. "Thank you for your help."
"Like I said to Rin, you did most of the work, Arona."
"Thanks! But this is only the beginning." She says. "You'll have to help solve all the problems the students of Kivotos are going through!"
"Right. It's strange to have a job like this, but oh well." I shrug.
"Even though it may seem simple, this is a really important task." She says, seriously. "Kivotos will be counting on you and Schale, Sensei."
"Oh, I know," I say. "Well, I guess first up's this paperwork," I say, a bit despondent. I'm not looking forward to this.
"Right, then let's start your first official mission for the Federal Investigation Club: Schale!"
"Alright then!" I say, cracking my knuckles. "Let's get to work."
This is certainly a strange, new world.
One filled with gun-wielding angels, but I'm not too worried.
I'm in a whole new world now. One where I don't have to worry about that bastard or his goons.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna like it here.
I've got a whole 'Blue New World' to explore, after all.
________________________________________
( I dropped my Fucking Bacon Double Cheeseburger when I was making this story.)
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