Vol. 1 Ch. 1 Ep. 4: The Task Force's Predicament

Welcome back, everyone. Great work today.

We're back!

Thanks, Ayane. You too.

We finally took down the Kata-Kata Helmet Gang. It should be smooth sailing from here.

That's right. We can finally get back to more important matters.

Haha! It's all thanks to Sensei. All we have to focus on now is paying back the debt!

Thanks for your help, Sensei. We won't forget what you did for us!

"Debt?"

Wait... Shoot!

W-Well, the thing is...

Stop right there! Not another word, Ayane!

...!

Why not, Serika? It's not like it's a secret.

That doesn't mean we should go telling everyone!

It isn't as though we're guilty of anything. Besides, Sensei is one of us now.

Hoshino is right, Serika. Sensei is trustworthy.

I know, but they're still an outsider.

I'm not saying Sensei can solve this problem on our behalf, but they're the only adult we have to turn to.

Maybe we can come up with a solution if we discuss it with Sensei, even. Or do you have any better ideas, Serika?

Well...

Sensei just showed up out of nowhere! Why would an adult care about our problems, anyway?

We've always taken care of ourselves! Why do we suddenly need to be supervised?

I can't accept this!

Serika?

I'll go talk to her.

...

Back to the matter at hand... Our school owes quite a bit of money to a loan company. It's a challenge, but not exactly an uncommon problem either.

The real issue is...that it's over 900 million yen.

It's 962,350,000 yen to be exact.

That's the amount that Abydos, no. That's the amount the Foreclosure Task Force has taken upon itself to pay back.

The loan company will foreclose on the school and shut it down if we don't repay them.

But the odds of paying back a debt that large are practically zero. That's why most of the students left the school and town...

All except for us, that is.

The school being on the brink of closure, the students leaving, and the desolate town, it's all because of the debt.

You mean how the debt was accrued in the first place?

There was a sandstorm in the desert surrounding the school several years ago.

Sandstorms are common in the Abydos region, but that particular storm was devastating.

Some areas were completely buried in sand, and it just kept piling up.

The school had to raise a lot of funds for disaster relief...

...but there wasn't a single bank that would give such a large loan.

So the school was forced to turn to loan sharks...

Yes. The school was planning to pay the money back quickly...

...but the sandstorms only worsened as the years went on. Despite the school's best efforts, the situation just kept getting worse.

Today, more than half of Abydos is under sand and the debt keeps growing.

...

...

We're barely able to pay the interest every month. We can't even afford ammunition or school supplies.

I can sympathize with Serika's frustrations. No one has ever cared enough to ask about our situation before, let alone reach out to help.

That's the long and short of it.

Now that you've helped us scare the Helmet Gang away, we can return our focus to paying off the debt.

Even if we appoint you as our club's advisor, you don't have to trouble yourself with our debt. It was kind of you to listen to our story.

We're not trying to pressure you. You've already helped us enough.

"I'm a member of the Task Force too! Keep your chins up!"

"We're in this together now. I won't abandon you."

You don't have to say all that...

You don't have to say all that...

...but thank you for doing so anyway, Sensei.

Listen to you being so noble. You're really going to insist on helping...

I feel so relieved. There's some hope if we have Schale's support.

True. Things are looking up, at least.

...

Hmph.

Serika, where are you?