Vol. 1 Ch. 3 Ep. 3: Highlander Railroad Academy

Pahyahyahya! That felt great!

Loud... So loud...

It's called expressing myself! Self-expression! Anyway, what's the sitch?

The boulder blocking the railway is no more! And as the icing on the cake, we uncovered the narrow-gauge railway! Just like it was described in the contracts!

We just wrapped up repairs on the train! Can we take it on a test run? Please, please, please!

We've got deadlines to meet, so let's do it! We need to reach the abandoned route aaall the way down there!

All aboard!

Whoa. We're off.

Pahyahyahya! At this rate, we'll be a full week ahead of schedule!

Th-That's great and all, but are you sure all our i's are dotted and t's crossed?

Hm?

What does that mean...?

Aren't we trespassing in a different district right now?

Huh. Are we?

And...?

What?! What's with this lack of concern?!

I don't know the name exactly, but we're in a different district right now... If we begin construction without the proper permits and paperwork, we're basically invading.

We could start an all-out war!

Oh. Is there...something wrong...with that?

Pahyahya! Seriously! Why're you stressing over the small stuff? The Trans-Desert Railway is ours now anyway.

What?!

Yuppies. We own 51% of the Abydos Trans-Desert Railway's derivative bonds. Yup, we do.

So now all of this belongs to CCC! Technically! Basically! Eh, however it shakes out, it'll be fine!

Just owning the rights to the railway isn't enough! You need contracts! Permits! Construction agreements!

Blah, blah, blah. Annoying! Sooo annoying!

If we spend all that time unravelling the red tape, we'll never make the deadline. Don't ever forget! Time is money for railway workers!

Yuppies... Hikari's motto is something like... Fast construction, no administration. Who cares about paperwork?

This all sounds incredibly problematic, but if the CCC is saying so, I'll take your word that there won't be any issues...

Erm... There won't be, right?

Sure?

Nah! Not a single one! Hahaha!

Who the hell are you people?!

Oops. Sister, they found out.

So speedy!

You said there wouldn't be a single issue!

Highlander Railroad Academy! You are currently trespassing on Abydos territory! Explain yourselves!

Hmm.

No work can be conducted in the Abydos district without express approval from the Foreclosure Task Force! That's the law! No, it's common sense!

Here I thought Gehenna were the only ignorant brutes who would flaunt common decency! But no! Is Kivotos just a menagerie of rude, brainless academies?

Am I allowed to enjoy even one iota of logic in this world?! Or are we all just psychopaths now?!

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Deep breaths, Ayane.

Look. She's mad. Real mad.

She sure is...!

Who's that...?

An adult?

Th-That's Sensei! Schale's Sensei!

Sensei?

Schale?

You haven't heard of them? They're infamous! The rumors say they'll burn everything in their path under the pretense of solving conflict between academies! The terrifying instructor who keeps the peace!

One time, someone made them mad, and they blew up an entire train! One of ours! I would never cross them!

In fact, the rumors only get worse and worse. I heard they were running around naked...

Now, now. What has our esteemed teacher been getting themself into?

Heh. Go Sensei.

Shiroko! Nothing those people said is good! At all!

Your excuses don't matter! We have jurisdiction over our district, and we demand that you cease this activity immediately!

You may have the rights to the railway, but you're still required to cooperate with the district's governing body!

What do, Nozomi?

Duh. What we always do, Hikari!

...Huh?! What do you think you're...

Hey! That's dangerous!

We're gonna do whatever we want and the pencil pushers can clean up after us! Pahyahyahyahya!

Hikari likes it...!

The train... It's moving?! On the Trans-Desert Railway?

The Highlander students are all aboard the train! They're trying to get away!

What should we do?

Chase them.

So their goal was to fix the train... We can figure out why after we catch them.

Let's go! I won't allow them to treat Abydos like this! We'll find out what they're up to.

Following your lead, Sensei!

Wow, wow, wow! These guys are stronger...stronger than a train!!!

We got whooped...

Don't look, but I think they surrounded us! This is gonna impact scheduling for sure!

That's a problem... Construction's all messed up.

They talked so big...but they were...so weak...

No more meaningless fighting. Answer my questions!

What business does Highlander Railroad Academy have in Abydos?! What's your goal?

You're smart enough to have put at least some of it together, no?

Overseer!

Please help... We're done for. They might kill us...for real.

Another Highlander student? Who are you?

You their friend? Carrying out a rescue mission?

...Friend would be more than a stretch.

What?!

You can't trust anyone...

I suppose my assignment is technically to rescue them. But I assure you, it's a matter of obligation.

My name is Asagiri Suou. I'm the overseer at Highlander Railroad Academy who answers only to the board of directors.

An overseer?

It's nothing fancy. I'm an errand girl for the higherups. And unfortunately, those idiotic...

*sigh* I mean, the twins you've apprehended are Tachibana Hikari and Nozomi, officers of the Central Control Center, or the CCC.

Our relationship is more so...those of adversaries that won't hesitate to deceive the other, but are forced to occasionally work together.

Exactly! She plays the role of overseer perfectly! An evil villain who hates construction! She lives only to disrupt our schedules.

And back it up. Weren't you gonna call us something really, really mean?

Yuppies. She was. How rude.

Our academy is made up of branch organizations with independent authority. So we may be under the same banner, but by no means are we allies.

Each railway route and region is controlled by different factions.

Back to the matter at hand.

As their overseer, I apologize. They failed to follow proper procedure and acted recklessly, so they are entirely at fault for the current situation.

...

I'm sure you're aware, but we now own the development rights for Abydos' railway.

That can't be true!

We've looked into it! Nephthys bought out the bonds, not Highlander Academy!

We're one and the same at this point.

As a corporate academy, it's common for Highlander to enter into contracts with private enterprises.

Long story short, Nephthys' rights and duties are also Highlanders'. Were you not aware, Miss Izayoi Nonomi?

You know each other?

Nothing like that, but...

I'll let her explain. For now, would you mind transferring Dumb and Dumber into my custody? In return, I'll come to Abydos High School and answer any questions you have.

Th-That's...

You can let them go.

Freedom!

Scary. That was so, super scary.

Prepare your questions. I'll come pay you a visit as soon as I'm able.

You two. We're leaving.

Just like that…

...

C'mon, kiddos. Let's get out of here for now. I'm sure we'll get our answers soon.

Head back to the Foreclosure Task Force room.