Vol. 6 Ch. 3 Ep. 1: Our Own Hatred

I have to say, I'm surprised. I didn't expect you to come all the way to Porta Pacis.

Me? A runaway? You know, some people might not like what that implies.

Our home is right here, in Arius. How can I be a runaway, when I've never left home?

...We never asked you to teach us in the first place.

"You can't be a student without studying too!"

You mean, "without studying" according to your methods and teachings, right?

Arius will study according to Arius' methods and teachings.

Or are you trying to force Trinity's way of life and studying onto Arius?

Haha. You look so affronted, as if to say, "I never said anything like that!"

Maybe not in so many words. However...

I can understand these things now, for whatever reason.

At least, I can see what's happening inside Arius, and around us.

...To begin with, I'm not even fond of the name, "Arius Satellite School."

"Satellite" implies that we're a subsidiary to another entity.

So, pop quiz time, Sensei. I wonder what answer you'll come up with.

Tell me something...

...about the day Trinity set foot in Arius, for the first time in centuries...

The day Misono Mika, Beatrice, and the Squad decided to change their fates on a whim.

Yes. They changed their fates, at the cost of every other Arius students' free will.

Why is it that you so meticulously cared for Misono Mika and the Squad...

...while you neglected the Arius students who remained here?

"That's...!"

I'm sorry to say this, but...

Sensei, we are formally requesting that you step away from the Arius Satellite School...issue.

Yes, this particular matter is one of Trinity's doing, so it must be Trinity's responsibility as well.

Truly. We're deeply ashamed to have had you clean up our mess.

As the acting representative of the Pater faction...

And as the acting representative of the Sanctus faction...

We would like to sincerely apologize.

Mika is still the official representative of the Pater faction, but she will naturally need to step down from her position for an undetermined amount of time.

As you well know, she must resume her halted hearing.

Seia did participate in the recent Arius operation...

...however, she has not fully recovered and will need to rest for some time.

Considering these circumstances, this is the collective stance of the Pater and Sanctus factions as of now.

Nagisa's Filius faction may hold a different opinion...

...but Tea Party decisions are made by a majority vote.

Especially on matters this critical to the academy, no single faction can ignore the majority opinion of the others.

So please, Sensei, trust in us to resolve our own issues.

We only ask that you give us a little more time.

Naturally, your presence would be a welcome one.

This entire process would, surely, move along more quickly, efficiently, and justly.

But how will we students ever grow if we let adults do the difficult work for us?

Aha. I see.

"What?!?!"

Hahaha. Don't be so surprised.

Weren't you listening? I have a rough understanding of anything that happens in Arius.

But you're quite naive, Sensei. Or maybe too trusting? Your trust in Trinity's upper ranks was misplaced.

The acting representatives of the Sanctus and Pater factions.

They wasted no time filling the hole when the actual leaders couldn't serve.

Do you really think they could have done that so quickly, with all of Trinity's red tape, without any political backing?

No matter how much they try to deny it, Trinity's upper ranks are still a den of vipers.

Fine. If that's how it was, then your responsibility could be minimal, maybe even nonexistent.

But that changes nothing. It doesn't change the fact that Arius hasn't taken a single step out of our rotting pit of hell since that day.

You should be more careful, Sensei. In your current position, if a student with malice really wanted to deceive you...

You'd hardly be able to escape their trap.

There's this thing I think about, sometimes.

When some Arius students finally gathered all their courage and managed to step out into the world, only to return even more damaged...

When they couldn't find anywhere to fit in, or when they couldn't endure the judgmental glares anymore... They fell into despair, saying they'd go back to the only life they knew...

When they realized there was nowhere else in the world Arius students belonged....

...If Arius had not been exiled from Trinity, what kind of lives could we have lived?

Do you ever think about that too, Sensei?

Or have you been too busy with other schools to spare even a thought for Arius?

...The present is a structure built atop the foundation of the past. No present exists independent of what came before.

Some say this hatred is not ours to bear.

But I must say, I disagree with them.

The Arius of today is still paying the consequences of our past. And that alone binds us to Arius, in every way possible.

You talk of "studying."

What makes someone a student? Going to school and studying?

Look around. This right here is my response.

Porta Pacis, and everything recorded here, that is what we should study.

That's a student's duty, right? To study? Then kudos to me.

I came here to fulfill that duty.

And if you try to say this isn't studying...

...then I can't help but wonder if a true educator would discriminate against and deny ways of learning that aren't "approved" by them.

The sins of one generation are inherited by the next.

It is not something to be argued. It is a simple truth.

How can one seek to reap the benefits of their past, while attempting to disregard its sins?

If you intend to reject the sins of your past, then you must also reject everything else to do with that past.

The knowledge, wisdom, legacy, material wealth, and every right and authority you exercise today...

To claim the things that benefit you, while denying the sins committed to attain them...

From Arius' perspective, it's nothing but nauseating hypocrisy.

I understand why you refrained from further intervention in Arius. Because, at that time, you accepted Trinity and their ways.

There is nothing to forgive, in that regard. I see no sin in what you did.

However, you should then allow Arius to live as we do.

Just as Trinity has its way, so does Arius.

Surely you see how unfair it'd be to accept one, but not the other?

We don't fit in.

Life outside may look enticing, but there's no place for Arius in that world.

Just ask the many Arius students who returned because they couldn't adapt to it.

I took those students in and showed them a path forward, the Arius way.

We don't need exams or studying. We'll live the way we've always lived.

So at this point, there's only one thing I need from you.

Leave Arius. Quietly. And take the Squad with you.

That's all you have to do. And I won't let anyone harm any of you.

The Angels of Revelation...

...

Just leave that to us. You can take my word for it.

I can handle the Trumpeting Angels, at the very least.

You picked up on that name quickly, didn't you?

You do live up to your name, Sensei. When it comes to your students, you don't miss a beat.

In that case, I trust you'll also understand what I meant when I said I'd live in the Arius way?

All right. The exit is this way.

The Squad lingering behind you can head right out along this path too.

And...

Please. Don't ever come back here again.

Thanks for everything until now, all of you. See you.

"The Arius way," you said?

...Saori.

Do you still have something left to say? I'll hear you out.

If you're thinking of using this as a pretext to come back to Arius, you're only making trouble for both sides.

I have no final words left for you. Just a question.

It's about this "Arius way" you keep talking about.

What lies ahead of it?

...!