The safehouse smelled of lemon polish and stale air.

Kize ran his fingers along the doorframes, checked behind mirrors, tapped the walls for hollow spots. Three hours of searching confirmed it. No cameras, no bugs. Just empty rooms and the weight of someone else’s expectations.

A room that was merely filled with emptiness.

Kize slowly collapsed onto his mattress. It was still noon, and he was expected to return to finish up some paperwork that was required for him to fill.

He didn't need to imagine how it looked like.

A tablet laid beside him, given to him after the recording. An unexpected gift, although they insisted that it was necessary.

His words still lingered even in his own mind.

'My name is Kize Seikato. If you expect me to be any better than your Sensei, you've already lost a bet you didn't know you had. But understand this. If you are willing to cooperate, then I will too.'

His words, not the manufactured statements the GSC wanted him to say.

As expected, Haine was the first opposition. But it was Ayumu and Rin that calmed her down soon after. And then, the tablet.

A Shittim Chest, apparently, whatever that could mean.

Kize soon heaved a small sigh, breathing softly as if carefully collecting himself piece by piece.

A password to operate it properly. No one knew what the password was, except for Sensei.

So what chance does he have to encrypt it in the first place?

He stared at the dark screen, his reflection distorting when he moved it. His left index finger prodded against the power button, and then.

CLICK

The screen came to life. A white screen with a single, thick 'S' in a circle appeared.

'Welcome. Please state the password.'

Kize blinked. A sterile woman's voice spoke through the speakers. His eyes however, kept staring at the screen, trying to find any hint of detail made available or given to him.

Nothing. No data even in a showcase of whites.

But before he simply concede, his lips spoke first.

"We thirst for the seven wailings. We bear the koan of Jericho."

'Password accepted. Welcome back, Sensei.'

Kize slowly blinked, but then, he shut his eyes, a harsh flash of light overtaking the screen.

When he came to be, he stood, not sat. There was no smell of lemon polish. In fact, there was no smell at all. Reminding himself that he was shoeless, he looked down.

He noticed water pooling around his ankles, but it felt strange. His feet didn't feel wet. Or rather, it never was. And then, he looked at the grand scheme.

A ruined classroom, with chairs and desks cluttered like around like a careful orchestration of normalcy. His eyes caught a corner, where he saw a stack of chairs and desks all piling up into a small hill. A large hole was exposed, showing an endless blue ocean stretching out as far as the eye could see. The sun felt artificial.

Because it was.

And then, a little girl. A sleeping girl with white hair and in a blue sailor uniform with a white skirt.

What was this place?

Kize continued his observance, only to feel another pair of eyes staring at him. Not through another desk, but behind a window. He glanced there, and spotted a white haired girl with dark gray eyes. Her clothing was a black sailor uniform, with a black skirt that reached her knees and a pair of black tights. Alongside all of that, she had a long black coat as well.

"Inquiry: Are you the Replacement Sensei?" Questioned the girl. Kize didn't respond. Not yet. A testing ground in an unfamiliar land. And then, he noticed the girl slowly stirring, and then, waking up.

"Is... Is Sensei back?" She questioned, before raising her head. Her eyes quickly locked onto Kize, and before he could react, she jumped off of her seat.

"Sensei! Welcome ba-- wait." She quickly pulled herself together, and then slowly shrunk, finally realizing who she was looking at.

"You're not Sensei..."

"He is the Replacement Sensei, Arona," the girl in the black sailor uniform stated.

"He is, isn't he, Plana?" Arona questioned in response. And then, their eyes landed towards Kize. He didn't speak, allowing them to circle around him.

"He's got a funny coat. Sensei doesn't really wear one."

"Analysis: He looks tired."

"Where am I?"

Kize's question brought them both back immediately in front of his eyes.

"I'm Arona!" Chirped the blue uniformed girl.

"Answer: Plana. Additional information: You are in the Shittim Chest."

"..... What is it?"

His question was quickly met by Arona's halo forming an exclamation point, before suddenly, a huge burst of information spread all across the classroom. Words, jargons, news, rumors, all spread to create a dictionary of words that Kize forcibly looked away.

"The Shittim Chest is your authority! Well, provisional authority, at least."

"Elaboration: as temporary Sensei, you gain access to the many information stored within SCHALE and the GSC."

"SCHALE?"

"Yeah! You're basically under SCHALE, actually. Higher tier authority than the GSC. The President once held the power, and then Sensei had it, and now..."

Both AIs stared up at him.

"Inquiry: What will you do with this?"

Kize blinked, before slowly heaving a sigh. A first, and certainly not the last.

"How do I know the password?"

The AIs' halos acted accordingly, before Arona smiled.

"Because we chose you!"

Kize's hand, hidden in his pocket, twitched. Plana noticed this better than anyone did.

"We decide who gains access to the Shittim Chest, and we see your credentials and character. Inquiry: You do not abuse students, do you?"

"I don't."

The very fact he responded instantaneously said as much of himself, even if he didn't show much else. Arona smiled.

"Perfect! That makes you a decent Sensei at least!"

"Analysis: 100% truthful." Plana made a small smile on her face. "We will help you in your endeavors, Sensei."

"... Why do you call me that?"

"Call you what, Sensei-- Ohh..." Arona tilted her head. "Isn't that who you are now, Kize-Sensei?"

"......"

He didn't respond. Not because he shouldn't. Because he couldn't. He sighed once again.

"How do I get out?"

"Oh, just think about getting out. That's it."

Arona's simplicity was met with an unreadable stare from Kize, but seeing Plana nod in agreement made it seem like a legitimate method.

His mind thought of escaping, but before he could, he heard Arona once again.

"Talk to you later, Sensei!"

And in a blink of an eye, he returned to reality. In that safehouse once again, leaning on his mattress. He glanced at the time.

Three minutes passed. Time goes on even if his consciousness was within the Shittim Chest.

Interesting.

Standing up, he took hold of the Shittim Chest, slipping it into the pocket of the trench coat, before making his way out.

The papers won't sign themselves.