“Sato Amaya.”

“Yes, that's my name. What do you want?”

She really wanted to know that. On a list of all disgusting orders she had ever received during her years in the police corps, paying a visit to Red Rose Academy made very high scores.

Now she sat seated in the principal's office, but there was no principal there. Instead of him she faced two members of the board of directors.

“For the time being we seem to share an interest,” one of them said.

“Things are escalating out of control here, and we doubt that we can stop this school from taking action against all of you.”

All of them. That would include the Wakayama parents who also sat in the office. Amaya really had no wish to visit the school that had cost her Urufu so much, but Principal Nakagawa was adamant.

“Sato-san, how much do you know of Hamarugen Urufu's background.”

Amaya thought about the question. The way it was phrased those two already knew about the impossibility. “I know enough,” she said.

“You don't,” one of the two answered.

“And that is why we'll have you transferred from the police to the defence forces.”

What?

“Starting immediately you're assigned the title of lieutenant colonel, and from October onwards you'll act as the handle for both Hamarugen Urufu and Ageruman Kuritina. I assume you're familiar with the latter?”

She was. Her Urufu was head over heels in love with the girl, and from what Amaya had just heard that girl was no girl at all.

“Now, Wakayama-san,” Amaya noted how the greeting pointedly wasn't directed to any one of the two present parents in particular, “we'll agree to give you all the information you've requested. We'll also respect that you want your children to believe they successfully managed to keep secret from you what happened here last year.”

“And in return?” Mrs Wakayama asked.

“You'll make certain both arrivals spend most of their summer break as far away from Tokyo as possible. While I have no reason to like Nakagawa-san I respect his judgement. We'll keep him supplied with information on whenever things get out of hand here.”

So the Wakayama parents were in the know as well for some reason. Amaya turned to her hosts. “Why did we have to meet here?”

“Because there are things you need to be here to understand. We'll tell you everything, and the Wakayamas will fill you in on anything I forget, or point out any lies of mine. We can't afford distrust at this time. I'm afraid it'll be a long evening.”

It was, and when it was done Amaya was both more disgusted and scared than she had ever been before in her life.

And that concludes book one.

Next in the series is, Transition and Restart, book two: The Billion Dollar Empress

If you're unclear about anything, or want to suggest something, please leave a comment at that chapter. I check the status of this novel pretty often even though it's completed.

Oh, and I'll shamelessly ask for opinions. If you have the time, please give it a review. Doesn't have to be a nice review -- an honest one is always better.