Saikyou Series

JinruiSaikyou no Jun"ai –Nisioisin
p. 30-33

Afterall that, I was taken by Shimegiwa to Doctor Kitsuregawa’slaboratory. I’d a.s.sumed it would be a windowless building or anunderground facility located deep in the mountains, far away fromcivilization, or maybe on a desert island or in a ghost town, butDoctor Kitsuregawa’s laboratory was right in the middle of aresidential area, of all places. I quipped, what, are you stupid? Theworld’s most dangerous researcher does the world’s most dangerousresearch in a private house like this? Yet the more I thought aboutit, maybe a compact environment is ideal for an unaffiliatedresearcher who doesn’t belong to an organization. I thought he’d geta ton of patent fees just from that s.p.a.cesuit, but developmentexpenses are nothing to be sneezed at, so maybe this is all he canmanage. I wonder if the neighbors are aware, though. “Kitsuregawa”was written bold and clear on the nameplate, as if mocking us.…It’s compact for a laboratory, but for a house, it’s on the biggerside; it seemed as though a large family could be living here.

“Thisis Shimegiwa. I’m back.”

Said“Campfires”, pressing the camera-attached intercom next to thenameplate. I’d thought he was a brat who’d never learned his mannerstoward the elderly, like me, but I guess he knows how to be politeafter all.(1) In that case, maybe Doctor Kitsuregawa is more popularthan I imagined. There was no reply from the intercom, but after abrief delay, I heard the clack of the gate being unlocked from theentryway beyond. Then, the door opened—I certainly hadn’t expectedDoctor Kitsuregawa to greet us in person, but it wasn’t a researcha.s.sistant or an employee who pushed open the door and appeared; itwas a small child. A little girl about five years old.

“Welcomeback, Matsuri.”

Thegirl looked at us, fighting the weight of the door—she was somehowmanaging to keep up, barely, but if we didn’t enter soon, it lookedlike the match would turn sour. Shimegiwa must have thought the samething; he opened the door and quickly moved toward her. That’s odd.Well, I probably shouldn’t be calling it odd, since the image I hadof Doctor Kitsuregawa being alone and without any family was entirelymy own a.s.sumption; I’d never entertained the idea that a large familywould actually be living in a house that seemed fit for a largefamily. But to think he’d have not just a family, but grandchildrenat that… She is a grandchild, right? Even if it was prejudiced ofme to think he didn’t have a family, surely there’s no way DoctorKitsuregawa is a good-natured old man who’s adored by theneighborhood kids…

“Areyou Jun Aikawa?”

Assoon as I’d walked under the eaves of the entryway, the girl asked methat, staring at me intently from behind Shimegiwa. Somehow, thatdirect look from the eyes of a child felt more piercing than beingglared at by Shimegiwa’s sanpakueyes… Well, even bearing that in mind, this girl was looking at merather too directly,as if running me through with a straight line from her eyes. Yeah,this is definitely not a neighborhood kid… This kind of gaze makesa lot of sense if she’s a blood relative of Doctor Kitsuregawa.

“Yep,that’s me. I’m Jun Aikawa—humanity’s strongest contractor.”

Nosense being bashful in front of a little kid, right. I greeted herboldly. He seemed to have taught his grandchildren their manners; thegirl quickly bowed her head.

“Niceto meet you. My name is Hotsure Kitsuregawa.”

Sheraised her head, and continued.

“I’mgrateful for your help testing the Closet s.p.a.cesuit I developed. Itmade me very happy.”

Huh?She spoke with a lisp, so I couldn’t quite follow… Did she just say“the Closet s.p.a.cesuit I developed”?

“Yourmind reading isn’t infallible, Jun Aikawa—I’m relieved. I gotnervous thinking everything in my head was being overheard.”

Shimegiwasaid proudly from the side.

“I’llintroduce you. This is, as she’s known to the world, the hereticalresearcher—Hotsure Kitsuregawa-sama.”

Onceagain, I looked in the direction Shimegiwa was gesturing. No matterhow many times or in what way I looked, all I saw was a girl, aboutfive years old.

Footnotes:
(1)In the original, Jun expresses surprise that Shimegiwa “can saydesu (the politecopula) in a sense that doesn’t mean death(p.r.o.nounced the same in j.a.panese)”.