Tasogareiro no Uta Tsukai

Perhaps it was a special case due to being at the edge of the continent, but it was a high school which thousands of students who specialized in Recitation attended— Tremia Academy. The campus was several times larger than other Recitation schools, while the quality of both the facilities and the teaching staff couldn’t be described as inferior to other prestigious schools.

Located in the center of the campus was a building in the shape of a dome-shaped arch.

‘Books Administration Building’ —Holding around one million two hundred thousand books, it was an establishment that stretched from five floors above ground to two floors underground. It wasn’t just a place for studying, but was also used for socializing and taking a break. Not just students, but teachers also frequently visited that building, qualifying it to be called a multipurpose hall.

On the second floor. A young student wearing a white uniform gazed fixedly at the bookshelves, which were lined up in rows. He was at most twelve or thirteen years old. It was a boy with deep purple hair and androgynous features.

“Umm. This and……this.”

With both hands full of resource books, the boy excitedly descended to the lobby downstairs.

“Neight-kun, are you okay? You’re staggering.”

Seeing his figure, a girl wearing a school uniform called out.

Mio Lentear. With blond hair and a young-looking face, she calmly called out. Although she was actually sixteen years old, she looked two to three years younger.

“I’m fine…… Probably.”

Peering up from the books he held, the boy— Neight Yehlemihas nodded slightly at the girl.

“It looks hot outside, are you just resting for a while in the library?”

Closing the book that she was reading, Mio asked with an uneasy look. Books Administration Building was the school’s official name for it. But neither students nor teachers used such a long name. Instead, it was commonly called the ‘library’.

“It’s because I can’t practice Recitations anywhere other than outdoors. Also, Kluele is waiting for me outside.”

Recitations. That was the technique that the students of this school specifically studied. To picture their desired target in their heart, then while holding a catalyst of the same color, to praise the name of the target— It was a type of summoning technique.

It was cla.s.sified into five colors ‘RedKeinez’, ‘BlueRuguz’, ‘YellowSurisuz’, ‘GreenBeorc’, and ‘WhiteArzus’, and students could each choose a color to specialize in, in order to call out an object with the same color as their specialty.

“What about Mio-san? Kluele-san is waiting for us out on the campus.”

Looking at her, Neight saw that her gaze had already turned from him to the books in his arms. By the way, Mio’s specialty was in Green Recitations. In her case, whenever she wanted to call out a green frog, she would prepare green catalysts such as green drawing paper and then sing a song of praise.

“Hang on a moment. I’m almost done reading this book. Ehh, why am I suddenly interested in the mystery genre…”

……He felt like he had been continuously hearing her say those words ever since three days ago.

After summer vacation had started, ever since she had suddenly started picking up mystery novels, Mio acted like this. Judging from her personality, she probably wouldn’t leave the library until she had read all of the mystery novels there.

“Then, I’ll go ahead and start practicing out on the campus.”

He could barely see in front of him with all the books he carried, but it couldn’t be helped. Crossing through the library exit, he continued down the corridor leading to the entranceway—

“……!”

With an impact like crashing into a wall, Neight and the books he held all tumbled to the floor.

“Hey. Are you okay?”

Looking up, it was a thin teacher with gla.s.ses. The teacher wore the standard white coat with a school badge woven in blue thread over his chest. Umm, was he one of the teachers in charge of the higher grades?

“Ah, y-yes, I’m fine. Um……I’m sorry.”

“You should look ahead when you’re walking— Well, that’s what I would usually say.”

Looking around at the mountain of books scattered on the floor, the teacher’s expression softened.

“After seeing how hard you’re studying, I won’t scold you today.”

Picking up a book, the teacher gazed at the front cover.

“How nostalgic. I’ve read this resource book many times before. Well, that’s a story of back when I was a student.”

He picked up a stack of books and handed them back to Neight. In fact, they were in the same order as Neight had originally arranged them in. When they b.u.mped into each other, had the teacher remembered the order of the books?

“T……Thank you very much.”

“Although it’s summer vacation, don’t forget to walk quietly down the hallways.”

Teasingly, the teacher pushed up the bridge of his gla.s.ses.

With his night-colored hair fluttering, the small boy quickly headed down the pa.s.sageway.

“……Speaking of which, that boy.”

Gazing at the boy’s back, Mirror narrowed his eyes.

Was he called Neight? Soon after he had entered the academy, because of his unique situation, he had become a popular topic among teachers. Recitations consisted of five colors, and each student in the school had picked a color to specialize in. However, only that boy was learning a completely different color.

Night-Color Recitations— It was a controversial color whose existence was still not officially accepted.

“It’s too bad, I wanted to talk with him a bit longer.”

Even teachers such as himself didn’t know much about that Recitation. Naturally, he was interested in it, but there was also another topic he wanted to talk about.

What connected him and that boy, in other words, a single woman. After she had graduated from Elfand, what path had she travelled? He was considerably interested in the girl who had once been his cla.s.smate.

“Unfortunately, it’s not something I should talk about during work.”

Glancing at the doc.u.ments tucked under his arm, he took a deep breath.

“Now then, time for me to start the investigation.”

“……Neight.”

Carrying a flask filled with a catalyst in one hand, Neight turned around to face the voice coming from behind him.

“Y-Yes, what is it?”

“We should take a little break. You seem to be unsteady on your feet.”

The girl’s voice was calm and soft. That voice came from beneath the shade of a tree a few meters away from where he stood on the campus. In a small shadow that blocked the intense rays of midsummer sunlight— As she said that, the girl’s long, scarlet hair fluttered in the gentle breeze.

“B-But…”

“Don’t deny it. Ever since a while ago, your Recitations were continuously failing, weren’t they? Your concentration is decreasing.”

What she said was true. Without objecting, Neight reluctantly nodded.

“……Okay.”

“Here, put this on.”

She forcefully pressed a large-brimmed straw hat onto his head. Its size was slightly too big, and his whole field of vision was covered by the brim of the hat.

“……Um, I can’t see in front of me.”

Lifting up the hat, his field of vision enlarged.

But filling his whole field of view at close range—

“That’s fine. You seem to be the type of person who would keep running until you run out of energy and collapse.”

Before his eyes, a girl wearing a deep blue one-piece dress stood up. She was tall with long scarlet hair, whose appearance stood out even from a long distance away.

Kluele Sophi Net. She was sixteen, three years older than Neight. Like her hair color indicated, she specialized in Red Recitations. Ever since he had enrolled in this school, she had always been there by his side.

“But what’s troublesome is, that’s also one of your good qualities.”

Half-teasingly, the girl smiled and let out a small laugh.

“……Somehow, I don’t feel like that’s a compliment.”

Fufu— Sure enough, she cheerfully covered her mouth with her hand.

“Anyway, come rest for a while in the shade.”

Pressing down with one hand on her one-piece dress that fluttered in the wind, she turned and walked away.

“U-Um, Kluele-san?”

“The café nearby should be open. I’ll go buy some cold drinks, so wait here.”

The wind blowing through the campus stirred up sand from the ground.

“……It’s really hot!”

Taking shelter in the shadow of a school building, Neight wiped the sweat from his forehead. He should have worn some light clothes like Kluele, but he had reflexively worn his usual white school uniform. He could return to his dorm and change, but that was just as troublesome.

“……Kluele-san still hasn’t returned yet.”

It took around ten minutes round trip to go to the café in the first year school building. But because it would be crowded today, it should take a bit longer.

“Oh, if it isn’t Neighty. What’s wrong?”

—Should he have found a place to read a book today, just like Mio?

“……H-Huh? Neighty, didn’t you hear me?”

Sure enough, he should have stayed in the library. Mio-san was also there.

“H-Hey, over here, Neighty. Don’t ignore me…… Aah, fine, Neight!”

Neight?

When he suddenly heard his name being called out from behind him, he reflexively turned around. In front of him was a tall, familiar girl with black hair.

“……Eh, Serges-san?”

Like Mio and Kluele, she was a girl from his cla.s.s. She wasn’t wearing the designated school uniform, but indigo sportswear. On her back was a bulky backpack.

“Good morning, Serges-san.”

“’Morning. But you should’ve noticed me from the very beginning. I was calling out to Neighty since a while ago.”

“By Neighty, do you mean me?”

Although he had thought the name was similar, Neight didn’t expect it to be directed at himself.

“Because, you see, although we aren’t the same age, we’re still cla.s.smates. It doesn’t feel right to use ‘kun’ and call you ‘Neight-kun’. So you need a nickname. Well? Isn’t it great? Isn’t the name I thought of just now great?”

“No matter how you put it…”

Recoiling back like he had been pushed, Neight slowly pointed to the backpack she wore.

“……Um, Serges-san, why are you still at school even though it’s summer vacation? And why are you wearing such a large backpack?”

“Don’t change the topic so casually. ……Well, I guess it’s alright.”

Murmuring quietly, the girl lowered the backpack she shouldered. As she set it down on the ground, there was a heavy thumping noise, along with a cloud of dust.

“What’s inside that?”

At that moment.

“Hm, this? You want to know? You want to hear about it, don’t you? Don’t regret it, okay?”

With a suspicious twinkle in her eyes, smiling, Serges drew closer.

“Ah…… A-Actually, it’s fine. It somehow seems scary, so…”

“No no, it’s nothing major. It’s just someone’s fresh corpse, someone young just like Neighty—”

“Uwaa, someone come and help meeee!”

“Hey, wait! Hey Neighty, don’t run away! I was joking!”

Just before Neight started running as fast as he could, Serges gripped his neck from behind. Fearfully, Neight turned around to face the girl.

“……Just what is really in there?”

“A tent, a sleeping bag, food, rain gear, and various other things. Because I’m in the mountain climbing club.”

The mountain climbing club. Speaking of which, Neight felt that there truly was such a club. Sure enough, the shoes she was wearing weren’t ordinary sports shoes, but something thicker.

“Starting tomorrow, we’re going on a trip for five days and four nights to try mountain climbing during the summer, so today is the club’s last meeting. Say, what’s Neighty doing?”

Staring intently, she sized up Neight’s school uniform.

“Umm, I’m practicing Recitations with Kluele-san and Mio-san.”

“Ah, I pa.s.sed by Kluele a while ago. Where’s Mio?”

“She’s reading mystery novels in the library. This summer, she wants to finish reading all of the five hundred seventy books in the library.”

“Isn’t that not related to Recitations at all?”

Her words sounded like that of a natural comeback.

“Her enthusiasm is amazing. These last few days, she seems to be coming to the library at seven in the morning just to wait for it to open. She was even bragging about how she’s the earliest student to arrive.”

“……Hmm.”

Slowly, the color of Serges’s eyes dimmed.

Like she was thinking of something, she seemed to gaze into s.p.a.ce.

“If I remember correctly, Neighty is living in the school dormitories?”

“Yeah. There happened to be a vacancy, so I was put there.”

Tremia Academy’s dormitories were located within the school campus. Because it was only about a ten minute walk from there to the first year school building, the dorms were popular among students. Because there was much compet.i.tion, unless your home was especially far from the school, it was hard to get accepted in.

“Well then. Tomorrow, wake up early and get to school by six-thirty.”

At hearing her smooth words, Neight doubted his ears.

“……Six-thirty?”

“That’s right. Well, it’s six-thirty to arrive at the ‘rooftop of the first year school building’.”

Of all places, the roof of the school building? Impossible. Although the school gates might be open at six-thirty, the school building itself should be locked at that time.

“Use the emergency staircase. That way, you can get on the roof without entering the building.”

The emergency staircase was normally a prohibited area for students. But why were they now doing such a thing?

“Is someone there?”

“You’ll find out if you go. Well then, it’s about time for me to go to my meeting.”

Glancing at the large clock on the wall of the school building, Serges picked up her backpack.

“Well then, you two. The interferer will be going now, so enjoy yourselves.”

You two? Before Neight could guess at the meaning…

“……What an unsettling way of talking.”

Neight heard a familiar voice coming from somewhere behind him. Turning around, there stood Kluele with a cup in each hand. Standing opposite to Kluele who was raising an eyebrow, the girl shouldering a backpack waved her hand cheerfully.

“No no, there wasn’t any deep meaning behind that. Also, Kluele, make sure your left shoulder heals quickly!”

With the sleeve of her one-piece dress fluttering in the wind, Kluele’s shoulder was slightly exposed to the sunlight. The white bandage seemed pitiful against her slightly flushed skin. It was a wound she had gotten two weeks ago, during the incident that happened on campus. According to her, it could be called healed already.

“……Got it.”

“You……You seem mature, but you act rash when doing something unexpected.”

With a disappointed face, Kluele pouted. Seeing that, the black-haired girl’s amused expression softened.

“But, that’s also what makes you cute.”

“Wha……What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kluele didn’t expect those words to be used back on her and stepped back embarra.s.sedly.

“Well then, bye bye, you two.”

With a mischievous smile, Serges left, heading in the direction of the school building.

Watching after her until her figure had disappeared from sight on the campus—

“Oh, speaking of which, I wonder what Serges is doing carrying such a large backpack.”

Having forgotten to mention it, the question floated into Kluele’s mind.

“A club activity. It seemed to be a mountain climbing camp.”

“I see. If she’s going somewhere far, I should’ve asked for a souvenir. But I wonder what kind of souvenirs there are from a mountain.”

“……The fresh corpse of a victim. Moreover, someone who’s around our age.”

“Eh?”

“……It’s nothing.”

The image of such a thing being in the backpack arose from his imagination. ……Ugh, that probably wouldn’t leave his mind for a while.

“Ah, that’s right. Kluele-san. Tomorrow, I want to come to school slightly earlier.”

“Sure. But I’ll still be coming at the same time as always. Although, what’s up all of a sudden?”

How should he explain? He contemplated for a few seconds.

“Just checking whether or not someone will be on the roof.”

Neight answered by saying what Serges had said to him.

“Who do you mean by ‘someone’?”

“Well……She didn’t tell me.”

Unsure of what expression he should make, Neight bit his cheek.

I wasn’t told— Another way to put it would be that she didn’t tell me just now, but I’ll find out if I go to the rooftop. That was what her words implied.

……In other words, someone I know?

From the main entrance, Neight looked up at the large clock hanging on the side of the school building. The needles of that clock pointed at a time half an hour earlier than what he had promised Serges yesterday.

—It was six o’clock.

Just who could be on the roof of the first year school building this early in the morning?

He was so interested that he couldn’t even sleep well last night. Because of that, although he had come early, his eyelids couldn’t help but feel heavy.

Biting back a yawn, Neight walked through the main entrance.

Not only students, but looking around, there weren’t even any teachers in sight. He headed towards the dome-shaped Books Administration Building beside the first year school building. As expected, the library wasn’t open yet, and he couldn’t see the figures of students lining up either. Of course, neither was the figure of the girl he was used to seeing visible.

“It’s this early, after all. It’s natural that Mio-san wouldn’t be here.”

Talking to himself, Neight turned back to the first year school building.

That building was dark grey with a strong metal structure. During the incident at the recital contest, this building had been able to withstand the chimeras’ attacks.

“……As expected, it’s closed.”

A large padlock hung on the entrance of the school building. Glancing at it, Neight turned and headed to the back of the building.

Towering up from a gra.s.sy field where sunlight didn’t reach was a spiraling emergency staircase.

“It would be much easier if I could fly up like Arma.”

Looking up at the long spiral reaching up to the roof, Neight let out a small sigh.

Clomp, clomp…

On the slightly rusted staircase, the sound of a single person’s footsteps echoed.

Walking past the second floor, past the third floor, he reached the roof of the school building.

—Is someone really here, at such a place?

It wasn’t that he was calling Serges’s words a lie. It was just that he didn’t understand why a student would be up here, instead of on the campus or in a cla.s.sroom.

He went up the last step leading to the roof.

As the morning sun suddenly burned his eyelids, he closed his eyes. But he didn’t close them completely because a sharp sound like something cutting the wind resounded in his eardrums.

What was that sound?

In the direction of the sound— He turned his gaze to the center of the vast rooftop.

“……Eh.”

In the dazzling sunlight, Neight opened both of his eyes.

Dancing beneath the vivid sun was a girl with wheat-brown skin.

—No, not dancing……

The girl was holding a large pole. A dull metallic l.u.s.ter shone from the tip. It was a blade that had clearly been sharpened— In other words, it was a spear.

The girl wielded a spear longer than her own height.

Swinging like it was flowing, spinning like it was dancing, and piercing like it was fluttering. Moving without stopping for even a second, each movement seemed different from the next. The polished blade flowed like it was drawing the onlookers in. Was this really training with a spear? Seeing her beautiful actions, he couldn’t help but think that.

“……Amazing.”

At first glance, the performance seemed like a beautiful war dance. However, she seemed to have a vigor that couldn’t be emitted when acting. It couldn’t be described with just the word ‘reality’. That was what the expression on the spear-wielder’s face said.

The girl’s movements didn’t stop. On the roof so wide that you could run a race, her feet moved so fast that his eyes couldn’t keep up. Even the splash of sweat glittering in the sunlight was beautiful. Different from any sport, it couldn’t be cla.s.sified as something in this dimension.

Returning from the edge of the rooftop to the center, the girl spun the spear with one hand.

……Kiiiiin.

“—Ah!”

As a metallic sound rang out, Neight finally returned to his senses.

Ten meters away, the girl stopped moving. The spear wasn’t in her hand.

—The spear, did she drop it?

Her actions confirmed his thoughts. Looking down at the spear fallen on the ground, the girl let out a small sigh.

He hadn’t noticed because he had been captivated by her movements until now, but the girl actually wasn’t very tall. She was at most only a few centimeters taller than him. She wore white shorts and a tank top of the same color. Her bare shoulder that was exposed to the sun was a tanned brown color. No, it would be more appropriate to call it copper-brown.

Her light brown hair was cut to shoulder-length, a boyish girl with short hair. Her face was small in proportion to her body, but she had contrasting large eyes. Her impressive features somehow reminded him of a cat—

……Eh? This person looks familiar.

“Hm? Hey, you.”

The girl before him finally raised her face. Their eyes met.

“Hey, if it isn’t Chibi-kun. ‘Morning! You’re here early, aren’t you?”

Her breathtaking expression from before was like a lie. With an indifferent expression, she raised one hand.

“……Ada-san?”

Ada Yung— The girl before his eyes was someone in the same cla.s.s as him and Kluele. It was the familiar face of a cla.s.smate.

“Ada-san, is that a spear?”

“Mm, aah. Wait a moment, okay? I can’t stay sweaty like this.”

From a bag lying near the edge of the roof, the girl took out a towel.

Ada-san, just how long have you been here?

It was still earlier than seven in the morning. Even though it was only this time, from the smiling girl’s forehead, no, from her whole body, large drops of sweat flowed.

“Hey, Chibi-kun. I have a favor to ask.”

...…Chibi-kun?

“H-Hey. Even Neighty is slightly better…”

“Eeh. But doesn’t the nickname Chibi-kun sound cute? It has more charm to it!”

“Really?”

Even as he indirectly expressed his dissatisfaction, the girl had an indifferent expression. It seemed that to her, that nickname was already fixed.

“Yeah, yeah. By the way, Chibi-kun, can you face the other way for a bit?”

“The other way?”

For what purpose? Not understanding her intention, he stared blankly at Ada.

The girl curled her lips into a grin.

“Sure enough, Chibi-kun is Chibi-kun.”

“Eh?”

“I need to change, change clothes. I want to take off my tank top. If Chibi-kun doesn’t turn around, won’t it be too provoking?”

“……If that’s what you meant, then say it earlier.”

Puffing up his cheeks, Neight turned away. Really, if she had said earlier that she wanted to change, then he would have turned around right away.

“That’s why you’re Chibi-kun.”

Teasing him, the girl’s shoulders shook cheerfully.

“Club activity?”

What the girl was telling him was something that he had heard about before.

“Yeah. I’m in a spear-wielding club. I was practicing just now.”

“Practicing, at this early in the morning?”

He wasn’t sure about the exact time. If he had to guess, she had probably come here before six. He had no idea how early she woke up each morning.

“Club practice starts at ten. Before that is time for private lessons.”

“By private lessons, you mean individual practice?”

And then. As if hiding her embarra.s.sment, the girl shyly turned away and placed her hand on the back of her head.

“Well, it’s different for everyone. For me, it’s…… Well, my memory isn’t very good. I don’t understand much or get good-quality practice, so I have to work even harder.”

Memory isn’t very good?

“Eh, but Ada-san. You joined the spear-wielding club this April, right? It hasn’t even been half a year, yet you’re already this good. How could your memory be bad?”

Suddenly, the girl’s facial expression changed.

The change was so subtle that it couldn’t be expressed in words. But something scary seemed to light up the girl’s eyes. Frightening. Or more accurately, it somehow stirred up fear inside him.

“No, no. Chibi-kun saw it too, right? In the very end, I ended up dropping my spear. That wasn’t cool at all. I’m still making such basic mistakes after so many years—”

……So many years? That means...

Before he had time to comprehend the meaning of her words, the girl hurriedly waved her hand.

“Ah. Forget it, forget what I just said! It’s a girl’s secret.”

“……H-Huh?”

Although he didn’t understand, pressured by the girl’s vigor, he couldn’t help but nod.

—But it really was amazing.

Wearing sportswear, she looked fairly short. Just judging by her appearance, it was hard to believe that someone as slender as her could wield a spear.

“Well, it’s hard work just to keep this body figure.”

Poking her arms a few times, Ada crossed her arms with a bitter smile.

“After wielding such a heavy thing, my muscles start developing pretty quickly. That’s fine for a boy, but not so much for a girl. ……I’ve already given up on my tan though.”

“It must be difficult, isn’t it?”

For him, it was hard to even develop muscles.

—Neight, you should train your body a bit more. Kluele had once said that to him, but he didn’t know exactly how to train.

“See, men don’t understand these feelings that girls have. Even though I restrict how much I eat just to keep this body figure, they say things like ‘If you don’t eat more, you won’t keep that figure!’ And when I’m doing makeup, they barge in and say things like ‘You’re so slow.’”

Crossing her arms, Ada shrugged sullenly.

“……Ah. I-Is that so?”

At first, Neight thought she had been talking about her boyfriend.

“First of all, that stubborn father of mine doesn’t even understand his daughter’s feelings.”

But as he continued listening to her, that didn’t seem to be the case.

“By ‘men’, did Ada-san mean her father?”

“Yeah.”

Surprisingly, she easily admitted that.

“My father is, how do I put it… a blockhead who doesn’t pay detailed attention to others. Also, he lacks creativity, and even gave his only daughter a ten kilogram iron dumbbell for her fourteenth birthday.”

“That’s…… Rather than creative, I think it’s an original idea.”

No way! Instead of using words, Ada furiously shook her head.

“It was ten kilos, ten kilos! I got mad and threw it at him. And then that idiot father said, ‘Sorry, would fifteen kilos have been better?’ He asked me with such a serious face!”

“……You threw it? Even though it was ten kilograms?”

It would have been bad for the person being thrown at, but since Ada-san was angry, it couldn’t be helped—

“In the first place, my usual dumbbell is twenty kilos!”

“Was that why you were angry?!”

“Hm? What’s wrong, Chibi-kun? You don’t seem very energetic?”

……Take back what I said before. Angry people should just be angry.

“Ada-san, do people often say that you’re similar to your father?”

“Eh, there’s no way anyone would say that. We’re not similar, not similar at all!”

She frowned openly as if she really hated that statement.

“Ah, that’s right. I should go soon.”

Suddenly, as if she had just thought of something, she quickly stood up.

“Is it time for your club?”

“Nope. I’m going shopping today. It’s the long-awaited trip, so I need to go buy things like a bag and some summer clothes.”

“Trip? Are you going somewhere?”

“Isn’t Chibi-kun also going?”

Carefully wrapping her spear in a piece of cloth, Ada tilted her head.

“After the incident a while back, parts of the school buildings are being repaired, right? The supplementary lessons during summer vacation are usually held in Tremia Academy, but this year we’re going to Tremia Academy’s branch school. It’s a place beside the ocean.”

As she said that, Neight realized he had seen a notice about that before.

“Chibi-kun’s also going, right? Kluele said she would also go. Aren’t you tired of only practicing Recitations? Occasionally, you also need time to relax.”

“……Kluele-san told me the same thing.”

“That’s right. Then let’s go shopping together with everyone! Anyway, Mio should be at the library, right? And Kluele also seems like she has some free time.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the girl quickly ran down the emergency staircase.

“W-Wait, Ada-san. Don’t you have club activities today?”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll just say I had a stomachache today.”

I-Is that really okay?

But speaking of which, didn’t she also act like this during cla.s.s?

“……Ada-san is a strange person.”

“Eh, did you say something?”

She stopped running down the stairs and with sharp ears, asked in return.

“No, it’s nothing!”

Telling an obvious lie, Neight also headed down the emergency stairs.

“Hey Enne, aren’t you hot?”

Like he had suddenly thought of it, her companion asked.

“I’m hot, but I’m a teacher so I have to wear the appropriate clothing.”

Resisting the urge to nod her head, Enne replied with the answer she had prepared beforehand. She was wearing a suit with white as the main color. Even though the white cloth reflected the sunlight, it didn’t change how hot she felt.

“Besides, isn’t Mirror also wearing a teacher’s lecture clothing?”

“Ah, that white coat that looks like a scholar’s, right? He likes wearing that though.”

Her colleague who said that wore a flamboyant polka-dotted T-shirt. But even so, he seemed hot, and currently had the edges of his T-shirt tucked in.

“……Zessel, you should wear some neater clothing!”

He was a male teacher who was Enne’s colleague as well as her childhood friend. Regardless of whether he was at school or not, he had probably heard those words hundreds of times to him by now.

“The headmaster said we can do as we like. I do dress neat in front of students, but it’s summer vacation. Plus, there’s no way any student could be here at this time—”

“There is. There’s a child waiting for the library to open. Although if I recall correctly, she’s probably a first-year student.”

“……Is that so?”

“Which means starting tomorrow, you’re also wearing a suit.”

……Give me a break.

He hastily swallowed back the words that he almost absent-mindedly said.

Tremia Academy, Building of General Affairs. The most innermost room on the first floor— They had arrived near that place.

Beside her colleague who straightened his posture, Enne discreetly adjusted the collar of her suit.

“So you do care, don’t you?”

“If I said I didn’t, would you believe me?”

After hearing her childhood friend’s teasing tone of voice, she sent him a meaningful look.

“We were chosen to come at such an early time just so students wouldn’t find out about it and involuntarily reveal it to other teachers. No matter what this is about, make sure you’re ready to face it.”

Towering in front of them was a large, wooden door engraved with impressive patterns.

“I’m not good at dealing with this sort of thing.”

Enne took a step back, meaning ‘I leave this to you’.

Slowly, she pushed the back of Zessel, who stood in front of her.

“……I’m not good at it either.”

“Come on, go for it. I’ll treat you to lunch.”

“……Seriously, give me a break.”

Sighing a second time, Zessel knocked on the door of the headmaster’s room. He entered the room in which the dark green hallway changed into a soft, deep crimson carpet that was spread out on the floor.

The headmaster’s room. Inside, several teachers were already standing in a circle.

“Sorry, you two, for calling you here so early in the morning.”

In the center of the circle, an old man wearing light clothing raised his hand slightly.

“You can join the circle for now. Everyone is probably busy, so I’ll just quickly tell you what’s going on.”

—What’s going on?

Leaning back against the nearest wall, Enne looked at the faces around her.

There was the headmaster and his close advisor Jessica, the director of education. Beside them were the teachers in charge of first-year students. Teachers who taught the other grades included herself, Zessel, and Mirror.

“This summer as well, in order for first-year students to learn some basics, they are going to summertime supplementary lessons. ……But, the incident that occurred a few days ago is probably still fresh in their minds.”

The recital contest— The teachers’ expressions instantly turned serious. Although they had avoided the worst result, a considerable number of students and teachers had been injured in that incident.

……That wasn’t something they wanted to remember.

“In order for us to repair the school, the usual supplementary lessons which students stay overnight at this school for have been cancelled. Instead, we will use the school buildings of Tremia Academy’s branch school in Fidellia. It will be a special field trip.”

Being the only person whose expression didn’t change, the headmaster standing in the center continued speaking.

Branch school. Rather than calling it a school, it was a facility opened to serve as a local gathering hall. Enne hadn’t visited it before herself. If she recalled correctly, Fidellia was a place near the ocean.

“The problem is the .”

The old man’s voice wavered slightly. It was a voice mixed with seriousness and distress.

“The fact that n.o.body pa.s.sed away in the incident is a blessing among the misfortune, but some students and teachers in this school received injuries. Obviously, the school buildings were damaged as well. ……At that time, many events happened to occur simultaneously. However, the main cause of everything was the atrocious catalyst I brought into the school.”

Spitting those words out like poison, he turned his gaze to a map hanging on the wall.

On the north side of the continent, located on a mountain range that ran through the continent was a red dot. That was Tremia Academy.

On the edge of the continent some distance away, on land that faced the blue-painted ocean, was another red dot. Was that the branch school?

“That is the Kelberk Research Inst.i.tute where the bothersome catalyst was refined. However, they have branch facilities in various places on the continent. It seems that it wasn’t the main research facility, but a branch facility that originally refined the . Actually, the one who brought that catalyst to this school was also a staff member from the branch facility.”

The name ‘Kelberk Research Inst.i.tute’ sounded familiar to Enne. With its base set up in the center of the continent, it was a large-scale research inst.i.tute that employed worthy researchers. The school had invited lecturers from there many times.

“Not long ago, I received a message from the research inst.i.tute’s headquarters, but they told me to discuss the details with staff members from the branch facility.”

……I see. She somewhat understood. Looking up, she exchanged glances with Mirror, who stood in front of her. She and Mirror both nodded slightly.

“I understand the situation. So you’re saying that while the first-year students go on their summer camp, we should go complain to the head of the branch facility, right?”

“……Zessel.”

Instead of sighing, Enne closed her eyes. If this wasn’t the headmaster’s office, she would have pinched the back of that idiot standing beside her.

“Eh? Ah, I was joking, of course.”

Her childhood friend smiled deceptively with a carefree expression. ……Why hadn’t this guy fixed his childish habits?

“Well, it’s not that I don’t understand what Zessel is trying to say. But what I’m concerned about this time is another matter.”

Was that a good thing? It seemed that the headmaster wasn’t worried about what Zessel had mentioned.

“The research facility that refined the is located in Fidellia, where the first-year students are headed.”

……Could this timing be called good or bad?

Then again, Kelberk Research Inst.i.tute is a facility cooperating with Tremia Academy. It could certainly happen that our branch school is located next to that facility.

“By the way, we received a message from the main facility the day before yesterday.”

Miller, who stood next to the wall across from Enne, continued speaking, explaining the headmaster’s words.

“Recently, our communication with the Fidellia branch seems to have stopped. Furthermore, this happened a few days after it had been confirmed that the had gone out of control in this school. We have been trying to contact them since then, but haven’t received a reply.”

“Was the time we lost contact with them also when the recital contest was happening? Has the investigation into the cause of this made any progress?”

The headmaster answered the frowning Zessel with a shake of his head.

“That is something I want you guys to investigate. Mirror has already begun looking into this.”

I see. From the time she had entered the room, she had been curious about the contents of the doc.u.ments that Mirror had tucked under his arm.

“Although using that sort of place as the location of the first-year students’ training camp isn’t something to be proud of…… Even we have only recently learned of the situation about the Kelberk Research Inst.i.tute branch facility. It would be slightly difficult to change the chosen location in only these few days. Well, our branch school and the research inst.i.tute aren’t directly beside each other. Teachers in charge of first-year students, please make sure that students don’t leave the branch school’s campus.”

The teachers in charge of the first-year students must watch over them carefully.

That means at the same time, me and Zessel’s duty is— to accompany the camp disguised as teachers in charge of lectures, and investigate the situation of the research inst.i.tute.

“……It’s a significant task, isn’t it?”

“That just means I have a lot of confidence in you guys.”

The one who responded wasn’t the headmaster.

Jessica, director of education— the teacher who she, Zessel, and Mirror looked up to.

“Well then, everyone can continue on with their own duties. You should all know already, but this matter must not be revealed to the students!”