An Adult Creates the Secret Organization he Dreamed of as a Child
The Expert on Innocent Childhood Dreams
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Having received Kaburagi-san"s consent, I immediately headed towards her mansion in the Mejirodai district of the Bunkyo ward in Tokyo carrying my bag which had the experimental notes I kept on my psychokinesis and a plastic water bottle in it. I used my motorcycle. Although I could"ve gone *byun* and arrived there in less than a minute using psychokinesis, I chose not to. I would"ve stood out too much.
I can create a black [Barrier] around my body to block out light and hide my true ident.i.ty and become unidentifiable, but naturally it would stand out because being all black would make me look like one of those s.h.i.tty villains from that one detective manga1. People will waste no time filing a report if a suspicious person like that moves around at high speed via psychokinesis in broad daylight. So I rev the engine, *pon-poko*, of my favorite Super Cub and, while obeying the speed limit, drive through town without incident. I just remembered, I need to buy rice and miso on the way home. A~, this way of moving wears me out.
Kaburagi-san said that people who have superpowers shouldn"t use them to move in the streets even if people can"t see their appearance. She predicts that even though there"s an array of skysc.r.a.pers flooding Tokyo, by stylishly jumping off the roof of a building, you become fairly conspicuous, especially in the daytime, and are completely visible to someone just looking out the window. It seems to be a serious matter. Since I don"t have connections with the press, government, or police, I can"t be careless. Otherwise I would drive an intense and excessively gimmicky "supercar"2 or fly in a vertical-takeoff plane that"s in the form of a squid3. Let"s also think about gradually adding such things.
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It took me 30 minutes to arrive at Kaburagi-san"s house by motorcycle. I"ve never come here in person, but I know every nook and cranny. When I pressed the intercom b.u.t.ton, the reply was in the maid"s voice,
"Yes. This is the Kaburagi residence. May I ask who is calling?"
"I contacted Kaburagi-san a little while ago, um, my name is Sago."
I considered whether or not to say I had superpowers, but I restrained myself. I"ll persist in the idea of revealing my true ident.i.ty only to Kaburagi-san. It will have to be kept secret from the maid. After a pause, the maid answered,
"Sago-sama, is it? I have been told about you by ojousama. Please come in."
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Huh, she really said "ojousama". Am I really still in modern j.a.pan? I was alone and the tension was rising when the cast-iron gate in front of me automatically opened. The gate must be equipped with a high-tech electric opening/closing device. I don"t dislike styles that cost money like this. I enter the front garden ‒ there"s beautiful seasonal flowers that are trimmed carefully that are delivered by a supplier once a week ‒ and beat the lion-shaped knocker on the front entranceway. The door opened immediately.
"Welcome to my home, Sago-san. I am the head of the Kaburagi family, Kaburagi Shiori. Please come in."
Saying so, Kaburagi-san pinched the skirt of her dress with both hands, lifted it lightly and lowered her head. Her glossy black hair has gentle waves and flows smoothly down to her waist. Her form and gestures were like those of a stage actress, so flawless that she would by no means look out of place in an image for a medieval fantasy work. I"m already overwhelmed by that alone. It"s like a strayed into a movie.
"Thank you very much for existing, Sago Kinemitsu. And for having superpowers."
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I lost to Kaburagi-san"s preemptive strike, but in lieu of a business card I manipulated the water in the plastic bottle in my bag and wrote the characters for "Sago Kinemitsu" with it in the air. Kaburagi-san made an "Oh, my!" pose with her hand on her mouth and her eyes rounded. *Fuwawawawa*, there"s the surprised expression I wanted to see. *s.h.i.t-eating grin*…
Since this was the sole reason I brought the plastic water bottles, I discard the water, compress and crush the garbage, and then thrust it into my bag. Kaburagi-san silently led me to the parlor. I sit on the sofa while the maid (An obchan in her 60s wearing a maid uniform) carries in a tea set, she briskly arranges it for a tea party without making a sound, bows, and then leaves. The tea is high quality. When you are served tea that"s not a tea bag you definitely know that it is higher quality than any tea you"ve drunk.
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As far as I can tell from the doc.u.ments I studied when I broke into the Kaburagi family"s safe using my psychokinesis, Kaburagi-san"s parents are both normal company employees. She isn"t a descendant of Western n.o.bility or trading with Europe or anything like that. Nevertheless, this behavior, this kind of hospitality. If you were to only cut out this scene, you would no doubt believe that Kaburagi-san is an honorable young lady or of some sort of high cla.s.s social position. What the heck is her motivation?
"So then,"
Kaburagi-san started the conversation in a calm and clear voice, however, she appeared to be leaning forward and waiting impatiently for the main point.
"If I am to create a secret organization together with you, that means I also have superpowers, they are just sleeping inside me, is that so?"
"Ah, you probably don"t have any superpowers sleeping inside you,"
Kaburagi-san"s face quickly wilted. *U~*, such a beautiful woman making that sort of face hurts my heart. I"m sorry for getting your hopes up. But that is not the case.
"So why on earth are you inviting me? Certainly, it"s not just because I am rich, is it?"
"Er, um, it"s because you"re rich, I"m sorry…"
"Eeh~ …"
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Kaburagi-san was baffled! To be honest, it was extremely awkward. Expecting the curtain to open on a dazzling drama about having superpowers, hearing "Money, please" sinks such ideas into the ground and brings back reality. I"m really sorry.
I subsequently apologized, and then explained everything, the whole story from the awakening of my psychokinesis to now. I also showed her the 15 volumes of psychokinesis training notes I was carrying in my bag. It was a long long story, but thankfully Kaburagi-san listened without interrupting, only quietly making comprehending sounds.
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"Sago-san"s feelings, I understand them very well,"
I was thoroughly tired of talking and taking a short break while drinking my now-cold tea, when Kaburagi-san very deeply bowed her head in a.s.sent. Although I was only unilaterally talking, deep empathy and a sense of unity were certainly developing between me and Kaburagi-san. We were able to talk casually, we also naturally dropped the honorifics4. It even felt like being with a friend I had know for many years. Neither one of us should have telepathic abilities, but Kaburagi-san firmly believed our thoughts were being transmitted to each other.
"I wanted to become a princess of a magical castle by all means when I was an elementary school student, I kept it a secret from my parents and stealthily kept at it, you know?
"Ah -"
In elementary school. Boys at that age usually want to be heros from some "sentai"5 thing. I wanted to be "Goji◯"6, it"s a period in life when such things can"t be helped, so I fully understand her feelings. What fate, now I"ve become someone who"s superpowers are more than enough to crush and easily defeat"Goji◯". I can also disable his heat rays.
"…and because I continued to keep trying to get results I grew into the adult you see before you. After ama.s.sing plenty of wealth I built a castle, bought a n.o.ble t.i.tle, and I even considered having the old woman call me hime-sama."
"What!?"
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What the, that"s too aggressive, Kaburagi-san! This person, she"s lived until now feeling like that? I see, by following her desires as an adult, that"s how her skills became so compatible. This individual is serious, "I want to become a princess!" she doesn"t want just one person, she wants to have the whole world call her that. I admire her with all my heart.
"Kaburagi-san is really amazing. I don"t feel like I can win."
"*Ufufu*, I think that it"ll be good if you can persevere though. But Sago-san is also considerably amazing, I think? You were able to keep it a secret and train for no real reason, how do I say this, it"s a poor way of saying it, but it"s so unusual that it"s amazing."
"Really? Oh wow!"
I was doing nothing but training my psychokinesis because it was simply enjoyable, but now I realize that an ordinary person wouldn"t be able to keep leveling up until they"re suddenly able to destroy the world. No matter how much fun something may be, people will get bored and tired of it after a while. Even games that cause a lot of enthusiasm and cause you to lose track of time while playing so you get scolded by your parents and are eventually confiscated for it can, after several years, no longer hold your interest and become boring.
I will not deny that I spent a long time refining my psychokinesis by making nonstop improvements to it. Besides, until now my psychokinesis hasn"t been very useful, but maybe now I"ll be able to find practical uses for it by perfecting it in collaboration with Kaburagi-san who has a profound understanding of the extraordinary and high-specs.
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Nonetheless, our conversation wasn"t short. Although I visited around noon, I talked too much and the outside is already dark. I need to try to sort out my thoughts as well, so I should probably leave now.
I told Kaburagi-san this, but then she asked curiously, "Why can"t you stay here?". No, as one would expect, that"s not okay, is it?
"I don"t think it"s a good idea for a beautiful woman like you, Kaburagi-san, to have a man you just met stay over for the night. What if there"s an indiscretion?"
"But Sago-san, during the time you were stalking me, you saw me naked, didn"t you? It"s too late now."
"A~ …"
That"s right, I said that. The me of ten minutes ago was a really stupid b.a.s.t.a.r.d who talked until he killed any remaining momentum!
Compared to me, who"s going pale, Kaburagi-san, unexpectedly, didn"t seem to be in poor spirits.
"It"s okay. After all, you said that I"m beautiful, so I"m not bothered by it anymore. I may have torn you into pieces if you saw my beautiful face and said something like "Such an extremely ugly woman" though."
"Hiii!"
I"m scared. She"s saying that without hesitation, but since she"s smiling, she"s probably only half-serious.
"Besides, from the first time I saw Sago-san"s psychokinesis, I couldn"t stop my heart from throbbing the whole time. I want to talk some more."
Saying so, Kaburagi-san holds the palm of her hand to her ample chest and smiles softly. *Ka*, how charming. Even if I know from my investigation that her bountiful chest is the result of plastic surgery, that pose still appeals to my male instincts and her loveliness makes any attempts at dialogue useless. To have a side like that to you, Kaburagi-san!
However, this display is somehow beyond clever and I am easily lured by Kaburagi-san into agreeing to stay the night. There"s no way I can refuse an invitation from a person whose beauty, charm, wits, and perfect taste combine to form [Mental Orichalc.u.m7]!
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Kaburagi-san invited me to the dining room, the maid had prepared the meal in advance so we ate dinner together, afterwards, with a dance-like gait (or what could almost be called dancing) she invited me into her study. I wondered what we were doing there, then Kaburagi-san showed me the bookshelves that had her scientific chuuni notes on them, it was a compilation of her tenacity.
"Sago-san, I said I want to be a princess, but until I was in junior high school I wanted to be a magical girl. I still dream about it."
"Looks like it."
I agree while looking at a row of shelves filled with thick notes labeled ‘Magical Girl Studies". As I thought, this person isn"t hesitant. Kaburagi-san pulled out a few notes and kept waving them.
"Of course, I piled up hypothesis upon hypothesis on how to possibly obtain magic or superpowers. But since Sago-san is the genuine article, I think I can now figure out how to acquire superpowers. Here"s the data for that. I collected it myself. I had halfway given up when I ended up with just a delusion, but the time has come and it may no longer be just a delusion."
"I see."
From getting to know Kaburagi-san, my interest, which was already stimulated, has become even more aroused. It doesn"t mean that I didn"t think about the conditions for obtaining superpowers myself. But I already had superpowers, so rather than thinking about the requirements for awakening and obtaining them and so on, I became engrossed in training my psychokinesis. Since she doesn"t have superpowers or magic, Kaburagi-san has been piling up study after precise study hoping to make a breakthrough. If you know the method for obtaining superpowers, you immediately get that much closer to a superpower secret organization.
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"I understand. Should I also help with searching for materials?"
"I have the sample data. Sago-san, could you please answer some questions for me?"
Indeed, that seems better. When I nodded, Kaburagi-san started the interview immediately.
"Well, first of all… that"s right. When your psychokinesis awakened, was there a revelation?"
"Revelation…?"
"Hearing the voice of G.o.d, seeing strangely shaped marks on your skin, that sort of thing."
"Oh, no, never."
When I answered, Kaburagi-san moved to the next bookshelf.
"Did you visit the pyramids or Stonehenge before your psychokinesis awakened?
"No."
"Do you have the ability to sense the supernatural?"
"No."
"Also, experiencing being spirited away or abduction… probably not, right?"
"As you say."
She stopped her fingers that had been running along the shelves at the third row from the top.
"Your bloodline?"
"My maternal ancestors are farmers. We can trace our history all the way to the Edo period8. I don"t know my paternal ancestors that well, but my grandfather and great-grandfather did own a liquor store. But it crashed when I was little."
"So, normal. Your psychokinesis grows the more you use it, right?"
"That"s it. Currently, there doesn"t seem to be any sort of growth limit."
"Using psychokinesis can make you feel "tired". The symptoms recover naturally over time."
"Yes."
The hand that was moving slowly over the third shelf pulled out a note. *Oi-oi*, she didn"t really hypothesize about the existence of someone with superpowers like mine, right…?
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"Any experiences with you psychokinesis going out of control or otherwise not working as intended?"
"Not even once."
"When practicing your psychokinesis for a long period of time, your psychokinesis doesn"t become weaker?"
"Ah -, I guess it"s like that. In the first place, I"ve never used my psychokinesis for a long period of time, and even now I"ve never experienced my psychokinesis weakening."
Finally, Kaburagi-san"s hand stopped turning the pages, and she pointed at a page that had numerical formulas and various graphs and diagrams hastily scrawled in the corners.
"Then, this. "Possibilities for an Original Source of Superpowers" ⸻ in Sago-san"s case, [Nenrikin]. That ability can transplant superpowers. With this, it"s highly likely that you can distribute superpowers to others."
Seriously, I can transplant superpowers!?
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Footnotes:
1: From "Detective Conan" ⇒
2: Fancy foreign sports car like this one ⇒ McLaren 600lt
3: If this is a reference to a manga or something, I couldn"t find it. All I found was this ⇒ Flying Squid
4: Though the author says that, they still refer to each other using "-san" in the raw, so I"m confused. For now I"m leaving the "-san", but if you guys think I should change it let me know.
5: Sentai (戦隊) lit. translates to "squadron". Type of j.a.panese show that features a team of heroes in color-coded uniforms ⇒
6: "Gojira" (ゴジラ) translates to "G.o.dzilla". Yep, in elementary school, the MC wanted to be G.o.dzilla.
7: Orichalc.u.m is a mythical metal that"s used in a lot of fantasy settings. One of the properties it usually has is being incredibly strong and/or unbreakable.
8: Edo period = 1603-1867