[49] The Strange Study Group (1)
Shirone drifted through a dark space.
In some places, countless stars shone; in others, darkness stretched on without end.
In the dark it felt as if everything were frozen, and a fear washed over him that he might be trapped there forever.
One by one, stars appeared and began to gather toward a single point. It felt as though the space itself was contracting.
He shuddered at the stars' sizes, beyond anything a human mind could fathom. He couldn't picture what would happen when they finally collided.
But no collision occurred. The stars began to collapse, then broke down into dust and were sucked away.
Time was flowing backward.
By the time he realized that, Shirone's body had already been decomposed and vanished.
Yet Shirone did not disappear.
He couldn't tell what this last human presence that made up him was, but he still retained consciousness as he entered the beginning of the world.
He saw a writhing, vibrating strand of light like a worm. Within it, light, time, gravity, and universal gravitation were integrated.
When he finally reached the end—no, when he regressed to the beginning—the whole world filled with light.
As the presence that had been Shirone thinned, an extreme sense of unity flooded him.
It was an integration like a massive explosion.
"Uaaaaaa!"
Shirone screamed and sat bolt upright in bed. His clothes were soaked with cold sweat as if rained on.
The room was silent; the windows stained with moonlight were tinged with a lonely hue. The familiar smell of books lingered. Books on photonization theory were scattered across the desk.
"Phew. Another nightmare…."
He gulped water from the kettle. He opened the window and let the cool early-summer breeze dry the sweat on his skin. Only after that could he pull himself together and sit in his chair.
'Why is this happening every night? What's wrong with me?'
Ever since experiencing the Immortal Function during the Speed Gun test, he'd been having similar dreams. They weren't exactly nightmares, but the emotions in them were worse than any nightmare.
"Ughhhh."
Shirone hugged his trembling body and rubbed his arms. Something that composed him felt out of place. The problem was that this sensation wasn't limited to dreams—it seeped into waking life, too.
Some sense had become highly sensitive. But he couldn't figure out what information that sense was receiving.
It wasn't that his sense of smell had improved, nor that his touch had sharpened. His vision and hearing felt unchanged.
But clearly some new sensory organ had been born.
"Please don't tell me… it's a ghost or something."
The piano announcing morning played. Seeing dawn outside the window, Shirone went to the bath and washed. With the advanced class practical exams finished, regular classes were supposed to resume today. As warm water touched him, the strange sensation gradually faded. He'd go insane if it lasted all day—he was relieved it eased, and packed his bag.
* * *
Once exams ended, the school returned to its usual bright atmosphere. Students who had been competing were back to chatting like friends, laughing and giddy.
The hot topic lately was Shirone's Speed Gun test. Unlike written exams, the practical evaluation had a sports-like element, so when someone delivered a flashy performance people naturally went wild.
Usually each class had a few standout students, but the impact of the Speed Gun test on the first day was so strong it cast a shadow over the rest.
For the first time in the academy's history, there were students scoring in the 1200 range. Two of them.
Shirone and Iruki were only six points apart, and to top it off it had been a stunning reversal that defied expectations. With such a legendary match on the first day, any later impressive performances inevitably paled.
Shirone shot to stardom. He had been known early on as Amy's boyfriend and a promising prospect, but now he was indisputably a representative student of Alpheas School of Magic.
Even on his way to the lecture hall, Shirone received enthusiastic greetings. Seniors from Class Four were among them. In an academy that adopted early promotion, senior-junior relations were strict because true talent was rare, but Shirone's historic record meant treating him purely as a junior felt awkward. In hindsight, Amy's recognition of Shirone as her equal had been remarkably prescient.
By the time he reached the advanced-class building, greeting everyone along the way had left him exhausted.
"Oh? It's Senior Shirone. Hello, senior!"
"Senior Shirone. I'm your fan. Can I just follow you around from now on?"
The girls from Class Six approached him familiarly. They had resented Shirone's early promotion the most: being bumped from Seven to Five left them stuck in the middle. But now that even seniors from Class Four considered him a future rival for graduation, they changed their attitude.
"Senior, what are you doing after class? We're holding a magic demonstration with some friends later—would you like to come?"
"We're going out on our day off—come with us. I'll be your partner."
"Sorry. I haven't been feeling great lately."
He'd been having nightmares every night, and that eerie sensation would sometimes strike while he was awake. He didn't feel like going anywhere. The girls understood that Amy was an insurmountable presence and didn't press him, promising to ask another time before leaving.
"Shirone, Shirone, Shirone! Shirone, Shirone!"
The moment he opened the lecture hall door, a classmate grabbed him. Kidnapped before he could set down his bag, Shirone blinked in bewilderment under his friends' gazes.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
"The term's almost over—join our research club. We're forming one with the kids from Class Five. The practical assignment is a free topic anyway. It saves time and it'll be fun. So join us."
"Hmm."
Shirone couldn't answer right away. He'd received many invitations before, but if he were to join a club he thought he should enter the Paranormal Psychical Science Club where Nade and Iruki were.
"Shirone. Just think about it. You say you don't join clubs because you study alone, right? There are a few others like you here. But we still have to do the practical assignment. So we'll form a temporary club. The assignment isn't that discriminating—finish it quickly and disband. Then you'll have more time for personal study."
"Ah. Alright."
It was a sensible plan. Because the practical assignment was on a free topic, it wasn't as heavily weighted as the theory or practical exams. Joining an existing club just to finish the assignment and then quitting would be petty. So the proposal was for students without clubs to form a temporary one and complete the assignment.
"Hey! What are you lot up to? Not Shirone! Shirone's mine!"
Nade shouted as he hid Shirone behind his back. The students stared at him, baffled. One, who knew Nade's situation, interrogated him sharply.
"Give me a break. You're trying to get him into that weird club, aren't you? Shirone, don't go there. If you don't want to join our club then join some other one. I've never heard Nade doing any practical assignments in school."
The Paranormal Psychical Science Club boasted a long tradition, but official activity was extremely rare. Many students didn't even know Nade ran a club.
"Huh? Nade, you have a club?"
Nade quickly blinked and used his usual tact to defuse the situation.
"Hmph. Of course. Would the school's most popular guy not have a club? Anyway, Shirone can't go—I'll take him."
Nade grabbed Shirone's wrist and headed for the door. The student who had invited Shirone shouted loudly.
"Hey, Shirone! Think carefully! Don't you dare join that place! And Nade, stop interfering with Shirone's studies and just let him go somewhere comfortable!"
"Hahaha! Say whatever you want, but Shirone's head is already full of me! We've already crossed the forbidden line!"
Shirone's face went pale.
"Wait, Nade. What are you saying—?"
Nade closed the door without giving him a chance to protest. The students in the lecture hall stared dumbfounded.
"…What did he just say?"
The student who had shouted at Nade scratched his head.
"This is bad. That bastard Nade actually intends to drag Shirone in. We can't let ourselves be swept up."
"No, I think he's already got him. By the way, where did they go? Class is about to start."
* * *
As soon as Shirone stepped into the corridor he shrugged off Nade's hand. He knew it was a joke, but the chill didn't disappear.
"Hey! Why'd you say that stuff?"
"Hahaha! It wasn't a lie. You're the only one who's seen the club's true nature."
"The club's true nature? There was nothing to see."
Nade glanced around at passersby and sat Shirone down.
"Just sit for a bit."
"Fine. Don't be pushy."
Shirone sat and leaned his back against the wall. Lowering his voice after looking left and right, Nade said quietly,
"You're the only person who's actually come into the club. So don't ever breathe a word of it."
"Even if I told someone, who'd even ask?"
"Anyway! There are so few members that the administration's talking about disbanding us. We have to stay low, so don't even mention the 'supernatural' part."
"Got it. I wasn't planning to anyway."
From Shirone's perspective the Paranormal Psychical Science Club seemed dead in the water, but in truth the handful of members who understood its worth lurked like predators waiting for opportunities. The teachers were itching to shut them down.
"By the way, are you really going to join the club?"
Nade had known for a long time that students formed temporary clubs at the end of the term. It was efficient, but he thought it didn't suit Shirone's situation.
"I did think about it. Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't?"
"Of course. The assignment might not be discriminating, but joining any old club is risky. You're aiming for the top of the school. A single point can matter. Instead of faking it in some shaky club, you should either do it solo or join a proper club."
In Class Four, which aimed for the graduation class, there were perfect scorers in specific subjects, so a one-point difference on an assignment could be decisive.
'Hmm. But doing the practical assignment alone would take too long.'
Shirone mulled it over and then said,
"Nade. What if I join the Paranormal Psychical Science Club?"
Nade's face lit up. If Shirone joined, the trio would be complete. They already hung out whenever they had time, but with Iruki skipping class often the lineup was frequently incomplete.
Still, Nade hesitated to accept immediately. Alpheas School of Magic had been established forty-five years ago. Most students left after graduation exams, but under the surface there was another society of sorts—a wild array of people doing bizarre things. The Paranormal Psychical Science Club was one of those places.
"Hmm. You sure? Honestly, our club is pretty underground. Paranormal psychical science is niche. I'd be glad if you joined, but I wouldn't exactly recommend it to a friend."
From the classmates' reactions in the lecture hall, it was clear Nade's club carried a certain stigma. But Shirone didn't want to choose a club solely for grades—he'd been interested in paranormal psychical science since he was young.
"It's not just for that. Lately something's been off with me. I was going to ask you guys about it—maybe Paranormal Psychical Science could explain it."