[55] Overflow (5)
A terrible accident might never have happened. He had been as honest and pure as Shirone.
And yet he lost his light. A genius specially favored by God had dimmed because of a coward like him.
"All right. I know how you all think."
Siina snapped out of her reverie.
"I'll respect Shirone's wishes and won't force him to quit."
"No—before that, when will you respect the chairman's wishes?"
"Heh. Do you have time for wordplay? You've got one month. If you can't produce research results the school finds acceptable, the Supernatural Psychical Science Research Club will be disbanded. The club that produced so many alumni will end with your generation."
Nade's heart dropped. This wasn't just about being kicked out onto the street.
The alumni of the Supernatural Psychical Science Research Club—despite the school calling them troublemakers—held important posts in mage society. The current head of the Mage Association, Mikea Gaold, was a point of pride passed down through generations. If the club's legacy ended on their watch, they wouldn't have the face to show themselves in society.
'I'm losing it. What should I do?'
Giving them a month was nothing but a political maneuver to dismantle the club. More than that, the club had never once held an official presentation. How could you logically prove the existence of ghosts or gods—things many didn't even agree existed? Cornered, Nade threw caution to the wind and clung to Siina.
"Teacher! Please give us a chance! Isn't there any other way besides a presentation? You know—our club's existence itself has value! We're the only group that can slap a mage society that worships logic right across the face!"
Siina didn't even snort.
"So you want me to deliver a sharp rebuke? I can't yield this time. The motion's already on the faculty meeting agenda; it can't be withdrawn. I hope you make the right decision."
As Siina left the clubroom, the clang of the iron gate signaled the kids collapsing onto the sofa. They felt stunned, as if waking from a dream. With clanking sounds, Istas's mechanism began restoring the lab to its original state.
Gauge Symmetry (1)
A lazy day off.
Normally Shirone would be holed up in the library even on his days off, but today he sat blankly in the central park. Iruki and Nade sat beside him, listlessly sipping juice.
"What time is it?"
"No idea. Anyway, it's not night."
"You're a genius."
An awkward silence followed. Shirone sighed, and two matching sighs answered him. Finally unable to take it, Shirone sprang to his feet, turned to them, and shouted.
"What are you going to do about the club? Shouldn't you at least come up with a presentation topic instead of sitting here?"
"Yeah. Let's think. What research topic could get the school's approval?"
Nade shook his head.
"As far as I know, we've never done a presentation. Sure, we've gotten into interesting incidents, but none of that would be approved as official research by the school."
There was no way to elevate supernatural psychical science to a professional level. If such a method existed, it would already be out in the world under the name of science.
Back on the bench, Shirone cleared his mind. He glanced at passing girls' legs, turned away when someone especially well-developed walked by, but his head was effectively a blank slate.
"Hey? Look over there."
Nade lazily nodded toward someone. A beauty they'd never seen at school was walking toward the main gate. She wore an ivory trench coat and heels; her permed violet hair flowed down to her waist.
"Biologically well designed. Who is she?"
"Is she a graduating senior? Kids our age don't usually wear clothes like that."
While his friends peeked and rated her, Shirone squinted and studied her. Something about her aura felt familiar.
"Could it be… Siina-sensei?"
"Siina-sensei?"
Nade leaned forward for a better look. It was definitely her. She wasn't wearing glasses and her trademark neatly pinned-up hair was let down, but it was unmistakably Siina.
"Wow. Incredible. People can change that much?"
"Right? With makeup she's a completely different person. Shirone, how did you tell? You've got a surprisingly good eye for women."
"Uh? No. It just looked like her."
Shirone had recognized her because he'd seen Siina with her hair let down before. He couldn't bring himself to say the teacher had visited at night, though, so he mumbled.
"But where's she going all made up like that?"
"It's the teacher's day off. A holiday. Maybe she's on a date."
"Wasn't Siina-sensei always distant from men?"
"She might still be seeing someone. At twenty-six, she's at marriageable age. She'll have to get married sometime."
"Hmm. Is that so…"
As Nade stroked his chin in thought, a light bulb flashed in his eyes.
"Wanna follow her? I'm curious."
"What would following get us? It's the teacher's private life."
"We've got nothing else to do. Sitting here won't produce an answer, and my head's about to burst. It's a holiday—we can be back before sunset."
Iruki was skeptical.
"Can we tail her without being spotted? She's a certified Grade-6 mage. Even without a Spirit Zone, her awareness would be different. We'll get noticed in no time."
"Then here's the plan. Iruki, you track the teacher. Shirone, you act as our midpoint contact. I'll swing by the lab first."
Shirone could read Nade's thought.
"Invisibility cloak?"
"Exactly. If we throw on an invisibility cloak and tail her, she won't notice. She won't have any reason to activate a Spirit Zone on a date. How's that?"
"Not a bad idea. Fine, I'll follow. Shirone, meet us halfway and bring Nade."
Iruki bounced up from the bench and gave chase to Siina. Shirone sighed. These kids really were quick to act.
"I'll go fetch the cloak. Shirone, don't lose Iruki. Can you track checkpoints while moving?"
Since the city's routes are constrained by roads, keeping track of key points makes it possible to estimate the general path. It was important to judge the return point so they wouldn't stray too far from Nade.
Shirone nodded reluctantly. He hated that his planning mind kicked in even now.
"Okay. But be quick. I can't last more than ten minutes."
"Haha! Of course, Shirone! We trust you!"
Nade ran to the clubroom, and Shirone, who trailed Iruki, returned ten minutes later and picked Nade up at the front gate. They sped off and caught up with Iruki within ten minutes. As the two ran up, Iruki shook his head with a troubled look.
"That was weird."
"Why? Did you lose her?"
"No, but we almost did. She was unusually vigilant. It felt like a battlefield."
"Oh-ho. This is getting interesting. She's not secretly pocketing bribe money with forbidden items, is she?"
Shirone gave Nade a look of disgust.
"Siina-sensei wouldn't do that."
"Anyway, let's go. With a cloak, we can get close."
The three threw on invisibility cloaks and tailed Siina. Once they entered the commoner district, the streets teemed with people who began selling goods early in the morning. The crowd made the tail easier.
Siina stopped at a two-story house. The three peered out from under their cloaks to watch who opened the door. When Siina glanced around, they hunched in like turtles. Their hearts thumped.
"She's being way too cautious. Who lives there? It's just an ordinary commoner house."
Curiosity got the better of them and they poked their heads out again. There seemed no reason to freeze up as if they'd done something wrong.
A young man opened the door. The moment he saw Siina, he pulled her into a deep embrace.
"No way…!"
Shirone and his companions were stunned. The nickname "Ice Siina" referred both to her specialty and to her cold manner toward any man. Yet she had a hidden man. They looked at each other to confirm it wasn't a trick.
"What's going on? He was definitely a man, right?"
"We'll know if we go in. Let's follow."
Shirone blurted out in alarm.
"What? How can we just go into someone's house?"
"But it feels wrong to turn back now, right? We need to know for sure."
"It's normal for a teacher to meet a man. Why the fuss?"
Iruki thought differently. From the circumstances so far, several things didn't add up.
"Something smells off. There's nothing wrong with the teacher meeting a man, but why hide it? She's publicly single at school. And the heightened vigilance is worrying."
"Exactly. That's why we have to check."
Shirone asked nervously, "How are we going to do it?"
"We go through the cellar. Don't worry. Even if we get caught, how big a deal will it be? Siina already went in, so it's not some stranger's house."
Shirone gaped.
"Isn't that… awfully subjective thinking?"
"I don't care. I'm going. I'm about to go crazy with curiosity."
When Nade and Iruki moved off, Shirone sighed and followed. He didn't like how easily he fell in with them, but if he let them go unchecked, who knew what they'd do.
At the cellar entrance, Nade inspected the iron door. It was installed horizontally and locked tight.
He pulled a pen-like device from his pocket and pressed a button. A sharp iron pin popped out. It was one of Nade's patented lock-picking tools.
To open a lock you had to press the internal tumblers accurately; Nade's device could adjust the pin to one-hundredth of a centimeter, so opening a commoner house's lock was easy.
Nade shoved the device into the lock, fiddled with it with tongue out in concentration, and when he twisted his wrist the lock clicked open.
When the door opened and the ladder down to the cellar appeared, Shirone felt hollow disappointment.
People sleep easily because there's a lock, but they forget that locks are made by humans too.
Climbing down the ladder, the smell of onions typical of a food cellar tickled Shirone's nose. While Shirone closed the iron door, Nade pressed his ear to the first-floor door to listen for signs outside.
"Good. First floor's quiet. Let's go up."
The three, shrouded in cloaks with only floating faces visible like ghosts, crept upstairs. The combined living room and kitchen was empty. At the end of the corridor on the second floor they felt movement. Siina's voice drifted down.
"What are you doing? Hurry and finish."
Shirone and Nade's facial muscles twitched with excitement, while Iruki put a finger to his lips. A male voice answered.
"Wait a bit. I'm not ready yet. For now, take off your clothes."
"When's your wife coming back?"
"She went to the market. Won't be back for at least two hours."
Nade's excitement collapsed into something close to horror. Shirone felt the same. They never dreamed the man Siina was meeting would be a married man.