[68] At the Summit (2)
Shirone knew that so-called experts could go to places like that and get cleaned out—down to their underwear. With Iruki's Servant ability he'd be unbeatable at probability calculations, but there's a reason people call it gambling. Probability is only probability; to win you need the nose of a gambler who can tell when the tide turns. Shirone could already picture Iruki slowly winning a bit, then losing it all in one go.
"I'm not going. You two go. I don't do gambling."
"You don't have to gamble. They say pretty girls pour drinks and give shoulder rubs and stuff. You really won't come?"
Hearing that made Shirone even less inclined.
"Ah, sorry. I'm just really exhausted. I'm going to keep sleeping. Have fun."
Once "sorry" had slipped from Shirone's mouth, there was no turning him around. If anything, he'd been the most worn-out preparing for the recital. Nade and Iruki were short on sleep too, but their work had been split between physical and intellectual labor.
Shirone, however, had spent a month raising his photon output level—intensive training that drained both body and mind. And in the final stretch he'd entered the Infinite Domain and poured his mental strength into it, so it was only natural he felt weak.
"All right, got it. Then rest up. We'll be back."
"Okay. Win a lot and buy me something tasty."
"Hahaha! Don't worry! When you wake up we'll be rich as if by magic."
Hearing the door close, Shirone buried his face in the pillow again.
'Anyway, we're rich, so no need to make a fuss…'
He fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
That night.
"Huu… huff."
Shirone tossed and turned, sweat-cold. The nightmare that hadn't come when he fell into a faint sleep returned as his rest period progressed, rising once more into his consciousness.
"Huu…"
He frowned and shook his head. In the vastness of space a human was nothing. That hollow sense of deprivation hit him like a physical blow.
Again the nightmare was being drawn into a single point. Time reversed until it reached the beginning of the universe. Light appeared; that light trembled like threads, then turned into bubbles that filled Shirone's vision. There was only light. And the next moment a powerful explosion ripped through the empty void.
"Ughhh!"
Shirone bolted upright. His wide eyes still fixed on the afterimage in his memory. Only after feeling his pajamas damp with sweat did he slowly turn his head toward the window.
It was morning; birds were chirping.
"Phew. I thought maybe it would pass."
Unavoidably, the nightmare had returned. A strange sensation wrapped his whole body and he shivered.
But Shirone no longer felt fear.
He'd learned the cause from Armin, and on the day of the recital he'd even managed to pull himself out of the Infinite Domain at will.
Now that he could control his power to an extent, Shirone watched the phenomena happening to him calmly.
'The universe in the dream. That clearly shows the beginning of the universe. And gauge symmetry, huh.'
There was no logical data, but a vague thread was forming—probably the unconscious sorting through information. Thinking of Armin's words—that he'd come to understand it himself—calmed him and the eerie feeling faded.
Shirone went to the bathroom. After such deep sleep he felt surprisingly well. Brushing his teeth, he tried to remember and realized Iruki and Nade had likely stopped by.
'Was that a dream? Or did they really go?'
The blurry faces of the two who'd said they'd hit the casino floated before him.
'I should have gone with them. What am I going to do by myself now?'
Halfway through brushing his teeth, Shirone paused when he glanced back at his bed. Tiny dust specks above the mattress were rotating. The window was closed, so it wasn't convection.
Forgetting the foam in his mouth, he ran back. They were definitely moving. He reached his hand toward the center of the rotation. Just when he thought he felt nothing, that uncanny sensation struck him sharply.
"Guhhh!"
He spat out toothpaste foam and bent over.
What on earth was that?
Like touching an exposed nerve where a tooth had been pulled, it was the first time he could confirm something he'd always known without knowing its name.
'This is it! Something I already know but don't have a name for. But what exactly is it?'
Shirone gestured wildly at the air. But the strange feeling didn't return. He calmed himself, went back into the bathroom, and washed with hot water. Even while he rinsed, he kept turning over the phenomenon in his mind.
'It's not wind, not air pressure, not temperature. So how can dust move like that?'
It wasn't just floating. It was moving with rotational force, clearly driven by some power.
After more than an hour of thought, restless, Shirone changed clothes and went outside. Classes were in full swing; there wasn't a single student outside the building.
Feeling oddly free, he walked toward the main gate. Suspended for a week, the remaining four days were his to use as he pleased. Since what was done was done, Shirone decided to treat the time as a rest after special training.
'But where should I go?'
The first place that came to mind was home. Thinking of his parents made him want to go.
'No, that's ridiculous.'
By carriage it would take half a day, but he had no excuse. He couldn't just walk into the house and say, "I got suspended." Visiting the Ozent family would be awkward too—Rian and Reina weren't there.
"Ah, right!"
He snapped his fingers as a thought occurred to him.
The bookstore.
The academy library had more than enough books, but buying books at a shop had been Shirone's long-standing dream.
A memory of how happy he'd been as a child when his father brought home an old book brought a smile to his lips.
He'd been delighted with one book, but inside he'd wanted many more.
Now he could afford it. The allowance Temuran sent each month had piled up.
If he shopped in the commoner district, he could fill a basket with books even being frugal.
'Come to think of it, this will be the first book I buy for myself.'
Borrowing from a library or reading secondhand wasn't bad, but Shirone loved books and wanted to own them.
Decision made, he quickened his pace. In no time he passed through the noble district and entered the commoner quarter.
The street he'd ridden down in his father's cart as a child still looked the same. Shirone jingled his purse and marched into the bookstore. The woman running the shop recognized him—he'd always lingered there for hours whenever he came to town.
"Welcome… Oh my, isn't that Shirone?"
"Hello, ma'am."
"Well now. You've grown so much I almost didn't recognize you. I thought your father had left town—he used to buy a book every time he came in."
"He won't be coming anymore. That's why I'm buying them myself."
"You still love books, huh? Take your time looking."
"All right. I'll look around."
Shirone smiled and wandered the stacks. Price tags were on every pile; well-kept books were expensive no matter the contents.
Few commoners could read, but in a big city like Creas there were enough customers to make business worthwhile.
As expected, novels sold better than academic works, and the few scholarly books covered only basic subjects. Compared to the Alpheas School of Magic library, the bookstore's selection was modest. Still, Shirone liked any book, and after browsing he picked a novel whose protagonist was a mage.
It seemed popular—several copies were available and priced by condition. With money to spare, Shirone chose the cleanest, brand-new copy and handed over gold coins. The commoner shop's prices were low, but books were still precious. A new book cost ten times a poor-quality one.
"Oh my, you're buying such an expensive one? Who sent you?"
"No one. Actually, it's the first book I'm buying. I wanted a clean copy even if it's a stretch."
"That's admirable. Not many people spend money on books these days. Read it well so you get smart—smart people won't make their wives suffer when they marry."
Unaware Shirone attended the cradle of geniuses, the magic school, the woman launched into a proud little speech. Shirone seemed pleased even by that and left with his book.
'This is my book.'
Not borrowed, not read by someone else—his own. Even feeling its weight made his heart flutter like a child's.
"Huh? Isn't that Shirone?"
A voice called and Shirone turned. A group of kids had gathered around a cart. A familiar look made him stare.
"Hey? Altor? Martin? Even Lumina?"
They were the kids from the slash-and-burn village he'd played with as a child.
"Wow, it's really Shirone!"
They swarmed him. Most were the same age, at most a year or two apart, but their builds had changed so much he barely recognized them. Especially Altor, the village leader, had grown so huge even adults would struggle with him. Only Martin, always slight, was about Shirone's size.
Altor threw an arm from Shirone's head to his forearm.
"You brat! What happened to you? You never came back all these years. I asked Uncle Vincent and he only said you live in the city."
"Hahaha. Sorry. It turned out that way."
Their rough greeting hit him like old times, but Shirone was glad to see them. Martin, whose front teeth stuck out like a rabbit's, eyed Shirone's clothes and said admiringly,
"Wow. You've made it big. Someone might think you're a noble."
"Really? I don't notice."
Shirone was puzzled—he'd never thought of himself as noble. But living with the Ozent family and attending the Magic Academy had probably rubbed a bit of noble air onto him without his realizing it.
Lumina, the only girl in the group, said,
"You always looked like a noble, Shirone. Anyway, glad you're doing well."
"Thanks, Lumina. You look pretty too."
Lumina's face flushed. The Lumina Shirone remembered had been freckled with chubby cheeks; now her skin was a little tanned, the freckles gone and the chubbiness slimmed—she'd become a proper young woman.
Altor burst out laughing.
"You're getting slick at lying, Shirone! Back then no one could out-talk you. What's a tomboy like you getting called pretty for?"
"Shut up! Who are you to call me a tomboy or whatever?"
When Lumina snapped more angrily than before, Altor fell silent.
"Nah, I was just joking…"
"That's enough. I don't want to talk to you."
"Fine! Don't say anything. I'm embarrassed to be seen with a girl like you anyway!"
Old memories flooded back and Shirone felt good. It might look like a fight, but this was the everyday life of the kids from the slash-and-burn village.