The aberration started from something trivial. That’s always how it happened.
Even TV specials that promote healthy lifestyles and sickness prevention every week emphasize, “His tragedy started because he ignored the small danger signals his body was sending him” on repeat.
It may have been fine if I kept a close observation of the class, but in the days where the tabs for the soldiers’ eccentricities were sent my way without fail, I wasn’t given the time to spectate.
So I was late to notice.
Change number one.
The onset of a phenomenon where the items I surely put in my desk drawer when I got to school were gone.
“Ryouko, let me see your textbook.”
Waiting for her response to every little thing was a pain, so after I’d said that short sentence, I immediately pushed my desk up to her’s.
With the spine resting in the rift between stations, the textbook was folded open.
“To misplace your equipment is a disgrace for a soldier.”
“It’s not equipment, I’m not a soldier.”
I noticed some traces of actual study in Ryouko’s book. Postits, highlighter lines, notes in the margins… from her textbook alone, I might even get an illusion she was an honor student.
“So you are studying.”
“Growing familiar with this world is beneficial to the mission.”
“That so,” it was a bit of a shock.
“Did you forget it at your residence?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember forgetting it.”
Change number two.
In PE, we’d been playing basketball for a while now.
Not in matches, we were practicing the basics all over the court. Once, there was a time where a ball was thrown at my back. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but in that class alone, the same thing happened thrice. There were no apologies, in the first place, it was uncertain who threw it. But in the direction it came from, Takahashi, Yamamoto, Kawai, Kobayashi or Saitou, one of them would always be around.
Change number three.
No matter how adverse I may be, I would always be apprehended and tortured out to town once a week. Dejected as I was, I changed my shoes and went outside, but Ryouko who would always take the initiative to leap at me was having a staring contest with her shoe cubby. She showed no signs of coming out.
“Heey, let’s hurry and get this over with.”
When I returned to take a peek, Ryouko’s high-quality cosplay shoes were gone. I checked her feet to find she was still in her indoor shoes.
“What happened to your shoes?”
“Unknown.”
“Were you wearing them when you got here this morning”
“Affirmative.”
In school, Ryouko was at least obligated to wear indoor shoes.
“… Do you think they’ve been stolen?”
“While it is impossible to determine, it seems appropriate to consider a theft has occurred.”
“Rather, this is totally theft.”
Three small changes in sequence had become a conviction.
I had a vague sense, but when it became so blatant it seems they had no further intent to hide it.
Ryouko didn’t move.
“… Don’t worry about it. You’re not alone. You’re alright.”
Right, we were the combo leading the largest group in class. For argument’s sake.
Ryouko turned only her head.
“The Researcher has undergone special training and adjustments to accomplish her mission alone.”
“I know. But you don’t have to force yourself.”
“Force… even when conducting action under a highly cumbersome environment—”
I got it, I got it, I turned both hands to stop her.
“Now listen close, I’ll teach you something. You should carry your shoes with you. All the way to the classroom. Leaving your belongings in your clubroom locker and checking up on it every break time is best, but you’re not in any club. Do you want to try joining student council? If you say you’re an otaku, they might sympathize with you. Guess that’s not happening… can’t see you being elected… no, but if it’s general affairs, you can get in without elections but… no good… you’ll fail the interview.”
Whenever something was dragging Ryouko’s feet, it was always Ryouko herself.
“Hmmm,”
“Ichirou, it is no issue.”
She said without her usual attitude crumbling. But this time alone, on the contrary, it came off as unnatural. Even Ryouko had to be hiding how she really felt in the depths of her heart.
“Well, if you ever feel troubled, come and discuss it with me,” immediately realizing I was being too kind, I added on, “It’s better than holding it all in and bringing about some serious trouble.”
“……”
“W-what is it?”
“There is something that must be discussed at once.”
“Oh, so there is. Go ahead.”
“The Researcher requires a ritual catalyst. Requesting that Ichirou offers it.”
“What, so even now, you’re going to show off your setting? As long as you’re fine with that.” While I was let down, even for someone like her, I felt bad that her shoes were taken. For now, I’d do whatever I could for her. “So what do you need?
“Lower body hair.”
“I’ll be doing my best to kill you in some way that doesn’t involve violence.”
That was the first time in my life I ever mouthed genuine murderous intent.
“That murder declaration has been recorded by the Plenipotentiary Power Holder. It will serve as material evidence.”
She held out her medallion like a badge.
“That’s just a toy, ain’t it!? It doesn’t have any recording features!”
‘I’ll be doing my best to kill you, you, you (echo).’
“You really rock at impersonations, seriously!”
This girl had a high aptitude for crime.
“And yet, it is an ancient and noble catalyst.”
“I hate such low brow dirty humor!”
“… Understood. The catalyst may be obtained at a later date.”
“Not in my life.”
When a girl dumped a dirty joke on me, I kinda felt like I’d lost.
“So, real talk here, what are you going to do? Want me to buy some random pair? At the hundred yen shop, I’m pretty sure they have shoes for three hundred…”
“Unnecessary.”
Ryouko stuffed her inside shoes into the cubby, and in her strange stocking-like undergarments (practically barefoot), she was about to go out.
“Stop right there. It hurts to watch. To put it in your terms, if you want to take psychological influence into account, the use of footwear is indispensable.”
“It has been perceived that Ichirou is beginning to develop the correct train of thought. As an activity body affiliated with the Central Assembly, The Researcher graciously approves your acquisition of a brown belt.”
“It’s on a belt system? There’s something off with that one.”
“…..”
“Tsk! Tsk!”
Really, only when she ignored me did she get really irritating. I was even trying to sympathize with her there.
“Anyway, I’ll at least get you some shoes. When you’re being bullied, the tried and true method is to come to school in cheap shoes. There’s nothing to be lost in getting a few pairs together, spares included. How much money do you have?”
“In dollars?”
“… Yen. Don’t play dumb.”
“In yen, about this much.
Ryouko produced an otherworldly-looking wallet from her breast pocket.
“That looks like a remote.”
“It is a remote.”
It was a remote.
Once she’d operated that, a portion of her mechanical staff popped open, making me jump back a bit.
“… T-that took me by surprise.”
I was a coward so I really wanted her to cut me some slack.
“This is the amount of money currently possessed.”
I peered into the open space. My eyes jumped out of their sockets.
Going off-hand, a few hundred thousand.
“How defenseless can you…!”
“The small change is here.”
That old coin case was still embedded in the same place as usual.
“Don’t carry that much money with you! You’ll get robbed!”
“It is possible to cover various things with money,”
“Don’t put it like that. With that much, I can buy you dozens of shoes. Give me a thousand yen, I’ll get something.”
“The Researcher will accompany.”
“Why?”
“Conduct search on store interior.”
“Nope, no, definitely not. You’ll dirty your feet. I don’t want to have to see that.”
Honestly, I didn’t want to show up with Ryouko at the hundred yen shop I frequented. The DIY store, Daiso and the Hundred yen Shop were the greatest healing spots to me. I loved reasonably priced items so much I didn’t know what to do with myself. More than anything, that have-everything aura was irresistible.
Ryouko jumped at me from behind. Wrapping her arms around my neck, and her legs around my hips. She was embracing me. And yet, there wasn’t a hint of sexiness to it. It didn’t make me happy in the slightest.
“Dwaaaaah!”
“They will not get dirty like this.”
“You want me to walk like this!?” While the hundred-yen shop was in walking distance, Ryouko wasn’t light enough to carry and move… huh? She was.
“I’m getting this terrible sense you’re bound to die early.”
“The matter is of no concern. The Researcher has conquered the fear of death.”
“Liar.”
I already had a painful reputation in school. How about I put one foot forward and shame myself more? I started off with her on my back.
“By the way, I do have my guesses as to who the culprit is, but are you interested?”
“By the Researcher’s observations, there is a high probability that the culprit is a member of the Takahashi, Yamato, Itou, Ooshima, Imawano, Kobato group.”
“Hmm, so you’re actually aware of that. I thought you didn’t discriminate between the people around you. But it can’t be Itou or Kobato-san, right? They’ve been eating with us lately.”
“Both possibilities should be taken into consideration. If you are to neglect due diligence and lower your own operating capabilities, even as a possessor of the mystic eyes, your continued existence may hang in the balance.”
“But Kobato-san ain’t happening, that one’s impossible.”
Associating Kobato-san’s luxuriant smile with the words, “Satou-kun’s things are my things so I can throw them away however I want~” was harsh.
“The way I see it, it’s either Ooshima or Takahashi.”
“The Researcher also thinks that identification is appropriate.”
“Maybe my textbook went the same way. Well, as with the shoes, it’s probably not coming back.”
“Precisely, they will not return.”
Ryouko pulled out her remote, turned it to the school building and fiddled with it.
“For a self-destruct signal has just been dispatched to maintain confidentiality.”
“Pull the other one,” I laughed.
Right after, from somewhere, the babababang of presumably firecrackers went off, overlapping with the shrill shriek of a woman.
“…… For real?”
“Indeed.”
So even her shoes were rigged.
What’s more, that scream was very Ooshima. Perhaps she was right about to dispose of the shoes she’d taken.
“I’m starting to pity Ooshima. Hey, do you…”
“…… Sss.”
She raised a sleeper’s breath from my back.
“Fast, You fall asleep too fast.”
To have an instantaneous suspend, she really was a robot-like character. The delusional little girl on my back, her breathing alone was appropriate of a girl her age.
She fluctuated. The softness I could feel across our thin inner garments generated improper thought across my cranial nerves. But if so, then so what?
I’m sure someone somewhere said this, but high school boys are the stupidest lifeform on the planet.
Of course, I wouldn’t be moved to affection. Someone who fell asleep when I carried them out of sheer goodwill was just as guilty as someone who falls asleep in a movie theater. The moment I was about to drop her, as was my natural right, she was already letting off delta waves, whispering this in her sleep.
“Mn…… ichi… rou……”
She didn’t use that manufactured tone, that machine-like intonation she was always forcing. The syllables spilled out one by one in a pathetic, chipped call.
A compassionate inflection, the sweet murmur of my first name. I wanted to believe it was some mistake.
My surprise stretched out.
When I was just called normally, to think such soft emotions would encroach on my chest. To think I’d receive a stronger impact than when Kobato-san called me…
More than anything, to think a hole would open so easily in such a solid wall of delusion—
“… You’re way too defenseless… good grief.”
The aberration started from something trivial. That’s always how it happened.
Even TV specials that promote healthy lifestyles and sickness prevention every week emphasize, “His tragedy started because he ignored the small danger signals his body was sending him” on repeat.
It may have been fine if I kept a close observation of the class, but in the days where the tabs for the soldiers’ eccentricities were sent my way without fail, I wasn’t given the time to spectate.
So I was late to notice.
Change number one.
The onset of a phenomenon where the items I surely put in my desk drawer when I got to school were gone.
“Ryouko, let me see your textbook.”
Waiting for her response to every little thing was a pain, so after I’d said that short sentence, I immediately pushed my desk up to her’s.
With the spine resting in the rift between stations, the textbook was folded open.
“To misplace your equipment is a disgrace for a soldier.”
“It’s not equipment, I’m not a soldier.”
I noticed some traces of actual study in Ryouko’s book. Postits, highlighter lines, notes in the margins… from her textbook alone, I might even get an illusion she was an honor student.
“So you are studying.”
“Growing familiar with this world is beneficial to the mission.”
“That so,” it was a bit of a shock.
“Did you forget it at your residence?”
“I don’t know. I don’t remember forgetting it.”
Change number two.
In PE, we’d been playing basketball for a while now.
Not in matches, we were practicing the basics all over the court. Once, there was a time where a ball was thrown at my back. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but in that class alone, the same thing happened thrice. There were no apologies, in the first place, it was uncertain who threw it. But in the direction it came from, Takahashi, Yamamoto, Kawai, Kobayashi or Saitou, one of them would always be around.
Change number three.
No matter how adverse I may be, I would always be apprehended and tortured out to town once a week. Dejected as I was, I changed my shoes and went outside, but Ryouko who would always take the initiative to leap at me was having a staring contest with her shoe cubby. She showed no signs of coming out.
“Heey, let’s hurry and get this over with.”
When I returned to take a peek, Ryouko’s high-quality cosplay shoes were gone. I checked her feet to find she was still in her indoor shoes.
“What happened to your shoes?”
“Unknown.”
“Were you wearing them when you got here this morning”
“Affirmative.”
In school, Ryouko was at least obligated to wear indoor shoes.
“… Do you think they’ve been stolen?”
“While it is impossible to determine, it seems appropriate to consider a theft has occurred.”
“Rather, this is totally theft.”
Three small changes in sequence had become a conviction.
I had a vague sense, but when it became so blatant it seems they had no further intent to hide it.
Ryouko didn’t move.
“… Don’t worry about it. You’re not alone. You’re alright.”
Right, we were the combo leading the largest group in class. For argument’s sake.
Ryouko turned only her head.
“The Researcher has undergone special training and adjustments to accomplish her mission alone.”
“I know. But you don’t have to force yourself.”
“Force… even when conducting action under a highly cumbersome environment—”
I got it, I got it, I turned both hands to stop her.
“Now listen close, I’ll teach you something. You should carry your shoes with you. All the way to the classroom. Leaving your belongings in your clubroom locker and checking up on it every break time is best, but you’re not in any club. Do you want to try joining student council? If you say you’re an otaku, they might sympathize with you. Guess that’s not happening… can’t see you being elected… no, but if it’s general affairs, you can get in without elections but… no good… you’ll fail the interview.”
Whenever something was dragging Ryouko’s feet, it was always Ryouko herself.
“Hmmm,”
“Ichirou, it is no issue.”
She said without her usual attitude crumbling. But this time alone, on the contrary, it came off as unnatural. Even Ryouko had to be hiding how she really felt in the depths of her heart.
“Well, if you ever feel troubled, come and discuss it with me,” immediately realizing I was being too kind, I added on, “It’s better than holding it all in and bringing about some serious trouble.”
“……”
“W-what is it?”
“There is something that must be discussed at once.”
“Oh, so there is. Go ahead.”
“The Researcher requires a ritual catalyst. Requesting that Ichirou offers it.”
“What, so even now, you’re going to show off your setting? As long as you’re fine with that.” While I was let down, even for someone like her, I felt bad that her shoes were taken. For now, I’d do whatever I could for her. “So what do you need?
“Lower body hair.”
“I’ll be doing my best to kill you in some way that doesn’t involve violence.”
That was the first time in my life I ever mouthed genuine murderous intent.
“That murder declaration has been recorded by the Plenipotentiary Power Holder. It will serve as material evidence.”
She held out her medallion like a badge.
“That’s just a toy, ain’t it!? It doesn’t have any recording features!”
‘I’ll be doing my best to kill you, you, you (echo).’
“You really rock at impersonations, seriously!”
This girl had a high aptitude for crime.
“And yet, it is an ancient and noble catalyst.”
“I hate such low brow dirty humor!”
“… Understood. The catalyst may be obtained at a later date.”
“Not in my life.”
When a girl dumped a dirty joke on me, I kinda felt like I’d lost.
“So, real talk here, what are you going to do? Want me to buy some random pair? At the hundred yen shop, I’m pretty sure they have shoes for three hundred…”
“Unnecessary.”
Ryouko stuffed her inside shoes into the cubby, and in her strange stocking-like undergarments (practically barefoot), she was about to go out.
“Stop right there. It hurts to watch. To put it in your terms, if you want to take psychological influence into account, the use of footwear is indispensable.”
“It has been perceived that Ichirou is beginning to develop the correct train of thought. As an activity body affiliated with the Central Assembly, The Researcher graciously approves your acquisition of a brown belt.”
“It’s on a belt system? There’s something off with that one.”
“…..”
“Tsk! Tsk!”
Really, only when she ignored me did she get really irritating. I was even trying to sympathize with her there.
“Anyway, I’ll at least get you some shoes. When you’re being bullied, the tried and true method is to come to school in cheap shoes. There’s nothing to be lost in getting a few pairs together, spares included. How much money do you have?”
“In dollars?”
“… Yen. Don’t play dumb.”
“In yen, about this much.
Ryouko produced an otherworldly-looking wallet from her breast pocket.
“That looks like a remote.”
“It is a remote.”
It was a remote.
Once she’d operated that, a portion of her mechanical staff popped open, making me jump back a bit.
“… T-that took me by surprise.”
I was a coward so I really wanted her to cut me some slack.
“This is the amount of money currently possessed.”
I peered into the open space. My eyes jumped out of their sockets.
Going off-hand, a few hundred thousand.
“How defenseless can you…!”
“The small change is here.”
That old coin case was still embedded in the same place as usual.
“Don’t carry that much money with you! You’ll get robbed!”
“It is possible to cover various things with money,”
“Don’t put it like that. With that much, I can buy you dozens of shoes. Give me a thousand yen, I’ll get something.”
“The Researcher will accompany.”
“Why?”
“Conduct search on store interior.”
“Nope, no, definitely not. You’ll dirty your feet. I don’t want to have to see that.”
Honestly, I didn’t want to show up with Ryouko at the hundred yen shop I frequented. The DIY store, Daiso and the Hundred yen Shop were the greatest healing spots to me. I loved reasonably priced items so much I didn’t know what to do with myself. More than anything, that have-everything aura was irresistible.
Ryouko jumped at me from behind. Wrapping her arms around my neck, and her legs around my hips. She was embracing me. And yet, there wasn’t a hint of sexiness to it. It didn’t make me happy in the slightest.
“Dwaaaaah!”
“They will not get dirty like this.”
“You want me to walk like this!?” While the hundred-yen shop was in walking distance, Ryouko wasn’t light enough to carry and move… huh? She was.
“I’m getting this terrible sense you’re bound to die early.”
“The matter is of no concern. The Researcher has conquered the fear of death.”
“Liar.”
I already had a painful reputation in school. How about I put one foot forward and shame myself more? I started off with her on my back.
“By the way, I do have my guesses as to who the culprit is, but are you interested?”
“By the Researcher’s observations, there is a high probability that the culprit is a member of the Takahashi, Yamato, Itou, Ooshima, Imawano, Kobato group.”
“Hmm, so you’re actually aware of that. I thought you didn’t discriminate between the people around you. But it can’t be Itou or Kobato-san, right? They’ve been eating with us lately.”
“Both possibilities should be taken into consideration. If you are to neglect due diligence and lower your own operating capabilities, even as a possessor of the mystic eyes, your continued existence may hang in the balance.”
“But Kobato-san ain’t happening, that one’s impossible.”
Associating Kobato-san’s luxuriant smile with the words, “Satou-kun’s things are my things so I can throw them away however I want~” was harsh.
“The way I see it, it’s either Ooshima or Takahashi.”
“The Researcher also thinks that identification is appropriate.”
“Maybe my textbook went the same way. Well, as with the shoes, it’s probably not coming back.”
“Precisely, they will not return.”
Ryouko pulled out her remote, turned it to the school building and fiddled with it.
“For a self-destruct signal has just been dispatched to maintain confidentiality.”
“Pull the other one,” I laughed.
Right after, from somewhere, the babababang of presumably firecrackers went off, overlapping with the shrill shriek of a woman.
“…… For real?”
“Indeed.”
So even her shoes were rigged.
What’s more, that scream was very Ooshima. Perhaps she was right about to dispose of the shoes she’d taken.
“I’m starting to pity Ooshima. Hey, do you…”
“…… Sss.”
She raised a sleeper’s breath from my back.
“Fast, You fall asleep too fast.”
To have an instantaneous suspend, she really was a robot-like character. The delusional little girl on my back, her breathing alone was appropriate of a girl her age.
She fluctuated. The softness I could feel across our thin inner garments generated improper thought across my cranial nerves. But if so, then so what?
I’m sure someone somewhere said this, but high school boys are the stupidest lifeform on the planet.
Of course, I wouldn’t be moved to affection. Someone who fell asleep when I carried them out of sheer goodwill was just as guilty as someone who falls asleep in a movie theater. The moment I was about to drop her, as was my natural right, she was already letting off delta waves, whispering this in her sleep.
“Mn…… ichi… rou……”
She didn’t use that manufactured tone, that machine-like intonation she was always forcing. The syllables spilled out one by one in a pathetic, chipped call.
A compassionate inflection, the sweet murmur of my first name. I wanted to believe it was some mistake.
My surprise stretched out.
When I was just called normally, to think such soft emotions would encroach on my chest. To think I’d receive a stronger impact than when Kobato-san called me…
More than anything, to think a hole would open so easily in such a solid wall of delusion—
“… You’re way too defenseless… good grief.”
