I signaled to Elias and headed straight for the dormitory.
When I warped to the meeting spot, Elias was already sitting there, having arrived at some point. I took the newspaper from the drawer and placed it in front of him.
"First, I want to hear what area you're interested in."
"Ah, right. Good. Come to think of it, you always ask for my opinion, don't you?"
I tried to brush it off casually, but Elias was still looking at me with a smile.
'What should I say?'
I wanted to reply, 'Your choices are never wrong,' but that would just put pressure on him. No, it's more accurate to say his choices are worth betting on, even if they're wrong.
"I like the choices you make."
"Oh."
Elias stroked his chin as if he'd heard something unexpected, then tilted his head.
"But then you risk getting warnings all the way up to the brink of expulsion, like me."
"You didn't get expelled, though."
"Aha~ I see how it is."
Elias chuckled. He lightly flipped through the newspaper with one hand, then opened it to the missing persons list and pushed it toward me.
"Anyone can see it's the work of Pleroma."
I nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"While listening to all that talk about world replication or whatever, a thought struck me. People who've been missing for years aren't coming back. They've definitely all been sent to the Pleroma side."
"Right…"
I muttered while looking at the statistics he'd pointed out.
I had expected it, but I didn't think he'd actually bring up this topic. Elias hadn't heard me mention the missing persons count at the meeting. He came in after that.
Since I used information from the original to form a hypothesis, technically, Elias is the original source of this information.
'Still, this should have happened between half a year to a year from now.'
Maybe because the boundary compatibility issue was moved up, freeing up mental space to focus elsewhere, I caught the flow of events early. It's genuinely surprising that he brought this topic up first.
I nodded.
"Yeah, there's no explaining this abnormal number of missing persons unless it's them."
"Exactly. Especially the increasing number of missing minors, right? They're getting bolder and bolder, so why isn't the Imperial family doing anything?"
"When have they ever done anything properly?"
Elias was about to laugh but suddenly looked at me with a startled expression, then burst into loud laughter.
"Uhahaha! Wow, I'm really shocked. I didn't expect to hear that. I guess I've gotten too used to you, Leo."
"...I'm more shocked."
"You thought I'd side with the Imperial family? Absolutely not~ It's the same as how you view the Askaniens."
Elias snorted a laugh and started reading the materials I had brought out.
'Hmm.'
What to do.
I know how this case ends.
Elias targeted an orphanage in an area with frequent disappearances and discovered that two of its sponsors were Pleroma.
'But I don't know the names.'
Of course, I don't know the orphanage's name either.
Unless it's a Luca chapter I read right before falling asleep, it's not easy to remember the names of extras from the early parts of the novel.
Frankly, I think remembering as much as I've written down in my notes since my first day here is doing pretty well.
'Still, seeing the actual written words might jog my memory.'
We can just narrow down the suspicious people and verify them.
I was thinking of asking Narké, but if something comes up that requires me to distance myself from him, that would be a bit troublesome.
'Isn't there another way to investigate Pleroma?'
I was lost in thought for a while.
For now, there isn't. I'll think about it later.
To make progress, we first need to obtain the list of the orphanage's sponsors.
'Can the Bayern Investigation Bureau look into this issue too?'
Previously, the information was obtained through a person planted in the Bayern branch of Dasrote.
It might be difficult to find the sponsor list of such a remote orphanage, but it's worth a request.
"Eli, do you have a plan in mind for this issue?"
"Hmm… My thought is we should start with the local orphanage."
"Why?"
"Look, here's the map you marked with incidents during the meeting."
Elias turned the materials used in the meeting toward me. He placed his finger on an area filled with bright red X marks.
"Minors went missing in clusters around this facility. Right? There are definitely many other areas too, but I think we should sweep here first. We'll catch something."
"Good intuition?"
"Yeah."
Elias nodded as if it were the most natural thing.
It's so accurate I can only laugh.
"Alright, then let's go with investigating this orphanage. First, let's find the list of people involved."
"Pleroma will be among them? You think so too, Luca."
"Who knows. But isn't that the most likely possibility?"
"Right… Like Strauchi."
He muttered, then propped his crutch on the floor with a thud and stood up.
"Let's go! To get the list!"
'And then what…'
I swallowed those words and shook my head.
"Wait a moment. We can't just go and demand it outright."
"Why not?"
"Then they'll just give it to us?"
"Give… Ah, wait. With my leg like this, I can't really bluff."
Elias clicked his tongue and plopped back into the chair.
I know his methods. Like when he disguised himself with a suitable identity to explore restricted zones, he'd change his eye color, wear an investigation bureau uniform, pose as a detective, and extract information.
'Come to think of it, I only knew about the eye-color-changing medicine because the protagonist used it.'
While I was reminiscing about the start of the semester, Elias clapped his hands.
"Right! Then let's look into it tomorrow, and that's it for today! Did you see outside? Kids from other departments are already setting up their booths."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Only our department kids are all busy hunting magical beasts right now. I honestly think the school pulled a bit of a fast one. Of all days, the day before the festival? It's like they're telling us to play and just forget everything~"
"It does seem that way to some extent."
I let out a dry laugh.
After that, Elias and I talked about school for a long time. To be precise, he was the one pouring out a heap of stories by himself.
Elias tirelessly brought up new topics.
"By the way, you know about the play tomorrow, right?"
The Magic Department, perhaps due to someone drawing the short straw, ended up having to do a play. Fortunately, not everyone has to go; only about ten people per class, including supporting roles, so I managed to avoid getting a part.
"The kids prepared hard, right? I hope a lot of people come to watch."
"Yeah. Ah! Did you know our class… no, Class 1 and Class 2 have a competition for audience numbers? I think Class 2 will win. They're doing a new song. They'll just grow from this."
"What are we doing?"
"Faust. So when I heard the spell Strauchi mentioned, I thought I'd faint."
"Spell?"
"There's that line, 'I bid thee, halt, thou fleeting moment,' or something like that."
Now that you mention it…
Strauchi used something other than scripture to overlay the magic formula.
Using scripture verses for magic incantations is an unwritten rule here. Magic without scripture is unthinkable to the point that it can't even receive approval from the Magic Ministry. All the spells I've memorized so far came from scripture.
Magic formulas aren't created in an instant, and the incantations overlaid on them are the same. You can't just attach and detach them easily.
And in that context, using verses pulled from elsewhere to overlay a magic formula?
That means on the Pleroma side, there's no unwritten rule or regulation requiring the use of scripture.
'…This could be useful.'
I found a method in an unexpected place.
I can use this to verify Pleroma.
Of course, I'd have to disguise myself as Pleroma too.
* * *
The dormitory was noisy all evening.
Since the festival was the very next day, yesterday Leo and I only did some simple training and didn't hold a meeting.
And so, the day of the festival arrived.
Word has it they'll just do a brief morning assembly and let us go.
'The market floor is a separate world.'
With all this chaos, whatever I do today probably won't stand out. I should find a suitable time to talk to Narké.
Then, Pie poked his head out from my uniform robe pocket.
"Narké said he'd buy me something tasty today!"
Wasn't this kid a herbivore? There shouldn't be anything edible for him.
'Come to think of it, he lives off holy water.'
As I was following that pointless train of thought, the noisy classroom suddenly fell silent.
"Good morning, students."
The professor unfailingly took attendance, then lightly tapped the lectern with his palm.
"Alright, everyone's here. Since there's also dormitory roll call, any student who leaves during the festival and doesn't return will be marked absent. Please remember that on days like this, following the rules even better than usual prevents problems. And since other schools also have no classes today…"
All the high schools in the capital have their festival today.
Because of that, his speech was getting longer and longer.
I leaned back comfortably in my chair, stroking Pie in my robe pocket, letting his words wash over me.
'The real world or here…'
The wish that even when I'm older, they'd keep lectures reasonable remains the same. Another pointless realization. I understand the teacher's perspective better than when I was in high school, but it's still boring.
While I had my hand in my pocket playing with Pie for a long time, the bell rang.
'It's over.'
I prepared to push my chair back and stand up in the rapidly noisier classroom.
Then, the professor, holding the attendance sheet, was about to leave the classroom but stopped Leo.
"Class President."
"Yes."
I glanced over there and felt something hard touch my finger as I bowed my head. Pie, perhaps wanting to play more, bit my finger and hung on. I lifted Pie inside the pocket and whispered softly.
"Later."
The professor, meanwhile, was saying something nonstop to Leo.
"A delivery will come to the first floor of the main building around 3 o'clock, so just bring it up and leave it in the classroom."
"Yes, understood."
"And, if you have time, please look after a friend."
"Yes?"
The class, which had been noisy the whole time, instantly fell silent.
Leo's flustered reply sounded strange somehow.
'What.'
I looked up at this anomaly and made eye contact with dozens of students still in the classroom at once.
The friends from the same club made even more horrified faces than the other students and gestured toward Leo.
'....'
Don't tell me he meant me?
* * *
It happens occasionally.
I've heard of it too. Of course, not from Luca's position, but from Leo's.
I've been class president a few times, and even in years I didn't run for election, teachers often saw me in a similar position.
There's always one or two students in a class who don't blend well with the others, and when counseling for such a student's worries or a concerned call from parents comes in, teachers try various methods. One of them is to ask a student who gets along with everyone to look after the isolated student.
Doesn't seem like it would happen? It does. In fact, no amount of consolation is as quick a solution as making a friend.
They don't say it outright by coming up and saying, 'The homeroom teacher told me to look after you,' so you just don't know.
'…No, wait. There were also kids who came to the classroom and threw tantrums.'
That's the teacher misjudging the student.
Anyway, the way they bring it up varies by teacher. Some teachers dangle the student record, making absurd requests like trying to become friends, while others just naturally say to include them in group activities that require teams and occasionally ask how they're doing, then leave it at that.
'…Is this one the former type…?'
He's clearly gotten too old and forgotten that teenagers also have social dynamics. No, whatever. What's the point of analyzing this now?
You see all sorts of things in life. Well, actually, it happened to Luca.
I couldn't help but laugh, a dry, stifled chuckle escaping.
Leo stood frozen with a dazed look, then quickly regained his composure and nodded.
"I'll do that."
What are you saying, you jerk…
I stood up from my seat, shaking my head.
"No, it's alright, Professor. I have things to do today."
"Things to do?"
"Today, the libra…"
I stopped there.
If I said I was going to the library on this festival day…
I forced a dry laugh and grabbed the back of my neck.
—-----------
T/N:
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