After returning home, Hanadasaki Ame also received a message from his father, Hanadasaki Tatsuya, asking how today's meeting had gone.
He tossed back a few perfunctory replies and brushed the matter aside.
Overall, it had been perfectly ordinary. Nagasaki Soyo was just a normal pretty girl, not someone likely to inspire any particular sense of surprise.
Still, Hanadasaki Ame was not the sort to demand too much.
Most people in this world were ordinary to begin with. It was unwise to place excessive expectations on others.
Once that minor business was dealt with, Hanadasaki Ame began thinking about what kind of people he would need to assist with his research experiments.
His own energy was limited. He needed to find a few people capable of keeping up with his train of thought and sharing some of the burden.
Research into Magnetic Field Rotation was a long-term undertaking. Even with the information obtained through simulation, it might still take a dozen years or more. His experimental team would have to be as stable as possible, without people dropping out halfway through.
And ideally, even when separated from him, they would still be capable of handling certain lines of research independently.
In the last simulation, he had used a group of students as assistants, and that had not produced any hidden dangers. Naturally, he could simply replicate the same approach now.
Since his institute was planned to be set up beside Inaba High School, its members ought to be recruited from Inaba High School as well.
The list of incoming first-years was not available yet, but the names of upperclassmen might be possible to obtain.
After a bit of thought, Hanadasaki Ame began messaging classmates he was familiar with, asking around about students at Inaba High School.
Since he was about to enter Inaba and begin a new phase of school life there, asking about the students was perfectly normal. The people he knew did not even ask why— they simply started helping him gather information.
Before long, through the network of student connections, he had learned about several outstanding students who were fairly well known at Inaba, along with part of the incoming freshman class.
Among them, one person caught his attention.
"Shinjou Akane… extremely skilled in software programming and model building?"
Like him, this Shinjou Akane was an incoming first-year. But her personality was said to be rather withdrawn and awkward, with very few friends, spending all her time immersed in the electronic world.
Even so, she had still gotten into the prestigious Inaba High School with ease, her grades near the top of the class.
Hanadasaki Ame could not help nodding.
A very good candidate. The areas she excelled in would also be highly useful for experimental research.
As for her being withdrawn…
That was actually a plus!
Young people should not waste their time on pointless socializing. She ought to join him and devote herself fully to the study of Magnetic Field Rotation!
After getting hold of her Line account, Hanadasaki Ame sent her a friend request, intending to arrange a meeting and persuade her to join his team before school began.
Meanwhile, among the upperclassmen, one senpai about to enter her second year also made Hanadasaki Ame pause.
Shikibu Mayu—a model student who always scored perfect marks in the sciences. Classmates who knew her had occasionally seen her reading complex academic papers, and rumor had it that she entertained the strange idea of developing supernatural powers.
This one was excellent too. She had a solid academic foundation and fantasies about superpowers. Was that not quite similar to himself?
She sounded perfectly suited to researching Magnetic Field Rotation together!
After narrowing things down to these two, Hanadasaki Ame nodded, rather satisfied.
Being able to identify two people right away was already very good. Many more talented individuals kept their gifts hidden; unless they had touched the relevant fields, they would not have any particular reputation. Those would have to be excavated slowly.
For the moment, he had not managed to contact Shikibu Mayu.
Shinjou Akane, however, accepted his Line request very quickly.
She was probably perpetually parked in front of her computer.
Hanadasaki Ame sent her a message briefly introducing himself and the reason he had approached her, then asked whether she might be interested in joining his institute.
If she was interested, they could meet and talk in person.
Shinjou Akane did not reply for a very long time. It was impossible to tell whether she was thinking it over or simply ignoring him altogether.
After waiting a while, Hanadasaki Ame set the matter aside for the moment and went to take a bath.
He was not in much of a hurry anyway. It would be best if he could assemble the team early, but taking things more slowly did not matter. He had plenty of time.
Besides, the institute property had not yet been finalized. And even once it was, it would still take time to renovate. Even if he found members now, they could only drift around on campus for the time being.
After spending some time showering, soaking in the bath, and tossing his clothes into the washing machine, Hanadasaki Ame finally returned to his bedroom wearing only a bath towel draped around himself, slowly blow-drying his hair.
When he was home alone, he often enjoyed that feeling of complete freedom.
Beneath the towel, he wore nothing at all.
Just as he was using the towel to wipe the moisture from his long hair, a video call suddenly came in.
Hanadasaki Ame glanced at his phone.
The displayed name was Shinjou Akane's nickname.
"..."
He could not help wondering whether Shinjou Akane knew some kind of strange little trick—something like remotely activating other people's phone cameras.
Casually rewrapping the towel more securely around himself, he tapped the screen and accepted the call.
Onscreen appeared a cute girl with short pinkish-purple hair cut to her neck. She wore red half-rim glasses whose lenses were already cracked. Perhaps because of the camera angle, her figure looked startlingly prominent beneath her clothes—lush and curving, with the white blouse stretched tightly over her chest, the buttons clearly under immense strain as they fought to keep the snowy skin beneath from showing.
She probably rarely went out into the sun. Her skin was pale and translucent, and her whole person gave off a soft, yielding impression.
"Miss Shinjou Akane, perhaps you should go pick up your high school uniform a little early."
Hanadasaki Ame said softly.
"Really?"
Shinjou Akane lowered her head and took a look.
Her body was still developing, and since she disliked going out, it was only natural that her clothes would no longer fit properly.
"The fact that you're contacting me now, Miss Shinjou Akane, suggests you've had some thoughts about my earlier proposal. If you're willing to join my team, I'll do my best to satisfy whatever待遇 you need. Why don't you tell me what you have in mind?"
Hanadasaki Ame smoothly changed the subject at once. He had no intention of making direct comments about a girl's body. Better to speak of business.
"Mm… I want to know how many people are in this research team of yours right now."
Shinjou Akane asked in her soft, fluffy voice.
"At present, only me. You're the first person I invited. I've identified other people suitable to join as well, and I'm preparing to invite them one by one."
Hanadasaki Ame answered.
"I see…"
Shinjou Akane thought for a moment, then smiled.
"In that case, alright. I'll join."
She did not raise any conditions at all. She simply agreed that readily, which made it difficult to tell what she was thinking.
Then again, ordinary high school students seldom brought up especially practical conditions in the first place. Their actions were more often driven by personal interest.
Receiving a positive answer, Hanadasaki Ame could not help smiling as well.
The first person had joined. Surely the second would not be far behind. His team was bound to flourish!
He ended up chatting with Shinjou Akane for a long time, moving from plans for the institute to the prospects of future society. Most of the time he was the one speaking, but Shinjou Akane was a qualified listener—more often than not, she could follow what he was saying.
They talked all the way into late night before he finally, still reluctant to stop, wished her good night and ended the call.
And then he sank into thought by himself.
Shinjou Akane had seemed easygoing enough, but he had the distinct feeling…
that her mental state was even worse than Nagasaki Soyo's.
He would have to think of some way to soothe her a little and stabilize her psychologically.
…
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 172)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 115)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 116)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter105)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter100)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter69)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter119)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 65
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 70
From Junkman to Wasteland 60
Weekly Refresh of Overpowered 31
I'm Grinding Proficiency Like 40
From Kiana, Lord Ravager, Onwa 66
Honkai: Is This Still the Prev 42
Elf: My Starter Pokémon Is Inc 50
Warhammer: My Primarch Is Remi 52
From Demon Slayer to Grand Ass 55
The Way the Umamusume Look at 42
Uma Musume, but My Cheat Power 40
Naruto: Weaving the Future, Be 36
Zenless Zone Zero, but Kamen R 30
Multiverse Crossover: The Perf 26
My Cyberpsycho Girlfriend 26
My patreon : patreon.com/queen_sin