ANIMT - Chapters 36-38

ANIMT - Chapter 36. Mr. Umetaro’s Story

With a thump, I knocked on the door of the dorm supervisor’s office. My face probably betrayed my nervousness.

Mr. Umetaro greeted me with his usual gentle smile, said, “Hello, Mitsuba-chan,” and gladly let me in.

Sitting down on the tatami floor, I stared at Umetaro-san, who had busied himself making me a cup of tea, and pondered. In the time between the events of last night and the end of school the following day, I had wracked my brains, trying to make sense of what I had discovered in the library. No matter how I looked at it though, none of the clues seemed to mesh together. The mystery only deepened the more I learned. No matter where my thoughts led me though, I couldn’t bring myself to assume the worst of Umetaro, even if only hypothetically.

“I’m sorry to bother you. I came here today because I had something I wanted to ask you, Mr. Umetaro.”

“Of me? Sure, ask me anything.”

I immediately unloaded on Mr. Umetaro, who had just sat down at the low table with my tea, leading first with a question confirming what I had found at the back of the book of black magic.

“Um… is your last name Sakuranomiya?”

“Yes, it is.”

I summoned all of my courage and forced out this question, while my heart threatened to burst from my chest, and he easily affirmed it.

Umetaro-san tilted his head slightly to the side.

“Well, I haven’t made it too public. Where did you hear that, Mitsuba-chan?”

“Oh, that’s… ”

I faltered but began explaining myself, keeping the response half truthful, and half vague.

“Actually, I can’t go into too much detail, but I’ve been involved in a little magic-related incident. And it seems to involve forbidden magic. I heard a rumor that there is a book about this kind of magic in the library’s forbidden section… I forced a friend from the library committee to let me in. The girl initially refused, but I really wanted to check it out. So I did, and there was… ”

“Yes?”

“I found a book called A List of Forbidden Magic Types and Their Uses. And in the list of authors, there was a name, Sakuranomiya Umetaro… um… ”

Fumbling my words, I struggled with the next question: one that I really needed to ask.

‘Is it a coincidence that you have the same last name as the Chancellor?’

‘Why is Umetaro-san, a non-magical person, listed as the author of such a book?’

‘What does Umetaro-san have to do with forbidden magic?’

These were just a few of the questions racing through my mind. Pulling them all together, I settled on a question that cut right to the root of the matter.

“Well, Umetaro-san, who are you… ?”

There was a short silence in the room as I uttered such a stupid question. He folded his wrinkled hands and stared at me with eyes as calm as the deep sea. And then, with the usual gentle look on his face, he spoke in a tone as if sharing a secret with a friend.

“Yes, you’re right. In order to answer Mitsuba-chan’s question, I’ll have to tell you the story of a boy, right from the beginning. It’s going to take a while, but I don’t mind telling you… If that’s what you want?”

“Eh… ”

For a moment, I couldn’t figure out what he meant, and a question mark appeared in my head. However, I belatedly realized that Umetaro-san was trying to tell me something about himself, and I hurriedly nodded my head. He laughed, and in a voice that was as pleasant to the ear as a storyteller’s, began telling me the story of a boy named Sakuranomiya Umetaro.

“A boy lost his parents in an accident while in elementary school and was taken in by an orphanage. But the orphanage that took him in was a terrible place. It only gathered children with an aptitude for magic and forced them to cooperate in magic experiments.”

“Eh!?”

“Mitsuba-chan, you know how magical aptitude for most people manifests during middle school, right? This orphanage had technology that could easily determine the presence of latent magic power, even before their power manifests naturally. They realized that it’s just the awakening that happens in junior high school. The source of magic within a person sprouts in their bodies around the third year of elementary school.”

This was a shocking revelation, but I had a feeling that I had heard part of this story somewhere before. The technology that could investigate potential magic power was… I’m pretty sure I heard about this from Kokomi when we became friends.

But the agency that had that technology was…

“I’m sure you’ve heard of it, too, Mitsuba-chan. It’s a private organization specializing in magic, ostensibly called the Magic Research Institute.”

“Huh!”

I convulsed grandly, causing the desk to shake and some tea to spill from the teacup. Mr. Umetaro quickly wiped it up, while saying, “Oh, dear, are you all right?” Umetaro busied himself cleaning my mess, but I was too busy to pay any attention to that.

I hadn’t expected to hear about the laboratory here.

“Um, can I continue with the story?”

“Oh, yes, I’m sorry!”

“The… orphanage was an experimental facility for the institute. The boy had a particularly strong aptitude for magic and had been subjected to a number of dangerous magical experiments, even before his magical powers fully awakened. In particular, he was forced to cooperate in the research of forbidden magic, which was necessary for the development of a medicine that the institute had been working on for a long time. Every day of that experiment was like a living hell for him.”

The medicine must have been the magic power awakening medicine. Umetaro-san spoke plainly, but I felt sick to my stomach, imagining what it must have been like to live there. I can’t help but feel that all the magic-related bad things that happen in this world involve that laboratory. They are truly an evil organization.

“All of the children there were referred to by number, and the boy had long forgotten his real name. His mind and personality were on the verge of a breakdown.”

In the abyss within Umetaro-san’s eyes, a dark shadow dwelt that could not be hidden. I felt a tightening pain in my chest as I tried to imagine the tragic scars of his past that I could not fully understand or relate to. But now Umetaro-san was telling me about his past, which he didn’t want to remember, all for my sake. Since this was the case, I would listen to him until the end, even if it was painful to hear.

“… But then a turning point came for the boy. The Sakuranomiya family, a prestigious magic family that had long been suspicious of the institute itself, decided to intervene and began investigating it in earnest.”

“The Sakuranomiya family… ?”

“The evil there was exposed and the orphanage was abolished. The institute got away with it, though, saying that the orphanage had done everything on their own. Anyway, the children were taken into custody and kept at a facility under the jurisdiction of the Sakuranomiya family. Everyone except for that one boy.”

“And what happened to him?”

“He was about fourteen years old at that time. The Sakuranomiya family, appreciating his high magical aptitude, decided to take the boy into their home. Of all the children, he was the one in the worst physical and mental condition, so he needed special care. As a result, the boy was adopted by the Sakuranomiya family.”

So that’s why Umetaro-san’s last name is Sakuranomiya, and I finally knew the answer to one of the questions plaguing me.

“It was a tumultuous life,” he said, shaking his head and laughing as if unbothered by the atrocities he suffered.

“The Sakuranomiya family called him by his real name, not a number, and they were kind to him. But no matter what, he could not adjust to this sudden change in environment, so he kept quiet, stared blankly, and pushed everyone away.”

In my brain, I pictured a boy with empty eyes, alone in a large mansion, holding his knees. It might have been the result of my imagination, but it was terribly painful, sad, and lonely. This image did not quite match up with the current, friendly, and much-loved figure of Umetaro-san, who was adored by many of his students.

“The one who forcefully pried open the boy’s mind was the eldest daughter of the Sakuranomiya family, a single young lady who always won at everything she did. One day, the lady suddenly gave the boy a flying kick in the back.”

“A flying kick?”

“It was was very painful. And then, when the boy was confused by the surprise and pain, the lady said, ‘I’m sorry.’”

*Cough*

Clearing his throat, Umetaro continued briskly.

“‘I don’t know what kind of horrible things you’ve been through in your life. But whatever your past, you are now part of my family. If you don’t respond to your old name, I’ll give you a new one to mark the start of your new life. So, quit it with that bitter look on your face and respond properly when my family calls you.’”

“That’s… kind of awesome, isn’t it?”

The young lady’s… or rather, the Chancellor’s demeanor was too aggressive. But, having met her earlier, I could totally see her kicking someone and saying such a line with complete self-confidence.

“And in the same tree theme as the young lady’s name, ‘Sakura’, the boy was given the name of ‘Ume’, a tree which blooms at the same time in spring.”

“… Cherry blossoms and plums?”

“Yes. It was a bit forced, but it was the beginning of a gradual brightening. After that, the young lady became the most important person in the boy’s life. He also learned to make sweets and stuffed animals for her, as she had a surprisingly sweet tooth and liked pretty things.”

Umetaro sipped his tea and narrowed his eyes in nostalgia. However, as I listened to the story, the mysteries bothering me were solved one after another, but there were still two big questions left.

The first one was why Umetaro now had no magical aptitude when he apparently had quite strong magical powers originally. This has yet to be revealed in his story.

And one more thing. Earlier, he said that the boy in his story was close in age to the daughter of the board chairman. But Mr. Umetaro was in his late fifties at the youngest. To match up with the story, he would have to be in his early thirties at the oldest, so their ages did not really match. My curiosity mounted by the minute, but rather than ask them now, I think I’ll hear him out first.

“The young lady said that in the future, her dream was to create the world’s best magic school that all students could be proud of. The boy looked forward to the day when that dream would come true the most. He also wanted to give back to the family that took him in, even if it was just a little bit, so he began to lend his support to the research that the Sakuranomiya family was doing on forbidden magic.”

“Huh? So, the Sakuranomiya family was also researching forbidden magic?”

“We have the proper permission from the country’s magic agency. Of course, we didn’t use inhumane methods like the Research Institute. At the time, restrictions on forbidden magic were still lax, and the Sakuranomiya family was doing research to continue developing magic for the betterment of everyone. The lady praised him to the point of exaggeration.”

From the way he described them, those must have been the happy days. Umetaro’s eyes fell quietly.

“All the results of his research were compiled into a book, which was carefully kept in the Sakuranomiya household. That’s the book Mitsuba-chan found called ‘A List of Forbidden Magic Types and Their Uses’. It’s a valuable resource, the only one of its kind in the world, currently hidden in the school’s forbidden library. One day, there was an incident involving it.”

“Incident… ?”

“Someone broke into the Sakuranomiya house to steal that book. Passing through the tight security, the intruder found the place where the book was kept. However, it seems that they were unable to steal the book itself, which was protected with a special spell. In the end, they tore out the pages they needed.”

“So, did they catch the intruder?”

“No. When I saw the stolen pages, I immediately assumed that the intruder was from the lab. They must have been desperate for information on the forbidden magic needed to develop their potion, which they had been forced to stop developing since the closure of the orphanage. But there was no proof, and with the pages stolen, there was nothing more we could do.”

It seems that the torn pages contained the key to solving the mystery of the research material that Pochitaro and I saw in the room. I bit my lip tightly, feeling the disappointment Umetaro and his family must have felt at the time, as well as my own regret.

“It would have been better if the damage was only to the book. But there was a further tragedy in this case. The young lady who chased after the intruder and tried to catch him was badly injured.”

“Badly injured… !”

“She had a great magical power of the ‘flame’ element. But her power was still unstable at the time. When she was fighting the intruder, she lost control over her powers and got engulfed in her own flames. When the boy rushed to the scene, the young lady was in a cruel state, with burns all over her body.”

“Oh no… ”

The situation was too much for me, and I held my mouth. Umetaro-san’s somber voice washed over me, still sitting on the young grass-colored tatami.

“She managed to survive, but she didn’t regain consciousness, and in addition to burns all over her body, she was blinded in both eyes. No matter how advanced the healing magic the boy used on her, there was nothing he could do about this. With the young lady not waking up, the boy thought about how he could save her. And then he found an answer.”

I could predict the next words that Umetaro would say. Putting myself in the boy’s shoes, to save a precious one, I knew what I would do.

And then he began saying the words I expected.

“The boy, despite knowing how dangerous it was, for the sake of saving the girl, decided to use a certain kind of Forbidden Magic.”

----

Chapter brought to you by The Patrons.

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ANIMT - Chapter 37. The Boyfriend of the Past and the Boyfriend of the Present

In anticipation of the coming events, I couldn’t hide my unease and gripped my skirt tightly. Mr. Umetaro continued his story in a near-whisper.

“The boy invoked Zenkai Magic, otherwise known as complete recovery, a kind of magic that can heal any injury or illness in an instant. If you’ve seen that book, you should know what I mean. It has a rating of four skulls out of five to indicate the level of danger and difficulty. You also probably have an idea of what using it entails… ”

I’m sure this was what Kusaka-sensei referred to when he said that forbidden magic was capable of curing terrible injuries and illnesses that normal healing magic could not.

Such a spell was what the boy, Umetaro-san, used to save his precious Chancellor-san.

“Forbidden magic was nothing new to the boy that had been forced to use it as part of the experiments he was subjected to while at the orphanage. But fortunately for him, he had previously never succeeded in casting such magic. He had mostly been exposed to relatively simple forbidden spells, but still, they were all failures. Do you know why, Mitsuba-chan?”

“Huh? Well, was it due to a lack of magic power, or did he use the wrong procedures?”

“Yeah. That might have been the case. But do you know what I think? I think that the magic didn’t succeed because he never had any intention or desire to actually cast them. Do you remember the trick I shared when I gave you the Shiratama doll?”

I nodded my head. At that time, Umetaro-san asked me, “What is the most important thing when using magic?”

In the end, the answer he shared was the intention and imagery of the user. I have never forgotten that conversation and it was only because of this guidance that I could somewhat master material-manipulation magic.

“When the forbidden magic was forcibly invoked, there was no way the boy’s heart was moved, so it was probably natural that all those spells failed… But the circumstances were different when he saved the lady. The boy had a strong desire to save her and a firm resolve to see it through to the end.”

“… So, the magic succeeded, right?”

I met the Chancellor before heading into the secret library, and she seemed alive and well. Even so, I couldn’t help but ask, and when I recrossed my numb legs and asked Umetaro-san that question in a coy manner, he slowly nodded his head.

“The complete recovery spell that the boy invoked was indeed a success. The young lady’s burns disappeared without a trace, and the light returned to her eyes. The boy had to pay a big price, though.”

Equivalent exchange.

“The price he paid was all of his magic power and some of his remaining life.”

“What?”

“I guess you could say that he offered some form of life force in order to restore the woman’s body. The boy lost his magic power and aged about thirty years in an instant.”

Placing his wrinkled hands on his chest, Umetaro lowered his eyebrows, “I don’t regret a single thing, though.”

As for me, I was so surprised that I was finally speechless. If the story was correct, Umetaro-san was actually in his thirties, just like the Chancellor…

Despite his appearance, Umetaro’s eyes were strong and youthful. The way he smiled at me and said, “I’m sorry for all the sudden comings and goings,” made him look like a young man for just a moment.

“You must be disillusioned with me after hearing this story, Mitsuba-chan.”

“No way! I could never, no matter what!”

A lonely voice put forth such a question out of the blue, so I impulsively screamed out my answer, my throat still raw from listening to his story.

I was certainly surprised by this revelation, but it didn’t change the way I felt about Umetaro-san. In fact, after hearing about Umetaro’s life, how he overcame his hardships and tried to protect the person he cared about, made me realize once again that he was a very kind and wonderful person.

“No matter what happened to Umetaro-san in the past, he is still Umetaro-san! I’m grateful for what you’ve told me, but I’m not disillusioned! Umetaro-san will always be the Umetaro-san I love!”

The man in front of me opened his eyes and smiled like a plum tree blossoming. I was relieved to see that it was his usual smile that made me feel at ease, and I patted my chest.

“I’m me, huh? It’s been a long time since I’ve heard that kind of thing from a young lady.”

“Yeah… ”

“Actually, after recovering the young lady, I already looked like a young man, or maybe middle-aged. I disappeared from the Sakuranomiya household before she woke up. I didn’t stay around to make sure she was all healed, and with my magic gone, I wasn’t sure whether I should stay or not. Fleeing the house, I lived in hiding for a while… ”

Cutting off his words there, Umetaro scratched his head politely.

“I got kicked for a second time when I met her again.”

“Another jumping kick?

“The damage inflicted was doubled since I was much older. And I received a long lecture. ‘No matter what you look like, a plum tree is still a plum tree! From now on, you will not be allowed to leave my side without my permission!’ That’s what she said. The lady seemed to know everything about what I had done. And then she made me promise again to stay with her as long as I could.”

It was a troubled tone, but I could tell. Umetaro-san looked very happy.

“I’ve been working as a janitor of a small dormitory in order to keep an eye on this important school on her behalf.”

This was the first time I had ever seen such a thing. This was the reason why Umetaro-san, a non-magical person, worked at this school, a place full of people with magical aptitude.

Before I knew it, I had almost finished my tea, and Umetaro-san said, “That’s the end of my story.”

“It’s been a long story, but I hope it answered your question, Mitsuba-chan.”

“Oh, yes! Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to me… ”

I straightened my posture and bowed my head in gratitude. Truly glad I came here and confronted him directly, my respect for Mr. Umetaro welled up from the bottom of my heart. My suspicions had been completely cleared up, and I now had a little more information about the institute and its drug.

More than anything, I was happy to hear about the relationship between Mr. Umetaro and the Chancellor. As I was thinking this, Umetaro-san made a dry cough and clapped his hands.

“Well, I know you’re dealing with an urgent matter, so I have an apology gift for Mitsuba-chan for keeping me company during our long conversation.”

“Oh, a gift of apology… ?”

I twisted my head at just how similar the situation before me felt, before I recalled the time I received the Shiratama doll. There was nothing he had to apologize for, especially since I was the one that had barged in and asked the question. Half-excited to find out what I would receive this time, and half wary of receiving more favors from my benefactor.

I held my breath in anticipation as Umetaro disappeared into the back of his room, and he returned with an A4-sized envelope. The envelope was faded and swollen, and he handed it to me carefully.

“I’ll give this to Mitsuba-chan, well actually, I’ll lend it to you.”

“What’s this… ?”

Peeking through the exposed corners, the contents appeared to be a bundle of paper, and it was heavier than I expected. The envelope was sealed with a mark that resembled a cherry blossom and plum tree, and it seemed to contain something important.

“That right there is the original manuscript of ‘A List of Forbidden Magic Types and Their Uses’.”

“What?”

At the unexpected bombshell (I don’t know how many bombshells I’ve heard today) my grip loosened and the envelope flopped onto the floor. I hurriedly picked it back up and dusted it off lightly.

‘Jeez, it’s not like it’s our country’s founding document!’

“I’ve held onto this from the beginning. The book is the only official copy, but I held onto this rough manuscript just in case.”

The corner of Umetaro’s mouth raised slightly, like a naughty boy’s.

“I’m sure it’ll be a lot harder to read than that book, but it probably has the information Mitsuba-chan wants.”

“Why would… ?”

I only told Umetaro-san that I was involved in a magic-related incident. Other than the fact that I told him that forbidden magic was involved, I didn’t tell him anything about the laboratory or the medicine.

‘Why would you lend me such an important thing when I haven’t given you a good explanation, and when I don’t even know what I’m looking for?’

“I dare not ask you what kind of case you are involved in, Mitsuba-chan. I’m sure you were concerned about me, so you skipped the complicated explanation. So I just took the liberty of guessing your situation and wanted to give you something I thought might be useful. I’ve told you before, right? All I want to do is help Mitsuba-chan get well.”

He smiled at me and I was completely taken aback. I’m so screwed. It’s really no good. You can’t help but fall in love with him, even if you feel guilty about your decision. He’s just too cool. When he was much younger, Umetaro-san was definitely handsome. He’s still a handsome old gentleman.

I really, really love you, Umetaro-san.

“Thank you very much! You’ve been so helpful! Um, I’ll return it as soon as I’m done with my business!”

“Yeah. If you wouldn’t mind, may I ask Mitsuba-chan just one question this time?”

Umetaro-san said as if suddenly remembering something, as I stood up, rousing my numb legs.

I nodded reflexively, and Umetaro opened his mouth softly.

“Are you glad that you enrolled in this school now?”

“Yes… ”

I let out a squeak at the question I had heard somewhere. Tilting my head slightly, I recalled where: a few days ago, the chairman of the board asked me the same question.

“I was a little sad when I first met you because you didn’t seem to be enjoying your high school life here. Mitsuba-chan is such a good girl and such a hard worker, but she always came back to the dormitory with a face on the verge of bursting into tears, and that made me very sad too.”

“Umetaro-san… ”

“But these days Mitsuba-chan seems to be very happy. She’s made some great friends and is laughing a lot. That’s why I wanted to ask you, after all this time.”

Umetaro asked again.

“Do you like this school?”

My answer was near-instant.

“Yes! I like this school!”

“… That’s good to hear.”

The expression on his face as he smiled was just like the Chancellor’s a few days ago. And as I headed for the door, Umetaro-san gave me a small wave to see me off.

“I don’t know the difficulties you’re facing. It’s okay to go to… I’m sure you’re headed for a happy ending, where four-leaf clovers will bloom. So, no matter what happens, don’t lose. I’ll always be on your side, Mitsuba-chan.”

The encouragement from behind my back reminded me of the last words Shiratama spoke to me. My eye began to sting.

Umetaro-san and Shiratama always spoiled me, which was annoying.

I turned around and hung my head in silence, wishing that I really had a future like the one he hoped lay in store for me. I then left the dormitory supervisor’s office, carrying the valuable documents I had unexpectedly picked up.

----

Chapter brought to you by The Patrons.

TLC: Dima

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ANIMT - Chapter 38. Who is the culprit?

I returned to my dorm room and looked over the original manuscript that Umetaro had just given me. Of course, I didn’t read through all of the pages, which were much harder to comprehend than the bound version, but instead focused on the pages that had been torn out.

The titles of these missing sections were ‘Forbidden Magic for Memory’ and ‘Forbidden Magic for Magic Power.’

The former had fewer spells within it and was the easier of the two sections. From what I could understand, this forbidden magic related to manipulating memories, and that’s where my comprehension ended. The names of the spells, such as misrecognition magic and forgetting magic, were enough to let me understand what they did.

They were very creepy and sickening, and there could only be one reason why they were stolen. The lab needed to erase, overwrite, or otherwise manipulate human memories in order to create their drug.

A chilling hypothesis came to mind: it was possible that they had used this magic on me. But it was just a passing thought, and I didn’t dare think too much about it right now. If you’re frightened of what you don’t know, you can’t move forward.

That only left the other section: ‘Forbidden Magic for Magic Power.’ What the hell is it?

Faced with a category of spell that gave no indication of its purpose, I could only look through the spells one by one and draw a conclusion.

The first spell I found ‘amplification magic’ could forcibly increase your magic power, and another was ‘extraction magic’ which could steal magic power from others. There were many other spells and they all had varying effects. Some could forcibly speed up the awakening of magic power, or transform the attribute of magic power. Anyway, this section of the book was full of forbidden magic relating to magic power in general.

The problem with this was that there were so many of them that I couldn’t figure out which ones the institute needed to manufacture the medicine. Overwhelmed with information, I figured it would be better to wait for more information from Kusaka-sensei than try to forge ahead alone. Definitely not because I had no idea of how to proceed… Sometimes it’s better to defer to a specialist on the subject matter…

The next morning, Kusaki-sensei called me and shared some good news. I was once again grateful I didn’t have to tackle this alone.

We were very close to checkmating the person who owned those documents I saw in that room.

----On the other front, I had made significant progress on the other mystery: finding the person that killed me.

Amongst the other more pressing issues that had cropped up recently, I had not forgotten about the first mystery I was confronted with. However, a new problem had emerged while narrowing down my list of three potential culprits, which threatened to push me over the edge.

While the ‘Umetaro-san is really a handsome man incident’ happened four days ago, over the weekend since, a new problem had cropped up after school yesterday. I was taken by Uminari-san to visit the drama club, fulfilling the promise I had made with her previously.

This was the perfect change of pace I desired since I had already decided to take a day off from training and wanted a change of scenery. So, I asked Uminari-san to introduce me to the three senior members of the drama club, and unexpectedly, they were the three remaining suspects, the three remaining people who were allowed to use magic on the day I died.

I only knew their names and that they were all second-year students, so when they introduced themselves to me, I almost shouted, “What!?” Barely holding myself back, screaming internally, I managed to keep my cool.

But if that was all, I could have called it a lucky break. It saved me the trouble of looking for them, after all. However, the problem was that all three of them had perfect alibis.

On a previous occasion, Uminari had told me that several times a month, the senior members of the drama club obtain permission to use magic and perform magic plays at kindergartens outside of the school. The reason I was invited this time was to demonstrate the operation of the Shiratama puppets as a reference for the puppet show portion of their coming play.

And, as I’m sure you can see coming, on the very day I fell, all three seniors were outside school grounds putting on a play. They even showed me a photo of them at the kindergarten they claimed to be at that day, and I confirmed the date and time. It was impossible for me to suspect them any more than I already had.

In addition, all three of them were extremely nice and welcomed me with open arms, treating me to sweets and juice. They even complimented me on the operation of the Shiratama doll.

By the time I left, I had completely erased my doubts about them and had bowed to them more than ninety times in apology. Uminari-san was surprised, “Why are you almost on your knees, Nobanacchi? Everything alright?”

----So, even though the mystery surrounding that research material I found in that room was on the verge of being solved, the search for the culprit was back to square one.

“Oneesama, what happened to you? You keep spacing out.”

“Huh!”

I was pulled out of my sea of thoughts by a cute, caring voice.

It was lunchtime, and for the first time in a long time, it was raining. Due to the bad weather, I was eating lunch with Kokomi in an empty classroom in the regular building instead of on the roof. We were the only ones in the classroom, and perhaps because we had taken a seat by the window, our ears were constantly filled with the sound of rain.

“Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking.”

I removed the chopsticks from my mouth and said cheerfully, “That’s okay,” and Kokomi smiled at me as if relieved.

She’s a beautiful girl as always, but perhaps it’s the humidity that’s making her shiny golden hair look more wavy than usual.

“I know what it’s like to be in a daze on a rainy day. I couldn’t get my hair to stay in place this morning either, and it’s all I can think about since… ”

“Yeah, I feel that way too. I keep thinking about the same thing.”

While I was tucking into my bento and idly chatting with Kokomi, my mind was still half occupied with the mystery of the murderer. The fact that there was no sign of the culprit that pushed me down, I was certain that they must have used magic.

There are only two possibilities that come to mind at the moment. The first is that the list of people with permission to use magic was not complete. The second was that the culprit could use magic without requesting permission.

Having said this, I think the first is unlikely. The list is managed by magic, and a teacher couldn’t make a mistake in entering the wrong name or not submitting permission by accident.

That only left the second possibility. Teachers could use magic without permission.

“Hey, hey, Kokomi. It’s probably nothing, but can I ask you a question?”

“Yes! Anything at all, sister!”

Kokomi replied cheerfully, her purple crystal eyes softened.

“You know, there’s a list of people who are allowed to use magic, right? I’m sure there are no omissions in that list, but the only people who can use magic without being on that list are the teachers in this school, right?”

“Are you talking about the list of authorized people? Yes, that’s right. I think it’s unlikely that there are any mistakes in filling out the form. No student should be able to use magic if they don’t get permission and their name is on that list. I think the only people who can use magic without permission are the teachers, as oneesama said.”

“As I thought… ”

Even though it was the answer I expected, I was a little disappointed.

Kokomi suddenly shouted though, giving me a fright and causing me to drop the omelet from my chopsticks onto my white rice.

“Oh, I’m sorry for startling you, oneesama! Oneesama’s precious omelet is… !”

“No, it’s okay! I can still eat it, it’s fine! What’s caused you to shout?”

I stopped Kokomi who was about to stand up in a panic and urged her to continue. Then, in a voice that sounded like it was nothing, Kokomi gave me a big shock.

“Well, I just remembered something. There are people other than teachers who can use magic without permission. If you’re a member of the student council, there’s a system where you automatically get permission to use magic after school only, without needing to fill out a form.”

“Eh… ?”

The moment I heard this, time seemed to stop. Even the prattle of rain hitting the window disappeared from my hearing. My heart skipped a beat like a fish writhing on a boat.

“The student council… ?”

“Yes! This is something I heard about recently, and I’m sure there aren’t many students who know. Actually, I was approached by my advisor to join the student council next year. I was told about it at the time. The student council also has the job of patrolling the school grounds after school, and since there’s been a lot of people requesting magic permits this year, it seems that there’s also been several magic-related problems. In order to help manage the situation, it seems that student council members are automatically being granted magic permission after school. It’s an automatic system, so their names wouldn’t appear on the list of people who are allowed to use magic.”

As I listened to the sound of rain mixed with the voice of Kokomi explaining, my mind was spinning at high speed. That room that Pochitaro took me to…

It was a single room in the female dormitory.

The only people who could get a single room were originally special students like Kokomi, or…

“Hey, hey, Kokomi. If someone joins the student council, what happens to their dorm room?”

“Well, all those who are chosen have excellent grades. As a top-ranking student, you’d have a single room in either the boys’ or girls’ dorms.”

----This could be bingo.

That’s right. The first thing I guessed was that the culprit must have used invisibility magic. This was an A-Rank spell that could erase all signs of life. It’s not something that anyone could use.

But what about the members of the student council who are all extremely skilled?

It would not be a surprise if one of them could use an A-Rank spell.

Even if their name did not appear on the list of people allowed to use magic, they would have been able to use magic when I died. And if they were out patrolling, it would explain why they weren’t in their dormitory when Pochitaro took me into their room.

And that room was a girl’s dormitory, so among the girls in the student council…

“Oh, look at the window, sister. Just across the hall from you, the student council members are walking down the hallway of the opposite wing.”

I turn around vigorously in the direction that Kokomi pointed at. It was difficult to see through the window, covered with water droplets, but I could at least make out their figures.

There were four walking in the corridor of the other wing. Unusually, the student council seemed to be all together, and the two in front were the boys. The student council president, Harukaze Ibuki, with his golden hair flowing, and the secretary, Matsuri Akito, one-half of the twins, with stringy gold hair.

Behind them, following at a slight distance was the girls’ group.

The treasurer, Matsuri Natsuki, has the same hair color as her brother, is short, and looks like an elementary school student. I did not know much about the other one, who had beautiful silvery-white hair that went just past her waist: Hiiragi Yukino. From what I had heard though, she was sickly and often absent despite being the student council’s vice president.

‘Are either of those two the culprits?’

“Student council… ”

I mumbled again, my voice faint and almost lost in the rain. My eyes followed the four of them as they disappeared around the bend in the corridor.

I wondered if the dampness from the rain was responsible for the clammy feeling that clung to my skin. Or was it the chill and fear of the looming answer that I was seeking?

----At that time, I truly knew nothing.

----

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TL Note: Mald Frogs Club tries to capture the intent of the author when translating these chapters. This is not a literal translation and we can not guarantee the accuracy of it. We re-structure sentences to improve the flow and if we spot what appears to be an obvious error, we fix it as we go.