The Clumsy Nun and the Magician of the Library 7
"...Ah, you're awake, Sensei. You woke up earlier than I expected... You didn't wake up from the sound of my work, did you?"
Ui, wearing her golden-rimmed glasses, looked over at Sensei. Scattered across the broad desk lay a damaged book, assorted volumes, and all the materials needed for restoration; she had been on the verge of applying something with a brush. Hinata was sound asleep on the sofa where Sensei had been resting, while a lamp shaped like a bellflower cast a soft glow over the workspace.
"Wow... it's just like a painting!"
"Not my taste, but it's not bad."
Sinclair's admiration drew an unexpected agreement from Ryōshū. The other Sinners and Dante felt the same quiet pleasure.
"I like that feeling. It seems like nothing special—just an ordinary moment—but looking back, those are the ones that matter."
"I think so as well. It brings to mind the days of old, when I spent late nights pursuing what I loved alongside friends whose hearts were in tune with mine."
"I'll say it again: I really envy those kids their youth."
Ishmael and Rodion each offered a remark, while Yi Sang seemed to overlay the scene with happier times from his own past. Dante wondered inwardly whether he himself had ever possessed such memories. On the screen, Ui spoke quietly with Sensei, careful not to wake Hinata.
"The one beside you... she's sleeping so deeply she's even talking in her sleep. Goodness, she's drooling a little too."
"Eheh... that tickles... ehehe..."
Whatever dream Hinata was having, it seemed a pleasant one. Ui sighed, then immediately smiled.
"You've been working hard, Ui."
"Well... I did ask to be entrusted with it myself. So of course I'll see it through."
"Actually, I'm almost finished. I should be able to complete everything within the next hour."
Already?!
The speed was staggering. Dante's surprise made Ryōshū smile faintly again. Most of the Sinners were equally astonished. This time, unusually, Meursault sent a message.
Back on the screen, Sensei was thinking the same thing.
"No wonder they call you a magician."
"Th-that kind of praise won't make me work any faster... Of course I don't dislike compliments... not that I've heard many..."
Ui flushed with embarrassment, yet she did not seem entirely displeased; a slightly crooked little smile touched her lips as she murmured,
"Anyway... yes. Thank you."
After a brief silence she opened her eyes a little wider, as if preparing to say something important.
"Um... this is just... idle chatter because it gets boring when it's too quiet, so please take it that way... The cake condition was a little bit of spite. You might have already guessed..."
"So you really didn't want that after all."
"Huh? How'd you know? I had no idea..."
Ishmael smacked a fist into her palm as if she had expected it all along, while Heathcliff asked in confusion. Ryōshū's face twisted as though wondering how anyone could fail to understand.
"Think about it. When restoring old books you can't have foreign matter getting in. Eating cake right beside the work would inevitably produce crumbs and bits."
"Ah...!"
"Given Ui's personality, I believe the cake demand was simply a way of venting."
Faust's prediction was accurate. The girl admitted she had thrown out the condition in a flash of irritation at the sudden demand to restore a shattered ancient relic. She had never even expected them to actually obtain the materials.
"But you really brought them. The materials, and the cake too. That doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to say something syrupy like 'I'll try to think better of other people from now on'... but... well..."
"Did Hinata make you a little more generous?"
"I wonder... is that it? I don't know. It's not as if I've suddenly grown close to her or anything."
"But... yes. If it had been before, I never would have suggested you rest here. Honestly, I'm surprised those words came out of my own mouth."
Ui turned a page and began working on the next one.
"And to think a day would come when I'd be talking with someone else like this, so late at night... Maybe I've glimpsed a softer side of myself I never knew was there."
Dante and the Sinners could feel that "softer side" as well. Ui hated meeting people and could be prickly, yet she was not a bad-natured girl. Dante thought they had caught a brief glimpse of her true self. On the screen, Ui continued.
"So maybe... that soft part. If I took the feeling I have right now a little more seriously..."
"Then someday, I might also..."
"Hwaaaaaaah..."
The moving words were cut short by Hinata's enormous yawn. With the mood broken, Ui shot her a mild glare over her glasses, but the object of that glare looked as though she had forgotten why she was even sleeping there.
"Huh? Why am I... oh right, the restoration... going to get materials... ehehe..."
Hinata checked the time on her smartphone and realized it was night. Still half-asleep, she suddenly seemed to grasp something and muttered,
"The dorm... curfew must have... already passed... huh... wait? Dorm... curfew...?"
"Hinata, did you sleep we—"
Ui's greeting was cut off by Hinata's scream as the situation finally sank in.
"Curfew tiiime?!"
"That startled me..."
"Hinata...? Is something wrong?"
Far more flustered than usual, Hinata poured out words at machine-gun speed.
"Th-th-th-this is terrible, Sensei! I-I missed curfew! H-how long has it been? Th-the clock..."
"Hinata, your phone... and I'm working right now, so please keep it a little—"
After checking the time on her phone, Hinata's panic only deepened.
"T-two hours?! Two hours means I've already been marked absent, right?! E-everyone will know I'm not there?!"
"Look, there's no need to make such a fuss over something like that. And I'm in the middle of—"
"B-but! It's not just anything—I overslept and missed curfew! If the other Sisters find out, what will they say...?!"
"The Sisterhood's affairs are none of my concern... I'm working, so please—"
Everyone could feel Ui beginning to boil. Dante spoke to the Sinners and Vergilius.
Um... we should probably cover our ears. I have a feeling this one's going to be louder than last time.
"...Understood."
Faust replied, and they all covered their ears. Hinata was still fretting and chattering.
"F-first I should contact the dorm supervisor..."
"I said be quiet!!!"
"Eek!"
Ugh... I can still hear it perfectly even with my ears covered.
Enraged, Ui's shout froze Hinata in place. Heathcliff sent a message through Dante.
When there was no reply, Ishmael sent one of her own.
Understanding exactly what was meant and growing embarrassed, Ui received the finishing blow from Hong Lu.
There was not a shred of malice in it, yet Ui's reaction was this:
"Why has Hong Lu been targeting only me this whole time..."
"Um, well, hahaha..."
Hinata laughed awkwardly.
On the screen, Ui was once again scolding Hinata at machine-gun speed.
"How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet in a place where people are looking at books?! Huh?!"
"Ui, I—I just... without meaning to... I-I'm so sorry...!"
An alarm chimed from the apologizing Hinata's phone, and Ui reacted at once. In that moment she was no timid girl but the charismatic head of the Library Department.
"Phone notifications on vibrate!!! Or better yet, completely silent!!!"
"Y-yes! I'll change it right—"
Hinata hurriedly pulled out her phone, glanced at the screen, and fell silent in an instant.
"...What is it this time?"
"I'm sorry. A message from the cathedral. I'll read it. Um... 'For your reference. The scripture unveiling and recitation ceremony scheduled for tomorrow morning... has been unanimously advanced by the attending dignitaries and will now be held immediately. The event begins at midnight tonight...' Ah."
"Tonight at midnight..."
Uh-oh.
"Huh?"
"Oh."
"This is bad..."
Ui repeated the time Hinata had spoken, and Dante and the Sinners understood the implication at once. The footage was clearly set late at night. Dante sent a message.