The Clumsy Sister and the Library Magician 8
Dante let out a long, weary sigh.
Ui said she'd only need about an hour to finish... and now the ceremony is exactly one hour away? Isn't that a little too cruel?
He had thought everything was finally settled. Whether by chance or by some twisted inevitability, the situation had tangled itself all over again, threatening to turn every effort they had poured in so far into nothing more than foam on the water. And Dante was far from the only one who felt it.
Yes. Back then I thought everything was already over, too. I wasn't on the attendance list myself, so the message must have arrived late... and by that point the preparations were essentially complete.
Still, couldn't they have told us just a little earlier? What would it have cost them...
Ui had thought the exact same thing at the time, but grumbling changed nothing. Once preparations finished, security tightened and the entrances sealed shut.
And the ones guarding the ceremony are the Justice Realization Committee... Not every member, of course, but for an ordinary Sister like me to slip inside unnoticed—or force my way in—would be nearly impossible.
From the way you fought earlier, forcing your way in looks more than possible.
I-I don't think so. Even if I fight well, the Justice Realization Committee is packed with people just as strong as I am. They handle all the combat power for our academy, after all.
Hinata, honestly... you might not match Tsurugi, but I think you could handle Hasumi just fine.
R-Really...?
Ui had cut in with the remark. The Sinners had no clear idea who Tsurugi or Hasumi were, but both were clearly formidable.
Let's set that aside for now. If Hinata can't return the scripture within the hour...
Yes. Lady Sakurako will... in front of everyone...
A true catastrophe shall unfold, I fear.
Yi Sang finished the thought for Hinata, who could no longer continue writing. The video resumed, and within it Hinata was quietly sobbing.
"Hic... I'm so sorry, everyone. I'm so sorry, Lady Sakurako... everyone at the ceremony... because of me..."
Ui tried to comfort her, but Hinata barely reacted. Then she wiped her tears and rose from her seat.
"...Hinata, are you all right?"
Sensei asked. She forced a small smile.
"I'm fine. I just... I can't sit still like this. I'm not a participant in the ceremony, but since everything has come to this because of me, I should go myself. If something happens... I intend to tell the truth."
With visible effort she finished speaking and bowed deeply to Sensei.
"Sensei... thank you so much for today. Even though it ended like this, I was truly happy because you helped me.
Ui said it was a lot of work, but it was fun, too.
...Thank you again, truly. And you as well, Ui. About restoring that book... no."
As if something had just occurred to her, Hinata stepped closer to Ui and smiled brightly.
"About healing that child."
"?!"
"Even if I can't take her with me... please look after her until the very end. She's still a precious child, after all."
"Sob... how moving..."
Don Quixote wiped her eyes, and Sinclair quickly offered her a handkerchief.
"Why's she talking like that? Sounds like she's heading off to a battlefield she won't come back from."
"Maybe that's exactly how she feels."
Ishmael answered Gregor's dry observation. In the video, Hinata left the library after quietly refusing Sensei's offer to share the responsibility, insisting the entire mess was hers alone to bear.
Dante, the Sinners, and even Ui and Sensei inside the recording all fell into a heavy silence. Ui continued her restoration work without a word, and Sensei made no attempt to break the quiet. Only the soft rustle of turning pages filled the video.
After some time had passed, Ui suddenly spoke.
"Um, Sensei... I know saying this doesn't really offer any alternative, but...
Still, shouldn't we do something?"
"You're worried about Hinata?"
"Huh? Well, of course..."
Ui fell quiet for a moment, thinking, then wore an uncharacteristically melancholy expression.
"...Yes. I am worried. Strangely enough. I only met her today and barely know her, but... that's just how I feel."
She turned and handed Sensei the book, now restored to perfect condition.
"Even so, this is all I can do. Normally I would have just read it myself, but... today I don't feel like it."
I thought the same when Miss Hinata slept. This, I believe, is Ui's true self—armed with sharp thorns to drive away those who would break her, yet soft and beautiful within, like a rose.
Yi Sang spoke, and Dante silently agreed. However prickly she might appear on the surface, Ui was clearly more than that. The girl in the video was reflecting on the day's events. She began by saying she had done everything she could, of course, but...
"If only... I had been the sort of person who went outside more... if I hadn't demanded cake... if I had just torn out a window frame for the water-moss glue... if I had kept a little more of the restorative medicine on hand... it's only a small regret, but..."
Deep down she seemed to be berating herself for failing to finish the job properly.
"Saying it like this makes me sound like someone who actually looks after others. I don't, though..."
Ui muttered, cheeks flushing, as if she herself could not understand why she was acting this way. Then something seemed to flash through Sensei's mind; he froze in place.
"Dessert... glue... restorative medicine...?"
"S-Sensei?"
He suddenly started muttering to himself, then made a phone call. He said he had a lot of people to contact, asked me to excuse him, and left the library.
The video cut out as Ui explained the strange turn of events. The next entry returned to Hinata.
After leaving the library I arrived at the venue just before the ceremony began. The moment I tried to enter, someone blocked my path. It was Mashiro of the Justice Realization Committee.
The video started again, and Dante and the Sinners got their first look at the new figure. A girl with short hair in a black school uniform, drooping wings on her back. Her build was slim, yet she held a sniper rifle nearly as tall as herself with casual ease in one hand.
"That's a member of the Justice Realization Committee... B.U. w/ R.A. Common combo, but not bad."
The outfit seemed to meet Ryōshū's approval. Sinclair, examining her more closely, flushed a little. The reason was obvious.
"Uh, her skirt is a bit... awfully short, isn't it? And she's hiking it up even more..."
"Leave it. Those kids always dress like that, apparently."
Rodion waved it off as nothing worth fretting over. In the video the girl who introduced herself as Mashiro explained that she and the other members were currently handling security for the ceremony.
"But... Sister, what brings you here? I believe all the Sisters scheduled to attend have already entered the venue..."
"Ahaha... yes, I'm, um... not actually on the attendance list..."
"I see... I'm sorry, but even as a Sister, if your name isn't on the list I cannot allow you inside. The regulations are so strict that even we of the Justice Realization Committee are not permitted entry."
She spoke calmly, yet curiosity flickered in her eyes as well.
"I heard it concerns a highly confidential matter involving the scripture."
"Y-Yes, that's right. I know. But there's something I absolutely must tell them myself..."
Hinata pleaded earnestly, but regulations were regulations, so Mashiro offered to relay the message instead. As Hinata began to explain the situation—
"That scripture... I... uugh... uwaaah... hic..."
"S-Sister?! Why are you suddenly crying? Are you all right?"
—she burst into tears right in front of the completely unprepared Mashiro, who promptly panicked as well. Hinata took a deep breath, steadied herself, and opened her mouth again. It was nothing dramatic, yet the moment somehow made palms sweat.
"I... that scripture... the scriptuuure...!"
"We are the Roly-Poly Squad who rise again no matter how many times we fall!! Do you understand?!"
A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Hinata, her mind already a tangled mess, got swept up in it and blurted—
"I... did a roly-poly and...!"
"...Pardon?"
"...Huh?"
—something utterly bizarre. Mashiro stared at her with dead-fish eyes, clearly wondering if the Sister had lost her mind. One second later Hinata realized what she had said and turned scarlet. The sudden intrusion of absurdity into the tense atmosphere made several of the Sinners burst out laughing on the spot. Heathcliff grabbed the PDA.
Oi, no matter how out of it you were... a roly-poly right there? Bit much...
Uuuugh... please forget that ever happened...
Even the Hinata on the other side of the screen flushed crimson at the sight of her own dark history. Ui had no idea what a "roly-poly" was, but the sound of the word alone was funny enough that she had to fight back laughter.