Omen (5)
“H-how exactly do I raise my intelligence…?”
Shub stared at me with an expression of pure disbelief, blinking rapidly as if I’d just asked her how to breathe.
Was the question really that stupid? For a second I wanted to fire the same thing right back at her.
Or… maybe it was a pretty dumb question.
Kasa, who had been sleeping a lot more lately, grumbled in complaint. I’d wondered why she was so quiet; turns out she’d been napping in my inner pocket the whole time.
Ever since the battle with that knight from the Otherworld, she’d seemed completely drained. Could spirits even catch something like a cold?
“Umm… to raise intelligence… gulp… I’m sorry… you probably need to…”
“…Never mind. It was a stupid question.”
“S-sorryyyyy…”
While we were eating, Shub bowed her head so low she nearly planted her face in her tray and apologized. Naturally, every student in the cafeteria turned to stare at us.
Thanks to my new ability to even read and control Shub’s emotions, I noticed her mood swinging wildly between laughter and tears. For some reason my appetite had vanished, so I kept watching her nibble at her food like a cautious hamster.
She kept sneaking glances at me while eating, clearly nervous. I didn’t want to make even eating feel like a burden, so I deliberately looked away and focused on my own tray.
“I’ve heard that reading lots of books eventually broadens your perspective. In my case, I read constantly from a very young age, so…”
“It’s pretty basic advice… but honestly, it’s correct.”
Sorry for being an idiot.
A few days ago, Shub’s desire to research spirits further had perfectly aligned with my own goal of keeping her under observation. That was how our after-school activities began.
After dinner we would head to Demeter Park. I would test various spirit techniques while Shub recorded everything and conducted her research. I focused on syncing my breathing with the spirits.
Undine, who had recently joined us, was an incredibly talkative spirit—actually, an insanely talkative one—but she understood instructions surprisingly well. A true spirit of madness.
“Undine.”
I’d asked Gnome to create an effective sand prison to restrain opponents. These days her exoskeleton was impressive, but the sand cage was for capture.
“Sand? If it’s just sand, won’t anything that isn’t ridiculously heavy be able to break out easily?”
“There’s a trick to it.”
Gnome looked skeptical but still moved the sand according to my instructions, forming a spherical prison around the target. The sphere had a hole in the center—exactly the shape I wanted.
When Undine poured water into it, the sand turned to mud and began to thicken.
“Uh… wouldn’t it be better to just grab them like before?”
“Wait. Kasa, breathe fire into that hole.”
“Okay! Cain! Kasa will breathe fire!”
The moment Kasa poured flames into the opening, the mud hardened rapidly. Fire began circulating inside the prison, heating it at an alarming rate.
The cage had become a makeshift kiln. It would definitely restrain and suppress the target with terrifying efficiency.
When Silph used her wind to feed the flames even more, the hardened mud grew so hot it visibly glowed.
“Good. That’s enough for today. Cough, cough…”
“Cain? Y-your nose is bleeding…”
“Ah… looks like handling every attribute at once is still a bit much for me.”
It had been a while since my last nosebleed. Shub’s eyes widened in shock as she hurried over, notebook in hand.
Even now she was still trying to analyze what had happened. In a way, it was almost scary.
I smiled awkwardly and walked over to a nearby bench, dropping onto it with a heavy sigh.
I felt pretty good about creating what was essentially a finishing move, but the life force cost was no joke.
After asking Undine to wipe away the blood, I saw Shub standing there, hesitantly offering a handkerchief with an awkward posture. Her hand trembled slightly; she clearly wasn’t used to interacting with people.
“H-here… this handkerchief…”
“Oh, thanks. By the way, why did you want to meet Senior Dorothy last time?”
“Huh? Ah, that was…”
Shub hesitated quite a bit. I stayed quiet, giving her plenty of time to gather her thoughts.
“I… I wanted to ask about the Otherworld. Just a little…”
“The Otherworld?”
“Yes… Since Senior Dorothy is the only survivor, I thought…”
There was definitely something about Dorothy that even I didn’t know. There was no way that sly old headmaster would give her the grandiose mission of protecting the academy based solely on her talent.
“I asked about their appearance, whether the monsters had any level of intelligence, how she managed to survive… things like that. And then…”
“You got an earful, huh.”
“Yes…”
Poking at someone’s painful trauma like that without getting yelled at would make you a saint.
I closed my eyes for a moment to steady myself, then stood up.
“Did you finish recording everything?”
“Ah, yes… I noted down things like how long it takes for a spirit to obey a command and attack, what makes spirit magic different from artificial magic… stuff like that.”
“Any difficulties?”
“When the spirits carry out orders, the flow of mana and such… I can’t see those things very well, so I’m limited to sensing them by feel.”
“Hmm… that part is a shame. Still, you did well. Just the records you’ve made so far will be a big help. Thank you.”
“A-ah!! Th-th-thank you… I’ll definitely become even more useful…”
Shub’s face turned bright red as she thanked me. Seeing her desperately trying to get used to interacting with others like this made me smile and nod.
And with that, we were ready to wrap up the day’s work.
Or we should have been.
“Cain…?”
Until we ran into Eve, who appeared out of nowhere.
***
The library lounge, where I had been half-dragged against my will.
For some reason, the Saintess Eve Abraham was pouting heavily. She glared at both me and Shub in complete silence.
Shub looked like a puppy who had caused trouble and was now shrinking in on herself, not knowing what to do. Eve stared at her like she wanted to kill her.
“Uh… Eve? What are you doing in the park?”
“You haven’t shown yourself lately, Cain. I was bored to death, and someone told me you’d probably be at the park.”
“Who? I didn’t tell anyone.”
“Hmm? That… Alex guy. The creepy one.”
“Ah.”
Why the hell was he…?
After the slime incident I thought he had completely lost interest in me. We were in the same class, yet he never even made eye contact and treated me like I didn’t exist.
And now that bastard was tracking my location?
“Fucking… stalker…”
“Haa… I was so worried about you that I came running the second I heard~”
“I’m more worried about you, honestly.”
“Once you see how insane his eyes look, you won’t be saying that.”
Alex could become a much more serious problem than I thought. I decided I needed to think about him more carefully from now on.
Eve’s gaze suddenly sharpened into a glare as she fixed her eyes on Shub.
“I never dreamed you’d be flirting with such an esteemed demon princess.”
“I-I’m sorry! H-how could I dare show such a hideous sight before the noble Saintess! I’m truly sorryyyy!”
“…”
Shub slammed her forehead against the desk hard enough to break it. Eve watched her for a moment, then sighed and reached out to hold Shub’s forehead.
“Being part of the demon race isn’t what’s hideous. Shub le Ruelle. Do you still not understand what the real problem is?”
“Hic… hueeeng…”
I had no fucking clue either. I narrowed my eyes and kept sneaking glances at Eve, growing curious myself.
What exactly was the problem that made her glare at us like she wanted to tear us apart?
“A man and a woman… alone together… at night… in a secluded place like that!”
“??”
Her acting was getting better every day. Last time when she fought with Preston she had to force her energy, but now her face was bright red. This was the real deal.
Let me say it again—she knew everything there was to know. Her curiosity was different from Shub’s, but once something caught her interest she had to obtain every scrap of information about it. She had even read every adult magazine she could get her hands on.
“U-um… ah! I-I had no intention of doing anything like that…”
“We are students! Shub le Ruelle! And on top of that… to be alone with Cain…!”
“H-hic…”
“…”
This was a complete shitshow.
Now every student walking from the library to the dorms was staring at us. Anyone watching would think this was some kind of love-triangle drama. Perfect.
“Eve, I think there’s been a misunderstanding…”
“What kind of misunderstanding could there possibly be when a man and a woman go off alone to a dark, hidden place? In the books… that’s exactly when that kind of thing happens, isn’t it?!”
“Wow. I’m losing my mind.”
My head was spinning.
So she didn’t actually know everything—she only knew what she’d read in books.
If I just stood here with my arms crossed any longer, I was going to become the main character of an academy scandal. I quickly explained the actual situation to her.
After all, Eve had already vaguely noticed my special power, and I had no intention of hiding it from her anyway.
“A-ah~ Hahaha… Cain, you should have told me that sooner~”
“You weren’t even listening.”
Eve fiddled with her reddened ears in embarrassment, then turned to glare at Shub again.
“I understand the reason, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you.”
“Hiiik… I’m sorry!”
What exactly hadn’t she forgiven?
And what was she going to do about it if she didn’t?
When I made a face that said I had no idea what she was talking about, Eve’s eyes turned sharp again.
“The same goes for you, Cain. No matter what the reason is…”
“The same goes…?”
“How can you leave me that bored!!”
Wow… there it was. The real reason.
Eve insisted that since she could faintly see that mysterious power, she could be helpful. It was a pretty forced excuse, but not entirely unreasonable.
Yeah… with the Alex situation on top of everything, having her around as a precaution wasn’t a bad idea.
And so, the most bizarre temporary research club was born: a Saintess, a Demon Princess, and a Spirit Contractor with no mana.