Chapter 55
Chapter 55
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Overflow (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The terrible accident might not have happened. He had been an honest and pure person, just like Shirone.
But he had lost his light. The genius whom God had especially cherished had lost his light, all because of a coward like her.
“Alright. I understand what you all think.”
Shina snapped out of her recollection.
“Out of respect for Shirone’s wishes, I won’t press for his withdrawal.”
“No, before that, when will you start respecting the president’s wishes?”
“Hmph. Do you think you have time for wordplay? You have one month. If the Paranormal Research Society fails to produce research results the school finds acceptable, it will be disbanded. The society that has produced so many graduates will end with your generation.”
Nade’s heart sank. He realized this wasn’t just about being kicked out onto the street.
The alumni of the Paranormal Research Society, defying the school's evaluation of them as screw-ups, held key positions throughout the magical society. In particular, the current head of the Magic Association, Mikea Gaold, had always been a source of pride. If the society’s legacy were to end with their generation, they would never be able to face their predecessors out in the world.
‘Ah, this is insane. What do I do?’
Although she gave them a month, it was nothing more than a political maneuver to disband the society. Above all, the Paranormal Research Society had never once held an official presentation. How could one logically prove the existence of ghosts or gods, whose very being was uncertain? Backed into a corner, Nade threw away all his pride and clung to Shina.
“Ma’am! Please give us a chance! Isn’t there another way besides a presentation? You know the truth, don’t you? The significance of our society lies in its very existence! We’re the only society that can challenge the magical world’s blind faith in logic!”
Shina didn’t even snort.
“That’s exactly why I’m telling you to go ahead and challenge it. This time, I can’t make an exception. The matter has already been brought before the teachers’ council, so it can’t be withdrawn. I hope you all make the right decision.”
As Shina left the society room, the sound of the iron door closing was the signal for the boys to collapse onto the sofa. They felt dazed as if they had just woken from a dream. With a clanking sound, Istas’s mechanism began to return the lab to its original position.
Gauge Symmetry (1)
A lazy holiday.
Normally, Shirone would be holed up in the library even on a day off, but now he was sitting blankly in the central park. Iruki and Nade sat beside him, aimlessly sipping their juice.
“What time is it?”
“I don’t know. It’s not night, at least.”
“Genius.”
An awkward silence followed. When Shirone sighed, two more sighs followed in succession. Finally unable to stand it, Shirone shot up, turned to them, and shouted.
“What are we going to do about the society? Shouldn’t we be thinking of a presentation topic instead of just sitting here?”
“Right. Let’s think. What kind of research project could possibly get the school’s approval?”
Nade shook his head.
“As far as I know, we’ve never even held a presentation. Sure, we’ve caused a lot of interesting incidents, but there’s no way the school would ever officially approve of something like that as research.”
There was no way to elevate a topic like paranormal science to a professional level. If such a method existed, it would have already spread throughout the world in the name of science.
Sitting back down on the bench, Shirone cleared his mind as well. He glanced at the legs of the female students passing by and occasionally turned his head when a particularly well-developed woman appeared, but his mind was, in truth, a complete blank.
“Huh? Hey guys, look over there.”
Nade pointed somewhere with an indifferent jut of his chin. A beautiful woman they had never seen at school before was heading toward the main gate. She wore an ivory trench coat and heels, her permed, violet hair cascading down to her waist.
“Biologically speaking, a fine design. Who is she?”
“A graduating senior, maybe? Girls our age don’t usually wear such mature clothes, do they?”
While his friends offered their critique, Shirone squinted his eyes to get a better look. There was something familiar about her aura.
“Could it be… Teacher Shina?”
“Teacher Shina?”
Nade leaned forward to look closer. It was definitely her. She wasn’t wearing glasses, and her trademark neatly-tied hair was let down, but it was unmistakably Shina.
“Wow. Incredible. Can a person change that much?”
“I know, right? With makeup on, she looks like a completely different person. By the way, Shirone, how did you know? You’ve got a sharp eye for women, don’t you?”
“Huh? No. She just looked like it.”
Shirone had recognized her at a glance because he had seen her with her hair down before. But he couldn’t bring himself to tell them that his teacher had visited him in the middle of the night, so he just mumbled an excuse.
“But where could she be going? All dressed up like that.”
“It’s her day off today, isn’t it? And it’s a holiday. Maybe she has a date or something.”
“Wasn’t Teacher Shina supposed to be far removed from men?”
“Still, she must be seeing someone. A woman of twenty-six is well past marriageable age. She has to get married eventually, right?”
“Hmm. Is that so…”
As Nade stroked his chin, lost in thought, a light bulb went off in his head.
“Should we follow her? I’m curious.”
“Follow her for what? It’s her private life, you know?”
“It’s not like we have anything better to do. I don’t think we’ll find an answer by just sitting here, and my head feels like it’s about to explode. It’s a holiday anyway, so we just need to be back before sunset.”
Iruki was skeptical.
“Do you really think we can tail her without getting caught? She’s a certified Grade 6 mage. Even outside the Spirit Zone, her awareness of her surroundings must be on a different level. We’ll be caught in no time.”
“Then let’s do this. Iruki, you track the teacher, and Shirone, you’ll be the messenger between us. I’ll stop by the clubroom and come back.”
Shirone saw right through Nade’s plan.
“The invisibility cloak?”
“Exactly. If we follow her under the invisibility cloak, even she won’t notice us. There’s no reason for her to activate her Spirit Zone on her way to a date. What do you think?”
“That’s a good idea. Alright, I’ll start following her now. Shirone, you meet Nade midway and bring him along.”
Iruki sprang from the bench and tailed Shina, while Shirone let out a sigh. These guys truly had exceptional execution when it came to things like this.
“I’ll go get the invisibility cloak then. Shirone, don’t you dare lose Iruki. You can navigate by marking your points, right?”
In the city, directionality was constrained by artificial structures like roads, so by marking key points, one could grasp the general route. It was also important not to get too far from Nade, so judging the point of return from a midway position was crucial.
Shirone reluctantly nodded. He hated that, even in a situation like this, his mind had already finished the calculations.
“Alright. But be quick. I can’t guarantee more than ten minutes.”
“Haha! That’s our Shirone! I’m counting on you!”
Nade ran to the society room. Shirone trailed Iruki, then returned ten minutes later to pick up Nade at the main gate. From there, they ran quickly and caught up with Iruki ten minutes later. As the two ran up, Iruki shook his head with a troubled expression.
“This is strange.”
“Why? Did you lose her?”
“No. But I almost did. She’s being unusually wary of her surroundings. I thought I was in a warzone.”
“Oho. This is getting more and more interesting. You don’t think she’s making some extra cash with forbidden items, like us?”
Shirone gave Nade a pathetic look.
“Our teacher would never do something like that.”
“Anyway, let’s go. Now that we have the invisibility cloak, we should be able to get closer.”
The three of them covered themselves with the invisibility cloak and followed Shina. As they entered the commoner’s district, the streets were bustling with people who had come out to do business since the crack of dawn. Thanks to that, tailing her became much easier.
Shina stopped in front of a two-story house. The three boys poked their heads out from under the cloak to see who would open the door. But when Shina glanced around, their heads shot back in like turtles. Their hearts pounded in their chests.
“She’s so on guard. Who on earth lives here? It’s just an ordinary commoner’s house, isn’t it?”
Gripped by curiosity, the three poked their heads out again. It seemed pointless to stay frozen when they hadn’t even committed a crime.
A young man opened the door. The moment he saw Shina, he pulled her into a deep embrace.
“N-No way…!”
All three of them were in shock. The nickname "Ice Queen Shina" referred not only to her specialization but also to her cold demeanor toward any man. But to think she had a secret lover. The three looked at each other, confirming that this was reality.
“What’s going on? That was a man, right?”
“We’ll find out if we go in. Let’s follow them inside.”
Shirone said in alarm.
“What? How can we just go into someone else’s house?”
“But it feels wrong to just go back now, doesn’t it? We need to know for sure.”
“She’s a single woman, so of course she can date men. Why are you making such a fuss?”
Iruki had a different idea. Based on the circumstances so far, there were more than a few strange things.
“Something smells fishy. There’s no problem with our teacher seeing a man. But why hide it? She’s officially single at school, right? And her being so wary of her surroundings bothers me too.”
“That’s exactly it. That’s why we need to check it out.”
Shirone asked with an anxious expression.
“What are you planning to do?”
“We can get in through the cellar. Don’t worry. Even if we get caught, what’s the worst that could happen? Since Teacher Shina went in, it’s not like it’s a total stranger’s house.”
Shirone’s jaw dropped.
“Isn’t that… a very subjective way of looking at it?”
“I don’t care. Anyway, I’m going. I’m dying of curiosity.”
As Nade and Iruki took off, Shirone sighed and followed them. He didn’t like going along with it, but who knew what those two would do if he left them alone.
Arriving at the entrance to the cellar, Nade examined the iron door. It was set horizontally and was locked tight.
Taking a device resembling a ballpoint pen from his pocket, he pressed a button, and a sharp metal pin shot out. It was one of Nade’s patented inventions: a lock-picking device.
To open a lock, one had to apply precise pressure to the tumblers of the internal mechanism. Nade’s device could adjust the pin in increments of one-hundredth of a centimeter, so picking the lock on a commoner’s house was a piece of cake.
Nade inserted the device into the lock, and after fiddling with it for a moment with his tongue sticking out, he twisted his wrist, and the lock opened with a click.
As the door opened to reveal a ladder leading down, Shirone was overcome with a sense of futility.
People felt safe enough to sleep through the night just because they had locks, but they seemed to forget that locks, too, were made by humans.
As they climbed down the ladder, the distinct smell of onions, characteristic of a food cellar, tickled their noses. While Shirone closed the iron door, Nade pressed his ear to the door leading to the first floor, listening for any movement outside.
“Good. The first floor is quiet, too. Let’s go up.”
Covered by the invisibility cloak, the three of them, looking like floating heads, headed for the first floor. They emerged into a room that served as both a living room and a kitchen, but no one was there. They went up the stairs to the second floor and heard signs of life from the room at the end of the hall. It was Shina’s voice.
“What are you doing? Hurry up.”
Shirone and Nade’s facial muscles contorted in exaggerated shock, and Iruki put a finger to his lips. A man’s voice followed.
“Hold on. I’m not ready yet. Go ahead and take your clothes off.”
“When will your wife be back?”
“She went to the market. She’ll probably be gone for over two hours.”
Nade once again couldn’t contain his excitement. No, it was more than excitement; his face was a mask of utter astonishment.
Shirone felt much the same. He had never dreamed that the man Teacher Shina was meeting was married.