Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Gauge Symmetry (2)
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“Aren't you wearing it today?”
“No. Straighten your back a little more.”
“Like this?”
“Yes, like that. Lift your leg slightly. Yes, that's it.”
The three of them flushed red. Of course, as adults, intimacy between a man and a woman was understandable. But this was an affair. If the school found out, Shina's teaching career would be over.
“Shall we begin, then? Don't move.”
“Don't worry. I've been patient so far.”
Nade looked back at his friends, his face filled with anger. Shirone and Iruki, guessing his intentions, nodded.
They say love knows no borders, but considering the feelings of a wife whose husband was being stolen, it was right to end it here.
Nade's hand trembled as he gripped the doorknob. If they waited just a little longer, they could catch them in the act, but he couldn't bear to see his respected teacher in such a state.
The doorknob turned roughly, and the three of them burst into the room, almost in unison.
“You scoundrel! Teacher Shina! I'm so disappointed in you!”
Nade's shout was swallowed by the silence.
Shirone and Iruki, who had been preparing to close their eyes, stared blankly at a scene completely different from what they had imagined.
Shina, sitting on the bed, turned toward the door. Across from her stood a large canvas.
“Huh? Huh?”
Shirone's group gaped like fish out of water. A single thought crossed all their minds. This was a case of a tremendous misunderstanding, misinterpretation, and distortion all at once.
“What? How did you all get in here...?”
Shina was just as surprised. Her face flushed as her students suddenly barged into her private space. But the embarrassment was fleeting, soon replaced by a frown.
“Don't tell me you were following me.”
“What? No, well. What happened was, we were just sitting in the park, spacing out, you know? But then, Teacher Shina, you suddenly walked by. So...”
“So you did follow me!”
“Eek! We're sorry!”
Shirone's group flinched in unison. Knowing her personality, they expected more than just a scolding. But contrary to their expectations, no further fury erupted. When they cautiously opened their eyes, they saw Shina lost in thought.
*'How on earth did they follow me?'*
She had been as careful as possible, keeping an eye on her surroundings. She hadn't entered the Spirit Zone, but her senses weren't so dull that she'd be tailed by mere students.
“What are you hiding behind your back? Give it to me.”
Nade shook his head with a terrified expression. But when he saw a murderous glint in Shina's eyes, he hastily offered up the cloak he was holding. Shina snatched it fiercely, then looked bewildered at her own disappearing arm. When she wrapped it around her waist like a skirt, it looked as though she'd been cut off from the waist down.
“Nade. Is this another one of your prized inventions?”
“Yes.”
“You really made this yourself?”
“B-but I didn't put it on the black market! I have at least that much of a conscience.”
“Hmph.”
The three students flinched at her sigh. But she didn't lecture them any further. The fact that a Grade 6 certified mage had been tailed meant her own carelessness was a greater fault than her students' mischief.
“But why did you come into this room? Knowing you'd obviously get caught? And what was that about being disappointed?”
Shirone spoke in a trembling voice.
“At first, we were just following you for fun, but then we saw you hugging a man and followed you inside. We overheard the conversation from outside the door and thought you were having an affair, so...”
“What? An a-affair?”
Shina's face turned red as a beet. It was the first time they had ever seen her so flustered.
“An affair! What do you take me for?!”
Nade shot back, not to be outdone.
“But it's true! How could we not misunderstand after hearing a conversation like that? Telling you to take your clothes off, to try this pose or that one. Who is that man, anyway?”
Nade pointed at the man still hidden behind the canvas.
“Are you referring to me?”
A warm voice was followed by the creak of a chair being pushed back. A moment later, a man emerged from behind the canvas.
Shirone's group stared blankly. He was a handsome man in his late twenties with blond hair that reached his waist. But the real reason for their shock wasn't his good looks. A worn cloth was wrapped around the man's eyes. He was blind. A blind painter.
*'What is this?'*
Shirone's face turned pale. The preternatural feeling he experienced every night began to envelop his entire body once more.
*'Why is this happening? Of all times. It's never happened during the day before.'*
His hair stood on end, and his bones felt as if they were freezing. As he grabbed his trembling wrist and took a deep breath, Nade, feeling a sliver of responsibility, patted his back and spoke.
“Hey, Shirone? You okay? Don't worry too much. It's not like our teacher is going to kill us, right?”
“Huh? Oh, no. I'm okay now.”
Shirone gradually regained his composure. The chill had been immense, incomparable to his usual preternatural sensations, but it also faded just as quickly.
“Shina, that's enough. Forgive them. I don't know the circumstances, but they seem to be your students.”
“What are you talking about? That's all the more reason not to forgive them. Following me is one thing, but they broke into someone's house. Honestly, they only learn the worst things.”
The man gave a benevolent smile.
“But they're your students. They probably thought it was fine since their teacher was in the house.”
Seizing the opportunity, Nade jumped in.
“Haha! That's exactly what we thought, actually. It's true. Shirone doesn't lie, you can ask him. If it were just some stranger's house, we never would have come in. We're not burglars, you know.”
Shirone nodded repeatedly.
“That's right. Nade really did say that to me. I heard him clearly.”
Shina pressed a hand to her head as if a headache was coming on. The way they were trying to save their own skins, their innocent eyes shining, was almost detestable.
*'These innocent-looking brats did something like this? What cunning little devils...'*
This was hardly something to be said by students who had used an invisibility cloak to tail their teacher and picked the lock to someone's house.
Even in this situation, the man was just smiling. More than anything, he was happy to meet Shina's students.
“My name is Armin. Shina and I have been like brother and sister since we were children. I also studied at the Olipher School.”
When Armin extended his hand, Nade quickly shook it.
“Ah, I see. We apologize for our foolish misunderstanding. And we're sorry for visiting so suddenly without notice.”
Shina shouted fiercely.
“It was breaking and entering! Don't you try to casually rephrase it as a 'visit'!”
“Hehe. That's why I said we were sorry. To be honest, we're glad our misunderstanding about you was cleared up, Teacher Shina.”
“I'm sorry, teacher. I had a strange misunderstanding.”
Shina placed her hands on her hips and let out a huff. The situation was just as awkward for her, encountering her students in a private setting, so a silence lingered for a while.
“Sit down and talk for a moment. I'll go get some tea.”
Armin tactfully excused himself. As the blind man walked out the door with precise steps, Shirone's group couldn't help but be surprised again.
“Teacher, who is he? And what did you mean earlier about taking off your clothes? We misunderstood because of that.”
Shina shook her head, as if the suspicion was ridiculous.
“Armin is an alumnus of my school. He was once hailed as the greatest genius in the history of the Olipher School. He's a painter now, but his talent was far greater than mine, even when we were young.”
“He must have been amazing. I don't know if I should ask this, but his eyes... what happened?”
Shina's face darkened, and Nade winced, feeling he had asked an unnecessary question. Fortunately, her expression soon softened, and she began to speak calmly.
“He lost his sight to save me.”
“What? It was because of you, teacher?”
“When I was around nine, I fell into an Overflow. As I began to vaguely understand the principles of the world, everything became terrifying. I think I cried every day. Even now, thinking back, it was truly horrific suffering.”
Shina gave a bitter smile.
“The one who saved me from that was Armin. He led me out of the darkness and into the light. At the time, Armin was eleven years old.”
Eleven years old was still just a child. Yet, the fact that he saved Shina from an Overflow spoke volumes about what an exceptional talent Armin was.
“So you overcame the Overflow with Armin's advice.”
Shina shook her head.
“No. I wasn't that strong of a child. I was an arrogant little brat who lived a privileged life just because I was from the Olipher family. Back then, I hated him. He always used to tell me, like a mantra, that no matter what came my way, I must not look away from it. It annoyed me every time. You close your eyes because you're scared. You have no choice but to run because you can't bear it. Heh. Looking back now, I was such a fool.”
Shirone couldn't imagine Shina, a Grade 6 certified mage, crying in fear.
“Then how did you overcome the Overflow?”
“I hated it when Armin came looking for me, so I would go out to the mountains, the fields, or the riverbank. Armin always found me easily, but I would just run away again each time. One day, during this continuous game of tag... something happened.”
Shina's brow furrowed in pain.
“It was the rainy season, so it had been pouring for days. Even on such a dreary day, I was wandering by the river. Looking back, it might have just been an ordinary day. But as fate would have it, the dam upstream collapsed. I was downstream and, without knowing a thing, was swept away by the river. It was a massive flood, enough to submerge half the village.”
Shina recalled the events of seventeen years ago.
She was submerged before she could even scream. When she struggled for her life and managed to surface, the scenery was completely different from the riverbank where she had been. Debris from buildings and livestock washed down from upstream, while sharply broken trees floated downstream.
For the first time in her life, Shina tasted the fear of death.
*'Help me. Someone, please...!'*
She knew no one would come. This place, far from the school, was a stretch of land between a stream and a swamp that people rarely visited. It had now become a river, and no one would ever think a young girl would be here.
The water rose rapidly. The land seemed impossibly far away, making it impossible to cross. The small stream where she used to collect pebbles had transformed into a 25-meter-wide torrent. The water was murky, and countless whirlpools formed as the current split against the rocks.
“Help! Somebody help me!”
For the first time in her life, Shina showed a desperate side. Her pride as the only daughter of the Olipher, one of the continent's ten great schools, lost all authority in the face of nature's power. Even her innate talent couldn't overcome the raging river. All she could do was scream for help.
“Shina!”
As if hearing a divine revelation, Shina lifted her head with all her might. There, on a tree branch bent precariously over the water, was Armin.
“Armin! Armin!”
“Give me your hand!”
Armin reached his hand down close to the water's surface. Just as Shina was about to grab it, she was swept away by a sudden surge and pulled underwater.
“Shina!”
When Shina resurfaced, it wasn't her face but her two legs that broke the water. Armin dove in without hesitation. He swam quickly through the rapids, grabbed Shina, and pulled her head above the surface. Having swallowed water, Shina was not in her right mind.
“*Gasp! Cough!*”
“Shina! Snap out of it! We have to get out of the river!”
“H-help! Help me!”
They had escaped the whirlpools, but even rougher obstacles awaited them. Armin expanded his Spirit Zone to avoid the debris. It was the only way for the eleven-year-old him.