Rina Rosewell Is Suspicious
Rina Rosewell Is Suspicious
"Ah, right. Danya."
"Hm?"
"What do you think about Rina Rosewell? Have you seen her do anything strange lately?"
Ian had been quietly nursing a suspicion: could Rina Rosewell be the culprit?
But Rina was a kind and cheerful kid.
Which meant he couldn't just go around grilling their classmates for information about her.
Even in Fanta X Aca, she'd consistently ranked near the top of every heroine popularity poll.
Going by her profile alone, it was almost impossible to imagine her as a culprit.
'Which is exactly why she's the most suspicious.'
Because all of that could be nothing more than a facade.
The real culprit slipped past everyone.
Only a lunatic on the level of that Developer ever noticed.
What if Rina's cheerful exterior was a perfect mask?
'That's a chilling thought.'
Now that he'd begun suspecting the heroines, he needed to find solid evidence.
Proof that someone had tried to kill Pongpongi—which now meant Ian himself—and was still trying.
Or, failing that, absolute certainty that she was unchaste... or something of the sort.
Listening to rumors from the people around him was actually a decent way to start an investigation.
And Danya, who had no other friends, struck him as a relatively safe source from whom to gather intelligence on Rina Rosewell.
"Hmm..."
After mulling it over for a moment, Danya spoke up.
"Rina is definitely nice, as far as our class goes."
At that, Ian cupped his chin in his hand.
'...Is that so?'
He supposed the title of "Fanta X Aca Heroine You Most Want to Befriend" wasn't handed out to just anyone.
"Maybe it's because she's not a pure mage but handles spirits. I like her."
Danya's disposition was that of a voluntary outsider.
In other words, Rina Rosewell was a popular kid—one who'd earned the seal of approval from a self-proclaimed loner like Danya.
"I-I never said I wanted to befriend her!"
Danya huffed and pulled away.
Though, to be fair, her tail and ears were always brutally honest.
Ian was gradually learning how to read Danya's true feelings. But since teasing her any further would make her sulk for sure, he decided to play along for now.
"Got it, I get it. But what I'm really wondering is whether Rina has done anything out of the ordinary lately. Anything unusual or strange."
Hmm.
Danya's brow furrowed for a moment, and then her eyes widened as if a lightbulb had gone off.
"You're trying to stalk her again, aren't you?"
Zing.
Her sharp glare seemed to say, "I knew it. You haven't changed."
Feeling wrongfully accused, Ian scrambled for an excuse.
"I'm not. I was just curious if anything happened while I was out."
"Hrmmm..."
Danya's eyes were still full of doubt.
Only when Ian raised both hands in a gesture of innocence did her frown finally ease and she answered.
"A little while ago, I did see her walking around with something red smeared all over her mouth."
"...Something red?"
"Yeah. And she was mumbling to herself, 'Still... not enough.' She really didn't seem like her usual self. But why are you asking about this stuff?"
"Oh, no reason."
That's what he said, but a cold shiver ran down Ian's spine.
The Rina he'd been observing was definitely different from the original.
'She stares at me like she's eyeing her next meal, and earlier she kept trying to edge closer.'
Sudden abnormal behavior.
It would be stranger not to be suspicious.
'...Looks like I need to take this seriously.'
What made Rina frightening wasn't just her abilities but her very nature. The sociability that had even made Danya want to be her friend—and the academy-wide popularity it had built up around her.
He needed to approach this as cautiously as possible.
"......"
Ian gave Danya a long, steady look.
If it weren't for this girl, I'd have been in real trouble.
"Wh-why... why are you looking at me like that?"
If he'd ended up on Rina's team and come into this forest with her... who knows? He might have become fertilizer for these enormous trees.
At the very least, the moment he refused Rina's suggestion, he could've provoked her anger or turned the girls who idolized her into enemies.
'...Though, that's all assuming Rina is the culprit.'
Still, it was a fact that Danya's sudden team-up had reduced the danger.
Suddenly, he felt an overwhelming wave of gratitude toward her.
"Thanks, Danya."
"...Meow? H-hmph? Why?"
Had his thanks come too out of the blue?
Danya turned to look at him, her voice suddenly high-pitched with fluster.
"Oh, nothing. Just... for everything."
"......"
She stared at him blankly for a second before snapping her head away.
Huh. Was she mad?
"Well, if you're really that grateful, maybe I'll team up with you again next time."
He felt like she was misunderstanding something.
But her perked-up ears made her look happy.
Might as well let her enjoy it.
◆
Danya was locked in a desperate struggle.
Specifically, she was channeling every ounce of her concentration into keeping the corners of her mouth from creeping up into a silly grin.
"Hyack!"
It was only after she'd tripped over a tree root and flailed around in an utterly ridiculous pose that she finally managed to wrestle her disobedient lips back under control.
'Phew.'
It was just one word of thanks.
Why did it make her feel so good?
After chewing on it for a moment, Danya quickly realized the reason.
'It's been a really long time since anyone said thank you to me.'
Gratitude, compliments—it had been ages since she'd heard any of it.
Considerable time had passed since she'd left her clan's sacred ground.
Back there, she'd had people she knew, and she'd possessed the rare trait of a mana-user. It hadn't been hard to receive the occasional thanks, praise, or awe.
'But at the academy...'
There was the fact that she'd chosen the path of a loner, and she'd also hit the wall of her own beastkin limitations and failed to manifest her talents. She was just an ordinary kid with nothing special about her.
Compliments and words of thanks.
Those were far-off things for a girl like Danya.
Though she didn't realize it herself, this was also part of why her self-esteem had plummeted.
So when someone suddenly told her "thank you" in the middle of all that, it would have been weird if a smile hadn't tugged at her lips.
Even if the context had been completely random—no, perhaps precisely because of that—it had hit Danya all the harder.
'Maybe he's surprisingly a nice kid?'
Sneaking glances.
Even while walking ahead, Danya kept stealing little looks back at Ian.
Honestly, when she'd first suggested teaming up with Ian, she'd been mostly worried. He seemed a little different, but what if it was only because something temporary had happened? That kind of worry.
But it seemed her fears were unfounded.
He didn't stare at her with weird eyes.
And he didn't get all clingy for no reason.
On top of that, they actually worked pretty well together.
She could see he was trying to take the practical exercise seriously.
Danya herself had a goal: 'I'm gonna wipe those smug looks off our classmates' faces with this chance!'—but he was so diligent it made her wonder, 'Why's he working this hard?'
Take this forest path; Danya was used to this terrain and had no trouble.
But in Ian's case:
"Whoa there."
He'd trip over a vine now and then and nearly stumble, but he'd keep following along without a single complaint.
'He was never like this before.'
She was genuinely curious about why he was trying so hard.
Naturally, she started to feel the urge to cheer him on.
'N-Not that I'm that into it!'
She shook her head vigorously.
Just as she was doing that, Danya's eyes caught a vine right in front of Ian's foot.
'Ah, that vine there...'
"Whoa there."
As she hesitated over whether to warn him, Ian stepped right on it and stumbled.
...Oh, for heaven's sake.
At the sight of his haplessness, Danya found herself snapping at him without thinking.
"Oh, seriously. Are you a moron?"
"Sorry."
"Hmph. I knew it. You're dead weight."
After grumbling to herself, Danya bounded forward with a big jump.
"...The ground's damp over here, so maybe watch your step?"
She was a little embarrassed, so she muttered it low enough that she wasn't sure if he'd hear her.
After all, hardworking people are the kind you naturally want to help out.
◆
I need to get stronger.
To avoid getting killed by an unchaste heroine. To survive the scenarios that are yet to unfold.
These were also motives that drove my urge to grow.
But more than anything:
'The process of getting stronger is fun.'
I'm working for the sake of growth itself.
Enjoying the training, using that as the driving force for growth—a repeating cycle.
Surprisingly, it's not hard. It's enjoyable.
Because all I had to do was redirect all the energy Pongpongi used to pour into others right back into myself.
'Rather than wasting energy on others like Pongpongi did, it's better to pour that energy into myself.'
Pongpongi himself had served as a self-sacrificing martyr to prove that point firsthand.
So, I take the academy's classes as seriously as I can.
- Find objects or traces imbued with mana.
I put my all into the practical exercise as if it were my own personal training.
Maybe it was a result of original Pongpongi's hidden talent, but the results weren't bad either.
"Danya. Hold up."
"Mm?"
"I sense mana on the right. About two meters up. Yeah, over there."
"Found it."
"Nice."
My teamwork with Danya was unexpectedly good.
'We sync up well.'
Danya handled the pathfinding and physical work.
Meanwhile, I detected and located the mana targets.
We'd already collected more than half a dozen mana spheres.
"Hmph! It's all thanks to my excellence!"
"Yeah, yeah. It's definitely thanks to you. Without you, I'd have never gathered all those orbs hanging between the trees."
"Uung..."
It was also funny teasing Danya, who was weak to praise.
Even a tiny compliment would set her tail swishing.
But then her lips would twitch as she struggled to keep a straight face.
'She's been a big help, too.'
Being small made her nimble and quick.
It was like watching a real cat romp around the forest.
"Of course! The sacred ground my clan lived in is in the northern mountain range! This is nothing!"
Danya stiffened her expression and started marching proudly, only to stumble again.
A scoff slipped out of me, followed naturally by a question.
'Why wasn't she a playable character?'
Danya Catsnesia.
No matter how many times I racked my brain, the only thing that came to mind was the name "Castañets" (the instrument). With this much presence, she definitely would've stood out in Fanta X Aca.
Even her small mannerisms would've appealed to a certain demographic. Her looks weren't lacking either.
And the setting of a beastkin mage was unique. Why hadn't she been released as a playable character?
Was there some kind of backstory?
Just as I was spacing out on those thoughts for a moment, Danya, who'd been walking ahead, came to a halt.
"...I think we've gone in pretty deep."
I looked around the area.
The light was definitely dimmer.
When I looked up, trees that must have been well over ten meters tall loomed overhead.
The sunlight filtering through the gaps in the dense canopy lit the surroundings feebly, like a cloudy afternoon.
I closed my eyes and let myself feel the flow of mana.
The large mana signature that Danya and I had been tracking was growing noticeably more intense.
"The mana flow is definitely getting thicker."
"Then this direction must be the right one..."
Danya, mid-mutter, suddenly started sniffing the air.
"Wait... I smell something."
She pattered off quickly toward what was ahead.
I followed after her, walking over to the spot where she crouched down.
"...Look at this."
She didn't even need to point it out.
It was so huge I'd spotted it from far off.
A footprint—more than twice the size of Danya's body—was embedded in the ground right there.