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Not that it will necessarily connect to results.

1

"That Kunagisa brat....." Shito--kun said to me, as if he were speaking to himself. "..... What in the world is she? What in the world kind of person is she?"

"Hmm?" It took me a bit of time to determine that those words were intended for me, and I responded one tempo late. "..... Not a brat - she is nineteen after all."

"..... I see."

Normally he would have snapped something back there, but Shito-kun simply nodded powerlessly.

The smoking room on the fourth floor of the seventh ward. Shito-kun and I were sitting across from each other. Neither of us could be considered smokers, but we were just killing time. That said, time kills itself like this, so the expression may be off. It may be better to rephrase it as us clinging to time in order to prevent time from being killed. The theory is completely wrong, but as a phrase, it was not bad for describing this situation.

I glanced down the hall. I focused my eyes on one of the doors lining the wall, as if I were peeking through to the other side. Of course, it was quite the distance, and I did not possess powers of clairvoyance like a fortune-teller on some island, so there was no way I could see what was taking place on the other side. That Dead Blue and Green Green Green were having some sort of conversation.

What they were talking about I could not fathom. I had no clue.

"..... Utsurigi Gaisuke....."

I mumbled with a low, heavy voice.

His age was probably around thirty. I could not determine whether that white hair was dyed or natural, but his age was probably around that. He had a bit of a light, free-spirited air around him, but that was enough for me to understand that he was not ordinary. One glance was enough for me to understand that he was a person on the other side of a thick, long line somewhere.

Like a red contractor, like a blue savant.

"Hey, listen. Listen, you," Shito-kun said with a bit more strength this time. "That Kunagisa, what in the world is she? I\'m asking, so tell me."

"..... Why do you think I would know?"

"Of course you do. You\'re her lover, aren\'t you?" Shito-kun said, leaning closer. Shito-kun said, leaning closer. “Someone who can talk to that Utsurigi-san on equal terms, someone who can talk to that Utsurigi-san on equal footing -- it\'s the first time I\'ve seen it happen. No one here -- not even the professor -- can do that. That\'s why, even though they\'re both ex-members of Cluster..."

"That is not quite right," I fired a correcting arrow. "Kunagisa Tomo and Utsurigi Gaisuke were not members. In terms of ranking, Kunagisa had a higher class. She was the leader of Team, after all."

"..... Really?"

"Really. Well, I still only half-believe it though. No, thirty-percent-believe it, I think," I shrugged self-deprecatingly. "Totally, certainly like nonsense."

"I can\'t believe it," said Shito-kun, as he leaned back into the sofa. And then, "Then... what in the world is she?" he asked for the third time.

"Why do you think I would know?" I answered again. "Do you think I would know that? Shito-kun."

"..... You don\'t know?"

I did not answer. I changed my answer to confirm that with no answer.

Indeed, I do not know. I do not know that Kunagisa Tomo. That Kunagisa Tomo, who spoke with Utsurigi Gaisuke on equal terms. That Kunagisa Tomo, who was called an eerie, dangerous-sounding alias, Dead Blue. Relative to that, I could say that I would know more about a person I was meeting for the first time. In that case, I would at least be able to determine that I was speaking to a person.

When it comes to Dead Blue -- I would not be so sure.

".........."

Who had I been watching this whole time?

No, wrong, that is not the problem. Rather, what had I been watching this whole time? If there is anything to be called nonsense, this would be it. Calling this a misunderstanding would be a joke. Until now, despite being by her side, how much had I missed? No, was there really any point, any instant at all that I had truly, actually been by her side? The way that Utsurigi had once been, to truly be by Kunagisa\'s side -- would I ever be able to do that?

I understood.

The identity of the emotion that I had felt toward Utsurigi, or rather, to the members of Team. It was not an emotion as first-class as jealousy or admiration or aspiration. It was a feeling of inferiority that reached repulsive levels when it came to myself. It was an irritating level of despair at my own self. It was a depressing level of disappointment at my own self.

"Hey, you okay?"

Shito-kun\'s call snapped me out of it. I looked up, and found Shito-kun looking at me with a worried expression. Hn, I shook my head, and answered, "I am alright."

"It is nothing."

"You sure? You looked really sad, you know."

I must have had an incredibly mournful expression to have incurred the worry of this Shito-kun. It must surely have been wretched. I could not imagine it myself, but that must have been the case. This feeling of betrayal certainly felt like it would cause such a look.

"Betrayal... truly, the worst... I am."

I muttered, and shook my head once more. I then slapped my cheeks with both hands, and recomposed myself. Alright. I shall fret and worry a bit later. For now, for now still, let me be swept along as the situation wants to sweep me. Consciously or subconsciously, that is all that I can do for Kunagisa.

"So, Shito-kun -- why are you here?"

“Ah? What\'s that?” Shito-kun asked back with doubt. “Whaddaya mean. Why I\'m here?”

“You do not need to answer if you do not want to. I just figured I\'d ask to break the awkward silence. I just thought it was odd that you would be here so young.”

"So young, eh. Is that some sort of sarcasm?"

Shito-kun went silent for a bit. I did not say anything either, not expecting a response, but eventually Shito-kun opened his mouth and said, "I like that professor."

"That professor -- you mean Professor Shadou Kyouichirou?"

"Of course. Mad Demon or what have you, he\'s an amazing person. I don\'t know what\'s up with that Kunagisa, but you\'re the same, aren\'t you?" Shito-kun asked me. "You\'re with her because you like her, yeah?"

"Like or dislike... does that not seem a childish notion, Shito-kun?" I slowly shook my head. "It is not that simple. It is just not that simple. If it were, it would make so much more sense."

“...”

"No, perhaps it is that simple? Maybe it is actually simpler. So simple that I do not know, complex and intricate because it is so simple and obvious -- may be what it is. She happened to be in front of me, and I happened to be in front of her -- it might be something as simple as having the timing fit. You know, like a digital clock. You just spontaneously look and find the numbers all lined up, just fundamentally being like that, and there is no reason whatsoever to it -- that sort of thing."

"I don\'t really get it."

"Probably. Along with what I do not know, I would like to clarify a misunderstanding with Shito-kun. I am not her lover. I do not know why, but it seems people have misunderstood. It is not something like that -- she is a friend, a friend."

"Huh? Aren\'t you two too friendly to be friends? Boy and girl, too."

"There is no such thing as being too friendly for friends. And gender is irrelevant for friendship... In any case, I do not know how she feels about being called such a thing, but personally I do not find it very pleasant. Shito-kun, you would find it unpleasant to be called professor Kyouichirou\'s lover, right?"

Shito-kun folded his arms.

“….. I would.”

“Of course you would. And that is how it is. At the very least, it is against my style to have the thought process of wanting to tie everything into romance,” I held out both hands. “And someone else is my lover.”

"Really. What sort?"

"A high school girl who attends a super elite ojousama school. She is a first-year, so she is fifteen? Her name is Saijou Tamamo, and she likes glittery things, and is a pretty cute tomboy-ish girl. I am pretty lovesick with her . We go out to eat ice cream together a lot. She makes me pay all the time. She eats the cream, and I just get the cone. Well, thus is the weakness of being in love."

“..... Sounds like a made-up story.”

"That would be because about half of it is made up."

"Hah. You\'re a con artist."

"And you are a mochi maker."

"Yeah, yeah. Every New Years we knead it like so and so, and then hammer it and hammer it -- why!" Shito-kun shouted. "Why am I playing the straightman for you in a place like this!?"

"Well, I was actually not expecting a straightman..."

It was fun making fun of Shito-kun.

However, it appeared Shito-kun did not find it so amusing, as he looked displeased, saying, “Cut it out, jeez.”

"Not that you would-- hmm. Speaking of which, what\'s your name? You haven\'t told me yet. You were the only one who didn\'t introduce yourself back then."

Hmm? I tilted my head to the side. Given what Neo-san had said, it was clear that professor Kyouichirou had investigated us already, so I had assumed that it was probable that they also knew my name, but perhaps they had not dug deep enough? Or perhaps they had assumed I was just an extra for Kunagisa Tomo and thus had not bothered finding out. Ah, no, that is wrong. Regardless of whether they knew my name or not, Shito-kun must have been told to guide Kunagisa Tomo and her associates, so he must not have been informed. Shito-kun had expressed great admiration for the professor earlier, but would he still feel the same if he were to find out how he was actually viewed? As an ally that had been deceived for the purpose of deceiving the enemy?

“...”

Well, he probably could. The explanation made sufficient sense, after all.

"Hey, what\'s wrong? Do you not have a name?"

“Well... Hmm. My name is Spooky E.”

“..... Uh huh.”

I had braced myself with some level of expectation, but this time, Shito-kun did not play the straightman. Rather, he seemed to respond coldly to it.

"..... Um, so you\'re wanting to say that because it\'s E you\'re called Ii-chan -- that supposed to be the punchline?"

"Correctly so, rightly so."

".........."

"Idachi Ikuyo would suffice."

"..............."

Shito-kun seemed to have given up on something with me, and after turning away and sighing deeply, returned to the original subject, "Not that you would--"

"Not that you would understand why I\'m here, even if I were to explain the reason. Of course you can\'t, you can\'t possibly get it."

"Right. No one likes being told that other people know how they feel. ..... Speaking of which, this April, I met a fortune-teller who knows everything about other peoples\' thoughts."

"Ah? Another one of your lies."

"This is more nonsense than a lie, though. Though I cannot go into details. In any case, it is a person from whom Shito-kun and anyone else would be unable to hide a single thing."

"Basically, a master of psychology?"

A very logical interpretation. I nodded, "That is one way to look at it."

"Shito-kun, what do you think? About those things."

"What do I think? Of course I hate that crap," Shito-kun tilted his head at my question, looking like he did not understand. "Having your thoughts out in the open all the time, at the very least, wouldn\'t be pleasant. It\'s just like you said."

"No, I did not mean that... Not our side, but how do you think they feel? Knowing everything that other people are thinking."

"Pretty convenient, isn\'t it?"

"... Convenient. ..... Perhaps."

I nodded at Shito-kun\'s answer, which came without any hesitation whatsoever. But if that fortune-teller were to hear that, we would have received some sort of retort.

Ahh, come to think of it.

Even with that fortune-teller\'s ability to read minds, Kunagisa Tomo\'s mind could not be read. One could theorize that the reason that Kunagisa Tomo\'s mind could not be read was because it was far too deep. Her brain was processing so much more than a normal person that it would be incredibly difficult to decipher what was going on inside.

And just then, Mysterious Object X passed by the side of our smoking room -- no, I know of its identity now, so the janitor maid robot passed by. This time, the steel cylinder did not mistake people as trash, and instead sped right down the hall. I see, that robot is stationed at every research ward.

"So you were the one who made that janitor maid robot, Shito-kun?"

"Ah?" Shito-kun furrowed his brows. "Well, yeah, right. But where\'d you hear that?"

"Neo-san."

"--That bastard," Shito-kun clicked his tongue in irritation. "Freakin\' loose lips."

"Calling a senior a bastard is quite wrong. But that is still admirable. Making a maid robot is truly amazing. Yes, I prefer an old type of maid, but I do not think that sort of new type is bad."

"Stop calling it a maid robot. Only Neo-san says that crap."

Without any semblance of pride or joy, Shito-kun said, "That\'s nothing," as if being praised for such a trivial thing was more annoying than anything else.

"Even elementary schoolers can build something like that as long as they have the parts and tools."

"Indeed. That would be the difference with the older type of maids."

I nodded in agreement, but I actually prefer the older type of maids.

"..... Hey, Shito-kun. One more question about maids."

"What?"

"I heard Utsurigi-san does not leave this place, but is that true?"

"Leaving the question of how that relates to maids at all aside..." Shito-kun asked back with suspicion. "Where\'d you hear that?"

"Umm. This was from Neo-san too."

"....." Shito-kun froze in place with his posture. ".......... Shit. That bastard."

"I said calling a senior a bastard is quite wrong."

"That bastard is that bastard. He\'s a guy, so he\'s a bastard. I\'m doing nothing wrong. And if you want to go by seniority, I\'ve got seniority on Neo-san. I\'ve been here longer. Neo-san\'s the newest one here, after all... Yeah. So what\'s up? Utsurigi-san hasn\'t taken a single step out of here -- is that a problem for you?"

"No, that is not what I meant....." I absent-mindedly ignored his rambling. "But indeed, this place is filled with quirky people. Utsurigi-san, of course, but it is hard to call you ordinary as well, and professor Kyouichirou and Koutari-san and Neo-san and Dr. Kokoromi. Truly a collection of intellectuals, a random pounding of talented people. Mad Demon seems to not refer solely to professor Kyouichirou."

"I\'m ordinary. Don\'t be subtly rude. .... Hmm? Hey you, you\'ve met not just Koutari-san and Neo-san, but also Miyoshi-san?"

"Ah, no not like that. I just know of Miyoshi Kokoromi-san through rumors. She has quite a colorful trail of human dissection and biological dissection, so even I know of her."

"Really, now. Well, that person is pretty famous... and she did work where she worked before she came here, so I guess it\'s not that odd that you\'d know of her. Anyways, I\'m ordinary. Not just me, everyone\'s ordinary. We may look odd from the perspective of a commoner like you, but that\'s just a problem with your level of comprehension."

"Hmm... that may be the case. That probably is the case."

I nodded, but it was questionable as to whether Utsurigi was part of that everyone. However, I decided not to pursue that matter. If I were to pursue it, then naturally, Kunagisa would become part of that conversation, and I did not have confidence that I could remain calm if that happened.

"A problem with my level of comprehension..."

Is that the case? That may be the case. That may not be the case. However, probably, it is the case. Such is how these things are. In the end, the problem comes back to me. Despite the level of depth, it becomes a simple, logical matter. It was like Murphy\'s Law.

According to which, all difficult equations boil down to an answer of either zero or one.

"Zero, eh..."

Then, I heard the creaking sound of a hinge. I turned my head toward that direction, and saw Kunagisa stepping out of the room. She closed the door behind her, swiveled her head about, and froze completely when our eyes met.

"Ah, Ii-chan, discovered!"

Kunagisa said, and then she ran over. Just when you might have thought she\'d arrived at the smoking room at full speed, she showed no signs of slowing her pace. In fact, she seemed to accelerate, and then jumped at me. I was used to this sort of behavior though, and skillfully reducing her impact while ensuring that neither of us would be hurt, I caught her.

"Heheeeh," Kunagisa seemed to giggle as she wrapped her arms around my back, embracing me. "I\'m home, Ii-chan."

I hesitated for a moment, and then responded, "Welcome home, Tomo."

We were as natural as we had always been.

For now, this was sufficient. Alright, I thought.

Think of it as alright.

"..... Thanks for that sight, but," Shito-kun groaned with displeasure. "If we\'re done here, let\'s get back. Go flirt somewhere else. I was told to bring you two back to the Professor when the meeting is done."

"You seem more like a grunt than an assistant."

"Shut up! I\'ll kill you!" he said irritably (not that I fault his anger). Standing up abruptly, he sauntered off. I tried to follow after him, but Kunagisa would not let go, so all I could do was stand up.

"Hey, Tomo. I will let you hug me all you want later, so let go for now."

"Umm. Sure, but," Kunagisa said, as she surprisingly quickly let go. And then she turned to Shito-kun. "Shito-chan, wait a second."

"Ah? Why do I hafta wait? Are you going to hug me too?"

"As if. Um, Sacchan..." Kunagisa gave me a side-ward glance. And then she looked back at Shito-kun. "Wants to talk to Ii-chan."

"Ah? What?" "Ah? What?"

Shito-kun\'s doubt-filled voice and my surprised voice were almost completely in harmony. Shito-kun\'s voice would be the bass and my voice the tenor. However, a short duet of two men was not particularly pleasant to hear. Shito-kun and I ended up steeped in an awkward silence, and so in an effort to get away from that, I turned to Kunagisa and asked again, "What?"

"I said Sacchan wants to talk to Ii-chan."

"Is that so?"

"Why!?" Shito-kun shouted. No, more like yelled. "Why would Utsurigi-san want to talk to this guy?"

"This time it is this guy... should you not get a scolding from Suzunashi-san?" I sighed, jeez. "But I agree with that opinion. Tomo, why did Utsurigi say he wanted to talk to me?"

"I dunno," Kunagisa answered indifferently. "Anyways, when boku-sama-chan was leaving the room, Sacchan said, Can you ask the boy whose eyes were like those of a dead fish to come in? I would like to speak to him, just the two of us."

"All he said was the boy whose eyes were like those of a dead fish, right? Then maybe he was talking about Shito-kun."

"Of course not." "Of course not."

This time it was the duet of a soprano and a bass.

"It\'s obviously you." "It\'s obviously Ii-chan."

"Of course." "Of course."

A hymn started. I did not understand what was going on. I said, "Well, that aside," and forcibly interrupted the hymn.

"Let us leave what my eyes are like aside, for now. Why was I called by Utsurigi?"

"I said, I don\'t know. Don\'t ask boku-sama-chan. You\'ll find out when you go, right?" said Kunagisa, pointing at the door she just came through. "Go ahead and take the chance to talk to him, Ii-chan. It\'ll probably be fun. Boku-sama-chan will wait here."

And then Kunagisa plopped herself down on the sofa. Shito-kun came back down the hall and did the same, muttering, "What\'s going on, jeez."

"You two really can\'t be helped. Well, be off with you then. I\'ll be waiting here, too."

"You could go back, you know."

"And I said that if I did, you two wouldn\'t be able to get out. Why do you think I\'m stuck here without anything else to do?" Shito-kun slapped the table. "Hey, hurry up and go."

"Alright... I understand."

Anyways, it seemed I had no choice but to go. I do not know why Utsurigi called for me, but I did not seem to have any other option. I did not really want to, but it seemed I had to. I whispered to Kunagisa, "Be careful, and shout if anything happens," outside of earshot of Shito-kun, walked across the hall, and stopped in front of the door.

I turned around to face Kunagisa.

"Hey!"

I shouted.

"Tomo, was it fun, talking to Utsurigi?"

"It was fun."

It was a simple answer. Truly, a truly Kunagisa Tomo-like answer. However, right now, currently, I lacked an understanding of that -like. What did it mean to be Kunagisa Tomo-like? Something that simple had become very vague. I no longer knew. It was like a deteriorating copy had begun seeping through to the back of the sheet.

My thoughts regarding Kunagisa, and Kunagisa\'s thoughts regarding me.

Perhaps this is the decisive moment for me to anchor my foot. At the very least, the Kunagisa Tomo who was sitting right next to Shito-kun over there should be the Kunagisa Tomo I know, I thought as I knocked on the door and pulled it open.

"Yo -- nice to meet you."

And.

I had not even entered when I was greeted by that high tone. It was a voice that could fool anyone into believing that it came from a woman, like a forced falsetto, the sort of voice that could absolutely not be called mellow, like the sound of a sharpened blade.

I entered the room, closing the door behind me. And then I said the same, "Nice to meet you." And Utsurigi smiled, a warm laugh.

He was sitting on the steel-piped chair, the one and only piece of furnishing for the room. His legs were crossed, he had adopted a completely relaxed posture, and he was facing me. His chin was raised just a bit, as if he were looking down upon me, and he peered at my expression.

No words came forth. Toward Utsurigi, not a single word came to mind.

"--I wish you would not tighten up so much." Utsurigi was the one to eventually speak. "You were like that before when we had a glimpse of each other, you know. Why do you look at me like a sworn enemy? It\'s been quite some time since I\'ve spoken to a human like this. I\'m pretty sure I haven\'t done anything to you yet, hey? You know, Shito-kun is the way he is, so he won\'t speak to me or look at me or even come close to me whenever we cross paths, and the others never come this way. Despite appearances, I love company very much. I\'m a purely lonely. So lonely, so lonely that it cannot be helped. That\'s why, if you will, please, say something?"

"Quite some time?"

I tilted my head to the side at that. At the same time, I felt some of my nervousness dissipate. At the very least, he seemed like someone who I could converse with. I moved a bit while maintaining a set distance from Utsurigi, and leaned against the wall to the right. I turned toward Utsurigi once more.

"What are you talking about? Were you not just speaking to Kunagisa?"

"With Dead Blue? Woah there," Utsurigi chuckled. It was a terribly human-like action, which I suppose is obvious, but because it was obvious, I felt a terrible sense of misplacement. "Oh, please. I don\'t know what to say to that. Shouldn\'t you know that best? Or are you saying that Dead Blue --Kunagisa Tomo is a human being?"

"....."

"Communicating with that is an impossible task for anyone. Impossible for me as well as you as well as anyone else. Is that not right?"

While he seemed to want agreement and his eyes appeared to be laughing, as expected, I did not sense even a bit of lightheartedness behind those eyes. It was like he was waiting to pounce on any opening I gave, such was his expression. I care-freely responded, "I do not think so."

"More importantly, Utsurigi-san."

"Utsurigi suffices. Also, why don\'t you take a seat, instead of standing there?"

"On the floor?"

"It\'s cleaned often, so it\'s not dirty. Of course, it wasn\'t I that cleaned it, but rather the machine that Shito-kun made."

"I will stand."

Is that so, Utsurigi nodded.

I shifted even more of my weight toward the wall, and lessened the burden on my left leg. It was so that I could run at any moment. Although I felt such a need would not arise, there was no merit to being unprepared.

"Utsurigi-san, did you have something you wished to speak to me about?"

"I said Utsurigi would suffice, didn\'t I?" Utsurigi\'s shoulders trembled. "I hate being suffixed with -san. There is no reason for you to be calling me such, and I would like to say the same to Shito-kun. Truly, a bothersome thing. Those in Cluster always called me without any formalities, and that was the most natural."

"... what do you mean by Cluster?" I could not help but ask. "I have heard that name several times since we had come... is it a different name for Team?"

"I think a different name lacks accuracy," Utsurigi raised his index finger. "We had no name in the first place. So we all just called it what we wished. I generally called it Cluster. That has simply become the normal means of referring to it here. Well, I made it normal. If I remember correctly, Cheetah called it Mates. Reverse Cross (Night-travel Crime) called it Russell (Gathering of Paradox). And Double Flick (Double-layered World) even made a nice pun for it, Inside (Within the Territory). It wasn\'t just irony or something, that enjoyed playing with words. And then, and then..., heheh, well, everyone did what they wanted the way they wanted. There were some that changed the way they referred to themselves every time, so we had no real name or different name or true name or anything. I called us Cluster (Flock), that\'s all. --And then Dead Blue called it Team (Comrades)."

Team.

That word sucked air out of my lungs.

"Woah, you tightened up again just now, right when you were finally beginning to loosen up. Did something I say strike a nerve? If so, I apologize. I\'m not blessed with the opportunity to speak to others much, so I\'m not very learned in the arts of politeness. Please don\'t take it the wrong way."

"No, I do not mind. I do not mind at all. More importantly, Utsurigi-san."

"I said to call me without the honorifics... Whatever. I don\'t expect for all of my wants to be accepted. Continue; what is it?"

"What did you speak to Kunagisa about?"

Utsurigi fell silent for just a moment after hearing my question, and then said, "You."

"You call her Kunagisa?"

"... Answer my question, please."

"I\'ll answer if you answer, let\'s go with even negotiations. My question first, what do you normally call Dead Blue? Just the way I once called ourselves Cluster, what do you call her?"

"....."

"Incidentally, this Utsurigi Gaisuke uses Dead Blue when speaking to her directly. Sometimes that\'s also the case when speaking to a third party, but if I speak to that third party and reference her, it becomes Kunagisa Tomo. I sometimes abbreviate it toVerge when referring to her as an abstract entity. Very rarely, I say that. That would be the four I use."

I did not understand the point behind his question, so I hesitated a little. However, no matter how you took it, it did not seem like a question that had an ulterior motive. Then, perhaps, it was just simple curiosity. I decided to answer honestly.

"When I speak to her directly, I call her by her first name, Tomo. If I am trying to get her attention, hey, you. When speaking about her with someone else, I use her surname Kunagisa, and when referring to her, her. The only exception is when I speak to Nao-san... Kunagisa\'s older brother, if I refer to her I say your sister. He dislikes having her name spoken aloud."

"You speak as if you were narrating for someone else. No, nothing wrong with that. Your past is essentially someone else, after all."

So said Utsurigi, as he repeated to himself, "Hmm, Tomo, Kunagisa, hey, you, her, your sister..."

"I see... so that\'s the kind of person you are. Understood understood, I get it."

"Was it some sort of psychological test?" I had regained a bit of composure, and naturally asked with a comparative voice. "So? What sort of twisted emotion do I have with regards to Kunagisa?"

"That may be better left unsaid. No, ignorance is bliss, perhaps," Utsurigi said without any shyness. "Still, you are quite gloomy. Despite those dead-fish eyes of yours."

"Saying they are like dead fish is a bit much. The Professor said <color>good eyes</span>."

"Good eyes they are. Truly impressive levels of rotting. When I speak to you like this, it reminds me of Cheetah."

Utsurigi grinned, clearly enjoying himself. Whether that meant he purely enjoyed speaking to me, or whether that meant he enjoyed observing me, or whether that meant he was only acting like he enjoyed himself while he did not enjoy himself in the slightest, I could not tell.

"... I answered, so please answer my question. Utsurigi-san. What did you speak to Kunagisa about?"

"You can imagine, can\'t you? What do you think we talked about?"

"....."

"Ah, sorry, sorry. It\'s alright, I\'m not Socrates. Although they do say my nose looks like his. However, returning a question with a question to make the other think is, well it\'s not bad but it\'s not my style. I\'m more the talkative type, the type that says everything myself."

"Is that so."

"Yes. Dead Blue said, of course -- I\'ll get you out of here."

Utsurigi said that with some pride. As if being told that by Kunagisa was the greatest of his achievements.

"... and, what did you say?"

"Rejected. Of course?" Utsurigi said, as if was truly obvious. "We spoke about other things, but those were private, so I\'d prefer you understand that. You wouldn\'t want to know about how I deal with my sexual urges, right?"

I wonder. No, I do not.

"Why did you reject it?"

"I waved my hand like this and said No, no, it\'s fine. ... Don’t look at me like that. Do you not get jokes? You don\'t need to look at me out of the corner of your eye every time like that. I\'m not sitting in a corner, you know."

Whether he found his own pun amusing or for a different reason I did not know, but Utsurigi chuckled. It was an infantile sight, belying the age behind his whitened hair.

"Let\'s alternate questions, then. It\'s my turn, isn\'t it? Let\'s make sure we\'re both in agreement about the order."

"..... Then, go ahead." I nodded, half-carelessly. "But, do you actually have more to ask me?"

"Yes. Plenty."

He had plenty.

"Then how about we start with a jab....., have you kissed Kunagisa Tomo?"

".........."

I truly felt like I wanted to walk away.

"Incidentally, I never have."

Of course. If you were to have done that to a minor at your age, it would be a crime with no room to say excuses. Not so much a social crime, but more a crime as a person.

"So, how about you?"

"..... I have," this time, I really, truly carelessly answered. "So?"

"No, I just felt envious. Continue."

"Continue what. It is my turn to ask a question, is it not?" I raised my face a bit, staring at the smiling face of Utsurigi. "Why did you reject her? Do you not want to leave this place?"

"An odd question, from both you and Dead Blue," Utsurigi suddenly sounded bored. "You two are both saying a terribly bizarre thing. I was invited here as a fellow, you know? I get paid wages, and I\'m living a pretty comfortable life. It\'s not like I\'m imprisoned here or held captive or anything."

"..... the academic achievements that Professor Shadou Kyouichirou has attained, the results of scientific research that he had presented to the Kunagisa House as his own reputable work, I hear that close to ninety-percent of that was actually the work of Utsurigi Gaisuke."

"Who knows? I don\'t know what you\'re talking about. I\'ve never heard anything like that. Isn\'t that just a trick?" chuckled Utsurigi. "There\'s a lot of gossip in the world about taking credit for others\' work, after all."

"If you are not imprisoned, then, Utsurigi-san, then of course you have a means of leaving this research facility -- no, even this seventh ward?" I persisted. "For example, do you have a laboratory ID card that goes into the card readers? Do you have your voice and retina stored in the lock database?"

".........."

Utsurigi went silent. And then, with a scrutinizing, squinting look, he stared at me. I deliberately, half-forcibly ignored that, and continued speaking.

"Have you ever left this place? I have heard otherwise. ..... Despite offering your entire spec to Professor Kyouichirou, despite having your freedom completely suppressed, do you still feel the lack of a need to leave this place?"

"You talk big, young one." Utsurigi closed both of his eyes. Opening his right eye, he continued, "You talk about freedom at your age? At the age of nineteen, you talk largely about something like freedom? How very crass."

"..... According to Kunagisa... no, to be more precise, according to Chii-kun, but my understanding of you is that Professor Kyouichirou has some sort of blackmail on you to restrain you here..."

"Hahah! Blackmail!" Utsurigi clapped his hands loudly in front of him. The dry sound echoed around the room. "Blackmail is good! That\'s an awesome way to put it, coming from that Cheetah. Laughable. Too funny. I\'ve never heard something so funny."

"..... Answer my question, Utsurigi-san."

"Hahah, heheheh. Answer your question? Alright. I\'ll answer, young one," Utsurigi stopped his dry laugh and slowly raised his head. "For example... do you know of the life-form, pig? Or a cow or a chicken would suffice."

"Of course I know about a pig."

"That\'s great. Then of course you know that a pig was an animal created by domesticating monkeys? Cows and chickens were not really configured as a species like that, but they\'re pretty similar nonetheless, being domesticated. Domesticated. What do you think about that? They -- yes, I\'ll call them <color>they</span> deliberately -- can you say that they, as living beings, have succumbed to humanity?"

"..... Is that wrong?"

"Wrong. Not just wrong, it\'s the opposite. As a result, as a result of being domesticated, as a result of being configured, they became even stronger. Protected by humans, raised by humans, produced by humans, their market share among the world\'s animal populace exploded. By living with humans -- no, by forming a parasitic bond with humans, they acquired an immovable position in the hierarchy of species. Is that wrong?"

"-- it only sounds like sophism."

"Sophism is still a form of logic. Similar to how potatoes and sweet potatoes are both potatoes. Now, is my current situation really as bad as you think? I\'ve been given an entire research ward like this, and I can speak to you like this. You say I\'m restrained but that\'s the case no matter where I go. Is there any life in this world that isn\'t restrained? In the end, to me, watching TV every day and only speaking to a certain set of people every day, while being able to move about, is still being restrained in a certain amount of space. I feel much freer than people like that. At the very least, my mind is a lot freer."

"I cannot think you are being serious."

"It\'s your freedom to think what you may. I have no intent of restraining your opinions."

Utsurigi inhaled after those words, and continued, "Now it\'s my turn to ask a question."

"Have you slept with Kunagisa Tomo?"

".......... Am I going to keep being sexually harassed like this?"

"Who cares? Let\'s just sit down, man up, and speak our minds like men," Utsurigi made a perverted face. "Incidentally, I\'ve never slept with Dead Blue."

"If you have, it would be a crime," I raised both of my hands. "I have not, either."

"You haven\'t?" he seemed taken aback. "What? Wait, no way. You must be lying."

"It is true. I would not lie about something like that. And I have never gone even close... well, I will not say that at least, but in general we have never crossed that line," I wondered why I was being this open, but I continued answering. "Does that satisfy you?"

"Not at all. Quite dissatisfied. That can\'t be right," Utsurigi crossed his arms and groaned. "You\'re a straight man, aren\'t you? You don\'t have strange fetishes, right? Or are you actually lusting for me, right now?"

No, I\'m not.

I ignored Utsurigi and took my turn.

"In other words, Utsurigi-san, you have no intention of leaving this place?"

"That\'s not what I meant. I don\'t intend to not leave this place, but I have no reason to leave this place. For example, I hear Dead Blue just lives like a hikikomori in her Kyoto mansion. Would you force her to get out? Of course you wouldn\'t, would you? There\'s no reason for her to step outside. It troubles no one. I\'m the same. There\'s no reason to go out into space just to learn that space is spacious, is there?"

"In other words, Kunagisa\'s actions this time were nothing but a bother to Utsurigi-san?"

"Hey, hey, you don\'t need to be that aggressive with your tone," Utsurigi slightly raised his right shoulder, as if recoiling in horror. "Not at all, of course. I am genuinely pleased by Kunagisa Tomo\'s feelings. You could even say that I am moved. And, even otherwise, being able to reunite with Dead Blue makes me happy. In that sense I\'m quite appreciative of you, for having acted with Kunagisa Tomo. Thank you."

"..... You’re welcome."

A sigh. It seemed he was right about being talkative. No matter what angle I tried to attack him from, he would always scatter my vector and ultimately swallow everything up into his own pace.

He only looked like a strange old man, but he was one of Kunagisa Tomo\'s Team. I would not be allowed to forget that.

"Now, my turn. Does that mean that Kunagisa Tomo, to you, is not someone you can view as a woman, and that while she is an object of affection, she is not an object of love?"

Oh. This time he asked a relatively normal question.

"In other words, you don\'t lust for Kunagisa Tomo\'s loli body."

".........."

I was a fool for thinking otherwise.

"Incidentally, I do. ... I was joking, so please don\'t run away. Don\'t try to leave. Of course I wouldn\'t lust, I\'m fifteen years older than her, you know? Of course I wouldn\'t do such a thing. Where I was raised, calling someone a lolicon is just a way of greeting someone. It\'s true. If you\'re recoiling from something like that, you wouldn\'t be able to survive where I grew up, you know? Please, stop shooting me that suspicious look."

"..." I sighed.

I swore that no matter what, I would never go to this guy\'s birthplace, and wondered if this was the reason why Shito-kun and Koutari-san referred to him as a pervert. In that case, Shito-kun\'s fear was understandable. Subtly, I re-positioned myself so that my hand would easily be able to pull out the knife in my right breast-pocket.

"You kiss Kunagisa Tomo. Embrace. Yet perhaps that is just a level of skinship that you might share with your sister. So one might say that Kunagisa Tomo is like a sister to you? That\'s not bad at all. They do say that being considered a little sister is in a way the greatest praise that can be heaped upon a lady."

"....."

"Incidentally, I have two little sisters--"

"I do not want to hear it," I immediately interrupted. "And normally, in Japan, people do not kiss their sisters. They also do not embrace."

"What? Seriously?" Utsurigi seemed honestly surprised, as he adjusted his glasses. "-- is that the case. Wow, I learned something, today. Thank you. I\'m glad I met you."

"..." I sighed. It was not appreciation I enjoyed. "In any case, Kunagisa is not my sister. At the very least, I have never thought such a thing. She may be an existence as close to me as family, but that is an issue of distance."

"Hmm. Your expression seems to hint that you don\'t care about family. Hmmhmm. I\'m beginning to understand. The problem."

"Problem? What entirely was he seeing as a problem of what? This man named Utsurigi was the only problem, for now. I was beginning to feel like I would rather end this conversation and retreat to my room.

That I did not could probably be attributed to Utsurigi having been part of Kunagisa\'s Team. No, I should not say that in past tense, for they still consider each other comrades, and it was because of that, that I stood here continuing to converse. I analyzed myself.

"Then--," I continued my words. And then I took a look around this empty room. "-- why, do you call this room with nothing your private room?"

"Woah. You\'re changing your angle? I see, a plan to get me to let down my guard. Yes, not bad, not bad. That\'s a sharp way to do things. You have such a cute face, but you\'re quite vicious. You seem to be a person with more intelligence than you look," Utsurigi was filled with mirth. "The answer is simple. I dislike when things are messy. In truth -- I would rather get rid of this chair, as well, but if I go there I would have to be considered slightly ill."

"I think you are plenty ill as it is."

"No, don\'t worry. The other rooms are pretty messy. There are some rooms that aren\'t messy, but at the very least, they\'re not orderly. I\'m not good at organizing, because my specialty is destroying. I\'m using this whole fourth floor solely for my own purposes, but if you want, you can take a peek at the third and second floors on your way back. My work rooms are as scattered as an island of dreams."

"I will pass," I turned down Utsurigi\'s offer. "There are plenty of classified items, I am sure? Shito-kun would be angry at me. And, that was probably why this room was selected as our meeting room."

"Professor Kyouichirou did say something like that... Heheh, he\'s quite a strict fellow."

At the very least, I was unable to read any emotion, like anger or begrudging, that would be expected from someone who is imprisoned in a space like this from Utsurigi\'s face, as he referred to Professor Kyouichirou as he. That said, I also did not read the opposite, like respect or fondness for one\'s boss, either.

In fact... I could not imagine whatsoever what this person thought.

"Now, my turn."

"Please go easy on me."

"Leave it to me," Utsurigi said with a rather retro-style boast. "Question. How much interest do you have in the opposite sex?"

"... As normal, I would say," I answered as I tolerated the usual sexual harassment. "Is that not obvious?"

"Hahah. That\'s not what I meant," Utsurigi said, and I could not tell whether he understood what I was thinking as I thought. "I am inordinately pleased that I can epigraph words from the former Cluster member Double Flick here. There is no more pleasing fun than speaking of a friend you are proud of."

"....."

Double Flick.

Or as Kunagisa calls him, Hii-chan.

"What words?"

"His words with regards to girls. Let\'s say that there\'s a dog. I would not kick that dog. I would not crush its head with a brick. If that dog is starving, and I have bread in my hand, I would give it to that dog. If it wags its tail and walks to my side, I would pet its head, and if it turns on its back, I would tickle its stomach. If it comes to it, I would let it roam my room and take care of it. I would forgive it if it bit my arm. However, despite that, I do not wish to be collared to that dog."

"... You have quite a downer of a friend, Utsurigi-san," I gave my honest opinion. "It is not right to compare a lady to a dog."

"Hahah. Cheetah said the same. And then Double Flick answered, <color>Oh, then you must be looking down on dogs as a lower lifeform than humans. Hmm, so you\'re fundamentally discriminatory. Hahah, a hypocrite. My, my, what a pitiable man. You should just die. Not that you have any purpose to being alive, anyways. An existence where your life simply causes other people trouble, and only when you die do others relax and feel at ease. Only being useful to others by being dead, in fact that\'s even worse than a dog. I see, I thought you were a cheetah but you\'re just a dog. That\'s funny. Hey, dog, then will you look for something, for me? It\'s about a bone.</span> Incidentally, after that they had a wrestling match."

"... Sounds fun."

It was a story that was hard to comment on, so I absentmindedly responded.

"Not that we have the ability to feel the emotion called fun. Now, if Kunagisa Tomo is not a sister to you, then how about a pet?"

".........."

"Truth be told, she\'s as loyal as a dog, isn\'t she? To you, anyways."

Those words sounded like they had more meaning. As if he had the confidence such that he has a hidden wildcard up his sleeve for me. It did not seem like a mere bluff.

"Realistically, I think Dead Blue is a very convenient thing for you. After all, she\'s a direct descendant of the Kunagisa blood. A child of a family that can fund a laboratory of this magnitude deep inside the mountains, that can fund someone like that Mad Demon. Even though she\'s disowned, her influence is still enormous. After all, there is the matter of her sibling, Kunagisa Nao, and plenty of others within the family that still offer her their help. Just by being by her, you could say that your life is insured."

"....."

"And as for her, she has blue hair, and despite her age, she still boasts a young body, and no matter how bizarre she is and how many other quirks she has, she\'s quite a cute girl. Cute, cute girl, enough to turn one on. Being able to do as one wants with her, being able to do as one desires, is a seductive tale for any boy."

"However, that does not sound very pleasant," I interrupted Utsurigi. "Do I look like that type of person?"

"..... Heheh. Even a boy like you can grow angry," Utsurigi\'s expression seemed to say, gotcha. "Was it because you were insulted? Or was it because your feelings toward Kunagisa Tomo were insulted? Or perhaps because I was spot on?"

"I am not particularly angry. All I said was that it was not a very pleasant tale."

"Was it. I feel pleasant. Beyond pleasant. Because I am talking about a friend, with a friend of that friend, and there is nothing more mirthful than this. ... How well can you handle computer media?"

"Not that well," I felt suspicious as the topic suddenly changed as I answered. "I took an electrical engineering class or something, though."

"Ahh. Verge did say something like that. That you were part of the ER3 system, that massive think tank," Utsurigi nodded to himself in understanding. "I see, I see. That makes sense; you\'re smarter than you look, then."

"You heard about me from Kunagisa?"

"Yeah. Do you want to know what she said? Do you want to know what lines of expression were spoken by Kunagisa Tomo?"

"No. I am fine."

Utsurigi smiled, as if he understood something about me given my immediate response. It was an unpleasant smile.

"... Computers are by far the most most most excellent of devices developed by humans. That can be said not for the hardware, but mostly for the software. They can follow intricate programs using rules that cannot normally be understood, and at a super high speed. They make anything possible, act in a grand language differing from humans, and can arrive at a result that took humans a hundred years in five minutes. Yet on the other hand, despite being such an inexplicable, unbelievable device, even an ordinary person can control it. Switch a button, and the computer stops. There are some that say that\'s why computers were able to prosper among people. Controlling a computer satisfies the inner craving of having dragged something greater than oneself to their own level."

"..... I,"

"No matter who, people want to always be the one in command. Now, having taken a glimpse into the dirty desires of mankind, let\'s bring the subject back to Kunagisa Tomo. She\'s without a doubt a genius. We first bring up her memory, which makes one wonder if she has a ridiculous number of disc farms loaded into her. It\'s the maximum amount of RAM possible for a human being. And, there does not exist a single person who has seen a program she\'s written and not been mesmerized. Beauty means the lack of pointless pointlessness. It means there\'s no surplus or excess. Programs written by Dead Blue have no wastefulness whatsoever. Not just her programs, the hardware she produces as an engineer, the motherboards and CPU have no wastefulness, either. Dead Blue was on a different dimension even in Cluster when it came to not being wasteful."

"....."

"Do you know what Dead Blue was called when she was young? Of course you know, you wouldn\'t not know. She was called by a single word: savant. Obviously one doesn\'t need to borrow a French word to express it, for whether you call her the English word genius, or the Japanese word tensai, or call her by a German word or a Chinese word or a Swahili word, the meaning doesn\'t change. Because there\'re no national borders to talent. Back when I was still a lonely hacker, when I still dreamed that I was someone lonely, I heard a rumor that a direct descendant of the Kunagisa house held within her such a Godline talent, and so I waged a war on her."

"War......"

"War, war, war. We\'re not very fond of one another, but don\'t we all share the same feelings? Some feel jealousy, some feel worship, as every person takes a gander at her. Of course, even I wanted to get in contact with Kunagisa Tomo -- though at the time my thought was more must contact the enemy -- and so I tried many means, but as you\'d expect of the Kunagisa Syndicate, they didn\'t make things easy. I had to give up. That\'s why when she formed Cluster and contacted me from her end -- I cried with joy. I\'m not exaggerating, I really cried. Laugh if you want to laugh, that an adult past the age of thirty, had been saved by a girl of fourteen."

".........."

Of course, I could not laugh.

It was not something that one could laugh at.

"No, I honestly think it\'s a sham. A terribly comical sham. Think about it. The Greatest Brains in the World -- heheh, embarrasses me to say that myself, but nine of the Greatest Brains in the World gathered, and what they did would simply be the playthings of a younger child. It feels like an extreme waste of talent, misuse of talent. Frankly -- if all of us used our talents in a more proper direction -- we could become like guardians of justice, could make this planet a much more fantastic star. Hey, don\'t you think I\'m exaggerating?"

"-- I do not. As you say, if all of you had been virtuous, saving the world would have been as easy as baking apple pie. But, that\'s an impossible premise. In the end, that is part of what makes a genius. The nine of you from Cluster -- the nine including Kunagisa, were not outliers. The people in this research facility are probably the same, and even the geniuses I have encountered throughout my life, each one had their own abnormal quirks. And by abnormal I do not just mean from the perspective of society. Everyone -- was jarred somewhere. A humane genius would be the one that is the outlier. I am not as romantic as a dreamy girl to expect humaneness from people with talent."

"Is that discrimination toward dreamy girls?"

"How do we get there? At the very least, I prefer dreamy girls over dreamy middle-aged men."

"Are you talking about me? However it\'s just as you say. Most geniuses have some anti-social aspects. Or rather, society has always been unkind to people with talents. Few harbor pleasant feelings toward geniuses who can swipe away all of your value in a single instant."

"... Please cut it out, Utsurigi-san," I finally became unable to restrain myself as I spoke. "If you want to say something, how about you just spit it out? There is a limit to how roundabout you can be. Your conversation is merely drawing it out. Not that Goethe said this, but really, if you were a novel, I would have stopped reading here."

"Well that\'s a shame. This is where it gets fun."

"I cannot imagine so."

"Reading a book that you feel is boring to the end without slamming it against the wall calls for courage -- or so it was said. According to Dazai Osamu. Lonesome geniuses always say good things. Don\'t you agree?"

"..... Then, shall I draw out my own courage, and have some level of expectations?"

"Yeah, have expectations. I\'ll take you up on that, in the name of Green Green Green. ..... However, genius -- a good word, but one that I can\'t help but feel is far too widespread nowadays. Think about it, it\'s not that hard or rare to be called a genius. Do you think any person in this laboratory has never been called a genius at least once in their life? Even Shito-kun and Misachi-san. Although I don\'t know about you, who came as an associate of Dead Blue, and your guardian Suzunashi-san, but it\'s not that significant to be called a genius. What\'s tough -- is to be aware yourself that you\'re a genius. And obviously I don\'t mean in a delusional way."

"What\'s the difference between awareness and delusion?"

"Who knows, there might not be a difference at all. At the very least, if you or I were to decide, nothing might change. But, even you know the difference between predicting and knowing, right? You predict that a six will show, and roll a die. Six shows. Hey, does this mean the person who predicted it is talented? No. But if they knew a six would show, it\'s different. There\'s no doubt about it -- truly no doubt about it, that such a person is a genius. Back in the day, there was a past where I predicted that I was a genius. But it was a delusion. Thinking back on it makes me embarrassed, actually. But when you go there -- Kunagisa Tomo, she\'s terribly self-aware, don\'t you think? Don\'t you think she has a firm grasp on her own genius?"

"A comparison not quite like you, Utsurigi-san. The relation is also overused. I acknowledge that she is a genius, but--"

"You acknowledge, and I acknowledge. However, the one who acknowledges it the most is Kunagisa Tomo herself. Self-consciousness and self-awareness are both related to self-confidence in any living species, but you don\'t need me to explain that theory, right? If you want the evaluations by other people, you would need the talent to see through the senses of others. However, in order to achieve absolute valuation, you need to know yourself above all. Not to become self-aware through the comparisons of those around you, but to acknowledge yourself through yourself alone. You don\'t test yourself, as testing is unnecessary and testing is never done. You don\'t require the world to live, and that\'s the identity of absolute genius, awareness."

"..............."

"Now, she\'s that sort of White Out (Genius), but on the other hand, everything else is terrible. Kunagisa Tomo boasts unparalleled abilities in tinkering with machines and constructing applications, but she\'s completely ignorant about everything else. There\'re disabilities for extreme imbalances in talent, like the famous Idiot Savant Syndrome and more recently Asperger\'s Syndrome, but her case is like another step above the normal syndromes. Her infantile manner of speech, her disconnected thought process. She displays a spectacular level of failure at anything related to people. Well of course, after all, she\'s lacking emotions. Maybe lacking is too strong, but she\'s certainly not got enough of them. Perhaps she does have enough, but she doesn\'t know how to control them, at all. As such, she can\'t read other peoples\' emotions. Human relations, in the end, are simply like looking in a mirror. It only works out because people assume that the other person is thinking the same way they do. You can\'t communicate with someone that doesn\'t appear in the mirror. Well, not that I\'m allowed to say something like this, but... forgive me. Anyways, that\'s why that genius Kunagisa Tomo ends up not being able to live alone. Because she\'s so out-there, she cannot live alone. Yet because she\'s so out-there, she must live alone. Hahah, what an amusing psychological (paradox)," said Utsurigi as he pointed at me. "..... If something like you didn\'t exist, Kunagisa Tomo wouldn\'t even be able to keep living. Leaving aside whether that role must be performed by you, for Kunagisa Tomo to continue living, she must rely on you for living processes. If we think of Kunagisa Tomo as a computer, then she\'s just the terribly fundamental mechanism prior to the loading of an operating system. Now, a question. How do you feel, with a genius under your care?"

"..... You ask a bit too many questions, Utsurigi-san," I said while looking upward. "If you have any manners, you should only ask one question per turn, or at most two."

"Perhaps. Perhaps it\'s as you say, but perhaps you can also give me that little bit of service, can\'t you? Servitude without seeking gratitude is the adhesive to human relations, you know. Answer me. How do you feel, owning Kunagisa Tomo?"

"Do you want me to say she\'s mine, and I\'m not giving her to anyone else?" I slowly, gradually raised my head, and glared at Utsurigi. "What a joke. If you want her, you can go ahead and take her."

".........."

"You cannot speak for me. Because I cannot speak for myself, either."

"Hmmhmm. You mean that you won\'t speak for yourself, not that you can\'t speak for yourself. On your own accord, anyways," Utsurigi did not back off at all. "You\'re overcome with fear at what you might need to speak for yourself about, aren\'t you? You\'re afraid of what would result if you were to corner yourself. You\'re afraid of fear. You can\'t help fearing yourself. Isn\'t that right?"

"Perhaps. But, so what? There is no right for you to talk ill about me. Even if you did, I would not stand for it. Kunagisa is a friend to me. I am a friend to Kunagisa. Is that not enough?"

"For now, sure. For now, that\'s fine," Utsurigi nodded. "For now, that might be fine. But you... eventually, you\'ll run into a wall. Because such a vague, indefinite relationship can\'t last forever. If you run into a wall and realize it, that\'s fine, but if you run into a wall and die, that\'s that. Do you realize that, right now? It just looks to me like you\'re averting your eyes. Turn end. Now, I shall accept a question from you."

Utsurigi leaned back in his steel-pipe chair, bracing himself for my question. I wavered at what to ask next. No, it was already determined what I wanted to ask next. I hesitated at whether I should ask that or not. However, in the end, I said it.

"....., Utsurigi-san. About Team... about Cluster."

"Call it whatever you want. That\'s just a proxy name, anyways."

"..... Why was something like that formed in the first place?"

I said.

"What and how were you thinking, to organize something like Team... like Cluster, and then act?"

"..... So that\'s your core."

The look in Utsurigi\'s eyes changed. Those Cheshire-like eyes that outwardly seemed to be smiling seemed to flip around completely, as his eyes turned into an obvious look of someone shooting, digging through me.

"Easy. It\'s several tens and hundreds times easier for me to answer your question than it would be to twist the wrist of a baby. Truly simple, one sentence. ..... However, to be honest, I don\'t feel it."

".....? What do you mean?"

"In other words, if you think me as being honest, then it would betray your hopes. Unfortunately, I don\'t carry an answer that would live up to your expectations. In this case, Double Flick might have been able to pull something off, but I can\'t do that."

".........."

"Do you still want it?"

Utsurigi combed upwards through his white hair. And then he took off his sunglasses, placed them in a pocket on his lab coat, and then looked at me with his naked eyes.

"If you want to hear, I\'ll answer. But that wouldn\'t be an answer out of kindness. Rather, you should understand that it would be a malicious answer from us, those you took Kunagisa Tomo from. Even then, even then do you want it?"

"I want to hear it."

I, with nary an instant, not even a moment of wavering, nodded. This indecisive, half-assed me, nodded without any hesitation.

"Please tell me, Utsurigi-san."

"Because Dead Blue sought it."

Utsurigi did in fact answer it with one sentence. He answered so simply.

"All we did was abide. That was her word, and we followed. She was not just our leader. She was our Kaiser. And we were Dead Blue\'s pawns as well as her slaves."

"Urgh--"

I slumped forth.

My knees felt like they were collapsing. My legs alone were no longer able to support my weight, and I grasped at the wall. However, even that was not enough, and I had to press my hands against the wall. It felt like the wall was going to fall down on me. No, I was just on the verge of falling over. However, something needed to be done, for it felt like my existence was about to end.

"-- tsurigi--"

I. I. I. I. I.

And, as I tried to formulate words.

"Hey! How long are you going to be talking to Utsurigi-san!"

I heard Shito-kun\'s yelling along with frantic knocking from the other side of the door.

"Seriously! What\'re you doing!?"

"Heheh....." Utsurigi shrugged his shoulders at the voice and changed his seated posture. He took the sunglasses out of his lab coat and put them back on. His eyes returned to being that fake smile.

"Alright, Shito-kun! We\'re done talking! ..... Hahah, I guess that\'s all for now. I still had questions, but let\'s leave it be. Mr. Friend of Kunagisa."

"..... It seems so," I put all of my strength into my legs and pushed my body from the wall. "It seems so, Mr. Green Green Green."

"Heheh. Tomorrow, come again. Let\'s have a more constructive talk then. You\'ll be staying here one or two more days, anyways, right?"

"Yes, well, probably....."

"Bring that guardian lady of yours, Suzunashi, tomorrow. From the way Verge put it, she seems like an interesting woman to talk to. Wouldn\'t take a backseat to you."

"She will punch you if you say any sexual harassment."

"I honorably appreciate your kind-hearted worry," Utsurigi laughed unperturbed by my sarcasm. "But don\'t worry. My body\'s quite firm. I\'ll be fine being punched. Heheh, well, give everyone my regards."

"Everyone...?" I tilted my head to the side. "Who?"

"Everyone. Shito-kun, the professor, Misachi-san and other fellows. You seem to have met Koutari-san and Neo-san."

"Yes. The long-haired one and the round one."

Yes, yes, Utsurigi nodded.

"Neo-san\'s roundness can no longer be helped -- roundness is his trait -- but Koutari-san\'s long hair would make his eyes go bad. Make sure to warn him about that, if you would."

Understood, I said, and then I went to open the door, "I will be going, then." But then Utsurigi called out to me again, "wait a second." I asked, "What is it?" without turning around. My right hand was already gripping the doorknob. Shito-kun was on the other side of this door, and Kunagisa would be nearby. Kunagisa. The Kunagisa Tomo I know was on the other side of this door.

"Last question, Mr. Friend of Kunagisa."

"..... That is odd," I did not turn around. "Utsurigi-san started the questions, so it would be unfair for Utsurigi-san to ask the last question."

"Then the next turn will start from you, would that suit you? And this would just be a one-sentence answer, the same as the question you asked me. A simple question. It won\'t take your time."

"Huh... well, I do not mind. What is it?"

Utsurigi did not answer immediately, and after a few moments, he spoke.

"You--"

He asked toward me.

"---- You--"

He carefully carved into my brain.

“You actually hate Kunagisa Tomo, don\'t you?”

1. sick, yamitsuki, pun!
2. for example of process
3. Based off Russell\'s Paradox
4. However, this is written 戦操. War is written 戦争 (sensou), but the latter letter is actually taken from exercise 体操 (taisou), resulting in something like a war exercise. I assume the reading is still sensou/war, however, so I kept war.

2

Some tens of minutes later -- Kunagisa and I, once again, were in Professor Shadou Kyouichirou\'s First Ward. Kunagisa and I were sitting side-by-side in the same fourth-floor room that was Professor Kyouichirou\'s visitor room. Professor Kyouichirou was apparently currently in a third-floor laboratory room, and Shito-kun had gone there to report to him that Kunagisa and Utsurigi\'s meeting had finished.

As such, I was alone with Kunagisa.

Alone with.

With.

..... However, was that really the case?

Perhaps it was simply such that one and one were in this room, and not that two were with each other?

".....? Ii-chan?"

Eventually, Kunagisa peered in at me from the side. From below, she looked at me with her large eyes.

"Hey, Ii-chan. You haven\'t said anything in a while, what happened?"

"..... Hm?" I raised my head. "Huh? I was not saying anything? That is weird. I thought I was passionately theorizing about the religious conflicts and the dominance of the nobility in Medieval Europe."

"You weren\'t."

"No, I was."

"You were not."

"I was theorizing!" I could no longer back down. "As a descendant of Napoleon, I am obligated to think seriously about these things. As someone who will eventually reign over all of Europe, I must have a firm grasp of the past history of the land."

"Ii-chan, did Sacchan say something mean to you?"

She ignored me.

Kunagisa seemed just a tad anxious, and continued speaking as if she were worried about me.

"Sacchan isn\'t supposed to say that to anyone he doesn\'t care about, though. But I can\'t think of why Sacchan would fixate on Ii-chan."

"..... No, he did not say anything to me in particular. Nothing, in particular. He just asked about what has been happening around you of late," I answered, feigning normalcy. "Maybe he wanted to know about your surroundings from a different perspective? Anyways, nothing was said to me."

"Mmhmm..."

Kunagisa did not seem appeased, however, in any case, she nodded.

I leaned all the way back in the seat and stared up at the ceiling. The fan was going round and round, circulating the air in the room. While gazing at that meaninglessness, while gazing for whatever reason at the current of invisible air, I slowly exhaled, and tried changing the flow of air just a little.

Of course, this action led to nothing.

There was no meaning.

".........."

I was once asked.

Do you love my sister?

I was once questioned.

Do you like Kunagisa-chan?

To both, I answered almost immediately, of course not. Twice of twice, two times of two times, I answered thus. A third would likely result the same, and even a fourth. The fifth would be the same, and no doubt the sixth as well.

Almost immediately, I would shake my head.

That was all.

However--

You actually hate Kunagisa Tomo, don\'t you?

I, to that question from Utsurigi, forgot almost immediately; finally, I was unable to answer. I could not answer.

".......... Why."

Why was I unable to answer that question, that simple question, that question that could be answered with one phrase?

There was no need to be truthful. There was no need to be honest. Because there was no need to be truthful or honest to that man. All I needed to do was let the topic pass, even if I needed to lie, and continue onward as ever.

As I did to her in May.

All I needed to do was use nonsense.

Why.....

"Scum..... how pathetic. There is a limit to how humiliating one can be. No, not humiliating, in this case it would be a lack of self-comprehension... what is this scum doing?"

Should just die.

Why are you alive?

"..... This is too pitiful....."

"Hmm? Didja say something this time? Ii-chan," Kunagisa tilted her head to the side. "I couldn\'t hear you."

"..... No, I was talking to myself. I am half-made of talking to myself, after all. However, no no, regardless," I forced myself to sound energetic. "I do not want to sound like Suzunashi-san, but he was surprisingly normal, Utsurigi. I was imagining someone more incomprehensible like you or Chii-kun."

Comprehensible.

Normally, this should be an advantage for me. However... as should be expected of the destructive specialist in Team, that Green Green Green. Truly, from the bottom of my heart, astounding.

To be able to destroy even nonsense.

"Normal... wouldn\'t be the way I\'d put Sacchan," Kunagisa said in a rare show of hesitation. "Well, I can\'t really explain it well. Still, what a pain."

"Pain, what?"

"Ii-chan heard too, anyways, right? Sacchan doesn\'t wanna get out of here."

"Ahh... that. Yes, he said that." Not even just not wanting to leave, he seemed to have no interest at all in the matter, and seemed to be more interested in my relationship with Kunagisa. "You didn\'t persuade him?"

"I did. I did, but, I did, but. Persuade -- that\'s a pretty empty refrain in front of Sacchan. Sacchan wouldn\'t stop for something I say. Utsurigi Gaisuke has no red -- he\'s green, green, green."

"Would not stop for something you say... are you not his leader?"

"Ex, leader. But you know, even though we were Team, everyone did what they wanted... it\'s pretty surprising we actually managed to stick together. That\'s why it\'s not so much that Team disbanded so much as it just collapsed. When talent surpasses a certain threshold it becomes too much to handle -- that\'s an exhausting episode I\'d rather not remember, though."

"Considering what you told me about Chii-kun, that is probably true..."

"Mmm. What a pain, what a pain. Boku-sama-chan\'s going through too much pain. It\'s like a battle royale of pains in the butt. Am I really supposed to be thinking this is such a pain?"

Just as Kunagisa folded her arms in a formal way, the door opened inward, and Professor Kyouichirou and Misachi-san filed into the room. This was the first time I had seen the Professor up close, and he did not have an imposing figure, and was more akin to a small old man. He was even using what looked like a wooden cane from a bygone age. However, you could tell from the way his body was here and there that when he was young, he must have boasted quite the build.

Professor Kyouichirou took one glance at Kunagisa and I, and seemed to blatantly smirk and laugh.

"How was it?" he said with a hoarse voice. "Your nostalgic re-encounter with your friend, it went well I assume, Lady of Kunagisa."

"Yup. It was very much so, fun," Kunagisa answered with a smile. "It was so fun it was like a dream. It was worth coming here for it. He said let\'s talk tomorrow, too."

"Is that so, is that so. That\'s great," the professor said, satisfied.

"But I would prefer that you leave that at a level that won\'t interfere with work, Lady of Kunagisa. We aren\'t just twiddling our thumbs with boredom this deep in the mountains, after all. Unlike you, we aren\'t in a state of having time and money to spare."

"Money aside, I feel like I told you before that I don\'t really have that much time. Well anyways, I feel like I\'ve figured as much on that topic," Kunagisa said. "I\'ve figured as much and I\'m still doing this, so there it\'s pointless to try to act like I\'m not. More importantly, Professor. I\'d like to get into business soon, do you have the time and tolerance to have a discussion?"

"Tolerance? Of course, I always have tolerance when it comes to young people."

So Professor Kyouichirou said as he moved, with a calm pace, to take a rather questionable position right in front of Kunagisa Tomo, pausing in a way that it looked like he was looking down at the seated Kunagisa.

"However -- that guardian of yours, she\'s not here. Are you alright with just that unreliable-looking boy by your side? Lady of Kunagisa."

"I appreciate your worry, but I\'d rather not partake in a pointless conversation, Professor. You actually know, don\'t you? What sort of person Ii-chan is."

".........."

Professor Kyouichirou clicked his tongue in a blatantly irritated manner, turned to Misachi-san, and said,

"Hey. Leave."

"What? But, Professor--"

"I\'ll not stand talking back. To be more clear, I\'m saying, disappear."

".........."

"Want me to be more clear?"

"-- No, I understood."

Misachi-san did not speak back, as told, and simply bowed once and then shuffled out of the room without even her footsteps being audible. She had the talent to be a maid, and so I felt Shito-kun\'s invention was quite a sin, but perhaps this is simply a case of a wrong situation.

Talent -- I did not want to sound like Kunagisa from earlier, but it is rare for a word to be such an empty refrain in this research facility. With two such geniuses so close by, is there any meaning to the word talent? So much for some things being forever.

Kunagisa giggled and laughed.

"As always, you don\'t think of people as people, Professor. Why such a Professor would dip their hand into artificial intelligence is something I absolutely cannot comprehend."

"Cannot comprehend? I would never have imagined the Lady of Kunagisa saying something like that."

".........."

"Hmph. What an extremely unpleasant child, you," the Professor said with a venomous tone, stepping away from Kunagisa. "That face, those eyes, those lips, that silhouette, that body, that smile, that speech, everything is bothersome."

"Hey, Professor....." I could not resist butting in. "Such words should not be spoken by a gentleman."

"By a gentleman? You\'re a shallow brat to be expecting something like that from this Mad Demon," the Professor laughed. "And, this isn\'t particularly rude. This Lady of Kunagisa wouldn\'t be hurt by my words. She doesn\'t think anything of me from the start. Isn\'t that right? Lady of Kunagisa."

"That\'s a mean way of looking at it, Professor. You don\'t have to look at it with such a twisted mindset, do you?"

"But it\'s the truth. You\'re, you know? Only looking at Utsurigi Gaisuke, aren\'t you? Yes, in actuality you\'re not looking at me at all, and have no intention of looking at me," the Professor continued. "Do you remember -- well, that\'s a dumb question. Seven years ago, when I had a laboratory in Hokkaido, that day when you and your brother Kunagisa Nao both visited."

".........."

"At the very least, I can\'t forget that day. Hey, brat," the Professor turned the conversation toward me. "This Lady, this Lady who was 12 years old at the time, when she saw the fruits of thirty years of my research, what do you think she said?"

"... I do not know. I cannot even imagine."

"This is actually amazing research," Kunagisa interceded. "If I didn\'t take this seriously it\'d take me three hours -- is what I said."

".........."

I could imagine that scene clearly. She would smile, just like she did at me six years ago, and with an ordinary, very ordinary tone, say that line. Without any malice, without meaning any ill, without meaning to hurt nor humiliate others, without imagining that the Professor would have taken thirty years.

Unconcernedly crushed--

Professor Kyouichirou under her shoes.

"It\'s not my fault. Nao-kun didn\'t tell me that the Professor would have consumed his entire life on something like that. So cruel, Nao-kun. Don\'t you think so, Ii-chan?"

"Hmph. That brat is also most unpleasant," the Professor spat, against even a person heading the organization backing him. "Indeed -- you siblings both trampled over me. I still see that day in my dreams."

I looked at Kunagisa and whispered, "-- Incidentally, what did Nao-san say?" Kunagisa groaned, "Ummm."

"Do not fret, Professor. You should continue your research without paying any heed to my sister."

She imitated Nao-san\'s speech mannerisms.

"That sounds normal."

"It\'s normal, right? I wonder what was wrong," Kunagisa tilted her head to the side. "Maybe it\'s because he said afterwards, after all, we cannot allow my esteemed sister, a direct descendant of the Kunagisa bloodline, to perform such menial labor?"

"Doubtlessly."

I did not have any intention of supporting Professor Kyouichirou, but one would obviously not feel great about having their own field trashed by such an absurd pair of siblings.

"But that\'s a long time ago, Professor," Kunagisa turned to back to the Professor. "And that was said by a kid. You shouldn\'t dwell on it so much."

"Whether a child or a girl, it\'s still talent. Lady of Kunagisa. Isn\'t that right?"

"..... You know. It\'s not like I came here to reminisce. I don\'t think I\'m taking the Professor lightly, but in that case, Professor, why can\'t we have a conversation more like what you\'d expect from two people with academic history? The Professor\'s attitude isn\'t really an attitude of someone who\'s willing to talk."

"That goes for you as well, do you actually want to talk? Lady of Kunagisa. No matter what happens, the Lady wants to abduct that Utsurigi from me, don\'t you?"

"Abduct is a vicious word to use here."

"But what the Lady of Kunagisa wants to do is exactly that. You want to take away one of my fellows in this laboratory."

".........."

"I won\'t give him to you."

The Professor said, bluntly.

"No matter what happens -- even if the Lady of Kunagisa is on the other end, I have no intention of letting go of Utsurigi Gaisuke. I have not the slightest intent to discuss this. My opinion won\'t change -- and Utsurigi Gaisuke\'s opinion won\'t change."

"-- And that\'s the thing."

Kunagisa lightly shrugged her shoulders.

"That\'s the thing. Sacchan -- he\'s not the type to bend his own will. Even back when he was part of Team, restraining Sacchan was the toughest. I could control him but I couldn\'t restrain him, and that\'s why he\'s Green Green Green. Sacchan was the only one I thought I might not be able to handle within Team. To be able to control that Sacchan at your will, Professor, what are you doing?"

"Nah. He and I just think the same, that\'s all. Our topics of research matched, so we decided to work together."

It was an obvious lie. That was clear, given the conversation with Utsurigi earlier. But at least on the surface, that was their explanation for this situation.

"..... It\'d be nice if we\'d be able to have a bit more of a... human-like conversation, I had some sort of hopes like that. Maybe that was just my hopes coloring reality, though."

"Human-like, eh," the Professor said with a sarcastic tone. "..... However, a human-like conversation, that would be done with a human, wouldn\'t it? --Miss Monster."

"Ii-chan!"

Kunagisa yelled.

Not at Professor Kyouichirou, but at me.

At me, who had begun to stand from my chair.

"Don\'t move. You can\'t move."

"....."

"What\'s the point of rampaging here? I\'m talking, right now."

"....."

"Ii-chan."

"..... Ok."

"....."

"I said ok."

"....."

"I said ok. I get it."

I sat back down, and opened my balled fist. I tried glaring at the Professor to make myself feel better, but the Professor did not seem to mind my look at all, and simply snorted, "Hmph."

"I see. As the Lady of Kunagisa said, he doesn\'t seem to be just a wussy brat."

".......... I guess."

"Hey, Brat. You seem to have been outraged by my not treating the Lady of Kunagisa as a human, but you\'re also not treating her as a human. Brat, do you understand? How it feels to be an old man being looked down upon by this little girl?"

"Of course I would not," I answered, annoyed. This was a different sort of unpleasantness than speaking to Utsurigi. "I do not want to hear from someone older such prepubescent words."

"Of course you wouldn\'t. You wouldn\'t, at all. What sort of talent is beside you, you wouldn\'t even have a clue."

".........."

"Hey, brat. To be honest, I\'m a bit envious of you," the Professor said, pulling just a hair of enmity from his voice. "No, envy is probably a bit different. Yes -- from my perspective, you\'re doing something astonishing without any trouble. The astonishing act of being beside Kunagisa Tomo."

".......... Astonishing act."

"It\'s an astonishing act, you can be proud of it. Even I am a single person before I am the Mad Demon, and I pride myself on being able to see talent within people. I\'ll also acknowledge that that little girl is on a different dimension of genius, and that she harbors brilliant talent that humiliates this Shadou Kyouichirou, who was once also called the same. -- But even so, to want to be by that side, such a thought doesn\'t even come close to crossing my mind."

".........."

"I wouldn\'t be able to tolerate it. Wouldn\'t be able to tolerate it. I would rather die than be by the side of that monster."

"..... Will you please."

"I won\'t let you say you don\'t feel any inferiority toward the Lady of Kunagisa, brat," Professor Kyouichirou said. "Given how you reacted earlier, you\'re not some insensitive idiot who can live without feeling anything about Kunagisa Tomo."

"You say something similar to Utsurigi-san."

Although their opinions went in completely opposite directions.

Green Green Green worshipped Dead Blue as a god.

Mad Demon feared the Blue Savant as a monster.

However, all that meant was that their directions were on opposite vectors, because what they meant was the exact same. As they both defined me an idiot beyond saving, they were the exact same.

However.

"Really, I am getting tired of that type of wording. I dislike stereotyping. You are all like broken records, pitiful. That desire to fit people into your own sets of measurements--"

"Professor."

Kunagisa interrupted me. Butting into someone speaking is a rarity for Kunagisa. And to top it off, she was interrupting me.

"Professor. Let\'s drop it, that sort of thing. Talent, genius, I don\'t care for that impertinence. I\'m through with painstaking stuff like a discussion of ideologies, the debate of ideologies. Let\'s leave that sort of theorizing to liberal arts philosophers, science professor. To be honest, I feel sorry for the Professor for not having aaaaaaaaany talent in your head, but stop blaming that on me. Kunagisa Tomo holds no responsibility for your incompetence."

"-- Wha-"

The Professor\'s face flushed red at Kunagisa\'s extremely touchy words. I was surprised, too. This was the first time I had ever seen Kunagisa so blatantly provoke someone.

"Isn\'t that how it is? The reason you\'re locking Sacchan up here is because you can\'t do anything yourself, so you need to use Sacchan\'s power, right? How you placated, ensnared... blackmailed Sacchan I don\'t know, but that bragging of research that you did using other peoples\' skills, could you stop that too, while we\'re at it? Actually, I don\'t even care about that. From the bottom of my heart all the way out, in any and every case, I don\'t care about you at all. What the Professor is proud of, what the Professor cries of, Kunagisa Tomo is responsible for absolutely nothing. So I\'ll just say one thing."

Kunagisa Tomo spoke.

"Give Sacchan back."

".........."

"That belongs to me."

".........."

"I place what belongs to me by my side. At the very least, it\'s unpleasant to have him owned by the likes of you."

"..... That\'s your own opinion," the Professor barely managed to retort. He retorted to Dead Blue. "You threw that away. What\'s wrong with picking up what\'s on the ground?"

"Even things I\'ve thrown away. Even things I\'ve thrown away are still without a doubt mine. It\'s unpleasant to have something you\'ve thrown away picked up. ... you know, Professor. Dead Blue is extremely greedy. Do you not even realize that much...?"

"..... I won\'t give that to you."

The Professor repeated.

"Even if you prostrate yourself, I refuse. That -- is my one and only advantage over the Lady of Kunagisa. It\'s the one thing, even if it\'s just one, even if it\'s borrowed, that I am triumphant over you about. I can\'t let that go."

"-- Boring. So it\'s just envy?"

"Envy -- I can\'t help if that\'s how it looks to you, but don\'t take me too lightly. If you were to know what I\'m doing now -- this time, even the Lady of Kunagisa would be shocked."

"Mmhmm. I guess if you think of the cast here, it might be impossible to do it in three hours -- after all, even Sacchan is here."

"..... This discussion is over."

The Professor distanced himself from Kunagisa and then sat in a nearby chair.

"Or more like, there\'s no room for discussion. Considering how radically opposite our standings are, there\'s no hope for compromise."

"There there, let\'s stop concluding things so quickly. Sorry, I might have gotten too emotional," Kunagisa smiled vibrantly, and showed Professor Kyouichirou both of her palms. "I apologize. The Professor seems to be really busy today, so tomorrow, let\'s talk again, more calmly. I have a bunch of gifts for you, too."

"..... Right. Tomorrow, again," said the Professor, and the chuckled as if he just remembered something. "..... I don\'t know what sort of wild card you have up your sleeves, but I think it\'ll be a futile effort. As the Lady of Kunagisa said -- Utsurigi Gaisuke never bends his will. Regardless of whether that will was imposed or not."

"..... Maybe."

"The inn is deep in the woods. It might be a bit dirty for the Lady of Kunagisa, but tolerate it. After all, we\'re deep in the mountains. Shito will guide you. Shito\'s waiting in the lobby of the first floor, so go see him. Well, see you tomorrow -- Lady of Kunagisa."

So said Professor Kyouichirou, who then turned his entire chair away, as if to signify that there was nothing left to say.

"..... Yup, tomorrow."

Kunagisa said, and then she stood from her seat and pulled my hand.

"Let\'s go, Ii-chan. He said Shito-chan\'s on the first floor."

"..... Alright. Got it."

I stood as directed, and let myself be pulled away out of the room, leaving Professor Kyouichirou.

Kunagisa Tomo and Shadou Kyouichirou.

Their relationship seemed so shallow, yet it was surprisingly dense. It was not don\'t care. No, the dense relationship might just be from my perspective, or perhaps from Professor Kyouichirou\'s perspective, and Kunagisa herself might really not care. And that utter lack of care was another gash in Professor Kyouichirou\'s pride.

It was not that I could not understand.

Not that I wanted to understand anyways.

However, unfortunately -- and not just for Shadou Kyouichirou but also for Kunagisa Tomo -- their conversation was sliding right past each other. They were both clearly discussing, but they were discussing different topics. It could be compared to a competition between oil and water for the cup. There would be never be anything like compromise like that.

Youth and gender is also a type of talent--

There was certainly some significance to the words the Professor spoke.

".......... But, you know."

Green Green Green, Utsurigi Gaisuke.

Mad Demon, Shadou Kyouichirou.

Dead Blue, Kunagisa Tomo.

Outrageous -- though if I were to be borrowing the Professor\'s choice of words, there are three outrageous monster-class geniuses stepping over each other.

To be honest, I did not understand what any of the three were saying. Perhaps this lack of care for understanding was what Professor Shadou Kyouichirou called shallowness. It must be. Being smart is itself an unfortunate thing. You end up seeing what you do not need to see. You end up hearing what you do not need to hear. You end up learning of tastes you do not need to know, and you end up smelling odors you do not need to smell. Well, that sounds alright if you intend to become a cook.

".........."

All smart people should become cooks.

Yes, this was a phrase that did not feel lacking compared to the words of that Professor Kyouichirou. I thought that while thinking of the cook on that island.

Then, as we walked down the hall -- Uze Misachi-san was sitting in the smoking room.

"Ah, Misachi-san," Kunagisa called out first. "We finished speaking to the Professor. You should be able to go back now, I think?"

"-- Well thanks."

Misachi-san pressed her half-smoked cigarette (eco-friendly) on the ash tray and stood up. And then she tried to walk past us without saying anything, but then she seemed to remember.

"Ah, about Suzunashi-san."

She began.

"I was guiding her around as told -- but along the way, we ran into Professor Kasugai and Professor Miyoshi, and it seemed they meshed well. Right now they should be speaking in the smoking room of the second floor. They should still be there, I think, so if you are looking for them, please make your way there."

"Why, thank you."

Kunagisa said the same.

Misachi-san turned away again, but I called out to her again, "Misachi-san."

"Um, I have something I wish to ask, if it is alright with you."

"-- What is it?"

"Why, what reason do you have for working here?"

".........."

This was the same question I had asked Shito-kun. In the end, Shito-kun had answered you wouldn\'t understand and pushed me away, but what would Misachi-san say--

"I prefer to have no opinion."

Misachi-san said, clearly and bluntly.

".........."

"If you do not have anything else, I shall take my leave."

"..... Yes. Thank you for your time."

Misachi-san turned back toward the Professor\'s room without a smile and briskly walked away. She had no hesitation in her steps. Perhaps she had no intent of being friendly to visitors like us. Being the secretary of someone like the Mad Demon must come with its share of exhaustion. In that sense, I thought we may share similar thoughts, but given the conversation just now, it seemed that would not be the case.

"She said Neon-chan\'s on the second floor, Ii-chan."

"..... I see. Well, let us go."

I tried to nod as carelessly as possible, went past the smoking room, and arrived at the elevator. I pressed the button to go down, and then entered.

"However..... tomorrow," I could not handle the silence and ended up voicing my thoughts. "The way it seemed, no matter how much you two talk tomorrow or even the day after, unless that grandpa suddenly dies of old age, nothing would change."

"Ahh... yup. That sounds about right. I\'ve got some thoughts. I\'ll explain once we get to the inn. Someone might be listening here, and I need to think about some things. More importantly, Ii-chan," Kunagisa looked at me. "Can I hug you?"

"..... What is that?"

I forced myself to have a nonchalant attitude toward Kunagisa\'s sudden behavior. "You have never asked such a thing before. You hugged me whenever you pleased, however you pleased."

"Hmm. I just feel like that now."

"I see. That love comedy feel."

"Is what," Kunagisa smiled innocently. "So, can I? Just inside the elevator then, please."

"I do not mind. Recharging, right?"

"Yup," Kunagisa said as she wrapped her arms around me.

And then she pressed her body against me, buried her face in my chest, and showed no signs of loosening her grip. Even so, Kunagisa\'s slender arms did not trouble me.

Did not trouble me.

Did not trouble me.

".........."

That was time for just Kunagisa and I, time that we had not had in a long time. It was irreplaceable time, such that I thought I would be willing to throw anything away for this.

"-- Or perhaps, that is also nonsense....."

I thought while being embraced by Kunagisa.

What did Kunagisa speak to Utsurigi about? What sort of conversation occurred between the reunion of the former Team members?

I did not know. I could not know.

I am not a genius, and Kunagisa Tomo and Utsurigi Gaisuke were geniuses who could comprehend each other. They were geniuses who had fallen far more than even that Professor Shadou Kyouichirou.

However--

I could not even begin to imagine what Utsurigi and Kunagisa spoke about, but I remembered everything, not just the final question, about my conversation with Utsurigi. I remembered absolutely every bit of Utsurigi\'s detestable, every surface and every angle being detestable, unpleasant-to-the-core questions.

The nonsense-killing questions.

"---.........."

The elevator stopped. We had arrived on the second floor. However, Kunagisa still did not seem to want to let go. I, too, said nothing, and did not move to peel Kunagisa off. Of course I would not. Of course I would not be able to.

The opened door closed, and for a while, we continued sharing time like that. Time for ourselves.

Kunagisa\'s hands at my back. Kunagisa\'s arms wrapped around my torso. Kunagisa\'s face pressed into my chest. The blue hair I could see by looking down.

And--

And, that small face, which wasted not one byte, had a surplus of not one bit, in constructing a circuit of complete beauty.

Utsurigi related it to having memory power of the ultimate RAM. However -- and Utsurigi himself probably realizes -- that that relation was slightly wrong.

Kunagisa Tomo, no, Dead Blue had within her brain circuits not RAM but ROM. That was why she would never forget anything she remembered, and was packed with information that could never be changed or overwritten, to become an endless ring of information. Parts and whole melded together equally in an endless collection.

It was not a power for remembering.

It was a power for not forgetting.

There were very few that related Kunagisa Tomo to being like a computer, but I do not know if they truly felt that. Perhaps they had said such a thing, yet in the back of their minds still thought even so, she is still a human, too--? There was no basis or logic to that -- so that might just be my hopes coloring reality. Well, I hope so, because otherwise I would be too pathetic.

However, Utsurigi seemed to be sure. That Utsurigi Gaisuke, who relates Kunagisa Tomo to being a device, worships that as Green Green Green. And indeed that must truly be the case, I think. A mere user of nonsense like myself could not know whether that is the case, but it must truly be the case, I think.

As such -- as such.

That was why Kunagisa Tomo would never forget.

She did not forget. She cannot forget.

How she was duped by me six years ago, how she was treated by me six years ago, how she ended up because of me six years ago -- she cannot forget. Even if Kunagisa herself wants to forget, she cannot forget.

How sinful, how encompassed in penalties a human I am.

Will not forget.

Remembers.

And yet, she embraces me like this.

She forgives everything.

Like a mother toward an infant child.

Like an owner bitten by their dog.

Like a tolerant goddess.

She forgives everything.

"-- Laughable."

I mumbled in jest, without laughing at all.

Utsurigi asked if I intended to own Kunagisa Tomo.

Professor Kyouichirou asked of my feelings of being beside Kunagisa Tomo.

Of course I cannot answer such things. I do not own Kunagisa Tomo, and I have never been beside Kunagisa Tomo.

In the end, I am just like Green Green Green, just like Cheetah, just like Double Flick, just like the rest of Team -- simply owned by Kunagisa Tomo.

I am the one being owned.

The way I was being owned was just different from Utsurigi and others. And the way I am owned is just more vicious than Utsurigi and others, that was all.

"---.........."

How can something owned walk alongside the owner?

"Yup. Recharging complete. Let\'s go, Ii-chan."

"Right."

I answered, normally.

Answered, I think.

"It would be wrong to leave Shito-kun waiting for long."

"I know, right? Ahahah," Kunagisa pressed the Open button. "But Neon-chan said she might not be able to strike a conversation with the laboratory fellows, so I wonder why she\'s talking to Kokoromi-chan?"

"Who knows," I answered without care, as we stepped out of the box. "Maybe they stumbled on a rousing topic?"

1. stoppage
2. indestructible
3. impure
4. immortal

3

"Well yah, call it the ER Program or what have ya, but it\'s still just a school, so there\'re still those tests at the end of the year, ya know, that ya gotta pass or else you\'re forced out, if ya get what I mean."

A bright, cheerful female voice.

"Mmhmm--," this was Suzunashi-san\'s follow. "Then of course, Inoji must have taken those tests, too."

"Yeah, yeah, that\'s right. If ya wanna know what sorta tests they are, boy they\'re the worst. They\'ve got a hundred problems gathered up from every subject, but ya only got sixty minutes. And ya need sixty points to pass. Ya might think that\'s easy just by hearing that passing grade, but those hundred problems, from problem one to problem one-hundred, each one\'s hard enough that they aren\'t taking just one minute per, ya know."

"Hahahah, I can see where this is going," Neo-san\'s flamboyant, exaggerating voice. "So basically it\'s that, in the allotted time frame, you must find and select only the problems you can solve? It must be a test for your observation and decision-makingskills. Fufu, Japan would never think of such a thing; the ER Program lives up to its name."

"Yup yup, pretty much. In other words sixty points isn\'t the minimum. Actually ya might as well call it the perfect grade. There\'re problems in that hundred that ya absolutely can\'t solve, so it\'s set up so ya can\'t ever get a hundred."

"What an underhanded system," Suzune-san. "That said, some real mean teacher must have come up with that test."

"Yah pretty much. Putting out such an S-class difficulty test in a situation when failing means being forced out, I wouldn\'ta thought of it, but there were a lot of nutty teachers there. Anyways, so, whatcha think that Monkey Talk did?"

"The norm would be that, that he scored perfect anyways," Neo-san. "Getting a perfect on a test that you\'re not supposed to get perfect. That boy seems the type to do something preposterous like that."

"No, zero sounds about right, too," Suzunashi-san. "Including the intent to revolt against that teacher, stubbornly handing in a blank sheet of paper."

"Fufu. Sounds good. And, Koutari-chan what do you think?"

"I don\'t know," Koutari-san answered briskly. "But if I were to imagine the punchline, he would pick that one problem that isn\'t supposed to be answerable, answer that correctly, and mess up everything else, that\'s the type of guy he seems to be."

"Ufufufu. Nah, everyone. Y\'all three gave me three different answers, and lookyhere, they\'re all right!" the voice said proudly, and then there was the sound of a table being slapped. "Neo-san said it\'s a test of observation, decision-making skills, but it\'s also a test of insight. That boyfriend, like Koutari-chan guessed, answered just the hardest question -- and left the remaining ninety-nine questions blank."

"....." "....." "....."

"Surprise surprise, that\'s the perfect grade that the test-making teacher sought. They\'d decided that they\'d progress the students able to answer the hardest question regardless of everything else. Regardless of everything else -- in other words there wasn\'t any point in answering the other questions from the start. Ya can\'t solve that one problem and not solve the others, basically. So ya know, all ya had to do was solve that one. He saw through all that, and instead of wasting effort, spend all sixty minutes on just that one problem."

Attaining the maximum result using the least effort--

That was the solution sought.

"I see. Quite a roundabout problem. That does sound much simpler than finding sixty problems that can be answered. As such, Koutari-san and I both had correct answers -- although insight can\'t be replicated without an incredible amount of conviction.Solve the problem by imagining yourself in the maker\'s shoes I suppose is the fundamental thought. My, my, quite the boy, isn\'t he," Neo-san. "-- however, this beautiful lady\'s answer hasn\'t been accounted for, has it not?"

"Yah. And that\'s why that Monkey Talk is so tough to handle," and with a brief pause. "-- that single answer that was turned in with so much confidence, was wrong."

And then she burst out laughing alone.

Has not changed. Has not changed. Has not changed in the least. Has not changed in the least bit in any which way. Since that time she teased me down under during my stay at the ER Program, Miyoshi Kokoromi-san -- or rather, Miyoshi-sensei has not changed at all.

"Well, in the end, they recognized his insight, at least, so he passed -- not one other pulled off that craziness, ya know --"

"-- Kokoromi-sensei."

I realized that left alone she would say things better left unsaid, so I stepped out of the shadows of the hallway and into the smoking room, showing myself. In the smoking room was the tall, all-black Suzunashi Neon-san on the far right, the enormous body of Neo Futuara-san on the far left, in front of him Koutari Hinayoshi-san whose long-black hair obscured half of his body, and to the right and front -- to the right and front was Miyoshi Kokoromi-sensei.

Short, blond hair, and glasses that make you wonder if the lenses are a tad too big. She had an oversized white labcoat draped over her back without her arms through its sleeves, and she was so small that it would be pointless to compare her to Suzunashi-san. Her appearance was such that one might imagine a girl around middle-school age acting like a doctor. Though, she probably would not have been acting such when she was in middle school. Because in elementary school she had already gotten the credentials to be a professor in biological dissection.

Miyoshi Kokoromi.

Her name was Kokoromi but her expertise (and her joy and her hobby) was the exact opposite, as she specialized in completely dissecting biological forms and breaking them down and searching. She is so skilled at her craft that she was a teacher at the extremely large research organization, the ER3 System Project Program Department. And now, in the Mad Demon Shadou Kyouichirou research facility, she was granted the third ward, and was the Number Two of this organization.

And -- and, she used to be my instructor.

Of course, everyone who has taught you would fall under the category of instructor.

"--Heheh."

Kokoromi-sensei grinned like a mischievous brat, completely un-befitting of her age of twenty-seven. No, it has been three years since then, so she must be past thirty. However, her face, which lacked any trace of cosmetics, looked only like it belonged to a girl.

"Yo, Monkey Talk. An unexpected reunion," Kokoromi-sensei flashed me a peace sign. "What now what now, ya got an odd look like ya\'ve seen Fueru Wakame-kun for the first time in yer life. How ya doing? Have ya been good since? My student."

"At the very least, until just now, I was doing much better than I feel now. Yes -- truly, an unexpected reunion, my instructor," I answered, feeling my eyes naturally escaping from Kokoromi-sensei. "Sensei, too, you seem quite well, and healthy, and as usual, and unchanged, and such, and so, really, from the bottom of my heart, .......... the worst."

On the road here, since I found out that Utsurigi was captive in that Mad Demon Kyouichirou research facility, since I discovered the name Miyoshi Kokoromi among the information Chii-kun provided, the anxiety I had felt the whole time, hit bull\'s eye. The slim hope of just being an identical name was crushed here and now.

"I was just telling this Suzunashi-san about yer heroic deeds. Hysterical life or so, what sorta funny guy ya are. What now-- I heard, ya know." Sensei stood from the sofa and dexterously spoke with a cigarette still between her lips.

"Ya dropped out of the Program-? What a wasteful thing ya did! What\'s in yer head right there?"

"..... Sensei left the System, too. That is why you are here, are you not?"

"Woah there, ya sound like ya didn\'t want me here? Heheh." Sensei wrapped her arm around my shoulder like old buddies. "But I didn\'t leave on my own accord ya know. They just fired me."

"It is not supposed to be possible to be fired from that place and be alive..."

But this person.

But this person is capable of twisting the impossible into the possible.

"Well thinking back on it now I might have done a wasteful thing too, ya know. I heard rumors, ya know, like, the System tops, the Fool of the Seas, they said one of \'em died and left a hole or something. If I stuck around maybe I woulda been the one filling that up."

"Of course not. There are plenty of candidates," I kept a facade of calm and I chatted. "Through the grapevine, they mentioned that another Japanese person may be selected. Saitou something... some strange name."

"Was joking. Yer not even serious but you suck at jokes, ya. An ordinary gal like me wouldn\'t be able to be a Fool of the Seas, ya know?" sensei said and laughed, "Heheheh," and then slapped my back over and over again. "Yah. Ya still ya, that\'s pleasing."

".........."

"But, indeed. Still, surprising," Neo-san said extravagantly toward me, still captive due to Kokoromi-sensei. "I figured you weren\'t just a random ordinary fellow, but I definitely didn\'t expect you to be an abroad student from that ER Program. Right? Koutari-san. Just as I said, right?"

"You said nothing."

Koutari-san\'s answer was cold. His arms were folded, and he had a very I am only here because I tagged along, I would really prefer to go back to my ward attitude. He was that apathetic and aloof, yet among these people, I felt closest to him for some reason.

"So unpersonable. But we should keep quiet about this to Oogaki-kun. He wanted to enter the Program but wasn\'t able to. Did the Professor stop him?" Neo-san smirked and continued. "But really, why\'d you leave the ER Program? The ER System is an object of admiration to us academics."

".........."

The ER System.

To spill the beans, it is a privately-owned research organization that headquarters itself in Houston, Texas, United States. In a way, it could be categorized along with this Mad Demon Shadou Kyouichirou Research Facility, but they are on completely different scales. Compared to that, without meaning any offense to Professor Kyouichirou, but you could basically say that this sort of facility located deep in the middle of nowhere may as well not exist. Collecting from the end of the world to the end of the world, every specialization of every academic field, like the British Museum, collecting them like overzealous, over-expanding Britons, and then mastering them all day and night like a sort of cult of Scientific Religion, and a fanatic cult society at that -- is the ER System.

And the nurturing of the young performed by that extreme research organization is the ER Program. And to put it in blunt words to avoid misunderstanding, it was like a research specialization school. I will avoid detailing my past and such, but I participated in that program starting my second year of middle school, and around this New Year, dropped out of the Program and danced all the way back to Japan. And that brings us to now, but in the first two years of the roughly five years I spent there, I was instructed by this Pervert Dissection Maniac, Miyoshi Kokoromi-sensei.

What sort of personality, and what sort of past she had is something I wish I could detail, but truth be told, I would rather not. To start with, that heroic deed that happened to be told to Suzunashi-san and others just now, the person who produced such an incredibly twisted exam was none other than this Kokoromi-sensei. I believe that is sufficient for explaining her.

That was why when I heard Kokoromi-sensei was leaving the System and returning to Japan, I shouted with exultation. Myself and the other students who were likewise bound in tutelage under Kokoromi-sensei borrowed out an entire room that night and had a big party. I am not fond of such gatherings and normally turned invitations down, but even I participated that time. Not just participated, I even downed a shot of vodka in celebration of Kokoromi-sensei\'s leaving.

When she visited me when I was hospitalized due to acute alcohol poisoning, Kokoromi-sensei ominously prophesied, "Ya know, we\'ll probably meet again, so let\'s be friends again," and then left me, covered with graffiti with a marker even though it was not like I had broken any bones (do I need to say who did it?), and then left the hospital, left America.

And so her prophecy came true like this.

"Well, ya know I said that when we parted, but I didn\'t think we\'d actually meet up like this again. Sensei\'s pleased! Really pleased! Euphoric!"

"Yes, I feel like I am about to cry with happiness, too."

Half of that phrase was not a lie, in any case. All of my old wounds began to ache, and I truly felt like I would cry. I shook away sensei\'s arm and said to Suzunashi-san, "Well, let us go."

"Shito-kun is probably worn out waiting for us below. If we do not hurry, he might turn into a very harsh straightman."

"Right," Suzunashi-san nodded as she stood up with her tall form. "Well, Miyoshi-san. Thank you for the very interesting conversation. I learned quite a bit."

"Naw, naw, if ya pleased by this stuff I\'ve got plenty more to tell ya. I\'ll be in the third ward, so if ya want come over during your stay," Kokoromi-sensei laughed giddily. "Ya too hey, if ya got questions like old times come ask sensei whenever ya please."

"Pass," I immediately answered. "And, sensei is probably busy with work anyways."

"Work eh..." sensei faintly laughed. Ahh, this laugh. This laugh, that she made whenever she was figuring out how to insert a scalpel into something.

"But ya know, if this counts for work don\'tcha think living would be real easy? Hmm?"

".........."

"Well, we\'ve probably got plenty to catch up on, but we can do that when we\'ve both got time, just the two of us."

"Catch up on? I have nothing of the sort with you," I borrowed Kunagisa\'s words and bounced them at sensei. "I have nothing to say to you."

"That\'s pretty lonesome. If that were true, anyways."

Sensei did not budge, continuing to chuckle.

"Well, shall we leave as well, Koutari-san. The Professor\'ll scold us again."

"He\'ll only scold you."

Neo-san nudged Koutari-san, and Koutari-san responded curtly to that, and they both left the smoking room, passing by my side. Neo-san gave an extravagant bow to everyone, and Koutari-san made no motion at all. Indeed, they were a pair that were on opposite extremes. Though despite that, it did not seem they were on unfriendly terms.

Then, I remembered Utsurugi\'s words.

"Um, Koutari-san."

"..... What?" he turned around with an agitated voice. "What do you want?"

"You should cut your hair."

".........."

Koutari-san reacted as if he had just been told some sort of code, and then after a bit of silence, "None of your business," seemed to cut me away instead of his hair. And then he lined up with Neo-san and walked toward the elevator hall.

"Alright, I\'ll be heading off then too. Can\'t leave Kasugai-chan waiting, ya know."

Kasugai-san -- right. Misachi-san had same something like Suzunashi-san is speaking to Professor Miyoshi and Professor Kasugai, but only sensei was here. Assuming that the odd couple had passed by and joined the conversation afterwards, where had Kasugai-san gone?

"Kasugai-chan said it\'s boring listening to stories about that inexplicable kid and went back to the third floor alone."

Sensei said, sensing my curiosity.

Yes, I do not know how she looks yet, but based on that, Kasugai-san seemed like a relatively ordinary person. Of course, I do not know if that will be the case, but I shall hope for that.

"Well, let\'s have some sake the next time we meet. Alright then. Until then, have a good one!"

And then sensei left, leaving just Suzunashi-san and I in the smoking room. Suzunashi-san crushed her cigarette, which had already been burned down to just its filter, on the ash tray, and then turned to me saying "Inoji."

"No problems with the meeting with Sir Utsurigi?"

"-- I would not say without problems, but for the most part it went as Suzunashi-san probably imagines, without much difference."

"Mm," nodded Suzunashi-san. "That is largely positive. Good, good. Well, I steeped myself in this place as well. Although Misachi-san\'s stoicism threw me for a loop."

"You cannot call that stoicism. Stoicism would cry. So, what do you think? Of looking around Mad Demon."

"What do I think? -- I have no idea what\'s going on. Well, not knowing what\'s going on is what was fun. But you know, it was like walking around a foreign country. Hey, Inoji," Suzunashi-san said.

"You know... Ao-chan and Sir Utsurugi, do they really have better minds than Professor Shadou Kyouichirou? If you were to ask me, having glanced about like this, it\'d be hard for me to say that."

"You should not judge people by their appearance -- although that might be silly to say to you," I shrugged my shoulders. "Who knows. That part is extremely gray. How smart someone is cannot be quantified, after all -- not that we are referring to the exam that was mentioned earlier."

"..... If there were to be a problem, it may be to do with their generation."

Suzunashi-san mumbled with an odd confidence.

Shadou Kyouichirou -- sixty-three years old. Utsurigi Gaisuke -- thirty-five years old. And then Kunagisa Tomo -- nineteen years old.

There is no point to comparing the full potential of each. After all, each person lived in a different era, and particularly in the case of the final one, Kunagisa Tomo, one can expect plenty of future growth.

Although one could say whether Kunagisa would actually grow is a question of its own.

"Don\'t you think a difference in era is more decisive than talent? Inoji," Suzunashi-san continued. "In the end -- when it comes to what sort of era one\'s lived in, of the three, Professor, Sir Utsurigi, Ao-chan, the last, Ao-chan, has clearly been the most blessed. She\'s already got all the tools and routes. It\'s the same as if she were to play her hand last in rock-scissors-paper."

Those that must clear the path, and those that simply have to walk that path. Which is easier, and which produces more results, does not require any thought to answer. No matter what, the one who follows always has a superior path -- well, that certainly is an argument with its merits.

However.

"It is not that simple..." at the very least, having listened to the two conversations earlier, I could not believe such a thing. On one hand what Suzunashi-san said is the truth, but it was not the full truth. "..... You know, we normal people would not understand the problems between those three. I think it is better for us to not think about it."

"Perhaps. So, Inoji. Where\'s that Ao-chan? I do not see her, did you hide her in your pocket?"

"Ahh... I sent her off to the lower floor first. I thought it would be wrong to leave Shito-kun waiting too much."

"Hmm, sent her off," Suzunashi-san repeated my words. "..... In other words, you would go to that length, to the point of even leaving your precious, precious Ao-chan in the hands of Shito-kun, to avoid having Ao-chan hear about your past."

"..... What are you talking about, Suzunashi-san," I jokingly replied while continuing to walk. "Kunagisa knows everything -- about my participation with the ER Program, about how I crossed paths with the ER System. Kunagisa\'s brother was the one who introduced me to them, anyways, so is that not obvious?"

"But you\'ve kept quiet to Ao-chan about what you did over there."

It was a conclusive line. My legs buckled a bit.

"..... Did you hear something from sensei?"

"Heard... if I did it would be so much simpler," Suzunashi-san lined up by my side. She kept her eyes fixated ahead, avoiding eye contact with me. "Unfortunately, all I heard from Miyoshi-san were funny stories. She probably understands, you know. She seems loose-lipped but she always dodges the important stuff. Her light-hearted attitude is probably just a facade. You\'ve got quite an instructor, Inoji."

"Why thank you," I forced myself to act the clown. "Your words of praise are much too great for me to accept."

"I wasn\'t praising you, though. I heard nothing. But Inoji, you have something you don\'t want heard, don\'t you? By Ao-chan, and if possible, by me, too. That you hid sensei\'s existence up till now is proof."

"Oh come, come. I had simply forgotten. That is not proof at all."

"..... Some people may find hiding their past and the like cool, but at the very least, I think that\'s stupid."

"..... I do not intend to be looking cool."

"Right, that\'s right. So I won\'t ask now. I understand how you feel, and I think you don\'t necessarily have to say everything, even to Ao-chan. Everyone, you and I, even Asano, must live while carrying the burden of a stomach-full of secrets. You aren\'t special that way. You aren\'t special in any way. That\'s why," Suzunashi-san took one step ahead of me.

"Please stop betraying what you hold precious."

".........."

Betray. Betraying.

"..... Suzunashi-san."

"And that\'s the end of this lecture. We can leave the rest for some other time," Suzunashi-san turned around and patted my head. "Well, let\'s hurry on down. Shito-kun and Ao-chan must be bored waiting."

"..... Right."

I slowly nodded.

And resumed walking forward. And I thought it was truly well that Suzunashi-san had accompanied us on this trip this time.

We used the elevator and arrived at the first floor. As soon as we appeared, Shito-kun shouted at us.

"You\'re late! Did you all ride a turtle or something? What am I, Otohime? Don\'t make me give you a tamatebako!"

"That\'s right, Ii-chan," this time even Kunagisa agreed with Shito-kun. "Late, late. Boku-sama-chan was about to die waiting."

"Sorry," I quickly apologized. "And, Shito-kun, where is the inn?"

"Uwah, this bastard makes us wait all this time and just apologizes with one word. Ahh. I haven\'t been there much myself. I just guide people there when we have guests. It\'s like at the end of the trees. Near the wall. We all call it the Haunted Mansion," Shito-kun said ominously, and then he threw the key to me. "Here, a key to a room. There\'re three rooms, so use them however you want."

"Thanks. Well, I will take a shower and wait."

"Alright. I\'ll head over as soon as I\'m done with work so be ready-- as if!" Shito-kun shouted. "Cut that out! Stop making me the butt of jokes! I\'ll kill you!"

"And Ii-chan, that one was vulgar....."

"..... Scum."

The three of them stared at me coldly.

I tried to brighten the mood and this is what I get.

"-- Gosh, what a stupid joke... Alright, let’s go."

Shito-kun followed protocols to open the door, and we passed through the courtyard of the wards, heading deeper into the facility. It was the opposite direction of the entrance we used coming into the grounds, and it took us further from Utsurigi\'s seventh ward.

Drip.

A drop of water grazed my nose. I looked up, and it was like the sky was about to cry. Within a few hours, we would be having some heavy rain. I vaguely thought that the failure of a human would probably analogize this as a steppe of clouds cutting through like people toward people, like skies toward skies, like raindrops toward raindrops.

1. User of Nonsense
2. soul-seeing
3. expanding seaweed, which is basically just dried seaweed
4. this is all a reference to Urashima Taro