Chapter: 60. Deal from the Future
Days later.
With Manai accompanying him, Kanade returned to Noah Hall once again.
As the most luxurious and heavily guarded dormitory in Ark Academy, Noah Hall was now shrouded in an endless silence.
It was hard to believe that a murder had occurred here just days ago.
Even harder to imagine was that a highly valued item, protected by both Ark Academy and Tsuki Academy, was currently placed within this eerie mansion.
No one remained behind to guard it.
“Now that’s strange,” Manai said softly as she stood in the shadows outside Noah Hall, gazing at the eerily quiet building. “Although according to Tsukimi-kun, only a few special individuals can see that thing, it’s odd that there isn’t even a guard on site. Doesn’t Ark Academy worry that someone in the opposing faction might have someone who can see it?”
Manai’s observation resonated deeply with Kanade.
And he swiftly conjured a reasonable explanation for the question at hand—
“Unless Ark Academy knows their background…”
The mysteries surrounding this incident were increasing.
After sharing a silent glance, Kanade spoke.
“Anyway, let’s go in and retrieve the item first.”
Kanade decided to set aside all questions for now.
“Okay.”
Manai nodded, then summoned her magical power to create a strong wind.
The rising airflow lifted Kanade and Manai off the ground, suspending them in mid-air.
“Th-This is…?”
“Levitation, but it took me a lot of effort to learn it,” Manai snapped her fingers, and a burst of red light flashed once more. The shadow beneath them surged like a massive black wave, enveloping them.
“Are you ready?” After saying that, the gust carried their shadow towards a window on the second floor of Noah Hall.
Just as the shadow was about to crash into the window…
The shadow suddenly morphed, transforming into a liquid-like form and seeping through the gap of the window.
—————–
Shiki Hall.
Nagi, calculating the intruder’s whereabouts based on the faint footsteps, seized the moment to “quietly” open the door and stealthily moved toward the staircase.
They nearly bumped into each other—
“Eh? You are…?” Nagi adjusted her facial muscles to display a mix of surprise and an added touch of “innocence” and “adorableness.”
She aimed to embody a pitiful and vulnerable girl.
In contrast, her counterpart lacked the proper response.
“Hoshimiya-senpai!?” Otoori lowered his voice, filled with astonishment.
“Otoori-kun? Why are you…” Nagi trailed off, feigning confusion over Otoori’s intention to head upstairs late at night, putting on the normal girl reaction expected at that hour.
After all, the third floor was the girls’ dormitory.
Being a boy, Otoori didn’t have any appropriate reason to explain his presence.
So Nagi only partially voiced her concern, hoping her ambiguity would lead Otoori to feign ignorance of her question.
This way, he could use a firm tone to dodge the inquiry.
“What are you planning to do so late, Hoshimiya-senpai?”
Sure enough, Otoori’s reaction matched Nagi’s expectations.
By abruptly changing topics, he shifted the contradictions surrounding the situation onto Nagi.
Turning the focus to “Nagi, who is dressed in uniform and attempting to go out at night.”
“Ah, no, I, I just…!”
Nagi panicked, searching for an excuse, but her mouth opened in a fluster and struggled to form coherent sentences.
Her delicate hands anxiously fiddled with the hem of her short skirt, as if feeling flustered about being caught sneaking out.
Watching this scene unfold, a smile unconsciously crept onto Otoori’s face.
Nagi, catching that detail, secretly revealed a sinister smile within her heart.
— Gotcha~
— As expected, boys at this age just can’t resist pure and delicate-looking girls~
“Could it be that Hoshimiya-senpai is also worried about Tsukimi-senpai, and thus sneaked out like I did?”
Believing his earlier performance had worked, Otoori attempted to shift the subject to align their positions, making it easier to achieve his plan.
“Eh? Otoori-kun too—” Nagi covered her mouth with both hands, her bright eyes widening.
“Yeah, I heard Tsukimi-senpai is suspected of being involved in the recent attack case,” Otoori whispered.
“Kanade… Kanade-kun is the… culprit? N-No! Kanade-kun isn’t that kind of person!”
Nagi’s expression became “agitated.”
Her already beautiful face was tinted with a gentle anger, making her appear even more endearing.
“Of course, I know Tsukimi-senpai isn’t that kind of person, but he has been deceived and is in a very dangerous situation—”
Otoori noticed that every reaction from the lovely senpai was perfectly hitting his intended points, causing an uncontrollable delight within him.
He had been lulled into complacency, reflexively overlooking an important detail.
Though Nagi appeared to be agitated out of anger, her voice was remarkably low.
Despite the two of them standing firmly on opposing sides, neither wanted to raise a ruckus and wake the others in the dormitory.
“Is… Is Kanade-kun in danger?” Nagi quickly adopted a concerned expression, fully personifying the love-struck girl who only cared about her childhood friend.
“Yeah, he might be set up, so after I found out, I wanted to find Tsukimi-senpai immediately, but when I arrived at his room, it was empty. That’s when I suddenly heard movement from upstairs…”
Thinking he was dominating the conversation, Otoori found himself talking more and more.
The truth of deception is that the less one says, the fewer the flaws.
But at that moment, it felt as if he was being guided, his mind entirely focused on “convincing” the girl before him, trying to prove his credibility with information and assumptions, thus gaining “more” trust from her.
Unconsciously, the intel he held began to leak.
“Th-Then, I can’t just leave Kanade-kun behind. Please take me with you; I want to save Kanade-kun too—”
Having gathered sufficient information, Nagi took the initiative to conclude this unspoken confrontation and urged Otoori not to forget their original purpose.
“Ah, but I don’t want to put Hoshimiya-senpai in danger—”
— Huh? How did you end up getting yourself entangled like this?
— Seriously, boys always want to show off in front of cute girls…
— Ah no, isn’t that saying I’m the girl here?
Nagi shook her head vigorously in her mind, dispelling those odd thoughts.
“Please, if something happens to Kanade-kun—” To provoke Otoori’s jealousy and remind him of his original task, Nagi deliberately conveyed the message that “Kanade is irreplaceable to her” in her tone: “I’d do anything for Kanade-kun—”
As expected, noticing this, Otoori’s expression darkened.
— Finally realized it, huh~ No matter how you act, this girl in front of you isn’t thinking about you.
— Jealous? Envious? Since it’s something you can’t obtain by regular means, what will you do next~
“…..I understand. Then, Hoshimiya-senpai, please follow me.”
—————–
Noah Hall.
Manai, who originally lived there, swiftly passed through the long corridor, lurking in the shadows.
Eventually, they appeared before the heavy library door.
“This is the place Tsukimi-kun mentioned, right?” Manai asked while cautiously surveying her surroundings.
Kanade confirmed her question with a nod.
“Yes, this is where Teacher Kitano brought me before.”
Kanade gazed solemnly at the door, trying to sense something unusual from behind it.
But there was no effect; it seemed the item could only be perceived if he opened this door himself.
“Is the thing Tsukimi-kun mentioned inside?”
“Ah, if it hasn’t been taken by someone else yet…”
Manai moved closer to the entrance and scrutinized the locking mechanism.
“It’s not going to be easy. This is a high-level security lock that requires fingerprint and magical verification,” Manai observed, quickly abandoning any thoughts of trying to bypass it.
“Eh? Really? It’s just a library room?” Kanade was quite surprised at this.
“Although on the surface it seems just to be a library inside a dormitory, it’s said that many precious books from the chairman and the school’s collection are kept inside, including several very important documents. It makes sense that it has this level of security.”
Manai explained, “Usually, students need to submit a request to the chairman to use the library or borrow books from it. Except for those who have an invitation or are guests, only the chairman has the ability to open it.”
“…..Is that so?” Kanade sighed reluctantly, realizing it wouldn’t be that simple.
“Are we going to break it open?” Manai turned back, her eyes fixated on the door.
Her crimson eyes glimmered ominously in the darkness, swirling magic energy began to accumulate within her.
With Manai’s strength, forcing this door open was not impossible.
“……”
This is—
「Let Manai force it open」
「Find a way to acquire access to the library」
『▍▍Rewind▍▍』☆
“No, it’s best not to forcefully break through here.”
At this crucial moment, Kanade, who was directing this operation, intervened to stop Manai.
“There was an incident here just recently. Even if no one is guarding the site, Ark Academy must be paying attention to any commotion here. If we break through forcefully, it will definitely attract their attention…”
“And then—we might really be considered as the real culprits.”
“……You have a point.” Manai agreed, pondering Kanade’s consideration, her magic glow in her eyes quickly faded.
“Then does Tsukimi-kun have any good suggestions? Should we go back tonight and think of a way for another day?”
“No… I want to test something.”
Kanade shook his head and stepped forward.
Facing the tightly shut door, he took several deep breaths to calm himself before closing his eyes.
—Power, I need that power.
—The power of Rewind.
“……Tsukimi-kun?”
Manai, standing behind him, keenly sensed an unusual aura.
It wasn’t the aura of magical power.
But rather, a wave that was pulling something—
(“—What if it’s something Tsukimi-kun doesn’t currently possess?”)
Nagi’s voice flashed through Kanade’s mind.
(“—But that doesn’t mean I won’t have it in the future…”)
(“An extraordinary item that can transcend time and space.”)
—Right now, I need the help of this power.
—If I really obtain it in the future.
Thud.
—I’ll definitely come back to help the me of now.
So—
The pulsating black flame began to throb like a burning heart.
Thud, thud.
Kanade felt himself standing before a great door.
But it wasn’t the library’s door—it was something even bigger—
His hands were already pressed against this cold threshold.
【Would you like to make a deal?】
The same question echoed once more.
Like the chains binding this door.
Unlike Kanade from that time, the current Kanade now understood that this deal was—
A transaction between the present self and the future self.
“I agree.”
The door suddenly swung open, dazzling light streaming through the opening.
Behind the heavy door, countless identical doors swung open like dominoes, spinning in unison.
Kanade suddenly felt as if he lost the weight of gravity, plummeting into an endless whirlpool—
Endless orbs of light shot across Kanade’s mind like shooting stars.
Each sphere carried a fiercely unsettling yet familiar scene.
Kanade couldn’t discern the contents within the orbs until—
He saw it.
It was a throne.
The shadowy figure sitting atop it opened its eyes.
Golden brilliance erupted like the sun.
“Here again?” the person on the throne murmured softly.
In the next moment.
The scene of the throne dissipated, and when the images before him reformed again.
Kanade found himself standing in a pure white space.
Before him was a mass of black flames, and at his feet, a circular tree diagram made of flowing fire.
“I… succeeded?”
This was the first time Kanade had consciously entered this white space of his own will.
【Do you want to rewind?】
“Yes, I need the power from that time.”
A dazzling golden light flashed in Kanade’s eyes.
