Chapter 02 "Intersecting Contours and Wavering Gazes"
My "sanctuary‚" which had been ruled solely by ink stains and the dust of old books‚ is now being invaded by an unidentified sickly-sweet poison.
Several days have passed since then. Every time I open page forty-two of the logbook‚ the four characters engraved there—'Elina'—leave a stinging afterimage like a hot burn on my thoughts. For some reason‚ after she left‚ a "heat" that defied the laws of magical dynamics lingered in the tower.
「……More of this golden trash again」
I picked up a tiny crumb of lemon confection that had fallen on the edge of the windowsill with tweezers. In the gray landscape‚ it alone seemed to glow unnaturally. Since that day‚ my vision had apparently begun to over-pick up only certain magical wavelengths—in other words‚ colors associated with her.
I gripped the quill pen again and tried to weave together inorganic records in an attempt to return the day to a sterile state.
『Ten o'clock in the morning. The interior of the tower is peaceful. Air saturation is average for the season. …However‚ there is a faint unpleasant odor of butter lipids.』
Just as I had written that far‚ from the bottom of the spiral staircase rose a "clattering‚ rude footsteps" that went against my reason. It wasn't even humming. It was the march of an invader trampling peace underfoot.
「Rui-kun! Are you alive—!?」
The voice released from beyond the door physically tore through the silence of the book tower. Before I could even brace myself—.
With a dull thud‚ the old oak door was kicked open violently.
The gust of wind that blew in drove the century-old dust piled on the floor into a frenzied dance. In the light from outside‚ the swirling dust sparkled like golden sand grains‚ and there stood the 'Shrine Maiden of the Oracle‚' her face flushed red‚ clutching a huge paper package in both hands.
「……I was alive‚ but now my eardrums died along with that door. Just because your hands are full‚ where in the world is there a shrine maiden who kicks open the door of a sacred book tower?」
When I gave her my best cold smile‚ Elina let out a dramatic "Fuu—!" and thumped the huge package down onto my desk with a heavy thud.
「Because I couldn't open it! Look‚ check this out. Today's new creation‚ sa… ah‚ a friend was super insistent about 'absolutely making Rui-kun eat it.'」
（Sa…? Did she just start to say someone's name?）
A momentary sense of unease brushed my mind‚ but I immediately flicked that noise out of my thoughts. Analyzing the words and actions of this incoherent intruder one by one would be nothing but a waste of ink and time.
「Tell that unidentified 'friend' of yours that a magic student's desk is not a venue for announcing new confections. And stop placing that package‚ which is already starting to seep oil stains‚ on top of my half-written 'Ecosystem Observation Log.'」
Having already learned her erratic behavioral patterns‚ I had preemptively moved the logbook to my chest for safety‚ but Elina paid no heed and began unwrapping the package. What emerged was a freshly baked lemon cake radiating an even more vivid golden hue than the one from that day.
「Ehh‚ it's fine‚ isn't it? Rui-kun‚ you've been holed up in here lately and look like you're about to blend into the background‚ right? If you don't get some nutrition‚ you'll really turn into nothing but a wall‚ you know?」
「What's wrong with being the background? I want to be nothing more than an inorganic wallpaper that keeps its distance from your noisy reality. Walls don't need sugar.」
「Walls don't talk back‚ and they don't unconsciously move their Adam's apple and swallow saliva like that‚ do they? Look‚ your eyes have been glued to the cake this whole time.」
Elina narrowed her eyes mischievously and poked a piece of the cake with a fork‚ thrusting it right under my nose. Her deep‚ clear blue eyes—like the sky right after a spring storm—forcefully painted over my field of vision with excessive light reflections.
My sanctuary had now gone far beyond an elegant intrusion like humming; it was being completely trampled by the violence of what she called her "everyday life."
Exposed reality‚ wrapped in the scent of butter‚ was occupying my desk.
I lowered my gaze to the logbook in my hands as if avoiding her stare. I pressed the quill harder against the paper so she wouldn't notice the tip trembling slightly.
『Addendum: The subject shows absolutely no hesitation in physically trampling this personal space. Furthermore‚ her eyes contain a dangerously high luminance that may cause temporary visual dysfunction deep in the observer's sight.』
Just as I had written that far‚ silver-golden hair swayed at the edge of my vision.
Elina had‚ of all things‚ leaned over my shoulder and was peering into the logbook. Her breath popping right by my ear violently scrambled the waveforms of my thoughts.
She traced the characters I had desperately written with her fingertip and tilted her head curiously.
「Hey‚ Rui-kun. What is this 'KINOUFUZEN'? It looks really complicated‚ but does it mean I dazzled you so much your eyes went blurry?」
「……Stop arbitrarily interpreting someone else's inorganic records in the most self-serving way possible. This is a purely factual warning record stating that your existence is threatening my peace.」
「Ehh‚ that's mean. If it's a warning‚ you should draw something cute like a mark. Look‚ a star or a heart here!」
「……I have no hobby of scribbling meaningless curves like distorted magical waveforms into a logbook. Besides‚ didn't you once agree to the bare-minimum non-aggression pact of 'not interfering with observation duties'?」
When I protested with a stiff face‚ she stuck out her tongue with an exaggerated "Oh‚ right" and said‚ but her hand didn't stop.
She deftly snatched the quill from my hand and began writing something in the empty margin with unhesitating strokes.
As if trying to escape the presence closing in from behind‚ I reached out roughly to snatch the quill back‚ but my aim was off and my fingertips brushed deeply against her bare skin beyond the pen shaft. The scorching sensation that had easily shattered my defenses a few days ago returned as a faint numbness‚ once again scorching my thoughts.
After she placed the pen down with satisfaction‚ there danced round‚ clumsy doodles that seemed to mock my orderly handwriting.
（My strict 'Ecosystem Observation Log' is being mercilessly rewritten into the format of a vulgar love letter…!）
「There‚ done! 'Shrine Maiden Elina's cuteness today is up twenty percent from yesterday.' Perfect.」
「……Don't arbitrarily defile my sacred observation data. This is a rigorous record based on my subjective view‚ not the back of a flyer to satisfy your desire for self-display.」
「Subjective is fine‚ isn't it? It means that from Rui-kun's perspective‚ I look twenty percent cuter‚ right?」
「……I didn't say a single word like that. If anything‚ I was about to say the noise level was up twenty percent.」
I gripped the reclaimed pen tightly and
tried to draw a thick cancellation line through the words 'cuteness up twenty percent' she had written.
But my arm froze as if bound by the brilliance of her blue eyes staring straight at me.
She leaned forward‚ elbow on the desk‚ as if enjoying my reaction.
「Rui-kun's handwriting is really beautiful‚ but… it somehow looks lonely. Is it because it has no color?」
「……Color is unnecessary. Facts should be dry and tasteless. What I seek is only a transparent truth unaffected by emotion.」
「Hmm. But Rui-kun‚ your pen tip has been stopped at my ribbon this whole time‚ hasn't it? Doesn't that mean you're interested in my color?」
（The ribbon that should have been pure white reflected the sunlight and appeared to carry an intense 'blue' magical wavelength—I could never admit‚ even if my mouth were torn open‚ that I had unconsciously been trying to record that harmful color.）
「……T-That's just me adjusting the ink flow. The knot of the ribbon is asymmetrical and merely offended my sense of aesthetics.」
「Fufu‚ liar. Look how white your fingertips are from gripping the pen so tightly.」
She said that and playfully flicked the tip of the quill I was clutching with her finger.
In the still air of the book tower‚ only the soft vibration and heat transmitted through the pen shaft scorched the depths of my ears and fiercely flushed the edges of my vision.
I‚ who should have been an observer symbolizing the subject and viewing it from a safe distance.
Yet now I had been swallowed by the massive vortex of color that was her‚ and even my logbook—the 'shield'—had been turned into her playground.
My defeat as a recorder was now an undeniable fact‚ engraved upon the paper.
After Elina left behind the words "I'm thirsty" and dashed down to the water area on the lower floor‚ the air in the tower rapidly cooled.
A silence like a storm had passed. I collapsed onto the desk and tried to forcibly expel the lemon scent clinging to the depths of my lungs. But even the air I inhaled carried the heat she had stirred up‚ and my sanctuary had already lost its function as a 'barrier' that shut out the poison of the outside world.
「……Records‚ records. I have to list the facts and calm these disturbed magical wavelengths.」
I fled down the spiral staircase. Escaping the dusty interior of the book tower‚ I pressed myself against the cold stone wall of the connecting corridor leading to the academy's archive. I pressed my flushed cheek against the chilled stone surface and desperately tried to steady my ragged breathing. It was the 'boundary line' where the tower's silence intersected with the academy's clamor.
「Oh my. You can actually make a decent face after all.」
A sharp voice sliced through the edge of my thoughts.
Leaning against an old stone pillar in the shadow of the connecting corridor was not Elina.
A girl with her long hair loosely tied back‚ gazing at me with sharp‚ appraising eyes. In her arms she held the pure-white shawl worn by the Shrine Maiden of the Oracle with care. It was Mina‚ Elina's best friend and the one rumored in the academy to be the quickest at sniffing out "unnecessary truths."
「……If you're the oracle shrine maiden's escort‚ unfortunately your master is down at the water area making gulping sounds. Observing a background like me won't make your time even one millimeter more productive.」
I averted my gaze and unconsciously traced the edge of the logbook in my hand with my finger. Mina gave a short "Hmm" through her nose‚ stepped away from the pillar‚ and took a step forward to block my escape route.
「I wasn't expecting productivity. I just came to confirm exactly what you are to Elina. That girl has been hanging around here all the time lately‚ hasn't she? The others at the academy are convinced it's 'diligent magic training‚' but…」
「……Unfortunately‚ I am neither a lecturer nor her playmate. I am merely the one entrusted with managing and recording in the book tower. She just barges into my domain on her own—」
「That's a convenient excuse. But how long do you think that smile of yours will last?」
Mina's words struck my eardrums with a terribly cold‚ metallic ring.
I furrowed my brow and tried to read the "shadow" deep in her eyes. There‚ mixed with the same dark‚ stagnant color as the chilling resignation Elina had hidden.
「……What do you mean?」
「That girl's time is far more precious than you think. Once her full duties as a shrine maiden begin in earnest‚ she won't have the leisure to come play in a dusty tower like this anymore. …The sand in that girl's 'free hourglass' is already running low.」
Thump.
My heart scattered unpleasant sparks.
In my mind‚ the "blue" that had so vividly colored her laughing face moments ago faintly wavered and faded.
「So Rui‚ don't become that girl's 'escape' either. The more you cling to her‚ the more pain there'll be when you're torn apart later.」
With that‚ Mina lightly adjusted the pure-white shawl in her arms.
「……I came to pick her up‚ but it looks like I'd be intruding. I'll head straight to the water area.」
Mina said only that and turned her back without waiting for my reply.
Her footsteps receded down the stone corridor and were completely swallowed into the distance.
All that remained afterward was a sharp‚ mint-like scent that stung the nose.
Deep silence fell for a few seconds.
That blank time slowly soaked my heart with the premonition of an 'unidentified parting.' It made me realize that this noisy daily life I had begun to think would last forever was actually an extremely fragile castle built on sand.
Eventually—from beyond the stone corridor—
the sound of light footsteps approached once more.
The cold sting of mint was violently overwritten by the returning heat of lemon. Elina would soon return with her innocent smile and erode my domain again.
But to my ears right now‚ that light rhythm was beginning to sound exactly like the 'countdown of the hourglass' until she disappeared.
The silence of me as an observer was completely shattered by the footsteps of this 'ominous future.'
The ominous hint of the "hourglass countdown" that Mina had left behind sank like lead into the pit of my stomach.
I returned up the spiral staircase and headed deeper into the archive‚ to the even narrower and more labyrinthine "Historical Records Section." This was the bottom of mold and silence‚ where not even sunlight reached. I thought that here I could escape her dazzling presence and dismantle that terrifying premonition with the cold logic of an "observer."
But reality‚ as if mocking my calculations‚ accelerated at the worst possible timing.
「……!」
Suddenly‚ from beyond the windowless stone wall‚ a low‚ heavy rumble of thunder roared.
The sound that shook my gut sounded like the 'hourglass' Mina had declared shattering‚ fiercely fanning the sparks of anxiety smoldering within me.
At the same time‚ what began striking the skylight of the archive was a violent‚ sudden downpour that seemed to hasten the end of spring.
It was different from "that day's cold rain" that would later engrave eternal loss upon me. What flowed in through the vent was the scent of rain carrying an unseasonably hot‚ dry-stone-pounding warmth and inescapable humidity.
「Found you. Rui-kun‚ what are you doing hiding in such a dark place?」
My shoulders jumped at the voice from behind.
There was no need to turn around. The lemon scent that violently overwrote the smell of rain was already right there.
「……I'm not hiding. I only came to check an old kingdom geography book I missed noting yesterday. Weren't you supposed to be at the water area?」
「I already drank it all. Being alone in the tower felt way too quiet… so I chased after the sound of Rui-kun's footsteps.」
She stepped without hesitation into the narrow passage between bookshelves—barely wide enough for one adult to pass.
Because of the humid air‚ her white shrine maiden robes clung faintly to her skin. Even though she wasn't wet from rain‚ the heat made her skin seem to give off faint steam.
「……Too close. That's a dead end—step back. The absolute non-aggression boundary line I drew is currently on maximum alert due to this humidity.」
「Ehh‚ but isn't this the book Rui-kun is looking for? It's up high and I can't reach it.」
Elina ignored my warning and slipped right beside me‚ stretching up on her toes.
In the narrow gap filled with the heavy scent of mold and thick parchment unique to the Historical Records Section‚ my back was pressed against the cold wooden shelf‚ and from the front her small shadow completely blocked any escape‚ looming over me.
Every time she stretched her arm‚ the sweet scent unique to a girl mixed with the tartness of lemon rose from her faintly sweaty nape‚ carrying heat that stabbed my nostrils. From the front came the "pulse of life" transmitted through her disciplined shrine maiden robes.
「……! I'll get it. So move away from that position. Your breath is hitting me right around the collarbone and severely lowering the precision of my observer thinking.」
「Okay‚ here. Rui-kun‚ please. …Ah‚ wait a second. It's slipping—」
The moment she tried to lower her stretch‚ her foot slipped on the damp stone floor.
My arm‚ reflexively reaching out to support her‚ ended up fixed in a position that firmly embraced her slender waist.
『The more you cling to that girl‚ the more pain you'll both feel when you're torn apart later.』
The instant we touched‚ Mina's cold warning ran through my mind like noise. I had to release this arm and push her away right now. Reason sounded the alarm‚ yet my arm remained rigid‚ unable to let go of her thin‚ fragile heat.
Right beside my ear‚ an irregular heartbeat like something pounding hard from inside the ribs burst forth.
Through the pure-white robes clinging to her skin from sweat and humidity‚ her hot‚ soft body temperature flowed directly from my fingertips to my arm and then to my chest.
A single bead of sweat trickling down her nape swayed the damp silver-golden hair tips as it flowed across my vision in slow motion.
「……Rui-kun‚ your heart is beating really fast.」
At extremely close range. Her moist blue eyes pierced me.
In the cramped‚ inescapable space‚ our mingled breaths blocked even the sound of rain‚ creating a sweet‚ suffocating illusion that stole even the right to breathe from my lungs. Every time her modest chest rose and fell violently‚ it touched my own.
The solid barrier I had desperately built called "observer" was melting away like mud from her breathing and heat.
「……This is just palpitations from the change in atmospheric pressure. It is absolutely not because of your… that unnatural close-range behavior.」
「Liar. Rui-kun‚ the arm that's holding me has been trembling this whole time.」
She gently placed her hand on my chest and brought her face even closer‚ as if enjoying my confusion.
Every time her lips moved‚ the bursting lemon scent melted the last fragments of my reason.
The premonition of 'loss' that Mina had thrust before me.
Even that now seemed to fade into a distant illusion before the overwhelming 'life' heat being transmitted in this very moment.
I no longer had the strength to grip the logbook.
I could only quietly let myself be swallowed by the irresistible "reality" that was her.
The pounding rain sounds receded as if they had been a lie.
The light coming through the archive skylight had transformed from gray to a burning orange. The downpour had passed‚ and the sunlight pouring in from the washed sky mercilessly traced the contours of us‚ frozen in the narrow gap between bookshelves‚ with vivid clarity.
（……Crap. How long have I had my arm around her waist?）
Faster than I‚ exposed to the light‚ could reflexively pull my arm away—.
「……The rain seems to have stopped.」
Elina slowly lifted her face from my chest.
The body heat that had been pressed against me pulled away. The sudden cooling of her heat that had clung to my chest filled me with an indescribable sense of loss.
「……Of course. That's what sudden showers do. Looking for emotional meaning in meteorological phenomena is nothing but a waste of time.」
「But earlier‚ Rui-kun‚ your heart was beating with a 'not-a-waste' sound‚ you know? It's still ringing in the back of my ears.」
「That was… an acoustic effect from the cramped space. Or rather‚ nothing more than my defensive instincts sounding an emergency alarm because of your illegal intrusion.」
「Fufu. For an alarm‚ it was a pretty warm sound‚ though. Well then‚ let's continue this tomorrow‚ okay?」
Elina gave a mischievous smile‚ spun lightly on her heel without waiting for my reply. In the corridor after she left‚ only the dense lemon scent and the wet-stone smell of after-rain remained.
I stayed leaning against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the floor.
When I opened the logbook I had been clutching under my arm onto my lap‚ there—left behind‚ or rather deliberately left by her—was a single golden grain of lemon confection‚ sparkling like a jewel in the evening sun.
「……Tomorrow‚ you say? I don't remember reserving my peace for such an uncertain future.」
My mutter was swallowed and vanished between the inorganic bookshelves.
With trembling fingertips I picked up the confection and tossed it into my mouth.
The intense sourness stabbed my tongue‚ followed by a violently sweet flavor that burned my throat. It was the taste of inescapable 'life‚' exactly like the heartbeat of hers that had touched my chest moments ago.
I opened the logbook and added the final line with a trembling quill tip.
『Addendum: Today's observation produced significant confusion due to sudden weather disturbance. …The world remains colorless as ever‚ yet only certain subjects continue to burn indelible color deep into my vision.』
Snap.
The moment I closed the logbook as if ending today's observation—.
From far below the spiral staircase came a sound decisively different from Elina's light footsteps.
Heavy‚ unwavering‚
and carrying the faint metallic clink of armor—the footsteps filled with the arrogance called "justice."
The arrival of the "blessed resident of the world's official history" who carried the light on his back and was loved by all.
The owner of those dazzling footsteps that now threatened my gray sanctuary in an even more fatal way—Kyle.
Just before the setting sun sank and the curtain of night fell.
A new‚ and most loathsome‚ "noise" was approaching my book tower.
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