Editing Kara no Kyoukai:Void Shrine (section)

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Ryougi Shiki's recovery is a few days later.<br>

The fact that the situation doesn't even allow for the relatives to visit means that normal visits are out of the question.<br>

Is it because of that?<br>

Is that the reason that the new employee is concentrating on his desk-work with a sulkiness which makes it seem that his whole person has undergone a change?<br>

"It's gloomy, too gloomy."<br>

"Yes ma'am. A light, I'll obtain one that's suitable."<br>

He replies without even looking at Touko.<br>

There are times when a dutiful person will show absurdly eccentric conduct as a result of having missed something. Thinking this teen is of that sort, Touko speaks to him.<br>

"Don't think so obsessively about it. You seem ready to just charge in there tonight or something."<br>

"Impossible, ma'am. That hospital, the security is nothing short of a research lab's."<br>

In contrast to the casual manner in which he replies, it seems as if he's carried out a pretty thorough investigation.<br>

Touko shrugs, thinking: ''Well, I can't let a brand new employee become a criminal.''<br>

"... I was going to stay quiet about this, but since you are so agitated, I'll tell you. I'm going to be working at the hospital as a stand-in from tomorrow. I'll find out how Ryougi Shiki is, so just sit tight for now."<br>

"--- What?"<br>

"It just so happened that I got invited as a doctor. Normally I would have refused, but this time it's not as if it's someone else's business. Seeing as I dragged the story out of you, I thought that I had to at least do this for you."<br>

Touko speaks as if it's no big deal.<br>

Rising up from his chair, he approaches Touko and grabs hold of her two hands. Voom, voom. The two people's hands go up and down. ...Not realizing that this is an expression of his admiration, Touko stares at him with a stiff face.<br>

"You have some strange hobbies, don't you?"<br>

"I'm delighted! In fact, I'm stunned! There's a gentle and virtuous side to Touko-san like in other people after all!"<br>

"... I realized I'm not like others, but I think it's better not to say things like that."<br>

"Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Ah, so that's why you are dressed formally today. It looks very smart; it really suits you. I couldn't recognize you!"<br>

"... My outfit's the same as always, but whatever, I'll accept the compliments."<br>

It's useless to say anything, Touko realizes, and quietly folds things up.<br>

"So don't do anything rash. Even without that sort of thing, that hospital is strange. You will sit here and look after the office, got it?"<br>

At that, the until-then hyperactive employee settles down.<br>

"... Strange, you mean that hospital?"<br>

"Yeah. There's a ward against something placed there. It seems like another magician was meddling with things. Of course, the target wasn't Ryougi Shiki. If it was, they wouldn't have held off for two years."<br>

It was a whopper of a lie, but the confident way in which she spoke meant he didn't suspect a thing.<br>

"... Uhm, a ward. That's like the second floor of this building, isn't it?"<br>

"Yep. A ward is something of different levels which isolates a specified area. They range from ones that really create a wall to ones that cover the target area with an invisible barrier. The highest ranking wards are a form of subliminal coercion that goes, "nothing has been done but no one approaches". It's the same as this building. If you put in place a ''suggestion'' like "anyone who does not have a reason to come here will not be conscious of this place", a ward will be formed which will continue to exist without anyone noticing. A ward that just mimics another world and makes people realize that something is wrong is the worst of the worst."<br>

A strangeness which prevents you from noticing strangeness - that is her rule of vacancy. A ward which everyone ignores and passes although it's on the map. A world where a pre-eminent magician lives appears to be just like any other neighboring house.<br>

But, that ward, this new employee unconsciously broke it. This building which he shouldn't have been able to find unless he knew Aozaki Touko, he found too easily.<br>

... Well, that is also the reason she hired him.<br>

"... So, is that hospital's ward a dangerous one?"<br>

"Try listening to what someone is saying. A ward itself does no harm. That word, it originates from Buddhism. A ward is always something that isolates an area from the outside world, although it has somehow come to represent technique by which a magician protects his or her body.<br>

Understand? I said this just before, but the best wards don't feel weird to a normal person. Let's call it "an idea which forces itself on the unconscious mind". The best of the best reach the stage of "disconnection of space"; but to go that far you are looking at magicians rather than sorcerers. Currently there's only one magician in this country, so basically that kind of ward just can't be formed.<br>

Well, nothing that powerful was formed, but the ward placed around that hospital is pretty complex. It's good enough that even I didn't notice it for a while. There's a ward specialist that I know - this skill is at the same level as that guy's.<br>

... Well, among ward specialists there are a lot of philosophers. Most of them are well distanced from anything accompanied by violence, so it should be alright for now."<br>

That's right, there's no danger in the ward itself. The problem is what is happening within the bounds of that space cut off from the rest of the world. That hospital's ward is aimed inwards, not outwards. In short, it's of the kind that makes it so no one notices no matter what happens within the building. For example, if a room was to explode in the middle of the night, not one person would be woken up by the noise.<br>

Touko didn't tell him that. Saying something about the time creeping along, she walks out with her eyes focused on the clock.<br>

His voices catches on her narrow back.<br>

"Touko-san. Shiki, take good care of her."<br>

"Alright," Touko says, waving. He asks her another trivial question even though she didn't even bother to turn around.<br>

"Ah, yes. Touko-san, who's that ward specialist you know?"<br>

''Tock'', Touko's feet stop.<br>

She falls into thought for a second, then swings her head around to pierce him with her eyes as she replies.<br>

"Well, if he's a ward specialist, he's a monk of course."<br>