Mushi Uta:Volume 6th Episode 21

Episode 21. The Librarian Flipping Through Dreams

“Well then—”

Illuminated by candlelight, the faces of three girls stood out in the darkness.

“Let us begin the 1st Arisu Conference.”

The one to announce this was Ichinokuro Arisu.

She naturally wore a serious expression and even her voice was low as if deathly afraid to shake the light from the candle. Even her usually bouncy ponytail stood still, and perhaps the others would view it unusual that she wore shorts that put more emphasis on mobility.

Clap clap—no, a better onomatopoeia for the dry clapping sounds would probably be more of a tap tap.

“…”

Putting a manjū into her mouth with a sleepy expression was Yomori Neiko. She was supposedly one year older than Arisu, who was a middle school senior, but only her appearance indicated so. She wore clothes that belonged to a so-called punk style consisting of a t-shirt covered in gaudy logos and bondage pants.

There was also a blond girl who was neither serious nor cool, but still slightly anxious about having been invited.

“It’s morning, so what’s up with those candles? Turn on the lights. Use the wonders of civilization. Fuck it, I’ll just do it myself. Damn, I can’t see shit. —Ouch, who the hell left this Japanese doll here, it’s both scary and painful! Now that I look at it, it’s got a strap, is it from the arcade? Who would even try to get this?”

The one kicking up a fuss in solo performance was Mitake Anneliese. The fact that none referred to her by her true name and only by “Kasuou” was probably a form of protest againt her name and looks being so unfittingly elegant.

“Our current agenda is—”

“…”

“I just can’t believe that this thing looks so darn cute! Is it some kinda curse doll? Creepy!”

Neiko still kept clapping her hands while chewing, while Kausou started a staring contest against the doll.

Neither seemed to be listening to Arisu’s talk.

“The agenda of the 1st Arisu Conference is—“

Arisu wore a strained smile and tried repeating herself.

However, the room suddenly became lighter.

The sliding screen closing the room was opened by a pajama-wearing boy.

“Arisu! Are you the one who brought Erii—hey, what’s up with this dark room? Ah! Why’re Kasuou and Nene here too…?”

Coughing hard after saying this was Kusuriya Daisuke, who lived in the same house as Arisu. His face was red and his voice was hoarse.

“Hello, Kakkou-san…”

“Oh, so the story about the strongest Mushitsuki lying in bed with a fever was true, huh. Are you trying to pick up a fight with me because I’d never gotten sick?! Eh?!”

“You’ve been clearly directing that greeting at the manjū, Nene! And don’t reach out to grab me when I didn’t do anything, Kasuou…!”

Arisu’s room was nice and orderly until Daisuke and Kasuou began their scuffle.

The window supposed to let in the morning sun had its rain shutters closed, and the candlelight was gone as well.

Also, her housemate Kusuriya Daisuke, usually so strong, had fallen sick with a high fever.

As well as the several guests.

Only those were different from the usual scenery of the Ichinokuro mansion.

However—no, because of this—Arisu started thinking that it couldn’t go like this any longer.

Still seating in seiza-style alone, she opened her mouth.

“The agenda—”

However, a petite girl appeared then.

Her cute face was supported by a neck too thin even accounting for the fact she was an elementary schooler. She looked like she would be constantly sitting out PE class. Her name was Horiuchi Erii. There were heart symbols on her camisole and hairclips.

“Kakkou-san, you can’t run around like that when you have a fever. Getting excited when people come over is childish.”

“As if I’m excited! Even I normally want to sleep when I’m sick!”

Horiuchi Erii had also been invited by Arisu. However, when she’d heard that Daisuke was sleeping, she said that she wanted to go and nurse him. One couldn’t call their first meeting amiable even as a compliment, but for some reason she became attached to him.

“C-chan… your camisole strap’s falling off your shoulder…”

“Oh, this? I just thought about stripping.”

“Don’t say it so casually! And Kasuou, stop looking at me with that ‘it’s finally time to kill him’ sorta face! There’s no need to strip for any kind of nursing!”

“Someone called Kanakana-san told me that you’d like me stripping…”

“And she tried licking my face!”

“Kororo-san told me that you’d like me to lick you.”

“You were doing it on your own and then you started saying things like ‘s-stop it, Kakkou-san…’ and the like—”

“Nene-san who’s right over there told me you’d really like people doing these sorts of things to you by force.”

“That’s enough already, stop it, I wanna die… I did nothing wrong so why do I have to feel like that? In the first place, it’s you lot who—gfh!”

Kasuou wordlessly swung her fist, burying it in Daisuke’s abdomen. As the boy collapsed languidly, the blond girl lifted his body.

“He’s too noisy so I’m gonna go dump him somewhere.”

As Kasuou said this with an elegant smile, Nene and Erii also approached her. “We need to scribble on his face before that…” and “I can finally change his clothes,” they seemed to be enjoying themselves.

This gentle atmosphere was drowned by a large sound echoing in the room.

Arisu struck the tatami mats with both hands.

Finally, the three girls focused on Arisu.

“Will you finally listen? I’ve gathered you here today because I have something to discuss.”

She looked at Kasuou, Nene—as well as Erii who ignored the fainted Daisuke. She had called all of them here.

A butterfly came fluttering in the room that retrieved its silence.

It was a Morpho butterfly glowing in silver.

It wasn’t a mere insect, but a supernatural being that possessed adolescent boys and girls, feeding on their hosts’ dreams and hopes—called a Mushi, and those who were hosts to Mushi were named Mushitsuki.

However, although the general populace whispered rumors about Mushi, the government’s official stance was that they didn’t exist.

Meanwhile, the country established an organization meant to capture, conceal and research Mushi, called the Special Environmental Preservation Bureau. They trained the captured Mushitsuki and forced them to capture other unknown Mushitsuki.

Excluding Arisu, all those in the room were SEPB members.

“And the topic is—”

Arisu rose up and asserted.

“The way of finding one of the Original Three who give birth to Mushi… Sanbikime.”

Part 1

The center of Akamaki City was a business district.

It would be no exaggeration to say that, in addition to all the country’s important agencies gathered there, it also fulfilled a central role in the distribution of traffic and money. The city obviously had entertainment districts and residential areas, but these were far from the town center, so its function as a commuter town was inferior to those like its neighbors Kurobishi City or Higano City.

The further one got from the main station, the less there were shops of the kind middle- or high-schoolers would frequent. At best there were some fast-food places.

Based on all that, Arisu was a bit curious as to how they’d all look to a third party, considering they were currently in the high-class Italian restaurant directly facing the large national highway.

Since she and her classmates went to Horusu Seijou Academy, school to sons and daughters of the wealthy, she’d been to similar restaurants before, but she’d never entered a place where the only view was the dreary scenery of government offices. Since she avoided the inside of the restaurant and sat in the open terrace, she’d probably not be too conspicuous.

“Come to think of it.”

Since they couldn’t calmly discuss anything with Daisuke back at home, they decided to turn their meeting into a lunch out of town. The choice of restaurant was due to a request of eating expensive foods.

When the one to have requested this, Kasuou, finished eating her third plate of pasta, she pointed at Erii.

“Who’s this brat?”

“You only just noticed?!”

Excluding the blond girl, the other three’s voices intersected.

“Haven’t we introduced her? This is Horiuchi Erii-chan, 10 years old. She’s our new comrade.”

“No, I’m rather amazed at Nene finding this explanation satisfactory… I thought for sure she was some sorta relative of yours. Well, I did understand she’s a Mushitsuki, based on her scent.”

“Is that one of your abilities, Kasuou-san, the berserker that is still unranked?”

“You really looking for a fight so soon? Okay, little bitch, which do you prefer, rock or paper?”

“Stop it… I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that…”

“Thank you very much for covering for me, Nene-san, also an unranked person who’s called a scarecrow that does nothing but hum songs and bob her head during missions.”

“…Which do you prefer, rock or paper…?”

“I have been given the codename of C. I am but a mere novice who just finished her training, so I appreciate your support. Incidentally, I belong to the intelligence department and my Rank is 5.”

Erii bowed her head.

“A Rank 5 so fast…?” Kasuou mumbled with a complex expression.

“That’s amazing, Erii. You were able to properly greet them. You speak much more politely now.”

“Nothin’ proper about it. She’s looking down on us. You’re acting funny as well…”

As Arisu patted Erii’s head while smiling, the younger girl’s shoulders shook. Her eyes looking up at Arisu turned dull.

“Yes, my great Teacher has kindly taught me everything. Whenever I got cheeky, she’d hit me with her hockey stick until I cried.”

“…Eh?”

“She didn’t stop even when I started crying. But Teacher is the best. Teacher’s strong. Teacher’s amazing. Teacher’s pretty.”

“Erii? Get a hold of yourself, Erii!”

“Oh, so she’s a teacher now… raincoat phobia’s popular in Central Headquarters because of that woman.”

“Raincoats are scary… so scary…”

For some reason even Neiko held her head and started shaking.

She didn’t know the circumstances of the SEPB, but apparently there were some scary instructors there.

To get the frightened Erii and Neiko to regain their senses, Arisu decided to forcibly bring the conversation back on track.

“S-so, have you all finished eating? Now, let us start the conference.”

Saying this, Arisu looked up at the Morpho butterfly dancing overhead.

“If we want to learn more about Mari, we need to meet up with Sanbikime, who supposedly knew her. I want you all to cooperate with me to that end.”

Hanashiro Mari.

That Mushitsuki girl was the reason Arisu had become involved with Mushi, Mushitsuki and the SEPB in the first place.

Her silver Morpho butterfly used to be Mari’s Mushi. However, ever since Mari passed away from an illness, the Mushi started clinging to Mari’s best friend, Arisu.

Mushi will terminate following the death of their host—the Morpho butterfly was an irregular existence that overturned this accepted premise, and furthermore it gave its power to Ichinokuro Arisu.

Arisu had been found by the SEPB after a certain incident, and although she hadn’t been captured, a monitor called Kusuriya Daisuke had been sent to her side.

“No, but why now, though? None of us know anything more about the Original Three that the Rank 1 Kakkou doesn’t.”

The “Kakkou” that Kasuou mentioned was the codename of Kusuriya Daisuke.

“Because now we have Erii-chan who’s good with information gathering as our ally, obviously. Also, we managed to get this.”

Smiling, Arisu put her silver rod on the table.

According to Daisuke, that stick, which was about as long as a folding umbrella, was a weapon created exclusively for Arisu’s use. A small pattern was densely etched on its surface, but it was barely visible.

“It’s amazing. I don’t know what it’s made of, but it’s kinda like I’ve been given a powerup? I can also use something like the Morpho butterfly’s new ability. I still don’t really understand it… but it’s perfect for any situation.”

“Didn’t ask about any of that. What I’m asking is why you chose a time when Kakkou’s gone to gather all of us.”

Arisu was at a loss for words.

She didn’t intend to lie.

The fact that Daisuke got sick right after she gained Erii as an ally and got a powerful weapon was a mere coincidence.

However, it was true that she called Kasuou and the rest without waiting for the boy to recover.

Even she herself didn’t really understand why.

But if there had to be a single reason…

Pouting, Arisu averted her sight.

“I mean… whenever I talk about Sanbikime, Daisuke looks like he’s hiding something.”

“Ha! You really get along well. Is that guy’s your friend? Lover? Or just a monitor. Are you just sulking ‘cause he’s hiding a little something?”

“How childish. Based on past mission completion rates, pulling Kakkou-san out would cause a dramatic decrease in the success rate of any mission. I can’t help but feel that adding Kasuou-san and Nene-san to our plan means we’ll never clear our goal.”

“…I see now, so us being here is actually a minus… you bitch…!”

“A-anyway! I don’t think it’s a waste to continue our investigation as far as we can while Daisuke’s not with us! If we manage to find out something that even he didn’t know about, wouldn’t we be able to lord it over him?”

These words of desperation were surprisingly effective. The faces of the three SEPB members instantly twitched.

The first to show her enthusiasm was Erii. She pulled out something from the bag hanging from her chair.

“I should take over it, then. Since I am a Rank 5 within the intelligence department, I can get the most information.”

“What’s that? A game console?”

“…A modded one, yes. I can also use it for wired hacking, but since it’s on wireless mode right now, it’s simply a memory device. Oh, you can play games on it too, obviously. The processing power and resolution are especially high, so it really is amazing… hey, Kasuou just called me an otaku! I’m not an otaku!”

“Leaving aside the immature, please continue, Erii…”

Glaring at the blond girl, Erii continued.

“To cut a long story short, I was only able to obtain normal information about the Original Three. All things that people like the SEPB, the organization thought to be led by the Mushitsuki called Rina or Harukiyo and his comrades would know.”

In brief, Erii paused.

“Oogui, who gives birth to Minion-Type Mushi, looks like an adult human woman and turns people who answer a certain question of hers to Mushitsuki. Also, Shinpu, who gives birth to Special-Type Mushitsuki, looks like an old man wearing a robe and turns into Mushitsuki people who wish for power inside the space cut off from the real world, his Church. …All of us know about Shinpu from firsthand experience, huh.”

Excluding Arisu, the other three were all Special-Type Mushitsuki. The blond girl snorted while folding her arms and the tall girl did not move a muscle.

“By being in the intelligence department, I’ve obtained more detailed data. Though only records about certain places and times they have appeared at. All of those were random, so it was already calculated that they have no regular patterns.”

“What about Sanbikime?”

As Arisu breached the main topic, Erii wore an austere face unlike that of a girl her age.

“Sanbikime, who gives birth to Fusion-Type Mushitsuki… I can only say they are a complete mystery. Their appearance, abilities, and how they turn people to Mushitsuki… we know nothing about any of those. I believe you’ve asked Daisuke about it, but even those turned Mushitsuki by Sanbikime don’t know who made them so.”

Arisu bit her lips.

Was it obvious or just as she expected? Erii’s explanation was a repeat of the exact same thing Daisuke had told her before.

“For a Rank 5 like me, this is the limit of what I can find out. Obviously there are secrets and we have to believe what information there is… but—”

Erii raised her tone. Arisu who was about to cast her gaze down raised her head.

“Since I became an SEPB member, I was able to invade just a little bit into a deep place in the database from the inside. This is information even the Rank 1 Kakkou cannot access… limited only to Branch Director Assistant level and above.”

“…?”

“The SEPB has come in contact with Sanbikime in the past.”

Arisu gulped. Although even Neiko widened her eyes for a change, for some reason Kasuou alone stayed meek.

“I do not know the particulars or the result, but I had been able to find that they prioritized Sanbikime’s annihilation. The reason for that being, they have invested in conventional weaponry—meaning, weapons on a national scale. Obviously, the SEPB also dispatched a few members on the operation, and the participating members and a keyword that seems to be the place’s name remained in the database.”

Erii gazed at Kasuou.

“Kasuou-san—you were also there, right? In the Sanbikime Annihilation Operation at Aoharima Island.”

“…!”

An unexpected name came out. Arisu turned to look at the blond girl.

“…There was nothing for me to do there. I’ve been thrown into a team made of strong combatants, but when we arrived at the battlefield it was already a sea of flames. Never mind me not even meeting Sanbikime, I saw nothing but that annoying scenery.”

“Why haven’t you said anything about that, Kasuou!”

“You moron! I’m not gonna spill top-secret shit like that!”

“It’s quite unlike you to follow your orders!”

“How naughty do you think I am, exactly! Well, maybe I’ll tell you though! Following orders is definitely unlike me! It’s true that I had no idea what happened—but that guy was probably at the battlefield as well!”

“That guy?”

“Harukiyo.”

As Arisu widened her eyes, Kasuou spoke with a bored expression.

“I remember seeing his flames. Most likely—he fought there. Against everyone there, including the SEPB.”

“What does that mean…?”

“Beats me. I wasn’t able to see our target with all those flames. Just had a feeling they fought.”

Impossible. —Arisu wanted to say this, but Harukiyo was indeed a person who went far beyond anyone’s imagination.

“But if that’s true—”

Arisu unconsciously clenched her fists.

“Then Harukiyo definitely knows about Sanbikime! Then we just need to ask him…!”

She turned an enthusiastic glance at Erii. She wanted to recruit someone excelling in information gathering because she thought to make contact with Harukiyo, should Sanbikime prove impossible to find.

Erii responded to Arisu’s expectations with a smile.

“Yes, unlike the Original Three, Harukiyo stands out in many ways. I managed to find some clues about his whereabouts.”

“Amazing! I knew you could do it! Unlike that delinquent Mushitsuki!”

“If you’re talking about me I’ll fucking kill you!”

“But before that—since I myself hadn’t been involved in an incident connected to Hanashiro Mari, I investigated her… and there was a certain question I couldn’t help but ask myself.”

As Erii played with her game console, she suddenly wore a serious face. Arisu tilted her head.

“Was Hanashiro Mari… really a Mushitsuki?”

“…Eh?”

Arisu let out a stupid-sounding voice without thinking.

She never thought that something so basic would be questioned at this stage.

“Y-yeah. Mari said she was leaving her dream to me, and after her passing, the Morpho butterfly…”

“I can only say it is quire daring to assume she was a Mushitsuki just based on this. Normally it would just seem like you became a Mushitsuki after your friend’s death, Arisu.”

“B-but!”

“Yes, you have moved so far based on only those weak premises. And the exchange of personality brought forth by Kororo’s past reading ability—the fact that Hanashiro Mari’s personality came to the surface serves as a little evidence.”

“I-is that so? It really was hard for me. But even so, why would you—”

“—Or at least it seemed that way.”

Arisu froze again.

Erii continued calmly.

“Hanashiro Mari was thirteen years old at death. After enrolling in the middle school department of Horusu Seijou Academy, she never attended even a single day. The electronic medical records of her hospital do have some simple data in them. —But that’s it.”

“That’s it…?”

“Yes, that is everything. The end. Only that. The only testimony about her came from her attending physician, who said she was a ‘poor girl’, a very mundane testimony. Her family made no comment whatsoever. There aren’t even any eyewitness testimonies among her classmates.”

“…”

“About the person known as Hunter, data about her remained in the SEPB. A user of a silver lance who is the host of the Morpho butterfly… I was able to confirm that she fought several times in the past.”

“Eh…?”

“…Then the SEPB has no data about Hanashiro Mari…?”

Neiko turned to look at Arisu with a puzzled expression.

“E-err, I’ve had Daisuke investigate—”

“There’s nothing about Hanashiro Mari. —Both you and Kakkou-san have apparently acted under mistaken premises. The SEPB has not yet determined that the equation of Hanashiro Mari = Hunter is true. Therefore, the data pertaining to Hanashiro Mari is not included in Hunter’s.”

Arisu was speechless. It was just like Erii said.

“Do you understand? This means that we have too few information to pinpoint Hanashiro Mari. —Being blunt, it’s abnormal. Although it’s in the records, it’s not in any memories. …Honestly speaking, the records are so amateurish that I could edit them right from here.”

Next to the speechless Arisu, Kasuou grimaced.

“What’re you trying to say then, brat? You’ve been speaking in circles.”

“I apologize if my way of speaking was not to your liking. But this is the result of me investigating all those cases as a third party. As a representative of this third party, I would like to say the following…”

Erii bit her lower lips. As expected she was hesitant, and seemed to be resolved as she posed the next question.

“Did the person called Hanashiro Mari… actually exist?”

“…Eh…?”

A high voice leaked from the depths of Arisu’s throat. She couldn’t speak properly due to this unexpected question.

Erii kept talking without pause.

“After all… Arisu-san, you are the only one to ‘remember’ Hanashiro Mari. And if we consider that Hunter might not be Mari… the hypothesis of you having been Hunter in the first place is also possible. Actually, that sounds more convincing.”

“Then what about Kororo’s past reading? She saw Hanashiro Mari talking with someone who seemed to be Sanbikime as well as Hunter, right?”

“There’s the possibility that Kororo is lying. —Perhaps she simply saw a person who was with Arisu-san, or Arisu-san as Hunter.”

“Then what about Hanashiro Mari’s personality that appears when Arisu-chan’s fighting…?”

“She is only acting. Perhaps a multiple personality disorder.”

“Brats nowadays are really distrustful, huh? You think everything’s a lie?”

“I’m just saying that disguise is not impossible. Normally you wouldn’t doubt the existence of a person… But you can in Hanashiro Mari-san’s case! —And another thing!”

She was probably growing irritated at being attacked so intensively. Erii spoke further.

“To me, being possessed by another person’s Mushi… sounds much more like a lie.”

No one could say anything in response.

Kasuou and Neiko’s gazes would obviously pass to Arisu soon.

Perhaps they were waiting for Arisu to insist on Mari’s existence—or they might have gotten suspicious of her as well.

But Arisu couldn’t answer.

Her hand left on the table was slightly shaking.

“You’re saying… that Mari never existed?”

She felt a chill as she wrung out a hoarse voice.

She was scared.

And the scariest thing of all—when she was told that Mari might not have existed, Arisu frantically pursued her memories.

She was there. Without a doubt, her friend lived there.

However, the only one who thought about the girl called Hanashiro Mari right now was Arisu and Arisu alone.

If no one agreed with her, would Arisu be able to assert that her friend actually existed until the very end?

Oh, right—

She recalled.

There was one time when the Morpho butterfly Mari had left her became angry at her. The time when Arisu tried forgetting about Mari—

She had certainly been alive, but how much did she fear being forgotten?

If she hadn’t existed from the very beginning, if she hadn’t remained in anyone’s memory—would she feel unimaginable despair?

“I have no intention of trying to dispel your theories. I have tried thinking from the supposition she’d existed, but… then the question becomes whether or not Hanashiro Mari had left you her Mushi on purpose.”

As if unable to withstand the silence she herself had created, Erii spoke bitterly.

“It must have been an extraordinarily cruel decision for her. If she hadn’t left you her Mushi, she would die while only leaving you the memories of her as her friend… however.”

“…”

“By leaving you the Mushi and taking over you, perhaps she could continue to live. —But if the personality of her friend Arisu vanished, the one and only ‘memory’ of Mari having lived would vanish from the world as well. And then Hanashiro Mari would be living as Arisu… that would mean that the person called Hanashiro Mari would end up ‘not existing’ in the fullest sense.”

Erii looked up at the Morpho butterfly.

“Just like the temptation of the angel and devil. Should she die as Hanashiro Mari or keep living as another person… Thinking that there was a Mushitsuki who had to make this choice is too sad. So it’s better for this to have been all your acting. I mean—if she actually existed, the fact that the Morpho butterfly is right here now… means that what Hanashiro Mari chose before her death was…”

“…Stop it already.”

The three girls’ gazes focused on Arisu.

“I’ve already imagined all sorts of things over and over again. But I’ve just decided to keep moving.”

She only had Arisu.

Only Arisu could remember Mari.

Was that—truly so?

“Mari definitely lived. That’s why, in addition to proving that, I have to find why Mari left me her Mushi. —For that, I need to meet up with someone who remembered Mari other than me.”

“And that’s supposed to be Sanbikime?”

Erii asked and Arisu nodded.

“I don’t care what you think about Mari now. But I have to meet Sanbikime. —Will you help me, Erii?”

Erii smiled. Perhaps she had been trying to test Arisu.

“If we believe Kororo’s past reading… Hanashiro Mari had referred to Sanbikime as ‘Sensei’.”

“But the doctor at that hospital—”

“Yes, all the doctors are normal people. The SEPB also investigated them. They gathered every single evidence starting from birth, their entire histories. Right, not only Sensei, but even the other nurses and interns.”

Erii continued.

“These are all the clues about Sanbikime we can get from Hanashiro Mari. You should remember the keyword of ‘Sensei’, though. —That’s why, just like I thought…”

“We need Harukiyo, yeah.”

Arisu said clearly.

They still haven’t run out of clues related to Mari. The single thread was thin and unreliably vague, but Arisu would use her full powers to try and grasp it.

“Err—I think that’s the only possible way.”

Putting her console back in the bag, the small elementary schooler left her seat.

“Let us go and ask Harukiyo.”

Part 2

They were taken by Erii in front of a strange building in the suburbs.

It could probably be called a national art gallery. The premises were made of several cube-shaped buildings placed haphazardly, and in the center there was a half-dome shaped art object towering over the rest. A pathway made of bricks on the lawn led to a gate, allowing anyone to enter.

The plate stuck to the large gate was small. The words “Akasegawa Group Private Library” were engraved on the golden plate.

“Private Library…?”

Standing in front of the modern building, Arisu tilted her head. She thought that libraries were supposed to be public facilities, so she couldn’t help but feel it was strange for it to be private property.

“Is Harukiyo here?”

Kasuou and Neiko turned doubtful gazes toward Erii.

“I have no idea.”

“Huh? Huh? Is my memory fucked up? Didn’t you say just now we’re going to meet Harukiyo, you little bitch?”

“This place is, most likely—the center of the network that includes Harukiyo.”

“What does that mean?”

“Recently, the SEPB has managed to capture a few of Harukiyo’s comrades. The equipment thief called Robber, or the one who’s guarding the West Central Branch—they’d been made into a Fallen by the new recruit we call Guillotine, but anyway… the captured people’s possessions were investigated.”

She spoke quite calmly of robbers and guillotines with that cute face of hers. Both were unfamiliar names for Arisu.

“Although they had different cellphones or communication devices, there were traces that these all transmitted some kind of data in fixed intervals. They skillfully covered the route, but as far as I was able to investigate, they were all sending their data to the same server. And the location of that server is, most likely… this library.”

“I don’t really understand it, but… does that mean this is Harukiyo’s base?”

“Their information base, yes. However, I don’t know if he and his comrades actually gather here.”

“…But C-chan, if you were able to investigate this… then the SEPB probably already did as well…”

Erii puffed her cheeks at Neiko’s words.

“Even if a new recruit told them ‘I found Harukiyo’s network’ no one would believe her. If it was my excellent seniors from the intelligence department, they would find out it’s right? …After about a year.”

“You have it tough as well, huh…”

Petting Erii’s head as she walked ahead, they arrived at the entrance to the building.

The automatic door opened and a spacious lounge appeared. Between the spotless floor and tall ceiling, they could see sofas and chairs and a stage the library lay upon.

Between the lounge and entrance were machines that resembled ticket gates often seen in train stations. There was a slot for cards and a passage blocked by metal rods.

“Here on is enemy territory. Do not lower your guards.”

Even while Erii wore an austere expression, she put some money into the ticket-purchasing machine nearby.

“You call it enemy territory… but it doesn’t look like it at all.”

Lining up for the machine, Kasuou mumbled.

Arisu felt the same.

Their group was not the only people inside. Students that looked like they came there for self-study, the elderly who came to meet on the sofas, and others all created a tranquil atmosphere.

“Say, Erii…”

“W-what is it! Everyone’s looking at me with those eyes… I’m serious! This is definitely the place!”

Watching the girl insisting on this with lukewarm eyes, Arisu and the rest passed through the ticket gates and into the building.

Even when they stepped inside nothing happened. If some enemies came to attack them it would make things easier.

Anyhow, Arisu peeked around the library.

“I wonder where this… server, was it? Is supposed to be.”

“All you ladies in charge of manual labor, can’t you just run around the building and look for it?”

Erii was definitely sulking.

“W-we’d better find someone in charge around here. If they feel guilty about something here, their reaction would probably show it.”

Arisu’s idea was accepted. They went through the corridor in the library divided into blocks and began looking around.

It didn’t take long to feel something was wrong.

“Found it?”

“…No…”

“Nope.”

“There’s no one.”

After they split to march around different areas, Arisu and the rest met in the lounge again.

“There’s no staff…?”

They couldn’t see anyone who seemed like they were working in the library. Not a single one.

It didn’t seem that this private library had any lending system. Although there were many shelves, all of them were for browsing only. Apparently they could pass through different areas through the ticket gates in every block by purchasing different types of cards at the entrance.

“Never mind whether Harukiyo is here or not… I never even considered there’d be no one other than guests.”

“Right, it’s too much of a bother so let’s go home.”

“What are you doing, Nene-san?”

Neiko wordlessly operated the floor map. Apparently the stage had an LCD touch screen with library search functions.

“Since we’re here… I thought of investigating some things… like Harukiyo, the Original Three, or Aoharima Island…”

“…Umm, Nene-san. None of those would be published in a civilian information storage. Even the name of Aoharima Island had been almost completely scrubbed clean from records. You see, the SEPB has a Mushitsuki with an ability of information lookup and computer worms—”

“Looks like they have it, though…”

“Anything infected by that worm is as good as destroyed—eh?”

Not only Erii raised a voice of surprise. Arisu and Kasuou also leaned forward and peeked at the panel.

The keyword “Harukiyo”.

The result was, “3 collections were found. Please follow the staff’s guidance”.

Right—that was written there.

“There is? Really? And three?”

“N-no, it’s definitely just something different… like an energy drink or something.”

“Sounds like a nasty fucking drink. Try the others too.”

Neiko input the words “Original Three”.

Just like before, the information that 20 collections were found, et cetera, was displayed.

“So many! Neiko-san, try Aoharima Island?”

87 collections et cetera et cetera.

Naturally, all eyes focused on Erii.

“D-don’t look at me like that! T-this is definitely strange! I wasn’t lying! —Nene-san, what did you press just now?”

“There was this button that said ‘call’, so I tried it…”

“W-what’s going to come out?”

“Idiot, since this is a library, then obviously—”

They heard sharp footsteps.

Responding to the sound, Arisu and the rest looked toward the stairs leading to the 2nd floor.

“Please be silent while in the library.”

Speaking in a calm yet assertive tone was a slim girl.

She wore thin, elliptical glasses and had black hair cut short—no, behind her head were two long braids that hanged all the way down to her waist. As she carried a book under her arm and wore a dress reaching all the way to her feet, she almost looked like a nun carrying her bible. She was pretty, but quite young to be a worker here. She was probably around Neiko’s age.

“So you’re the ones who searched for these collections. Please, follow me. I will show you to the archive.”

Speaking gentle-mannered, the girl unnaturally raised one corner of her lips.

“Nihi.”

Arisu noticed that this was a laughter—only after several moments of being glued in place.

Part 3

Being led through the corridor, the girl who seemed to be the library’s staff mumbled to herself.

“So many cute girls around me… Nihi.”

For some reason a chill ran through Arisu’s back. Perhaps the AC was too effective.

“Umm… are you employed here?”

“You can just call me the Librarian. Well, I’m doing this part-time, though.”

Turning back, the Librarian spoke calmly.

“…Haa.”

As Arisu turned to look at the others, Kasuou and the rest began gesturing with their mouth and hands. Trying to decipher them, they were apparently frantically trying to convey: “She’s definitely not normal,” “She doesn’t look like a librarian…” “I feel sick.”

She felt pretty much the same. They only just met, but the girl who introduced herself as the Librarian produced a peculiar atmosphere.

“If they were pretty boys… then it’d be a staple to make the leader and the blond one a couple, nihi.”

“…”

The place they were taken to by the girl who kept mumbling was a block without any nameplate at all.

Opening the door, they stepped inside.

It was a very large archive. Just like the name indicated, as if it was a warehouse of books, the orderly shelves were arranged in countless collections.

Arisu now realized why she felt so discomforted.

These thousands upon thousands of books all had the exact same binding. Books of the exact same color, size and shape were all lined here—

After manipulating some sort of device near the entrance, the Librarian handed the card that came out of it to Arisu.

“These are the numbers and titles of the publications from your inquiry. The shelves also have these numbers, but if there’s something you need help with, please call me.”

When passing the card, Arisu’s fingertips brushed against the Librarian’s.

“…Nihi.”

Was there anything as disgusting as that beauty’s broken smile? Leaving behind Arisu feeling extremely chilly, the Librarian turned toward the reception desk and sat on a chair.

Arisu and the rest instantly formed a ring.

“L-let’s open the 2nd Arisu Conference! W-what’s up with her? Is she Harukiyo’s comrade? Right, that’s why she’s so creepy!”

“We have two choices. Searching this archive or questioning her… what’s up with this title? ‘Harukiyo in the Nick of Time’, this is definitely a joke, right? It makes me want to find it and tear it.”

“If you’re gonna question her, you do it. I don’t wanna talk at all. I definitely ain’t interacting with her at all.”

“She’s talking about something to herself again…”

When Arisu and the rest glanced toward the desk, the Librarian seemed to be scribbling something. While writing, she mumbled to herself.

“The child’s either the character that makes you want to protect her or the coquettish one. …Shuddup, don’t interrupt me, I’m finally writing my masterpiece. …Ha? Why’d you have to meddle even in my hobby—yup, I’m definitely using that part. Eh? I don’t want to, I’m only a supervisor. A guard? What are you talking about, shut up for a bit. Don’t push me, I’ll crush you with my foot.”

She kept mumbling at length.

“Why has it turned out like that? I’m an indoor type and bad with fighting, I want to be a shut-in. …Nihi. —Wait, you have to tell me the rest of that story. What? I obviously know. Because what if they’re saying it? Because I don’t want to?”

At that point she finally noticed the gazes from Arisu’s group. She gasped and returned being expressionless.

“Oh, do you need the stepladder?”

“…”

“We have a wheeled one there, so please try it. Don’t forget to lock it while you climb…”

She gave this explanation calmly and businesslike as if nothing happened.

If possible, Arisu didn’t want to dig any deeper than that, but she just had to ask.

“Do you… know Harukiyo?”

The Librarian blatantly scowled.

“Are you possibly… Harukiyo’s comrade?”

Although she was puzzled at being shown an unpleasant expression far beyond what she imagined, Arisu asked again.

The bespectacled girl made a big, big sigh. “…I know,” she mumbled to someone, staying calm as she raised her face.

“Who would be that pervert’s—ouch. …Yes, I am certainly acquainted with him.”

Although she acted quite suspiciously, it was a surprise she was so frank about it.

Even so, they knew that Harukiyo’s comrades would be inside the library. Arisu and the rest were cautious against the bespectacled girl.

“We’ve heard that this is the base of Harukiyo’s comrades, but is that true?”

“Well… right. If you’re talking about the network that a few Mushitsuki including Harukiyo are using, then it is supplied here. However, since I have only dabbled in knowledge about digital systems—apparently the SEPB has already found us.”

As she glanced at Erii, the Librarian laughed with a Nihi. Erii’s shoulders twitched.

She apparently already knew that Erii was an SEPB member.

However, she made no move.

Having their questions answered so readily was convenient, but at the same time ominous.

“However, it would be really great if you abstain from using that designation of ‘Harukiyo’s comrades’.”

“…?”

“I’ll give you an example that’s easy to understand. The SEPB found a strong Mushitsuki. So powerful that they have no need to gather allies or hide. So the SEPB said, ‘you’re Harukiyo’s comrade, then’. And the Mushitsuki thought, ‘who’s Harukiyo? I’ll try looking for him’—several Mushitsuki in my network are like that.”

Suddenly hearing this tale, Arisu raised an eyebrow.

“We are simply using one another for our own goals, boasting about our own interests, and playing with each other. Simply, the one who’s the strongest and stands out the most is Harukiyo.”

Nihi, laughed the Librarian.

“’Harukiyo’s comrades’—do not forget that if anyone created the gathering of Mushitsuki called like that, it is only because the SEPB believes it to be so.”

“So you’re not actually Harukiyo’s comrades…?”

“We can be, depending on the time and place. —Incidentally, in exchange for me supplying this network, I receive information about happenings that weren’t exposed yet or possibly in the process of being deleted. You could say that I protect and manage the so-called ‘informational endangered species’.”

Saying this, the Librarian looked around the dreary shelves.

“Books are nice. Their feel, their smell, and above all the emotions they contain. If I manage them properly, nothing is ever lost or stolen. Please read books. You may peruse them at your pleasure. Yes, especially children like you.”

Being glanced at again, Erii turned sullen. Perhaps annoyed by being treated like a child, she spoke back.

“This is the digital age. As long as we have digital information, there’s no need for any analog mediums.”

“Nihi. …I have no intention to turn this to a competition. It is simply that digital information is too pure. Since it lacks feelings, making errors is easy. —Do not forget that those of us who govern over information are always challenged by those. If you read anything wrong… it all becomes distorted.”

“…”

“Even if you don’t understand this now, maybe in one or two years… you will notice it one day. It’s a waste for pretty girls to be corrupted, nihi.”

Wearing a creepy smile, the Librarian put on white gloves. She closed the notebook she was writing something in, mumbled well then and raised up a book.

“You’re the SEPB’s underlings and I’m ‘Harukiyo’s comrade’. —Oh no, you’re going to capture me, I’m so scared!”

“Eh?”

The Librarian suddenly began speaking in monotone as if quoting something.

“Nooo, I have nowhere to run to. —Where shall I go next? Perhaps a secondhand bookshop? Or thinking about it differently, maybe a large bookstore would be good—oh no, but before all that, I have to defeat the enemy right before my eyes.”

“W-wait a minute…! We don’t want to fi—“

“But fighting all of you at the same time would be too bothersome. Right, then I shall slaughter you one by one.”

The Librarian said this casually and opened the book in her hands.

“…!”

Then, the line of shelves nearby began moving extremely fast as if slipping on the floor.

As Arisu turned around in surprise, even Kasuou and the rest were moving away in incredible speed. They reached out toward Arisu while shouting something, but soon she could no longer hear them.

It wasn’t only the shelves. Even the machine the Librarian took a card out of and the reception desk were slipping away.

“Eh—“

The wall vanished, the ceiling vanished, even the floor vanished. Her footing uncertain, Arisu was assaulted by a sharp sense of falling.

“Eek—”

Something bumped against her head as she started raising a shriek. She reflexively raised her head, seeing that countless books were falling from above. Old books were dropping like a rain or hail.

A quantity of books enough to fully cover her vision went past the falling Arisu, piling under her feet—

“Welcome to my Library Room.”

When she came back to, Arisu was standing on a carpet made of books.

Kasuou and the rest who were supposed to be right next her were already gone without a trace. On the sea of books there was only Arisu—as well as the Librarian.

“Is this your first time in an expanded domain? Well, if we leave aside one of the Original Three, Shinpu, not many can do this.”

Pulling it out from somewhere, the Librarian was holding a wooden chair.

“Well, I believe that I’m so-so, but apparently there’s also a monster who can use an entire building as his domain even without any medium, you know? It really looks like you’re not used to fighting powerful Mushitsuki.”

The Librarian spoke as if they were simply discussing the weather. Putting her chair on the sea of books, she sat down.

“Now then—”

Elegantly opening the book on her lap, she brought out a feathered pen.

“Let us do battle. Don’t let your attention wander or you’ll die.”

The pen started dancing inside the book.

The next moment—there was a noise and tremor.

Looking toward that noise, Arisu widened her eyes.

Although it was supposed to be a sea of books, for some reason it became a large quantity of water and waves, pursuing her.

The tsunami wave pressed closer to Arisu.

“Wha—”

Something hit the frozen Arisu on the head.

It was the silver Morpho butterfly. Letting out a blinding light, it was restlessly dancing overhead.

Arisu gasped and brought out her silver rod.

“I see, so that’s… the weapon created by the tool maker that Robber had been stalking, right?”

She didn’t have the leisure to listen to the Librarian’s mumbles.

The Morpho butterfly landed on the rod that became many times longer while in her hand.

The butterfly’s body explosively transformed into tentacles that stabbed into the rod as it fused with it. The delicate pattern etched onto the surface glowed and the entire rod emitted phosphorescence.

“Why you…!”

Feeling impatient at the silver spear not forming fast enough, she swung the rod toward the incoming wave.

A moment of silence.

And—scales glowing in silver blew a storm.

The colossal wave was torn into half, passing on both sides of Arisu loudly.

“Listen to me! I don’t want to fight you! I just want to find out where Harukiyo is—”

With water dripping from her hair, Arisu turned to face the Librarian.

However, staring back at her was a revolver handgun emitting a cold light.

“’Then, while I felt the revolver’s hard sensation in my hand, I pulled the trigger’.”

As the Librarian mumbled to herself and let the pen run on the page, in her other hand she held a gun.

Gunfire echoed.

The Morpho butterfly’s spear spouted silver scales. The wall of scales repelled the bullet before Arisu was hit.

“’The revolver did not work. I switched to a machinegun’.”

The gun vanished from the bespectacled girl’s hands, and instead she now had a machinegun.

“I’m telling you to listen to me!”

Shouting this, Arisu swung the spear toward the Librarian’s legs.

“’The spear-user’s attack avoided me’.”

The storm of scales changed directions before reaching the Librarian, stabbing into the wrong direction. The books piled at their feet were blown away and paper scraps spread around.

As if in revenge, machinegun bullets came raining down on Arisu. The silver scales repelled each and every single one of those.

“Since we’re surrounded by so much of my Mushi’s medium—books—I can create this isolated space, but… whatever I write in here becomes reality. However, I can’t directly affect my opponent’s state. To put it bluntly, this is a battle of speed between my shorthand writing and your attacks.”

While shooting bullets, the Librarian spoke in a businesslike tone.

“If you are able to attack me or the book I’m holding, you will win.”

“Stop it already! How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t—”

“You don’t. But I do. I believe that is all that matters. Have you never fought against someone you can’t speak with?”

The Librarian tilted her head, puzzled.

“Or did you perhaps think that you could talk it out with any opponent? How strange, after all you’re looking for Harukiyo… and he’s a guy that cannot be reasoned with, much more than me.”

“…!”

Seeing Arisu clench her jaw, the girl sitting in the chair laughed with a Nihi.

“Or perhaps I should make the following promise. —If you beat me, I’ll tell you where Harukiyo is.”

“…Got it.”

“Nihi. Nihi. —Those pure enough to believe what their enemy tells them are the best. So now I’ll really keep my promise.”

“…”

“To be honest, I’m bad at fighting. —Because once I start writing I can’t stop. Please do your best to not die.”

“Fine. I’ll… do it…”

It happened as she resolved herself and tried rushing at the Librarian.

Feeling something at her back, she turned.

Appearing there was a monster with a body several times larger than Arisu. Its green body sprouted two abnormally long arms, there was a horn on its head and its mouth was lined with sinister-looking fangs.

“Writing imaginary beings takes some time… but it helped me that I could buy that time while we were talking. Yup, not bad at all. How should I make the second one?”

She barely dodged the monster’s swung fist by leaping to the side. The impact of hitting the floor caused many books to leap to the air.

“W-what’s up with this…!”

Even while being shaken, she managed to land safely.

She would have never expected that she’d end up fighting a real monster at any point in her life.

Dodging the monster’s repeated attacks, she managed a counterattack with her spear and sliced off one of its arms.

However, meanwhile another strange-looking monster was born.

By the time she bisected the one-armed monster, yet another one was birthed.

By the time she defeated one, two monsters were created—while continuing this cycle, it started taking everything she had just to dodge attacks. If it kept like this then the number of monsters would only keep growing and growing.

It would never end.

No. Inevitably at some point Arisu wouldn’t be able to fully dodge the monster’s attack.

The swarm of monsters assaulted her.

“…!”

There was a voice in her mind.

—Arisu…

The familiar voice of her dead friend.

Every time Arisu was in danger, Mari’s consciousness would take over her ego.

If she switched with Mari, she’d probably be able to handily defeat this opponent. Just like Daisuke, also a Fusion-Type Mushitsuki, she could beat down any enemy and win with overwhelming power.

However, even so, Arisu grinded her teeth.

She put strength into her grip on the spear.

“Take… this!”

The spear swung up from a low position spouted more scales. The whirling attack swallowed three monsters at once.

While breathing heavily, Arisu shook off her feelings of trying to rely on Mari.

It was just like the Librarian said.

For those she would stand against from now on, like Harukiyo, the Original Three, and perhaps even the SEPB, she needed strength rather than reason.

Mari wasn’t the one who sought them and their cooperation.

It was none other than Arisu herself who had to become powerful.

“Nihi.”

She started running toward the distant laughing Librarian.

Mowing down the pursuing monsters, dodging attacks, sliding on the books at her feet to slip between their legs, she made her mad dash toward the Librarian.

However, when she got near her, several monsters stood in her way. She couldn’t find any route to slip through them.

She knew to a painful extent that this was her current limit.

And so—she needed to burrow power from the Morpho butterfly.

“Lend me power…! Just like that strange power from before!”

While running, she called to the spear in her hands.

But the silver spear was silent.

The enemies also kicked the ground, aiming for her.

“Please—”

Arisu glared at the spear.

Powerfully.

And above all else, preserving her heart.

“—Lend me power.”

Opening her eyes wide, she spoke toward the spear.

The Morpho butterfly’s response came in silence.

The entire rod was wrapped with gentle light.

It couldn’t be seen without straining one’s eyes, but an extremely faint light ran through the pattern etched on the surface.

The same thing happened when she’d used this weapon for the first time.

Brighter scales were leaking from the glowing rod. Rather than being spouted, they spread over the surface as if permeating the surroundings—

“Nihi. This next one is a big one. I’ve written my masterpiece.”

Unheeding the scales filling the Librarian Room, the bespectacled girl smiled.

Silence.

Nothing appeared.

“…Nihi?”

The Librarian, finally noticing the abnormality, raised her face from the book. Seeing the spectacle in front of her, she turned speechless.

Covered by scales, the monsters did not move a single muscle as if they were petrified.

Slipping between the monsters that were now only glorified statues, Arisu headed directly toward the Librarian.

For the first time she seemed to be shaken.

“No way… Have you overwritten my domain? No, if you did that then the Librarian’s Room would be gone as well. You haven’t attacked my Mushi. The ability’s been sealed… no! If it’d been sealed then, like I said, the Librarian’s Room would be gone… So it’s time for me to become serious!”

She began vigorously running her feathered pen on the book’s page.

“My ability won’t activate… this is… the Mushi is sleeping?”

It was the Morpho butterfly’s new ability—no, was it its original ability, actually?

Even without knowing the truth, Arisu managed to corner the enemy in front of her.

She thrust the tip of the spear against the astonished Librarian’s forehead.

“Hah… hah… I win? Right?”

The Librarian raised her head—suddenly checking the watch on her hand.

“Yup, that’s enough.”

“…?”

“I surrender. As expected from a Fusion-Type Mushitsuki. Someone like me wasn’t a match to you at all.”

An exceedingly honest declaration of lost. The bespectacled girl raised both hands, said “You win!” in English and laughed.

“So, will you lower that spear? If you keep it up… It’s a bit strange—but I can’t even cancel my own ability.”

“…”

Arisu wordlessly lowered her spear. Probably understanding its master’s will, the Morpho butterfly split from the spear, returned being a butterfly and danced above her head.

“Nihi. You’re so pure, doing what your enemy tells you to.”

“Even if we do this again I would win, after all.”

“True. That’s the spirit.”

What did she mean by that? The girl laughed a nihi again, and the moment after it the books at their feet began flying away like a film being rolled back.

“…!”

As the books filling her vision vanished, the familiar shelves and reception desk appeared. As if putting together a puzzle, the former library quickly returned to itself.

And—

“Ah, you! Arisu!”

Kasuou, who’d apparently been for some inexplicable reason searching inside a garbage can, turned around. Perhaps hearing her voice, Neiko and Erii also appeared from within the shelves and corridors.

“Arisu-chan…”

“Where have you gone to, Arisu-san?”

Apparently everyone had been looking for her. The girls now looked relieved.

“We’ve come to an agreement. She’s going to tell me where Harukiyo is.”

Returning the rod to its original length, Arisu grinned.

“Right, Librarian-san?”

“So you’re just going to call that an agreement? Nihi. Yes, I will tell you. That was my promise.”

Returning to the reception desk, the Librarian pointed at her feet.

“He was ‘here’.”

She spoke plainly and with a calm tone.

“”Huh?””

Arisu and the rest’s voices overlapped.

The Librarian kept talking without a hint of shame.

“He was here. Until just now. Moments ago, in fact. Sitting here while hugging his knees.”

For a moment Arisu was confused—

“…!”

Practically jumping toward it, she peeked over the other side of the desk. Now she got it; there was a space where one person could hide inside easily. But now it was empty.

The Librarian dabbed at her eyes. Since she did it over her glasses, there were no tears.

“I apologize. To be honest, he’d threatened to kill me unless I buy him enough time to escape. That devil’s scary enough to appear under that word in a dictionary. I was really, really scared.”

There was no way that was true. Anyway, Arisu now suddenly realized that the Librarian’s strange way of talking at first was her conversing with Harukiyo, so that kind of pleasant chat was no threat at all.

“…!”

As Arisu turned to look at Kasuou, Neiko and Erii, the three all awkwardly averted their eyes.

“Sorry. I only searched trash cans and vases and stuff.”

“I wondered if you were there in the darkness… so I only looked there…”

“I focused my searches on the manga corner outside…”

“It’s quite shocking how obvious it is that you had no motivation and only took a break or looked around! Why haven’t you seriously been looking for me! Because of you Harukiyo ran away! —No, but more importantly.”

Turning back toward the Librarian, she asked her.

“Why was that guy here!”

“Sometimes he appears here even when he doesn’t have any business, but this time it was a bit different.”

Stopping her pretend crying, the Librarian spoke.

“He wanted to try investigating the Original Three. And he was being serious, for a change.”

“…!”

“He also looked for other materials related to past Mushitsuki, but… in the end, he was simply angry and shouted ‘all of these fuckers are lying to me!’ and started throwing books around violently, so I slapped him twice or thrice.”

“Harukiyo’s also looking for Sanbikime…?”

Harukiyo was the one who turned finding out Mari into a competition.

Since he himself knew about the possessor of one of the clues, Sanbikime, why had he—

Arisu had her doubts, but also anger.

“Even if that’s the case… why’d he run away from us! He always appeared whenever he wasn’t even called!”

“’As if I’d meet someone stupid enough to tell things to their enemy’, is what he said, obviously trying to act cool. While he was hugging his knees.”

“That man… He’s trying to meet Sanbikime by himself again and ask about Mari!”

“That is—probably not possible.”

Arisu’s words were easily rejected by the Librarian. “However, I can’t meddle in this,” she added.

“Sensei’s gone—”

Arisu widened her eyes.

“That was what he said. —He’d been looking for Oogui, as well as—another special type of Mushitsuki. Something like ‘Undying’…”

“What… does that mean?”

“Since I’m also gathering information about the Original Three, I’ve been asking Harukiyo for details about Sanbikime, but he’d always stay silent. So, if you promise me you’d ask him about even the slightest bit of information pertaining to Sanbikime…”

Seeing Arisu and the rest sink into silence, the Librarian spoke.

“I’ll look into where he is through ‘Harukiyo’s comrades’ and get in contact with you.”

The thread she’d grabbed looked likely to tear at any moment—

A mere step before despair.

As Arisu and the rest wordlessly looked at her.

“Nihi.”

The bespectacled girl wore a creepy smile.

Part 4

Entering the dark room, she heard the soft sounds of sleep.

Inside the futon laid out in the center of the dreary room, Kusuriya Daisuke was sleeping.

As she sat softly at his side, the breathing sounds stopped.

“…You look much more ill than me.”

Perhaps not having slept at all, or having awakened at feeling Arisu’s presence, the boy spoke with a hoarse voice.

“Really?”

She took the towel off of Daisuke’s head, put it in the wash basin and again on the boy’s forehead.

“No… wring it out first…”

Ignoring his silent objections, she mumbled.

“Everyone’s been thinking that Mari might not have existed.”

“…”

“Nobody knows about her.”

“…”

“Even Sensei, who’s supposed to know about her, might no longer be there…”

A bout of silence fell.

When the boy finally opened his mouth, his reply was cold.

“So?”

Arisu groaned angrily.

However, unable to reply anything, she stayed silent.

Daisuke groaned while coughing.

“…So you were the one who tattled to Kororo about me being sick…”

“Yeah…”

“I can’t believe you’ve made her nurse me… until just a while before I was running all over the place so I don’t even have enough power to turn in bed…”

“Yeah…”

“No, I told you to wring out that towel… you’re just wetting the pillow… you’re not even trying to heal me, aren’t you…”

“Yeah…”

“Definitely remember this for the next time you get sick…”

After mumbling this threat, Daisuke sighed.

“I’ll definitely wrap up this mission fast… because when I recover, I’m going back to investigate Hanashiro Mari.”

Arisu smiled.

“…Yeah.”

“I’ll keep on investigating Hanashiro Mari to the very last detail and go back to Ouka City as soon as possible…”

Daisuke’s leaked mumble sounded like he was casting a curse. He wished to become healthy as soon as possible and go back to investigating Mari alongside Arisu.

Arisu put a dripping tower on top of the boy’s forehead.

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