The sun had already risen, and the city was beginning to grow suddenly noisy.
As the day began and they watched people busily passing to and fro, the two sat on a bench.
Though their flashy red hair and white shrine maiden outfits made for a bizarre appearance, it seemed to be a trivial matter to the people living in this city.
“Mm, pick whichever one you like. I bought all kinds of things at the convenience store.”
Saying that, Senano took out an onigiri and handed the whole bag over to Ei beside her.
When Ei received it, he peered inside with interest.
“Don’t complain about my taste. I’m the one who paid for it.”
“Hehe, thank you very much. This thing called convenience store food is my first time, so my heart has started dancing.”
“Oh? That’s rare. Could you maybe be some young lady from a good family… no, a young master?”
Ei, who at a glance looked like nothing more than a refined beautiful girl, smiled and took out a sandwich and an onigiri from the bag.
Seeing that, Senano was inwardly astonished.
(He eats more than I expected. I wonder if convenience store food was really that rare for him.)
Senano had already assumed Ei was someone of high status, so she decided not to press the matter any further.
Completely unaware of any such thing, Ei handed back the plastic shopping bag, then stopped as he tried to open the sandwich wrapper.
Then he looked at Senano with his brows drooping in a troubled way.
“How do you open this?”
“Huh? Honestly, just give it here.”
Senano opened the sandwich wrapper with an exasperated look.
It was not as though she was especially good at it, but Ei’s expression as he watched Senano’s hands seemed to shine.
“I see, so that’s how you do it. Amazing.”
“It kind of feels like I got a little sister… no, a little brother. This is confusing.”
Ei accepted the sandwich with a smile, inspected it closely, and finally took a bite.
“~! Delicious! This is delicious!”
“I-is that so. Well, that’s good.”
“Amazing! It has a freshness different from wild mountain vegetables!”
Grinning, Ei finished the sandwich in no time at all.
Then he picked up the onigiri.
“…”
But there was no sign at all of him making a move.
Realizing that, Senano held out her hand with a resigned look.
“Here, I’ll unwrap it for you.”
“…Thank you very much. Since it was triangular too, I thought I would be able to open it the same way.”
Receiving the onigiri, now swiftly freed of its wrapping, Ei smiled.
That smile was far too peaceful.
After that, silence flowed between the two for a while as they ate breakfast.
All that could be heard were the footsteps of people passing by and the cries of cicadas.
Before long, it was Senano who broke the silence.
“In a little while, the people who’ll be taking you into protective custody will come.”
While drinking the obligatory green juice she had bought to get rid of her guilt, Senano said that.
Ei tilted his head after stuffing the last bite of the onigiri into his mouth.
“Protective custody?”
“I contacted an acquaintance earlier. You might not believe it, but the place you were in was a pretty bad place in a lot of ways. They’re going to examine you to see whether something strange is attached to you. You wouldn’t want to bring something weird home, right?”
“Something strange?”
“Yes. Something strange. Ask the people who come to protect you if you want the details.”
“I see. Understood.”
With that, Ei nodded, took out a manga, and started reading it.
A small smile had risen to his lips, and it was clear he was enjoying himself.
(Even so, he really is a strange kid. There’s no sign of a window, and there aren’t any otherworldly beings nearby either. But it’s still strange to say he was just in that place.)
Senano observed Ei.
Then, as though remembering something, she spoke up.
“Oh, come to think of it, I still haven’t asked your name.”
“My name?”
Ei stopped the hand he was using to read the manga.
“With one irregular thing after another, I never asked your name.”
Saying that with a somewhat embarrassed look, Senano noticed the oddness of her own words.
(…Huh, isn’t it strange that I forgot to ask his name even though I made the report?)
Senano was, by her own claim, meticulous by nature.
Would someone like her really forget to ask a name?
(No, before that, isn’t it strange that he was in that place to begin with…?)
Once doubt raised its head, it only swelled larger and larger.
Could this existence in front of her, cutely tilting its head, truly be human?
“Hey, you—”
Just as she was about to question him in detail, the summer sunlight suddenly shone down on Senano.
In that instant, Senano froze with her eyes wide open.
“Um, is something wrong?”
“…N-no, it’s nothing.”
“I see.”
Ei had been looking at Senano with concern, but once he understood she was fine, he relaxed and started reading the manga again.
“…I wonder if I’m tired.”
There was no one to answer that question, and before she knew it, the sky was a perfectly clear blue without a single cloud.
■
There she goes again, that Higher Being did something to this kid’s thoughts.
『It is not yet the scene where you introduce yourself. Apparently humans fear me, and if you’re that Sorautsushi, then your name should already be on record as well. So you must not carelessly reveal it in a place like this! They must surely be searching high and low for Ei.』
As though she had some kind of fixation about it, Sora said that in a huffy fit of anger.
Being innocent is all well and good, but I really wish she’d stop doing things to Senano-chan’s brain.
“But be a little kinder to her.”
“…? Did you say something?”
“N-no.”
I tried speaking in a low voice, but because Senano-chan was beside me, I couldn’t properly talk with Sora.
Perhaps thinking it looked inconvenient, Sora stood in front of me and pointed at the sky.
『Ei, while picturing the blue sky in your mind, try speaking to me using thoughts alone.』
There was no way a normal sacrifice could do something like that.
『Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy!』
I wish she’d stop forcing a Higher Being’s standard of easy onto a tiny human.
Why is this thing looking at me like of course I should be able to do it?
Well, I’ll try, though.
Hmm, picture the sky in my head…
『Ah, I did it.』
『As expected of Ei! Well done! Once you Ten’i, I’ll make it the deepest for you!』
『Y-yay. I’m so happy…』
What do you mean, deepest…?
That only made it scarier…!?
『Listen carefully, Ei. As I said before, the moment when you introduce yourself is an important event! In manga terms, it’s a two-page spread! This is where you seize their heart in one go!』
『Got it.』
Whose heart am I supposed to seize…?
『So you must not introduce yourself in a place like this.』
『But is there even a fitting timing for that self-introduction event? It looks like after this I’ll just get taken in by adults and put under protection normally, you know?』
Even though Senano-chan gives off a fantasy-like vibe, her response was awfully bureaucratic. Well, if you think about it normally, it was extremely correct.
『That would be a problem. Shall I pull a few of them in from around here at random?』
『Pull in what?』
『Hmm, this area is pointlessly clean, so they’re hard to find…』
『Hey, what are you looking for? Are you trying to bring out another one like that monster from before?』
『Ei, between wire and a mirror, which would you prefer?』
『What an incredibly awful two-choice question!? I don’t want either one…』
『You’re selfish… But frightened Ei is cute too.』
Being the recipient of a Higher Being’s affection is way too painful.
More importantly, at this rate Sora was going to gather monsters here and set them loose, and then we’d end up with a staged battle scene for completely selfish reasons.
How could I let something like that happen just for my own private desires! I had to stop it somehow…
“—Oh, it’s a call. Wait here for a bit.”
“Ah, yes.”
Senano-chan’s smartphone suddenly rang.
After excusing herself, she moved a short distance away and began talking.
But for me, raised in the mountains as I was, I could clearly catch voices from that distance.
Don’t underestimate a country bumpkin too much.
“…Eh, not just me, but him too!?”
After speaking for a while, Senano-chan suddenly shouted that.
Then, realizing something, she shot me a glance.
She smiled as though trying to cover it up, then went back to the call.
“…It’s far too dangerous, I’m strongly against it. Huh, upper management…!?”
Senano-chan looked at me again.
For some reason, pity could be felt in her eyes.
“…Understood. But if I judge it dangerous, his protection comes first. Keep that in mind.”
Judging from Senano-chan’s words, it seemed I’d gotten dragged into something.
And it was absolutely because of the thing next to me.
『I should say this first, but I still haven’t done anything, you know.』
『Eh? Seriously?』
『Yes. …I see, it seems we were being watched. Ei, from here on it looks like things are going to get very fun.』
『This is absolutely not going to be fun.』
『I learned it from manga. In times like this, upper management is a gathering of bad people! They may have noticed us and might try something. My heart dances.』
Mine does not.
In front of me, with nothing but a bad feeling about all this, Senano-chan came back wearing exactly the awkward expression I’d expected.
Then her gaze wandered as though searching for words.
“Uh, this is a little hard to say, but… the people who were supposed to come pick you up can’t make it after all.”
“I see…”
“And so, well… would it be okay if I asked you something a little strange?”
Saying that, Senano-chan hesitantly asked:
“Are you interested in the occult?”
“The occult…?”
『Ah, I am!』
You’re the occult itself.
██
【Top Secret Enri Agency Document】
Document Code: EN-XF-SORA-0815-ACT2
Secrecy Classification: Topmost Restricted (limited to Enri Agency upper management)
Date Recorded: August 15, Reiwa ██
Recording Officer in Charge: Assistant of the Seventh Management Section, Mizorogi Kurima
Monitored Subject: Individual Code 《A-E1 / Sorayodo pseudo-medium》
Related Rank Holder: A-Rank Enri-affiliate Mikama Senano (during examination mission)
■ Overview:
This report is a special record for upper management containing observation records regarding the reappearance or signs of alteration of the aberrant manifestation 『Sorayodo no Oohito』, along with the medium-like existence 『A-E1』 (commonly known as Ei) connected to it.
This case occurred under continued observation following the handling of the promotion examination mission 『Tank of Glass Voices』 conducted in the early morning of August 15.
■ Special Observation Target Information:
Common Name: Ei
Physical Sex: Male (confirmed visually and through conversation)
Outward Impression: Japanese-style clothing (white shrine maiden outfit), androgynous appearance, with an unnatural quality in how excessively high the aesthetic consistency is
Location Found: Underground theater of Old Hakuon Cinema, the former manifestation site of target aberrant manifestation 『Tank of Glass Voices』
Enri Density: Faint under normal conditions; however, spatial distortion has been detected during specific language reactions and thought reactions
■ Situation Report (observation record during mission continuation):
【1】Behavioral observation during protective measures:
Ei, who was placed under temporary protection by Enri-affiliate Mikama Senano, displayed remarkable unfamiliarity with urban culture such as convenience store food, and multiple reactions confirming a lack of ordinary life experience were observed.
Ei maintained a gentle attitude throughout and showed neither hostility nor caution toward the Enri-affiliate, but his speed of absorbing and processing information was abnormally high, and his language comprehension was also perfect.
Furthermore, he displayed a behavioral principle of “avoiding speaking his name,” which suggests the “structural identifiability dwelling in a name (true-name-like phase retention)” often seen in aberrant manifestations and structural anomaly entities.
【2】Relation to the Higher Being 『Sorayodo no Oohito』:
During observation, a temporary “recognition discontinuity” occurred within the thoughts of Enri-affiliate Senano.
→ At the relevant timing, a temporary recognition freeze was confirmed, triggered by the reflection of direct sunlight illuminating Ei, and it is possible that the Higher Being-specific “visual-system interference (tentative name: dregs reflection)” manifested.
The possibility has emerged that this existence is either a divided manifested personality of Sorayodo no Oohito or a higher-order observational organ.
■ Call Record with Upper Management:
During the call, Enri-affiliate Senano was instructed to “have A-E1 also perform an on-site response as part of the examination.”
While the stated purpose was to assess A-E1’s aptitude as an Enri-affiliate, the actual aim was to observe his patterns of dealing with and responding to aberrant manifestations.
In response, Enri-affiliate Senano expressed opposition, but in the end accepted on the condition that “if there is danger, A-E1’s protection will be given top priority.”
■ Evaluation and Recommended Response:
Evaluation Item / Judgment
Humanity Assessment of A-E1: Conditionally pending (outwardly extremely similar to a human, but differences exist in memory and cultural acquisition)
Relation to Sorayodo no Oohito: Indirect involvement (high possibility of being a medium, vessel, or copy)
Substantiality of Sorayodo no Oohito: A higher-order being with clear intent / an observational device with phenomenological interference
Response Capability of Enri-affiliate Senano: Generally good (excellent situational adaptability and field judgment, but some impulsive responses and intrusion of personal feelings can be observed; future educational reinforcement is recommended)
■ Recommended Next Stage:
Have A-E1 make contact with an aberrant manifestation again under the guise of a disguised mission, and closely examine his qualities as an observer and his Enri resistance.
Continue having Enri-affiliate Senano accompany him, having her handle both situation control and reporting.
As soon as a clear case of thought interference with Sorayodo no Oohito is obtained, shift to experimental operation of the dregs-language translation mechanism and higher-order interference shielding layer.
Notes:
At present, there is no record of A-E1 having shown clear hostile intent. However, because close association has been confirmed with keywords derived from Sorayodo no Oohito, such as “name” and “sky,” it is proposed that he be provisionally classified as a latent observational disaster.