That day, I had an errand I needed to get out of the way first.
I woke up right around evening. The sun was violently red, and after I took a shower and stepped outside, it made me dizzy. Then came winter’s sharp cold. Tonight would probably get freezing again.
My destination was one of a cluster of filthy, cheap little warehouses in a corner of Nerima Ward. It was the “garage” where Ishinoo the <Musician> had stored the tools of his Hero trade.
Like any Hero worth mentioning, Ishinoo had been secretive. Even so, once, when we had ended up forced to work together, he had shown me this “garage.”
Joe the <Salt> and I had put our hopes there.
“Yo.”
When I showed my face, Joe the <Salt> stuck out his sweaty bald head. Apparently, he had already started searching the “garage” ahead of me. He was holding an absurdly huge container in both hands.
“Sorry, but I went ahead and raided the place first.”
Joe was in an extremely good mood that day. He stroked the container with one hand.
“That bastard Ishinoo really was a freak. Look at all this powder he’d stockpiled. What the hell was he planning, a war? Sorry, Yashiro, but I’m keeping this all to myself.”
“You can have it. Unlike you, ex-yakuza that you are, I don’t have any reliable buyers.”
I stepped into the warehouse. A muddy yellow bulb lit the thin, cold darkness. The inside was fairly spacious, and the bulb’s light was weak.
Something about the place felt evil, but that was probably because Ishinoo’s soul had been filthy.
“More importantly, the cards. The cards. Did you find them?”
I was asking about cards from <Seven Medallions>, the card game we played whenever we got together. Rare cards had high market value, were usable in the game, and, above all, could be shown off to Ed and Marta.
At my question, Joe’s grin deepened.
“Of course. It was a treasure mountain.”
“Seriously? Joe, we’re playing for those later.”
“I’ll give you <Plague Scout> for free.”
“I don’t want that thing either. It tormented me every time. I’m sick just looking at it.”
“Ishinoo really was the lowest kind of pervert bastard. So what about <Uprising Jungle>?”
“Yeah—no, wait, what I’m more curious about is whether he had <Tsunami>. That was his main—”
“—Hey.”
An exasperated voice came from behind me.
“You’ve been going off track this whole time.”
Sera Kashiwagi Pendragon stood there, looking annoyed from the bottom of her heart. When she made that face, it looked like she was trying to start a fight. Today she was dressed in nothing but her school uniform and a scarf, so she looked kind of cold.
“I skipped school to come here, you know.”
Sera growled as if threatening me.
“If you’re just here to chat, Mr. Yashiro, I’m leaving.”
“My bad. So don’t sulk.”
“Sulk? Are you stupid?”
Sera seemed genuinely pissed. Of course, taking that attitude only made Joe the <Salt> laugh. He laughed without the slightest restraint, like he was sneezing.
“Right? She’s my disciple, and apparently His Majesty King Arthur’s only daughter, so don’t break her.”
“If she’s your disciple, then I guess I gotta. Be an easy mark like your master, kid. Hey, have you learned <Medallions> yet?”
“Uh, yeah—no.”
The question was so abrupt that Sera blinked in confusion. It seemed Sera had a shy streak around strangers, and her attitude toward Joe the <Salt> was extremely awkward.
“I haven’t, I guess. —Hey, Mr. Yashiro, what are <Medallions>?”
“One of the secrets of being a Hero. I’ll teach you soon. Put that aside.”
I lowered my voice.
“About that night. Those two we picked a fight with. Neither of them was a teacher, right?”
“Well, probably. I don’t know every teacher at our Academy.”
“Then were they some contractors connected to the Academy? Or, if they were thieves, what were they after? That isn’t the kind of place people trespass into for a casual walk.”
“I told you, I don’t know.”
“Did you talk to Daddy about it?”
“...With him?”
Sera’s voice turned openly vicious.
“I don’t want to talk to that bastard. I never know what he’s thinking. But—I think there’s a good chance he knows what happened that night.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe there’s ether perception like that. I didn’t tell him you saved me either, but he knew.”
“...Maybe so.”
There were a lot of things to think about. Right now, I needed to gather material for that.
“Then, Sera. You go collect strange rumors at the Academy.”
“Strange rumors?”
“Anything’s fine. Strange rumors. Suspicious stuff at the Academy, whatever. There has to be something, right? Handle it flexibly. I’m counting on you for that part.”
“That’s way too sloppy. And why me?”
“Because I can’t imagine asking Shirogamine or Indo.”
“Ah.”
Sera let out a vague groan, indirectly acknowledging my point. Then her expression turned complicated.
“So that’s why you only called me? That feels kinda... weird.”
“No, there’s one more thing.”
I pointed at the corner of the warehouse. A locker that looked extremely sturdy stood there. It was fairly large. Joe the <Salt> stood beside it, grinning.
“That—Joe! You got it unlocked, right?”
“Yeah. Smashed it open.”
Joe nodded lightly and pulled the locker open.
Inside hung a large number of clothes—and women’s clothes at that. There seemed to be just about everything, from what looked like school uniforms to maid outfits and something like animal costumes. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
Sera made a deeply creeped-out face.
“What the hell is that?”
“Ishinoo’s hobby.”
I chose not to say what kind of hobby. It would probably make her feel sick.
“Pick clothes from there. Something the three of you could wear to a party or whatever. Three outfits.”
“Huh?”
Sera hesitated slightly.
“Why?”
“Because we’re going to a party. I said it was a social-studies field trip, didn’t I?”
“I’m not following this at all.”
“It’s a life-or-death issue. Better pick something that looks as convincing as possible. Expensive stuff. This is exactly the kind of thing I can’t ask Shirogamine or Indo to do.”
“Right.”
Once again, Sera indirectly acknowledged my point. Then she tilted her head and walked toward the locker. She would get angry if I said it, but Sera was an upper-class young lady, and my calculation was that she probably had some sense for this kind of thing.
At the very least, she was far more likely to arrive at the “correct answer” than Shirogamine or Indo.
“—About that half-dragon. The badge.”
Joe suddenly spoke to me in a low voice.
“There are people like that. No idea what kind of bastards they are. They split a dragon’s face in half and use it like a tally. Supposedly they’re selling modified <E3> among Demon Kings.”
“That lead.”
I answered quietly too.
“How’d you get it?”
“There’s a guy who sold Ishinoo out. Matsugi the <Peeping Tom>. Apparently he told the half-dragon people there was an idiot looking into weird shit.”
“He alive?”
“Well, yeah. For now. Didn’t seem like he seriously knew anything more than that. I’ll record his death scream tonight. What about you, Yashiro?”
“I’d go if I didn’t have business.”
I sighed. My nerves felt ragged. Matsugi the <Peeping Tom> was a fellow Hero. By every measure, he was a piece of shit beneath scum, just like Ishinoo, so even when I saw him at Ed’s bar, I never spoke to him much.
Here was the conclusion. I looked Joe the <Salt> straight in the face.
“The only ones who know about this are me, you, Marta, and Ed. We’d better keep it that way.”
“Yeah.”
Joe nodded too, looking bored. He liked big, flashy uproars. This probably was not to his taste. I understood the feeling. Everything was better when it was loud and flashy. On that point, tonight would be a little flashy.
I looked at Sera.
Her hand had chosen a black party dress that reminded me of mourning clothes.