Volume 1 Chapter 3.3
The Lie That Reveals the Truth, the
Facts Filtering Through the Trees Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
◆ On the day of the
<duel> ◆
On that day, a
tense atmosphere filled the entire classroom building from the morning.
Not only was
this the first time the <Duel> system was to be practiced among the first
graders, but the combination of the two competitors was also arousing the
curiosity of the students.
Nina Stingray,
who grew up in a famous family that has produced a number of renowned
individuals with psychic abilities and is known as the <Queen of
Disaster>, will be facing an ordinary, unknown student who did not perform
well on the entrance exam and was forced to take part in the <screening
test>. Many of the students who came to watch the duel held a faint
expectation of seeing a show in which the cocky, and weak ones would be
thoroughly trampled upon.
Finally, the
chime for the end of the school day rang, and the two left the classroom
together.
Since the
<duel> would be held in a forested area a short distance from the
classroom building, the students had to watch the match from a small balcony
with a few binoculars. This was because Nina had warned them that they might
get involved if they were too close.
On the
balcony, filled with curiosity and excitement, Emma Licorice was the only one
who was feeling a different kind of emotion than the other students.
She had no
idea why the two ended up in a rift.
But was it
really inevitable?
She couldn't
believe that in less than an hour, one of them would have to leave the
academy......
"They
sure do some interesting things, don't they?"
A sudden voice
made Emma turn around to see a tall, handsome boy smiling at her. His black
hair was parted in the middle and he looked very mature, and one could sense
the elegance in his every gesture.
Like Nina, he
is a student who was exempted from the entrance exam. His name is ──.
"A~,
excuse my hasty conversation. My name is Bennett Lohr. I heard that my friend
Nina was involved in some trouble, so I just wanted to check on her."
There was a
tacit agreement that the location of the <Duel> would not be disclosed to
anyone outside of the class. That said, Bennett belongs to the fifth class.
Given that he was from the neighboring class, it would not be surprising if
information was already leaked to the others as well.
Bennett
introduced himself first, and gave a perfect smile that seemed to be straight
out of the first page of a textbook.
"Nice to
meet you, Emma...... But to think there really is a daredevil out there who would
challenge Nina to a duel. Is he perhaps really thinking he can win?"
"Hmmm......
I wonder."
Bennet's tone
was laced with dismay, and Emma couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
Seriously, why
did Jin challenge her to a duel?
He seemed to
be a more rational and cautious type of person during the <screening
test>.
"Oi, here
they come!"
One of the
boys cried out, and everyone on the balcony gasped in unison. Emma, whose turn
to use the binoculars had not yet come, could only see them as peas moving in the
forest.
"What's
going on? Both of them, just standing still while facing each other......"
A female
student, who took her turn to look through the binoculars, raised a doubtful
voice.
Based on the
newly thrown questions, the students spontaneously started discussing.
"Are they
gauging each other out?"
"Nina's
<Queen of Calamity> should be able to destroy him without a second
thought. There should be no reason for her to be so cautious."
"Nevertheless,
that guy named Jin is also a very mysterious person......"
"No, no.
He's nothing but someone who was subjected to the <screening test>, you
know?"
"But at
that time, he was earning points by defeating a well-known opponent,
right?"
"A brawl
between dropouts isn't worth much...... I think."
Aside from
Nina, whose abilities were well known even before she enrolled, there was
extremely little information on Jin, whose relationships with his classmates,
with the exception of Emma, were tenuous. Most of them probably think that the
outcome is so obvious that it is not even worth a bet.
Come to think of it, where is that girl?
The girl I befriended yesterday, who calls herself
Kate, is nowhere to be seen. We had been taking classes together all day, but
she went back to her dormitory without showing any interest in this big event.
"What's
wrong ...... Emma?"
Emma returned
a vague smile to Bennett, who looked into her face.
She has a
feeling that something beyond their imagination might be going on.
Whether it was
merely foreboding or meant something else, Emma wasn't sure.
As if to blow
her doubts, an explosion sounded.
No one could
take their eyes off the full-scale battle that had finally begun.
Explosions
echoed intermittently, and white smoke began to rise throughout the wooded
area. Yet the two remained motionless while facing each other.
"I bet
it's their psychic powers clashing ......."
"I-It's
safe here, ...... right?"
"Look,
Nina removed her brooch! That's the signal to unleash her powers!"
I had never heard of such a phenomenon of invisible powers
colliding with each other among people with psychic abilities, but maybe it is
common knowledge that I just don't know about.
Before Emma
could put her doubts into words, the students quickly evacuated into the
classroom.
Only Bennett,
with an incomprehensible smile on his face, was staring at the figures facing
each other in the wooded area.
◇
In the wooded
area, filled with white smoke and the smell of gunpowder, Nina and Jin were
facing each other.
As instructed,
she removed the brooch from her chest, and for some reason, Jin kneeled on the
ground and began to let out a cry of anguish. When she held out her right hand
toward Jin, he began to scream, even breaking out in a sweat.
His acting was
a little too exaggerated, and there were many rough edges. But even this should
be sufficient for the students, who can only see him from afar through
binoculars.
Naturally,
they were not aware of the fact that the two had not signed any written pledge,
nor that it was just an ordinary tin doll on the ground, not Jake, who was
present to witness the duel.
"Look,
the class is fleeing into the classroom"
"I guess
...... it went well."
"Looks
like the rumors you spread are working. As expected of a great fraudster."
"I don't
want to be told by you ......."
The plan was
going well, but it was still too early to relax.
At least for
another three minutes or so, they have to continue acting out the fight to the
death according to the script.
To divert her
attention from her body, which was reaching its limits due to anxiety, fatigue,
and lack of sleep, Nina decided to think back to last night's details.
◆ Sixteen hours before
the <Duel> ◆
When they
parted ways in the courtyard, Jin told her, "I want you to come to the
wooded area where the [duel] will take place at 1:00 a.m.".
Since she was
good at hiding her presence, sneaking out of the dormitory in the middle of the
night was an easy task. Nina carefully made her way along the path at night,
trying not to get her feet caught in the muddy ground after the rain had
stopped.
There were no
streetlights near the wooded area, and it was forbidden to bring a flashlight.
All she could rely on was the light of the moon in the night sky.
It felt
strange to walk outside in her silk nightgown, and she was a little nervous
about meeting a male student alone in the middle of the night, especially
considering the fact that the other party was an incomprehensible fraudster.
Once she
arrived at her destination, Nina was taken aback.
"Let's
see ....... Huh? What does this mean?"
Her eyes,
which had grown accustomed to the darkness, caught sight of four men silently
going about some sort of work.
Almost all of
them were adults, dressed in dark-colored work clothes and expertly blending
into the darkness.
They were
digging in the ground or setting up some kind of device on a tree trunk, the
purpose of which she had no idea.
After a
momentary loss of words, one of the four stopped working and approached her.
"Why are
you in your pajamas? You can't work wearing that."
The man who
looked the youngest was actually Jin Kirihara, dressed in his work clothes.
His bangs,
which normally hung down, were pulled up and tucked into a towel wrapped around
his forehead.
With a
troubled expression on his face, Jin offered a shovel to Nina.
"Look,
don't just stand there, we got some work to do. For now, can you dig a hole in
the arranged spot for me?"
"Hold on
a second, I really don't get it! Why are we doing civil engineering work this
late at night? And since when did I get sold off to a contractor?"
"You're
overthinking things ....... All you have to do is just dig a hole and fill it
with gunpowder."
"G-Gunpowder!?
No way, are you trying to make me participate in terrorism ......?"
"Calm
down, it's not like we're going to kill someone. It's just a toy that makes a
lot of noise and smoke."
"You're
trying to catch me off guard and frame me as the main culprit, right!?"
"......
Am I that untrustworthy?"
"On the
contrary, I wish you would tell me how I can trust you."
Nina threw her
next question with a sigh.
"......
Besides, who are these people?"
"They're
the <landscape contractors> I've been using for a long time. They are
expensive, but they do a good job even if hired at a moment's notice. That
scary-looking old man is Gasta-san, their president."
"...... I
can't keep up with the tsukkomi any longer. Using them for a long time, you
say? Weren't you supposed to be a student?"
"Huh,
didn't I tell you? I've never been to school, you know?"
"Haa?
Don't keep throwing in new facts that don't make any sense one after
another."
"I've
been wandering around the country helping an old fraudster with his
business."
"Another
stupid lie......"
"It's
true, it's true. I've probably made about 300 million els so far."
"Don't
make up stories like that. I mean, what does that have to do with these
people?"
Heiberg
Academy maintains a level of secrecy to the extent that students who leave the
school are subjected to memory-sealing measures. Naturally, the security system
is not so lax that a suspicious contractor can break in with ease. There is
only one entrance, which is guarded by a gatekeeper, and there is even barbed
wire attached to the fence surrounding the property.
"That's
because Gasta-san and the others are professionals."
"That
doesn't explain anything......"
"They
have broken into a prison on an isolated island before. That's why, they can
break through this level of security easily."
"Hey,
what are you going to do with these criminals? I really want to go back."
"Whatever,
by the way, your personality sure is different from when you're in the
classroom, huh......"
With his mouth
agape, Jin began to talk about his plan to get over their predicament.
It was a
strategy that, upon hearing the outline, seemed like child's play.
They implanted
a device that generates explosions and smoke in the forest, and made onlookers
believe that it was caused by Nina's ability. With the assumption that no one
would be allowed to approach them for any reason, they would be able to avoid
any major problems.
Of course,
that alone would not be enough.
"The
success of this plan depends on your acting skills."
Eyes darker
than the surrounding darkness stared intently at Nina.
"Tomorrow,
I want you to spend the day pretending to be that Kate or whatever she's called
and spread rumors all over the class. I want you to tell the class that when
two powerful psycho-powers collide an explosion occurs, that I hid my abilities
during the entrance exam, that removing the brooch is a condition for releasing
your abilities, and so on......"
"Eh~? Is
it safe to spread such blatant lies?"
"I don't
care about the content or whether it's true or not. Anyway, what's important is
to create the fact that we two are the kind of existence that is talked about
through groundless rumors."
"What do
you mean? Just what in the world is the point to doing that?"
"If you
circulate a lot of meaningful rumors, the information will be rearranged on its
own and will spread rapidly. That way, when there is an explosion among us, for
example, someone will come up with a plausible theory."
"What's
that? It's almost like incitement! You really are a scoundrel, aren't
you?"
"What,
you just figured that out now?"
Although the
moon wasn't hiding behind a cloud, the boy's face in front of her suddenly
disappeared from her vision. Her two eyes caught visual images without any
problem, but her brain couldn't process what kind of expression was on his
face.
Come to think of
it, Nina barely knew anything about Jin's past.
What kind of a
life would have created such a monster?
"Well,
you can stop here. It would look suspicious if your pajamas were stained. You
should go back to your room and get some rest."
"What a
self-indulgent person you are......."
When Jin
lifted his feet to go back to work, a small fire of rebellion flared up in
Nina's mind.
I can't keep letting this fraudster take the lead.
"Listen
here, even I have a name you know."
"I know
that. Every dog in the neighborhood has a name. Even tin dolls have
names."
"You can
call me Nina."
"Ha?"
"As I
said, from now on, you can call me Nina. I will also call you by your name. If
you keep calling me [you], I'll get angry."
"......I
understand, Nina. Is that okay?"
"Somehow,
the way you say it is kind of awkward. Huh, are you perhaps embarrassed to see
a girl in pajamas?"
Nina closed
the distance between herself and Jin while saying in a seductive voice. It was
a well-done act, even for herself. With this acting, she could easily be
compared to a top-class stage actress playing a high-quality romance.
She wanted to
see Jin, who was so full of confidence flinch like a boy of his age.
If she could
see him in such a cute and adorable state, she would be able to sleep soundly
tonight with a sense of superiority.
However, Jin's
reaction was far more relaxed than she had expected.
"......
Aren't you a little too close? Don't tell me, you're trying to seduce me?"
"H-Haaaaaah!?"
It was an
unpredictable counter.
The temperature
on her face rose rapidly due to her frustration and embarrassment that her plan
had been foiled.
"Aren't
you a little too cocky!? What a creepy guy, don't talk to me anymore!"
"I have a
feeling you brought this on yourself, though ...... What's going on here?"
"Enough!
I'm going back!"
"Wait,
wait, what's wrong with your emotional stability?"
Nina glared at
Jin, who replied with the same unabashed bravado as ever.
Not good, talking and acting won't work against Jin.
It's best to give up on the easy way of seizing the lead by swaying him with
romantic acts as soon as possible.
"I'll
definitely bring you to your knees someday!". Nina said like a villain and
decided to go home.
Jin Kirihara
is an untrustworthy fraudster, She thought.
But as an accomplice,
there is certainly no one more reassuring than him.
Even though
she was so close to him, she did not know how far ahead he was planning.
◆
Even after the
<Duel> was over, the classroom was still enveloped in a strange silence.
Everyone seemed afraid to utter a word. Only the occasional coughing could be
heard.
Toward the end
of the day, everyone in the class had evacuated to their classrooms, and the
lingering smoke made it difficult to see what was going on in the wooded area.
It was Jin who
was the first to kneel down, and from the previous reputation, it was obvious
who was the winner. Still, many students showed respect for Jin, who had a
decent fight with the notorious monster.
Emma,
bewildered as she was dragged along by the atmosphere around her, caught sight
of a girl entering the classroom through the door behind her.
"......
Nina. Are you okay?"
By the time
she regretted calling out to her, everyone in the classroom had turned their
attention to Nina, who had just returned from the <Duel>.
Not caring
about their attention, she opened her mouth with her usual graceful manner.
"Of
course, I would never be defeated by him."
"......What
about Jin-kun? Don't tell me, is he expelled from school?"
Nina's mouth
curled into a smile as she spoke hesitantly.
"I
changed my mind. I decided not to take any points from him this time."
According to
the information that came out at the party the other day, the winner of the
<Duel> can also choose whether or not to fulfill the agreement in the
written pledge. If the winner were to change their mind, it could invalidate
the transfer of the points they had originally wagered.
"Does
that mean you acknowledge his ability?"
Suddenly,
Bennett interrupted them.
Nina showed
slight surprise at his appearance, but quickly regained her composure. Looking
around at the awe-struck class, she muttered in an amused voice.
".....You
may interpret it that way. At the very least, I thought it would be unfair to
have him expelled from the academy after only two days."
"Hee.......
So he's on a level that someone with psychic abilities like you would
recognize, huh?"
Nina thought
about something for a moment and then said with a mischievous expression on her
face.
"Perhaps
he might be able to sweep you off your feet as well."
Bennett
laughed, as though he had just heard a great joke.
End of Chapter 3
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