Volume 1 Chapter 5.1
Autonomous Thinking Puppets, Sand
Castles are Prone to Collapse Part 1
Translator : PolterGlast
Jin was running along
the uneven mountain path, out of breath.
Compared to the
average 15-year-old boys and girls, his physical strength was remarkably low, probably
because he had lived away from physical exercise since his childhood.
He finished third from
last among students of class 6 who participated in the physical exercise and
received puzzled stares from the students waiting near the bus.
For the time being, he
had to put on a nonchalant expression and pretend that he had been skipping
physical exercises because they were silly.
"Jin-kun, are you
all right? Did you get hurt somewhere?"
Emma, who probably
finished first, gave him a worried look.
"A~, I'm fine,
I'm fine. My psychic ability requires a lot of physical strength, and I
wouldn't be able to handle it if I had to use all of my strength in this kind
of training."
"Gosh, I was so
worried, you know? But you're right, if a boy ran as fast as he could, he
wouldn't be this slow."
"Of course. Even
though I'm looking like this, I'm still pretty good at sports."
Jin went ahead and
boarded the bus, feeling a little hurt.
Since there was still
some time before departure time, there were few passengers on board ahead of
him. Jin aimed for the last row while he still could.
"Oh dear, have
you finally made it to the finish line? I thought you were stranded
somewhere."
On his way to the last
row, his accomplice, who had been hiding behind a seat, spoke to him while
grinning.
Ignoring the
provocation and taking the seat directly behind her, Nina turned around with a
look of triumph on her face.
"Despite always
being so confident, you have such a cute little weakness, huh?"
"......Weakness?
What are you talking about?"
"You're not good
at sports, are you? Look, I won't tell anyone, so why don't you be honest with
me? This Onēsan will comfort you."
"I guess I've
been misunderstood all this time."
Jin sounded deeply
dismayed as he continued,
"We're not going to
get a single point even if we come in first in this exercise. If that's the
case, then it would be best to use them for preparation, no?"
"There you go
playing tough again."
"It was a
mistake, I ended up getting top grades in class during the <Ability Assessment>
in the morning. Rudy-sensei was overdoing it. Leaving Nina aside, it's a little
inconsistent for me to suddenly get a very high score after having participated
in the <Screening Test>."
Nina also tried to
recall her memories of this morning.
Rudy-sensei, whose
weakness had been seized by the two, welcomed her into an empty training room
with a large amount of cold sweat pouring out of his face.
"......Oh, I've
been waiting for you, Nina-san! Please have a seat over here!"
After she sat down on
a pipe chair in bewilderment, Rudy-sensei began to explain in a quick manner.
"Actually, I'd
like to see you showing me your psychic abilities and check your growth in
terms of output, new applications, etc., but I am very well aware of your
capabilities! I will be responsible for giving you a good score. You can rest
assured!"
Perhaps, he is usually
using this kind of humble attitude to avoid the wrath of the debt collectors.
Nina could not help
but be amazed at the refreshingly scummy attitude.
"Um, May I go
now?"
"Ah, wait a
minute! Please promise me you won't tell anyone about that incident......"
"I understand, so
please don't get down on your knees. It’s outrageous."
Jin's skill in making
such obedient [collaborators] after only an hour or so of negotiation is as
frightening as ever. No, it's Rudy-sensei who has too many issues......
By the time she
finished her not-so-pleasant recollections, a question came to her mind.
"......Huh? Does
it have something to do with you being so slow?"
"Of course it is.
If I make it look like using my psychic ability drains my physical strength
tremendously, it won't look suspicious when my grades suddenly go up. I ran
slowly on purpose to create that impression."
"Eh? You are
lying, right? There's no way that's your real reason."
"Nobody could lie
this smoothly. Besides, do you think someone who is really bad at sports could
be so arrogant?"
"Hmm, indeed
....... Unless you set a new all-time record, there's no way you could be this
arrogant ......"
There were still a lot
of things she wanted to pursue, but she decided to drop the conversation as the
other students were getting on the bus.
They could never let
anyone know about their accomplice relationship.
Once back at the
school, the students changed from their sportswear to their uniforms and were
dismissed.
Jin and Nina also left
the classroom building early and headed to the usual strategy meeting place.
The topic of
discussion this time would be the <Practical Skill Exam> coming up this
weekend.
"Currently, I
have 94 points, which is still in the [C rank], according to the standard
ranking system. Only the bottom five are eliminated each month, but ......
considering the number of people who have been eliminated due to
<Dueling> in the past week, I'm not sure I'll be able to make it."
"Looks like you
must not lose on the next <Practical Skill Exam> no matter
what......"
This morning,
Isabella, the instructor in charge of Class 6, announced the contents of the
exam that would be held three days later.
The game was called
<Chase Tag>, and the rules themselves were quite simple.
On a field the size of
a gymnasium divided into two, obstacles made of pipes and wire mesh were
placed. The basic concept of the game is to use these obstacles in a
three-dimensional way to play a one-on-one game of tag. The players take turns
playing tag three times, and the winner is the player who has the highest total
number of seconds to escape.
There is a rule
against destroying obstacles, but this is probably irrelevant to those who
cannot use psychic abilities in the first place.
"The level of
difficulty in this case is on a different order of magnitude from that of a
<duel>, in which the students are free to do as they please. The
instructor will be present to witness it."
"Can't we rely on
Rudy-sensei again?"
"Impossible. The
witness for the <Practical Exam> will be Isabella, the instructor in
charge of our school year."
"Eh, what shall
we do then? There's no way to cheat, is there?"
"Well, for me, as
long as I can avoid dropping out in the early stages, that's all that matters.
But Nina, you have to stay on top. If by any chance you lose to someone else,
...... ah, I'm afraid, I can't talk about it from here on out."
"Hey, stop it! Don't
scare me!"
"Moreover, it's
not enough for you to just win. You have to make them think that you have
stupidly strong psychic abilities, and then you have to crush them
completely."
"W-W-W-W-What
should we do then? We can't even use gunpowder this time, can we?"
"All right, we'll
just have to overcome them by acting!"
"I-Impossible! My
acting isn't magic!"
"Ah, it's a
complete dead end, then. What are your plans for your second life?"
"Wait, please
don't give up on me so easily! Look closely and you'll see that I have a lot of
good things to offer, too!"
Jin said in a tone
that was almost choking with laughter.
"I'm just
kidding. I have a plan ready for you."
Just as she was about
to pat her chest and say, "Thank Goodness", Nina hurriedly came to
her senses.
It reminded her of a
certain fraudster who takes advantage of the weak and vulnerable, making people
feel anxious to the limit and then offering a solution to reassure them.
She almost danced
right on the palm of his hand.
After smiling lightly
when he saw Nina's alarmed expression, Jin began to talk about his plan.
"It's a lottery
match-up, Nina."
According to the
information that Jin had obtained before enrolling, the pairings for these
one-on-one games were decided by lottery. A box containing numbered plates
would be prepared, and the two people who picked up the same number from the
box would fight.
In other words, the
pairings could be easily manipulated by picking out a plate in advance and
pretending to pick that plate from the box on the day of the game.
"If the two of us
are paired against each other, we can easily pull off any number of theatrical
acts. All you have to do is pretend that you're using your psychokinesis to
stop me."
"That sounds like
a total dumb spectacle......"
"From the
perspective of the person doing it, yes, but as long as it doesn't look
suspicious to the instructor, that's all that matters. Oh, and I have to earn
something for my labor too, so can you pretend that you're moderately having a
hard time?"
"......I'll try,
but..."
"Are you still
worried about something?"
"How do you steal
the plate in the first place? After the briefing was over, the teacher took
that box back to the instructor's office, remember?"
"Oh, that's
already taken care of."
Jin casually said so
and tossed a circular white object to Nina.
When she looked
closely at it, she saw that it was a plate with "14" written in the
center.
"Eh, when did you
get this?"
"Instructors are
out of the office during lunch break, so the security in the instructor's
office is lax. Not to mention important documents, it's easy enough for me to
tamper with a box randomly placed on a desk."
"......Where did
you develop such a bad habit?
"I told you one
day. I was trained by the boss of a robbery gang. I wonder what he's up to now.
I heard a rumor he escaped from the state prison."
"That's totally
different from the story you told me before......"
Nina said with a sigh
that he was as untrustworthy as ever, and turned to leave.
Although it would have
been fine to dismiss the discussion as it was, Jin had something he needed to
ask her.
"......Hey. Come
to think of it, you've been hanging out with Bennett Lohr a lot lately, haven't
you?"
He is a member of the
same group as Nina who was exempted from the entrance exam, and is a very
famous person who belongs to the neighboring class, Class 5.
Although not as famous
as Nina, Bennett has been a well-known psychic since junior high school, and he
is showing off his talents in this school as well.
It has only been two
weeks since he enrolled at the school, and yet he is said to hold an absolute
position in his class, and what is surprising is that a fan club has even been
formed among the female students.
"Well, I've been
interacting with him in some way since the entrance ceremony. Does it bother
you that much?"
"I-It's not that
I'm jealous or anything."
"Even if you said
it in such a silly way......"
"I don't care
what you do, but don't be overly relaxed and reveal our secrets to him."
"That's a
baseless worry. He would never do such a foolish thing. He is a gentleman, and
I trust him a lot more than I trust you."
"What are you
saying? There is no one in the world as trustworthy as me."
"...... Can you
do what you say at least once?"
With a look of utter
dismay on her face, Nina left.
Jin bit his lower lip
lightly as he watched her move away from him.
From the side, Bennett
is clearly interested in Nina.
It is probably just
camaraderie between upper-class individuals, but he can't rule out the
possibility that there may be another purpose.
─Let's investigate, just in case.......
Jin's character is
such that he cannot simply ignore the suspicions that have arisen.
◆
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