Volume 2 Chapter 3.3
A Shady Business, Secret Training, and
a Glimmering Sense of Unrest Part 3
Translator : PolterGlast
"Haa ...... I
wonder if it's gonna be okay ......."
Basking in the
afternoon sun, Nina walked alone through the Saturday hustle and bustle.
Yesterday, in the
attic operations room, Jin had instructed her to disguise herself as Kate
before coming to the meeting place.
She blended her
imaginary persona into her body and mind, carefully selecting clothing that
Kate, with her red hair and lively personality, would choose, and even
differentiating her walk from her normal self. Looking at her current
appearance, only some genius fraudster would realize that her true identity is
Nina.
Once away from the
main street where the market is located, the area around the market was a quiet
neighborhood lined with brick houses. After walking for about five minutes, and
looking at the map, she finally saw her destination.
A one-story wooden
building, a rare sight in the empire. It must have been modeled after eastern
traditional buildings.
In front of the
majestic gate stood Jin, her accomplice.
"What's the
password?"
"[Lemon in the
bag]. ......Hey, do we have to bother with this kind of confirmation?"
"You look like a
different person, so I'm a little skeptical."
When Nina heard that,
she started to feel a little proud of herself. While she was careful not to
show it on her face, Jin handed her a small paper bag that he had taken out
from somewhere.
"...... What's
this?"
"Well. Your
birthday is coming up, right, Nina?"
"My goodness, I
completely forgot that ...... Eh!? Are you giving me a present!?"
"......Aren't you
overreacting?"
"W-What's the
matter, Jin? Did you switch its contents......?"
Nina could not hide
her face from blushing at the unexpected behavior of her accomplice. To
distract herself, she opened the paper bag and found a palm-sized bottle filled
with a pink liquid.
"P-Perfume......"
"It's called
<Glow Citrus>. It's been popular at school lately, right? I just happened
to see it at the market."
Come to think
of it, I've heard this name a lot in class and in the dorms. It has a
refreshing citrus aroma and is relatively affordable and easy to obtain, so
many students are using it.
"Thank you, Jin,....... I'm happy, so happy ......!"
"Well, you see,
smell is one of the most important factors in identifying a person, isn't it?
If you apply this on, it will improve the accuracy of your disguise, and it
seems to fit the character of [Kate] somehow......"
"Yeah, I'll use
it right away!"
After looking at Nina,
who was in a good mood and applied the perfume to her wrists and neck, looking
somewhat embarrassed, Jin took out a wire from the hem of his shirt. What kind
of surprise will he show me this time?
Contrary to Nina's
expectations, Jin dexterously used the wire to pry open the lock on the gate.
"Wait a minute,
Jin!" Nina was instantly snapped back to reality. "Are you trying to
rob someone!?"
"Shush, you're
being too loud. It's not open for business yet, and I'm just intruding a little
too aggressively."
"There's no point
in rephrasing it that way!"
Not hearing Nina's
attempts to stop him, Jin kept moving forward.
He crossed the small
garden at the end of the gate and brazenly flung open the entrance door of the
dojo.
"Who's that!?"
Waiting for the uninvited
visitor was a mature man standing in the center of the wooden floor.
His thin but
well-trained body was wrapped in an all-white robe, and he turned his sharp,
hostile gaze toward them. Since Nina was not clad in her acting persona at this
moment, she was almost overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the man's
presence.
"It's okay. You
don't need to be scared of him."
Jin raised one hand
while grinning.
"Yo, Nathan. It's
been a while."
"H-How do you
know that name......?"
After pondering for a while
as his body stiffened, the man seemed to have come to the worst possible
conclusion.
"D-Don't tell me
you're ...... that guy from Rusty's place......"
The momentum of his
first impression was gone, and the man immediately ran toward the back door in
the corner of the dojo.
However, the door
would not budge even when he put all his weight on it and pushed.
"I-Impossible!
Why won't it open......!?"
"It's Kate's
psychic ability here. You'd better give up trying to escape."
Of course, Nina had no
idea what was going on.
Jin is a fraudster who
will always be carefully prepared for even the slightest lie. Perhaps he had
broken into the dojo grounds and blocked the back door with a piece of wood or
something before meeting up with Nina.
"You shitty brat,
what are you doing bringing a heretic with you ......!"
"I just wanted to
be a good citizen and contribute to society."
"Y-You're not
going to sell me out to the cops, are you?"
"Yeah, that's one
way to do it. What shall I do, I wonder......"
"Give me a break!
Please, I beg of you!"
Nathan folded his
knees and sat down, rubbing his head against the floor and pleaded.
Nina thought she
remembered reading about this in a book she had read sometime ago. This is a
traditional way of apologizing from a certain country in the East.
For the time being,
she decided to put on Kate's act and listened to the story.
"...... Jin, who
the hell is this guy?"
"He's a fraudster
who was very active until a few years ago."
"A
fraudster?"
"A petty crook
who specializes in fraud under the guise of a psychic. He was traveling all
over the empire, making a fortune by claiming to be able to [turn ordinary
people into psychics]."
"So, why is he so
scared?"
"He just happened
to be our target, so Rusty and I crushed him."
"Because of you
guys, I'm wanted all over the country! I even had to get plastic surgery
because of you......"
"It looks like
you were quite stingy with the surgery expenses. You used to be so handsome, but
now you don't look that way anymore."
"Hey, please let
me off the hook! I'm serious about my business now! If my past gets out, I'll
......"
"Serious
business? Do you mean dealing in shady products like breathing
techniques?"
"I-I'm just
exploiting a gray zone! All the efficacy claims are vague, and the customers
are only those who can use their psychic abilities from the start! No one will
ever suspect it even if it's not working!"
"Jin, this guy
doesn't seem to have changed at all, though?"
"Shut your mouth,
heretic! I'm talking to Jin-san right now!"
"He gives you an
honorific before I know it......"
Although she had
become numb to it because she was always with him, the world in which Jin had
lived his entire life was a den of criminals.
If he had been living
in such an environment since his childhood, it was no wonder he had such an
extraordinary mental strength.
"Nathan, what do
you think would happen if we accidentally slipped up and revealed your true
identity?"
"I-I don't even
want to think about it!"
"You would be
lucky if it were just the police. Wouldn't it be worse if it were the psychics
that used to be your customers whom you offended? Ah, you even have the famous
Karen Ashby as your customer, right? A~a~, they'll kill you for
sure......"
"W-What do you
want?"
It seemed that he was
able to draw out the desired response. The edge of Jin's mouth lifted up
viciously.
"If you want to
continue your serious business, take Kate here as your apprentice."
"I-Is that
it......?"
"Yes, that's
it", Jin bent down, his eyes level with the man's. "At least for
now."
Nina's undercover
mission was set in motion that night.
Dressed in the dōgi
she had received free of charge from her mentor, Nathan, she waited nervously
for Karen to arrive. According to Nathan, Karen would be the only student
today. That means this is a chance for the two of them to get to know each
other.
But if her identity
were to be exposed as Nina Stingray, she would be in big trouble.
In the worst-case
scenario, she might be killed on the spot.
Before she knew the
level of Karen's vigilance, she would have to thoroughly eliminate any element
of suspicion. It would be difficult to cover her ears with her hair this time,
so she could not ask for help from Jin via a small transceiver as she had done
in the past.
─It's all right, the conditions are in place.
Nina shook the bad
thoughts out of her head.
Jin, who was standing
by nearby, had told her the odds of this operation.
"People are more
likely to open up to someone they meet privately and have no conflict of
interest with than to someone they meet in an official setting, such as school
or work. Especially Karen, who is at the forefront of the fierce competition
for survival at the school."
"There's a reason
I chose Kate out of all the personalities. A person like Karen is compatible
with a strong-willed person who can talk to her on an equal footing, but if the
person is on an equal footing, she will turn combative. Since that is the case,
I chose Kate because she is a weak psychic who attends a private academy."
"Moreover, the
act of doing this kind of training together creates a sense of solidarity. I
don't know how cautious she is when it comes to meeting new people, but with
your skills, she should be able to open up a lot more by the end of the
training."
A logical explanation
is more persuasive than a hundred words of encouragement. Since she was dealing
with something as uncertain as psychic abilities, Nina wanted only solid ground
to stand on.
In front of the dojo,
she could hear the sound of a car stopping.
Only a few
millionaires would own such a luxury car. Sure enough, getting out of the black
car was Karen Ashby, dressed in dōgi.
"Well then,
Karen-sama. I will pick you up in two hours."
"Yes,
please."
After exchanging a few
words with the man who appeared to be her driver, Karen stepped into the dojo
with a confident gait.
"...... Master,
who's that girl?"
A suspicious look.
A chill ran down her
spine, but Nina managed to hold it in. By their prior agreement, Nathan first
introduced her.
"She's Kate
Lambert, and she'll be joining us today for the breathing exercises. Go on,
introduce yourself."
"Hi, I'm
Kate."
After a brief
introduction, Nina decided to close the distance at once.
"I've heard about
you from Master. You're Karen ......, right? Is it true that you are a student
at the Heiberg Academy?"
"I have no
intention of getting along with you."
─It won't be easy, after all.......
Nina secretly clenched
her fists.
To deceive the
world from now on, the skill of a fraudster to win the trust of the other party
to get into their pocket is indispensable. I can't afford to stumble at a place
like this.
"Hee, you are
stoic, aren't you Karen? Is that the secret of your strength?"
"Like I said, I
have no intention of getting along with you......"
"It's okay, I'll
focus once training starts. I'm good at switching on and off, you know."
"...... Suit
yourself."
It will be a long time
before the ice melts, but it doesn't seem to be a complete rejection.
So far, this is a
success.
Perhaps this means
that the deception techniques she learned from Jin have come in handy.
What Nina has just put
into practice is the <slide> technique, in which she shifts the subject
so naturally that the other party is unaware of it. Before one knew it, Nina
had nullified Karen's insistence on not talking to her and won her agreement
that she could talk to her if it was between training sessions.
Of course, that was
not the only trick.
Nina thoroughly
observed Satya, Karen's best friend, and imitated her makeup and her mannerisms
to the extent that they were not unnatural. Since human beings tend to like
similar types of people, this kind of accumulated small details can help lower
Karen's caution on a deep psychological level.
With this, the
preliminary preparations were complete.
For now, let's
focus on training in the Eastern breathing technique.
"Then, as I said
before, trace the images in your mind."
Nathan, the scammer -
now calling himself "Yakumo" - carefully dropped his words.
Nina and Karen faced
each other about two meters apart, quietly concentrating.
"Imagine that the
air you inhale through your nose for 10 seconds is stored in your
<Tanden>, which is located below your navel. That is the source of your
power. Breathe out for a full 20 seconds, aware of the great power circulating
through your body."
Nina, who knew
Nathan's past, found this to be very suspicious, but Karen seemed to take it
very seriously.
Perhaps she is
actually prone to trusting others.
"Today you will
be doing this for the entire hour. Listen, the breathing techniques are just a
starting point. By increasing your mental sensitivity and repeating the
dialogue within yourself, your psychic abilities will be sharpened. Keep that
in mind."
─To think that we'll keep doing this for an hour......
It is a painful
process for Nina, who knows that it is a sham business, but she must not show
such an attitude.
While pretending to be
serious, Nina opened her eyes and observed Karen standing in front of her.
There was no sign of
violence from Karen now.
Like the shore of a
lake surrounded by fresh greenery, a serenity overflows from her entire body
that seems to allow everything to happen.
"Kate, you need
to focus more."
"S-Sorry."
Karen must have closed
her eyes completely.
Could it be that her
sharpened senses had sniffed out Nina's distraction? Did Karen really think
that such a bogus breathing technique had allowed her to reach a further
dimension of psychic ability?
By the time she had
made it through one hour with her doubts, Nina was completely exhausted.
Partly because she had
been on her feet for so long, and partly because she had been overwhelmed by
something unfathomable that she sensed in the target in front of her.
"Master. May I
test out my psychic ability for a moment?"
Karen suggested, and
Nathan, the mentor, quietly walked out of the dojo. Perhaps he was trying to
avoid getting caught up in the situation.
Nina wondered if she
should evacuate as well.
"...... Kate, how
did you feel after trying the breathing techniques?"
Nina didn't expect
Karen to talk to her, so she was a little surprised.
She wondered if she'd
let her guard down a little since they'd been facing each other silently for an
hour.
"Hmm, I guess I
haven't quite got the hang of it yet......"
"This smells like
a sham, doesn't it?"
"Eh?"
Karen was smiling,
showing her white teeth.
She would never show
this kind of expression at the school.
"Even the Heiberg
Academy, which gathers talent from all over the Empire, has not been able to
figure out the mechanism underlying the psychic ability. If you think about it,
there's no way that an ordinary old man like him could have discovered a
breathing technique that could enhance one's psychic ability."
"T-Then why are
you still coming here, Karen......?"
From the way she
behaved at the academy, Karen seemed to have a personality that disliked
useless things.
Even if she came to
the dojo on the recommendation of her parents or her maid Satya, she would have
abandoned it immediately if she found it to be suspicious.
"Well, I thought
it would be good for <conditioning>."
"Conditioning?"
"Have you ever
heard of the experiment where the dog that was fed after the bell rang started
salivating at the mere sound of the bell?"
"......Ah, I think
I learned about it in class sometime ago."
"It's the same
thing. If you repeat this breathing technique over and over while
concentrating, you will be able to enter a deep state of concentration just by
practicing the breathing technique. In short, it's like you are creating a
switch for yourself that strengthens your psychic abilities."
"So all this
breathing technique stuff isn't a complete sham then?"
"Well, that old
man probably didn't think that far ahead."
Nina was calmly
analyzing the matter.
─In other words, this is Karen's true nature.
To become a candidate
for the <White Knights>, she plays the role of an arrogant monster at the
school, but she shows a good deal of care for those who have no conflict with
her. The reason he was so guarded at first was probably because she wasn't sure
which stance to take.
She's tough, Nina
thought.
A liar who consciously
uses two different personalities is not a good opponent for a fraudster.
"...... I see
that is why you've been taking this so seriously, Karen."
"My abilities are
hard to control after all. But I've been able to stabilize them since I started
coming here."
As soon as she
finished speaking, Karen meditated and inhaled deeply.
Undeterred by the fact
that she was born with a powerful psychic ability, Karen has been training
voraciously. How much time has she spent trying to combine breathing techniques
with a deep state of concentration? Nina was honestly amazed.
"Then Kate, get
behind me."
"Eh?
O-Okay!"
A speck of light was
generated at the tip of Karen's outstretched palm.
Upon closer
inspection, Nina could see a small crystal with a distorted shape.
The crystal, shining
brightly as it reflected the light, kept multiplying itself at a tremendous
rate, and in no time at all, it had swelled to the size of a human head.
That was the extent of
Nina's vision.
The rate of growth of
the crystals increased rapidly, flooding the area at once with a force like
that of a large amount of water being released from a dam. Crystals created
crystals, and new crystals created other crystals in a nightmarish chain of
events. The torrent of glittering light filled the entire dojo in the blink of
an eye.
─If someone were to be engulfed by something like this,
there would be no way they could survive.
A human body would be
easily crushed by such an enormous mass. Moreover, the torrent of light has
sharp edges growing out of various places, so even if one avoids becoming
trapped under it, one's body will be torn to shreds.
"N-No
way......."
Nina's mouth leaked out
her honest thoughts without an act.
The psychic ability of
[Jolly Underwriter], deploys crystals that continue to multiply themselves at
high speed.
After seeing it
firsthand, she finally understood why it had been given such a dangerous name.
The multiplying
crystals are not only a powerful weapon that destroys everything, but also a
beautiful gravestone to bury the enemies that stood in Karen's way.
"All right, I'm
in great shape again today."
With a satisfied
expression on her face, Karen wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
The crystals, which
had been multiplying endlessly, stopped moving, and dry sounds echoed from
everywhere. In the next instant, the crystals that had filled the dojo began to
disintegrate and were converted into particles of light one after another.
In a world filled with
seven-colored light, the monster that had caused the supernatural phenomenon
was smiling.
"T-That's
amazing, Karen....... I'd be in big trouble if I got hit by one of those."
"Rest assured.
And until I graduate, I'm not allowed to exert my full power on anyone but the
students at the Heiberg Academy...... Well, I can't prevent you from getting
involved if you're unlucky enough though."
"...... Is that
also part of the <conditioning>?"
"Yeah. If I put
that kind of restriction on myself, I can instantly increase my output to the
maximum when I fight at school. Now, just seeing those uniforms makes me want
to fight."
"Whoa, I'm glad I
went to a different school......"
While clad in the act
of a girl with a bitter smile on her face, Nina's brain was whirling with
frustration.
─This is bad. I can never win ...... against this
person.
What if this scam were
to fail?
What if she were to be
exposed as not a harmless younger sister-disciple, but an enemy competing for
supremacy at the Heiberg Academy?
All that awaits Nina
would be a future of being crushed by a pretty gravestone.
However, there is no
use in imagining all these bad things.
Nina decided to switch
her thoughts and return to her original task.
"Umm. Could it be
that Karen is an outstanding honor student?"
"I was exempted
from the entrance exam. Well, it's nothing special though."
"Wait, wait, it's
the Heiberg Academy, you know!? For me, just taking the entrance exam would be
unthinkable......"
"Your psychic
abilities must be not suitable for combat, then, Kate?"
"Yeah. It's just
a crappy ability to generate smoke when I rub my fingers together. I need to at
least increase the output a bit more ...... or it will be completely
useless."
Jin had taught her how
to do magic tricks by using chemicals to make smoke come out of her fingertips.
The Heiberg Academy is
just an anomaly, but there are plenty of people with this kind of weak psychic
ability. Now that the culture of magic tricks has long since been lost, there
would be no suspicion.
Nina was prepared to
be looked at with pity, but Karen had a serious expression on her face.
"...... No, a
psychic ability is nothing more than a weakness."
With a little more
digging, she might be able to draw out Karen's true feelings.
Nina tried to act the
part of a naive girl.
"But if I had
powers like Karen's, I might even be able to become a member of the <White
Knights>."
"...... Don't
tell me you're aiming for that too?"
The atmosphere grew in
weight for just a moment.
Jin once said. When a
person reacts differently than usual in a conversation - if you trace that
reaction, you may be able to find out their secrets.
"Haha, that's
impossible. I mean, I have to get into the Heiberg Academy to be qualified,
right?"
"Indeed. Good,
then."
Karen squinted her
eyes and laughed, then went to call for the Master who had taken refuge outside
the dojo.
Nina pondered the
meaning of Karen's current smile. A moment ago, she also felt as if Karen had
hurriedly stifled the hostility that had leaked outside.
Was she
relieved that she didn't have to turn her fangs on the person with whom she had
just become acquainted with?
This seemed to
indicate that her nature is on the good side, and at the same time, it also
reflected her strong will to mercilessly eliminate anyone who could be a
hindrance to her goals, even if only a little.
What is it
that makes her go to such lengths?
Her childhood
dreams, her sense of elitism, her sense of duty, or her patriotism?
It is also
possible that her loyalty to the headmaster is deeply rooted. There is no end
to my doubts, but it seems more likely that she is the <shepherd's dog>
than Casper.
─But what if Karen is innocent?
This is the
same question that arose when I made contact with Casper some time ago. If
Karen is just a girl who is genuinely trying to become a member of the
<White Knights>, am I not trampling on her feelings?
Do I have the
resolve to commit such a sin?
Feeling the guilt
crawling up from under her feet, Nina desperately switched her thoughts.
Staring intently at
her target, who had returned to the dojo with the Master in tow, Nina decided
to formulate a plan in her brain to close the distance even further.
◆
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