Vol 2 Chapter 4 (1/2)

4th Play: Please Teach Me the Path of the Guarding Spear

Part 1

On the first floor of the branch school, not a soul could be seen in the lounge Other than the occasional footsteps passing in the corridor, the lobby was quiet like a lake in midwinter

……Well, it was class time at the moment, so it couldn’t be helped

At the far end of the lounge, with her elbows on a table and resting her chin in her hands, Ada gazed beyond the glass-paneled wall at the scenery outside

“—I’ self-study, but……”

She flipped through the textbook lying on the table and skies But that lasted no h, Ada put her head down on the table

For her, the act of staring at a book on the table felt i her body around outside wasonto her GilExorcist Spear was much more—

“Ah, no, no!”

……Geez, as she thinking?

She was no longer an GillsheExorcist, but a student studying at a Recitation school

That’s right, she didn’t need an GilExorcist Spear ……Well, she shouldn’t need it

‘But if that’s so, why are you still practicing like this with the GilExorcist Spear?’

“……Yeah, I wonder why?”

Lying sprawled on the table, she turned only her gaze toward the lights on the ceiling

The question that Neight asked her yesterday had left her at a loss for words

She had practiced until the feeling of the GilExorcist Spear seeped into theclub She had thought again and again that she wanted to quit, but when she ca a spear

If she was asked that question once again, how should she reply?

Feeling exhausted, she closed her eyes for a few minutes—

Suddenly, faint footsteps echoed through the lobby In any case, it was probably just the school janitor Arbitrarily deciding that, Ada closed her eyes once again

However, those footsteps did not pass by, but instead stopped right behind her—

“Hey Ada, what’s wrong?”

Huh? This voice is…?

Hearing the familiar voice, Ada raised her head In her field of vision that was still fuzzy with drowsiness, she saw a fe down at her

“What about you, Kluele? It’s class tiht now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s true But I ended up doing so”

Carrying her self-study textbook and a drink in a paper cup, Kluele sat down across from Ada As she waited for Kluele to settle down, Ada opened her mouth

“……Hey Kluele, I was curious about it before, but you get along ith Chibi-kun, don’t you?”

“By Chibi-kun, do youthe paper cup to her lips, she tilted her neck

“Yeah, yeah I heard fro Recitations together?”

“It wasn’t the entire summer, just when I had time,” Kluele replied casually with a nonchalant expression

Just when I had ti all of the free time I had’

……You know, that’s e call ‘entire’

“Were you playing the role of an older sister?”

“It wasn’t like that I just couldn’t leave him there by himself”

“Well, he’s only thirteen years old And he’s quite a hasty, scatterbrained person as well”

Iht’s hurried manner, Ada let out a small wry smile It still reht had transferred in, his Recitation in the lab had accidentally turned into black smoke

“That’s true as well But……there’s various other reasons too”

What exactly these various other reasons were, Kluele didn’tat her expression, Ada could tell that they weren’t simple matters

“Well, Chibi-kun’s also a handful, isn’t he?”

“’Chibi-kun also’?” Her sharp-eared friend asked, repeating back a part of what she had just said

“……Um, you see……”

Ada lowered her gaze slightly

“Let’s say for example that there was a student in the class other than Chibi-kun as alone If that were so, ould you do, Kluele?”

“……For exa the tense atmosphere, Kluele asked in a quiet voice

“For exa those words……

“Ah, it’s fine That’s not true,” Kluele said lightheartedly, waving her hand

“Eh? ‘It’s fine’, ?”

“Honestly, I ondering what you would say! The day when someone sees you depressed, the entire school will be in an uproar, you know The student council will hold a special ather inforation club will also start investigating the origin of the uproar”

……Eh? Wa-Wait a second, that’s too crue—

“In the first place, asking that sort of question isn’t like you You’re usually using your strength to foolishly cause cory And on top of that, aren’t you ‘Ada the Demon of Lateness’?”

“……Wh-Why you!”

Although her facial expression twitched, she so cal her fists under the table

“—But……”

Kluele deliberately changed her expression to one different fro look before

“If there really is so you, I wish you’d talk to , I think I can do that for you”

……Consulting her? It would be good if she could do that, but……

Within her heart, Ada shook her head

It was a proble her to consult someone about it was simple, but for the troubled person herself, she needed the ut like consult with someone—

“’If I could do that, then I wouldn’t be so troubled’ Ada, could it be that you were thinking soirl sitting across from Ada bluntly declared

Her voice sounded unusually strong, like she had absolute confidence in her words

“……Why do you think so?”

“Because I was like that just a little while ago” Ada’s classmate solemnly informed her

“……You were?”

“Yeah Even though I see lost for quite a while You e of me to say this, but there were times when I felt so lost that it was a nuisance just to come to school”

She didn’t act like that at all in the classrooirl Other than that cheerful iine Kluele any other way ……But surely she wasn’t lying If she was, there was no way that she could have read Ada’s feelings

“But because of that, I think I can empathize with others who feel the same way” Kluele calmly placed her hand on her chest

“That’s why it’s fine for you to co happens It doesn’t need to be a formal consultation We can even discuss it casually in the dor me, I’ll be there for you anyti her chin in her hands, Kluele smiled

“……”

“Huh? Ada? What’s wrong?”

“……It’s nothing”

Ada nonchalantly turned around so that her back faced the girl as staring at her

Kluele would listen to what she had to say Naturally, Ada was grateful to hear those words But— Although their worries were different, there was someone who had felt lost like her, but continued to work hard despite that Knowing that made her feel very happy

“Well, I should thank you for that But don’t worry about what I said, it was just an example”

Quietly standing up, Ada stretched a few times

“Ah, by the hy are you resting here at a time like this?”

“Apparently Enne-sensei, who’s in charge ofwell so the lectures for students of her specialty are canceled”

That , it had been suddenly announced that the lectures were cancelled Because Ada had nothing to do in her roo around aiotten bored of that as well, so she took a rest in the lounge

“Ah, it’s the same situation I’m in My teacher has a cold”

“Kluele’s specialty is in [RedKeinez], right? Who’s your teacher?”

“He’s narades”

……Zessel-sensei?

After hearing Kluele’s answer, in her mind, Ada frowned

How strange If she were to believe what Enne-sensei had said, Enne and Zessel had joined the su well But now they had gotten sick as well?

“Hey Kluele, your [RedKeinez] lecture yesterday was taught by Zessel-sensei, right?”

“Yeah He seeh”

He had taught a lecture like usual yesterday It had been the same with Enne And if Ada re in common about the two of them yesterday

“After class yesterday, when I walked past Zessel-sensei, I re But on the first day, he wore a casual T-shi+rt on the train”

“Now that youhow unusual it is”

Although Tremia Academy provided teachers with a blazer to wear, what the teachers usually wore everyday was up to their own discretion For Zessel, he see

But oddly, he had been wearing for And moreover, at this time in midsummer?

Soeneral ideas that Ada could think of were— He could be attending an i to visit the branch school, or conversely, he could be going to visit someone important

First of all, attending an iine This was a branch school instead of the main ca in the middle of summer holidays

Also, there was no need for visitors to come specifically to the branch school If they had a really io to thelike a letter should be fine Realistically, there was no chance that an i summer vacation, to a branch school in the middle of summer camp

Therefore, by process of elione to visit someone important

……Ada thought back to Enne’s lecture yesterday

Enne had given the students a practice test and allowed the students who finished to leave immediately afterward Actually, other than Ada, all of the other students should have left the classroom before class had been officially over

—Was there a reason why Enne had ended class early?

Furthermore, that time, Ada had passed by Zessel in the hallway She had passed by hi in the direction of the classrooht in Which o soether?

Go somewhere…… And now, for some reason, the two of them were in a situation in which they couldn’t teach class

Supporting this theory was the class that had been cancelled abnormally If the teachers had known beforehand about the cancelled lecture, they should have assigned soh possibility that this cancelled lecture was unexpected

“Hey Ada, don’t you feel like it’s a little unnatural?”

Holding her self-study textbook in one hand, Ada’s classmate stood up Since Kluele seemed to feel the sa?

“Yeah, it feels strange Kluele, ill you do? Do you have time?”

“I do The lecture’s cancelled, and I’ll just getwith you”

The two of them made eye contact, then turned around so their backs faced each other What they needed to check was — whether the two teachers eren’t feeling ere actually in the branch school right now

The tere probably not inside the school

If that was the case, then for what reason did they suddenly leave?

“Kluele, can you go check the nurse’s office on the first floor? I’ll take a peek in the second floor staff room”

There was a knock on the door of the small classroom

Neight looked up fro the door, he saw a tall girl with black hair

“Hey, Neighty What are you doing alone in this classroom?”

“Ah, Serges-san Good ”

Serges held so utensils in both hands In the hallway behind her, for soroup

“Are you going somewhere?”

“Yeah Everyone specializing in [YellowSurisuz] is gathering at the beach The teacher’s going to show us a demonstration After that, it’ll be free time”

“A demonstration? Sounds fun”

No, just watching will irl shrugged

“Neighty, if you’re interested, do you want to secretly co?”

“……I still haven’t finished a history class yet I’ it while there’s time for su me the whole time”

“Oh? So then, where’s the essential Kate-sensei?”

Looking around the classrooes tilted her head

“Apparently she had so, do the quiz from the section you learned yesterday,’ and then left”

“Oh, I see Well then, good luck, kid!”

After saying that, Serges swiftly turned around, h the closed door

“Ah, that’s right”

With her back facing Neight, Serges suddenly said

“Neighty, I told you before to go take a look on the roof… How did it go? Did you meet her?”

“Yes Ada-san, right?”

“What did you think?”

Hearing the co

“What did I think…… ‘It’s a club, and…… um, an GillsheExorcist, was it? She seemed to have had a lot of practice”

“I see So that’s how you think of it?”

Serges nodded The action see with him

—Practice…… It doesn’t seem to be…… that simple—

“Eh?”

The words of the girl with her back facing Neight were said in such a quiet voice that Neight couldn’t hear the end of her sentence

“U-Um”

Before Neight had ties turned around to face him

“I share a dorhty, don’t say anything to other people about her!”

“A-Alright”

He didn’t ask why, because the girl’s tone of voice sounded extremely sad

“Well, until she can say it aloud herself”

“Until Ada-san can?”

“Yeah She’s really conscious about being ‘different’”

—Different? What did that mean?

Not noticing Neight’s bewilderainst the door Her eyes that seemed to have turned weak looked beyond theof the classroo at a place even farther away

“She’s such an idiot, wondering if she’ll become distant from her friends because she’s that, and if she’ll be hated one day She can’t help but alorry about it…… Even though there’s no way that would happen”

“U-Um What do you mean? I don’t hate Ada-san at all”

“No, she just selfishly convinced herself of that It’s not sohty, just remember this”

Once again, Serges turned around so that her back faced Neight

“Although it was because of different reasons than Neighty, a long tio, she was alone as well”

In the co the radio equipment, Kate tried her best to keep calm

“Has there really been no e from…… Zessel-sensei or Enne-sensei?”

“The main campus hasn’t received any”

The person she was talking to bluntly stated the truth

“Kate, can you confirm one more time? Zessel and Enne left for Kelberk Research Institute after one o’clock yesterday After that, their regularly-sent reports stopped”

“—That’s right”

The clock on the wall showed that it was currently nine-thirty

Twenty hours had already passed since the last time that the two had been seen inside the branch school

“They are out right now on a special task for the headive you instructions on what to do…… How are the students doing?”

“We’re treating it as cancelled lectures All of the lectures have been cancelled, so the students are probably also feeling suspicious, but all of the other lectures are going as planned”

For a few seconds, there was silence from the other side of the connection

Mirror Kei Endurnce

He had become a teacher at the saeable person in Tremia Academy’s information department

“You should also have classes this afternoon, right?”

“Yeah Starting this afternoon, all of the teachers have lectures planned”

Right now, she had her hands empty But once afternoon cao support the tho they had lost contact with In the beginning, they should have organized an eency support team

“……Even without your saying, their disappearance is suspicious”

The quiet voice coreed It was natural to think that so had happened in Kelberk Research Institute

“I’ll—”

“You can’t!”

I’ll go look around But before Kate could finish speaking, she was cut off

“Those two should have been cautious when going inside Even though they were co involved in soo alone You should go in a team of at least two, no three people”

That… I know that

She was still a new teacher She understood e

“If we still don’t hear froht o’clock train Wait until then Have faith in your colleagues”

Mirror cut off his side of the call

Kate glanced at the clock hanging on the wall There were less than ten hours left until seven o’clock at night

But…… She couldn’t wait until then

If it was just a temporary accident, then Enne and Zessel should be able to call out soe But if they were under circumstances where they couldn’t do even that, then just how serious was their situation?

—Sure enough, she should go take a look around the research institute

Kate headed towards the lockers assigned to teachers and took out emstones and catalysts that she had created herself She hid the catalysts that she wasof her shi+rt

“……You two, please be safe”

The teacher wearing a pale green suit left the communications room and walked down the hallith quick steps The sound of her footsteps overlapped with Ada’s, as quietly following from behind

—Kate-sensei, where are you going?

There was no hesitation in the teacher’s gait She descended froh the entrance hall and exited the school building

……Oh no

The teacher’sAda scowl

When she had been eavesdropping with her ear pressed to the roo No, the teacher had purposely lowered her voice so that nobody outside could hear

The one thing Ada kneas that her ho somewhere

Ada peered out from the door that was open a small crack Kate seemed to have been in such a rush that she left her locker open It see what catalysts to take out

—It was a bit too strange

The anxious look on the teacher’s face was clearly different from her usual expression

Well then, what to do?

Right now, there was no tiht that the teachers would starttheir ht now

It couldn’t be helped, Ada would just have to trail her alone—— Huh?

Feeling a presence behind her, Ada suddenly turned around

“Eh, Ada-san?”

There stood a boy with young-looking features and deep night-colored hair

Part 2

In the research institute, holding her breath in the s things on the other side of the door

She pressed her ear to the door for a few seconds— There was no sound of the creatures co closer Ten seconds…… twenty seconds She listened carefully for over a e in the silence outside

……Whew Enne finally let out the breath she had been holding

“For now, it seems safe here”

They were in a sht hallway The room contained a few sofas and an elliptical table, so it was probably a lounge

“How’s your arm?”

Enne turned around to look at Zessel, as sitting on a sofa With a bitter sht arm to tap his left arm, which had turned to stone

“Well, it doesn’t feel painful or uncomfortable It’s just that nobelow my shoulder”

The grey snakes and lizards were hiding in the entrance hall Also, the majority of the researchers who had been turned to stone were around there They had definitely been attacked by the snakes and lizards

“It probably wasn’t just a single person who called out all of those Recited creatures”

Turning his gaze to the table, Zessel stayed silent That was also so about

—But right now, there was so more important to think about

“For noe need to think of a way to cure your left arm”

Right now, it was better to think of those things as Recited creatures, like Zessel had said

What they had discovered so far was that all of those creatures were grey, without exception Also, there were large amounts of ash everywhere in the research institute, as well as creatures with grey skin It was hard to think that those two facts were not connected

Snakes and lizards were hiding inside those piles of ash But instead of being just a hiding place, could the ash be the catalyst that was used to call out the Recited creatures?

“Using ash left over from fires as a catalyst? I’ve never heard of such a Recitation”

“We don’t have enough evidence yet, so it’s difficult to understand For now, let’s assus are Recited creatures If we think of it like that, then we can make some sense of this situation Also, there’s an additional benefit to thinking like that”

“An additional benefit?”

Zessel repeated like a parrot Enne stared down at his left arm

“If that was caused by a Recited creature, then there’s a way to cure both your arm and the researchers ere turned to stone We just need to take away the Recitation effect that’s turning your arm to stone”

“—A Reverse Song?”

A Recited creatures, there were sos The poison didn’t disappear when the Recited creature disappeared, but had to be treated in a way that sent back the poison itself It would be worth trying the same method on Zessel’s arm

“I e had a specialist GillsheExorcist here If I were to do it, it would probably take a lot of time”

Fro a liquid catalyst

“There’s no point being impatient in a situation like this Take your time”

Zessel said philosophically and casually to his childhood friend

“……Where’s Kate-sensei going?”

In a quiet voice, Neight asked Ada, alking in front of him

“We’ll knoe follow her”

The girl shrugged her tanned shoulders

Holding the test papers that he had filled out, Neight had been in theto the staff room

‘Chibi-kun Come with me, just in case’

Ada had whispered as she continued to follow Kate Just how much farther would they walk? Ten minutes, or perhaps a few dozenused to tailing someone numbed her sense of time

The teacher headed down the one-way road going away from the beach The road was sparsely bordered by thin trees, so there were only a few places to hide as Ada and Neight tailed her Furtherround was sandy Sand fleith each step,a small noise

That should have been the case, but— The only footsteps Neight heard were the teacher’s and his own

The footsteps of the girl alked slightly ahead of him were so quiet that they were nearly silent

Ada walked in a silent way that left even no footprints on the sand Neight re with her spear on the beach That time, she also hadn’t left any footprints in the sand

……Was this also part of an GillsheExorcist’s training?

GillsheExorcists— Those who sent back Recitations They were people who completely contrasted Reciters

‘Neight…… What do you think a Recitation is?’

That hat his bedridden mother had said

‘These things called Recitations are used to call out yourself That’s what I think A true Reciter is one who gives form to his heart and calls it out’

If he were to believe his mother’s words fro out one’s heart, then as there a need to send it back?

……Mother, perhaps I still don’t understand it

He had decided that he wanted to believe in the words of nobody but hisit their all to live their lives as GillsheExorcists was an undeniable truth

“Ah, um, Ada-san”

“Hm? What is it, Chibi-kun?”

“N……No, I’”

Letting the luht closed his mouth

He didn’t understand Hey, Ada-san, do you feel like that too?

Neither Reciters nor GillsheExorcists were unneeded Was Ada suffering like this because she was trapped, unable to s and spears?

The girl stayed silent Neightthe distance between them

He believed that he could shorten the distance between her heart and his, if only by a little bit

—Kelberk Research Institute, Fidellia branch

Farther down the road, a signpost engraved with those words came into view

On the surface of his arrey stone, a crack appeared A fissure It extended froertip to his elbow—

“Hey, this—”

Wasn’t this bad? Before her colleague finished speaking, Enne placed a hand over his mouth

“It’s fine Don’t move”

While saying that, her gaze was focused on his shoulder

……Alright A pale white light leaked out froht slowly floated towards the ceiling It was evidence of the Reverse Song’s effects

Along with the particles of white light, pieces of grey rock peeled off Zessel’s arm And then……

“So, how do you feel?”

Breathing a sigh of relief as the color returned to Zessel’s left shoulder, Enne wiped away the sweat that had formed on her forehead

As Enne spoke, Zessel put soth into his left shoulder

“……I can move it It doesn’t feel painful or uncomfortable”

His arm looked the same as it did before it had been turned to stone Honestly speaking, both of them had been prepared for so process

“This is a bit of luck in all our misfortune, huh?”

“Hey, where’s my thanks?”

His childhood friend showed an oddly innocent smile

“When we get back, I’ll buy you a nei”

“I’ll be expecting it!”

After loosening up for a second, Enne’s solemn expression quickly returned

“There’s one thing we know about it so far I tried [YellowSurisuz] and [GreenBeorc], but those two Reverse Songs had barely any effect The one that worked was [WhiteArzus] If I had to categorize this Recitation, I’d say it’s closest to [WhiteArzus]”

“……What do you mean by ‘closest’?”

[WhiteArzus] certainly had an effect on it But in reality, it was somewhat different from the [WhiteArzus] that Enne was familiar with A subdivision of [WhiteArzus]…… No, a Recitation derived from it and then altered?

Academically, within the five colors, it would be classified as a White Recitation because it was un which had worked But it would be risky to classify it completely under White

“For convenience, perhaps we should call it [GreyIsa] for now”

That’s right In other words, Grey Recitations

It wasn’t a Recitation just called out grey things, but also turned the opponent into grey stone Bythat assumption, most of the unusual circumstances could be explained

“Grey Recitations? Can we acknowledge such a color so hastily?”

Enne’s colleague spoke with a doubtful expression on his face Enne understood his disbelief Altogether, there were only five colors of Recitations that existed in the world There were no exceptions Enne had believed that also

“But we know of an exception to the five colors”

The exception was called Night Color Recitations