Vol 20 Chapter 7 (1/2)

Regarding the Cat Soaring to the Moon

He would always pa.s.s by her during the night.

While Formed and Karian were returning home from the City Police department, they would patrol the nearby area. Considering Formed's position, he didn't have any need to do so, but he still felt that if he didn't do that, he wouldn't be himself. Before he realized, his route would deviate from the road home and onto the patrol route. As that kind of thing went on, he gradually felt that maybe he was just like that, so he resigned himself and turned those actions into a habit.

He would pa.s.s by her while on his patrol.

Moreover, it was on fixed days of the week. Even if there were deviations because of business with work, she would still be there to pa.s.s by Formed, as if she deliberately coordinated with his schedule.

Pa.s.sing by.

It was just that.

Though it was just that, it still made Formed feel curious. Whether this was his intuition as a policeman, or a simple mistake, or dictated by some emotions between males and females, Formed found it hard to judge.

It could also be said that he was only curious about it because he found it hard to judge.

”After all, I'm really bad about one of those aspects.”

After murmuring this, he made a wry smile.

When he met someone for the first time, the other person would definitely believe Formed to be an older person. He wasn't tall either, but his head was large, so his body proportions weren't good.

Formed also had a gut feeling that he wouldn't be attractive to girls.

But, if one were to say that he only worked hard on his job and schoolwork because he was like this, then it would be a double insult, and he believed that wasn't the truth. No no no, even that thought was...... No no, it wasn't like that...... No no no...... After thinking like that, a difficult dilemma suddenly emerged for him to think about.

Thinking about those two things separately was much easier to do. He only mixed those things up because he was still young...... Did he have those kinds of thoughts because his mental age had already caught up to his appearance......?

Another mental labyrinth formed, so Formed banished those thoughts from his brain.

Even if he were like that, there were also people who showed interest. There was one girl who was strange like that. That happy feeling made him unable to keep from wanting to tilt his head and show a puzzled expression.

”I'm being conceited.”

When he thought of the girl he pa.s.sed by, a speculation about male-female sentiment unexpectedly emerged - that kind of thing was a form of conceit in the first place. He had gotten carried away because there was a girl who seemed to express interest. This didn't mean that he was an attractive man, just that the girl was strange.

Formed brought those thoughts to his own attention, warning himself. Then, what was this feeling after all? He tried thinking about it again.

Who was the girl he pa.s.sed by? To Formed who had held an office in the City Police Department for a long time, investigating that matter wasn't difficult. In his career, Formed had gotten very good at remembering people's faces, and he could investigate the city's records.

After setting the first-years as his target of investigation, the answer showed itself quickly.

She was Vati Len, a first-year general studies student, and even her address was quickly found. Though the place Vati lived in was strange, it was very understandable once he thought about the fact that she was a first-year. Not knowing anything about this city, and being tricked by the cheap rent to rent a room in a strange place - every year, there were many students who regretted because of this. It wouldn't be strange if she had made such a mistake.

After knowing her residence, he could determine the areas she frequented.

Then - Formed began thinking, and a map spread out in his mind.

With Formed and Vati's activities as a prerequisite, he began thinking of possibilities why she pa.s.sed by him every week. If he put his mind to investigating, Formed could quickly find out where Vati worked, but he believed that it wouldn't be too far from her nearby areas. Because people wouldn't move here and there for no reason.

”Then......”

This time, he quietly spoke out loud.

This was a possibility.

Though he was curious about what she was doing at night, the place Vati and Formed pa.s.sed by each other was still within her nearby area.

Then, was he just thinking too much?

”You're thinking too much.”

When he was eating lunch, a cla.s.smate of his that he hadn't met in a long time made that comment. Both of them had many things to do to prepare for graduation, so their opportunities to chat had clearly decreased a lot.

One could even say that the reason Formed honestly told this cla.s.smate he didn't see much about this matter was mostly because he long since expected him to say this.

”You think so?”

He truly was just overestimating himself, huh - Formed laughed bitterly at that inside his heart while replying.

”Is there any other possibility?”

After being asked this, an embarra.s.sed smile emerged on Formed's face. The two of them were incredibly busy to prepare for graduation, and they didn't have time to fantasize to the ends of the earth. It was because of this that the other person cut him down mercilessly instead of the spreading the topic towards love. Hey, aren't you tired of this - His cla.s.smate, who hadn't stopped eating, asked him this with his eyes.

In addition, Formed, who had expected to be told this, said:

”Ah...... That's probably right.”

”It's definitely like that. In addition - Hey, once we graduate, we won't even be living in the same city. Though I'm just saying.”

”Yeah.”

”How much longer are you going to do your City Police work?”

”Nn?”

”Agriculture student and Policeman, I can't tell at all which road you want to walk, because you're impressive at both.”

”Really?”

”Yeah. But, you're almost going to have to adjust your direction again.”

”I know.”

Though he said this, Formed actually didn't really know whether he truly realized.

In order to broaden his knowledge as a researcher, Formed had left his city of birth.

However, before he realized it, he noticed that he had gotten hooked on his job as a policeman. Since things had become like that, maybe one side wouldn't go smoothly, or both would fail together. But Formed's luck wasn't bad, so he had succeeded in both simultaneously.

He also felt that he had done pretty well.

But because of this, the current Formed had trouble deciding what kind of person he would become when he returned to his home city.

Would he pursue becoming a researcher like he had wanted at the start?

Or would he choose what he had found in the Academy City - the road of a policeman......

Perhaps his cla.s.smate who was about to graduate and who also had no choice but to prepare could see Formed's internal strife.

”It's fine.”

Those words just sounded like a casual remark.

After eating lunch, the two of then quickly parted, because both were very busy. His cla.s.smate gulped down the drink in his cup as if he were was.h.i.+ng his throat, and then left the area. After watching the other person leave, Formed also forgot about the conversation just now with a wry smile. He focused on finis.h.i.+ng his lunch, changing his thinking to the tasks he would have to finish today.

After that, Formed didn't think of her for a long while. Not only was he busy with dealing with the research reports he would have to deliver before his graduation, his City Police work was also very busy. Though Formed was no longer burdened with onsite work, he still had to deal with many things directly in order to communicate clearly with his successors. Also, Formed was still left in this position, so he still had to deal with normal business.

Formed's degree of business was enough to make him forget about Vati, but it was very easy for him to think of her again.

He hadn't stopped the patrols that had become a habit.

When it came to that day, that night, he naturally ran into her again.

”Uh......”

Since he had completely forgotten about this matter, Formed who was patrolling like usual before returning home made a sound.

Before him was a girl walking his way.

It was Vati Len.

She was a girl with a transparent beauty.

It could be said that she seemed like a doll.

Vati walked over, her white face filled with tranquility as if it were melded with the night.

No, Formed, who was walking the other way as Vati, would just pa.s.s by without saying a thing.

That was it.

Formed had originally thought of lowering his gaze, but he suddenly changed his mind and looked upwards. If he looked down, then his vision would become poor, and he had to avoid that kind of situation from happening since he was on patrol. Though looking upwards was the same, his feelings about that were different. Looking upwards while walking and looking at the ground while walking were different.

Those two actions weren't the same - thinking this, he walked forwards.

Fortunately, the moon was out tonight, so Formed could pretend he was looking at the moon.

The moon was very large, and it hung there very clearly, as if it were an object floating in the clear black sky. Formed had a kind of feeling as if the crisp sounds drifting from the sky were was.h.i.+ng off his dirtied heart.

Originally, Formed had just believed that if he didn't look at her, he wouldn't need to think about unnecessary things, but he hadn't thought that it would let him see this scene. He walked on, thinking that he had seen something good.

A black shadow flitted lightly across the edge of his vision.

Something was moving.

No, it was a disturbance.

That disturbance sent Formed's mind into disarray, and provoked him into focusing his senses.

It made him feel like there was something here.

However, in reality, there was nothing around.

After that, Formed investigated. Because he was unable to ignore what he had seen and treat it as if he had been oversensitive.

Vati Len didn't have anything suspicious around her. Though he felt that she was a bit strange, he still believed that she was very serious, and no strange rumors had been spread about her.

Formed judged that she was just that kind of person.

Vati didn't have anything about her that a City Policeman had to take note of.

Then, what was Formed concerned about after all?

What had disturbed his heart?

He hadn't looked at Vati, but something had made him feel concerned about her? After becoming aware of his mistake, Formed moved his gaze with a mood of wanting to click his tongue.

......Just then, the sound of footsteps disappeared.

Because his consciousness had returned to reality and he had noticed that the surroundings were completely silent, Formed stopped his footsteps as well.

After turning his head backwards, he was surprised.

Vati was looking towards him.

Formed almost jumped in surprise, and his breath even stopped. From his current state, it already counted as very good that he hadn't let out a sound. He unconsciously kept walking and maintained a steady pace, but almost fell over.

As a result, Formed tripped where he was and caught himself clumsily. But, even if Formed showed that awkwardness in front of her, Vati still didn't say anything.

She looked over without moving at all.

No, Formed noticed that she was looking at the sky, just like he had been just now.

Was she looking at the moon?

At this point, it wouldn't be strange for Formed to hurriedly leave the scene, but he still felt very curious about Vati. What was she looking at?

It was the moon. Though his brain thought so, his feelings of still wanting to confirm the truth made Formed take action.

He followed her gaze and looked towards the sky.

As expected, there was the moon.

In addition, there were trees.

Had those been there since the beginning? The trees that grew from the sides of the roads reached their branches out towards the road. Those tree branches became another decoration of the moonlight night.

No, there was another decoration.

Moreover, Vati might be looking at that decoration.

It was a cat.

With the moon as a backdrop, there was a cat standing on a tree branch there, forcing it to bend to its limits.

This cat had three eyes.

◇

The object on the cat's forehead wasn't an eye, but a gem that gave off an intriguing color.

It was a black cat, but the fur that grew near the gem was white, and it depicted a pattern with a wild air.

The cat whose back faced the moon simply seemed as if it had descended from the dark night.

”You're......”

Vati who gazed upwards muttered this.

After muttering this, she noticed that the man in front of her had stopped moving. His attention hadn't been attracted by something.

Vati noticed that he was gradually moving with a speed far, far slower than her own.

”How does it feel to experience communications at the speed of light?”

A voice filled with a mischievous air didn't pa.s.s through her ears, but rather sounded directly in her mind. Vati looked at the black cat again.

”It's even faster than I can react, which means that you're no longer a human.”

”Oh my, you even saw me as a human?”

”It was just a possibility.”

”I see.”

What kind of expression was the person deep inside that cat showing? Vati noticed that her mind was preoccupied by questions she had never thought about until now.

”In any case, what are you planning by coming this close to humankind?”

As if touching upon Vati's heart, the black cat's question poked at a sensitive area.

”Do I have a reason to explain to you?”

”You don't.”

”Then, why do you risk appearing here?”

Vati asked this, but she believed that she already knew the answer.

When she speculated about the actions of this person, she could definitely conclude that her motives were curious.

What were her reasons for appearing in the Academy City in this critical juncture? She had to have a reason - Vati thought this, and that could probably be said to be a natural response.

After all, Vati hadn't hesitated to temporarily postpone her mission as Lævateinn, and she was in this kind of place collecting unnecessary information.

”Because I believe that as long as I don't do anything, you won't take any action against me. Ah, it's also the childish att.i.tude of playing around, like 'how close can I get?'.”

”So you thought you could communicate with me today?”

”Correct, that's right.”

”That's absurd.”

Vati tried shaking her head, but couldn't make that movement. Right now, the two of them were using the speed of light to exchange information. Vati increased the level of her senses to the speed of the conversation, but if she also increased the speed at which her body moved, what kind of outcome would be produced?

Doing that would make her movement ability unable to keep up with the speed of light and would lead to problems.

More importantly, doing that would bring some kind of harm to the man besides her.

”It's something very important to me, and at the same time it's something that I have no reason to let others understand. Isn't the answer you're searching for also like that?”

Vati tried testing her physical responses during the lightspeed communication. That reflexive action was exactly the same as a human's. If she had a mind to eliminate it, Vati could easily eliminate that reaction, but she had deliberately chose this option.

”You're truly very interesting.”

The black cat's voice sounded like she was making fun of Vati's reaction.

”I really had a hard time understanding why you want such a thing.”

The cat's eyes flashed with light. Its gaze s.h.i.+fted to the man in front of Vati.

”In that case, you'll give up on the thing that I want.”

”Correct, we'll become beings that cannot understand each other.”

”Non-intersecting parallel lines.”

”Is that an att.i.tude of giving up, realizing that the two sides will be unable to understand each other?”

”Isn't that a fact?”

”Well, humans really like using the phrase 'you can understand each other as long as you communicate'.”

”It's possible that things can be resolved with discussion. But, that method is not suitable for everything.”

”Oh?”

”What is it?”

”No, it was just that when I thought 'that's right' in my heart, I suddenly felt amused.”

Her voice was laughing.

”That's how it is. Really, I'm almost jealous of you. No, this kind of feeling is definitely jealousy. I never would have thought there was something I still couldn't give up on. Also, I never would have thought you would know about that kind of thing.”

The black cat stayed where it was.

But, the voice that entered her mind seemed like it was laughing, but at the same time seemed like it was angry. Though it sounded like it was a laugh from the heart, it was like she was using that laugh to ignore a boiling anger spilling forth, and relying on this to hide the emotion in her heart.

Erumi[1]'s intense tone shot out at the speed of light.

The cat that behaved normally, and the laughter expressing mysterious emotions. Though the two objects weren't in sync, they were the same thing.

This fact seemed confusing.

Vati felt puzzled at the intriguing feeling of acknowledging that disconnect.

This cat was just a tool she used to communication tool she used, and wasn't her real body.

However? Was that really the truth?

It had been so in the past.

But, that didn't guarantee anything about the present.

This person who had lived for a time far surpa.s.sing a normal person couldn't be a human just from a biological perspective. In that case, it couldn't be guaranteed that she still had a human form, and similarly there was no guarantee that this cat was still existing in the form of a communication tool.

In that case, was this cat the real body?

But, the cat's actions weren't coordinated with her voice, and it wasn't affected by her emotions.

It just dexterously sat on the tree branch, with the moon at its back.

”......What is your goal?”

”World peace.”

”That can't be it, you alchemists......”

”What are the alchemists you know about? The name of a group? Or the group that we originated from?”

”Of course I mean your group.”

”In that case, you're definitely mistaken. Because there are problems with your sample size.”

”You mean I'm wrong?”

”Regardless of what the facts are, that response of yours implies a lot of interesting meanings.”

”Do you know the truth?”

”The master you serve should be one of the people belonging to that alchemist group, right? If I recall, he's called Soho? That person that Airen knows. It seems like there's some strange relations.h.i.+p between them, related to your outer appearance.”

”When he created you, there were no alchemists other than me. I have nothing to do with your creation, so there's no way you know what alchemists are.”

”Other than him.”

”......There is only one master I serve.”

Vati said this, stopping the black cat that was trying to voice her conclusion.

”Regardless of what you do, regardless of what you say, that fact will not change.”

”......Is that so? Could he continue existing like you said just now, even in the long time you spend hiding in that s.p.a.ce?”

The black cat didn't stop speaking.

”There's no meaning in the flesh, just the mind and the spirit. Can that master of yours who only has his flesh in the same condition after staying in that s.p.a.ce that I maintain still count as your master?”

”Then let me ask you a question. What is this so-called mind?”

”Nn?”

”It is composed of just memories and experience, right? If there is an experience which forces the mind to undergo a large-scale change, then that person himself will also change, right?”

If a problem happened with A, then deal with it using B. If a concave problem happened, respond with convexity. The so-called mind or personality was just formed by acc.u.mulated experiences and learning that were continuously repeated starting from the youth - everyone had a solution set that recorded how to resolve problems. That was what Vati thought.

If a large change happened in the world that these solutions could not handle, then it wouldn't be strange to take up a pen and rewrite that person's solution set.

People were beings that could change. Hadn't it been humans itself who described themselves in that manner?

However......

”I see, all of the problems troubling you can be grouped in that category. It's an extremely ordinary problem, and an eternal question.”

After all, what were people's hearts anyway, and what were the so-called personalities?

The floating clouds made the moonlight become weaker, and the cat's body became hazy.