I gave Elias a nod, and we headed straight for the dormitory.
When I warped to the meeting place, Elias was already seated.
I fetched a newspaper from the drawer and placed it in front of him.
"First, I'd like to hear about the field you're interested in."
"Ah, sure. Now that I think about it, you always ask for my opinion, huh?"
I intended to brush it off lightly, but Elias continued to smile at me.
'What should I say?'
I wanted to say, "Your choices are never wrong," but that would only burden him.
Rather, it's closer to saying that his choices are worth betting on, even if they might be wrong.
"I like the choices you make."
"Oh."
Elias stroked his chin as if he'd heard something unexpected, then tilted his head.
"Then you might end up getting warnings up to the point of expulsion, like me."
"Well, you haven't been expelled, have you?"
"Ah~ I see how it is."
Elias chuckled.
He flipped through the newspaper with one hand and then opened up the list of missing persons, placing it in front of me.
"It's obviously the work of the Pleroma."
I nodded, waiting for him to continue.
"When I heard about this world cloning business, it occurred to me that those who have been missing for years and never returned were probably all sent to the Pleroma."
"Yes…."
I muttered, looking at the statistics he pointed out.
I expected this topic to come up, but not so soon.
Elias hadn't heard me mention the missing persons case during the meeting. He came in afterward.
Since I used information from the original story to form my hypothesis, this information is originally Elias's.
'Even so, it should happen between half a year to a year from now.'
Thanks to the early conclusion of the barrier suitability case, we had the leeway to focus on other matters, which allowed us to catch this case early.
It's fascinating that he brought up this topic first.
I nodded.
"Yes, this abnormal number of missing persons can't be explained without them."
"Exactly. Especially the increase in missing minors. Despite this blatant targeting, why hasn't the imperial family done anything?"
"When have they ever done anything right?"
Elias, who was about to laugh, looked at me in surprise, then burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! Wow, I didn't expect that. I guess I've gotten too used to Leo."
"…I was more surprised."
"Did you think I was defending the imperial family? Never. I see them just like you see Askanian."
Elias smirked and began reading the dossier I had pulled out.
'Hmm.'
What should I do?
I know how this case ends.
Elias targets the orphanage in the region where the missing persons frequently occur and discovers that two of the orphanage's patrons are Pleroma.
'But I don't know their names.'
I don't even know the name of the orphanage.
If it were a chapter I had read just before sleeping, I might remember, but it's not easy to recall the names of extras from the beginning of the novel.
Honestly, it's impressive that I remember as much as I do from the notes I made on my first day here.
'Still, if I see the actual names written down, I might get a feeling.'
I can verify the suspects by narrowing them down.
Should I ask Narce for help? It would be a problem if I need to distance myself from him later.
'Is there any other way to investigate the Pleroma?'
I pondered for a while.
For now, there isn't. I'll think about it later.
To make progress, I need to get the list of patrons from the orphanage first.
'Can the Bavarian Investigation Bureau find this out?'
Previously, I obtained documents through an informant I had placed in the Dasrothe Bavarian branch.
It might be challenging to find the list of patrons from such a remote orphanage, but it's worth asking.
"Eli, do you have a plan for this issue?"
"Hmm… I think we need to start with the local orphanage."
"Why?"
"Look, here's a map you marked with the incidents."
Elias handed me the materials used during the meeting.
He pointed to the areas covered with red X marks.
"Minors have been going missing in droves around this facility. Right? There are many other regions, but I think we should start here. We might find something."
"Do you have a good intuition?"
"Yes."
Elias nodded confidently.
It's so true that I couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, let's start by investigating this orphanage. First, let's find the list of people involved."
"You think there'll be a Pleroma among them? Lucas, you think so too, huh?"
"I don't know. But it's the most likely possibility, isn't it?"
"Yeah… like Strauch."
He muttered and slammed his crutch on the ground, standing up.
"Let's go! To get the list!"
'And then what….'
I swallowed my words and shook my head.
"Wait. We can't just go and demand it."
"I was going to."
"Do you think they'll give it to you?"
"Give… Ah, wait. I can't fake it with my leg like this."
Elias clicked his tongue and plopped back down into the chair.
I know what method he uses.
When he explored the restricted area, he disguised himself with an appropriate identity, changed his eye color, wore an Investigation Bureau uniform, and extracted information while posing as a detective.
'Come to think of it, I knew about the eye color-changing potion because the protagonist used it.'
While recalling events from the beginning of the semester, Elias clapped his hands.
"Okay! Let's check tomorrow, and for now, we're done talking about this. Did you see outside? The other department kids are already setting up booths."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Only our department kids are busy fighting beasts. I honestly think the school is a bit sneaky. They picked today, the day before the festival, to make them work? They probably want them to play and forget everything."
"It does seem like that to some extent."
I chuckled.
We spent quite a while talking about the school after that.
To be precise, Elias talked in a torrent.
Elias, tireless as ever, brought up a new topic.
"By the way, you know there's a play tomorrow, right?"
The Magic Department somehow ended up with a play, probably because someone drew the short straw. Luckily, not everyone has to participate. Only about ten people from the class, including minor roles, so I managed to avoid it.
"The kids worked hard preparing. It'd be nice if many people came to watch."
"Well, you know. Ah! Did you hear about the audience competition between our class… I mean, Class 1 and Class 2? I think Class 2 will win. They're doing a new song. Everyone will flock to it."
"What are we doing?"
"*Faust.* I nearly fainted when I heard Strauch say the incantation."
"Incantation?"
"You know that line, 'Stay awhile, you are so beautiful,' or something like that."
Come to think of it…
Strauch covered up the magic formula using something other than the scriptures.
In this world, it's an unwritten rule to use scripture passages as magic incantations. Magic without scripture is unimaginable, as it cannot receive approval from the Ministry of Magic. All the incantations I've memorized so far were taken from scripture.
After all, magic formulas are not created on a whim, and the incantations that cover them are the same. You can't attach or detach them easily.
To cover a magic formula with passages taken from elsewhere?
The Pleroma must not have any rules or unwritten laws requiring them to use scriptures.
'...This could be quite useful.'
I've found a way to use this in the Pleroma verification process.
Of course, I'll need to disguise myself as Pleroma.
***
The dormitory was noisy throughout the evening.
Since the festival was the next day, Leo and I only did a brief training session and did not have a meeting.
And so, the day of the festival arrived.
Word had it that after a brief assembly, we'd be let out.
'It's a madhouse.'
With the chaos, anything I do today should go unnoticed. I should find a suitable time to talk to Narce.
At that moment, Pai poked his head out of the pocket of my school robe.
"Today Narce said he'll buy me something delicious!"
Aren't you a herbivore? There shouldn't be anything you can eat.
'Come to think of it, he eats Holy Water.'
While my thoughts wandered off to unnecessary places, the noisy classroom suddenly became silent.
"Hello, students."
As usual, the professor called the roll and tapped the lectern lightly with his palm.
"Well, everyone's here. Since there will be dormitory checks, any students who leave and don't return will be marked absent. You must follow the rules even more strictly on days like this to avoid issues. Also, there are no classes at other schools today, so…."
All high schools in the capital have their festivals today.
Because of this, his speech dragged on and on.
I leaned back in my chair and idly petted Pai in my robe pocket, letting his words wash over me.
'Whether here or in reality….'
The wish that lectures would be cut short is unchanged, even as I grow older. I had a pointless revelation again. I may understand the teacher's perspective better than I did in high school, but it's still boring.
While I was fiddling with Pai in my pocket, the bell rang.
'Finally over.'
As the classroom erupted in noise, I pushed my chair back hard and prepared to stand.
Just then, the professor was about to leave the classroom with the attendance sheet when he called Leo back.
"Class president."
"Yes."
I glanced over there, feeling something hard touch my finger and bowed my head. Pai, wanting to play more, nibbled and tugged at my finger. I lifted Pai from my pocket and whispered softly.
"Later."
Meanwhile, the professor was still talking to Leo incessantly.
"Have the delivery dropped off in the classroom when it arrives on the first floor of the main building at around 3 PM."
"Yes, I understand."
"And if you have time, please take care of your friend."
"Pardon?"
The previously noisy class fell silent in an instant.
Leo's perplexed response sounded strange.
'What's going on?'
I looked up at this anomaly and found myself meeting the eyes of several dozen students left in the classroom.
The friends in our group were gesturing towards Leo with more shock than the others.
'....'
Is he talking about me?
***
It's something that happens from time to time.
I've heard of it before. Of course, not from Luca's perspective, but from Leo's.
I've been a class president a few times, and even in years when I didn't run for election, the teachers sometimes regarded me in a similar light.
There are always one or two students in class who don't get along well with the others, and when those students have worries or when concerned parents call, the teacher tries various methods. One of them is to ask a student who gets along with everyone to look after the student who's feeling left out.
You'd think it wouldn't happen, but it does. No matter how much you comfort them, nothing works as fast as having a friend.
The teachers don't say, "The homeroom teacher told me to take care of you," so you don't realize it.
'...That's not true. Some kids came to class and threw a fit.'
It's a case of the teacher misunderstanding the student.
Regardless, the way this is brought up varies from teacher to teacher. Some teachers talk nonsense, suggesting you should befriend the student based on their record, while others naturally ease into it, asking you to include them in group activities and occasionally check in on them.
'...This one is the former type, I guess….'
They must be old enough to forget that teenagers have their own social lives. Or maybe not. What's the point of analyzing this now?
How absurd! No, technically, it's something that happened to Luca.
I couldn't suppress the laughter bubbling up at the absurdity.
Leo, frozen in disbelief, soon regained his composure and nodded.
"I'll do that."
You bastard, what's with that attitude….
I shook my head as I stood up.
"No, it's fine, professor. I have things to do today."
"Things to do?"
"Yes, I'm going to…."
I stopped short of finishing my sentence.
If I said I was going to the library on a festival day….
I chuckled awkwardly and scratched my neck.