"...Huh?"
The five boys surrounding the Reien student froze and turned toward the voice. The girl they had been harassing, Fujino Asagami, also looked at the newcomer.
"..."
Fujino Asagami froze.
Standing beneath the setting sun was a boy with vivid red hair.
By the standards of a boy, his features could be called "somewhat cute," but in contrast to that young face, he carried a calmness that did not match his age.
If she had to compare him to something...
The first thing that came to Fujino Asagami's mind was a blade.
A katana with a striking presence, sheathed in an old, elegant scabbard.
No, that was not the only thing that left Fujino speechless.
The boy's eyes. His amber eyes shimmered with a brilliant light.
Just from being looked at by him, the girl felt as if her thoughts, her consciousness, and even her soul had been pierced through.
For an instant, Fujino Asagami forgot that she was currently being harassed by several thugs. She held her breath, widened her eyes and stared hard at the red-haired boy.
"So, big sis. Twice-cooked pork or sweet-and-sour ribs?"
"Ah..."
Fujino Asagami snapped out of her daze.
"Sweet... sweet-and-sour ribs."
She answered without thinking, though in truth, she had only heard of both dishes and had never eaten either.
"I see. Sweet-and-sour ribs, huh. I wonder if I can still buy fresh ribs at this hour."
The red-haired boy pinched his chin as if no one else were around and sank into his own private dilemma.
The young men who had been surrounding Fujino Asagami were confused at first, then began closing in around the boy.
They had been ignored from the start, and in front of a pretty girl no less. It left them feeling deeply humiliated.
"Hey, you little brat...!" one of the young men roared.
Seeing the thugs surround the boy, looking ready to turn violent at any moment, Fujino Asagami's shoulders trembled slightly.
She wanted to speak up and stop them, but fear left her unable to move.
Not fear of violence, but exactly what they had threatened her with earlier. She was afraid they would tell her parents that she had been wandering around outside.
"Tch... Kid! I'm talking to you! Are you deaf?"
One of the young men grabbed the red-haired boy by the collar and tried to lift him up, but failed.
"Hm...?"
Although there was a huge gap in their ages and physiques, the young man was struck by the absurd illusion that he was trying to lift a mountain with one hand.
The red-haired boy finally raised his head and met the eyes of the young man gripping him.
"Let's go talk in that alley over there."
"Ah... okay."
The young man obediently, almost blankly, released the boy's collar and began walking toward the nearby alley.
Was it her imagination?
Fujino Asagami noticed that the moment the young man's gaze met the boy's, the light vanished from his eyes.
"Hey! What's wrong with you?"
The young man's companion grabbed his shoulder, only to find he could not move him at all. With no other choice, he followed him toward the alley. The red-haired boy, hands in his pockets, leisurely followed after them.
"..."
Fujino Asagami could not say a word. She could only watch helplessly as the five young men and the one boy disappeared into the darkness of the alley.
At first, screams and pleas for mercy came from inside.
But they were not the red-haired boy's voice. That was what sent a chill down Fujino Asagami's spine.
The noise soon died away, but Fujino was certain something terrible was happening in there.
She did not have the courage to step into the darkness. She simply stood there for five minutes.
When the boy emerged from the alley, he was holding several wallets.
He skillfully pulled out the cash and shopping vouchers, then threw the wallets away.
"Oh. Big sis, you're still here."
The boy paused when he saw Fujino Asagami, then sighed helplessly.
"Sorry, but I'll have to erase your memory."
Erase her memory... What did that mean?
Fujino Asagami jolted and asked instinctively, "Are you going to kill me?"
"Why would you think that?" The boy looked speechless.
"Those people..." Fujino turned toward the alley.
"Don't worry, none of them are dead. They're just crippled…"
"No, at that point, maybe they'd have been happier dead. Did I go a little too far?"
As the boy spoke, he walked up to Fujino Asagami, raised one finger, and gently touched it to her forehead.
"...Ah."
The girl held her breath.
Their gazes met, skin touched skin, breath brushed breath, and her thoughts slowly blurred.
"..."
Fujino Asagami stared into the boy's bewitching eyes, feeling the touch against her forehead.
She wished this moment could stretch on forever. That thought bloomed in her mind.
The boy spoke in an endlessly gentle voice.
"Forget what just happened."
"Snap."
Fujino Asagami heard a sound like a string breaking, and her eyes felt as if they had been shocked by static in winter.
It was not just her. The boy also blinked in surprise.
He looked at Fujino Asagami again with interest. "...Big sis, what's going on with your eyes?"
"..."
He had found out.
He had discovered that she was an abnormal girl.
Fujino Asagami remembered her childhood in the countryside, when the villagers had treated her as a cursed child, staring at her strangely and bullying her.
The girl lowered her head, not daring to meet the boy's eyes, until she heard his invitation.
"Come with me."
"Huh?"
Fujino Asagami even wondered if she had misheard him.
"You're not coming?"
"Um... no... I..."
The girl stammered. Seeing her like that, the boy lost interest and turned away.
"Next time, don't wander around outside in your Reien uniform."
Leaving those words behind, the boy started walking away. Fujino Asagami suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist.
"W-wait!"
Under the gaze of the boy who turned back, Fujino bit her lip and made the first request of her life.
"H-help me. I don't have anywhere to go anymore..."
"Sure. As long as you don't mind sleeping on the sofa."
Hearing the boy's answer, Fujino Asagami smiled from the bottom of her heart.
...
Was this what one should expect from the Mage's Association's newest "Grand Rank"?
Even without "Clairvoyance," Touko Aozaki possessed a rather frightening gift for foresight.
When she left Japan, she had warned Shirou, "Don't bring women into my office."
As an outstanding employee of "Garan no Dou," Shirou understood his president better than anyone and picked up on the true meaning behind her words. Do not let Aoko into my office.
In other words, women other than Aoko were fine.
Shirou headed toward the office with the girl he had picked up on the street, Fujino Asagami.
On the way back, he also stopped by a Chinese supermarket to buy the seasonings needed for sweet-and-sour ribs.
Of course, he used company money.
"Um... Shirou-kun, should I help you carry those?"
"Would you?"
"Yes."
He had thought she was a gloomy, quiet girl, but apparently that was not quite right.
And looking more closely, she did not really resemble Sakura either.
Her small, well-formed face was beautiful, with delicate yet sharp features.
Her vivid long purple hair fell straight down her back. On both sides, a lock of hair was lightly tied near her ears before falling to her chest, and her neatly trimmed bangs brought to mind the daughter of a wealthy family or a princess from a period drama.
Although they were both quiet, introverted beauties, compared to Sakura, who was of mixed blood, Fujino Asagami gave off more of a traditional Japanese lady's air.
After buying the ingredients for dinner, Shirou brought the girl back to the office.
Once he settled her on the guest sofa, Shirou went to the kitchen area next door to prepare dinner.
The kitchen area had a stove, a coffee machine, and a sink with a row of faucets. It seemed to have originally been intended for use as a laboratory.
Just as Shirou finished cutting the ribs, prepared the seasonings, pulled out the wok, and rolled up his sleeves, ready to get to work, Fujino Asagami appeared at the kitchen doorway.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
"..."
Shirou's brow twitched slightly. I kindly brought you back here, and this is how you repay me?
Do you really want to steal away my last joy, woman?
"Um... am I bothering you?"
The girl asked uneasily, and Shirou smiled.
"Not at all. Could you help with the cooking, Fujino-san?"
"Yes, leave it to me."
Fujino Asagami smiled brightly and happily entered the kitchen.
She really was some young lady from a well-off family. Shirou only needed a few glances from the corner of his eye to tell that she probably did very little housework.
Shirou did not mind and poured his passion back into his first attempt at sweet-and-sour ribs.
An hour later, Shirou and Fujino sat around the table for dinner.
"It's delicious..."
Fujino Asagami held her chopsticks, looking genuinely moved.
Although Shirou was used to everyone praising his cooking, succeeding on his first attempt at a dish still put him in a good mood.
After both of their bowls were empty, Fujino Asagami got up, intending to take over the dishwashing, but Shirou stopped her.
"That can wait. There's something I want to ask you."
"Yes."
Fujino Asagami straightened her posture.
She was already prepared to tell Shirou everything about herself.
This person was trustworthy. Had she not believed that with absolute certainty, she would never have followed Shirou into such a suspicious building.
...
Fujino Asagami began to explain.
When she was very young, she had once cut her palm by accident while playing house.
Among the borrowed items, imitation tools, models, and other miniature cooking utensils, there had been a real knife mixed in.
She picked up that small knife, beautifully decorated as it was, and played with it. Before she realized it, she had cut a deep wound between her fingers.
The girl returned to her mother with her palm covered in blood. After scolding her, her mother embraced her daughter in tears.
"It hurts, doesn't it?" her mother said.
The girl could not understand what those words meant, but she was happy to be held in her mother's arms and cried together with her.
"Fujino, once the wound heals, it won't hurt anymore."
Her mother spoke gently while bandaging the wound.
The girl still could not understand.
Because she had never felt pain before.
"That's how it was."
After finishing her story in a low voice, Fujino Asagami forced a bright smile.
"Shirou-kun, I was actually born with a very rare condition called analgesia."
"Ever since I was very small, the adults and children in the village ostracized me because of that illness."
"They even called me a cursed child... Hehe, it was rather cruel, wasn't it?"
Shirou's mouth hung half open. "..."
Fujino blinked. "Shirou-kun? Is something wrong?"
The red-haired boy looked completely speechless, as if to say, What on earth are you talking about?
Shirou said, "How could anyone in this world be treated as ominous just because they have analgesia?"
Fujino said, "Mm, I know you may not believe me... but it really was like that..."
"It's not that I don't believe you. It's that this is wrong."
Shirou stated it flatly. That was not what had happened.
If Fujino was telling the truth, then she had indeed been treated as a cursed child when she was young. But the reason absolutely was not some analgesia.
And her eyes...
Shirou became even more interested. It seemed there was something deeper hidden here.
He asked, "Which hospital diagnosed you with analgesia?"
"It wasn't a hospital."
"Not a hospital?"
The girl nodded. "My father told me... though he's no longer alive."
"Did he take you to see a doctor?"
"Yes. Father found an attending physician for me."
"When was that?" Shirou pressed.
"When I was five or six," Fujino answered.
"Was that when the villagers started bullying you too?"
Fujino shook her head. "No... Everyone had called me a cursed child since I was even younger."
Shirou drew in a breath. "Mm... I see. I think I understand what happened."
"What?"
"Fujino-san, haven't you noticed the problem?"
Shirou said, "Your father didn't arrange a doctor earlier, back when your abnormality first appeared and the villagers began ostracizing you. He only prepared a doctor for you several years later, after you discovered your analgesia."
"!!"
Only then did Fujino notice the enormous contradiction she had always overlooked.
When she was three or four, she had already shown such strong signs of being abnormal that even the villagers noticed.
But her father had done nothing. It was only several years later that he began arranging doctors for Fujino.
The girl asked without thinking, "Why...?"
Shirou reasoned, "Fujino-san, your analgesia was not something you were born with. I'm afraid it was acquired later."
"You may no longer remember it, but when you were very small, the villagers treated you as a cursed child for 'certain reasons.' "
"To remove your abnormality, your father secretly took certain measures... I suspect it was medication. As a result, although you stopped being abnormal, you also lost your sense of pain."
"The doctor he hired for you afterward was probably only there to continue administering that medication."
"How could that be..."
The girl covered her mouth. "Father, he..."
Shirou nodded. "I can't say for certain whether what he did was right, but there's no doubt your father did it to protect you."
Fujino Asagami fell into a long silence.
When she raised her head again, Shirou noticed tears glistening at the corners of her eyes.
"Shirou-kun... What exactly was the true abnormality my father hid from me?"
"I don't know yet."
Shirou said, "May I perform a full examination of your body?"