chapter4 · 089-ep89

Episode 89: There's One Thing I've Been Thinking About

Kujō-san wants to talk to me...?

...No, wait.

Isn't this pretty obviously about the training camp?

We'd looked right at each other back then.

He'd deflected it in front of Mom, but maybe it had been bothering him after all.

"Can we talk outside for a bit?"

"Ah, yes. That's fine."

"Sorry. I'll borrow your son for just a moment."

Kujō-san turned to Dad and Mom.

Watching Dad and Mom give slight bows, I headed to the entrance with Kujō-san.

...Now then.

What do I do?

If he asks about the training camp, should I tell him the truth?

No, but...

If I told him there's a Gate in my room, that seemed like it would cause way more trouble.

I'd gotten it from Haruto, and it wasn't a government-managed Gate to begin with.

If they found out a high schooler had something like that in his room, they'd probably launch an investigation.

...That would be a problem.

A huge problem.

I'd finally gotten able to enter a dungeon whenever I wanted.

Thinking that, I put on my shoes and followed Kujō-san outside.

A short distance from the entrance, Kujō-san stopped.

"Sorry for calling you out so suddenly."

"No, it's fine."

"There's something I wanted to confirm."

"...Yes."

I knew it.

This is definitely about the training camp.

What now?

How much do I tell him?

While I was desperately scrambling for an excuse, Kujō-san spoke.

"Do you remember when we sparred before?"

"...Huh?"

That wasn't the topic I'd been expecting.

Sparring?

"I remember."

"Right. At the end, you erased my arm."

"Ah... yes."

Of course I remembered.

That huge arm that had come out of Kujō-san's back.

It had been genuinely terrifying.

Even now, he was strong enough that I'd politely decline a rematch.

In the end, I'd used Stagnation to stop the flow of his Magic.

"I've been wondering about that for a while."

"Wondering?"

"Yeah. I've been wondering whether what you used was really an Enchanter's ability."

"........"

Huh.

Wait.

Hold on a second.

"Of course, I don't know every possibility an Enchanter has. And you've evolved into a Unique Job, too."

"...That's true."

"But the phenomenon back then was a little strange. It wasn't simply that I was pushed back by force, or that my Magic was canceled out. I'd never experienced anything like it."

With that, Kujō-san looked at me.

"So there's one thing I've been thinking about."

"What would that be?"

"Himuro. Those people who were all over that stream — Gate Administrators, I think? You wouldn't happen to have a power similar to theirs, would you?"

"........"

Isn't this basically figured out?

The people who became the talk of that stream.

The ones called Observers, who'd completed ten Achievements.

He meant Haruto and the others.

In other words, Kujō-san suspected I was an Observer too.

...Seriously.

Using Stagnation back then had been unavoidable, but I guess it stood out too much.

Then again, connecting that to Observers was impressive in itself.

So Kujō-san had thought it through that far.

"That's..."

What do I do?

Should I say it?

I mean, it was basically already out in the open.

Then I might as well—

"No, don't misunderstand."

Before I could say more, Kujō-san cut in.

"I'm not trying to force it out of you."

"...Huh?"

"Everyone has things they don't want others to know. And if you have a power like theirs, I understand wanting to hide it."

Kujō-san smiled slightly.

"Honestly, if I had a power like that, I wouldn't go telling people either."

"...Is that so?"

"Of course. If people knew you had a power even you didn't fully understand, it's obvious you'd end up with trouble."

...Well, true.

Since that stream, the number of people looking into Achievements had exploded.

Even Observers were getting attention from all over the world now.

In the middle of all that, what would happen if I said "Actually, me too"?

I didn't even want to imagine it.

"So I won't ask you to answer here and now. I just want you to remember one thing."

"Yes."

"If you do have some kind of power, I want you to use it without holding back on the job."

"...On the job?"

"Yeah. From here on, you'll be responding to Awakener incidents alongside us."

Kujō-san paused there.

"If you're holding back your power just to hide it from us, don't. Use it freely when you need to."

"........"

"Of course, I'm not saying show us everything. But we'd also rather not assign you work without knowing what you can actually do."

...I see.

So that's what he meant.

He was right — in that spar, I hadn't planned to use Stagnation from the start.

Because I hadn't wanted them to know I was an Observer.

What if that had been a real crime scene?

Someone could get hurt while I hid it, or the culprit could get away.

...No, I'd hate for that to happen.

And this was a job I'd be getting paid for in the first place.

Five hundred thousand yen a month.

Separate from the deployment allowance.

Taking that money and then saying "I won't use my ability because I don't want people to find out" was a bit much.

Of course, I didn't think I needed to tell him everything.

But Kujō-san was someone I could probably tell at least some of it.

At the very least, he'd seen my abilities and was still trying to bring me onto the job.

"...Kujō-san."

"Hm?"

"Actually, I have it too."

"........"

"The power of an Observer."

Kujō-san didn't answer right away.

He just looked at my face.

...Huh.

Was he more surprised than I'd expected?

"I see."

After a moment, Kujō-san said that.

"So that's how it was."

"You hadn't figured it out?"

"I suspected. But I didn't have proof."

"I see."

"Yeah. There was too little information to judge from that one phenomenon alone."

Well, fair.

I'd only learned Observers existed recently myself.

There was probably still more Kujō-san and the others didn't know.

"So, just to ask..."

I hesitated a little, then went on.

"Would it be okay if I explained my abilities, at least to some extent?"

"You're okay with that?"

"Yes. If I'm going to use them on the job, I think it's better for you to know."

"...I see. Then tell me."

So I explained again that I was one of the Observers.

The name was 【Interferer】.

Interference Eye+, which let me see the flow of Magic, and Stagnation, which let me act on that flow.

The reason I'd erased Kujō-san's arm in our spar was that I'd used Stagnation to stop the flow of his Magic.

I also told him about what I'd become able to do in recent training, to the extent it seemed useful on the job.

Not all of it, of course.

The fine details of Achievement conditions, how I'd gotten the abilities — that kind of thing wasn't necessary.

And the fact that there's a Gate in my room — definitely not.

Kujō-san asked a few questions along the way, but he didn't try to drag the conversation wider.

He seemed to be confirming what I could do and thinking about how to use it on the job.

"...I see."

When I finished, Kujō-san crossed his arms.

"More than I expected."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. Especially the ability to see the flow of Magic — that has a lot of uses."

"You mean Interference Eye+?"

"That's right. It could help find things we've never been able to find, and it'd help determine what kind of ability an opponent is using."

...Ohh.

Hearing it put that way, it sounded amazing.

Not that I hadn't already known full well it was an amazing ability.

"Himuro."

"Yes."

"Based on what I just heard, I'd like to think a little about a position that suits you."

"A position?"

"Yeah. Like I said before, this work isn't done alone. You'll be operating in squads of several people."

Right, he'd said that.

So far I'd trained with people I knew from the development program, but this would be work.

I'd probably be working with Awakeners I didn't know.

"With your abilities, we could assign you a somewhat different role than before. If we're borrowing your strength, I want to find the shape that uses it best."

"I see..."

A position that suited me.

That sounded kind of nice.

Like party composition in a game.

I'd only ever thought about fighting myself, but what would it be like to team up with others?

A strong frontliner, with me behind them watching the flow of Magic or stopping enemy attacks.

Or the reverse — me up front with someone else supporting me. That sounded fun too.

...No, it's a job. Not really the time to be saying it sounds fun.

Still, I was a little looking forward to it.

"And one more thing I want to confirm."

"What would that be?"

"About what you just told me — may I pass on only the necessary parts to the members of the squad you'll work with?"

"...About my abilities?"

"Yeah. I don't intend to tell them everything. Only the information necessary for the work."

Kujō-san said that, then continued.

"For example, that you can see the flow of Magic, that you can interfere with an opponent's abilities, that you can search a wide area for targets. The people working the same scene should know that kind of information."

"Ah, I see."

"Conversely, I don't think everyone needs to hear how you obtained your abilities or that you're an Observer. And if there's other information you'd rather keep quiet, Himuro, I'll keep quiet about that as well."

...Oh.

So he was drawing that line.

That was a big help.

Honestly, hiding everything from the people I worked with would be difficult.

If I used my abilities, they'd notice I was doing something unusual.

But whether they knew I was an Observer was a separate matter.

I can see Magic with Interference Eye+.

I can stop an opponent's attacks with Stagnation.

Up to that point, it could pass as an Awakener with rare Skills... maybe.

"That's fine, then."

"I see."

"But if possible, I'd appreciate it if you kept the Observer part secret for now."

"Understood. Unless it's necessary, I won't spread it."

"Thank you."

"That said, if you use your abilities in the field, someone will notice something. Keep that in mind."

"Ahh... yeah, I figured."

"Hiding all of that is difficult."

Well, yeah.

Kujō-san had suspected my ability from seeing Stagnation himself.

But if he wasn't going to go around telling people, that alone was plenty.

"Understood."

"Good. That helps."

Kujō-san said that with a small nod.

"Then let's leave today's talk at that."

"Yes."

"I'll contact you again about the rest. There's still paperwork and training left."

"Understood. Thank you."

"Thank you. I appreciate you lending us your strength."

With that, Kujō-san gave a slight bow.

...Man.

Thinking about it again, it's impressive.

Kujō-san's a pretty important person in the government, right?

And yet he thanks me like this, normally.

And he hadn't tried to force information about my abilities out of me.

Honestly, I'd expected more questions.

Once he knew I was an Observer — where I'd gotten it, what else I could do.

He could've reasonably asked me to come to a government research facility, even.

...No, the research facility was probably overthinking it.

But Observers really were still something hardly anyone understood.

In that sense too, I was glad Kujō-san was handling today's meeting.

"Then I'll be in touch."

"Yes. Thank you for today."

When I replied, Kujō-san raised one hand and started toward his car.

So that was it.

...Thank god.

Today had felt way more exhausting than I'd expected.

The explanation to my parents was done safely.

I'd be able to become a Cooperation Officer, and I'd told him about the Observer thing to the extent necessary.

All that was left was waiting for the next contact.

Yeah.

All things considered, this had been a pretty good day, right?

Right as I thought that, Kujō-san stopped in front of his car.

"Ah, right. Himuro."

"Yes?"

What now?

Was there something else?

Still facing away, Kujō-san turned his head slightly toward me.

"If there was a training camp for a whole week, I suppose you got a fair bit stronger?"

Ugh, of course.

He hadn't asked anything earlier, so I'd thought I'd gotten away with it.

So he really was bothered by the training camp!?

...Well, of course.

He's a government man. He'd know whether a camp like that existed.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah, no! Yes! I think I got a lot stronger!"

"Haha, is that so? Then I can expect good things from you as a Cooperation Officer."

"Thank you!"

"That said, more Awakeners are entering dungeons without authorization now, and the government's scrambling to crack down."

"...Yes."

"If you'd been doing that and hadn't passed the Cooperation Officer screening, I might be the one chasing you down right about now."

"........"

Huh.

Hold on.

Does that mean...?

"Haha, I'm joking. Well, from now on you'll be lending us your strength as a Cooperation Officer. Don't worry your parents too much."

"Ah, yes! I'll be careful!"

Kujō-san chuckled and opened the car door.

He got in, raised a hand lightly, and drove off.

"........"

I stood there for a while.

...No, no, no.

Kujō-san said he was joking, but that definitely wasn't just a joke, right?

There was no doubt he was suspicious about the training camp.

But could he really suspect I'd entered a dungeon?

No, he couldn't possibly know that far.

There shouldn't be any evidence that I entered a dungeon.

And he wouldn't know how I got in, either.

...Yeah.

That had to be it.

"........"

...No, I'm really fine, right?

How much did he actually figure out?

Well, but.

At the very least, he'd really saved me by playing along about the training camp in front of Mom.

If he'd said, "I haven't heard of any such camp," who knows what would've happened.

No telling what Dad and Mom would've started asking.

"...That was a lifesaver."

Really.

Though I hadn't expected him to say that at the end.

Kujō-san was smiling, but his eyes weren't... that wasn't the case, right?

...Aaagh!

Thinking about it won't get me anywhere!

For now, I'd try not to do anything else that made people suspicious.

Not that I had a feeling I was already plenty suspicious.

Well, but.

Like Kujō-san said, I probably had worried them a little too much.

I'd been gone from home a whole week, and come back completely wiped.

Next time I'd explain a little better.

Yeah.

Next time.

"........"

...Wait, am I planning to lock myself in a dungeon for a week again?

I hadn't decided anything about that yet.

Well, whatever. For now.

First came the Cooperation Officer work.

I was curious what position Kujō-san would come up with, too.

And I was honestly looking forward to working with new people.

Besides, I'd worked hard for a week and gotten stronger.

I wanted to test the results on the job, too.

"Well then, I wonder how it'll go."

With that thought, I headed back inside.