Chapter 104 part 2: Interlude -The Summary

Several days had passed since then.

Thanks to the efforts of the General Student Council kids, the five-day administrative void didn’t cause a massive mess. It was sufficiently manageable and quickly normalized.

Fortunately, the Pater faction kids were all healthy and could attend school normally… but it seemed they couldn’t remember most of the things they themselves had done under Lucy’s influence.

The After-School Sweets Club too… except for Yumeka, who had remained conscious at the scene, none of them remembered… so I had to ask Yumeka to keep it a secret.

For some reason, the memories of the few kids Sora and I met while investigating Lucy remained intact, so counseling those kids was also something I needed to spend time on.

And…

“…Sensei, where on earth did you get this?”

[As expected, Himari, it seems abnormal even to your eyes.]

Lucy, after receiving emergency treatment from the Remedial Knights, was temporarily hospitalized in a large hospital under the General Student Council via their helicopter.

Once her condition stabilized somewhat, she was transferred to Millennium.

Yes… Millennium… What she showed at that scene, at least, lacked realism, so Himari, meaning the Super Phenomenon Task Force, decided to examine her.

“Yes, Sensei… I don’t know what exactly happened to her, but…’Mystery’… I believe Sensei probably knows about it to some extent…

It’s something most students use unconsciously, and something we need to live. Yet, that Mystery is barely detectable in her… It’s almost as if… someone intentionally ripped it out…”

[…Isn’t that… something that regenerates naturally though? Neru, as well as kids confident in their combat abilities, mostly seem to use it.

Even some kids who use that Mystery recklessly without conserving it sometimes collapse from exhaustion, but they recovered.]

I understood.

What students use are ultimately firearms, and even with various modifications, as firearms, the power they can produce is fixed and has limits.

Despite that, some students break through those limits and show movements exceeding their usual capabilities, so I had thought something like that must exist.

“Yes, that’s correct. Many use it instinctively without even knowing it’s ‘Mystery’, and depending on talent or effort, they can learn to consciously draw it out.

Hmm… It’s difficult to explain… Let me borrow knowledge from the Game Development Department here and temporarily explain Mystery as MP. Would that be alright?”

[Good, that actually seems easier to understand?]

Himari too, it’s a field where her exploration isn’t finished yet, and at the same time, it’s something done instinctively, so explaining it must be difficult.

“Yes, good. Mystery, comparing it to a game, is MP. It’s something most individuals belonging to Kivotos possess and simultaneously consume unconsciously.

Fortunately, like stamina, it can be recovered through sufficient rest or by not using it. However…”

[Right now, this child had it intentionally stolen by someone?]

“Yes, we don’t know who ripped it out, or even if it was indeed ripped out by someone… Only the minimum level required for survival remains, most of it has been lost.

In other words, you could say her maximum MP has decreased and is fixed at 1.”

Yes… in other words… this child named Lucy was practically in a vegetative state. A vegetative state from which she could never recover.

…In a place where I couldn’t reach out, this child suffered, and at the very least… there must have been some trigger for her to commit such acts.

“…Sensei?”

[…Himari, sorry. Please don’t tell anyone what you’re seeing now.]

I take out the adult card.

I resent myself for only taking it out after everything is over.

But… no one has been sacrificed yet. There may be students who have suffered, but if I can heal those students, if I can provide them with another chance, I will not hesitate.

Nevertheless, I can’t do much for this child.

Instinctively… as soon as I took out the adult card, as if the adult card itself was telling me what I was about to do, I gained minimal knowledge, yet still knowledge, of what Mystery is.

It is the foundation and origin of many students.

What I am doing now is interfering slightly with that foundation and origin. Therefore, I cannot do much.

[…]

No, if I could, it might even be possible to completely restore this child. But that would require me to pay a heavy price too.

A price that even I would find difficult to bear. Therefore… all I can do for this child is just give her a little push, the impetus to stand up again.

I use the adult card.

I whisper.

‘Someday… won’t you tell me your story? It doesn’t matter how long it takes. Just… if someday you feel like standing up again, if at least you don’t want to make that mistake anymore, I will be on your side.

That seems to be everything I can do for a child I failed to fulfill my duty as a teacher towards.’

“Se… Sensei…?! What did you just do?! Her Mystery… although an extremely minute amount, it has begun to recover.”

[Phew… Sorry, Himari. I’ll say it again, please don’t tell anyone. This… is a bit hard to show.]

“…Yes… Understood. I would like to research it myself, but… understood.”

From now on, whether she recovers and stands up is purely up to her.

It might take days, weeks, months, or even years, but if she herself has the will to stand, she will stand.

[Then… Keung… Sorry, Himari, would it be okay if I left this child with you for a bit?]

“Yes, I also have many aspects of her condition I wish to investigate… I will take charge of her for a while. The Tea Party…”

[I’ll figure something out on my end regarding that. Thank you.]

Well… yes… Himari is an outstanding child among the students I know…

And… since I should probably go meet that child who’s been asleep for days, only causing misunderstandings, I left the place.