Her lively eyes were framed by a pair of thick-lensed glasses with thin frames. Her long, jet-black hair, which reached down to her upper thighs, cascaded over her shoulders with her movements.
Leaning forward slightly, she rested her hands casually on her knees. Kazakiri Hyouka's gaze was fixed intently on the stick in Index's hand. A heartfelt smile kept blooming across her shy face, as if she was thoroughly content with this simplest form of interaction.
['Does Hyouka live around here?']
['Is it lonely, living all by yourself?']
['Yesterday, Touma lost his meal money again. He looked so pitiful, I was really worried. In the end, he had to eat the staff lunch I brought home to replenish my energy in the evening.']
['Don't let my appearance fool you, I do work properly to support myself.']
['...']
The shade from the surrounding trees formed a canopy, blocking out the harsh sunlight. The busy Index was scribbling on the ground, one hand planted firmly, looking utterly serious. She occasionally glanced back to check Kazakiri-san's reaction.
Noting that the other girl was still right there, she would let out a small sigh of relief. She seemed genuinely worried that Kazakiri-san might vanish into thin air again.
That anxious, fearful-of-loss feeling was something Natsume-san understood all too well. It was precisely because you cared that you feared losing something.
The seemingly cheerful little nun before them was actually about to burst with worries of her own.
"Index, Kazakiri-san won't be disappearing for a while yet."
"I can sense that her anchor point in the physical universe is quite stable at the moment."
Sensitive to Index's concerns, the bun-girl beside her, who seemed to see right through everything, offered this consolation. She then flashed a lovely smile in Kazakiri-san's direction.
'At least until this experiment or mission is completed,' Natsume Sonoko mentally added, 'those people lurking in the shadows won't let Kazakiri Hyouka slip away from the physical universe.'
"Anchor point? Physical universe?"
Index looked back, puzzled. Sonoko had been saying a lot of confusing things today.
This was probably more of those terms Sonoko picked up at school. Rumor had it Sonoko was one of the rare few in Academy City with actual esper abilities, so it wasn't that surprising.
While the exact meaning was hard to grasp, the general intent was clear. Their wavelengths were gradually aligning through these repeated exchanges.
"Heh heh, don't worry about what those words mean, Index."
"To put it simply, Kazakiri-san's current condition is very stable. Something like last time, where we couldn't find her no matter what, won't happen again for a while."
Organizing her thoughts, Natsume Sonoko rested her chin in her hand and spoke softly.
But this time, what mission do those behind-the-scenes people need Kazakiri-san to complete? No sooner had the thought formed than another popped into Natsume Sonoko's head.
'Could it be like last time, with magicians invading Academy City?'
'Huh, why did that idea come to me?'
'Is it because I've been running into so many magicians lately? This is supposed to be the most scientific place, yet magicians just come and go as they please. It's like there's no deterrent at all.'
Natsume Sonoko shook her head slightly, a somewhat dismissive gesture, which drew the simultaneous attention of both Index and Kazakiri Hyouka.
Conclusions based on speculation and conjecture couldn't be treated as solid evidence, only as a plausible reference point until the truth was uncovered.
Besides, if she did run into any magicians, even though her combat abilities had improved considerably, the bun-headed young lady—who still specialized in evasion and ambushes—felt quite confident.
It seemed her thinking was still constrained by her past experiences with other magicians.
"Hyouka also says she won't vanish suddenly now. It seems she has a sort of… a premonition, that lets her know how long she can stay in reality."
After scribbling a bit more on the ground and receiving a clear response, Index finally relaxed.
"Speaking of which, Sonoko, you seem to have gotten thinner again."
Finally remembering something important, Index blurted out.
Her attention had been diverted for so long by the news of Natsume-san's injured eye and Kazakiri-san's appearance, that she only now remembered to bring up this other matter.
Standing up, Index reached out a small finger and poked the other girl's rather fleshless stomach. Her eyes then scanned Sonoko's nearly gaunt cheeks.
Sonoko was really thin, even more so than the last time they'd met.
It was as if something had consumed a massive amount of energy from her body.
Index actually had some similar experience in this regard.
To maintain her 'Perfect Memory,' she needed to eat constantly to replenish her energy and stamina, which had led to her fainting from hunger quite often in the past. If she went too long without sufficient energy intake, she too would become very, very thin.
But Sonoko's situation seemed a bit different. She never heard Sonoko complain about being hungry. Probably her digestive capacity just couldn't compare to the bottomless pit that was Index.
Sonoko, who never seemed hungry, was getting thinner and weaker. Index, who was always hungry, was getting… well, a bit plumper. Just what was the secret behind this puzzling state of affairs?
"I have lost a little weight, but the doctor said all my levels are normal."
"So it's probably related to my ability development."
Tilting her head back slightly, Natsume-san replied thoughtfully.
She'd just had a check-up with Heaven Canceller yesterday. Aside from her eyes, they hadn't found any issues. She had a lot of trust in that doctor's skills.
Perhaps Doctor Heaven Canceller had noticed Natsume-san had lost some weight recently, but he'd probably chalked it up to something like dieting.
This abnormal weight loss, just as she had suspected before, was likely because her brain was voraciously consuming her nutrients, and the situation was intensifying.
This kind of thing was rare for ordinary people, but for an esper, it made a twisted sort of sense.
In fact, it was quite a frightening prospect. If an esper's fragile body couldn't keep up with the brain's demands, the best-case scenario might involve lying in a hospital bed, receiving nutrients intravenously for both brain and body.
However, Natsume-san believed the consumption demands of her brain were still within a relatively normal range.
Neither maintaining the constant-temperature layer on her skin nor her connection to Reiko seemed enough to cause this progressive emaciation.
After much thought, only the brain's own development activity could be consuming bodily energy so fiercely.
In other words, perhaps some change had occurred within Natsume-san. The originally normal pace of her brain's development might have accelerated, reaching a level where it rapidly burned through the esper's fat reserves and even muscle fiber.
Because Natsume-san wasn't particularly sensitive to changes in her own body, she struggled to notice this gradual transformation. At most, she felt increasingly tired, or that her physical condition was worsening.
'That's most likely the reason.'
Muttering this to herself, Natsume Sonoko felt a bit flustered.
Although she was the master of both her brain and body, there wasn't much she could directly do about either. It wasn't like she could perform surgery on herself.
She hadn't figured out how to handle this situation yet. Seeking help from doctors or researchers remained an option, but not her first choice.
The simplest solution, of course, was to increase her own energy intake—like eating more for lunch and dinner.
She didn't necessarily need to become as plump and fair as Shokuhou-senpai, but she at least wanted to look healthy. This dry, skinny look wasn't going to win her any popularity contests.
--+--
T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL