Chapter 32: Case of the Nutcracker

Act IV: Trepak

"Eh? Where did you say you're going?" Oni-Chan asked over the phone.

"We're going to Fremea's boarding school," I replied, sitting in a taxicab. "We caught a breakthrough regarding the Nutcracker Case, so we're going back to district 13 for a follow-up."

"Oh… okay," Oni-Chan said, still hesitating, "At least you have Index with you, but what about Misaka?"

"We're meeting her at Fremea's boarding school," I said, "Hopefully, we can solve this case by the end of the day."

"Alright," he grumbled, "I wish that you had told me about this before your left. I'm trusting you on this case, so don't do anything too crazy, okay?""

"Hai, Waga-tta," I said, "Ja, Ma-ta."

I hung up and sat back in my seat. Outside, a light dusting of snow was drifting from the clouds, coating everything in the streets. Meanwhile, I could hear rhythmic swishing and thumping as the windshield wipers did their best to keep the view clear.

Next to me, Index was interviewing the man who met us in the hospital. He was a tall lanky man, who wore a dark blue frock coat and long black trousers. He had a squarish jaw and a hook nose. His long grey hair had been tied into a ponytail, but his grey beard and mustache were left long and scraggly.

By far, the most striking features were his eyes, deep-set and blue. I shivered as they studied me, and I struggled to look away.

"Surely, Drosselmeyer is just an alias," Index was saying, "Won't you tell me who you really are?"

The man shifted his attention away, shaking his head. "Sadly, I cannot. I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but it's for the safety of me and my wards."

Index sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "It's already exceedingly difficult to have a mystery in one end of a case. To have it on both ends is just impossible!"

"I understand. I can still answer other questions."

"Alright," Index said, "When you say wards, do you mean Marie and Fritz?"

"Sort of," Drosselmeyer responded, "I've taken care of Marie since her parents died, but Fritz is a stranger to me. There is another person that I am taking care of, but he is too precious for me to identify."

"Can you at least tell me where you come from?" Index asked, "The headmistress says that you and your dependents are Central European."

He shook his head, "I am Russian, born and raised, but my wards are half German, on their mother's side."

"I see." Index said, "So why is a Russian taking care of two half-German children? Why are you living far away in Japan? Why are you here living in Academy City?"

The man sighed, "Again, if I were to tell you so much, I would be endangering the two I most care about," He said, "Everything I do is to protect my charges. As for me bring them here, I feel safer in Academy City than I do anywhere else. With Chairman Accelerator on the watch, many magicians fear his wrath."

"If you're so worried about their safety," Index said, "Then why do you also live separately and so far away from them?"

Drosselmeyer smiled. "I wanted to give my wards some semblance to normalcy. The maids are good at taking care of the children, and the school employs great teachers who foster a great environment for learning. It's also one of the most secure primary schools in the city."

I frowned, "I don't understand. The headmistress is neglectful of her duties, and the maids can hardly be counted on for any sort of security. What made you so assured of their safety?"

"Yes, you're very astute about its shortcomings, but you would be surprised to learn that the school is carefully guarded, especially at night."

"Guarded?" I asked, "By whom?"

He nodded. "For some reason, a level 5 esper or one of her henchmen guards the boarding school every night. I've seen them many times."

"A level 5 esper? Who could that be?"

Drosselmeyer shrugged. "I've never met them. I've only seen them sit in a car on a neighboring street. At first, I thought that they were casing the joint, but they've never even tried to break in."

I thought hard on that. The esper's party could be valuable witnesses, or they could also be accessories to the crime. Whoever they were, they would be really important to talk to.

"So," Index spoke again, "When was the last time you saw Marie and Fritz?"

"Christmas Eve," He said, "I had gone to the school for a little gift-giving for the children. I stayed in the servants' quarters until Christmas day to be with my ward and to play with the other children."

"I heard that those two days were quite rowdy, weren't they?"

Drosselmeyer nodded. "Indeed, Fritz was quite the disruptive child. He had gotten his hands on the Nutcracker and refused to let anyone else touch it. Then, he went and broke the Nutcracker, along with other toys when he tripped and fell on them," He sighed tiredly, "Luckily, I was still there when this happened, and I was able to fix them all before I went home."

"Marie and Fritz disappeared the day after Christmas," I said, "In other words, on the day after you visited them. Why did you wait so long to reach out to us?"

At this, the man let out a sad ragged sigh. "I admit I put too much faith into Ms. Clavell, the headmistress," he said, "She didn't inform me about the disappearance until last night. She said that some meddling kids were looking for my charges, and that I should be on my guard."

"That would've been us!" I said, hot with realization, "You're saying that she's blaming us for the disappearances?"

Index groaned. "My guess is that she thought that we would be reaching out to you," she said to Drosselmeyer, "She probably feared that we would expose her incompetence, so she tried to discredit us."

"That's Ms. Clavell for you. I bet she even told you that I don't speak any Japanese, didn't she?" A glance at my face was all the confirmation he needed, and he snorted. "She is an ignorant fool, just because she was born into a more affluent family. She thinks that everybody else is beneath her vigilance, and when she visited my shop, we hardly ever interacted."

"I never believed her for a moment," The man went on, "Especially when I found out who the meddling kids were."

"What do you mean?" Index asked.

"Your reputation proceeds you, child," Drosselmeyer said with a smile, "Even in Russia, your role as the keeper of all Grimoires is well known. So is the Ace of Tokiwadai. My granddaughter told me how she came to Moscow to demonstrate her Esper powers."

"And me?" I asked, not wanting to be left out.

Drosselmeyer's smile turned sad. "Unfortunately, you are a stranger to me, but I know your cousin well."

"Cousin?" I asked.

He nodded. "You would be surprised to learn how much the name of Kamijou Touma weighs on those who wield great power. Why even my granddaughter can't stop talking about him!"

Granddaughter? I wanted to ask him, but the Taxi driver interrupted us. "Ahem! I'm sorry for cutting in on your conversation, but we've arrived at your destination!"

Fremea's boarding school looked strange in the day. At night, the building was shrouded by darkness, so I didn't fully appreciate its grandeur. The front façade was modeled after Monticello, complete with a white four-column portico and a great octangular dome. Behind that, the building continued back many more meters and rose another two stories. The roof itself was studded with great windows, hinting at the vast attic space.

Misaka-San was waiting for us in the front portico, leaning on a flowerpot and texting on her phone. As we emerged from the Taxicab, she put her phone away, and came down to greet us.

"Oi!" She waved at us, "I hope your trip over here went well."

"Thankfully, we arrived without trouble," Index beamed.

"A-le?"Misaka-San shaded her eyes and made a show of looking around. "I don't see the Idiot here. I'm guessing that he isn't with you."

"No," Index shook her head, "He's still at the hospital. Unfortunately, he won't be joining us tonight."

"He isn't hurt, though, or anything like that," I assured Misaka-San, "He's just having an interview with Mugino-San."

"Careful now!" Misaka-San wagged her finger, "One more word, and we may get a call from the hospital! Goodness knows what Mugino would do if he pissed her off!"

We all laughed, albeit nervously.

"Ahem!" Then the man next to me cleared his throat loudly, and I blushed.

"Where are my manners!" I said sheepishly. Stepping aside, I endeavored to give him a proper introduction, "Drosselmeyer-San, may I introduce you to Misaka Mikoto, a Level 5 esper and the Ace of Tokiwadai. Misaka-San this is Drosselmeyer, guardian for Maria."

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Railgun-Sama." The man placed a hand to his chest and bowed.

"Please, call me Misaka. It's an honor to meet you," She bowed in turn.

The two exchanged handshakes, and then Misaka-San turned to the rest of us. "Come on then, Mafuyu-san and Hinata-San are waiting for us."

Entering the schoolhouse, we were immediately greeted with a cacophony of noise. Everywhere I looked, children were running about, shouting and screaming at the top of their lungs. All the while, the maids were chasing after the kids, shepherding them through classroom doors and trying their hardest to keep the peace.

At last, I saw Fremea and called out to her. She cried in delight and glommed onto me. "Nyah nyah! You came back! You actually came back!"

"Of course, I came back!" I laughed and hugged her tightly, "There's no way that I would leave my new best friend behind!"

"Fremea-Chan!" Hinata-San and Mafuyu-san emerged from the ruckus. "I know you're happy to see Otohime-Chan," Hinata-San called, "But you need to get to class now! You can play with her later!"

"Hai!" the little girl cried in a singsong way. Then, she kissed me on the cheek before letting me go. "Ja! Ma-ta ne!"

Blushing, I cupped my cheeks and waved her off.

Hinata-San beamed. "It's good to see you again."

"Likewise," Misaka-San said, "Has there been any more developments since last night? Have you heard anything new about the missing kids?"

Hinata-San shook her head. "I'm sorry, we searched everywhere for them."

"Where is Clavell-sensei?" I asked, "Isn't she around?"

Mafuyu-san sighed, "Our lady has gone for her weekly spa treatment. She's been gone since this morning and won't be around until dinner time."

"A whole day?" I asked sharply, "When there're kids missing? Isn't that just irresponsible?"

"There's nothing to worry about," Mafuyu-san assured me, "We take good care of the kids while she is away, and there are other guardians besides."

"Well," Misaka-San said, "At least that will give us time to look around without being bothered."

"So?" Hinata-San asked, "Where do you all want to go?"

Drosselmeyer cut in before anyone else could answer, "I wish to see the Nutcracker. Is he still in its usual place?"

"I… I think so," Hinata-San said, taking aback by the abrupt question, "I haven't checked the attic since yesterday, but I assume so."

"Excellent," Drosselmeyer said, "Then why don't we start there."

Together, we went through the main corridor, past Ms. Clavell's office and all the other classrooms, until we reached the dining hall. Then Mafuyu-san led us up the staircase to the second-floor balcony. Up another set of stairs we climbed, until a pair of double doors blocked our way. Once there, Mafuyu-san rummaged through her apron pockets and pulled out a set of keys.

"Do all the staff have access to this place?" I asked Hinata-San as Mafuyu-san unlocked the doors.

"Oh no," Hinata-San said, "There are but a few with such privileges. Some of the children keep their valuables up here, so we can't just let anyone in."

Click! The door quickly unlocked, and we walked into a short hallway. Mafuyu-san instructed us to remove our shoes and to place them into one of many shoe cubbies built against the inner wall. Once that was done, she led us up a couple of steps, and we came upon a large playroom.

Sunlight streamed in from the many windows that studded the walls, each of which extended from floor to trimming. The room covered with white carpeting and was well furnished with everything a kid could want. A large TV could be seen at one side, and there was a large sofa in front of it. There were beanbags, tiny tables and chairs, and there were pillows and cushions everywhere.

By far the most remarkable thing was all the toys scattered about the place. On one of the tables sat a train set with wooden blocks serving as the tracks. On another table, a fake tea set was lain out, complete with fake food and dainty little spoons.

Our attention was drawn to the third table, where the robotic dog band sat among cushions. In the middle of them all, where the conductor would be, sat the Nutcracker.

He was much larger than the other dogs, stout, stocky, and with eyes as large as ping pong balls. His huge mouth bared with formidable teeth, as was befitting of a nutcracker. He wore a forest-green uniform with red epaulets and gold trimmings. A gold braided sword belt draped down across his chest, and a tiny toy saber dangled at his hips. Finally, the sword belt was kept neat with a gold striped sash that was tied around his waist.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Drosselmeyer said as he examined the toy figure. "He's still here and safe!"

"That reminds me!" Index said as she rummaged through her habit. "Here, as I promised."

She pulled out Marie's little wooden box and held it out to Hinata-San.

The maid beamed. "Arigato! I'll make sure Marie gets it back."

Just as she reached out to take the box, Drosselmeyer turned and grabbed onto her outstretched hand.

"Itai!" Hinata-San exclaimed. "Sir, you're hurting me!"

Drosselmeyer paid her no mind. Prying her hand away, he focused exclusively on the wooden box.

"Where did you get that!" He growled, boring into Index-San's eyes.

To her credit, the nun didn't flinch from his sudden demeanor. Calmly, she looked right back at him and spoke in a careful voice. "Don't worry, I've kept it safe and unharmed. We took it from Marie's trunk, near where she slept. The golden cage is safe and unbroken."

Drosselmeyer's eyes hardened, "I couldn't care less about the cage. What was inside of it?"

"There was nothing," Index answered, "When we looked, the cage was empty."

His eyes flashed. In a blink, he'd loosened Hinata-San's hand, and snatched the box away. He opened the box, pulled out the little cage, and swore in Russian. "Zhizn' ebet menya!"

With horrendous violence, he crushed the little cage in his fist and flung the pieces all over the carpet. He threw the box back at Index, who managed to dodge it in time. Then, he was bent over and pacing back and forth. His fists were rapping against his forehead, as if he were having a terrible headache.

All the while, he was muttering under his breath, mixing in Japanese in with his Russian, yet he spoke so rapidly that even Misaka-San couldn't understand what he was saying. Then, he whirled and jabbed a finger in the Nutcracker's direction. "If it's gone, then why is he still here?"

"What is gone? Who is still here?" Everyone flinched, as if waking from a sudden dream. It took me a second to realize that the person asking the question was me.

With supreme effort, Drosselmeyer steeled himself and bowed humbly towards Hinata-san. "A thousand apologies, I didn't mean to hurt you."

"It's okay," Hinata-San stammered, rubbing her wrist gingerly.

Mafuyu-san went to pick up the wooden box. "Here, I think this box means more to you than to any of us."

Drosselmeyer shook his head and refused to take it. "Take it back to where it was kept," He said, "It's served its purpose. I won't be needing it anymore."

His eyes shifted back and forth, clearly betraying his agitation. Seeing this, I turned to Hinata-San. "Is there any place where we can talk, privately?"

"Y-yes," She said, "There're guest bedrooms in the servant's quarters, near the kitchen.

"Excellent," I said, "Then let us go there, together."