Chapter 6
Part 1
The façade of the L'ambroisie restaurant was packed with high-class girls of Tokiwadai Middle School.
A large crowd formed around the main doors under a soothing, warm light of evening sun.
It was half past 8 PM.
Polite chatters filled the area where a circle of rich, young ladies was surrounding a one particular girl.
She was also wearing a Tokiwadai Middle School summer uniform, but her hands were gloved. In those hands, she was holding a small TV remote control as if she was wielding a heavy sword. She hummed something to herself and discreetly pressed a button on the TV remote.
But the crowd of around 70 students that was standing around her didn't seem to notice that small gesture.
There were separate groups who were talking among each other. In this ocean of identical school uniforms, however, every single young lady had a unique hairstyle, carried a different designer purse, stood in a different pose, talked in a different tone.
All of that was happening at the front door of the L'ambroisie restaurant. The sidewalk was packed with people and was blocking the way completely for the pedestrians. Normally, such a big crowd in the middle of School Garden would create a commotion with many onlookers wondering what might be going on, but with this one particular girl standing in the middle of it all, nobody had any doubts.
She was a young lady who could not be seen out without her "regular" entourage, which could sometimes consist of up to a hundred people.
Her hands were gloved and her eyes were shimmering like a galaxy.
The Tokiwadai ladies standing closest to her were all 3rd-years. Tall, gorgeous, imposing, elegant students. They looked even older than they were in reality. Their hair looked perfectly polished and creatively styled, their accessories were an uncommon mixture of opulence and chic, and their posture was flawless.
A girl with glasses who was standing next to the young lady spoke in a graceful tone after turning off her smartphone.
"Queen, the limousine is ready and waiting outside of the School Garden."
The TV remote was slid inside the lady's crossbody purse.
"Very well. Let's go then."
A mature-looking girl with gorgeous ringlet curls nodded her head politely. She then turned around and spoke to the group of girls standing behind her.
"Kobayashi-san, tell the rest of the clique members telepathically to say goodbye to the guests and escort the Queen out of the School Garden with us."
"All of us are going?"
"Yes."
"Understood."
A girl whose hair was cut in a short bob simply nodded her head.
In this crowd formed of individual groups, a pair of long, black pigtails could be detected if you squinted your eyes enough. Along with them, a pair of black kneesocked legs started to rub against each other. A slight blush appeared on the cheeks of one of the young ladies.
"I-I'm really thankful that I could accompany you today."
The voice that left Sakibasu Yuri's mouth was high-pitched and squeamish.
"What are you talking about, Sakibasu-san? Without you we would not be able to get a chance to eat dinner with the Queen. You are the one who deserves the thanking words, and even more than that."
There was a group of five girls standing beside her in an uneven circle. Four of them were Tokiwadai students but the fifth was wearing a white and salmon-colored tennis uniform, rather than the light brown vest with a shirt underneath like the vast majority of people around them.
Ogura Iori was looking at the black-haired girl with a warm smile on her face. Even though the purse she was carrying was the most expensive and luxurious item imaginable, her grinning face was humble and affectionate.
Sakibasu tried to hide her face with the two long pigtails hanging from her head.
"N-No, it was an honor to me as well... Ah?"
The girl seemed to have snapped out of her embarrassment and looked around the area, as if some sort of security alarm went off in her head.
She nodded her head unexpectedly.
"Mhm, I understand."
She mumbled to herself quietly as if an inaudible to others voice was talking to her.
But she was not the only one acting that way.
The whole crowd occupying the sidewalk in front of the L'ambroisie restaurant suddenly became quiet. Some faint whispers could be heard here and there, but it seemed like the strange voice inside Sakibasu's head have also reached the majority of the people.
It all happened in an instant, however, and soon Sakibasu Yuri bowed to the five girls, like any proper lady from Tokiwadai would.
"I'm really sorry, everyone, but I have to go with the rest of the clique now. It seems that everybody has been sent an order to escort the Queen out of the Garden."
"Eh? You're going already?"
"And I thought you could hang out with us for a little bit longer..."
Sakibasu Yuri could only respond with a troubled, awkward smile.
The crowd was already moving towards the Queen Bee herself, so there wasn't much time to chat right now, or else the girl would have to be squeezing through a tight and bumpy crowd later.
It was time to go with the rest of the clique members. Shokuhou Misaki, the #5 Level 5, was already walking away with her enormous entourage.
Sakibasu Yuri turned around and spoke to the five girls from behind her shoulder, while her black pigtails were swaying from side to side.
"I'm deeply sorry, Ogura-san and everyone, but this is really urgent and important right now. M-Maybe we can go out somewhere some other time. I wish you all a nice evening. Goodbye!"
She was already making her way towards the Queen and soon she disappeared in the stampede of Tokiwadai uniforms.
The five girls, along with other guests, were watching from the empty sidewalk as the Queen's mighty hive was heading out of the School Garden. And it was simply enormous. Even members of real Royal Families would not need that many servants in their escort as this teenage lady had right now. Yet, in this European-looking town nobody questioned that.
Some could say that those rituals were incredibly obnoxious and unnecessary, but the girls worshipping her had a completely different mindset. They would not forgive themselves if they could not give their queen a suitable ceremony at times like this. They loved her so much that being a servant has become their entire driving force.
Planning parties, official meetings, formal escorting missions, store appointments and even preparing her own breakfast - those were the responsibilities that Shokuhou Misaki's clique members had. She was bearing the overly-dramatic "staged monarchy" of School Garden all on her own.
And it wasn't at all a childish game of pretend like many people would think. Those girls around her and, of course, the queen herself, were all high level espers. Their clique's tasks weren't anything like drama club projects or managing the school's student council like the ones of regular middle schoolers. This wasn't just a popular group in school.
The clique's meetings were taking place in high-tech facilities and laboratories where they would discuss and start various scientific projects, thanks to their esper abilities. And for these facilities, a Level 5 esper with a unique ability like her was an especially desirable and valuable business partner.
So, naturally, she was constantly busy and out of town. Her superiority over every other Tokiwadai student was overwhelming. She was exceeding everyone in every single aspect and there was no other way but to respect and fear her at the same time.
The smell of rich, sweet honey started to slowly fade away as the dozens of footsteps were getting quieter and quieter.
Ogura Iori, along with her friends and other guests, stood on the sidewalk under the bright orange sun for a while until she stretched her arms behind her head.
"Huh, that's unfortunate. I was hoping we could spend some more time with Sakibasu-san..."
"I know. She turned out to be a really sweet girl." said Minami as her doll-like eyes were still observing the Queen's large group walking away in the distance.
"That was... something." Hironaka Miyu whispered to the other girls while rubbing her hands against each other. "I was eating dinner with the Queen of Tokiwadai... I... I was eating dinner with the Queen of Tokiwadai... ha... haha... I-I'm slightly terrified of her, you know? And... And she spoke to me, even."
The blonde girl's eyes twitched a little as she responded nervously.
"I-I think everyone is, to some extent. Even her most loyal clique members. For sure."
Hisakawa Ayako let out a short breath.
"But to think that such opportunity would be presented to us... you must be our lucky charm, Hironaka-san."
"N-No, it was more so Sakibasu-san, right? Without her, we wouldn't be able to enter."
Minami Himeka raised one of her eyebrows in a sort of annoyed expression.
"By the way, didn't you think the food choice was a little bit odd?"
The brown-haired pigtails girl nodded her head.
"Oh, definitely. It was so light and sweet that I barely feel satisfied. Even though I know I will probably gain a bit of weight after eating it..."
"Ugh. If that's what the Queen eats regularly, I honestly fear for her health."
"Don't worry. I'm sure her clique members control and analyze her diet, too."
A sudden stomach growl came out in the middle of the conversation.
Everybody looked around only to see Ogura Iori, with a bit of blush on her cheeks, scratching the back of her head.
"A-All that food talk made me even more hungry..." She said while smiling nervously. "Th-There's a really good crepe store at Parc de Lys down the street. Want to go?"
Part 2
School Garden didn't have many parks.
It was mainly because of the very limited space, but also because each elite school in this town had a courtyard big enough to call it a park in and of itself. Instead of going to the local park, students were spending time in their school courtyards which were much more convenient and more populated.
However, the parks placed outside of the school campuses were as beautiful, if not more. Unlike the courtyard of Tokiwadai Middle School, which was designed and built by a modern architect, the parks of the Garden were almost exact recreations of real life places.
Because living in a real European city like Paris or Milan and studying esper abilities at the same time was not possible, Academy City gave the daughters of the richest a condensed copy of what they would like to live in. School Garden was not a real European town but it was trying its hardest to resemble one as much as possible.
Parc de Lys was a sized-down mixture of the most famous and beautiful Parisian parks. Anybody who knew the real places could recognize their copied versions right away. While walking around the park you would see Chateau Bagatelle, statue d'Alfred de Musset, Parc Monceau's classical colonnade and Pavilion de Chartes near the entrance gate.
The gardens themselves looked familiar, too. A certain noble family had commissioned a recreation of the romantic Allée Jacques Garnierin for their daughter, a famous billionaire had donated 2 acres of roses needed to recreate Parc de Bagatelle's incredible rose garden, and overall around a hundred flower species could be found gracing the eyes of everyone all around the park.
It was an incredibly expensive, carefully and skillfully created place whose incredibly beautiful aura could be compared to that of a delicate rosebud.
There were wooden benches spread around the alleys, as well as small shops contained in classical Doric rotundas with stone columns. Near the end of the park there was an entire complex of these shops which were varying from food stalls to jewelry shops.
A circle of benches was surrounding a big pond near the shops. Even though the hour was quite late, there could still be seen some groups of girls wearing prestigious uniforms, sitting around the pond and chatting. Everyone was either holding some takeout food or shopping bags.
The sky was orange and the sleepy rays of sunlight were illuminating the area. Lillies floating on the surface of the pond as well as hundreds of rosebuds were basking in this light, while faint sounds of cicadas were playing in the background.
One of the benches was occupied by a group of five girls. One of them had her mouth covered in whipped cream while she spoke suddenly.
"Munch munch... in the end, this is the kind of food that really fills you up. Munch, munch."
The girl had long blonde hair and was wearing an expensive-looking hair accessory.
"Ogura-san, you have something in the corner of your lips. Oh, and here."
"Oh, my! Sorry, my bad."
The girl proceeded to wipe her lips with a pink handkerchief.
The other girls sitting with her on the bench were eating the exact same thing but no one seemed to have cream on their faces.
Minami Himeka frowned.
She bit into her crepe gently and spoke.
"Can't believe we're eating sweets after that sugary tea party. How many calories is this again?"
"Don't worry about this today, Minami-san! This day is an exception."
"Yes, we're having fun today! Leave diets and healthy food for tomorrow!"
The wavy-haired girl sighed loudly as she closed her eyes and pressed a finger against her naked forehead.
After a second of hesitation, she took a piece of the crepe and suddenly threw it into the pond with a swift motion.
"Aah! Don't feed it to these swans, Minami-san! That's cheating! You have to eat it with us!"
"Yes! We're doing it together! If we gain weight, you gain weight too!"
Mizushima Sayuri and Ogura Iori started waving their crepes around while energetically voicing their disapproval.
The headband-wearing girl responded with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, really? The swans seem to like it a lot more than me."
"Don't be silly. You're too skinny to be talking about calories, Minami-san." Ogura uttered an exasperated scoff. "Anyways, is yours good, Miyu-chan?"
The black-haired ponytail girl looked around and smiled towards her friend while chewing a piece of her crepe.
"Mhm!" she nodded happily.
"Which one did you choose? Let me see. Oh, you got the one with chocolate covered strawberries? Those are so delicious!"
"Which one do you have?" Hironaka Miyu asked while wiping her face.
"I got the banana ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream. It's been my number 1 option since the day I came here."
Hisakawa Ayako giggled quietly at the blonde girl.
"Though, I'm surprised that this is the place you took us, Iori. This isn't anything like those fancy restaurants you eat breakfast at every single morning. I mean, we're eating a takeout snack in a park while sitting on a bench. That's what normal students do."
Ogura responded with a confident smile.
"You know, everything has its own magic. Of course, I like eating at restaurants but when we're all together, it's better to enjoy the fresh air, do something sporadic and just loosen the atmosphere a little bit. I mean, we were just eating dinner with Shokuhou Misaki-sama... I would've been cruel if I had all of you stuck in a closed room again."
"Besides, this park is beautiful!" Hironaka Miyu gasped while looking around her.
Multiple flower bushes were growing next to the bench the girls were sitting on, giving off a gorgeous smell. The pond was shimmering with little sparkles of sunlight dancing on its surface while a flock of white swans was swimming around it, occasionally flapping their wings majestically and splashing the pond water around. In the distance, near the end of the alley to the left, you could see a recreated Chateau Bagatelle with its own rose garden, and many statues, fountains and stone bird baths spread around the magnificent park.
This evening scene could be a painting from the era of romanticism, with its delicate aura of bliss and subtle beauty.
Hironaka Miyu's cheeks were red from joy when she was observing the gorgeously sculpted nature. She filled her lungs with the beautiful smell of roses while enjoying her crepe.
Mizushima Sayuri spoke in her soft, high-pitched voice.
"You're right, Ogura-san. Honestly, when the atmosphere is so strict and tense, you get so nervous you kind of lose appetite."
"Exactly. How can we act casually when Shokuhou-sama is sitting right behind us, in the same room?!" said the blonde-haired girl while a slight shiver paralyzed her hands.
Hironaka Miyu looked at both of them and opened her mouth slightly.
But.
She suddenly backed out and hesitated to continue.
She was looking like she had troubles letting words out of her mouth. Like there was something pulling her back whenever she wanted to speak.
She gulped loudly.
"Y-You know, I-I've heard some rumors about her actually... a-and I've been thinking about this all the time since we saw her, but didn't know if asking was the right choice then. B-But I just wanted to know if she really, you know... mind controls people?"
"!"
With an unexpected, sudden motion, Ogura Iori grabbed Hironaka Miyu by her arm and pulled her closer to herself. The tips of their noses were almost touching each other.
It happened so fast that the ponytail girl has only now realized what had happened.
"E-Eh?"
A pink blush appeared on her cheeks while looking at her friend's serious and scary face.
Ogura Iori formed a cup shape with her hand and covered her mouth with it before whispering into Hironaka's ear.
"(Are you... serious... Miyu-chan? We are in School Garden. This is the worst place you can say things like that at.)"
"(E-Eh? Wh-What do you mean?)"
"..."
They were both looking at each other for a moment, but then Ogura let out a tired sigh in response.
She turned around and gave a sign with her hand to the rest of the girls that they should come closer too.
Minami, Hisakawa, Mizushima, Ogura and Hironaka hunched a bit in their seats and limited the space between them so that their heads would be as close as possible.
"(Miyu-chan, we understand that you've never been in here so we need to tell you something you absolutely need to know.)"
The black-haired girl nodded her head hesitantly.
Minami Himeka scooted herself closer to the girl and whispered discreetly.
"(This is School Garden. If you didn't already know, it is completely owned by Shokuhou-sama.)"
"(Owned?)"
"(You may think she's just a student with a powerful ability, but she's much more than that. Where we are right now is her territory.)"
Ogura continued to explain.
"(The Queen's mind manipulation ability isn't what everybody thinks it is.)" she whispered nervously. "(In fact, it's the scariest, most terrifying thing you can imagine so please don't make me say this again. What her ability does is it affects brains of uncountable amounts of people. Once she clicks the button of that remote, aiming for your brain, you are her property for the rest of your life!)"
Hironaka Miyu covered her mouth from shock.
"(Wh-What?)"
"(In other words, she can use her ability remotely. Even when you're not controlled, she can access your brain whenever. You are a slave of her ability unconsciously.)"
Hisakawa Ayako nodded.
"(Even we could have been under her control and nobody would know. Nobody besides her.)"
The ponytail girl could feel a shiver creeping down her spine.
"Eeek!"
"(SHHH! Quiet!)"
"(S-Sorry...)"
Ogura continued while covering half of her mouth with her hand.
"(And it's not just Tokiwadai. The same thing applies to the other students, too. There's an urban legend in School Garden saying that every third person you pass on the street is the Queen's spy.)"
"(Th-That's terrifying!)"
"(And I've heard that she has extended her control across the entire Academy City too. Apparently every single school has at least one spy of hers.)" Hisakawa added in a serious tone.
"(B-But why would she have spies?)"
The ribbon-wearing girl hesitated to answer at first.
"(Everybody has a different view on her motives. Some say she does that to keep the town safe and record any abnormalities, but some also say that she just wants to gain as much information as possible about the people below her. For example, if they are planning to rebel against her or if they're talking about her like we do right now.)"
"(That's why we should never raise that topic in public, especially when there are so many people around us.)"
"(B-But does that mean that everybody knows about her mind control?)"
"(Everybody knows. But it's safer to hope that she never uses her ability on you than to actually do something about that.)"
"(I've heard that some girls from our school were gossiping about her and she erased their memory completely so that they don't even know who they are!)" Mizushima Sayuri whispered with a bit of panic in her voice.
"(W-Wait! Aren't we gossiping right now?!)"
"(W-We kind of do... but we're whispering?)"
"(I think we should stop that already...)"
"(Y-Yes, let's finish eating.)"
The girls slowly started to scoot away from each other. Ogura Iori leaned back in her seat again and bit into her crepe while tucking her hair behind her ear.
She discreetly looked over at Hironaka Miyu.
The ponytail girl was still sitting with hunched shoulders and a troubled expression.
Getting to know the power of Shokuhou Misaki, the #5 Level 5 esper, was a hard pill to swallow for an outsider like her.
Shokuhou Misaki was the guardian and the owner of the Garden's students thanks to her incredible abilities. She was a powerful being that everybody had to obey, whether they liked the thought of being mind controlled or not.
Hironaka Miyu squeezed the crepe in her hands as terrifying thoughts were invading her head.
Everybody knew about the brainwashing of the students, but nobody would say anything. The fact that they knew would not change anything. They simply couldn't do anything about the Queen's actions. Even if they did want to fight back, the second they would've thought about rebelling against her, their mind could've been wiped away.
There wasn't anything in the world that could match this absolute power. It was more than just being a ruler.
Because it wasn't like Shokuhou Misaki had given these girls any other choice.
There was no choice.
They had to accept the way she was using her power or else she would make them accept it herself.
She was a terrifying but incredibly strong Queen.
Somebody broke the moment of silence.
"Hmnh!"
Mizushima Sayuri suddenly hummed with excitement as her mouth was full.
She swallowed quickly and raised her index finger. She looked like she had just thought of an amazing idea and could not wait to tell others about it.
"I know, I know! How about we play never have I ever?" She said energetically in her high-pitched voice. "This way we can get to know each other better and maybe tell some funny stories!"
"I've never heard of it."
"How do you play it?"
The honey-blonde girl cleared her throat.
"Well, it's very simple. Basically, one person asks if anyone had ever done something, it could be something funny, interesting, fascinating or embarrassing and whoever has ever done that thing has to honestly admit to it by raising a hand! I've seen some people doing it on social media and I just thought it could be a nice bonding moment."
"..."
Minami, Ogura and Hisakawa looked unamused.
"Isn't that just an excuse to find out about somebody's embarrassing past?"
"Honestly, Mizushima-san, you get impressed with everything there is on social media."
"Sounds pretty nosy to me."
The petite girl's face turned red in an instant.
She started nervously punching the air like a toddler.
"N-No, I-I promise I won't ask a-about anything p-personal! It's just a g-game!"
The ribbon-wearing lady let out a short breath and took a bite of her crepe.
"Alright. Then? Would you like to start?"
"Okay. Hmm..." Mizushima Sayuri put a finger on her pouty lips and closed her eyes. "Hmm... Ah! Alright, here I go. Never have I ever failed a test!"
"..."
"..."
In this moment of silence, everybody could be seen squinting their eyes in a rather confused expression.
There were no hands raised, but it could have been due to the awkward atmosphere.
"A-Ah? Eh?"
The honey-blonde girl looked around to see everybody's faces.
She could not figure out why nobody was saying anything or doing anything.
"Mizushima-san... are those the kind of questions you should be asking us?"
"Talking about school tests when we're enjoying our summer vacations is pretty cruel!"
Mizushima Sayuri clenched her fists in embarrassment. She smiled awkwardly as she tilted her head.
"I-Is that so? W-Well, I'm sorry... haha..."
"I've got a good one." Hisakawa Ayako said abruptly while raising her hand in which she was holding a half-eaten crepe. "How about... never have I ever stayed out during curfew!"
"GAH!"
The ribbon-wearing girl let out a guttural noise.
She chocked on a piece of her crepe almost immediately after Hisakawa's words reached her ears.
Minami Himeka could only roll her eyes at that.
But aside from Ogura Iori, nobody reacted to that. The young ladies had their hands gently placed on their laps.
"Hm? Nobody?" Hisakawa uttered confused.
Mizushima Sayuri shook her head slightly while looking at the girls sitting on the bench with her.
"No, I don't think I could even stay up so late."
"Right? Me too. I always go to sleep as soon as the sun is down."
The wavy-haired girl was eyeing Ogura Iori with suspicion this whole time.
She cleared her throat as she noticed that the blonde girl had been avoiding eye contact with everyone.
"Well? This might be just my intuition, but I think somebody in this group is not honest with us."
"Huh?"
Everyone was looking around confused.
Ogura Iori took a bite of her crepe as if she did not hear anything, yet the dreary aura she was emitting was very apparent. Her face was almost completely hidden behind her long blond hair while she was eating her crepe slowly. She had been looking down at her loafers all this time.
The group of girls smiled bitterly as they had finally noticed her.
"O-Oh."
Mizushima Sayuri immediately formed a smile with her lips and clapped her hands.
"I-It's okay, Ogura-san. Everybody makes mistakes."
"Yeah, you were doing that for Hironaka-san, right?"
"As long as you learn not to do it ever again, it's fine." Minami added as she closed her eyes and raised her eyebrows.
"Y-Yes, I know." The blonde-haired girl said timidly from behind the curtain of her hair.
She then turned around immediately and gave Hisakawa Ayako, her mean roommate, the most frustrated expression one can make. She clenched her teeth and spoke with a frowning face.
"But did you really need to bring this up right now, Ayakooo?!"
There was a noticeable grief in her high-pitched voice.
But the pigtails girl just looked at her obliviously.
"Ah, sorry. I forgot about that."
"No, you didn't."
A quiet scoff responded to Ogura.
"Pufu! Alright, sorry. I was just kidding."
The ribbon-wearing girl was pouting as her head turned red and hot from embarrassment. She looked like she could explode any second.
"O-Okay, calm down. I have another one." Hisakawa Ayako spoke with a painful smile. "Never have I ever spent more than 10 million yen at a store!"
Ogura Iori grimaced a bit.
"You're only targeting questions toward me, right?"
Nevertheless, she had to be honest.
With her eyes closed and her eyebrows raised high, she slowly put her hand up. She didn't seem to be embarrassed or ashamed of the fact that she did admit to Hisakawa's dare. There was not a need to.
She wasn't the only one who raised her hand anyway.
"Mizushima-san too?"
"Eh? Minami-san?"
The wavy-haired girl, who liked to keep her image classy but humble, let a slight blush appear on her face. She flipped her gorgeous dark brown hair and responded with a troubled hint in her voice.
"Y-You know, good violins cost a lot of money. The default ones Tokiwadai gives you are usually in a bad condition... and the sound they produce... it's just not the same! A-And, I mean, nobody uses them. Everybody in our school orchestra buys instruments on their own!"
"Minami-san, what violin costs more than 10 million yen? I mean, I thought you're so talented you would be able to play an entire concerto perfectly with a lousily-chopped piece of wood and a bunch of threads."
"Oh, Ogura-san. Please. If I'm taking playing an instrument seriously and studying in Tokiwadai, which sets the bar higher than any music school in the country, then at least a high quality violin is what I deserve to have."
"I've never heard of a violin costing more than 10 million yen."
"Of course you did not. You're busy buying out 100 million yen worth of handbags."
Hisakawa Ayako clapped her hands.
"Alright, that's it, you two."
"But what violin do you use everyday, Minami-san? I'm curious." Mizushima said quietly while wiping whipped cream off of her lips.
"W-Well, I bought this violin a year ago when the other girls from my club had told me that I should get one myself. Up until then I had been using the ones given to us by school so I'd had no idea I could do this." she responded while taking another bite of her crepe. "So I decided to get one. I checked every auction there was at the time, I made sure that the violins were authentic and... one of them caught my attention so I decided to bid on it. Thankfully, I had some bidding skills from my father who taught me all kinds of tricks and methods that had helped him on various auctions. And I won."
Minami flipped her hair proudly and a faint smile appeared on her lips.
"Really? B-But wait, I-Is that the kind of auction I'm thinking of right now? The ones where really rich, beautifully dressed adults bid on incredibly expensive items while drinking a glass of incredibly fancy champagne?" Hironaka Miyu squealed with her eyes wide-open.
The headband-wearing lady nodded her head gracefully.
"It was one of the bigger auction houses in the City. But, oh, what an inconvenience it was that I had to leave School Garden just to get there." She sighed quietly and continued. "Anyways, what I got was an antique Almati violin from the 1800s. I would say it's one of the best ones you could get."
"There is no way it costs more than 10 million yen, though."
"Why are you so shocked by this, Ogura-san? Violins have an incredible value. They produce an otherworldly sound that people have been writing poems about for centuries. They're called the most beautiful and elegant instruments for a reason. They're like a romantic painting. I'm more surprised that some of the handbags in your collection cost more than 10 million yen. I mean, besides carrying them around, they don't seem to be useful in any kind of way." She responded quite irritated but then cleared her throat. "But the particular violin that I bought costs around 70 million yen if you would like to know."
"What?! 70 million?!"
Ogura Iori's expression looked as if she had witnessed a murder.
"For a violin?!"
She screamed with shock and disbelief again, as if she was waiting for Minami to confirm that what she had said was just a joke.
But the rest of the girls were observing her with oblivious faces.
Mizushima Sayuri shrugged her shoulders to that.
"I think it's pretty reasonable for an antique with such fame and history. I mean, it's not Stativari but still, Almati is quite a legendary name in the auction world as well." She said confidently.
"But...For a violin?" The ribbon-wearing girl muttered to herself while her crepe was trembling in her hand.
"Ogura-san, when you learn to appreciate and understand the love between a human and an instrument, you'll get why the price we have to pay sometimes is so high. Maybe you will then look at those other items you have and think that they really shouldn't be that expensive."
"Alright, I'm next!"
Hironaka Miyu's excited voice interrupted their conversation.
She cleared her throat and spoke to the ladies.
"Never have I ever went abroad!"
"..."
"..."
The girls were taken aback slightly.
It was the kind of question that could make those rich girls from Tokiwadai roll their eyes in annoyance. After all, when possessing that kind of money and influence, you become a globetrotter without even noticing. No girl in Tokiwadai Middle School would be coming from a family whose business wasn't international or even global. The school had fees exceeding that kind of money. Going abroad was an inevitable part of the deal in this case.
So, naturally, one could say that the question asked by Hironaka Miyu was completely out of place.
But at the same time, it displayed the girl's adorable innocence which could be seen as fascinating to someone who lived in the luxurious School Garden. She was a person that the majority of those young ladies had not seen in their lives.
So instead of rolling their eyes, like many of their classmates would have, the Tokiwadai girls smiled to each other and answered honestly, sticking to the game's rules.
Everybody raised their hands.
"E-Eh?"
Hironaka Miyu looked around the small crowd on the bench.
The blonde-haired girl raised an eyebrow and giggled at her friend.
"Come on, Miyu-chan! I've not only been abroad, I was born abroad. You know this! Remember?"
"Aah, right." She smiled awkwardly with a small blush on her cheeks.
Minami Himeka looked over at Ogura Iori intrigued.
"You were born abroad, Ogura-san? That's the first time I hear about it."
"Me too."
"I didn't know that either."
The rest of the group responded after the wavy-haired girl.
"Oh, I didn't tell you girls?" She uttered surprised as she tilted her head slightly and put a finger on her lip. "Hmm, so only Miyu-chan knows, looks like it."
"Where were you born?"
"France." She responded plainly. "My mother is French but my father is Japanese."
Mizushima Sayuri's eyes sparkled.
"H-How did they meet?"
"On a business trip in Paris."
"So cold and professional." Hisakawa muttered to herself.
Minami Himeka touched her naked forehead and grimaced a bit as she felt puzzled.
"W-Wait, I've heard that your family's company is a big French supermarket chain, is it not? So I would think that your family name would be French as well?"
The ribbon-wearing girl let out a short sigh and closed her eyes.
"Well, the Nomarché fortune belongs to my mother's family, but my parents knew each other beforehand because my father worked as the company's Chief Operating Officer. When they got married my mother took my father's name, though the company's CEO position has been passed on both of them." She responded casually.
"It's fascinating that the family name didn't survive, though." Minami said in an amazed tone. "I mean, it's the kind of name that you have probably heard of if you live in the business environment. It's a big deal."
Mizushima Sayuri squinted doubtfully.
"Isn't it, like, the biggest supermarket chain in France?"
"Third biggest." The ribbon-wearing girl flipped her hair in a ladylike way and continued casually. "But it's really nothing compared to some of the family fortunes of the girls in our school. The heiress of Kongou Airlines is in our grade, there's also a daughter of Mekhi Calton who owns the Calton Hotels, a daughter of the owner of ITG Models, the modeling agency, the two heiresses of Oréle and-"
"Wait, wait!" Hironaka Miyu interrupted her by waving her crepe around in the air. "I'm hearing lots of foreign names. How come all those people from around the world send their kids to Tokiwadai?"
Ogura brushed her shiny hair from her shoulder and responded with a confident scoff.
"Everyone with money and influence at least tries to send their daughter to Tokiwadai, no? After all, effective esper powers are something you would want to provide for your child in this dangerous world."
"But... this is Japan." Hironaka Miyu responded bluntly.
After a quick second of thinking, the blonde-haired girl gave her friend an unsure smile.
"W-Well, yes, however School Garden is quite different. It's home to students from all around the world. It's supposed to unite many cultures and ethnic groups in one place. I don't know how to better explain this..."
The ponytail girl gave Ogura a unsatisfied glance with some whipped cream on her lips.
"But what about those girls who came from a different country? Don't they feel a bit awkward in a completely different culture?"
Minami Himeka sighed and answered while keeping her beautiful eyes closed.
"Well, you must know this Hironaka-san, that this is a completely different environment than the city you live in. School Garden is a gated enclave which is in no way influenced by the country it is located in. Sure, if you were to walk out through the gates, you would find yourself in Academy City, the Japanese science metropolis but this fact does not shorten the cultural distance between School Garden and Academy City by even a centimeter." She spoke confidently. "While finding a foreigner in the City might be quite difficult, here there's an entire system created for them. I mean, just look around. The signs, books, town maps and restaurant menus are all written in at least 12 different languages."
The ribbon-wearing girl nodded her head.
"And there's no trouble with communication either. Every student is required to know at least Japanese, French and English after all."
This left Hironaka Miyu speechless. She could feel her humble self not fitting in this high-class world more and more. Those girls were not only rich high-level espers. They were mannered, well-spoken, educated and incredibly cultured. With that much knowledge, you could basically adapt to any environment imaginable, in any place in the world.
Just the thought of speaking three languages alone felt incredible. But deep down she knew that those young ladies like Minami Himeka or Ogura Iori were taught many, many more in the prestigious academy that was Tokiwadai Middle School.
The wavy-haired girl wiped her mouth gracefully and cleared her throat.
"Anyways, Ogura-san, I hope that you take your status as a future owner of one of the biggest businesses in the world very seriously. I just want you to know that it is a big responsibility and an even bigger amount of work. I highly doubt that you will be able to continue that frivolous, lavish lifestyle when running such a big company.
"Uugh."
"Maybe it's time to finally prepare yourself for that inevitable future?"
"I-I've already had economics lessons long, long time ago! I know what I need to know."
Minami gave the blonde girl a judgmental look.
Deep down she was worried. She could only imagine the tragedy of this irresponsible young girl carrying a multibillion yen company on her own fragile shoulders. If that were ever to happen, Ogura Iori would probably become the Marie Antoinette of modern business, leading to destroying the family's fortune and causing an enormous economical revolution.
But Minami truly hoped that by this time, Ogura would be educated and mature enough to manage the company herself. Because the person she knew today was not ready for that at all, not knowing what responsibility or hard work truly meant.
The headband-wearing girl squinted her eyes and raised her dark eyebrows in a playful expression.
"Oh, really? Well, then, we might go over that knowledge of yours some other time." Said Minami with a sarcastic giggle, leaving Ogura red from embarrassment. "Alright, who's next?"
Mizushima Sayuri raised her hand and spoke with excitement.
"Oh, Oh! I have one!"
"Go ahead."
She took a quick breath and spoke without hesitation.
"Never have I ever touched a gentleman!"
"...?!"
The question shook everybody's heads like a sudden grenade explosion.
It was so unexpected that everybody jumped in their seat.
"Wh-What...?!"
The girls' eyes were wide open and their cheeks were the color of deep red.
Like many others, the subject of the opposite gender was unofficially taboo in School Garden. Men were not allowed in the district, not even outside Anti-Skill officers or bus drivers. From middle-aged pharmacy workers all the way to young middle school girls - women were holding every occupation there was.
And not even a single young man could sneak into this high-security gated town. The rules against that were incredibly strict. The machines monitoring the area had a technology so high that even espers who could control their visibility wouldn't be able to pass through the gates of School Garden.
Clearly, if you lived in this girls-only town, you would probably not have many interactions with the opposite gender.
And to those girls, who had barely been leaving School Garden at all, that question was all the more shocking. It was the last thing they would have expected to hear in their safe, all-girls district, yet Mizushima Sayuri said it so casually.
What was more strange, she even seemed excited about it...
The blush on her cheeks was caused by a thrilled emotion rather than embarrassment.
"Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What even is that question, M-M-Mizushima-saaaan?!" Ogura Iori, whose face became red and steaming hot, spoke in a high-pitched, shaking voice.
" 'T-T-Touched...' "
" 'A g-g-g-g-gentleman'?"
But aside from the Tokiwadai ladies, for whatever reason, Hironaka Miyu looked flustered as well.
"Th-Th-That's a v-very brave question c-c-coming from you, M-Mizushima-san..."
And...
Not even the calm and graceful Minami Himeka could stop herself from blushing and breathing heavily.
The topic of boys was so rare and controversial all across the Garden that even the strongest, most mature units could forget their manners and lose their minds over it.
But the wavy-haired girl could not let the other girls know that this was the case with her. She had to play the role of someone who acted professionally all the time.
"O...Ohohoho..." She forced a confident laugh out of her mouth while covering it with her hand. "T-Talking about gentlemen is not my interest. I-It's very low-class of us, School Garden residents, to be raising that topic out of nowhere."
However, Mizushima Sayuri's fierce eyes did not suggest that she was going to back out.
"The rules of the game still concern you." She said assertively. "Raise your hand if you've ever done it."
The girls exchanged a glance.
"..."
Then, a moment of silence followed.
Only a sound of chewing on a crepe could be heard.
"..."
But when the time to answer came to an end...
Only one hand was raised.
"Oh."
"Ah!"
"Well, that was expected."
...
It was a hand of the ponytail girl.
"..."
But instead of feeling embarrassed that she was the only one...
She was simply confused.
"?"
She could not comprehend the fact that only she had admitted to it.
She looked around the group. She wanted to see if anybody was lying, like Ogura Iori had been before. But.
The Tokiwadai ladies were all just staring at her, amazed.
"H-Huh?"
She felt like a stage performer, who forgot all her lines, standing in front of a giant silent crowd.
She felt judged.
She had just admitted to touching a boy in front of those pure high-class girls who were probably seeing her now as an interesting museum statue.
Were they honest? Had they really never touched a boy in their life?
Hironaka Miyu started to feel out of place.
And the moment of silence started to get incredibly frustrating.
"D-D-Don't give me th-that look!" She finally said with a flustered face. "Y-You can't be all serious!"
This sudden explosion of emotions was unexpected. The four young ladies were taken aback slightly.
They looked at each other with oblivious expressions, as they were figuring out how to respond to that.
"Um."
"S-So you mean to tell me I'm the only one in here that has touched a boy?" She uttered with a resigned frown.
Ogura Iori exchanged an expressionless glance with the other Tokiwadai girls.
"I mean, I have never touched a gentleman. At least I don't remember doing it." She said with an uncertain tone. "But I think I would have remembered that moment. Right?"
Minami Himeka shrugged her shoulders as she had locked eyes with Ogura.
"I don't know. I've never done that either."
"Me neither."
"I don't think any of us did." Ogura concluded as she looked at everyone.
They were all saying it like it was a normal case for everybody.
Hironaka Miyu felt defeated. She would have never thought that she could be feeling this bad about herself simply because of touching a boy.
But in this group, she was the odd one out.
She knew that those girls were incredibly sheltered and that they did not know the life outside of their beautiful, safe golden cages, but to think that they have never been in a closer contact with the opposite gender felt surreal.
She was ready to completely give up in trying to understand those high-class ladies.
But...
Someone cleared their throat at the end of the bench.
"Hm?"
Mizushima Sayuri was sitting there, with one of her hands placed on her lap and the other one holding a crepe she was eating. She was nervously shaking, but...
Her face suggested that she was thrilled.
She was blushing slightly, her lips were formed in a rather creepy smile and she looked like she could not wait to say something.
She covered her mouth with the half-eaten crepe wrapped in a pink napkin as she looked the other way timidly.
"U-Um..." A high-pitched sound came out from behind the crepe. "I... You know, I-I've actually... um..."
The girls were looking at her puzzled.
She was acting shy, but at the same time she was trembling from excitement and smiling behind the crepe that she was hiding her lips with, as if she was pretending to act a lot more innocent than she actually was.
"What is it, Mizushima-san?"
She could not take it any longer.
She shut her eyes tight and let the thrilling sensation take over her body.
"I-I-I'VE TOUCHED A GENTLEMAN BEFORE!" She squealed suddenly with her tiny fists clenched on her chest. "KYAAH! I-I actually said it! My! How unladylike of me! Kyaah! Uhuhu! Ahaha!"
The Tokiwadai ladies were stunned.
They were simply flabbergasted.
And although this wasn't the first time Mizushima Sayuri had surprised them with her random confessions, it was the most sudden one.
Among many School Garden residents, touching a gentleman meant entering the world of maturity and leaving your innocent youth behind. It was a line many teenage girls living here were scared to cross. Mizushima Sayuri, with her petite figure and doll-like face, would be the last person anybody would suspect of doing that.
Naturally, the girls bursted with shock at her.
"Wh-What?!"
"M-My, My goodness! Mizushima-san, are you serious?!"
The honey-blonde girl was left blushing and awkwardly grinning.
"Heehee... Ahahaa..." She giggled while her voice was still shaking in her throat.
Ogura doubled over in her seat in order to meet eyes with her.
"M-Mizushima-san! You need to tell us who that was!" She spoke with thrill. "We need to know who got the chance to be the first gentleman you've ever touched!"
Hisakawa nodded her head five times.
"Absolutely! This is a big deal!"
"We need to know who that lucky gentleman is!"
Hironaka Miyu was the only one not taken over by this at all.
The most important fact was that she wasn't the only one in the group who had touched a boy.
(I guess those high-class girl from Tokiwadai really aren't as sheltered as I thought.)
She could finally sigh with relief and calm down as she was wiping sweat from her forehead.
Meanwhile, the exciting conversation at the other end of the bench was heating up with each second.
Mizushima Sayuri was under pressure of three impatient ladies, who were itching to know the name of that special one.
Was he a son of a multibillionaire? Was he a world-known supermodel? Was he older or younger than her? Was their relationship serious?
To those high-class girls of School Garden, no other subject would bring this much curiosity and interest than the one of the opposite gender. You could be talking about buying a palace or an expensive sport car, about winning a lottery, discovering a gold mine, owning the most expensive violin on Earth, but none of those things would cause that big of a scene.
After all, enormous fortune and expensive objects had been present in their lives since they could remember. And because they had never experienced life like normal people had, they were drawn to those simplest, most common things.
And, of course, this rule worked the other way around.
Mizushima Sayuri was obligated to answer.
She looked like she was too pressured to say anything, but at the same time like she was dying to reveal the boy's identity.
She was blushing all over her face and her eyes were spiraling like a cyclone.
"Th-The game's rules say that th-the person who says 'never have I ever' isn't obligated t-to admit to th-their own q-question... b-b-b-but... I-If you girls really need to know... ahehe!" She spat out those words in a squeezed, high-pitched voice as she placed her hand on her cheek and closed her eyes.
She opened her mouth to speak and took a deep breath, ready to reveal the truth (almost) everybody present at that bench wanted to know!
And...
"It... It... IT WAS MY DEAR ONII-SAMA! THE VERY FIRST AND ONLY GENTLEMAN I'VE TOUCHED!" She squealed energetically, putting her heart into every word and letting it out into the air, as if she was writing a love letter.
Her high-pitched voice resounded at the bench.
The group of four was struck by it as if it was a lightning spear.
After that, it was completely silent for a moment.
"..."
"..."
The echo was still present in their eardrums but nobody moved an inch.
The honey-blonde girl's face grew even more red in an instant.
"KYAAH! KYAAAH! I CAN'T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY SAID IT OUT LOUD! KYAAAH!" She started making more noises with her eyes closed and her mouth formed in a smile.
The girls were deprived of any expression.
The anticlimactic answer to their question left them speechless and disappointed.
" 'Onii-sama'...?" Muttered one of them.
"So, your big brother?"
"KYAAH! KYAA- Ara? Is something the matter?"
The petite girl stopped the outburst of her emotions for a second just to look at the girls who were staring at her.
Minami Himeka looked her straight into the eyes with an expression of a caring mother who was about to tell her child a life-changing but brutal truth. She was serious.
"Mizushima-san..." She spoke with a resigned tone. "Your family members do not count."
"...!"
The smile of excitement that Mizushima Sayuri had on her lips a second ago transformed into a smile of someone who had just died.
Her eyes lost their shine as if her soul had just left her body.
Minami might have just crushed the world this naive girl had created for herself.
"Huh?"
The happiness and warmth in her heart were smashed into little pieces like a mirror.
"No waaaay..."
"I'm sorry to tell you this, but... you're one of us, Mizushima-san."
"Yes. You're one of us."
Her eyes were watering.
"S-So..." She sobbed quietly. "So that means I... I still haven't reached the stage of a blooming rose yet? Am I still just a pure little rosebud who thought of herself as the most beautiful and mature flower in the entire garden? I am so ashamed of myself!"
She hid her face behind the adorably-wrapped crepe while squinting her eyes and clenching her fists.
The situation got worse.
Everybody started panicking and trying their best to cheer her up.
"N-No, Mizushima-san! It's alright! You still have plenty of time to reach that maturity!"
"Yes! It's good not to be too fast with those things!"
"And look at us! We've never touched a gentleman either!"
"..."
Those very simple words of encouragement were just enough to make this fragile girl change her mind.
She uncovered her face in half, while still hiding her mouth behind the crepe, as if she was ashamed to be looked at after what she had said.
"R-Really?"
"Of course! There's no need to cry about it!"
But while the other three Tokiwadai ladies had their excitement and high expectations shattered, the ponytail girl known as Hironaka Miyu had lost her hope of fitting into the world of rich ladies once again. She had fallen into even bigger depths of disbelief.
(Th-The only boy she has ever touched... was her brother...? A, Aha... Ahaha...)
Having that clear confirmation was worse than imagining it.
And the display of the girl's colossal delusion of not being sheltered in her own mind because of touching her own brother was just icing on the cake.
Hironaka Miyu's opinion on those girls coming from another world had been now solidified. They were more sheltered than she could have ever imagined.
"Alright, Mizushima-san. Keep it together." Ogura's voice comforted the petite girl.
"So, who wants to be next?" Hisakawa Ayako asked the group casually.
In this simple game, there were a bunch of easily-detected patterns. First, the ones who asked the most questions were usually the most curious ones. Second, the majority of the questions were most likely targeted towards one specific person with the most intriguing mysteries and secrets but just hidden behind the excuse of being the game's rules. This game was a perfect occasion to find out something you would never ask about in a normal conversation.
And, finally, third - the ones who asked ridiculous questions just to say "I did it, anyone else?" and brag about it in order to boost their image.
Minami Himeka and Ogura Iori were the only ones who had not asked a question yet. In Minami's case, she simply wasn't interested in many minor details regarding somebody's personal life. And Ogura might have had the impression that she knew everything about everyone but she would have probably displayed the third pattern if she had really wanted to ask a question.
Minami smirked as she had thought of something.
"Oh, I have one." She said politely and cleared her throat while closing her eyes. "Never have I ever used my ability outside of the school campus."
"..."
This was a tough one to admit to.
In prestigious Tokiwadai Middle School, students were at least Level 3 espers, however it did not mean they were given permission to use their power wherever they wanted to use it. In theory, abilities were only meant to be tested and upgraded with time in order to perform experiments and find out about different espers' properties. It was supposed to be a part of the students' school life, not private life. Once they left the school grounds, they weren't supposed to use their abilities as it could skew the already existing predictions and calculations based on their ability. The teachers needed to have control over their students' powers unless their Power Development Program would be meaningless.
This was exactly why Tokiwadai was so famous for raising high-level espers. Aside from the best equipment, drugs, research teams and connections with the biggest facilities, Tokiwadai also had the power and the strict rules that their students obeyed.
But, of course, after giving supernatural powers to young, reckless kids it would have been unrealistic not to expect all kinds of rule-breaking incidents. Unfortunately, Academy City did not have such strict rules as Tokiwadai Middle School. Students were throwing their abilities around, committing crimes, getting into esper fights in the back alleys and partaking in many more gruesome activities that were unimaginable to those pure rich girls.
Yet, still, School Garden was filled with high-level espers. Even though their schools were strict and the young ladies were well-mannered, even in that fairy tale world one could make a mistake.
And Minami Himeka, who wanted to keep everybody in Tokiwadai Middle School in check, had to know this dirty secret.
She was that kind of person who asked the whole group but actually wanted to know the truth coming from one particular person.
However...
She was surprised.
Two raised hands appeared before her eyes.
"Hisakawa-san and Hironaka-san?!" The wavy-haired girl gasped.
Ogura Iori and Minami Himeka looked at the two girls judgmentally.
"Ayako? Miyu-chan?"
"Hisakawa-san, dare to explain?"
The brown-haired girl was scratching her head as a troubled expression appeared on her face.
She was frowning from embarrassment.
"Th-The rules of our school say that you can use your power if you really need to! And i-in my opinion, it all depends whether or not it can actually be useful in those kinds of situations.. like my - Carve Shape - !"
Minami sighed with relief, but Ogura Iori still raised an eyebrow at that explanation.
"You didn't use it to harm anybody. Right, Ayako?"
"No! Of course not."
"I hope not."
Minami was shocked but still unsatisfied.
She decided to be upfront and spoke to Ogura Iori with surprised eyes.
"I really thought you would raise your hand there, Ogura-san."
"You don't really know me, then." The ribbon-wearing girl responded with a quiet scoff. "The only time I've used my ability was during System Scan and maybe Daihasei Festival. Just because I'm Level 4 does not mean I even have pride in that ability. Honestly, it's quite scary." She giggled nervously.
Mizushima Sayuri, even though a bit tense, looked in Hironaka Miyu's direction and spoke softly.
"H-Hironaka-san, how about you?"
"A-Ah, same as Hisakawa-san!" She answered defensively. "I-I only use it when it can be helpful, and besides... I couldn't even harm a fly with that barely existing power of mine. Not to mention I'm only Level 2, so-"
"KYAAAH!"
Somebody shouted in a high-pitched voice, interrupting the conversation suddenly.
But...
It wasn't anyone in the group of girls sitting on the bench.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
The sound was clearly coming from a further distance.
The five young ladies, with their crepes in their hands, started looking around the area.
There were multiple other benches built around the pond, but it was not hard to locate the screaming person.
"...?"
Two benches away, they noticed a girl standing in front of an empty bench with her hands clenched on her chest. She had black bobbed hair and was wearing a prestigious uniform. In one hand, she was holding a beautifully-wrapped crepe.
Her legs were evidently shaking and her expression was mortified.
She looked like she was torn between fainting on the ground and screaming at the sky above her like someone who had completely lost their mind.
The girls were staring at her while whispering to each other.
"(What's happened there?)"
"(I don't know. This girl looks like she's troubled by something.)"
Minami gritted her teeth.
"(When someone screams in School Garden, it's either because of a murder scene or something even worse.)" She said nervously and then quickly finished her crepe in two bites. "(Come on, let's go see what this is about. Maybe we can help her.)"
The rest of the girls did the same as her.
Everybody stood up from the bench, grabbed their bags and threw the pink crepe napkins into a trash can which was built right next to them.
The girl wearing a blue and black sailor uniform was too deeply lost in her misery to notice that a large group was approaching her.
Since it was Minami's idea to get involved, she was walking in the front. She was certain to take the lead in situations like this one.
"Excuse me." She spoke to the bobbed hair girl in her elegant voice. "Is something the matter?"
The girl, who looked like she was around their age, slowly turned her head around and showed her absolute despair on her face. Although, it wasn't anything like from a horror movie. The girl had a delicate and youthful beauty, so the crying, sorrowful expression looked incredibly good on her.
She sobbed quietly and looked at all the five girls.
"Can you tell us what's happened here? We want to know if there's something we can help you with." Minami repeated as she noticed that the condition the girl was under would make the conversation difficult.
"It's... It's goooone!" The young lady uttered with a sobbing voice.
Minami looked at her confused.
"What is?"
"Waaaaaah!"
The bobbed hair girl ignored the question and let the misery take over her vocal cords.
She was sobbing non-stop. She looked like she could not even let a word out of her mouth.
Minami Himeka was put in a difficult spot. She frowned and pursed her lips in a troubled expression while she scratched her head.
She did not know what to say.
"U-Um. H-Hey-"
"Minami-san, leave it to me, okay?" Said Ogura suddenly while raising her hand in front of the wavy-haired girl.
Ogura Iori, a much more affectionate person, decided to go with a different approach.
She came closer to the crying girl and placed her hand on her hands.
"I know you are really overwhelmed and scared right now, but we are here to help you. All we need you to tell us is what exactly happened?" She spoke to her warmly.
"Hhnmhh..." The girl tried to control her hyperventilation. "It... It is.. hhaannhh... I-I... I put it d-down on this b-bench... th-then I w-went t-to the crepe shop t-to buy myself a snack on m-my way to th-the dorm. B-But wh-when I came back... it... hhnnhh... IT WASN'T THERE ANYMOREEE!"
The girl wailed in sorrow and hid her face in her short, black hair.
Everybody sighed in relief.
(Ah. So it's just a case of a lost item.)
By the way this girl was reacting, everybody had thought it was something they at least would need to call Anti-Skill for.
However.
This was barely a task for Judgment. In fact, anybody could help in finding a lost item, whether they had the green armband or not.
But still, this was School Garden. The students here were carrying items so expensive that you would be able to buy a house with the same price. Even though it was still a bit less serious situation, in this town everything was on a higher scale. The process of finding this girl's belonging would take more specialized members than a regular middle schooler.
Minami breathed a calm breath and spoke to the sobbing girl casually.
"Then just contact your school's Judgment office and you'll be fine."
"N-Noo! I can't!" The girl responded immediately.
"Why not?"
"Because the school curfew is barely in an hour! E-Even if I did contact them now, they would tell me that they are going to look for it tomorrow!"
The wavy-haired girl grimaced.
"You're right, it is almost curfew." She said surprised.
"We almost didn't notice." Mizushima Sayuri smiled bitterly towards her.
"W-Well..." Minami uttered with a troubled expression. "There's no other way but to wait, then. What gets lost in School Garden, stays in School Garden so you can be sure that they will eventually find it."'
Ogura Iori nodded her head and comforted the girl with her voice.
"She's right. Now, can you tell us what exactly did you lose? We'll make sure to contact our school's Judgment office too, so we need to know what this item looks like."
The bobbed hair girl wiped her tears in frustration and sobbed one last time before opening her mouth to speak.
"Let me get this clear, this was a very, VERY valuable item." She said angrily with a shaking voice while pointing her finger at them. "So if you and those Judgment people won't find it, I'm going to contact my Papa, all of my lawyers and-"
"Okay, okay. Alright. Calm down."
Ogura held the girl's shoulders and let her breathe.
"Just get to the point."
The girl was clearly giving them a spoiled princess attitude. She frowned and took a deep breath.
"It-It's... ugh, it's my baby. My everything." She uttered melancholically while trying not to cry again. "It's... It's kind of a small, white and beige alligator skin purse. It has crystal hardware and-"
"HIMALAYAN BOURQUIN?!" Ogura exploded suddenly.
"...!"
The bobbed hair girl was startled for a moment, but then clapped her hands and looked Ogura straight into the eyes.
"Yes! It's exactly this one! You know what I'm talking about?!"
"Oh, I know." She answered in the most serious tone possible. "I know exactly what you're talking about."
Everything started to make sense now.
The situation had changed.
Minami pulled out her smartphone and spoke to the blonde-haired girl.
"Alright. We'll contact our Judgment office. Now, let's hurry up and go if we want to get back to our dorm before curfew."
"..."
She received no response. Ogura Iori was still facing the bobbed hair girl, not Minami Himeka.
"Hn?" The wavy-haired girl tilted her head. "Ogura-san, let's go!"
Still, there was no answer.
Everybody, including the sailor uniform-wearing girl, was staring at Ogura Iori baffled.
She was deep in her thoughts and a sudden hesitation struck her mind so she bit her lip and let out a short breath.
But.
She knew that whatever she wanted to do in this moment had to be done, whether everybody agreed or not.
The ribbon-wearing girl turned around and faced Minami Himeka who was impatiently waiting with her phone in her hand.
She wasted no time and opened her mouth.
"Minami-san." She spoke firmly. "We need to look for it now."
"...?!"
"What?!" The wavy-haired girl shouted frustrated.
Everybody looked shocked after Ogura's words.
There was no fear in her eyes. She did not even think about the possibility of breaking the curfew.
Helping the bobbed hair girl find her lost item seemed to be a priority above everything right now.
But she met with Minami Himeka's disapproval.
She frowned and spoke to her.
"Ogura-san, why are you getting so serious about this all of a sudden?! That's Judgment's job to find lost items!"
The blonde girl responded with closing her eyes slowly.
She let out a trembling breath and turned around.
"Give us a second, alright?" She spoke to the bobbed hair girl assertively from behind her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll convince them."
But she was just as confused as everybody else. She answered with a faint nod while looking at the stranger wearing Tokiwadai Middle School's uniform slowly walk away from her along with the four other girls.
She was left alone in that spot where a lonely bench was built, with an untouched crepe in her hand.
Part 3
The five girls formed a small circle two benches away from the bobbed hair girl.
Minami Himeka was standing on the opposite side to Ogura, with her hand put on her hip and her face showing her immense displeasure.
She spoke with frowning eyebrows.
"This is ridiculous, Ogura-san. Do you even know how big this park is? Even if we split up and search every nook and cranny, we won't be able to make it in time before curfew."
Mizushima Sayuri, who was standing next to the wavy-haired girl, rubbed her kneesocked legs together and smiled bitterly.
"I-I think Minami-san is right, Ogura-san. We should just contact Judgment and go."
The ribbon-wearing girl shook her head.
"No. From what she said, I assumed that she left the bag alone on the bench for around three to five minutes. Even if somebody took it immediately after she had went inside the food stalls, they wouldn't be able to get far." She said confidently. "If we start searching now and hurry up, we might be able to get them."
"But what are the chances? And, I remind you, we don't have time at all!" Minami responded with frustration as she touched her forehead. "And, besides, why are you suddenly so dedicated to it?"
Wasn't the answer to that question obvious? Was Ogura Iori the only one who had been moved when she had heard the bag's name?
She gritted her teeth and looked at everybody around her.
She let out a hysterical chuckle and gave the crystal clear reason why.
"DID YOU NOT HEAR WHAT SHE SAID?!" She exploded suddenly. "THIS GIRL JUST LOST A HIMALAYAN BOURQUIN! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT THESE BAGS LOOK LIKE? DO YOU KNOW HOW BIG OF A LEGEND THEY CARRY? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY MONTHS EVEN THE LIKES OF ME HAVE TO WAIT TO ORDER ONE? DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO SPEND ON AUCTIONS TO GET IT?! THIS BAG IS SITTING AT THE VERY TOP OF LUXURY. IF I LOST ONE, I WOULD ALSO LOSE MY MIND. AND I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT BECAUSE I'M A PROUD OWNER OF ONE OF THOSE AND IT'S THE MOST PRECIOUS THING THAT I WILL PROTECT UNTIL THE DAY I DIE."
"So that's why."
"Ah, we could have expected it."
Nobody was deeply shocked. The girls remembered the bag's name now, but it did not mean the same to them as to Ogura.
However, they had to admit that, if the bag really was worth a lot, having to lose that much money put into an item would be horrible either way.
"Tomorrow might be too late. If somebody had stolen it so quickly, they had to know about its incredible value. And, you may imagine, you would run faster after stealing an expensive object than a simple school bag. The higher the stakes, the harder the pursuit. I'm not denying the possibility that we even might be going against a whole team of people."
"Do you seriously think somebody stole it?" asked Minami as she raised an eyebrow at her.
This seemed weird even to Ogura.
School Garden was a place filled with nothing but rich ladies. Crime activity was completely non-existent. If anything, the girls were stealing each other's school items because of jealousy or personal issues, but that was happening in every school you could go to.
This situation was nothing of that sort. It was a serious case of real theft.
A highly valuable item had vanished in under five minutes.
Ogura closed her eyes and sighed quietly.
"In any case, we have to hurry up and check everywhere. And if you disagree to come with me, that's fine. I, myself, will deal with those who want to put a scar on Hermèise's name. As their biggest customer, I will surely bring back this Himalayan Bourquin to its owner's hands and restore the peace that has been disturbed." She spoke in a proud but overly-dramatic tone and put her hand on her chest. "And I don't care if I must go alone."
A moment of silence concluded her statement. It seemed like nobody had anything to add to that. Everybody just stared with troubled expressions.
But, at last, the first person raised their hand.
"N-Nevermind that! I'm with you, Ogura-san! Let's not let these undignified thieves vandalize Hermèise reputation!" Mizushima Sayuri squealed passionately with her eyes closed shut.
A bright smile appeared on Ogura Iori's face.
"Mizushima-san!" She clapped her hands in joy.
And that only triggered the domino effect.
Hisakawa Ayako, even though rolling her eyes, raised her hand as well.
"W-Well, if Mizushima-san is going, then I guess I'll help as well."
"My goodness! What in the world am I signing up for?" Minami let out an exasperated scoff and wiped the sweat off of her forehead. "I just know this is not going to end well."
The ribbon-wearing girl grinned as she felt a cozy warmth of finally having everybody on her side.
"Thank you, everyone."
But.
The only person who stood in this circle awkwardly cleared their throat.
Hironaka Miyu looked around and spoke to her friend hesitantly.
"I-I'm going with y-"
"Sorry, Miyu-chan, but you have to leave it to us again."
"H-Huh? N-No, I want to hel-"
"We need someone to keep an eye on her and on our belongings." Ogura cut her off automatically. "You'll be of help that way."
This did not satisfy the ponytail girl.
It was quite the opposite, she grew angrier as she had been dismissed for the second time today.
All she could do was pout and look the other way. She did not have any other excuse ready.
She was a guest in this gorgeous all-girls town, but it also meant she could only play the role of the observer. Her dear friend, Ogura Iori, would sooner tear all her hair from her head than allow Hironaka Miyu to participate in their mission.
"Let's go." The ribbon-wearing girl gave a sign to the rest of the group.
Even though not everyone was as optimistic and enthusiastic about whatever was about to happen, the girls followed her.
They came back to the place where the sailor uniform girl was waiting for them.
As soon as she noticed them, she stood up and clenched her hands on her chest.
"And? Did you decide already? Are you going to look for it now?"
The bobbed hair girl's shaking voice resounded as the five girls approached her.
Ogura stopped and looked at her.
"I know how much this bag matters to you and just how expensive it is. Whoever took it knows that too. That's why we need to find them quickly and search effectively." She spoke in a serious tone.
The girl wasted no time to get a clear confirmation.
"S-So you're going to look for it now?!"
"Yes. And you can count on us more than on Judgment. They don't know the real stakes we are at right now. We will surely find it, don't worry!"
"Speak for yourself, Ogura-san." Muttered Minami with her arms crossed.
But the blonde-haired girl ignored her. She could not let the bag get away too far so she needed to act quickly.
She turned in Hironaka Miyu's direction.
"Miyu-chan, here." She spoke to the ponytail girl while lifting her Terre Cuite ostrich bag by its handle.
She felt a strange deja-vu.
She outstretched her hand and grabbed it, but before she let Ogura Iori loosen her grip, she opened her mouth and spoke to her assertively.
"Iori-chan, just please let me help you. I-"
"I know you want to help. But we will be fine by ourselves, I promise. You do not have to do anything. Just stay here with our things and wait for us to come back."
The black-haired girl pursed her lips.
"No, but I-"
"Miyu-chan." She cut her off once again while looking straight into her eyes. "Don't worry."
"..."
The ponytail girl lowered her head and hunched her shoulders.
(N-Nooo! That's not what I meant!)
She wanted to feel like a part of this group but she wasn't allowed.
And even someone as self-conscious as her believed she could be helpful in this case.
But she decided to let it go. She pulled Ogura's bag towards herself and grabbed the belongings of the other girls as well.
She placed all the bags on the bench beside the bobbed hair girl and sat down.
"Alright. Here's the plan." The blonde girl spoke while clapping her hands. "All four of us are going to split up and search around the park. We're already at the west side of the park so we can exclude that. The thief could only go south, east or north."
"But what if they have left the park already?"
"We first need to make sure if they did or did not by searching around the park. If we won't see anything suspicious, we will then presume that they have already left." She answered uncertainly. "But I really don't want that scenario to happen so it's best to hurry and do it quickly."
The headband-wearing girl sighed tiredly at that, but kept listening.
"So the four of us are going to split into three directions. The slowest one, Minami-san, is going to need an assist, so I'll go north with her where Chateau Bagatelle and the rose garden is. Then-"
"Excuse me, Ogura-san?! How am I the slowest?! That's incredibly rude!"
"Well, aren't you?" Ogura scoffed quietly. "Somebody is gonna have to give you a little push or else you won't start running."
Minami simply pouted her lips and crossed her arms.
"My goodness! Of all people, I have to get paired with you..."
"What about us, Ogura-san?" Mizushima asked while raising her hand.
"Mizushima-san, you go east, towards the Grand Oak Alley. Ayako, you go south. This is the least probable way, but we might as well check there."
"Okay. I'll try to find something."
The ribbon-wearing girl nodded her head and pulled a big smartphone from her skirt's pocket.
"Make sure that everyone has a phone with them. We will stay in touch this whole time to update ourselves on the things we may find."
"Alright."
The petite honey-blonde girl took a ready stance.
"Good luck, everybody." Ogura spoke to the ladies while grabbing the wavy-haired girl by her hand. "Let's go, Minami-san!"
"Hn?"
She felt a strong, sudden pull and her legs automatically started making quick steps.
"H-Huh?! Wait, Ogura-san! Why are we running already?! Ogura-san! OGURA-SAAN!"
Before she could even realize, she was speeding away from the bench.
Mizushima and Hisakawa nodded to themselves and split up. The former passed the bench and entered an alley while the latter turned around and started running towards the end of the pond.
...
Ogura Iori and Minami Himeka went north.
Mizushima Sayuri went east.
Hisakawa Ayako went south.
...
And Hironaka Miyu was left on the bench with a company of a complete stranger and a couple of expensive bags.
hi it's been a while.
I didn't update this because I told myself that I'm gonna take a lil bit of a break after I hit the milestone of 100,000 words and so I did.
Aaaand after 4 whole months of binging real housewives of beverly hills & listening to Ariana's new album non-stop I am kind of cured of the quarantine depression and might write some more :)
Idk what this chapter was exactly? I just wanted to play around, do some chill stuff and then do a little bit of action at the end? Idk but we're gonna be wrapping up the first volume soon. Each volume will have like a different vibe and stuff but you'll see.
what else to say.. um I really like reading reviews so write some : )
pls
and yeah hope u enjoyed, lemme know if u did and stufff
k, bye :,)