I sighed and sat on a bench nearby. I wasn't sure what had gotten into her, but it looked like she was having something in mind. Something big and troublesome that made him resign in fate.
“First of all, what are you talking about? And you should calm down. Sorry for leaving you with that guy, okay?”
Sibyl glared at him and opened her mouth, but she didn't say anything. It looked like she was trying to organize her thoughts.
It will take time.
As Vice-President, I needed to support the President, and in this case, Sibyl. Although we were once rivals, we had been together for the past year, so I knew her well enough to trust her judgment.
In addition, she was a powerful Esper and had a keen eye for danger. She couldn't have brought me here for no reason.
“I found another paper just like this one. Or more specifically, Leon gave it to me.” Sibyl said as she took out a similar paper from her pocket. It was crumpled but still legible.
“He found it near the Test Center. It seems that someone left it there on purpose.”
I looked at the paper in her hand. The content was slightly different, but the font used to write it and the point it tried to convey was similar.
It warned the freshmen, new students to be wary of other Espers.
And what defined Esper? Academy City.
These two related to each other and couldn’t be separated.
“Members of the
also found something similar in a few places. Tina reported it to me earlier.” Sibyl pointed at the earphone in her right ear. “It seems that this warning message is being spread around Academy City.”
Warnings to Espers and a warning to the Academy City. It didn't make sense, but it sounded like someone was trying to send a message because it went too far for a mere prank.
I folded my arms and considered what Sibyl had said.
'It's not clear what their aim is.' He thought. 'But it's definitely suspicious.'
The Student Council's job wasn't to investigate crimes or prevent trouble. They were just students who handled issues within the Academy City such as planning events and ensured nothing happened.
Solving trouble was the Public Moral Committee’s problem. They dealt with delinquent or dangerous students, as well as keeping public order. This case was included in the latter case.
So, it wasn't our job to investigate these warnings, but we couldn't ignore them either. If this turned out to be a serious matter, the Academy City’s opening ceremony could be affected and put the new students in danger.
“So...” Sibyl looked at Ciel with a serious expression.
Both of us had known each other for at least a year since they started studying at the Academy City. We had fought each other countless times and were always neck and neck in terms of skills and talent. Well, Sibyl win for the latter, but I caught up by relying on hard work and tricks.
If anyone could understand what she currently thought about, it would be me.
“Haa... Fine. I will try to figure this out. You take care of the new students and protect them.”
Having two of the strongest Espers in the Academy City in the student council wasn't ideal. The second strongest was supposed to enter PMC, but Sibyl was already a candidate for student council president at that time, so it was impossible.
I was the anomaly one.
Also me... Well, they didn't even consider me considering my personality, so the spot of PMC's president was currently taken by a third year student called Travis, a Psion Master and the third strongest Esper based on the tournament result a few months ago.
“I know you can handle this. Even though we're rivals, I can count on you for this matter.” She said with a smile. “You're a reliable Vice-President.”
“Thank you for your trust.” My voice was filled with sarcasm and I rose from the bench. “Just don't rely on me too much. I am not a machine, you know?”
“Yeah. Sorry about this, Ciel. But you’re the only one I can trust with this.”
“‘Kay. I will report to you if I find something useful.”
After saying that, I returned to the main street of Academy City. I raised his head, appreciating the clear sky and warm sunlight on my face.
This would be a good day if it wasn’t for this trouble.
Imagine lying around sunbathing while reading a book. How great would that be?
But now, let alone sunbathing, I had to move my legs to investigate.
Do I have to look around the whole Academy City?
Not that it wasn't possible, but it would take too much time.
Even if it was called a City, the whole Academy City was an island big, spanning over hundreds kilometers. There were more than a dozen Academies, each with its unique style and features.
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I had to narrow down my search area somehow.
Wait a minute. I have a starting point. He mused and stroked my chin. This is within a novel world, and everything revolves around the protagonist. If I find him, I will probably be led to the source of these warnings.
In the novels he read before, there were always characters that acted as catalysts for events and turning points in the story. Some of them were innocent or unaware of their actions, while some were key figures that pushed the story forward.
Since I knew I was in a novel world, I had been wary of the existence of the protagonist and their impact on the story. I tried to distance myself from them and faded into the background, but it seemed like I had failed wonderfully due to my personal interest.
And now, I have to continue influencing this world’s future. Finding the protagonist and helping them solve the problem would be the most ideal route to keep the Academy City’s peace.
There was one problem.
The prologue and the ending I read doesn't say anything about the protagonist... Argh! I should've read it further. Now that plan is void too. It would be good if the protagonist is a spiky-haired man with a tsundere girl chasing him while shooting an electricity. But it won't be so simple, no?
Nowadays, a novel's protagonist's appearance didn’t look so different from normal people. And there were too many unique-looking individuals in Academy City that it was hard to pinpoint just one person.
No other choice. I had to explore and search for clues on my own. I didn't have any idea where to start, but I had to start somewhere.
One clue can lead me to another. Just like a thread of fate.
So, I decided to walk around, in some inconspicuous places that would catch anyone's attention.
I didn't have much time to waste. I used my knowledge of the city's layout and my experience in dealing with problems for the last year to narrow down my search area.
“If I were the guy spreading a warning that could put me in trouble, where would I be?” I asked himself while activating my Esper ability.
[Daydream activated.]
Daydream. Just like its name, my ability was vague at best. I also didn’t know the limit of this ability yet, but I dare not to try.
I put up a notification like this, inspired by games, with my own ability to keep myself vivid and not try to push the limit. I could track my own condition subconsciously with this.
At one point, I had to be bedridden for days for trying things outside my limit. My brain burns and I had a lingering headache for 3 whole weeks after that.
However, as long as I stayed within the limit that I vaguely guessed, my ability was pretty useful.
By activating Daydream, I put myself in a trance state and my imagination could manifest in reality.
Esper fundamentally used Psion to create an imaginary field where they could manifest their ability. And my Daydream’s imaginary field was… pretty vast yet limited.
Whether it was something from a book I had read or something I had seen. It could be used for illusions or dreamlike illusions.
But at its core, it was a support Esper ability that allowed me to have vivid dreams and visions, making it very useful for any kind of situation.
The limit would be myself and the world around me.
What I did right now was to believe that I was a famous detective, one who was good at searching for clues. I focused on my memories and the story of the great detectives I had read, channeling my Psion and creating the invisible imaginary field around me.
Once that was done, I opened his eyes and looked around.
The scenery around me had changed, and I could see things that normal people couldn't see. Like tiny lights or threads of fate connecting each other, forming a clue I didn’t realize before.
It was due to my versatile Esper ability that Sibyl trusted the investigation to me while she protected the new students from any hidden threat.
Let's use this.
[Detective’s Eyes activated.]
[Psion, Stamina, and Mind’s condition at top form. Ready to perform.]
Ideas entered my mind as I ran around, following these tiny lights and threads, looking for more clues. It was like seeing through a magnifying glass, looking at the little details hidden within the scenery.
Detective’s eyes. That was how I named this ability I gained from daydreaming as a detective. Clues could be seen as light. Simple yet useful ability. But it made me in a drunk-like state so I didn’t quite like using it often.
Anyway, I judged that the important thing wasn't the message, but who spread them.
Following the trails left behind by the culprit could lead me to the mastermind behind the warning.
“Oh?”
After running around for a while, I found another form of light. It was hard to see at first, but I recognized it as a Psion trail left behind by someone else.
[Daydream Ended. Returning to reality.]
[Your Psion’s reserves: 99%]
Deactivating my Daydream, everything turned normal once again. My stamina was slightly drained from my ability activation, but it wouldn’t affect my overall strength.
Where is it?
Crouching down, I found a similar paper put near a flower pot on a bench in front of the the #7 Test Center.
I took the paper and frowned. The content was similar to the one that Sibyl showed him.
Examining the paper, I tried to look for the trail I saw earlier.
What was that about the Psion trail?
There were only two things that left a Psion trail.
First: by using a Psion.
Second: by activating an Esper’s ability.
Usually, no one could detect a Psion trail without any specialized equipment. It was only possible when I was in Daydream state. Even now, without the imaginary field, I couldn't feel or detect anything.
However, I was sure that no one I saw around this place had used a Psion before. If there was someone using an Esper ability, I would detect them immediately when I was in daydream state earlier.
Then, there was only one other possibility.
“Oh no!”
At that moment, the paper in my hand suddenly glowed brightly and exploded.
Boom!
“W-What?”
“Aaah! Run away!”
“Evacuate the area! There is an explosion!”
New students ran around like little ducks right after the explosion rang. The staff in Test Center #7 gave out instructions to ensure no one panicked.
[Psion’s defense is damaged. Durability: 95%]
Sighing, the halo behind my head that showed an activation of Psion technique disappeared. I managed to avoid injuries because I used Psion to create a layer of defense around my body. It couldn’t fully protect me, but I minimized the damage I received with it.
I’ve been had.
“That explosion earlier…”
I recognized it. There was only one person I knew who had such ability at a powerful level. And that someone was a part of an organization that always caused trouble in Cypherion.
“The Esper Resistance.” I clicked my tongue and held my head.
I could feel a headache and sleepless night incoming.
More importantly than that, I dusted my clothes off casually as I looked around. The tip of my uniform was charred slightly, making me frown. Looking at the burnt part, I couldn’t help but sigh once again.
Luna will scold me for this.