My Classmate Became My Familiar - Chapter 3.2
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Chapter 3.2
I know it’s a little late, but I’d like to give a brief explanation about Marika Sanjo.
Marika Sanjo was born as the eldest daughter of the head of the Sanjo family, a famous family of magicians, and she is one of the leading magicians of our generation.
She is brilliant, and her talent shines inside out.
Her talent as a magician attracted attention not only in the Sanjo family but also from Japan as a whole. And for some time now, she was known in the Japanese magician circles as the Prodigy of the West, Marika Sanjo, like Prodigy of the East, Chikage Fujiwara.
The term ‘gifted person’ was truly the most appropriate for her. She had both the talent and integrity to take it for granted. It was unanimously agreed that she will eventually become the leader of the magician world.
She is an existence that no ordinary person could ever reach, a person that stood above others atop the clouds, favoured by God.
Such a person took the trouble to interfere with Fujiwara.
It’s hard to believe, but… hmm?
“Oh. Are you studying?”
I was reading an academic book on the art of summoning demons in the library when I was approached by a voice.
I looked up and saw the student council president, Marika Sanjo, looking at me with a soft smile.
I was somewhat panicked by the timely encounter.
“Ah, yes. Are you studying on your own too, President?”
When I asked in a low voice so as not to disturb the other users, she shook her head, “No,” and said,
“I was patrolling the school. Then I found Sota-kun. Do you mind if I sit next to you?”
I nodded, and she pulled out a chair and sat down right beside me.
“Well, I’m sorry about the other day. I’d like to apologize again.”
“That’s fine. I had Ryouka apologize to me the other day.”
“Oh, right, I guess it would have been rude to be too persistent. Hmm. By the way, what are you studying? I can try to help you with what I know.”
She peeked at the academic book. As her trademark ponytail swayed, a pleasant smell tickled my nostrils. The lustre of her hair was probably thanks to how she took care of it daily.
“It’s about a summoner’s magic circuit. I’m trying to find out if it’s possible to bring Fujiwara back.”
President twitched and shook her shoulders at my words.
Maybe it was because I overheard Misa’s speculation. Usually, I wouldn’t think anything of such trivial behaviour, but I suspected there was more to it. Was it information bias, or did it bother her?
“I don’t think I can find anything by doing research in the library, but I thought I should do what I can… Oh, that’s right. What did the President think about the accident that happened during the summoning test?”
I tried probing her here.
She folded her arms and muttered,
“The truth is that I don’t really know. It’s hard to believe that Fujiwara-san made such an easy mistake. The grimoire, the magic formula, and the summoning team were all carefully examined in advance by the school, right? If that’s the case, it’s my opinion that the accident could not have happened in the first place.”
“I see. Then it was an intentional, or in other words, man-made accident?”
She stared at me.
I don’t know why, but her expression was unnatural. She also seemed a little stiff.
“Do you believe that the accident was staged by someone else?”
“Yes. Fujiwara complained about it before. She said she didn’t make any mistakes. At first, it sounded like she was merely grumbling, but recently, I started to think that maybe she was telling the truth. If that’s the case, the only thing that could have caused the accident would have been interference from others, right?”
“I can’t deny the possibility, but…”
“Right? So, if it was a set-up, who do you think was the culprit?”
President fell silent as if she was searching for my intentions.
Silence filled the room for a few seconds.
Eventually, she turned her face down loosely.
“You… No, I suppose not. If you think about it normally, the people who would benefit from Fujiwara-san’s disappearance would be suspicious. That would be the upper echelons of the East Branch, who would gain relative status by kicking her out, or someone from the West Branch, who is completely hostile to the East. However, the upper echelons of the East Branch within the university generally have a good relationship with her, and it is hard to imagine them undermining her.”
“You’re familiar with the inner workings of the East. If that’s the case, does that mean that it’s the people from the West who are suspicious? “
“Yes, that’s right. The most likely candidates are Ryouka, who regularly fights with Fujiwara-san, and me, who controls the West faction. But Ryouka doesn’t have the control to mess with Fujiwara-san’s grimoire. It’s the wrong field. In other words, the most suspicious person would be me.”
She said without hesitation and smiled provocatively.
“What do you think? Perhaps, but Sota-kun was thinking something similar, wasn’t he? It was like you were testing me there and then. You wouldn’t deny it, would you?”
She saw right through me. Well, that was Misa’s guess, not mine, but since she’s blabbing on like a criminal in a suspense drama, I won’t deny it.
But if I were to give her an unreasonably antagonistic reply, she’ll misunderstand me, and I’ll end up blowing myself up. Idiot.
I smiled falsely to distract myself from the awkwardness.
“Well, I mean, yes. So I’m going to ask you instead, are you the culprit?”
“You’re asking that directly to me? What can I say? … Hmm. If so, what would you do?”
I thought for a moment about how to reply, but the answer quickly came to mind.
“I’m not going to do anything. There’s nothing I can do now that I know who did it. But I would like to know why you did it, though. To prevent it from happening again.”
“That’s surprising. Don’t you want to get even?”
“It was Fujiwara that got targeted. I was just involved, and I have no intention of doing that. Even if I got revenge, it’s not like Fujiwara will be back to normal. Besides, you’re too strong.”
“I see. You’re very rational.”
“No, I’m not. I’m a lazy person. I’m not motivated in most things. So, why did you tamper with Fujiwara’s grimoire? Did you intend to kill her?”
I asked, and she chuckled.
“You’re assuming that I’m the culprit, aren’t you?”
“If you aren’t, say so firmly. I’ll rub my forehead on the floor and apologize.”
I told her with half-certainty, based on our exchanges so far.
She crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling.
“You can’t look me straight in the eye like that… It’s like you’re telling me that I’m a very foolish creature for thinking so much and fooling around.”
She smiled, which was unusual for her as if she was throwing something away.
“I did. I tampered with Fujiwara-san’s grimoire stored in the school and sabotaged her exam. I’m still trusted by the faculty, after all. It was easy for me to play safe… Oh, no, I confessed. I didn’t particularly want Sota-kun to know about it…”
“You admitted it surprisingly easy for someone like you.”
“I didn’t think I could hide it anyway. I was willing to admit it if it came to light, and now it has. I can’t do anything about it. So, what are you going to do with me?”
She held up her hands as if to give up. I guess that meant that she gave up.
Anyway, weren’t you listening to what I was saying?
“I’m not going to do anything about it. It’s too much trouble, so I won’t even tell Fujiwara.”
“Eh? What, you’re not serious?”
“Yes, I am. More importantly, why did you do that? I was under the impression that you didn’t like this kind of trickery. Tricks, sabotage, that kind of thing.”
“Yes, these means are not what I wanted. However, I had no other choice but to do this. If I tell you my motive, you won’t understand it, but to put it simply, Fujiwara-san tried to summon a familiar that was out of her capabilities, and I personally couldn’t allow it.”
“Not capable enough? Why not? Fujiwara is talented, you know?”
“Her talent is borrowed. It’s not the one that she should have.”
The President looked at me as if she was looking somewhere far away.
As I stared at her, unable to understand, she smiled gently at me.
“The truth is, Chikage Fujiwara doesn’t actually have a great talent. It is not a biased opinion based on my rivalry or jealousy, but a cold hard fact. No one except us will ever understand it, but the dazzling talent she possesses today is something that should have belonged to someone else. In other words, she’s cheating. She is using a borrowed talent and acting as if she was born with it. I couldn’t forgive her for that.”
I couldn’t understand what she meant.
I chewed and swallowed her words one by one, but all I could hear was envy.
“Well… So you’re saying you can’t stand the fact that Fujiwara is more talented than you?”
“Why would I think that? As expected, it’s impossible for you to understand… No, it wasn’t something you could understand as long as the explanation was abstract in any way…”
“Are you trying to make me understand this in the first place? I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I’m telling you I can’t go into detail because if I do, you’ll forget it.”
“Do you think I’m stupid? I’m not that forgetful.”
“There is no such thing as a fool. In fact, I respect you, Sota-kun. You’ve got much better qualities than Fujiwara or me… You sure have.”
“Seriously? Aren’t I too awesome?”
I just let it go. She started saying weird things again.
She’s also so bad at flattery it’s funny.
I didn’t feel like dealing with her at all.
“Well, anyway, the culprit is the President, right?”
“… Yeah, I accept that.”
She nodded.
It seems that Misa’s guess was correct.
“I see. So, please don’t do that again. I’m in trouble.”
“That’s light. If I may say so, are you sure you want to do that?”
“I don’t know how Fujiwara feels about it. I just don’t want any more trouble. Oh, and while we’re on the subject, do you have any guesses on how to get Fujiwara back to her original form?”
“There’s nothing I can think of…”
“As expected.”
I muttered and turned my attention back to the academic book.
Then, she started to look at me restlessly.
“You really don’t think anything of what I’ve done, do you? You’re not going to do anything about it.”
“Umm, are you trying to get me angry? If so, I’ll be…”
“No, no, that’s not what I mean… I see…”
She smiled sardonically as if her tension was no more.
“Hmm, well, okay, I get it. Then, let me at least help you bring Fujiwara-san back to normal, okay? If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. Don’t hesitate to ask me. I don’t think that will atone for the sins of this time, but… at least I can do that much, right?”
“It’s a great help. I’ll be happy to discuss with you as soon as I can if I need anything.”
I can’t shake the feeling that it’s weird, though, since she’s the one who caused this in the first place…
Well, I guess I can count on her.
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