My Classmate Became My Familiar - Chapter 3.7

Chapter 3.7

The student dormitory where the president lived was called The Western Garden, and it was built using funding from the Western Japan Branch.

It is a 30-story reinforced concrete building with a structure reminiscent of a high-class apartment.

Since she was the head of the school’s faction, she seemed to be living on the top floor in a luxurious apartment with three additional rooms.

“I’m sorry it’s a little messy, but please come in.”

The room was like a three- or four-star hotel suite, with a stylish carpet, several elegant-looking pieces of furniture, and a large framed landscape painting hanging on the wall.

It is not the kind of room a student would live in. The many household items in the room seemed to be of a higher standard than any of the furniture Fujiwara had brought into my room.

It was the kind of room usually owned by a single elderly medical practitioner.

A bourgeoisie. Is this the inequality of society?

“Wow. What is this? What is this?”

Asahi was beyond surprised and let out a dumbfounded squeal.

I couldn’t help but agree with her. “Yikes!” What are you doing? What are you, an elementary school student?

“Make yourself at home. I’ll go make some tea.”

As she suggested, I sat down on the sofa, and my buttocks felt something neither too hard nor too soft.

“It feels too good to be true. What is this stuff? Are you sure they didn’t kill a fairy or something and stuff it inside?”

“Wow, it’s too soft… I feel like falling asleep right here… I want it, and this too…”

As we were having this poor conversation, the president came back with fancy teacups on a tray and placed them in front of us along with some western sweets.

“I don’t know if it’s to your taste, but you can have some of these if you like. A relative of mine sent them to me.” 

“Oh, thank you.”

“I’ll take it.”

The tea and pastries were so good that I smiled the moment I tasted them.

I couldn’t help but feel jealous. Damn the upper class. 

Can’t they somehow feed us?

“So, here’s the plan.”

Once we caught our breath, the president, who sat across the table, spoke up as she straightened her posture.

“Actually, I’m not completely unprepared. I’m not going to be beaten by this easily.”

The president took out a transparent file from her school bag and offered it to me.

I took it and found a sheet of paper with a magic circle drawn on it.

“What’s this?”

“This can’t be a magic circle … right?”

Asahi, who sat next to me, peered at the paper with a dumbfounded expression.

The magic circle, if I could even call it one, had a structure that was too ridiculous to look real. It was far too bizarre. 

Any normal magic circle should have a common framework, but this one appeared to have none at all.

For example, the summoning circle. At first glance, the magic circle for summoning stone golems I made during the summoning test and the magic circle for summoning demons that Fujiwara made looked completely different. However, although with some minor variation, the basic structure was the same, so even an unmotivated, half-baked magician like me could guess what Fujiwara’s summons looked like by looking at it.

And just as I guessed, it turned out to be the summoning circle for a powerful demon.

But this one was different. 

I had no idea what it was, but it looked like modern art.

“It’s a summoning circle.”

I looked up at the president.

“This thing…?” 

“Oh. It doesn’t look normal because it is beyond modern-day technology. It has different origins from the magic we usually deal with. It’s like a combination of English and Japanese.”

“Did you come up with this by yourself, president?”

“No way. There is no way that I could have created such an extraordinary thing. This magic circle was created by a genius magician… I can’t tell you the details, but I’m not the one who created it.”

“Heh.”

As I looked at the summoning circle, I felt a strange sensation deep in my chest.

What was it? What was it that was bothering me?

“…? Well, okay. So, what does this thing summon up?”

“God.”

I looked at Asahi for a brief reply.

No way, God? The God?

“What’s that?”

“You don’t know what God is?”

She asked me a difficult question again.

I know what the word means, but even then…

“I know, but does that lead to religious talk? I’m sorry, I’m not religious, so I’m not good at things like that.”

“Don’t worry. It’s not connected. In simple words, this magic circle only summons something that is god-like from our point of view. We don’t know if the actual being is something with divinity as we perceive it. Or rather, it doesn’t matter. It’s a special summoning circle that summons an unusually strong and unpredictable transcendent being.”

“Are these transcendents different from demons?”

“Not at all. Demons are creatures of the same rank as us, living in a parallel world, right? The fact that the principles of their magic are the same as ours is proof enough.”

“Whether they are equal or not, yes. So how is this ‘God’ different?”

“God is, I can’t find the right word for it. I’ll have to draw it up.”

The president took out a piece of paper from her bag and started drawing with a mechanical pencil.

She quickly drew a cartesian plane with the X- and Y-axis, forming a cross. 

“Assume that the place where our world is here at the origin (X, Y) = (0, 0).”

The president scribbled a circle around the point where the X- and Y-axis intersected. From there, she moved the tip one unit to the right.

“The world where demons live is a world that has the same Y-value as ours, but a different X value. For example, (1,0). This world is on the same level as our world, that is, with the same Y value, but as a different X value since it’s a parallel world. However, worlds that have higher values in the positive Y direction are a level above our world.”

She then drew a cross on the cartesian plane where the Y value was one unit higher than the origin. (0, 1)

“Our existing summoning techniques are unable to interfere with these higher worlds. In other words, currently, we can only summon creatures from parallel worlds like (1,0), but can’t with higher worlds like the one at positive Y-value like (0, 1).”

Well, I didn’t even know if the metaphor was appropriate. Could you explain it in a way that an uneducated fool like me could understand, please?

“Heh. Anyway, this magic circle is awesome, right? Hmm… Hmm…”

I couldn’t take my eyes off the magic circle as if it was luring me in.

It’s a strange feeling. Was it déjà vu?

I didn’t even remember it, but when I looked at this magic circle, I felt a sense of nostalgia.

It’s a magic circle that I couldn’t understand anything in terms of structure, origin, or usage, but something about it stuck with me.

Did I know this?

“That’s right. God is a superorganism that exists in a world with a higher positive Y value. That’s why it’s so awesome.”

“…? Oh, I see. That’s amazing.”

Without looking away from the magic circle, I chatted with her.

“It’s frustrating that I don’t have enough vocabulary to express myself well, but to manifest in this low-level world… God has to appear in a detuned state, but they are still strong enough to be a match for the demons. That’s why it’s amazing.”

“So you’re saying that you’re calling an incredibly powerful higher being ‘God’?”

“That’s what I was explaining to you earlier.”

“I’m sorry for my lack of understanding, but if you can summon such an amazing thing, you would be able to kill a demon without any effort. Oh, or that there’s a problem.”

“That’s right. There’s one problem, the ‘God’ you summon is basically uncontrollable.”

“Ha?”

I looked up at her.

I thought it was a joke, but the president had a serious look on her face. 

“In fact, the magician who created this summoning circle was also attacked by ‘God’ and was taken to a higher world.”

“Attacked… What? Abducted? No way, then this thing is useless.”

The magic circle drawn on the paper instantly looked like a disaster.

Just by holding it, I felt like I was being sucked in. I’m sure it’s just my imagination, but…

“That’s not true. We can’t control ‘God,’ but we can ask for help. By offering something in return, we can have our wishes fulfilled. It’s as simple as that.”

“Oh, that’s right. So, you’re going to offer some kind of price to get rid of the demon?”

“If I am forced to use that magic circle, I will make such a request. However, the price to be asked depends on the mood of ‘God.’ It is not an equivalent exchange. In some cases, asking for the demon to be defeated may require my life.”

“It’s no good then. It’s a flawed product…”

“That said, if worse comes to worst, I’ll have to rely on it, okay? And it’ll be on my own accord.”

The bitter smile on her face trembled faintly, but I could see a certain resolve in it.

No matter what, I couldn’t let her do something so dangerous.

“If you’d rather do that, I’ll use the Mark to make her lose.”

“It’s a nice offer, but even that has its risks. Anyway, we can do something if we choose to. Of course, if we work together, we might be able to come up with a safer solution, and then we won’t have to take such dangerous measures.”

“Yes. Let’s come up with something safe.”

I replied and returned my attention to the magic circle again.

I felt a burning sensation in my head, like a fever. The feeling of discomfort was getting stronger.

It was as if something was struggling to come to the surface in my mind.

“Um, can I?”

Asahi, who had been silently listening to the conversation, opened her mouth.

“You said earlier that the ‘God’ would come out in a detuned state… What does that mean?”

“Oh, that’s because matter cannot be transferred between worlds with different Y values. For example, just as we can’t enter the world of manga or anime, beings in the world with a positive Y value can’t just appear in our world. Therefore, when summoning, only the soul of ‘God’ is brought from the higher world, and the body is constructed using the material from here. But of course, as long as it is not the original body, it cannot display its original power. That’s why I called it detuning.” 

“I see… Umm, do you have some understanding of this magic circle, President?”

“No, I don’t. It is so different from existing magic that I have no idea. However, I was personally close to the magician who created this magic circle, so I’ve heard a lot from him from time to time. The explanations I’ve given you so far are just my own. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand the mechanism itself.”

“… Isn’t it dangerous to use magic that you don’t know how it works?”

“There are no flaws in the magic circle or the grimoire that activates it. You can trust me on that point. It’s the beings summoned that are the problem.”

“Yes, I see. But the person who created the magic circle…”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t answer that part. It’s complicated.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Souta-kun.”

As she called my name and I looked up.

Not good. I had completely lost track of the conversation.

“What is it?”

“… You’re staring at the magic circle quite intently. Is there something on your mind?” 

“Well, no, it’s just that… It’s unusual, so I just…”

I probably deceived myself about the déjà vu, the strange feeling, the discomfort. There was no way to explain it.

I feel like I’ve seen this before! Maybe I knew this!

Even if I said it, she would probably think I was dreaming or something.

I think so myself. Yeah, I was imagining things.

Still, something was bugging me.

“Fumu.”

The president crossed her arms and stared at me.

I flinched at her passionate gaze as if she was trying to look inside me.

“What is it?”

“… You want me to lend you that? Along with a grimoire to activate it.”

“What?”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

For a magician, undisclosed magic is their greatest weapon. Such a thing must be kept secret. 

This magic circle, in particular, is a treasure that has the potential to revolutionize magic itself. The president seemed to be in a state of delirium when she proposed to give it to me so casually.

“Such an important thing?”

“I don’t mind if you do. I just want you to make sure that no one else knows about it.”

The president took out a thick grimoire and placed it on the table.

“This grimoire only contains the formula for the magic circle, but it’s still this thick. Take it with you and read through it until you’re satisfied.”

“Are you sure you want me to have this?”

If I was in my normal state, I would have respectfully declined the offer.

By all accounts, this grimoire is knowledge beyond my capacity and is superfluous power.

I didn’t need to know it, and I shouldn’t have had it.

Even though I knew that, I couldn’t refuse… For some reason, as if guided by a strong attractive force, I reached for the grimoire.

“I’m sure you can handle it better than I can. I just can’t help feeling that way.”

“I’m not so sure about that. But if you can lend it to me, by all means.”

I flipped through the grimoire, which seemed several hundred pages long, and was overwhelmed by its contents.

An avalanche of knowledge poured in from my field of vision, overwhelming my brain in the blink of an eye.

A strong sense of déjà vu. A nostalgic feeling. As if I knew I was going to get somewhere…

I was enveloped in a floating feeling as if I was dreaming while waking up.

“S-Souta-kun?”

I turned around and saw Asahi looking at me worriedly.

“… What is it?”

“Oh, um… You look kind of strange. Are you okay? I think that’s too much for you. I mean, if it were the usual Souta-kun, you would have pushed it back because it would be a hassle. Does it bother you that much? I mean, of course, it bothers me, but…”

“Hmmm… Haha.”

I laughed vaguely to cover it up.

Asahi lowered her eyebrows and looked at me, then glared at the president.

“What do you think you’re doing? Do you really think he can handle this, entrusting Souta-kun with such an unfathomable object? He’s still a student.”

“Age doesn’t matter. I truly believe that no magician in the world can handle it better than he can.”

“Are you serious?”

“I’m serious, I can’t tell you the reasons behind it, but that’s what I expect, Hirano-san. I’m sure Souta-kun is a more capable boy than you think. It’s just that he’s usually unmotivated.”

Yes, here it comes again, the unjustifiably high rating. Doesn’t she think too highly of me?

Though, it’s thanks to her that I got to see the magic circle this time.

“Well,” the president’s expression brightened like the rising sun, smiled softly, and straightened her posture,

“Now it’s time to think of a strategy. If we can come up with a good plan, I won’t have to use the magic circle, and Souta-kun won’t have to risk giving a command using the Mark of Obedience.”

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