The Library

I got the room key card marked [515] from the first-floor desk clerk, along with a dormitory rules handbook.

I pushed open the door to a luxurious single room. Letting students who didn't have to pay tuition or room and board stay in a dorm like this was already unbelievably extravagant.

A hundred percent college enrollment and employment rates? Did the social environment even allow for that? It was impossible even if you narrowed it down to a single class, or even a group. Considering Neon's conditions, individual circumstances, and the issue of allocation... the more I thought about it, the more bizarre and contradictory this school seemed. A perfect model of a utopia.

"Wow~ There's even a kitchen."

It might've been small, but it had everything—even a washing machine and a refrigerator. They really spoiled the students.

After putting down the things I'd bought and tidying up, I gave the room a quick deep clean...

Sitting at the desk, I reached into the inner lining of my jacket, where I'd sewn a large pocket myself, and pulled out a small object completely sealed inside 1 cm lead foil.

[Star Color trivia: 1 cm lead foil or a lead box can block metal detectors and electromagnetic signal detection. Machines from 2015 definitely couldn't get through it, but who knows about the author's machines now.]

I slit it open with a box cutter. Inside was a NOKIA 105 feature phone. If I could, I'd really like to bring a flip phone. Unfortunately, flip phones had metal casings, and weren't as convenient to carry around as a NOKIA.

(NOKIA: Nokia phone)

"Phew, done."

It powered on successfully~.

The phones issued by the school ran on a "self-developed system," apparently called the "S System." The school phones could only connect to the campus network; take them off school grounds, and they were just bricks. The school network was restricted to reading news from the outside world. You couldn't contact anyone outside or log in to external websites, so forget about messaging and social media apps.

While studying at this school, you needed a special reason and a teacher's permission to contact your family. Three years of closed-campus management meant cutting off all contact with the outside world.

"Pretty much like a prisoner."

The light gradually faded from Star Color's eyes.

"Not much difference~ But now I've got the first move."

No matter what device you used, connecting to the school network meant it would be restricted. Most importantly, using the school network meant you'd probably be monitored by the administration.

With practiced fingers, I typed out a text on the NOKIA keypad and sent it.

Then I broke into an eerie smile.

Plan A was a complete success~ Now I just had to stick to the plan.

Star Color stretched and sent Tamiya a text.

Seishiki Otonashi: [I've finished cleaning my room, Tamiya! OVO]

Tamiya Emi: [That was fast! You're amazing, Star Color. How about we meet at the dorm entrance at two?]

Seishiki Otonashi: [Sure~ (cat emoji)]

Star Color made it downstairs to the first floor just in time. In the crowd, Tamiya Emi stood out at a glance. A girl as tall as her was bound to turn heads in Neon.

"Um, sorry for the wait."

Star Color placed a hand on his chest and looked up at her.

From Tamiya Emi's perspective, Star Color looked tiny and adorable. She wanted to pat him, but held back the urge.

"It's fine. I just got down here too."

"Where should we go first?"

"Let's go to the library first. Then, once the sun's gone down and it's not so hot, we can check out the shopping district."

"Okay~ I'll follow your lead."

Star Color had no objections and obediently walked behind Tamiya Emi.

Tamiya Emi raised a parasol big enough to shelter two people, let alone a slender boy like Star Color.

"You're really considerate, Tamiya. You have the air of a traditional Japanese lady."

"Uh, um... Don't say things like that. You're making me blush."

"Honestly, I do think you have that kind of air about you."

Star Color looked up, his eyes filled with sincerity and a childlike purity.

"Ah... um, Star Color... The library's just a little farther past the school building."

Tamiya Emi awkwardly changed the subject. Star Color wasn't insensitive, so he went along with it and started talking about novels.

"What kinds of novels do you like, Tamiya?"

"Oscar Wilde's The Happy Prince, Kenji Miyazawa's Night on the Galactic Railroad and The Restaurant of Many Orders. Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window. Murakami's Norwegian Wood is good too."

"So you're a reader of beautiful fairy tales, Tamiya~"

"What about you, Star Color? What do you like to read?"

"Mysteries and mind-game gambling manga~. Kyusaku Yumeno's The Hell of the Brain and Human Sausage. Yukito Ayatsuji's Farewell, God and The One-Eyed Girl. Yasuhiko Nishizawa's All the Reasons for the Breakup. As for mind-game gambling manga, there's the soon-to-end Liar Game, the classic Kaiji, Alice in Borderland, which is also nearing its end, and Usogui, which is still running and about to enter its climax."

"You read such a wide variety. But is it really okay for a high school student to read stories with those kinds of themes?"

"Totally fine. They're just fictional stories, after all."

Old books, their pages filled with the dust of accumulated thought. A place where knowledge piled up alongside the people who used it. Countless bookshelves filled the spacious interior, making it seem like a maze.

A place one would visit only during the three years of youth, yet filled with countless ideas and endless philosophies.

Star Color stepped into a forest of bookshelves, feeling the thrill of a treasure hunt. It really was difficult to pick out the right book from among so many.

His gaze swept over the spines as he walked through the corridors between the shelves.

Around the corner was the Japanese literature section. There were bound to be works by Yasunari Kawabata, Osamu Dazai, Yukio Mishima, and Akutagawa Ryunosuke. Oh, and he'd forgotten Takeo Arishima.

They were all dead, yet their words remained here. This place laid to rest the knowledge accumulated by ancestors who had lost their bodies long ago. Their [thoughts] drifted through the air like souls.

Star Color had thought the library would only have novels, but he hadn't expected them to have a whole shelf of manga. He didn't feel like looking at books on philosophy right now anyway. Manga would be a better way to pass the time.

Norio Nogi's mystery manga Yurei Tower. It really was good. Apparently, it was a classic orthodox mystery manga worth reading.

When Star Color reached for it, he realized his arm wasn't long enough...

He rose onto his toes, his face turning red as he stretched his arm.

"J-just... a little... further... You can do it..."

Okay, it wasn't just a little further. He needed to face the reality of his height.

Just as Star Color was about to look for a step stool, a girl with silvery-blue hair came walking over.

"You want this book, right?"

"Yeah, but... could you reach it?"

"I'll try my best."

"Huh?"

The girl rose onto her toes just like Star Color had. Fortunately, her slender fingers caught the book, and she slid it off the shelf.

"Ah, thanks."

"Yurei Tower? Is this the manga adaptation of The Ghost Tower?"

"Uh... yeah."

"The adaptation of The Ghost Tower is quite good. It adds Japanese elements to the original plot, which makes it easy to get into. But I prefer the original, The Woman in Gray."

"Ah... Oh, you have rather old-fashioned tastes. Are you a fan of classic orthodox mysteries?"

"Yeah, something like that. Which authors do you like?"

"Genre-bending or premise-driven mysteries, and shin honkaku... Kyusaku Yumeno, Tomoshi Shirai, and Yukito Ayatsuji."

"I've heard a lot about Tomoshi Shirai, but every book has such bizarre premises that I still can't get into them. Kyusaku Yumeno's writing is too stream-of-consciousness, with clues that are too scattered and stories that are too obscure. I've only read his famous The Hell of the Brain and Bottled Hell; I haven't read much else. And Yukito Ayatsuji... I'll pass."

The girl before him furrowed her brow slightly.

"Um, well~ Eight Grave Village, The Locked Room Collector, The Murder Magic of Astrology, and A Bellflower are all good too. I don't only read those authors, either."

"Seishi Yokomizo's The Murder Magic of Astrology really does have a brilliant trick! I'm reading Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye these days. My favorite is still Miss Marple, the character Agatha Christie created."

"Ah, sorry! When I start talking about mystery novels, I can go on and on."

The girl suddenly realized how much she'd been talking and began to apologize.

"Huh? There's no need to apologize. It's great to have something you love."

"Um, I'm Shiina Hiyori from Class 1-C."

She slowly moved closer and leaned down slightly to look at Star Color.

Star Color inwardly sighed. This was an awkward distance. Did she think he was a girl?

"Huh? Ah, I'm Seishiki Otonashi from Class 1-A. I'm a boy..."

"A boy? Otonashi, you're a boy? That's a real shock. I was fooled by your cute appearance."

Shiina Hiyori looked Star Color up and down. It was hard to tell the gender of the handsome-looking boy in front of her. He had none of the sharp, sturdy features one expected of a man. At first glance, he looked like an exquisitely delicate porcelain doll, but one that could shatter at any moment.

Star Color nodded, then made a little joke in the style of a mystery novel.

"Too bad~ In mystery novels, an androgynous character can be called a [narrative trick]—a genuine deception designed to fool the reader."

"You're really interesting, Star Color. Looks like we'll have plenty to talk about from now on. Why don't we find a quiet seat and chat for a while?"

"Ha, haha... Is that so... Um... well..."

Star Color was starting to lose it. He was on what barely counted as a date with Tamiya, and now a cute girl had suddenly shown up! Was he in high school or a dating sim? Why did he have to be so popular with girls at a time like this?