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The Quest for Mana Crystals – Part 04

“I thought if you were looking for Sasakura, she might have information on you,” Hino explained.

They sat on the floor in Ayano Sasakura’s sparsely furnished apartment unit. Lavia and Hazuki had taken off their shoes at the entrance.

Hazuki wondered who Hikari was. She guessed it was Lavia’s alias, the origin of which was clear.

“And you thought you could sneak into your colleague’s house to investigate?” Hazuki asked with a frown.

“You and Hikari were doing the same thing, weren’t you? I never imagined you two would show up together, though.”

“I know who Ayano Sasakura really is. That’s why I had no hesitation in investigating,” Lavia bluffed.

Hino took out his notebook. “And who exactly is she?” The bluff seemed to work.

“You don’t need to know.”

“Oh, come on!”

“But thanks to you having the key, we didn’t have to destroy the door. I appreciate that.”

“N-No problem. I’ve never been thanked like this before.”

“If you share what you know, we’ll share ours. How about that?”

Hino’s eyes widened. “Great, that’s exactly what I wanted. By the way, can I take a picture of you two?”

“Of course not.”

“Tsk.”

He likely never expected to get permission anyway. He just asked on a whim.

“I’ll ask the question first,” Lavia said. “You still don’t know where Ayano Sasakura is?”

“Yeah, no clue. What’s Sasakura to you?”

“That’s your first question?”

“Uh…” Hino thought for a moment. “Yeah, that’s it. I’ve got a lot I want to ask, like when did you go to the other world and how you came back. But if I don’t understand your relationship with Sasakura, I won’t be able to process anything else.”

Hino mistakenly believed that Lavia was like Serika Tanoue, a Japanese person who went to the other world and returned. Lavia was still wearing a black wig and black contact lenses.

“Ayano Sasakura is an enemy.”

“A-An enemy?” Hino was taken aback by the unexpected word. “What do you mean? Why would Sasakura—”

“One question at a time.”

“Damn… messed up my question.”

“Now it’s my turn. You went to check this unit first. Did you have some interesting lead?”

“I checked Sasakura’s computer, but there was nothing.”

“How did you check it?” Hazuki asked. “It should be password-protected.”

Hino pointed to the computer screen with his thumb. A sticky note with alphanumeric characters was stuck there.

“Wow. That’s the worst way to manage passwords.”

“Right? Even a high school girl like you knows that, but Sasakura… Anyway, there weren’t any important data.”

Lavia looked around. Noticing a sketchbook in the corner of the room, she stood up and picked it up.

“Oh, that’s just doodles,” Hino said.

“Doodles?” Hazuki asked.

“Yeah, just lines drawn with a ruler. No notes or anything. Maybe Sasakura did it to relieve stress.”

“A magic diagram,” Lavia muttered as she studied the sketchbook.

“Huh? What did you say?”

“This is a magic diagram.” She stared intently at the drawing. “I think it’s a sorcery spell used by Ayano Sasakura. I recognize it.”

It was the spell for crossing worlds. While she didn’t remember the finer details, she had seen it many times to know what it was.

With this, she could recreate the spell.

“What?! What do you mean Sasakura knows sorcery?!”

“Sorcery?!”

Hino and Hazuki peered over from both sides and saw lines drawn on the paper. The lines were precise as if drawn with a ruler, with occasional curves and circles. The fact that it was all one continuous line suggested it was drawn freehand. Lavia pondered silently.

“Why is something like this here?” Hino wondered.

“I think—and this is just a guess—she wanted to jot it down before the memory faded.”

“W-Wait a minute. Sasakura can use… magic?”

Lavia’s intense gaze made Hino flinch. The agreement to take turns asking questions was now in shambles.

“Can you keep secrets?” Lavia asked.

“Of course,” Hino responded instantly. “But if it’s something that needs reporting, I’ll write about it. If it’s a secret that must be kept—a matter of life and death, or legally protected minor’s information—I will absolutely keep it.”

“What kind of news needs reporting?”

“Like if Sasakura can use magic. There are things that only make sense if she can. Like sneaking into the restaurant to record Tokigawa’s secret meeting. That couldn’t be done without magic.”

That one was Hikaru’s work. Hino seemed to have a lot of misconceptions about magic. But this worked in Lavia’s favor.

“Also, the biggest concern for the Japanese public is what the other world is like and how it affects Japan. If we can figure that out, it has to be reported. But don’t worry, I won’t trade secrets with people trying to use them politically.”

“I won’t disclose all the information I know, and I might intentionally mislead you.”

“Are you saying you’ll lie?”

“No.”

“Then you’re a good source. Hardly anyone tells the truth to a journalist.”

“I see.”

Lavia fell into deep thought. Hazuki watched her anxiously. The adorable Lavia she knew seemed different from the one negotiating with a journalist now.

“That seems fair enough.”

“Fair… enough? You mean you’ll give me information?! R-Really?! What do you want me to do in return?!”

Hino leaned forward before Lavia could finish speaking.

“First, I have some terms,” Lavia continued with a smile.

For a moment, Hino was captivated by her cuteness. But then, as he listened, he began to wonder if she was a little devil manipulating him.

That’s how unbelievable Lavia’s story sounded.

---

On the first working day at Nitto Shimbun, the owner’s speech to all employees was streamed within the company.

“I’m off to cover a story!” Hino grabbed his coat and dashed out.

“Hey, Tamaru,” the society department’s editor called out to the photographer.

“Yes, chief?”

“Have you heard anything?”

“About what? The results of the Hakone Ekiden?”^[1]

“New Year’s already over. Snap out of it. I’m talking about your partner Hino.”

“He’s not my partner.”

Hino and Tamaru often worked as a team. Their athletic backgrounds fueled their dynamism, earning them the title of Rising Sun Duo. They were usually recommended for jobs that required all-out effort, and staff often remarked how odd it was to see people with such energy in the 21st century.

At the end of the year, Hino, Tamaru, and the editor had been in Fujinota, then rushed back to Tokyo after hearing that Hikari had been at the scene of two rift appearances.

Now, in the new year, Hino was acting strangely, working alone.

Newspaper reporters didn’t have to report their every move to the editor, but it was odd for Hino to rush out for a story so enthusiastically at the start of the year.

“Tamaru.”

“Sir.”

“Follow Hino.”

“What? No way! Why do I have to tail a guy like Hino—ouch!”

The editor’s elbow jabbed into Tamaru’s side. The editor, a former rugby player, was known for his strength and had earned the nickname Snapping Turtle for his dogged persistence when pursuing matters during his days as a reporter.

“O-Okay.”

Tamaru staggered out of the office.

---

Hino headed to a town an hour by train from the city center. The sea was nearby, and the faint smell of seawater greeted him as he got off the train.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” he said to the girl waiting in front of the station.

Lavia gave a bow in response.

Never thought I’d get to say those words to such a cute girl. Being a reporter really pays off!

Feeling a strange sense of satisfaction and excitement, Hino entered a nearby café.

“Is it just you today?” he asked. “What about Hazuki?”

“She’s being watched by the police, so it’s hard for her to sneak out. It’s just me today.”

If Lavia was alone, she could come and go easily with Stealth.

“Watched… you mean surveillance? That’s unacceptable. Should I write an article about it?”

“It’s fine. Once the Four Eastern Stars return, the focus should shift to them. For now, don’t worry about it. So, did you find anything?”

“I did.” Hino nodded. Today, it was Hino who had called Lavia. “But before we go any further, I want to verify a few things. I will discuss with you any information I gather during the course of my investigation, and depending on the content, I may write an article about it.”

Lavia nodded.

“I can report about magic, but no names will be revealed. Right?”

“Yes. Obscure the identities of anyone involved, including me, Hazuki, and any otherworlders we encounter. You can write whatever you want about the Four Eastern Stars.”

“O-Okay.”

Hino sensed a harsh tone when she mentioned the Four Eastern Stars. Was there some enmity between them?

In reality, Lavia was simply irritated that the Four Eastern Stars seemed to have enjoyed themselves so much in Japan while she had had nothing but trouble since coming here.

“What about Sasakura? Can I write about her?”

“That’s fine.”

“All right. I might still consult you on what to include from my investigations, so I’ll be counting on you then.”

“Sure. So, you called me here today because you found something, right? It’s only been a day since we met at Ayano Sasakura’s place.”

“Yeah. It was worth the almost sleepless night of research.” Hino pulled a tablet PC out of his bag. “The mana you need to use magic can be extracted from mysterious stones, what you call mana crystals. And this mana emits a strange light that science cannot explain, right?”

“Exactly.”

Ayano Sasakura had used a mana crystal from Mt. Midori in Fujinota, but revealing this might cause trouble for old man Doyama, so Lavia kept it a secret.

“So, I looked for stones that emit a mysterious light.”

“Can you really look into something with such little information?”

“You’d be surprised at what you can find by adding the phrase cannot be explained by science. Newspaper reporters need to have great investigative skills.”

With a smirk, Hino showed her the screen, not of a newspaper article, but something that looked like a book or magazine excerpt.

“The light on the island extinguished by fire?”