第１１２２堀：当たり前という違和感 (Part2)
"Understood. First, as Comet-sama suggested, it is highly probable that there are spaces Principal Popuri has left behind for the sake of nostalgia. However, there are many areas that I believe should be demolished."
"True enough. But that’s exactly why Kirika felt something was off about them, right?"
"Yes. ...It is difficult to articulate an intuition, but one thing I can say for certain is that neither Popuri-sama nor Lara-sama seem to be involved in this discrepancy."
"Oh? What do you mean by that?"
"I felt it while listening to the meeting in that classroom: Popuri-sama and Lara-sama seem to have absolutely no interest in rumors, including ghost stories, and they showed no signs of hiding anything. I believe you noticed that as well, Master."
"Is that right, Yuki?"
When I asked, Yuki nodded.
"Yeah. I didn't get the sense they were concealing anything. Besides, since everything is being surveyed with this map, they likely assume there’s no meaning or reason to hide anything. ...Ah, I see."
Oh, it seems Yuki realized something from his own words.
Hmm, I’m still completely in the dark.
"Did you realize it too, Master? Exactly. If Popuri-sama and the others aren't doing anything, then normally, someone else must be hiding something. Moreover, they’ve created so many dead points that even the administrators—Popuri-sama and her staff—don't find them strange. If these were simply rooms currently out of use, that would be one thing. But these scattered spaces marked in red are dead points. They are sealed off. Why would they not think it odd that there are so many of them?"
"“Ah.”"
Having had such an obvious point laid out for us, we finally grasped the problem.
"You're right. Why did I think it was normal to have so many unused, sealed-off areas until now?"
"True. I just convinced myself that there were a lot of places filled with memories. But normally, sealing off a place full of memories doesn't make any sense. It’s not like Popuri even visits them."
"However, it is likely that Popuri-sama perceives these dead points as places of memory and believes she is preserving them. Therefore, Popuri-sama is not lying at all."
"So, her perception has been skewed, then?"
"Yes. At first, I thought it was just a byproduct of the academy’s long history. But the discrepancy was too great. I realized this when I looked at the Haiden Academy of Magic. They certainly had spaces not in regular use, but they were all repurposed as storage or the like. Well, there was the exception of the alternate space Sota-sama was in, but that was just one. Even in the castles of various nations, which have significant history and far more rooms, there are not as many dead points as there are in this academy. Usually, the places that aren't used are things like secret passages for escape, or private rooms used by individuals—they aren't 'dead points.' Places that look like they were created by genuine design errors are the norm."
That’s true.
There is no reason to create this many "unusable spaces."
Above all...
"In the first place, do you think Popuri-sama, who operates an academy with limited funds, would permit such wasteful architecture?"
"““No.””"
We answered in unison.
That’s right!
The reason we are here right now, aside from the investigation of the Great Tree Sea, is because of a desperate request from Principal Popuri.
She wants us to improve the academy's reputation.
That’s why Kagura and the others came here as exchange students, as a return favor to Amanda and her group.
Yet, there is no way she would overlook wasteful architecture that would cause that reputation to plummet.
Things must have been even tighter in the past than they are now.
"This is definitely a discrepancy. No, it’s an anomaly."
"Agreed. Even as lazy as I am, I wouldn't go out of my way to seal off a room I could use for storage."
"Yeah, I’d at least use it as a storeroom, too."
"I am glad. It seems my intuition was not mistaken. Therefore, since Principal Popuri is not hiding anything, there should be no issue with investigating. Normally, one would want to charge straight into a place with so many anomalies, but considering our past experiences..."
"If there’s a threat that doesn't show up on the map, that would be a problem. That’s why we’re gathering rumors first?"
"Yes. If there are no particular issues with the rumors we collect, we can proceed with the infiltration."
"I’m in favor of that."
"I agree as well. There is clearly something in these dead points. Well, I have no idea if it’s something bad for us or not."
As long as the rumors don't include ominous words like "the dead" or "people who never return," then it’s just a mysterious place, right?
Yeah, I’ve started to get more interested in this than the research on the Great Tree Sea.
What seems "normal" is often not normal at all.
That happens quite often, doesn't it?
Now then, what exactly is hidden behind this "normality"?