Chapter 14: Trial & Error

Now then, I’d decided to move forward with the “main objective”—in other words, making contact with the members of the “faction.” But even so, heading there empty-handed felt a bit awkward.

I mean, when I made that decision, it was still only 10 a.m. At that hour, the faction members hadn’t even started gathering yet.

Because the faction’s members span a wide range of ages, they apparently start trickling in sometime after noon. I can’t say that with certainty, but based on the diary entries, it seems like everyone tends to gather around early afternoon—especially between two and three o’clock.

In Reicia-chan’s faction—“GMDW: General Molecular Dynamics Workshop”—there are indeed a lot of underclassmen, but due to absorbing both the Shika Faction and the Ennai Faction, there’s now a mix of classmates and upperclassmen as well.

The total number of people in the faction is ten, Reicia included.

…Let’s not think of that as “small.”

After all, Tokiwadai Middle School’s total student body barely reaches 200. That monstrous faction of Shokuhou’s, which likely exceeds 50 members (more than an entire class), is the real outlier here. A faction with ten people still makes up over 5% of the whole student body, which is actually pretty significant. Probably. That’s what Reicia-chan’s diary said, anyway.

Besides, GMDW specializes in molecular-level science. The fact that they’re conducting focused research in such a specific field at this scale likely translates to a high level of research capability.

On top of that, GMDW includes several Level 4 espers. Honestly, barring the “largest faction,” it might genuinely rank among the top five.

As for the breakdown of those ten members, aside from Reicia, the original GMDW has two members, the Shika Faction four, and the Ennai Faction three.

Of course, that’s just the internal circle. If you count external collaborators outside Tokiwadai Middle School, including students and researchers, the faction easily has twenty times the members. And if you include collaborators of those collaborators, the number could easily triple again.

So really, the ones inside Tokiwadai are the “core.”

Anyway, to kill some time, I started making cake.

It should be done by early afternoon. I figured I’d grab some lunch while waiting for things to bake… or something along those lines.

I should be able to hand it over around three o’clock. By then, the faction members should mostly be gathered. GMDW was originally intended to be a “symbol of Reicia-chan’s power” and a “research team,” but given that they still meet even now, it seems like they’ve also started to take on the form of something more—namely, a “tight-knit group of friends.”

I had done a bit of digging into these girls, too. “Digging” in this case mostly meant matching names to faces and personalities through the diary and research papers, and casually checking social relationships during my punishment cleaning duties. Nothing too serious.

Still, I think I’ve gotten a decent grasp of their personalities. Maybe even more so than Reicia-chan herself has.

First off, the one currently acting as the center of the group is the former head of the Shika Faction, Shika Satsuka Mutsuki-san. She’s a girl with long red hair done up in absurdly long drill curls that hang down to her shoulders. The curls are so massive that they’re about as thick as a human torso and reach all the way to her waist.

In contrast, despite being fifteen—a year older than Reicia-chan—she has a tiny, almost childlike frame. Her body looks even smaller when set against those massive curls… though, apparently, she styles them that way to make herself appear larger, which is just plain tragic.

As a noble-type girl, she’s fairly casual, but judging by the fact that she immediately tried to crush Reicia-chan’s faction when it started, it’s clear she has quite the aggressive streak. She was reportedly the most openly defiant toward Reicia within the faction, and from the diary, it looks like they were practically enemies by the end.

Next, supporting her is Ennai Rinka-san, the former leader of the Ennai Faction before GMDW was formed. She’s a glasses-wearing girl who holds her bangs back with a headband, making her shiny forehead especially noticeable.

Unlike Mutsuki-san, she has a slim, streamlined figure—almost like she was built to minimize air resistance. She’s got a nice body overall, though her chest is on the small side. According to the diary, she even tried funding her own research into increasing bust size, only to get “punished” repeatedly by Reicia for neglecting the core research in favor of personal hobbies.

Rinka-san, unlike Mutsuki-san, is the cautious type, and tends to show flashes of worldliness—another trait unbefitting a “noble.” Still, her cautious nature is probably what led her to try and dismantle Reicia-chan’s faction preemptively… only to be defeated in turn.

Both of them are Level 4 espers. Though their powers differ from Reicia-chan’s monochrome serrated “Jagged Edge” ability, they’re similarly molecular in nature.

The other members include two girls Reicia-chan dragged in by force—apparently their parents work for subsidiaries of her family’s company—and the various members absorbed from the Shika and Ennai factions. Their personalities vary widely, but there’s one thing I can say for certain about all of them at this point.

Their opinion of me? Rock-bottom.

Chapter Two: I Don’t Care If I Fail — Crazy_Princess.
Episode 11: Trial & Error — Frustration.

I put the finished cake into a basket and headed straight for where the former GMDW members were.

According to the diary, GMDW originally had a dedicated lab space that Reicia had arranged for them. …However, I already knew they weren’t using that anymore.

Since that incident, they haven’t returned there. Instead, they’ve apparently made part of the courtyard their new hangout.

Probably a matter of principle: “We kicked her out, so we shouldn’t be using her facilities”—something like that. Personally, I feel like Reicia-chan just ran away without properly facing everyone after butting heads with them, so there’s no need for them to feel guilty and they could totally use the space again. But maybe they’re all just really conscientious.

When I got to the courtyard, I saw Mutsuki-san talking with someone I didn’t recognize. Thanks to Reicia-chan’s brain specs, I’ve got all the faction members’ names and faces memorized, so this person was almost certainly an outsider.

If I barged in before their conversation ended, it might complicate things. So I hid in the shadows.

They seemed pretty deep in conversation… until—crack!—a spark suddenly flew in front of Mutsuki-san’s face.

The outsider seemed startled by it and, face pale, quickly left.

…Didn’t sound like a very pleasant discussion, then.

……Timing couldn’t be worse, but here goes nothing.

With that thought, I stepped out from hiding—and immediately, all the faction members turned their eyes toward me.

…The feeling in the air was mostly caution. Even an amateur like me could tell. Yeah… this is gonna be rough.

“Good day.”

Before anyone could say anything, I took the initiative and greeted the entire faction. A few of them recoiled slightly, and most continued to look at me with sharp, tense expressions.

...Hmm? This seems... like a bit too much fear for just coming face to face with the "defeated villain"—from their perspective, anyway.

Or is this normal?

From their point of view, the former boss who vanished without a word is suddenly approaching them again out of nowhere.

Mikoto and the others know that I want to apologize to the faction members. But they don’t.

They’ve probably heard that I’ve started cooking recently and that I’ve patched things up with Mikoto—but it wouldn’t be strange if they assumed I was just buttering her up to stage some sort of comeback.

“...Good day.”

With the intent to clear up any misunderstandings, I gave another smile and repeated my greeting.

I’ve only recently realized this, but it seems Reicia-chan’s facial muscles have retained a permanently sarcastic expression. Probably a part of procedural memory—residual effects of always looking like a villain. If I’m not actively aware of it, I end up giving off a seriously unpleasant vibe.

...People like Mikoto, Kuroko, Kamijou, Index, and the magicians aren’t the type to be concerned with facial expressions—but that’s the exception, not the rule. Normally, if someone shows up with a shady face, people get defensive.

Unfortunately, that little consideration of mine completely backfired.

The moment I greeted them again, ZAZAZAZA!!!—the faction members all reflexively assumed semi-combat stances. Mutsuki-san and Rinka-san even raised their eyebrows in open threat. …Just how scary is Reicia-chan to them?

Sighing at the reputation of the body’s former owner, I added with a playful tone,

“If you all act that afraid, it’s starting to look rather adorable, you know. Please, do try to relax a bit.”

But this only made them shrink back even more. ...What is this, like a different kind of fear from the one I was trying to dispel? Like my words are getting twisted into some new kind of threat just because Reicia-chan is the one saying them?

...This situation runs a lot deeper than simple disdain. It’s seriously ingrained.

“...Why are you... here...?”

At last, Mutsuki-san spoke up, her voice sounding like it took a great deal of effort just to ask the question.

“Why, you ask? —Because there’s something I want to tell you all.”

Judging that staying any longer would only add unnecessary stress to their mental state, I decided to skip ahead to the main point.

“...I truly, deeply apologize for everything I’ve done.”

I bowed my head.

A heavy silence fell over us.

“I understand that this isn’t something that can be forgiven just by apologizing. For a whole year—I forcibly stole your time for my own selfish desires. ...I’m really, truly sorry.”

There was no reply.

I waited for a bit, but still, no one spoke. When I finally raised my head, I saw that all of them were just standing there, mouths slightly open, as if they couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

...Ah. So my apology was that unthinkable, huh.

I’d kind of hoped that, between starting to cook and getting teased by the dorm supervisor, their dislike toward me might’ve eased up a bit... but clearly that was wishful thinking.

“W-Why...”

“Hm?”

“Why now, of all times...?”

Mutsuki-san’s trembling voice posed the question. I braced myself internally, expecting it to be a prelude to an emotional outburst—but surprisingly, it didn’t come.

“What exactly are you trying to pull...? After all the recent weird behavior—are you trying to manipulate us with some new ‘friendly approach’ now that your old ‘fear-based method’ doesn’t work anymore...?”

...Well. At least she’s suspicious now. That means my recent behavior wasn’t totally meaningless.

It’s just that the debt I racked up in the past is too huge to overcome...

“That’s not—”

“I—I can’t... I can’t believe you!”

Rinka-san cut in to back up the trembling Mutsuki-san. Her lips quivered and her face had gone pale—but the strength in her eyes remained steady.

Standing protectively, supportively in front of Mutsuki-san, confronting the great evil—me—her posture was...

Honestly, even if I hadn’t done anything wrong, I would’ve flinched from that.

“After everything you’ve done to oppress us—how do you expect us to believe you now, just because you suddenly decide to come crawling back?!”

“.....................”

Well, of course. Just apologizing and trying to act friendly—that's something anyone could do if they really wanted to.

If someone you absolutely don’t trust suddenly starts doing that, it’s only natural to approach the situation with suspicion.

But still—

That doesn’t mean I can give up. I have to keep going—for the sake of Reicia-chan’s future, and to show her that this kind of life is possible. I can’t back down now.

…………Besides.

Now that I’ve actually spoken to them, I feel this more strongly than ever.

Even from their side, just leaving the emotional scars that Reicia-chan inflicted on them unresolved—that can’t be right either. It’s already been a month since her defeat by Mikoto and the breakup that followed. And yet here they are, still this shaken. Unless they settle things with Reicia-chan properly, that wound will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

They’re being adamant about one thing: “We can’t trust you.”

Not “You’ve got some nerve trying to cozy up to us after everything you pulled”—but “Because of everything you did, we just can’t trust you.”

...I knew it. Deep down, these girls really are just kind-hearted.

They want to believe. They don’t want to fight with anyone. But what Reicia-chan did in the past won’t let them. Their experiences won’t let them.

...They’re good kids.

If I were just a normal girl attending this school, without all of Reicia-chan’s baggage, I’d honestly want to be friends with them.

To be fair... up until now, I can’t deny that I approached them out of a sense of duty—because of Reicia-chan’s situation.

But now it’s different. Having seen what kind of people they really are, up close—I just can’t stand by and do nothing anymore.

Which is why I said—

“Then I’ll keep reaching out until you can believe me.”

With that, I placed the basket down in front of the faction members.

“It’s cake. I baked it myself. I’ve gotten really into cooking lately, you know.”

“………………There’s not... anything in it, is there? Like some drug meant for hypnotic suggestion in your experiments or something...”

“I swear on my pride—there’s nothing in it but flour, sugar, eggs, whipped cream, strawberries, and just a bit of sincerity.”

I recited the list like a spell. I don’t have much personal pride anymore (obviously—I’ve been bowing left and right), but coming from Reicia-chan’s mouth, that statement probably carried considerable weight.

“There’s no intention to win you over with this, so please accept it without worry.”

Looking them in the eye, I said this clearly—and only then did Mutsuki-san’s trembling finally stop.

She seemed a bit calmer now. After thinking quietly for a moment, she opened her mouth.

“…………No, I’m still going to decline. We still don’t trust you. Even if there’s nothing in the cake, we can’t predict what kind of outcome might follow just from accepting it. It might lead to some situation where we lose all control. As the acting leader of this ‘faction,’ I can’t make a call like that.”

“...I see. That’s... perfectly reasonable.”

……Her words seemed to carry an extra layer of meaning: You’re the one who abandoned us and ran.

……Yeah. I guess that’s as far as this can go today.

“Understood. There’s no need to rush a conclusion. ...For today, I’ll take my leave.”

“W-Wait, that’s it? You’re leaving just like that...?”

“...Yes. I thought staying any longer would only cause you all more distress.”

Looking around, I saw that all the faction members had turned visibly pale.

…………I hadn’t expected their trauma to run this deep.

I took a step back.

A clear signal—I was leaving their space.

Then, one last time, I bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry for showing up unannounced and upsetting everyone. That wasn’t my intention. ...Well then. Until next time. Take care.”

But that didn’t mean I had given up on repairing things—or healing the wounds in their hearts.

By saying “until next time,” I made it clear: I’ll be back.

And with that thought, I turned on my heel and walked away.

Not once did anyone return my farewell.

…………Man, this whole endless-apologizing thing is rough on the soul. Not that I’m complaining—Reicia-chan’s actions earned this, and it’s only fair.

Still... not even taking the cake kind of stung.

Well, I did leave the basket behind, pretending to forget it... so maybe—maybe—they’ll eat it just because it’s there and there’s nothing else around?

I can hope, right?