eh…
Small Village Tridente – Chapter 026
rawr:
July – August, 2XX7
Round (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_(music))
The siren that should’ve been a monster was a player in the real world. Knowing that fact, under Eve-san’s instructions we decided to search for Hibiki(響) in the real world.
「What to do…」
At the moment, we only know her real name. Not knowing what to do, the road ahead is dark.
「Ah… Didn’t Eve-san say that she was a high school student?」
「N-Now that you mention it, that's right. Oh no… Even though I’m younger, I called her Hibiki-chan. Will she get mad at me?」
「That's what you're worried about…?」
Her full name is Tennouji Hibiki and she's a first-year high school student.
Even if you tell us to search for her, with such limited information…
「At times like these, we search the internet!」
The president shouted, taking out her phone.
There certainly are a lot of people who use the internet like a diary. If we search her name, her SNS and stuff might come up. It's the simplest and most effective way of searching.
Each of us used our phone to search using the keyword 【Tennouji Hibiki】.
「I thought that it was an unusual name, but there are quite a lot of candidates.」
Our search came up with about 10 people. We checked their profiles one by one, excluded the selections of working adults and university students, and we were left with one current high school student named Tennouji Hibiki.
We immediately went to Hibiki-san’s page to see if there was any information that could help our search.
The last time she updated was around the end of May… It's August now so she stopped about two months ago. Scrolling down to see past posts revealed pictures of her with her friends and pets.
「Hmmm… These could be clues…」
「How about this?」
Saya, who had skipped through the recent posts showed us a post from 2 years ago.
「A hall? It's an incredibly splendid place.」
When I looked, the image posted seemed to be of a concert hall.
「It looks like a really professional place. I wonder where it is? Is it overseas…?」
「It's most likely an opera house in Australia. It's a place where they perform operas, musicals, and orchestras.」
To go overseas just to see it, does she love it that much? The comment that was posted together with the image was, 「Someday, right here.」
「Hm~… We kinda understand what kind of person Tennouji Hibiki is, but it'd be difficult to search for her with just this information.」
If she'd written her birthplace, then we might be able to at least find out where she lives, but it's dangerous to put such personal information on SNS where an unlimited number of people can see it.
Birthplace… Now that I think about it, NW was designed using the real world's geography as its foundation. It's a system where your location information when you first log in is reflected in the game as is. If Hibiki-san legally logged in, then there's a chance that she lives nearby.
I proposed that we search nearby for the time being.
「I also don't think that she could have logged in normally as an illegal player that Eve-san was not aware of, but I guess that's our only option.」
「Then, let’s check the high schools in this area.」
If we visit high schools we thought it might be better if we wear our school uniform, so we went back home to change and get our student handbook, and then met at a nearby high school. If we wear our school uniform we can say, 「we are checking it for next year」 and can probably investigate without suspicion.
We started with the closest high school.
It's a coed high school thats main focus is their club activities it seems. Whether it be baseball or football, it seems they occasionally appear in the nationals.
However, will it be bad for an outsider like us to enter on our own…?
Even though it's summer vacation, there are lots of students doing their club activities in the sports field. We went to a teacher to ask about Tennouji Hibiki, but when they responded with a yell fitting of a sports teacher, we faltered and gave up.
「Let’s stop calling out people from the sports club. They seem dangerous.」
Saya was acting unusually timid. Even though she usually acts quickly, it looks like she doesn’t have the courage to bother the army-like sports clubs. We decided to wait by the school gate and call out to the passing students.
「I'm sorry for being abrupt. Is it fine if we ask you something?」
As we waited by the school gate, the President called out to a female student that was passing by.
『What is it?』
「Is there a student by the name of Tennouji Hibiki in this school? I heard that she's a first year.」
『Tennouji Hibiki? Hmmmm, I’m the same year but I've never heard of her.』
「I see. Thank you very much」
We asked more people just in case, but nobody in this school knew her.
After that, we visited more schools nearby, but there wasn't anyone who knew someone named Tennouji Hibiki.
「There's only one more high school.」
Kasei Girls school. It's a moderately famous rich girl’s school.
「By the way, Kasei is my first choice of high school.」
「Eh!? Saya, you’re going to Kasei!?」
The conditions to enter the school are strict and the passing rate for entrance exams is quite low. Honestly, I wanted to go to the same high school as Saya, and sank into despair hearing she wanted to go to Kasei.
「I kinda admired this school you know~. So, I want to go here. Mari, have you decided where to go?」
「N-not at all…」
After thinking for a moment, Saya proposed something ridiculous.
「Mari, why don’t we take Kasei entrance exams together?」
「Eh… eeh!? No way, it's impossible! With my grades, it's obviously impossible!」
「Hmmm, I think that if Mari felt like it and studied, you could easily get high grades.」
She's saying random things again. If I could easily get high grades then I would've already gotten them a long time ago.
「I also agree with Himemiysan. Looking at Mari-san in NW, always thinking quickly and acting quickly, deriving a way to escape from a crisis and saving people around you; If you are willing to do it, you can get high grades.」
Even if you compare my actions in NW with studying, I don’t really see the point. But, since the time I met Saya for the first time in NW, I believe I've changed a lot. It might be not be a bad idea to try and take on the challenge of entering Kasei…
「I don’t know if I’ll pass, but I’ll do my best.」
Originally I was not really interested in my future career, but finding a goal lit a fire within me and strengthened my will to enter Kasei.
「President, what school is your first choice?」
「I'm thinking of going to a high school with a dormitory, since I don't know when my parents might transfer jobs again.」
The President has been changing schools since she was young, so she chose to separate from her parents and live by herself in the dorms. She said that her biggest goal for now is to safely pass her remaining middle school life.
「Well, even if we go to different schools, I'll still be seeing you to two in NW.」
Just as she said, recently we've been logging in to NW so much that the time we meet in NW is more than in real life. Also, Eve-san said that once the NW migration project starts, we will be living together like a family in the future.
As we talked about that, a student approached us as she left the school.
『Nice to meet you. Do you have business here? Oh my, that uniform… it's a uniform from a nearby middle school, isn't it?』
I wondered if she was suspicious of us and called out to us because of that.
「Are you checking out Kasei?」
「Ah, yes. we are thinking of going to Kasei next year…」
Saya said and showed her student handbook.
「Seigetsu Middle School 3rd year Himemiysan… I am Kasei Girls School 1st year Shinonome Hazuki (東雲 葉月)」
I was unconsciously fascinated by her elegant greeting. Just as you’d expect from a student of a rich girls school, even their actions are elegant.
O… okay, me too!
「I-I am Kanzaki Mari! P-pleased to meet you!!!」
「Oh my, how cute. Nice to meet you Mari-chan.」
Wait a second, even though I had planned to greet her elegantly… This onee-san, like everyone else does, pet me like a small animal.
「U-um…」
「Oh my, I am sorry. It just happened.」
「Fufu, Mari is Mari wherever she is.」
「Eh? What do you mean?」
「Hmmmm, you might say that it's simply the fact that you’re cute.」
「Could you explain it in more detail?」
「You’re cute.」
「Geez~…」
「…L-let’s see, you are going to be observing right? For now let me guide you to where the teachers are.」
Before we made it inside the school building there was a long path surrounded by trees which gave you the feeling of a forest. My eyes shined looking at the perfectly maintained and beautiful path.
「It sure is pretty~.」
「Fufu, if you were to pass by this everyday, its beauty will start to fade.」
「I-Is that so? But still, to walk this lovely path everyday, I kind of admire it.」
After walking for while, the school building finally came into view. It seemed to be recently renovated, and it's a considerably pretty and splendid looking school building.
Before we ask the teachers, would it be better to ask Shinonome-san about Tennouji Hibiki-san first? Thinking that we called out to Shinonome-san who was walking a bit ahead of us.
「U-um! We would like to ask about something…」
「Hmm? What is it?」
「Shinonome-san, by any chance do you know a Tennouji Hibiki-san?」
The moment she heard that name, Shinonome-san’s feet stopped. She slowly turned to look at us, gave a bit of a dim expression and replied.
「…So are you Hibiki’s acquaintances?」
So she knows Tennouji Hibiki-san. We had finally arrived on a clue, but Shinonome-san’s dim expression made me curious. I wondered if something had happened.
「Maybe, you admired Hibiki and wanted to enter Kasei because of that?」
Admire…? So she must be an amazing person. Certainly in SNS she had an atmosphere of being fond with something like opera… She is also a person that can imitate a siren. She might have a talent for singing.
「Umm, it's not like that.」
「It's not? Have you heard Hibiki’s singing?」
「N-not really… ah, but, online we did hear just a bit.」
When I said online, I meant the singing voice of Hibiki as the Siren. The song I heard that time was really beautiful.
「I see, too bad. Hibiki’s singing voice was really amazing you know. If possible I want to hear it directly one more time… For her to be not in this world anymore, I can’t believe it…」
「……Eh?」
Not in this… world?
Chapter 26 END
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