Something feels off about this hospital lately. Well, it's not like I've been hospitalized that much, and it's not like I know this hospital well, but I can still sense that something isn't right.
"So, what's going on, Mikado-sensei?"
"You don't need to worry about unnecessary things. Just think of it as a busy season, like when everyone wears masks during allergy season."
A busy season for injuries and illnesses is a new concept, and that analogy makes no sense.
"Even if you say that, the rooms on both sides of mine are occupied now. Almost at the same time."
I haven't just been lying around doing nothing. The voices I hear from the hallway are important information, and the fact that I can now walk around and my range of activity has expanded only strengthens my intuition.
"It's just a coincidence. Now, just be a good patient. Okay?"
"...By the way, what are the symptoms of the people who moved in next door?"
"That's a matter of people's privacy. I can't tell you."
"Then, I'll just befriend them and ask directly."
"Just be a good patient. You'll be discharged soon. Oh, wait a minute."
A phone call came in at a convenient time, preventing me from questioning her further.
Saying it like that is practically an admission that something is going on. But knowing Mikado-sensei, I can't rule out the possibility that it's just a bluff.
Well, I have my suspicions.
It's not normal for someone to be in a hospital room without a single sound coming from it. Not unless they're in a coma.
In short, I suspect that there are Level Upper-induced coma patients here.
This hospital has very strong security, and it's not easy to find out a patient's personal information. I tried the last resort of asking Mikado-sensei, who I know, but it didn't work.
I don't know how far the Level Upper case has progressed, but I told Aria to use that thing just in case, so I'm sure she'll figure something out. With that group, they can handle it.
"---Yes, yes, I understand, I'll be right there. Well, a new emergency patient has come in, so I'm going now. Be a good patient."
Mikado-sensei hung up the phone and left the room with a grim look. I think Yona and Kuro were supposed to visit me today. They're both sharp, so I'll just lie here and avoid any unnecessary actions.
---------
Akemi pushed her hands forward and tensed. To the surprise of an ordinary person, the girl in front of her began to slowly float in the air.
"This is amazing! This is amazing, Ruiko! I could barely lift a paper cup before!"
Saten smiled wryly at Akemi's excited face and waved back. It was inevitable that her ability would be cut off if she lost her concentration while using the power she had just gained a few tens of minutes ago.
The girl who had been floating due to Akemi's psychokinesis fell on her bottom.
Saten, turning her eyes away from Akemi who was being punished with a vengeful nape of the neck attack from the angry girl, placed a small leaf in her palm and created a gust of wind.
The wind was just a small whirlwind. The little breeze created by putting her palms together made the green leaf spin gently.
At that sight, Saten couldn't suppress the emotion welling up from the bottom of her heart, and her face softened.
(It's a small power compared to Shirai-san or Misaka-san... It's a common power here... but!)
Saten clenched her hands and looked up at the sky.
(But still, it's my power... mine, and mine alone!)
It was a truly insignificant power, not even useful in a fight, or even in daily life.
Even so, Saten was so happy it brought tears to her eyes.
---------
"This is amazing!! Look, look! I can even lift something this heavy this high!"
"Oh! I won't lose either!!"
The girls, who had been using their abilities like children with new toys for the past few hours, were beginning to get the hang of them.
Saten sat on a bench in the shade of a tree, absent-mindedly watching them.
(I should probably tell Uiharu... But she'd get mad, wouldn't she?)
The excitement of getting an ability had subsided, and she had the luxury of thinking about the future.
Saten and her friends were trying to find the Level Upper, which was believed to be related to the current case, and analyze its details.
Now that it was confirmed that this music was the Level Upper, it was no exaggeration to say they were close to solving the case.
(But, once we figure out how it works...)
The ability they had just acquired would surely disappear from their hands. It wasn't normal to be able to use an ability you couldn't use through normal means just by listening to music. There must be some serious side effects.
The word "side effects" ran a cold shiver down her spine. If something were to happen to the friends she had dragged into this—
"Ruiko-chan, what's wrong?"
"...Makochin. What about you? Taking a break?"
"Something like that. Using my ability is surprisingly tiring."
They sat next to each other in silence for a while.
Makochin broke the silence.
"I love Akemi and Mu-chan, you know."
"Huh?"
"And you, too, Ruiko-chan."
At the sudden confession, Saten's dull mind moved, and she listened without saying anything.
"To be honest, I was thinking of moving to the regular course after the summer. I came here on a whim, but beating people up and all that, it just wasn't for me. I was terrible at magic and espers."
"..."
"But I was also worried. I thought it would be awkward with everyone if I went to the regular course. You're all important friends, and I don't think I can make friends like you if I move to the regular course. But if I can use an ability with Level Upper, I'll try a little harder."
Saten could only look away from her smile.
A heavy sound echoed as something was slammed to the ground. It was the bench that had been floating in the air with her ability.
Akemi had collapsed, unconscious.
---------
"Download complete."
"But I can't believe Level Upper was a song."
"It's hard to believe, but it's true."
After handing over the blond man to the appropriate adults, Kuroko and Asuna rushed back to their base. Uiharu, Tina, and Riko were waiting at the base, and upon hearing the report, Uiharu and Riko immediately began pulling the necessary information from the internet. In a mere 30 minutes, they had finished downloading the original song.
Kuroko was receiving first aid from Tina. It wasn't an injury that first aid could fix, but Kuroko had insisted on hearing the report about Level Upper, so she promised to go to the hospital later and stayed here.
"Oh, right, I have to contact Kiyama-sensei."
Asuna started making a phone call as if she had just thought of it. They had gotten their hands on something with a high degree of credibility. She thought it wouldn't be a bad idea to get an expert opinion here.
"...Hello, Yuki-kun?"
"Yes. Actually---"
"---Good, we also succeeded in getting the song."
"So, Sensei... is it really possible to raise an ability with a music program?"
"Hmm, I'd say it's difficult at this point. To begin with..."
"---Yes, yes. I see, understood. Thank you. Please contact me if you find anything."
"How was it?"
"Well, Kiyama-sensei said it would be difficult to raise an ability with a music program that only works on hearing, even if it could work on all five senses. Of course, she said she'd look into it for us."
"Hmm, so things aren't looking good, huh?"
Riko, sipping her strawberry milk with a straw, spoke everyone's thoughts.
"Good job... huh?"
"Oh my, what's wrong? Why do you all look so gloomy?"
At that moment, Yukina and Kurumi, who had been on a patrol together, returned. The hot air from outside flowed in through the open door and was immediately shut off.
"Welcome back, Kurumi-chan, Yukina-chan. Did anything happen?"
Today, they had split up to investigate the "places where Level Upper was likely to be traded," which Uiharu and Riko had pinpointed. Asuna and Kuroko had gone, and so had Kurumi and Yukina.
Asuna had asked, hoping they had found some clue, but she was unfortunately disappointed.
"Yes! I have something to report to everyone!"
"Yes. We actually got a very promising piece of information."
"W-what?! Really?!"
"Yes. Apparently, Level Upper is a song---huh?"
Yukina's voice got quieter as she noticed the looks on everyone's faces had suddenly turned to disappointment.
Kurumi was also suspicious, but she understood immediately.
"By any chance, you all already know...?"
"Yeah, we already do..."
Asuna explained what had happened.
"I see... but doesn't this increase the possibility that this music program is Level Upper?"
"Well, a specialist says it's difficult, so it's a toss-up... But on another note."
Kuroko looked at Kurumi.
"Can you do something about that outfit? The air conditioner is on, but just looking at you makes me feel hot."
Kuroko pointed at Kurumi and complained. It was the middle of the day. A little past the time when the sun was at its highest point, which meant the temperature was at its highest for the day.
"Oh, but this is my special outfit..."
A jet-black gothic lolita outfit on a day like that would be a small visual weapon. For some reason, the person wearing it wasn't sweating at all. She was using her power to regulate her body temperature. However, it was unbearable for the people around her.
"Please think about the people around you. Adjust your clothes and actions according to the time and place---why are you all looking at me?"
Needless to say, "You're one to talk."
"What if the song itself had an effect that worked on all five senses?"
The members' gazes turned to the voice that came from the entrance.
"Kanzaki-san and Onee-sama?!"
"What do you mean...?"
While most of the people in the room had question marks floating above their heads, only Riko had a sharp expression and a smirk at the corner of her mouth.
"Heh, synesthesia. How did you think of that, Aria?"
"Well, Mikoto was the one who said the word 'synesthesia.' I just said it would be good if the music could stimulate multiple senses."
"U-um... could you explain what synesthesia is?"
"Well, synesthesia is, simply put, 'getting multiple sensations from a single stimulus.'"
"When you hear the sound of a wind chime, you not only feel the sound but also feel cooler, or when you see a reddish color, you not only see the color but also feel warmth, or like looking at Kurumi's black clothes and feeling hot. If we can apply that and 'get the sensation of all five senses from a single stimulus, music,' then it would meet the conditions, don't you think?"
This was the conclusion they reached by combining Aria's detective intuition and Mikoto's knowledge.
"W-wait a minute! I'll make a phone call!"
Asuna took out her phone and called the number at the top of her call history. After a brief greeting, she got to the point.
"I see, synesthesia. That's a possibility. I overlooked that."
"So, it's possible!"
"Yes, it's definitely worth investigating. If so, we'll get permission to use the Tree Diagram."
"The Tree Diagram... the world's best supercomputer...!!"
The Tree Diagram. It was the name of the world's best supercomputer. Made with the best of scientific technology, it was used for a wide range of things, from the familiar 100% accurate weather forecasts to predicting important experimental results in advance.
Uiharu couldn't help but be interested.
"U-um! Could you take me with you?! I want to see the Tree Diagram being operated just once!"
"Hmm, I hear you're a talented person with top-class information processing skills for your age. All right. I can't let you touch it, but you can watch. I'll give you the address of my lab. Come now. I'll be waiting."
"Really! Thank you so much!"
Uiharu, half excited about getting a lead on the Level Upper music and half excited about getting to see the Tree Diagram being operated, rushed out of the base.
---------
Uiharu ran to the nearest bus stop, sweating in the heat that made the air shimmer slightly in the distance. From there, she could get to Kiyama's lab in about 30 minutes by taking a bus.
At that moment, Uiharu's terminal rang.
"Saten-san!"
It was a call from Saten, who hadn't responded to her calls or emails since they parted ways at the family restaurant. Uiharu stopped on the spot and put the phone to her ear.
"Saten-san?! I was so worried about you, not contacting me at all!! Where are you and what are you doing right now?!"
"..."
"Saten-san? Can you hear me, Saten-san? ...Are you crying?"
She had to speak a bit loudly to be heard clearly over the noise of the people walking around, but when she pressed the phone to her ear, she could hear a sniffing sound.
"Saten-san? What's---"
"Akemi collapsed..."
"...Huh?"
"I didn't know that you'd collapse if you used Level Upper...! I didn't mean for this to happen... I... I didn't mean for this to happen...!"
"Saten-san, calm down and speak slowly! What happened to Akemi-san?!"
"We got Level Upper... and we were supposed to... catch the person who had it... but I couldn't throw it away... Even though I knew there was a reason why we shouldn't use it... I still did."
Saten poured out everything she had been holding in her heart. Uiharu, for her part, was in a mild panic because Saten was so different from her usual self.
"It's all my fault... I didn't have the courage to use it alone... so I dragged Akemi and everyone else with me...!"
"Saten-san! Where are you right now?!"
Ignoring Uiharu's voice, which she had managed to get out somehow, Saten continued.
"Hey, Uiharu, will I collapse too? Haha, of course I will. It's not right for the person who dragged everyone else into this to be the only one to be saved."
"Saten-san!"
"...If I collapse, will I never wake up again?... I hate myself for not having any power... but I just couldn't give up on my dream...!"
Saten was crying at her home, where she had returned as if running away. She blamed herself for involving her friends, for not consulting Uiharu and the others, and for not having any power.
"...Hey, Uiharu."
"What is it, Saten-san?!"
Without her realizing it, Uiharu's destination had changed. She hadn't decided on a specific place, but she only had one thing on her mind: to get to wherever Saten was.
Uiharu was also so distressed that her replies were becoming careless, but...
"...Am I a defective product?"
"That's not true at all!!"
She couldn't help but yell at this one sentence. From the bottom of her stomach, she denied Saten's words with all her might.
Uiharu's face was beet red, and she didn't even care about the people around her. Her face was beet red, and without her realizing it, she was shedding big tears.
"Even if you fall asleep, I'll wake you and Akemi-san and everyone else up! You can count on me! Saten-san will probably say, 'Just five more minutes,' right?"
"...Haha, I guess I can't sleep in, then."
"Of course not. Saten-san, you're not a defective product. Even if you can't use an ability, even if you don't have power, you're still you, Saten-san... Please don't say such sad things...!"
"...Thank you, Uiharu. I'll leave the rest to you."
Thud. The sound of the cell phone Saten had been holding to her ear falling to the floor echoed in Uiharu's ears.
---------
"Haah... haah..."
Uiharu told Kiyama she was sorry and asked her to wait a little, and then she headed to Saten's house. Saten hadn't told her the exact location, but Uiharu was sure she was here.
She opened the unlocked door.
"Saten-san!!"
Saten must have been talking to Uiharu on the phone while sitting on the edge of her bed. Now, she was lying down, exhausted. Her cell phone was lying on the carpet.
Saten Ruiko had fallen into a coma.
--------------------------------------------
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