After Oguri Cap and the others had left, Maruzensky clapped her hands and said, "Well then, I'll take you all to the training field first, and we can pick up the daily necessities for the temporary apartment on the way."
"Never thought I'd be living here one day."
Back in the day, Inari One wouldn't even have dared to dream of it.
"Before that, could I go check out that place?"
Copano Rickey suddenly raised her hand, pointing towards the library.
"You want to go to the library first? That's fine too."
"No need to trouble everyone, I can go by myself."
"But Tracen is quite large. Without a guide, it's easy to get lost..." Maruzensky sounded worried.
When Oguri Cap first arrived at Tracen, she'd ended up circling the same spot multiple times.
The trees were tall, the grounds vast, and with no particularly distinctive buildings, it was easy to get stuck in an area and not find your way out.
It was rather unforgiving to outsiders unfamiliar with the academy.
"In that case, why doesn't Sunday Silence show me around?"
Copano Rickey suggested, "With her here, we shouldn't have to worry about that problem, right?"
Hearing this, Manhattan Cafe's ears instantly perked up.
"What are you... trying to do?"
"Don't be so wary! I just want her to help me get familiar with Tracen."
Copano Rickey quickly explained.
But Cafe narrowed her eyes; she didn't believe a word of it.
"In that case, Cafe, why don't you go with them?"
Maruzensky interjected, "Over here, Inari One can come with me to the training field first. How does that sound?"
"Fine by me." Inari One shrugged, cradling her head in her hands. She didn't mind the order of things.
"I understand... In that case, Maruzensky-senpai, I'll leave this to you..."
She couldn't let Copano Rickey and 'Friend' go off together.
Manhattan Cafe, with her special eyes, had sensed from the moment she saw the other girl that she was different from ordinary people.
It was as if a faint, white mist enveloped Copano Rickey's body.
It wasn't a spirit, and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.
But instinctively, Cafe wanted to keep 'Friend' away from that thing...
After leading Copano Rickey to the library, the girl didn't go inside immediately. Instead, she stepped into the grassy bushes, crouched down, and started rummaging around.
"You're not... supposed to trample around in there..."
Manhattan Cafe couldn't help but remind her.
"Sorry, I'm looking for something... Ah, found it!"
With that, Copano Rickey jumped out from the bushes. In her hand was a yellow talisman paper.
Seeing the paper, the dark-haired girl narrowed her eyes.
"Ever since we got here, I felt something was interfering with the feng shui. Just as I suspected."
She held the talisman, inscribed with the characters [Avert Evil], in her hand, examining it closely.
"Just using written words can alter the flow of feng shui. As expected, there's a truly powerful feng shui master here at Tracen."
Running her fingers over the writing, she seemed genuinely pleased.
'Did we really not clean them all up?...'
The dark-haired girl instinctively moved further away. Seeing this, Manhattan Cafe stepped directly in front of her.
"That's just... litter left behind by the cleaning staff. It's not some... feng shui altering thing like you said."
"That's not right." Copano Rickey shook her head. "You who don't understand feng shui probably can't hear it, but every character, every stroke on this contains 'energy'. Even this paper itself has the ability to attach 'energy' to whatever it touches."
"So, if you stick it in a certain location, it can influence the feng shui of that area. It's a genuine treasure."
Hearing this, Manhattan Cafe's expression turned decidedly unfriendly.
She desperately wanted to snatch the thing and tear it to pieces.
As someone who could see spirits, she had witnessed with her own eyes a weak spirit touch a talisman and vanish into a wisp of black smoke in the air.
If this girl intended to bring that thing near 'Friend'...
Manhattan Cafe couldn't bear to think about it. Before something like that could happen, she'd have to take action right here!
"Zenno Rob Roy."
Just then, the voice of 'Sunday Silence' came from behind.
A girl wearing black-rimmed glasses, holding a brown book in her arms, and looking rather meek, was just about to enter the library.
Hearing the familiar voice, she stopped.
"Ara, if it isn't Cafe."
Greeting her, Zenno Rob Roy's eyes then fell upon the armband Cafe wore, the one with [Staff] written on it.
"Cafe, you've become a staff member for the Academy League?"
"Well... something like that."
"That's amazing. I remember many students who applied to the student council were rejected. It figures that Cafe, who loves reading so much, is different."
Manhattan Cafe fumbled through the conversation, feeling flustered.
'Wait, why did 'Friend' calling out manage to direct her attention to me?'
Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Cafe saw 'Friend' point towards the talisman.
She immediately understood.
"Zenno Rob Roy... we just found this in the bushes."
Manhattan Cafe pointed at Copano Rickey's hand.
Seeing the familiar color, Zenno Rob Roy's eyebrows shot up.
"That's strange, how is there another one! I thought we collected them all. Don't tell me that Matikanefukukitaru is secretly putting these up around the library again!"
'That girl, even after reflecting in the Disciplinary Committee room, she still hasn't learned her lesson!'
'I'll definitely report this to the Head of the Disciplinary Committee later. She needs another memorable punishment to understand that the library is sacred and inviolable!'
"My apologies, miss. This is litter from inside the library. If you find any in the future, please let me know immediately."
Without waiting for Copano Rickey to react, Zenno Rob Roy snatched the talisman, crumpled it in her hand, and balled it up.
She absolutely despised these garish yellow things. They were a nuisance and an eyesore!
"Gah..." Copano Rickey's jaw dropped.
Her speed was completely at odds with her meek appearance. Wait, no! That's not the point!
"How could you just throw away a treasure like that!"
"Treasure?"
Hearing this, Zenno Rob Roy narrowed her eyes.
"Miss, whatever your reasons may be, you cannot call trash that damages the library environment a 'treasure'."
"Real treasures aren't meaningless scraps of paper, but the words contained within books, the stories brimming with meaning."
"I expect you to correct your behavior. Even if you simply ignore it, do not call it a 'treasure' and encourage the audacity of those immoral individuals who destroy our environment!"
As she spoke, she bowed slightly to Manhattan Cafe.
"Thank you for pointing it out, Cafe. You've contributed to purifying the library."
"It... it was nothing."
The girl responded blankly.
She never would have guessed the seemingly quiet Zenno Rob Roy could be so fierce.
Her rapid-fire speech had completely stunned Copano Rickey, leaving her unable to get a word in.
It wasn't until Zenno Rob Roy had entered the library and thrown the crumpled talisman into the trash bin that Copano Rickey finally snapped out of it.
"I see now..."
She said slowly.
"The students of Tracen are completely ignorant of the importance of feng shui! They are utterly clueless about it. I propose we make feng shui studies a mandatory course in the school curriculum!"
No time like the present. Copano Rickey immediately pulled out her phone and started looking for Symboli Rudolf's phone number.
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.