Chapter 113

“You’re so weak,” Nono said, her white coat fluttering over her light blue sailor uniform. Maya hung her head. “……” Ever since Hakua saved her, Maya had been painfully aware of her weakness. “Your Pure Concept’s ability to transform organic matter is fascinating for a conjuring researcher, but it’s absolutely useless in battle.” Maya’s Pure Concept was Evil. While the name sounded ominous, Maya’s conjurings were virtually powerless compared to those of other Pure Concepts. She could summon things from a separate dimension. However, the monsters this created were so weak that any security force armed with Guiding vessels could defeat them, let alone the likes of Hakua and Ryuunosuke. There were probably no other Pure Concepts as weak as Maya’s. She had never once been able to help Hakua and the others since joining them. She was only a burden to be protected. That’s why Nono’s next statement surprised Maya so much. “That’s what’s scary about you.” “Huh?” “Who knows how horrifying you’d be as a Human Error?” A Human Error. The term described what became of a Japanese person when they lost all their memories. Pure Concepts claimed some memories that made up one’s spirit in exchange for their powers. If someone continued using a Pure Concept without countermeasures in place, their Pure Concept would consume their spirit. They would become the concept incarnate, a harbinger of destruction. “B-but…I’m weak, remember?” “But you’re also special,” Nono countered. “Japanese people summoned to this world get a concept attached to them as they pass between dimensions. These Pure Concepts are connected to something that already exists. They invoke a phenomenon that follows the existing rules of this planet by way of Guiding Force. This law of conjuring phenomena applies to me, Ryuunosuke, and even Hakua. Our conjurings are powerful, but they still exist within the realm of possibility.” The star-shaped Guiding Light in Nono’s eyes hovered on Maya. “But you and Kaa’s Pure Concepts can create things from nothing.” Maya didn’t quite understand what Nono was trying to say. Yes, her conjurings summoned monsters from a place outside this world. No one knew why the space the researchers had dubbed the Concept Dimension of Original Sin existed, or why there were monsters there. “Kaa is the second Vessel to exist in history. A long time ago, the first Vessel became a Human Error and was subdued, so the Pure Concept has been unevenly distributed since before Kaa, who refined it even further. Honestly, Kaa’s mastery of that Pure Concept is on an entirely different level compared to the first Vessel. As for you, Maya… You’re the first person to have the Pure Concept of Evil.” The awe in Nono’s eyes was obvious. “Your Concept Dimension of Original Sin and Kaa’s Primary Color Storage Space—your Pure Concepts draw power from dimensions outside of this world. Of course, they’re not connected to Earth, either, since conjurings don’t exist at all there. Which means your concepts could probably become the seeds of some other worlds.” “The seeds…of worlds?” “Right. Your power deals in organic matter, while Kaa’s is inorganic matter, but your Pure Concepts both contain entirely different worlds. And since you both have the potential to become creators of new worlds, your Human Errors could be unbelievably disastrous. At least, that’s how I see it.” This was making Maya increasingly nervous. “Is that…a prediction?” Nono Hoshizaki had a gift. The Pure Concept of Star that dwelt in her eyes was famous for its precognition. Although the Guiding Force technology of this planet surpassed anything in modern Japan, there were many who still desired her unerring predictions. “Hmm? Oh, no.” Nono shook her head. “Even with a Pure Concept, the human brain can’t calculate information about the future. All I can do on my own is extract bits of data, not analyze it to the point where I can make a completely accurate foretelling. I might be the world-famous magical girl genius Nono, but I can’t make predictions like that on my own.” “Huh? Th-then what…” “Hee-hee. How do I make predictions if I, a supergenius, can’t do them on my own? Well, that’s where Kaa here comes in!” That wasn’t at all what Maya intended to ask, but it was impossible to stop Nono once she got worked up. She smacked the mysterious floating object, also known as Gadou, the holder of the Pure Concept of Vessel. “Kaa here is amazing! She can even create a one-off quantum computer with pure blue Guiding Force circuits that have ultra-high-speed operation abilities! Kaa’s conjuring operation circuits analyze the future information I receive, completing our great Divination conjuring! In other words, all my predictions are products of the loving bond between Kaa and me. You could call them our children!” “Oh? And that’s really that amazing?” “Of course! I don’t love that the computation unit is a tan, busty babe, but Kaa really is incredible! The conjuring device we’re making in the north right now wouldn’t exist without Kaa’s Astrologer, either!” Maya still wasn’t sure what was so amazing about all this. From her perspective, Ryuunosuke’s ability to become as big as the moon and Hakua’s strength, which eclipsed even that, were far more impressive. While Maya blinked uncertainly, Nono nudged the mysterious floating object with a lab coat–clad elbow. The object that supposedly contained Gadou changed shape occasionally. It had chosen to be a cube today. “Ha-ha-ha, you’re blushing, Kaa. Don’t be shy. You really are amazing, you know. You oughta be proud of yourself! Heh-heh, you’re getting so warm, you must be really… Ow! Hot!” Nono’s sleeve suddenly caught fire. The bright red color and heat looked more like anger than embarrassment to Maya. Nono must have gotten on Gadou’s nerves. “F-fire…! Um, Kaa?! Why did— Gwaaaaaah?! Put it ooout!” As Nono’s good mood literally went up in flames, she rolled around on the floor, screaming. Whether out of friendship, mercy, or just to add insult to injury, the mysterious floating object turned partially blue and sprayed Nono with water before the flames spread too far. “Whew. Thanks, Kaa. I knew we had an unbreakable bond.” As soon as the fire went out, the now-drenched Nono beamed brightly, dripping water. “At any rate, as long as the magical girl genius Nono exists, you don’t have to worry about becoming Human Errors. Even without the memory-restoring device, I can always use my Star power to draw from the memories of the world itself.” Nono had the rare ability to supplement memories using her Pure Concept. Despite being a Pure Concept holder, she was uniquely destined never to become a Human Error. “It was my great idea to turn the memory supply Guiding vessel into cloud storage, too, you know? Similar vessels have been made before, but you had to record memories in them in advance. They were like the good old-fashioned save game and load game system, where you have to manually overwrite your file each time. If something goes wrong, boom! You lose it all!” “That’s old-fashioned?” Maya thought manually overwriting your save data was standard for video games. The stars in Nono’s eyes glittered. “Ohhh. Were you born early in the Heisei era, Maya?” “So what…?” “I was born later, in the Reiwa era. I came from Japan around half a century after you did.” Maya’s eyes widened in surprise upon learning that the other girl was from the future. Nono chuckled and puffed out her chest. “The conditions for being summoned from Earth are fairly limited, you know. Based on the statistics, it’s always from Japan, and only from the mid-Showa era to late Reiwa. I do have a theory as to why… Do you want to hear it?” “Not at all. Your theories are always so hard to follow.” Maya wasn’t up for another long, complicated explanation. Nono, who obviously wanted to launch into another deep dive, looked disappointed by this response. “Awww, okay… Well, as I was saying, my Pure Concept of Star’s World Connection system exists to read the future. It provides a superior kind of link for reading information recorded in the Guiding Force that exists throughout the planet!” To discern the future, a user needed to know everything leading up to the present. In other words, Nono’s ability to draw out memories was basically a by-product of her Pure Concept’s main power. Now finished explaining her abilities, Nono gently patted Maya on the head. “Anyway, since I have access to all the planet’s data, I also know that you’ve been through some really awful stuff, Maya. If you’re ever having a hard time, you can always confide in me.” “…Nono.” “What is it?” “Don’t touch me with your wet hand. You’ll ruin my cute hairstyle.” “I swear, you’re not cute at all!” Nono and the others who’d saved Maya, protected her, and sometimes talked and laughed with her… They were all her friends.