“No, my eyes are exceedingly normal. I do have 20/10 vision in both, but I can’t see through objects or see invisible figures. I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Fudatsuki said, bowing his head politely.
Bowing his head, but half concealing a smile.
Apparently, he couldn’t contain his amusement at my strained logic─crap, he was laughing at me.
I’m the laughingstock of the bus stop as well as the art room.
Had I misread the situation?
But he had to have been able to see the kuroko in the invisibility suit. He had to.
“No no, think about it for a moment. If I had that sort of special vision, I’d have no reason to station an assistant in an invisibility suit behind my opponent, would I? I’d be able to see right through their cards without the need for such an elaborate setup.”
“Oh…”
It was true.
Close call.
In attempting to plaster over one contradiction, I’d almost created another.
“In my case, it was less about sight than foresight─I lack your gifts, so I arranged a cunning little scam which relied on tools rather than ability.”
He drew a contact lens case from the pocket of his school uniform.
“These lenses render the invisibility suit visible. I wore them during the matches on stage.”
“Ohh… So that’s how you did it.”
The solution was kind of a letdown, but it also made sense─because no matter how those invisibility suits were put to use, if the ones using them couldn’t see them either, they wouldn’t do much good. It was only natural to test out the technology for seeing through the invisibility technology at the same time you were testing out the invisibility technology itself.
In other words, developing stealth and developing radar were two sides of the same coin. Interesting.
That may have been self-evident to Sakiguchi and the others (if not to the leader), but for the sake of my dignity, I’ll ask you to consider it an oversight on my part─literally.
“Of course, the vision these lenses provide is a far cry from your eyesight, Ms. Dojima,” he added deferentially. Fudatsuki may not’ve had special vision after all, but the fact that he’d brought along those contact lenses suggested he’d nevertheless managed to discern the real reason I had so rashly responded to his invitation.
Yeah, with that kind of insight, you’d hardly need special vision, I thought, feeling dejected.
Dejected? Yes, dejected.
What had I been expecting? Had I really hoped to find someone to share this world with me, the one that only I can see?
I knew perfectly well that the delinquent was right, that there aren’t many people like me in this world─but had I still hoped?
Still hoped there was someone out there who’d seen the same star as me?
“I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Fudatsuki repeated.
This time without the smile.
“It’s fine. My hopes weren’t that high anyway… Clearing up that question is more than enough for me.”
But I couldn’t allow myself to fully accept this shrewd character’s explanations. I had to remember that other mysteries related to Fudatsuki’s invisibility remained─he hadn’t revealed everything.
And that was fine.
I wasn’t taking part in this secret meeting as a member of the Pretty Boy Detective Club. I was operating solo, as Mayumi Dojima.
Solo.
All alone, with no one to share the world as I saw it.
“By the way, did my advice come in handy?” Fudatsuki asked, changing the subject.
He was clever like that.
A worthy rival indeed for Sakiguchi. He gave the vice president a run for his money when it came to commandeering conversations.
“I wouldn’t really say it came in handy, but at least I avoided embarrassing myself. So thanks.”
I’m bad at saying thank you.
But I was genuinely grateful.
The night before, when he’d called to invite me to this meeting, I’d offhandedly mentioned my “homework” to him.
“This is just a hypothetical, a what-if, a one-in-a-million, but say there happened to be thirty-three paintings of this, that, and the other in the crawl space above your school’s art room, how would you explain it?” I’d asked very naturally, very casually.
And he’d responded with the theory I presented at the meeting earlier that day─what he’d given me was more like coaching than advice.
His theory turned out to be wrong, but it was still way better than having no theory to present at all.
“I see. That is truly unfortunate. I suppose I don’t have the makings of a detective after all.”
He shrugged. Exactly like a criminal.
He didn’t really seem like he thought it was unfortunate at all.
Actually, looking back, I wonder if the whole reason he’d suggested that theory involving eyesight in the first place was to lay the groundwork for inviting me to meet in person─I bet he thought if he said a bunch of stuff about vision, he could get me wondering if he himself had some kind of special vision.
Very naturally, very casually.
Or maybe my imagination was running away with me.
At the very least, I think his second apology was sincere.
“But I must say, I’m surprised to hear that in the course of a single day that pleasant little story you told me turned into a mass kidnapping of the entire student body. I am delighted to know that Yubiwa Academy has had its own share of trials and tribulations.”
“Oh, no, that was only another hypothetical, what-if, one-in-a-million kind of story. There was never actually a teacher named Kowako Towai,” I said, scrambling to gloss over the truth.
There’s no confidentiality clause in the Pretty Boy Detective Club (except on the client side, that is), but I doubt they’d appreciate me blabbering about our activities to the student council president of our rival school.
It wasn’t like I was scheming for him to help out with today’s homework or anything.
I wasn’t, but all I got from him this time was, “Well, if that’s the case, then the answer is probably, ‘What is essential is invisible to the eye.’”
Just his usual quote from Saint-Exupéry.
Apparently, now that he’d succeeded in luring me out here, he wasn’t going to give me any help─in situations like this, he was more businessman than playboy.
Yes, very businesslike indeed.
What is essential is invisible to the eye, eh?
I guess since I can see all kinds of things I don’t even want to, that means I get less of the essential stuff than everyone else? And what about Kowako Towai?
What could she see?
What could she not see?