Under the infirmary bed, someone was drying medicinal herbs. Dried houttuynia. The drying method was different from commercial products. The stems were oriented in reverse, and the bundles were spaced evenly. This was... a method not found in textbooks. Rouran narrowed her eyes behind her thin glasses. Well. Whose handiwork could this be? ──── Late October morning. When Mao Mao passed through the gates of Koushi Academy, the first thing she noticed was the scent of ginkgo. Sweet, yet slightly foul—that distinctive smell. It seemed to drift from the large ginkgo tree in the courtyard. She thought vaguely that it was probably about eighty years old. (As a living thing, it's quite impressive.) Mao Mao surveyed the school buildings. The main building was four stories. The East Wing on the right, the West Wing on the left. Three buildings total. She'd heard there were about twelve hundred students. A fairly large school. But what caught Mao Mao's eye wasn't the buildings. The hallway walls. Poster board was plastered everywhere. Red, blue, yellow. Handwritten text: "Three weeks until the Koushi Festival!" "Class 2-3 Prep Team Schedule Check!" "Those interested in performing on the courtyard stage must apply by October!" Students walking through the hallway were talking loudly about something. "Hey, did you already reserve a table for the food stall?" "Nope, nope, this is bad!" "We still haven't decided who's making the class costumes!" Noisy. Mao Mao thought that to herself while weaving through the crowd of people. Everyone had so much energy. Was the cultural festival really that fun? Honestly, Mao Mao didn't understand it. If you had that much time, you'd be better off cultivating medicinal herbs. Calculating the amount of chlorogenic acid you could extract from one houttuynia plant would be far more worthwhile. Well, to each their own. Mao Mao climbed the stairs looking for Class 2-3's classroom. ──── "Okay, everyone listen up. We have a transfer student starting today." The homeroom teacher, Kadowaki-sensei, looked unmistakably like a chemistry teacher. A white coat over a white shirt. Thick glasses lenses. All eyes in the class turned to Mao Mao. Mao Mao stood in front of the blackboard. Black hair in a bob cut. Thin, small frame. Navy blazer with a gray checkered skirt. Light freckles scattered across her face, and her eyes were a hazy gray. Her expression barely changed. A few students in the class looked at Mao Mao with vaguely favorable expressions. A female transfer student, and a plain-looking one at that. Nothing to be wary of, that kind of atmosphere. "Mao Mao-san, I'd be happy if you could tell us casually about any hobbies or interests you have." Kadowaki-sensei said with a smile. She thought for 0.2 seconds. "[serious]The classification of poisonous mushrooms" The classroom air froze. Literally froze. Even though the air conditioning wasn't on, the temperature seemed to drop. "I'm particularly interested in identifying species in the Amanita genus. Amanita virosa and Amanita phalloides look similar on the surface, so confirming with spore prints is the most reliable method——" "[surprised]I, I see......" The teacher stopped her with a strained smile. The class was silent. Not laughing, not frightened, not surprised. Just a silence where no one could say anything. Mao Mao headed to her seat. By the window, third from the back. The girl in the next seat whispered to the girl in front of her. "[whispers]......Um, is she okay?" "[whispers]Who knows......" Mao Mao caught their voices with her ears while taking out her notebook. Well, this was normal. ──── When break time came, the classroom quickly became lively again. Groups of girls gathered to talk about the cultural festival. Boys were doing stupid things in the hallway and laughing. The area around Mao Mao's seat was a little quieter. No one came over. It was only natural. Not many people would actively approach a girl who talked about poisonous mushrooms on her first day as a transfer student. Mao Mao took a small notebook from her bag. A medicinal herb observation journal. Graph paper filled with hand-drawn diagrams and notes in tiny handwriting. The last page had data on flavonoid content fluctuations in mugwort that she'd added last night. Looking out the window, she could see the large ginkgo tree in the courtyard. The leaves were beginning to turn yellow. It was almost time for them to fall. Ginkgo leaves contained ginkgo flavonoids, a type of flavonoid, which were sometimes used for improving blood circulation. When using them as medicine, you'd dry them and—— "Mao Mao-san, was your seat okay?" Kadowaki-sensei called out to her. "[serious]Yes" "If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask. Chemistry Lab B—you can use it after school if you want to do independent research, as long as you follow the rules." Mao Mao looked at the teacher's face properly for the first time then. "[surprised]......I can use it?" "Yeah, I'm the one responsible for it. Just keep the desk clean, okay?" The teacher went to talk to other students. Mao Mao made a small note in her handbook: "Chemistry Lab B—after school OK." This was good information. ──── Lunch break. The school store "Marché Koushi" was crowded. In a small space at the back of the first floor of the main building, bread and drinks were lined up. There was a line in front of the register, and Mao Mao stood at the back of it. It was lively. Voices overlapped everywhere, and it was hard to tell what anyone was saying. Mao Mao gazed at the line while vaguely analyzing the fabric of the uniform of the person in front of her. Polyester and wool blend. This kind of fabric tends to build up static electricity, so it's not suitable for drying houttuynia——no, that wasn't relevant. The three girls standing in front of her lowered their voices slightly. But not enough. "The transfer student said poisonous mushrooms, right?" "Really? That's weird." "Isn't that kind of scary?" Mao Mao's ears were a little better than normal people's. She'd trained them to be as sensitive to sound as her nose, which she'd honed to distinguish medicinal herb scents. Even without trying to listen, she heard. Mao Mao moved forward in line with an expressionless face. In front of the register, there was a sign that said "Famous Melon Bread 180 yen." She took one and paid. The shop lady said cheerfully, "That's 180 yen." Mao Mao gave a small bow. She went out to the courtyard. She sat on a bench near the large ginkgo tree and took the melon bread out of its bag. The surface was crispy, and it smelled sweet. She took a bite. Sweet. Properly sweet. But somehow. The flavor seemed thin. ──── After school. Chemistry Lab B, first floor of the East Wing. Looking through the window facing the hallway, the lights were off. Mao Mao gently opened the door. No one was there. The smell of chemicals and slightly dusty air. Three rows of experiment tables and a sink. Beakers and test tubes lined the shelves in the back. Mao Mao set her bag on an experiment table. What she took out was a small ziplock bag. Dried mugwort. She'd collected it from the riverside yesterday morning and dried it at home. The leaves still had their green color. The drying was adequate. She checked the lab equipment. There was a gas chromatography machine. She looked at the model number. It was three years old, but it looked usable. Mao Mao nodded slightly. She began preparing. She turned on the machine's power. Set the column temperature. Took out the sample. She had all the steps memorized. Her grandmother had only taught her about herbal medicine, but she'd studied on her own because she wanted to analyze the components. After a while, the machine started operating. A low operating sound. The slightly sour smell of reagents. The light glass sound of moving beakers. Numbers began flowing on the monitor. Mao Mao's face relaxed just a little when she saw the figures. "[gentle]......The flavonoid content is higher than expected" Her own voice echoed softly in the empty lab. She copied the numbers into her notebook. Her pen moved across the page a little faster than usual. She felt calm here. No one would approach her, and no one would freeze up if she talked about poisonous mushrooms. The machines were honest, and the numbers didn't lie. This kind of place suited Mao Mao best. ──── She realized she'd forgotten something in the infirmary after leaving the lab. A spare page from her notebook. She'd left it in the infirmary on the first floor of the main building this morning. It must have been left there when she hung the dried houttuynia under the bed. Mao Mao walked down the hallway toward the infirmary. She opened the door. "[cold]Hey there" A man in a white coat was standing next to the bed. Probably in his forties. Tall, wearing thin glasses. A fountain pen in his chest pocket. His eyes behind the glasses were narrow and sharp. His expression was hard to read—like he was smiling, or maybe not. In his hand was Mao Mao's houttuynia bundle. Mao Mao stopped for a moment. "[cold]Hmm. Dried houttuynia" The man examined the bundle as he spoke. "The drying method isn't from a textbook. You're hanging it with the stems pointing up. Where did you learn that?" Mao Mao observed the man. White coat. Fountain pen. Knowledge precise enough to identify that the drying method wasn't from a textbook. This wasn't... an ordinary school nurse. "[serious]My grandmother" She answered briefly. The man raised his eyebrows slightly. Then he laughed. A smirk—that kind of laugh. It didn't feel good. It felt like she was being tested. "[cold]Your grandmother, huh" The man took a small memo pad from his pocket. He ran his pen across it. "Mao Mao... I see." He was writing down her name. Why? Mao Mao retrieved her forgotten spare page while thinking in the back of her mind about who this person was. He had knowledge of pharmacology. She'd heard he was a part-time teacher who only came three days a week. She felt like she'd caught the attention of a troublesome person. "[cold]Come again. I want to hear more" His hand closing the memo pad moved a little quickly. It felt like he was in a hurry about something. But she couldn't figure out why. Mao Mao just answered "Sure" and left the infirmary. ──── On the way home, she cut through the courtyard. The evening light was slanting in, and the large ginkgo tree glowed golden. The leaves swayed in the wind, fluttering down. Walking on the yellow leaves piled on the ground, they made a rustling sound. Mao Mao stopped in front of the bench near the base of the ginkgo tree. It was quiet. Everyone must have gone home already; there was no sign of people in the courtyard. "[whispers]......Alone again at this school too, huh" She hadn't meant to say it out loud. But it came out. She wasn't angry. She wasn't sad either. It had just always been this way. Every time she transferred, she was alone, and when she talked about medicinal herbs, people would distance themselves. She'd gotten used to it. Used to it, so it was fine. Probably. Just then, a figure crossed the far side of the ginkgo tree. Quick pace. Holding a stack of documents under one arm. Wearing a school uniform but very tall. The profile caught in the evening sun appeared in her field of vision for just a moment. It disappeared from view in about three seconds. Mao Mao watched the figure disappear and thought. (......That person had an unusually beautiful face.) That was all. She didn't know their name. She didn't know who they were. Just that they were running. Carrying documents, hurrying somewhere. Mao Mao turned her gaze back to the sky. The sky was turning orange. Another ginkgo leaf fluttered down. She glanced at the leaf that fell at her feet, then started walking again. Today had been a long day. Th