The pale blue light of the ultraviolet lamp lingered on Miyashita's hand. Mao Mao remembered that night perfectly, even after morning came. The shape of the glowing fingers. The adhesion pattern on the sleeve cuff. The angle at which the archive fixture was gripped from the front. The day of the Koshi Festival. The student council room at 7:30 AM felt heavier than usual. Jinshi sat in the front chair. Long jet-black hair, deep crimson eyes. Every button on his uniform was fastened today. Beside him, Rihaku and Rouran. All three were looking at Mao Mao. Mao Mao stood in front of the blackboard. "[serious]Last night, the hand of the person who touched the archive fixture glowed. It was Miyashita, the accounting officer." Silence. The door opened, and Miyashita came in. Advisor Kataoka followed behind. Miyashita was eighteen, a male student who'd been serving as student council treasurer since last year—someone who usually just gave the impression of quietly handling paperwork. "[scared]Um... wouldn't fluorescent powder scatter? I only passed near the archive..." Mao Mao turned to the blackboard. With white chalk, she began drawing a diagram quickly. A front view of the archive fixture. The adhesion range on the fingertip. A calculation formula for the angle. "[serious]This powder adhesion pattern only occurs when the fixture is gripped from the front. Scattering wouldn't leave this shape only on the fingertip." Jinshi stared at the blackboard and froze slightly. "[surprised]...Did you just draw that?" "[serious]Yes." "The diagram is oddly clean." Rouran said quietly. "[whispers]That's not the point right now." Mao Mao could see Rihaku holding back laughter beside her. Mao Mao continued without hesitation. "[serious]Next, we can calculate contact time from this adhesion amount. Five seconds or more. That's not a duration that would occur from just passing by." Miyashita's face changed. The words of excuse stopped coming. After a while, Miyashita collapsed into a chair. "[crying]...I understand. I did it." ──── When Miyashita began explaining his motive, his voice was small at first. "[sad]When Jinshi is around, no one sees my work. No matter how hard I try, I'm just the president's supporting role..." He'd worked with a cram school instructor to leak business contracts, hidden documents to frame Jinshi. The anonymous post was also helped along by the cram school instructor. As the story progressed, tears fell from Miyashita's eyes. The room fell silent. Mao Mao spoke, her expression unchanged. "[serious]I understand a little." Everyone looked at Mao Mao. Rihaku narrowed his eyes. Rouran stopped her pen. Jinshi's deep crimson eyes fixed on Mao Mao. Mao Mao offered no further explanation. She didn't mention the time she'd spent alone in Chemistry Lab B after transferring, or the lunch breaks eating melon bread by herself. She'd only said it because she thought she understood, even a little. Jinshi stood up quietly. He walked to Miyashita and bowed his head. "[serious]I'm sorry, Miyashita." No one said anything. Rihaku received the sight of Jinshi bowing somewhere in his chest. (He's being changed by Mao Mao again. That guy...) Rouran looked at Jinshi's profile. Quietly acknowledging the expression she couldn't have drawn out herself, her grip on the pen tightened. ──── "[serious]The documents are hidden in the ceiling of the East Building science prep room." With Miyashita's confession, the location was determined, and Jinshi, Mao Mao, and Rihaku headed to retrieve them. East Building, third floor, science prep room. A small ceiling hatch above the shelves. "[serious]Someone taller would be more efficient." Mao Mao said, looking at Jinshi. Jinshi put his foot on the shelf and reached for the hatch. The shelf tilted slightly. "[scared]Whoa!" Rihaku quickly braced it from below. "[sarcastic]You're tall but clumsy." "[angry]Shut up." While arguing back, Jinshi pulled himself into the ceiling. After a moment, his voice echoed down. "[excited]Found it!" A bundle of documents came down. Mao Mao received them and checked each page. "[serious]Budget approval forms, project permits, external contractor agreements. Everything's here. Dates and seals are undamaged." Jinshi climbed down from the ceiling. He was covered in dust. The shoulders and knees of his uniform had turned white. Mao Mao opened her mouth. "[serious]The dust on your uniform can be removed with baking soda water—" "[sarcastic]Mao Mao, don't say that now." Mao Mao fell silent for a moment. "...I see." Rihaku laughed. Jinshi also gave a wry smile while brushing off dust. ──── After Advisor Kataoka confirmed the documents, she said: "[gentle]The Koshi Festival will proceed as planned." In the student council room, the two secretaries threw their fists in the air. ──── Noon. The courtyard stage opened. Koshi Academy's "Koshi Festival"—its 42nd year. The courtyard mixed visitors and students, the smell of food stalls mingling with voices. Okonomiyaki smoke drifted on the wind. The leaves of the great ginkgo tree remained yellow on the branches. Mao Mao sat at the edge of the audience. In contrast to the bustle around her, she watched the stage quietly, alone. Jinshi stood holding a microphone. All the students turned to look. The murmur gradually quieted. "[serious]The matter of the missing documents has been resolved." His voice carried well. "[cold]I don't blame those who didn't believe in me." A brief silence. "[gentle]But...when I was at my lowest, there was one person who believed in me based on profit and loss calculations." Jinshi's gaze moved across the audience. And stopped at Mao Mao, sitting at the edge. There was no benefit to damaging his reputation when he was good-looking. The words he'd heard in the infirmary came from Jinshi's mouth in front of the entire school. For a moment, Mao Mao didn't understand what was happening. Then she realized. Everyone was looking at her. Something moved suddenly in her chest. She felt her body temperature rush to her face. Her ears were hot. Her cheeks were hot. She'd never felt this sensation in her entire life. Mao Mao hurriedly tried to bring her hand to her face, but couldn't hide it. The secretary girl next to her said softly. "[whispers]Mao Mao... isn't your face red?" "[serious]...It's just blood vessel dilation from temperature changes." Her voice was slightly smaller than usual. In the seat diagonally behind, Rihaku quietly clenched his fist. His gaze remained forward. Rouran spoke like she was talking to herself, in a low voice. "[cold]That girl actually looked human for the first time today." While biting her lip. ──── Cleanup began, and visitors left. The courtyard air suddenly became quiet. The stall smoke thinned, voices grew distant. Yellow ginkgo leaves fell one by one onto the stone pavement. Mao Mao walked alone. She was heading back to the lab. The sound of stepping on fallen leaves echoed softly. Footsteps came from behind. It was Jinshi. They came to a stop side by side at the base of the great ginkgo. For a while, neither said anything. Wind passed through, and several ginkgo leaves fell between them. Jinshi spoke, still facing forward. "[gentle]If you hadn't been there, I might have really fallen apart." Mao Mao said nothing. There was another brief silence. "[gentle]...Thank you. Will you stay by my side from now on?" His voice was small. Something moved in Mao Mao's chest again, the same way as before. This time, bigger. "[surprised]...What do you mean by that?" Jinshi's face showed he'd realized the weight of what he'd said. His ears turned red. "[excited]N-no! I mean as help for the student council! Like organizing documents, cleaning the coffee maker's limescale, that kind of thing!" He spoke quickly. Mao Mao thought for a moment. "[serious]...The coffee maker's limescale only needs cleaning once a month." "[angry]That's not the point!" After shouting, Jinshi closed his mouth. Mao Mao also fell silent. Both of them, ears still red, couldn't find the next words. A single ginkgo leaf fluttered down between them. ──── From behind the school building, Rihaku watched. Rouran came beside him and spoke quietly. "[cold]What do you think will happen to those two if we leave them alone?" Rihaku paused for a moment. "[cold]...Who knows." That was all he answered, but his gaze never left the two of them. ──── Cleanup finished, and evening light streamed into the school building. On the second floor hallway of the main building. Rakan stood alone, looking down at the great ginkgo in the courtyard. From the pocket of her white coat, she pulled out a folded A4 paper. An old thesis. The cover was slightly yellowed. Below the title written on the cover was the author's name. Mao Mao. At the angle of light coming through the window, the publication year of the thesis was briefly visible. About twenty years ago. The same name as Mao Mao's, on a thesis from twenty years ago. Rakan carefully folded the thesis and returned it to her pocket. As she moved away from the window, she murmured softly. "[whispers]Well, it's about time to make a move." She disappeared into the depths of the hallway. In the courtyard, the great ginkgo continued to shed its leaves.