Character Story 6: The Chaos of the Microcosmos and the Light Blue Tea-Towel

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As usual, Yuuki is called over to the "Ivory Tower" by Yuni's letter.

Yuni
Hey, welcome back, my friend.

Yuni
Fine work again today. Would you like a bath, or some food, or perhaps... you'd-like-me?

Yuuki
1. I'll have a bath.
2. I'll have the food.
3. I'll have you.

Option 1.

Yuni
I see. I'll draw you a map of a nearby public bathhouse. You can go there yourself later.

Option 2.

Yuni
Hmm? So you liked the strength-nourishing supplement I treated you to some time ago. That's great to hear, I'm smiling.

Option 3.

Yuni
What're you saying? Don't go taking such a classic welcoming joke so seriously.

Yuni
No... the fault however, lies with me. This small body, containing the unconcealable charm of an adult, has tempted you. My apologies for being this "sexy Yuni."

End of branches.

Yuni
Now then. Let us put aside this make-believe newly-wed scenario I learned from what I've read.

Yuni
My comrade. The reason I've had you come in today is no other. I have a significant mission, one I can only ask of you, my friend.

Yuni
To put in layman's terms, listen to my idle complaints.

Yuni
Namely, it'll be about the lost notebook that I've still yet to find! Hooray!

Yuni
You know, I've been keeping in mind my position in school, I've done my absolute best to refrain from freely exerting my authority as a "special case."

Yuni
However. From trying detection magic, all the way to prayer fortune-telling, I've used up every method available to me alone.

Rosetta
Pon! This week for Pisces, you're going to have the absolute worst luck ever! There is a 100% chance you will find neither your lost item nor any clarity on the rest of your future!

Yuni
... Mm-hmm, and that's how my fortune was.

Yuni
Which leaves, using a human-wave tactic to search every nook and cranny of the school, one by one. I've been forced to request those in charge of school affairs to send a team to search for it.

Yuni
When I told them that notebook was essential to writing my thesis, many of the faculty promptly began search for it. That was 3 days ago.

Yuni
And just now today, I've received the sad news that the team has been disbanded. According to them, "we can't look anymore, this is too much, give us a break already!"

Yuni
In other words, we've completely run out of options with this matter. Cough.

Yuni
No, you're right though. At first, I'd been quite calm about this all because I'd assumed, since I had backup, that this problem would not hinder me from continuing my work.

Yuni
However, that peace would continue, only under the assumption that I'd eventually get the original back.

Yuni
If that notebook were to fall into the hands of some unknown third party, I would find it quite disconcerting, to be honest.

Yuuki
1. Is there something in there you wouldn't want others to see?

Yuni
Hm... If I had to say, I guess I wouldn't particularly mind.

Yuni
I guess if that aesthetic poetry I'd written during sleepless nights where I'd lost my mind were revealed to the public, I'd find it somewhat embarassing.

Yuni
Although... No, but, hmmm, but could it...

Yuuki
1. What's wrong?

Yuni
What IS wrong? I keep throwing this question back at myself. I don't quite feel satisfied with my own answers. It just feels foreboding.

Yuni
Most of what was written in that notebook were, simple, poor personal scribbles of pointless things that came to mind during everyday tedium.

Yuni
For example, certain physical measurements and the recordings of their transitions would, for a young lady like me, be a reputation point held with the highest level of secrecy, but to the eye of another, it would be nothing more than a listing of numbers.

Yuni
However... it also contains a fair number of things that aren't like that. Our current research thesis for example, namely the memo for "The fundamental falsehoods that lurk within the world."

Yuni
No, I'm not uneasy about the possibility of plagiarism. After all, I've already submitted an outline for the research details to the academia through the school.

Yuni
In layman's terms, any rip-offs would be caught.

Yuni
Even still, I don't know what this, unsettling sensation is. I'm worrying over nothing, or I'm overly nervous about what someone could do, I think...

Yuuki
1. Let's keep looking.

Yuni
That's kind of you, my comrade. I'm happy to accept your feelings of pacification, but sheer willpower is the only basis for your proposal. It's as though you didn't hear what I said.

Yuni
I'll say it once more, I've already had every nook and cranny of the school searched. Then, where else should we be searching?

Yuuki
1. What about here?

Yuni
Here? In this room...?

Yuni
Hm, it's true that I've yet to search this room. And the reason for that is simple. If it were in this room, it would've reacted to my detection magic.

Yuni
Well, it's true there's no guarantee that my magic was absolute but... Well, perhaps, probably...

Yuni
It's probably... not here...?

Yuuki
1. Yeah, let's look.

Yuni
Uuh...

Yuni
Hmm, however, this room is...

Yuni
Though it's mostly books, there's things scattered all over the place. It's what's commonly referred to as a messy room. I'm amazed myself that I've been able to scatter things this much.

Yuni
Well, it's not an excuse but, I'm the type of person who loves a bit of chaos over too much order.

Yuni
Just as how seeds generally evolve when there are errors in their genes, the everyday microcosmos known as a "room" also provides a buffer of chaotic entropy in which accidental variations may occur...

Yuni
... No, I can't. I tried to construct a grand fable to give a theoretical justification for this all, but I just can't. This is just a dirty room.

Yuni
Trying find my notebook, which I don't even know is here, from within this chaos, is almost like trying to dig up a jewel in a desert, but --

Yuni
Really, we'll have to do a ton of cleaning...

Yuni
By the way, one of the phrases I hate the most is "keep things tidy and in order." Despite this... you want to do this?

Yuuki
1. Let's do it.
2. Let's not.

Option 1.

Yuni
Got it. Good luck. Fight on.

Yuni
Eeh? I have to do this too? What a paaain.

Option 2.

Yuni
A wise choice. There's a poem with a fixed form that comes from a small island country in the east.

Yuni
"No fish can inhabit the pure clean waters of Shirakawa." ^[1] I don't really get it, but I believe it means something like, "It's cool if your room is messy."

End of branches.

Yuni
Hm, let's not. Given a limited amount of time, we should be using it up reasonably, I believe.

Yuuki
1. Then it's alright if your notebook stays lost?

Yuni
...... Hm. It's not.

Yuni
No, you're right, what you're saying is correct. My comrade, you've really said something good. My way of thinking led me away from my goal.

Yuni
For just a moment, once the idea of, "it's a pain, let's give up," sprouted in my head my thought process gradually began flowing down that direction. It as though my mind was being manipulated ever so gently, with an intensity that didn't feel unnatural.

Yuni
Goodness. To be honest, I've had lots of times where I've felt this way, since starting my research.

Yuni
Those everyday recordings and the references to them were so strongly engraved habits, and unconsciously, when I read over my memos, I'd just happened to have felt something off about this world but --

Yuni
Normally, this is how I'd relax and lose any interest or concern about it. A obstruction of cognizance. As expected, the world is functioning against us.

Yuni
However... Currently that too is nothing more than a conspiracy theory covered by some thoughtless words. I retract my statement, you can ignore that.

Yuni
Hmm. For now, how about we start looking for lost stuff in this room?

Yuni
I'm thinking... I should be in charge of the area around my desk. And you can take on most of the room's cleaning... Rather, I'll leave searching up to you.

Yuni
First, I'll have you move the large number of scattered books to their shelves. Aah, not there, that's an illustrated encyclopedia, so it belongs in that other shelf.

Yuni
No, look at the sorting label, that's a dictionary. Wait, that's part of humanities so it'll go on the third --

Yuni
Okay, okay, that's enough. I'll handle anything related to the library myself.

Yuni
... Ku, I have a bad feeling about this. I'd planned on nonchalantly handing off most of the cleaning to him, but I've just ended up handling most of this myself...

Yuni
Aah, no, it's nothing. In that case, you can... deal with the collection and separation of scholarly waste. In layman's terms, you're taking out the trash.

Yuni
No, wait, that dried up plan isn't garbage. It's a rare catalyst for using identification magic.

Yuni
It's frail and breaks apart easily, be careful when handling it. Though it looks like trash, its market value about that of the average month's salary of a citizen of Landsol --

Yuni
Hoaaa! Watch it! It'll break, it'll break! An average monthly salary, all broken!

Yuni
... Hm? What is it this time? Aah, that scroll? So that's...

Yuni
No, though it may look like a secret design handed down from ancient times, it's actually a self portrait I drew just the other day.

Yuni
There was a time I'd dabbled in the arts to amuse myself. However, as you can see, it's a trivial practice piece. I'd go as far as to say that there's little meaning leaving it behind for posterity.

Yuuki
1. So it's trash?

Yuni
Um, trash... well, yeah. If we're just classifying things as either trash or not trash, then I suppose it qualifies as trash, but don't you think the way you phrased that towards your senpai was a little...

Yuni
Aah, hey wait. My clothes are in that. I'll handle that myself so don't worry about --

Yuni
Howaa! That's underwear!!

Yuni
Ngyaaa! Don't touch it!

Yuni
Haa, haa... That was exhausting...

Yuni
And in the end, the mountains haven't brought forth even a mouse^[2]...

Yuni
To put into layman's terms, we couldn't find it at all...

Yuni
Hmm... if that's the case, we can only think that my notebook is currently, in the hands of some other person. One who excels at lying and secrets, a person possessing mighty power --

Yuni
-- Or not. I hope it's just some whimsical poem maniac.

Yuni
Now then... my comrade, thanks for today. The sun is setting, so it's about time we disbanded... Hm?

Yuni
Hey, you've got dust on your right cheek.

Yuni
Yes, there. Hm, now it's, clean...

Yuni
... Wait. Hey, just now, what did you wipe with?

Yuni
Fua, that's...!

Yuni
Ngyaaa! I said that's my underwear!!!

The shriek of a young lady echoed across the "Ivory Tower."