Aura: Koga Maryuin’s Final Battle

AURA 25

I stopped by the infirmary the following lunch break.
The nurse with a fluffy, short, blonde perm sat in her swivel chair, her toes stretched out, kicking back as she washed down some konjac jelly with the working woman’s water of choice, Contrex, all the while indulging in a volume of ‘The Story of Saiunkoku’. I held down my swelling negative aura. An adult her age… no, I remember reading on the net that older women read Saiunkoku too. That’s beside the point.
“Feeling sick?”
“No, I’m here for something else.”
I gazed over the room, searching out the item in question.
It was still on the desk, resting in a milky white pen tray. The seal case.
“About that metal stick from last time, could you please tell me about it?”
“I don’t think I can help you with that anymore.”
“Stuff happened. If possible, I want you to give that to me.” I pointed at the case.
“Now I can’t do that.”
“Umm, right now, I’m kinda helping out a girl who’s looking for it, and to be blunt, I need it.”
“That’s a crime, pretty sure.”
“Say what?” That wasn’t my intent. “I highly doubt that.”
The nurse reached out and took the seal case in her hand.
“You can do anything as long as you have this. It might be able to grant any wish you may have.”
“Sensei, are you for real? You’re a teacher and you still believe in that stuff?”
“Of course. I believe. In the incredible potential this carries… the golden force.”
“Golden force.”
Another outrageous setting came out.
It wasn’t just Ryouko, it had even reached a third party. Though she said it was a charm, so it’s probably got to do with that. Was this a far deeper incident than I was thinking?
“For example, let’s say you want some money. Your wish will be granted.”
“No way,” that’s like trying to reach for the clouds.
“For example, let’s say you want to ruin my life. It can grant that wish too.”
“… So it’s a curse.”
“That’s right, you can’t make light of the power this carries. If you use it for evil, someone will definitely come out the worse.”
“Then why do you keep it with you? If it’s that dangerous, you should go through the proper process.”
The last trace of emotion disappeared from the nurse’s face.
“… I, see, I want a car. I want a Nissan Bluebird Sylphy.”
“No, sensei, don’t tell me… you’re going to use that dragon terminal to…?”
“Now you’re getting it! I intend to use the magic wand. And I’ll lay hands on my Sylphy-chan. That’s why I can’t give it to you.”
Unfitting of the acting nurse, that’s a grim look, is it not? To think I would find such great evil lurking here.
“I can’t overlook this. I’ll need to take charge of it. Please hand it over.”
“Definitely not. You can’t have it.”
With childish gestures, she hid it behind her back.
“If an educator like yourself is going to abuse a curse… I’ll leak you to Mu and Dragon Magazine.” Though when I was the one who said it, “This is stupid,” I thought.
“To start with, the Sylphy’s a granny car… even a Mark X would…”
The nurse suddenly made the face of the demon’s bride.
“You take that back! Sylphy-chan is nice on all the ladies! So what if I just like the name!? By the way, Sylphy is the spirit of the wind. There’s Undine of the water and Dryad of the forest too, and then there’s the high-level spirit Ifrit, right? They help out the elves!”
“The like’s of Syphy is just barroom trivia. Everyone knows that.”
This person was definitely reading The War of Lodoss or something.
By the way, I’ve accidentally bought the Siege of Rhodes (by Shiono Nanami) instead before. While it wasn’t what I was looking for, it was interesting enough to get my nose running. Albeit, it was a novel based in actual history, so it didn’t have any spirits.
“You can’t have it. You can’t have it,” holding the case close, she fled onto the bed.
“If it’s corrupted you to such a degree, I can’t ignore my duty as a citizen of Japan. I’m confiscating that.”
I leaped at the nurse. As I struggled, my face buried deep into her chest, and from the gap in her shirt, I took in a large whiff of an older woman’s perfume. While the inside of my head was covered up in pink impulse, I used sheer willpower to prioritize my goal.
“Please give it to me.”
“Not in a million years.”
“Sensei, I want to cut class and take a nap, so please lend me a bed!” The flashy-haired second-year student who came in took one look at us grappling on the bed, “Wahey, it’s just like those spicy fanfics! Hey everyone, get a load ‘a this!” she cried as she raced down the hallway.
“Chance!”
“Ah, he got it.”
In that moment’s opportunity, I took back the case and shot back from the bed.
“Now look here, I’m starting to think you’re misunderstanding something.”
“As for what’s inside… wait, what?”
The case contained a real seal.
“Right? You misunderstand, right? That’s my real official seal.”
“Then what about when I saw it last time?”
“The cases just happen to look a little similar, it’s something completely different. I already told you, I can’t help. By the way, I’m buying a car after this. Sylphy. The contract needs my seal.”
“What about the curse? The golden force? Someone’s going to end up for the worse if it’s misused?”
“Curse → The seal’s undeniable ability to serve as evidence. Golden force→ the legally binding force of monetary contract. Misuse → It points to me, if you use it in crime, I’m ruined.”
“Are you being purposely misleading!? Then where did that stick go?”
“I gave it to a female student.”
“Why and who?”
“It’s just that sort of charm, you’re supposed to pass it on. I gave it to a girl who looked like she needed it. She’s a first year, so I haven’t learned her name yet.”
So it was passed to one of the first year girls. A somber mood took me.
“Are there any more like that one?”
“I don’t know the specifics. But it seems there’ve been charms like that around town for a while now.”
I see, so Ryouko enraptured some trendy good luck charm into her delusion. I’m starting to see it.
“Were you in need of some luck?”
“Not particularly, but I have my reasons.”
“What sort?”
This girl who wanted to become one of those people from manga and novels who fight on the underside of daily life so much that she convinced herself she’s a witch is interested in it, ahahahah. There was no way I could give that explanation. With an ambiguous smile, I made my escape from the infirmary.