Web of light. Part 1. part 39

154.

The electric train to Noihara almost does not rattle the wheels — the notorious "tydy-tydy-tydy" is provided by the rail joints if they are bolted — and in Japan all rails have already been replaced with all-welded ones... Well, except for the arrows and the sidings. The train to our "urban settlement" takes more than two hours, mainly because it drags along "with all stops" — the express trains at Noihara station do not stop...

Why am I going to the ancestral home, wasting my only day off? Yes, because of these two "lovebirds" who suddenly wanted to arrange a "honeymoon"! Yes, yes, I'm talking about Pachi and Haruhi! No, guys, I'm really happy for you — you figured out your relationship, went and got married... but it's necessary to warn! I didn't have time to prepare a gift, nothing!

However, a couple of answers to the question "guys, what do you want?" she asked "that no one bother us for two weeks." This is relevant, especially considering that Shinji the Hawk-Nosed's Haruhi is actually the personal secretary for Squad affairs on the part of the "official" patrol: he oversees issues and problems around the neighborhood, keeps in touch with the local police, and works with "remote pilots" — they've already written about our quadcopter aircraft in a couple of local newspapers. By the way, squares are a really good way to inject a fresh stream into the fight against "drunkenness, sloppiness, extravagance" — especially when some drunks felt what it was like to be a "star" of YouTube! We just need to do something with the batteries — two hours and forty minutes is how long the battery lives with an average number of maneuvers. It's also cold now — they discharge faster. Considering that the "stool" flies at a speed of about 10 kilometers per hour... But I digress. In general, a monster and a handsome man... It wasn't my idea, it's local folklore, honestly!.. In short, a couple wanted a "vacation in nature," and I decided to arrange one for them. Moreover, the need to brainwash Kaya again has clearly come — I would also be bored out of my mind, sitting on my ass in exactly the same place for such a long time. So...

"Kaya, this is for you!"

"Eh?" Zashiki-varashi was confused when I unloaded a decent-sized bag at her feet. "What's that?"

"Beautiful winter clothes," I began to list, "shoes, some jewelry, and a concealing amulet. Get ready, I have to catch the evening train. You should also instruct our Octopus so that he doesn't change anything important in the kitchen when you get back.

"All of a sudden?!"

"That's right!"

In fact, I knew perfectly well that the poor brownie was already sick of sitting alone — first of all, we talked on the phone at least once a week (my estate! And I want to know if everything is fine there!), and secondly, even though the basement of the house is full of canned food for several years ahead, it occurred to me in time to provide the brownie with normal food. Which, as I understand it, played into Dofu's hands: our white yokai postman has a rather specific black humor, and she didn't miss the opportunity to show Kaya the "I'm sick of eating for you" scene. Oh my God, and here the intrigues are out of the blue: even when there is no special hierarchy, reasonable individuals always find something to spoil each other's mood in the order measured by the appropriate authorities or just to make life more fun... It's good that the brownie girl is "as simple as three kopecks" and doesn't understand "subtle hints" — grandpa did his best...

Interestingly, now Zashiki-varashi, when I give a direct, unambiguous order, does it first and only then begins to ask: the habit of explaining EVERYTHING to students from another world if they want to know something from you makes the girl's not very powerful brains strain a lot, and a couple of times "why would I do that" already I developed a conditioned reflex in the girl. In general, leaving the happy newlyweds on the farm with a request to keep an eye not only on the house, but also on the surroundings, I, accompanied by yokai, went back to the station. There's a couple of hours for everything, and I won't even be home too late. No one gave me holidays anyway, and I've already scored so many passes that so far it's only because of the principal that the teachers' dissatisfaction has not resulted in comments and bad grades... And because everyone knows why the salary from the moment the university curator's badge appeared above the doors of the main entrance is somewhat different from the "ordinary municipal" one. The funniest thing would be if a municipal school in the work district got the same badge: After giving Taizo a good brainwash on the topic "the future must be done in the present," I finally forced him to push the drone patrol project as his idea, no matter how much he resisted. No, but what about it? I'm already in business — 3D printers are still "my" topic. Now, several graduate students, a couple of graduate students, and even one serious teacher who decided to implement his ideas in the sandbox are "sitting" on the air patrol topic — even the Polytechnic University does not have enough money for field tests of "roboaviation.".. and pilots should also be paid a salary. And half of the Society's pilots are already from the local school, and the Taizo Aviation Design and Modeling Club helped the locals organize it.

Speaking of Uni. Just the day before yesterday, Taizo and I, after finishing a course of public lectures, were among those who "excelled" in mastering knowledge, and were signed up as something like "freelance students." Of course, this is a formal reason to give a virtually free pass to the buildings of the institution and permission to attend educational lectures and laboratory classes — with additional permission from each department, of course. It's not that I have a lot of time for this, but, for example, it's quite possible to have time for evening classes after school... I was also "caught" at the department by those two undergraduate laboratory assistants with whom Yu was making the website, and demanded that I bring "all these girls of mine" to open lectures next year — the girls from my directorate are really noticeable and "fighting", and they appear regularly in the hangars of the Society.

"The harem..." Yeah. I was far from thinking that "I'm going to choose one of the flower beds and I'm going to date." Honestly, I didn't really think about it at all: it wasn't up to that, and the age wasn't the same yet. However, recently there have been "bells". No, I'm used to the fact that one of the "directors" of the still virtual A-Ko Group is constantly hanging around me — our affairs are now too tightly tied to personal initiative, and the girls still don't have my experience in solving cases in a stream (but they successfully adopt). I just didn't think about how others would perceive it: we go to school, and there are ordinary children there... Although, damn, no. Unusual ones. When half of the senior grades of a junior school are more or less involved in activities derived from the initiatives of the school Physics club or its "affiliated" clubs, schoolchildren very quickly cease to be "ordinary". Tested! No, it's not that noticeable outwardly — but if you listen! The speech is more correct. The clarity of asking questions and finding a rational answer is not typical for children in any case, from the question "why is the sky blue" to "how to wash dishes properly". Clearer cooperation in work. Even the style of movement is changing — the characteristic "tossing" in gestures disappears when a child is torn by opposing feelings and cannot distinguish one of them, and instead a more stingy, restrained and systematic gesticulation appears... Hiroe, I believe in this matter. I wonder what the school psychologist thinks? However, after the psychologist's outburst from the Committee, the trust in the professional opinion of this fraternity in our school dropped somewhat, and she herself seems to be a sane woman and will not arrange "Ah, something is wrong with the children!"just to earn a bonus from the management. Again— the director...

Oh yes, I digress! Besides the "physicists," there were still "normal" children at school — and so my "escorting" one of the girls at first caused silly jokes, yes, and the word "harem" came up... Especially when the five of us are doing something: going to the dining room, or in the club room to "eat," or for once to sort out homework with an assignment on "classical Japanese culture," which is the only thing I "swim in." Children are curious creatures, and they don't have the tact of Japanese adults yet. However, it could be dangerous to talk — Hiroe and Yu could respond in such a way that it would not seem enough, the guys generally bypass Shizuka in an arc, and Rinko — she can even hit! However, he always apologizes after that... but after, in the heat of an argument in the gym, she broke off the crossbar from the Swedish wall with her bare hand, the debaters somehow immediately abruptly decreased. In general, the jokes gradually stopped, and if I received veiled envy from the "non-physicists" guys, or a slightly condescending "talking to girls, is it a Real Man's Friendship?", then more socially mature classmates began to try to find out what it was about me that was "special." With all the naivety of his years, of course, but sometimes it's annoying... And not me! No, my "directors" understand everything, but... as Mizuchi told me, "it's a possessive instinct, you know." Damn it! I didn't have even close to such an experience "there", it remains just to surreptitiously observe and "wind up on the mind." I wonder what will happen next when we all grow up a bit...

..Before getting to the train with Kaya, we walked decorously "arm in arm" — I got the impression that zashiki-varashi was simply afraid of getting lost as soon as we left the boundaries of my land. And the brownie was a little shy about her clothes — she collected and bought a set of things at Hiroe's request (I use specialists everywhere, if there are any!), and in her interpretation, the girl suddenly turned from a provincial with a slightly loose interpretation of moral norms (Grandpa, the answer to the question of why your actual pupil walks with a hem two palms long is, let's just say, quite understandable to me. And that's how you explained it to Grandma, I'm curious!) She looks like a high school student on vacation. A little naive and enthusiastic, but definitely not a "village". All that remains is to take her to the hairdresser... and forbid the Envelope to even look at scissors as a haircut tool!

If you think that I took Kaya to the city just as a "Christmas present", you are mistaken. The gift will be different: I promised the brownie to look for a Cat. A promise must be kept. I transferred the list of Amakawa real estate from the bank to the form of maps from the Land Registry... and with some surprise, I discovered that the clan, represented by my grandfather and parents, owned several pieces of mountainous territory — without settlements, without buildings-without anything at all. And the places are like this — Tengu will break his leg. And — that's the joy, one of the places is located very close to the Kuzaki Springs Hotel. Something tells me that it is there that the source or sources of natural mana are located, from which the yokai of the lowest levels are born from the corresponding element — those very "lights". I wonder if I ask Kouji-san for a map of the Sources and a map of the clan lands, will there be a 100% match or not? However, it's not interesting yet. I included the brownie in the "vacationers" not to show that we are "really looking for" — it's just that this is the only creature that has seen the "laboratory" from the outside — I'm afraid visual vision may not be enough to search ten square kilometers in the mountains in a few days — the ancestors did not spend money buying the territory..

Unfortunately, I didn't have to persuade Rinko's parents to take another teenager — Yu is vacationing without us this year. The entire Shimomuro family will be celebrating Christmas at a resort in Manila — dad, an engineer, has closed some major project, and the family was rewarded with a trip for four. Yu, however, even thought about refusing, but we all persuaded her: the warm sea, palm trees, and no winter. When Hiroe casually blurted out, "I've never been to the Philippines, I've been to Miami, I've been to Australia, but I'm not here..." — the issue has been finally resolved... and I made a note to myself, as soon as I get my high school diploma, I will definitely go to a tropical resort for a vacation. I want to go to Miami too! Judging by Rinko's face, our thoughts were quite the same. In the meantime, let's enjoy what we have... and it combines business with pleasure.

I wasn't very sure what I would find in the Himari laboratory of the clan, but I am sure that I will find something important, and very much so. Recordings! Let it not be textbooks, let it be lab magazines — at least something. Tired of poking around like a blind kitten! On the other hand, an empty camouflaged laboratory is a very convenient place to hide. After all, the cat is almost the clan's brand, and the number of yokai willing to put the "traitor" on the cat's ribbons is quite large — especially while she cannot act as a bundle of "shock unit — mage Amakawa" due to the absence of the latter. Even if the Cat didn't stay in the lab, it was highly likely that she could have left her notebooks there. Or else, my officially dead grandfather could be there, and the cat is guarding him. Who knows why he couldn't teach his beloved grandson in the canon in this case — maybe he died the day before Yuto's sixteenth birthday, or something else, but a living carrier of knowledge would be a great bonus. However, he might try to do something else to me: it's a decent risk... but still, the probability that Gennosuke is alive is not very high. Much less than just finding a completely empty lab... or looted. By the way, the funny thing is that I might not find it — my family had several plots in the mountains... or it can simply be disguised even from a carrier of "ferry vision".

I must admit that Hiroe's idea of taking a break from Takamiya turned out to be very timely — let the vassals from different groups feel on their precious skin what it costs me to restrain their mutual temperament! Otherwise, Tengu and some of the students moved to our city just ten days ago... And it started! "They don't go on patrol properly, here I am, the Third Disciple of Smashing-sama, an intelligence specialist!"Amakawa-sama, where did you recruit that uncultured bumpkin! They stare at skirts and windows more than they look at the surroundings!!!". "Amakawa-san, good afternoon. This is Kouji. Sorry to bother you, but my colleague has a problem. No, not an attack, not even magic. It's just that when he leaves our hotel, guano immediately falls on him. The crows. Well, that's just a coincidence. Yes, this is the fourth day in a row. I just thought maybe one of your vassals might have some questions for the Committee... a personal plan, so to speak. Yes, he served in the Tayama area. Thank you very much, Amakawa-san." Little things, just little things... But they're so fucked up! And what intrigues the mixed patrols are weaving among themselves, so that Ginko would go on the night shift with this one of the three groups — it's just an extravaganza! No, it's not so important for the "old" squad members, whom I have "promoted" to "lieutenants" together, their task is to lead the group carefully and without glare... But the young fools from the Raven school are something! And it's useless to explain that a wolf's miniskirt is a form of clothing tied to physiology: or you'll have to make a slit for the tail, I don't even know which is worse... Kami-sama! It's a good thing that the old dojo was rented for Tengugumi (for twenty-five years! It's good that we finally transferred the money from the contract to clean up the water area on the outskirts of Takamiya: otherwise, I do not know how we would have been able to keep the young and reckless students of the old raven in one place... As it was, everyone who was too free from training or patrolling immediately had work to do: plaster the walls or sweep the floor there... with a crowbar. The walls of the martial arts and kendo school for youkai suffered with a steady regularity. If only Smashing hadn't already managed to teach some assholes how to remotely control birds...