*
"... Should we do anything about her? I'm out of my depth here..." (Yggdrasil)
" You do need to stop relying on us to talk. Running from a personal conversation to hdie behind one of us is still strange you know?" (Sariel)
She spoke with an exasperated sigh, leaning closer to the table.
"But from my research, since no one has said anything it meant nothing is strange about it!" (Yggdrasil)
"They might just think... You're mentally undeveloped." (Arin)
" Arin!?" (Sariel)
"Fufu! But genetic defects are within the realm of normalcy, therefore I win!" (Yggdrasil)
"I wish I could be that confident..." (Sariel)
"I think that's to be expected... But a little social skills goes a long way. You could say there's diminishing returns in any talent you're trying to advance in, but you're not pass the starting line..." (Arin)
It was their usual banter. While Sariel did keep up with the highly volatile modern culture, Yggdrasil was apathetic and Arin had more niche interests. It was a wonder how they actually meshed together, rather than bonding over what they like they simply had something deeper that tied them together. Now what that thing was, was anyone's guess.
"Hey, sorry for the disturbance but I have some questions for you." (Akira)
Someone who didn't bother to hide their intentions, she was oddly straight laced. It hurt to say, but the method to deal with them would just be as straightforward.
" What is it? " (Arin)
By reducing the amount she said, she could also avoid accidentally giving away things meant to be hidden. It sounded simply, but having a forward and direct attitude like this also sells the act.
"That day... Did you guys successfully evacuate?" (Akira)
"Pfff fufu, if we didn't run, how would we be here now?" (Arin)
It sounded a little force, but she had to force out a chuckle. It was a gamble whether it worked to convince Akira or worsened her suspicions.
"Then... Then, why didn't you leave with the rest of us?" (Akira)
It felt like the surroundings quiet down at the exact worst moment. The air slowed to a crawl, a suffocating silence envelopes the atmosphere. A few more eyes looked on in curiosity, while a couple more others pretended not to pay any attention. Whether doubts will linger, whether their roles have been cemented or not, it all depended on her response now.
"We thought we could capture some footage, the other two was going along with my idiocy. In the end, they convinced me that filming from the view of my home was both safer and more comprehensive.
Here, we have some photos from when we hung out at my home right after we ran there. " (Yggdrasil)
She took out her phone and navigated to the gallery app that came preinstalled. It almost looked like she had successfully assimilated into modern society. She mostly adjusted to the functions of the phone and the Internet that it accessed, thanks to Arin's intervention, but she still couldn't comprehend the nature of how people acted online compared to real life. It was akin to a new form of etiquette that was foreign to her, the countless variations in attitudes and mannerisms also served to confuse her further.
The meta data from the videos showed exactly when they started recording, the inside of Lastia's home was unfamiliar to most but the relative size of the room and the deluge of personal items proved that it was at least someone's home. The time they took to counter the bombardment on the roof and teleport to her home was around the time they would have needed to run to her home. Just as they predicted, it was enough to convince others with the photos alone.
There was a deep seated trust in technology, especially with the proliferation of AI modeled generation many thousand years ago. Meta data and the ability to distinguish from deep fakes had an overblown resurgence in development and the accompanying trust.
"I... I see. I'm sorry for having the wrong idea." (Akira)
And what idea would that be? Yggdrasil spoke in her heart. It wouldn't benefit anyone to push here. The best course of action, resolution. To end things here, she'll subtly console her.
"... You're... You're right. It did hurt to be suspected. But at least things didn't get serious, let's put it behind us." (Yggdrasil)
To console her with the intention to bring attention away from the subject... It didn't feel right. Was this what they say to 'feel human'? It was initiated on the spur of the moment, simply because she was dissatisfied with her line of thinking. It felt dishonest and that made her slightly uncomfortable. So she said the truth, well... Mixed in a little truth with how she felt. She didn't directly admit or deny anything, she simply stated how she felt. The others will draw conclusions on her own, and her two allies will notice it.
"A... Alright! No hard feelings, okay?! You said it!" (Akira)
Blushing madly, her voice rose in accordance and she sauntered away with unbalanced footsteps. Noise gradually returned to the classroom as the conversation fell out of the public eye, no one was nearby when they spoke about their opponents so confidentiality shouldn't be a concern. Like an orchestra performance, a teacher stepped in and with a nearly imperceptible gesture, quietened the class.
Lessons resumed and ordinary life went on. This high up, the windows were shut and birds wouldn't be at this altitude. Thankfully there were many lifts, and while different education levels will each have their own building, each batch of students in a single year was enough to fill up numerous floors of classrooms. It was silent outside, save for the occasional breeze, her gaze glued to the outside air next to the transparent wall wide window. The government took the chance to renovate most school buildings after the unexplained attack by Traces.
The existence of magical girls were confirmed by the government, but everyone's identity remained hidden. Silent, too silent. There was absolutely no noise outside this classroom, and that included the corridor that lead to all the adjacent classrooms. It was impossible for every class on this floor to suddenly have complete silence, breaks were staggered and almost every period had some students walking in leisure right outside. The lifts were on one end of the corridor, the sound of footsteps and the bell of the lift would particularly stand out in the enclosed space of that corridor.
No magic reaction. Rather, there is some, but it's so discrete it might as well have been the wind. Jamming? Blocked air? It's been a while since this lesson began, but not a single sound reached in? She took out her phone and began texting Arin and Sariel. She needed to alert them now.