Storm Wolf: Tranquil waters - 48. Chapter 10 - Cirrus clouds 10.4

I must have missed the recruitment event for the clubs, but I don't feel particularly sorry about it. Not only do I dislike big social event full of people, but I also don't quite have the courage yet to be caught sobbing uncontrollably, with both tears and snot running down my face.

"Hey," Kotetsu senpai found me, and I felt a gentle tug on my consciousness. "I was wondering where you went," he said cheerfully as he walked up to me. "How's everything going?"

"Much smoother than I expected." Though to be honest, I couldn't predict what would happen at all. Perhaps worrying about getting into another fight with a master was a bit too childish. "I decided to accept Master Field's invitation."

"Congratulations, and good luck," Kotetsu gave me a sidelong glance and tilted his head slightly. "I hope he's not as eccentric as the rumors say."

"It's not that bad." I was originally going to say, "Isn't that right?" but then I thought, what exactly does it mean to be "eccentric"? "Although Master Sunflare is quite certain that I will eventually join him..." According to Tadao's warning, I probably shouldn't be telling Kotetsu senpai this. But perhaps my emotions were still in a fragile state, and I just needed to let some of them out.

"What do you think?" Altai wapiti asked calmly, watching the passersby around us.

I didn't want to delve too deeply into whether there was some overly cautious emotion hidden in Kotetsu senpai's tone. Living like that would be exhausting. Besides, I knew that trust is the first step in building a bridge of communication. If I truly became the most powerful psychic in the Empire, and if there was a chance for me to forge a friendship with Kotetsu senpai, the most powerful psychic in the Federation, that could be the beginning of reconciliation between both sides.

Even though there were still so many things I didn't understand about the world, the exhausting bombardment of the morning had already made one thing clear: reconciliation was something everyone needed--and perhaps urgently so.

"No way," I said with a bitter smile, intending to bury the vision Master Sunflare had painted for me deep in the recesses of my memory, to be forgotten forever--except, surprisingly, I occasionally needed to remind myself how much I hated the cold.

"I know you've had a rough morning and probably don't want to hear this, but..." Kotetsu senpai scratched the back of his head, still looking elsewhere, as if slightly embarrassed.

Seeing him act like this was quite amusing.

"Have you considered it?" He pulled a silver, disc-shaped object from his pocket, resembling a badge with some kind of emblem engraved on it. Then he flipped the small disc over, revealing an inscription.

Though I wasn't very good at Latin, I had deliberately practiced some famous quotes to pretend I was well-read--and I just so happened to recognize this one.

"Exitus acta probat," I read, successfully linking the concept to the symbol on the other side and understanding what it represented. I couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Kotetsu senpai seemed slightly hurt as he pocketed the silver disc again.

"No... that's not..." I quickly clarified, explaining that I wasn't laughing at anyone. The morning's ordeal had left me emotionally exhausted.

Altai wapiti raised an eyebrow, patiently waiting for me to compose myself.

"I really am worn out and can't think about anything related to taking sides right now. So, I appreciate you saving a spot for me, but let me... think about it, okay?" I said softly, lightly tapping Kotetsu senpai on the arm to express my gratitude and hope that he understood. I'd need a bit more time to recover from the shocking news.

"I understand," he replied, looking over at me. "You can talk to me anytime... about anything." He quickly added, as if worried I might misunderstand. Then Altai wapiti sighed, rubbing his temple. "Damn it, I knew there'd be a conflict of interest."

I lowered my ears to show that I understood his position and would consider the proposal.

"But..." I suppressed a grin, trying to show more respect. "Your faction's emblem... is a bit..."A bit ridiculous. "...symbolic, isn't it?"

"I don't see a problem!" Kotetsu senpai snorted, crossing his arms in dissatisfaction. "It represents that we carry the burden, that we won't avoid it, and we won't forget the one who was sacrificed." His tone became somewhat distant as he flipped out his pendant and slowly traced its surface with his fingertips.

"Sorry," I cleared my throat softly. "I shouldn't have said that..."

"It really does look awkward, though." Altai wapiti tucked the small disc back inside his collar and adjusted his clothes. "I guess that's why none of our members want to display the badge."

"Oh," I said, unsure if he was trying to joke. "Is there even a secret society that purposely displays its emblem?" I scanned the sparsely populated hall, pondering this philosophical question.

"Hobby groups do," Kotetsu senpai chuckled. "That reminds me--how's your knowledge of particle physics?"

"Uh..." I scratched my ear. "What's that?"

On the way back to the dorm, Kotetsu senpai explained the totems of the various secret societies, the meanings behind them, and which fanatics I should probably avoid.

"Hey." When I returned to the dorm, I found Tadao standing in the center of the room, his head lowered, hands gesturing in some odd manner.

"Oh, sorry, I'll clean up right away," he said, continuing to wave his arms for a few moments.

I stopped him. Not only was I curious about what he was doing, but his gestures gave me some ideas. I needed some kind of activity to distract me from the various conspiracies swirling around my mind.

"What are you doing?" I stepped closer to Tadao and saw that he was wearing a device resembling a pair of glasses--though it only had a frame and the lower part of the lenses, with small components at the ends flashing different colors. It looked like some sort of virtual reality projection device. I vaguely recalled seeing something like it in a class demonstration.

"Making a map," he said. "I've found that it helps me relax." Tadao gave me an awkward smile. "And I'm feeling pretty anxious right now."

"You alright?" I tilted my head, folding down my right ear.

"It's nothing," he waved dismissively, and I had no choice but to trust his words.

"Making a map?" I pressed, and Tadao tapped a few times on the terminal on his arm.

"I'll just show you." He rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a similar device, handing it to me. "Just put it on, the frame can be adjusted..." He helped me put the VR device on, and I suddenly found myself floating in a vast, seemingly endless grassland.

Though I couldn't feel the wind, the sight of the grass swaying gently in rhythm, accompanied by the faint rustling sound, made my fur tingle, as if it wanted to move along with the breeze.

"Wow..." I could only express my amazement. "This is..."

"Yes, yes, I know, it's hypocritical of the anti-Gaian movement to use this aesthetic." I shot him a confused look, but Tadao didn't seem to notice that I couldn't follow his train of thought and continued mumbling. "But what can I do? This style sells the best and helps me relax..."

"What is this?" I clearly stated my ignorance again, hoping he'd understand.

"Oh, sorry." It seemed he finally realized that this wasn't exactly my realm of knowledge. "I'm a mod designer. Besides doing it for fun, I also take commissions now and then, creating fixed scenes for whatever purpose the client needs." Tadao shivered slightly, though I wasn't sure what memory had come to mind.

"So..." I looked around, admiring the world Tadao had crafted. "How do you... create it?"

"Like this." He stretched his hands toward me, palms up, and wiggled his fingers. "Motion capture tracks my movements. I've set up different tools and commands." After a series of rapid movements, a humanoid figure appeared next to him, slightly taller than he was. Its face had a dark gray cross with a circle in the center. "Then, I use finer tools to add details..."

I was entranced by the process, watching intently as Tadao worked. He sketched out a more defined silhouette, adding intricate details around the facial circle, and a red deer slowly took shape.

I was so stunned I couldn't find my voice, only staring at Tadao in awe. He seemed a bit self-conscious under my unblinking gaze, turning his head and scratching the back of his neck.

"Deer are something I'm very used to drawing, so it wasn't too difficult," he said with a modest laugh, before making a few more gestures. A new figure appeared on my left. "Now, let's see..."

Tadao glanced back and forth between me and the increasingly detailed figure, his expression focused, his hands moving quickly.

I didn't dare move a muscle, ears and tail held rigid, afraid that even the slightest shift would disrupt the atmosphere.

After some time, Tadao wiped his brow and let out a long breath.

"All done." A smile spread across his face, relaxed at last.

Following his gaze, I turned my head to look at the spot where the figure had been--now, standing there was a pure white wolf with eyes the color of a clear, cloudless sky. The details were astonishing, every hair and texture perfectly visible.

"This is really..." I searched for words, but none seemed enough. "... incredible," was all I could manage with my limited vocabulary.

"You're overhyping it," Tadao chuckled softly. "There are plenty of people way more skilled than I am." He made a few more gestures, and the images of the deer and the wolf began walking toward each other. "This size is easier to work with."

"It's kind of like command gestures," I noted, remembering the original reason I had approached him.

"Huh?" Tadao tilted his head slightly in confusion.

"Psychics often use command gestures when performing Domination and other techniques. It makes achieving the desired effect easier." I demonstrated a few movements for Tadao. "Just like how you preprogram commands, each of our movements, like 'come,'" I raised my right hand, curling four fingers toward myself twice, "or 'hold,'" I pointed downward with my index finger, "or 'block,'" I pressed my palm outward in a sweeping motion.

Tadao mimicked the movements, and it seemed like he understood my explanation.

"Because the principle of Domination is similar to controlling a part of yourself, using willpower to compel objects in your consciousness to obey 'me.' So, if you pair that with movements you instinctively associate with commands, it's like compressing the instructions, saving time and effort." I took off the device, exaggerating my command gestures for Tadao to see. Then I handed the VR gear back to him with Domination.

"Can you do it again? I might need to record this." He fiddled with the device, likely preparing some kind of application.

"Oh, sorry," I said apologetically, flattening my ears. "There's no point in me demonstrating. Command gestures are personal; they only have meaning for 'me' and can't really be taught to others."

"Oh." Tadao seemed a bit disappointed, his body sagging slightly.

"But that's the point," I quickly added, explaining. "You already have a preset system, so you can apply it directly." I could've sworn I saw a glimmer of excitement in Tadao's eyes. "I'll demonstrate the basics of Domination for you first, and you can try to imitate it. It'll make things easier down the road." I used Domination to draw enough water from the pipes to form a structure resembling the figure Tadao had sketched earlier, then put the VR device back on.

The endless grassland and the images of the deer and the wolf reappeared, while I shaped the water mass under my control into something close to the wolf's figure.

Tadao made a few gestures, overlaying his wolf image onto the water structure I was controlling.

"I'm setting up the fixed points for motion capture..." he muttered, his fingers flying. "Okay, done."

I tilted my head and folded down my right ear, and the wolf in the image mimicked my movement exactly.

"Oh!" I couldn't help but exclaim. "So you overlay the image onto the structure and sync it with its movements?" I absolutely had to learn how to use this program.

"Yeah," Tadao replied, glancing at the deer beside him and adjusting its size to match his own figure.

"Alright then," I said, my excitement showing as my tail wagged wildly, forcing the image to do the same. "Let's make them move!"

I gave the command, and the wolf image smoothly walked toward the deer.

I gave a voice to my controlled image, extending its right paw to the deer with an appropriate wag of the tail.

"I'm the deer," Tadao pressed his palm to his forehead, suppressing a laugh, then used his other hand to issue a command. The deer image responded, eagerly shaking the wolf's outstretched paw. "Nice to meet you too."