Chapter 5: I just want to see what i want to see.

There are various types of prisons in Trinity.

The prison one goes to depends on the crime committed and the social status of the victim.

Chiefly, there is the Detention Chamber, a privileged prison where high-ranking members of the Tea Party go for political crimes.

Then there’s the Custody Room, which serves as a holding cell for minor offenses or before a formal trial.

And the Underground Prison, where those who commit serious crimes are incarcerated.

These three are the prisons students typically go to.

In reality, the Custody Room is the most frequently used, while the other two see fewer occupants compared to it.

The biggest reason students usually get arrested is due to gunfights.

They often end up in the Custody Room together, all friendly-like, because emotions get the better of them during a fight with friends, leading them to impulsively pull out firearms.

You might ask how pulling out and firing a gun can be a minor offense, but this is Kivotos.

It’s a world where guns are treated like self-defense sprays.

Spraying someone with self-defense spray isn’t considered a serious felony, is it?

Since the Detention Chamber is primarily where Tea Party executives go due to internal political struggles, many ordinary Trinity students don’t even know of its existence.

Why?

Because the Tea Party, which is Trinity’s student council, adheres to a policy of mysticism, students often don’t even know that such a club exists.

Most cases end at the Custody Room level, and if a more serious crime is committed, it ends at the Underground Prison level.

Therefore, the only prisons Trinity students are really familiar with are effectively the Custody Room and the Underground Prison.

So, if you ask, ‘Where exactly is the Correctional Facility where I’m being held?’

Clink-clank-

‘········It could be said to be a place worse than the Underground Prison.’

“····Ouch.

They’ve tightened it quite a lot this time.”

I was currently sitting on my knees, with both hands bound by handcuffs, and the handcuffs connected to chains attached to the ceiling, holding my arms up.

No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say I was suspended from the chains hanging from the ceiling.

The Underground Prison is at least better.

At least it offers some degree of freedom within the confines of the cell.

However, the Correctional Facility is a place that deprives even that.

Basically, one lives with both hands bound.

Restraints are placed on the hands, and these restraints are connected to chains descending from the ceiling.

It was like a leash; with both hands tied, one could only exist within the range permitted by the chains.

And at a set time, the chains gradually shorten.

Then, one is forcibly made to assume this posture.

A posture where one hangs dangling from the chains connected to the ceiling, forced to stare at something.

It’s essentially a form of torture disguised as “reflection time.”

Because in the center of the prison, with both hands bound and forcibly lifted, one is compelled to watch videos played before their eyes for three hours every morning and three hours every afternoon, all under the guise of a “correctional program.”

‘Huh?

You might ask if such a punishment would be allowed under modern societal norms, even if it’s worse than the Underground Prison?’

‘It doesn’t matter.’

‘Anyway, this is a punishment that has existed since ancient times, specifically since Trinity was first established.’

‘In other words, it’s not a punishment that applies modern concepts.’

‘Apparently, this is also the mildest of the ancient punishments, and since almost no one uses the Correctional Facility anyway, it’s a school rule that hasn’t been erased yet, which is why I’m suffering like this.’

‘What a truly magnificent legal system, for a governing body to still retain something like this.’

‘Ah, of course, there’s one good thing.’

‘While the Underground Prison doesn’t even let sunlight through, the Correctional Facility at least has one window barred with iron, allowing some sunlight to enter.’

‘It’s truly fortunate for anyone else who might be imprisoned here besides me, haha.’

‘·······As for me, I can’t even see the sunlight.’

‘Because without a blue sky or flowing clouds, only the complete black void always greets me.’

Clink-

“···Ouch.

Would it kill you to lower me a bit more gently, really········.”

The video that had been continuously playing before my eyes ended, and simultaneously, the chains loosened.

My knees, which had been slightly suspended in the air, collided with the floor, delivering a small jolt of pain.

I frowned for a moment, then slowly got up and headed towards the bed.

There was nothing much to do here.

Other than lying on the bed facing the window and observing the sky.

There was no one to talk to.

Because even if I talked to myself like this, the Tea Party guards outside the door wouldn’t reply.

Conversation here is impossible unless they initiate it.

The only other interaction was the regular, well-provided meals three times a day.

So, the only thing worth seeing here was that window barred with iron.

Or, well, just sleep all day.

Still, thankfully, the path of the Colors was currently directed towards the area illuminated by the Correctional Facility’s window.

It was still moving, scattering a halo of light from an immeasurable distance.

It had moved quite a lot from its path before I entered the Correctional Facility.

The fact that I couldn’t bring my notebook here was truly lamentable.

I want to quickly sketch that path, explain that movement, that rule of movement, but this damned Trinity won’t even allow that.

If only I had enrolled in Millennium instead of Trinity, things might have been a bit better.

At least they don’t forbid the pursuit of knowledge there, do they?

They would probably even encourage it.

There would have been more astronomical equipment, and I wouldn’t have had to suffer such indignities·······Haa, why did I enroll in Trinity?

Well, it couldn’t be helped, as I was born in the Trinity autonomous district.

‘······Only three days out of the week have passed, right?’

‘I hope the Colors continue to wander around that space.’

‘Even if I can’t record it, I can still analyze its movement.’

‘What else can I do but make the most of this opportunity?’

‘In a situation where I can’t read books or draw pictures.’

As I gazed at the Colors in the distance, the metallic, slightly damp smell emanating from the prison was so unpleasant that I half-lost myself.

Losing myself didn’t mean losing consciousness.

It simply meant shifting all my focus to my vision and awareness.

It was one of my methods of concentration.

I ignore everything except what I need to see.

The hard sensation of the bed against my back, the cold breeze seeping in from somewhere, and the unpleasant smell of this Correctional Facility—all of it.

If I do that, only I and that star remain in this space.

The beautiful halo of light and me, observing it.

Everything else ceases to exist.

The trajectory of the Colors was always different from that of typical celestial bodies.

It was neither that of a comet nor that of a star.

It moves as if it were alive, as if it had a will, guided by no external force.

Every time I observe it, every time I look at it, I truly doubt whether it is merely a phenomenon.

As a phenomenon, it has almost no regularity.

In its bizarre movements, in its utterly unpredictable trajectory, I have yet to find any regularity.

I’ve only found a few laws and rules in the halo of light it scatters; I still have no idea what makes it move.

Is it being drawn by something, or is it moving of its own volition?

If it’s the latter, I often find myself falling into a rather intriguing hypothesis.

‘If it is a sentient being with will, with clear consciousness, and thus capable of determining its own path—’

‘····That hypothesis, like when I gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into me—whether it, too, is observing me when I observe it.’

‘As Friedrich Nietzsche said, those Colors might also be looking back at me.’

‘I can certainly see it.’

‘Then, can it also see me?’

‘Can that star, wandering in the distant universe, see me?’

‘No, even if by some chance it can’t see me, if it truly possesses intelligence—’

‘···Couldn’t I try to make contact?’

‘That kind of hypothesis.’

However, I cannot ascertain that precisely.

At least not while I am imprisoned like this.

Ah, of course, it would be difficult even if I got out.

If I were to order something by delivery, the Tea Party would tear it apart and investigate every single piece.

Especially if it were communication equipment, it would almost certainly be confiscated.

Well, that’s the gist of it for now.

What I can do right now is observe the white background reflected in that window and the celestial body there·······

‘··········Huh? A white background?’

At the bizarre sight unfolding before my eyes, I regained my composure and lifted my head.

There, against a white background—or more precisely, with white wings adorned with various accessories—stood someone.

An individual who would bring me something interesting.

“Oh? Mika-chan?

Have you come for an interview?

I’m sorry, when I focus, I don’t easily break away—”

Clang—!

“—Ugh.”

The chains were roughly, and quite significantly, pulled, causing my lying body to be flung upwards.

In an instant, my lying body was dragged by the chains and left dangling from the ceiling.

This time, I wasn’t even in a kneeling position; my entire body was suspended from the ceiling, relying on a single chain connected to my wrist.

“Hmph, Soyoka-chan.

You look very comfortable, don’t you?

Meanwhile, I haven’t been able to sleep properly because of what you said.

Soyoka-chan, you seem to have enough leisure to lie down so comfortably, huh?”

‘····Ouch, this is quite rough from the start.’

‘While the current situation is certainly interesting·····it seems a bit of pain will accompany it too.’

“·····Haa, isn’t there usually nothing else to do when tied up like this?

Especially since you didn’t even provide a TV.”

“Ahaha, you barely watch TV anyway, Soyoka-chan, do you?

You always enjoy reading boring theses.

Ah!

And if I were to give Soyoka-chan a thesis, who knows what might happen.

Soyoka-chan is smart, so she might not be able to resist and pull some stunt again.”

Mika slowly wiped the smile from her face, approached me, and gently lifted my chin.

It was no longer a mocking attitude, nor a smile that felt like a mask.

Rather—

“So, tell me?

Just how much have you figured out with that annoying brain of yours?”

‘·····It was closer to a threat.’

Hmph, and from the receiving end, it was quite an interesting threat.

I quietly smiled, wondering how I could prolong this interesting situation that had arrived after three days.

From the window behind me, the five-colored star, still traversing the black void, scattered its halo of light.

‘······As if to say it would remain there even after this was over.’

It was truly a delightful situation.