* * *
① 3:53
If you crouch down and throw a five-yen coin into the hole of the bass drum in the light music room from two meters away, your future self will appear there.
② 4:03
From a spot only visible to the administrative office, look to the right and walk a few steps; a key person for your future will appear in the scenery.
③ 4:22
Immediately after counting the stairs from the library to the first floor one by one, if you climb the same stairs while counting from the first floor, there will be one extra step.
④ 4:44
Of the two anatomical models standing in the corner of the messy science lab, if you put a beige cardigan on the older one, something precious will appear.
⑤ 5:17
Among several unsold cans of Calpis Water, one has a concentration 1% higher than labeled.
⑥ 5:45
※ Impossible? From a table outside the empty cafeteria, if you reflect the afternoon sun with a hand mirror onto the top of a stack of trays, words will appear.
⑦ This will only appear to those who have followed the six mysteries on time.
* * *
"By 'light music room,' you mean the studio, right?"
I ask while reading the text of the Seven Wonders that Azuma-san gave me.
"Probably. There isn't any other place. Maybe that's what they called it thirty years ago."
"No, but wasn't that room originally a broadcasting room...?"
"Well, whatever. Details don't matter."
It was surprising to see Azuma-san being somewhat dismissive about the language, but since she was right about there being no other candidates, we decided to head to the studio for now.
"I hope no one is practicing right now."
I voice my concern as we walk down the hallway.
"The school festival just ended, so there's a low chance of that, right? The only dedicated band is amane; everyone else only goes in right before presentations like Rock-on or the festival."
"I wonder if that's okay for a club activity..."
As I let out a wry smile, Azuma-san looks stunned for a moment before she starts grinning.
"It's hilarious that Konuma is worried about the future of the club. Maybe you actually have a talent for youth?"
"If so, it's thanks to Azuma-san..."
"...Eh?"
If I'm constantly told that this is the essence of youth from this close, even someone like me would eventually understand that club activities are somewhat important.
She seems unaware of this, as she blinks in surprise again. While I narrow my eyes at her, we quickly arrive at the studio. Just as Azuma-san predicted, no one seems to be using it today, and the room remains dark.
I get the club room key from the office right in front, turn on the lights, and step inside.
"So, what was the first one again?"
"Um, this."
Before I can pull out my phone, Azuma-san turns her screen toward me.
* * *
① 3:53
If you crouch down and throw a five-yen coin into the hole of the bass drum in the light music room from two meters away, your future self will appear there.
* * *
"I see."
Checking the clock on her phone at the same time, it seems it'll be that time in about five minutes.
"I wonder if I have a five-yen coin..."
"Here, use this."
As I reach for my wallet in my pocket, Azuma-san hands me a five-yen coin.
"You've been very well-prepared from the start... Do you always carry a five-yen coin around, Azuma-san?"
Considering she even uses a five-yen coin as an excuse to get closer to people.
"There's no way, right? I already knew about this mystery during lunch break. Of course I'd prepare for it."
"Mystery?"
"...Seven Wonders. Either way is fine, right?"
"It's fine with me, but..."
Usually, Azuma-san would be the one to poke fun at that.
Even so.
"Two meters... is a rough estimate okay?"
"I wonder. Well, even I couldn't prepare a measuring tape, so a little error is unavoidable. But if we do it too sloppily and it doesn't work... Oh, Konuma, how tall are you?"
"Exactly 170 centimeters."
"Heh, it would've been easier if you were exactly 2 meters. You could've just laid down once."
"Did you think for even a second that I might be 2 meters tall?"
"No way."
As she says that, Azuma-san stands in front of me, places her left hand on her head and her right hand on mine, then moves them away to show the height difference with both palms.
"Even I can tell this doesn't look like nearly 50 centimeters."
"I-I see..."
I was a bit flustered by how close she got when she stood on her tiptoes to put her hand on my head, but Azuma-san herself didn't seem to notice, so I pretend nothing happened.
"Oh, but you're exactly 170 centimeters. I think records are exactly 30 centimeters, so wouldn't that measure exactly 2 meters?"
Azuma-san says happily while looking at a record leaning against the wall as a decoration (one that has probably never been played).
Azuma-san stands on her tiptoes again to grab the record, and then,
"Okay, then, lie down there," she says, pointing at the floor.
"Seriously...?"
"It's okay, it'll only be for a second."
"What exactly is okay?"
I take off my jacket and lie down on the carpeted floor. If the back of my dress shirt gets dirty, Yuzu-chan, who handles the laundry in our house, will definitely get mad at me, but the damage seems lighter than getting my blazer dirty. Oh, come to think of it, Taira-chan spilled Calpis around here the other day...
"Thanks. So, the record goes here..."
Azuma-san places the record at my head and looks down from above. In my field of vision is Azuma-san's face upside down, and her permed brown hair hanging toward me according to gravity.
"Um, Azuma-neesan..."
"I-It can't be helped, right? I have to measure exactly from your head... Okay, this is fine. All right, Konuma, you can get up now."
"Right..."
After confirming Azuma-san has moved away, I get up and dust off my backside, and Azuma-san gently pats my back. No, forget being gentle, she's the one who told me to lie down.
"Okay, then, throw it from this line."
She points to the side of the record opposite where my head was.
"Got it."
I crouch down there and try throwing the five-yen coin I received earlier into the hole in the bass drum.
"Wait, Konuma, it's not 53 minutes yet."
"No, I'm practicing. I won't be able to make it in one shot. ...Wait, by the way, shouldn't you be the one throwing it, Azuma-san?"
"It's fine, it's fine. It would be scary if a ghost appeared when I threw it."
"So I'm the human sacrifice..."
Well, that was the deal when I came here. What I'll see is my future self, not my post-death self. ...Right?
However, since I have zero athletic ability, I try hard to get it in several times, but it just won't go in. Azuma-san, crouching beside me with her chin in her hands, watches me and laughs while happily saying things like, "Go for it! You can do it!"
"Oh, it's 53 minutes now, Konuma."
It seems time passed while I was trying a few times.
"Seriously? Uh, do I have to do this within one minute?"
"Probably?"
"Alright, let's just keep throwing and hope one hits...!"
I pick up the pace from before. Throwing, missing, picking it up, coming back, throwing... after trying several times, I hear a panicked voice from the side.
"Oh no, just a bit more! Ten, nine, eight, seven..."
"Please stop counting down."
Finally, one shot I throw while panicking at Azuma-san's countdown—
""It went in!""
A clinking sound echoes inside the bass drum.
Then, I peer into the black surface of the bass drum, which acts like a mirror.
"...Konuma, did you see anything?"
"...No, I only see myself."
"Is that really all...?"
"Yeah..."
...Actually, I can also see Azuma-san crouching next to me, and because she's crouching, her thighs are—well, I won't say what, but even though I can't quite see everything, it felt a bit precarious. So, for now, I decide to only mention myself, who is the main reflection.
"Hmm... Well then, I guess the future Konuma is exactly the same as the current Konuma."
Azuma-san lets out a dissatisfied sigh and summarizes the result of the first mystery like that.
"What's with that... how ordinary."
"That's not true. You're skin and bones now, but you might get middle-aged spread later. From that perspective, it's good that you don't change much. And besides, the future Konuma is all alone with no one beside him. Okay, next!"
Azuma-neesan stands up, brushes off her skirt with a huff, and walks away irritably.
"Wait, are you angry for some reason?"
"I'm not angry, you dummy."
"No, you just called me a dummy..."