Chapter 1
Ringo's been, like, floating lately, right?
Oh yeah, I know what you mean. I've actually been thinking the same thing.
Oh? Since when?
Very recently. I mean, let's be honest, Ringo's hard to approach. You never know what she's thinking, and she's so beautiful it's intimidating. That's why I never noticed it before.
That's true. Alright, let's check it out.
In front of me, two male students opened the classroom door slightly and peeked inside.
Ringo Urarakawa was sleeping beautifully by the window at the very back of the classroom. Her long eyelashes were lowered. She rested her head on both arms, had red earphones in her ears, and was breathing softly. Her skin was like snow, her long hair like ebony. Her cheeks were tinged with a faint blush, and the legs extending from her skirt were long and slender.
I had seen a face equally beautiful in my sleep only once before, when I was a child. The older girl from my neighborhood, Yuki. She was lying in a coffin, buried in white lilies. Ringo's sleep was beautiful in that same death-like way. She was just like Snow White, locked in a glass coffin after eating the poison apple.
A breeze carrying the scent of fresh grass blew in through the window. Ringo's hair swelled gently, undulating in soft waves as morning light flowed through it. Suddenly, a bush warbler flew in and perched on her head. She sank slightly with its weight, and after letting out a perfect hoh hokekyo call, it flew away, and she returned to the exact same position.
The two male students exchanged glances.
Ringo was floating.
Physically.
She was about one centimeter above the seat of her chair, not touching anything. Even the arms she was resting on were slightly elevated. A white light was gleaming in the gaps between her and the desk as the shadows of the treetops swayed.
Dumbass! Humans can't float!
A voice came from nowhere. It was from the other side of a white door inside my head. At eye level, there was a golden plate with "E=mc²" engraved on it.
When I opened the door, I found a pure white room. At the back was a huge blackboard, with bookshelves filled with difficult-looking books on both sides. At the front was another pure white desk, and there sat the owner of the voice.
Shaggy white hair, a splendid mustache, and a slightly dirty lab coat—it was Dr. Albert Einstein, the genius of the century.
Einstein's face turned bright red as he stood up from his chair. He trembled as he drew an apple on the blackboard with a piece of chalk, along with an arrow pointing straight down from its center of gravity and several physics equations.
In 1687, Isaac Newton published the law of universal gravitation in the Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica. All objects with mass attract each other. They say he conceived this law from the question: Apples fall from trees, so why doesn't the moon fall? That girl's name, "Ringo," even means "apple"—how could she not fall?!
I cleared my throat and repeated Einstein's words.
No, no, humans can't float.
There you are, Doc.
The male student kept his eyes fixed on Ringo as he spoke.
My name is Issei Kikuchi, but none of my acquaintances had ever called me that. After knowing me for only three days, everyone had started calling me "Doc."
A human floating is physically impossible.
Yeah, I thought the same. But look, she's clearly floating.
The only thing that is clear is the law of physics. She only appears to be floating.
You're as bullheaded as ever, Doc. So, tell me, how do you explain that?
It's the same principle as a human levitation trick. There must be a single point somewhere supporting her entire body weight.
And where exactly is that point?
Hmm . . .
I observed her thoroughly.
It seems to be her left middle finger.
How ridiculously strong is her middle finger?!
He fired back at me and turned around.
Whoa!
Ah, I thought to myself. I completely forgot because I was so distracted by the bizarre sight.
I was covered in blood.
I headed to the club room. It was an old equipment storage building at the corner of the schoolyard, a fairly large concrete structure. A newspaper clipping dated April 3 was posted on the double steel doors.
Suisen High School from Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, Makes First High School Appearance in the Human-Powered Aircraft Category of the Birdman Rally!
Immediately to the left upon opening the door, there was a prominent round bathtub-like object. It was a partially completed cockpit exterior called a fairing and made mainly of styrofoam. Tools, paints, and materials were crammed haphazardly into steel racks along the wall.
Oh, Doc, good morning.
The male student filing wing spars at the workbench in the back called out. It was Tatsuro Isobe, the vice president of the Aviation Club. With his side-parted undercut hairstyle, he was quite handsome. His good build and the slightly scruffy stubble on his square jaw gave him a maturity beyond his high school years.
Whoa! What happened? You're covered in blood!
I was hit in a hit-and-run at the intersection nearby. They ran the stop sign.
Did you report it to the police?
There's no point. It wasn't a fatal accident, so they wouldn't take it seriously anyway. I couldn't see the license plate, and there weren't any witnesses. Nothing to do but accept it and move on.
I see . . . Let's get you to the hospital right away!
Tatsuro scooped me up in his arms like a princess and took off running with the speed of a god.
Whoa! Put me down!
Injured people should keep quiet.
Then he dumped me into a wheelbarrow used for transporting supplies and ran at a ferocious speed.
Wabababababa!
The vibration was intense.
In no time, we arrived at the nearby Sato General Hospital, and the moment I touched the ground, I noticed it.
. . . Oh, this might be bad.
And indeed it was. By the time I was examined, my right ankle had swollen and turned purple, throbbing with a pain that made me break out in a cold sweat.
You've got a fracture.
Einstein, who bore a striking resemblance to Hideki Yukawa, delivered the news.
After the treatment, we slumped on a long bench in the hospital. I had gotten three stitches on my head, and my right ankle was rigidly immobilized in a cast. Fortunately, I'd avoided surgery, but I was going to have to live on a crutch for the next three months.
Hahh . . .