25
Masanori
Mechanical parts were strewn across Masanori’s desk alongside paper-thin metallic discs of assorted sizes, thin sapphires, and greasy cogs. He’d found all the materials to create another tapper in Tsukiko Academy’s workshop, but from there, his attempts were pure guesswork.
Behind him, Hidekazu sat in a ring of a dozen blue candles. He painted amber kigou, and the flames flickered, rising to spiral around him while he produced more symbols.
“Are you sure it’s safe to practice with fire inside?” Masanori said.
Hidekazu’s arm jerked, and his stroke went slanted, forming the wrong sequence and ruining the kigou. The symbol dissolved. Candles blinked like they’d been disturbed by a brisk wind, and he glared at Masanori.
“Haven’t you retired as a ki-engineer?”
At Masanori’s s
