Composed by Yuki Neco
In the morning, Sakura and Li in the research room were busy with analyzing the voice they newly recorded last night. They converted the frequency and envelops of the voice, before checking the voiceprint on the screen of a personal computer. The analyzed voice sounded, “Stay away from this Lumina case. It’s none of your business.” In the course of analysis, Sakura whispered a complaint to Li, “Y’know it’s hard to use the magic.” As a matter of fact, the analysis was attended by Lumina Allison as well.
Although Sakura and Li didn’t usually let anyone else in the research room, they had to let Lumina in for this reason. An hour earlier, Lumina rushed in the L&S Detective Agency’s office with another memory stick with the voice data stored in it.
“I had strange calls last night, and I recorded the voice in the memory stick. I want you to analyze the voice.”
“Good morning, Lumina,” Sakura greeted. “We had a strange call last night, and we are preparing for analysis.”
“Yeah, they must have used a voice changer to impede identification,” Li added with his arms crossed at the chest.
Li pushed the play button so Lumina could hear it. The voice recorder played the voice as follows:
Stay away from this Lumina case; it’s none of your business. (in culprit’s voice)
Who the heck it it?! (in Li’s voice)
Don’t do funny things. We are always watching you in the university. (in culprit’s voice)
“Even though the voice was changed, this voice data gave us two crucial pieces of info,” Li said walking around the desk slowly, “they are two or more people, and they may be a students or stuff at the university.”
“Oh, you’re smart, Li,” Sakura nodded her head with admiration.
“Stupid culprit...” Lumina mumbled.
“Oh, by the way, I got two strange calls last night. First one was the changed voice telling me to come to the foot of the fire escape of the building E by 5:00 p.m. with the stuff we got at Krudeland University yesterday, and the second one was...” Lumina stammered with a blush of embarrassment.
Sakura worried her at the change of face expression, then she patted Lumina on the back, “Second one was...? What did he say to you... if you can tell me, Lumina.”
“Second one was... a natural voice, but he... whispered dirty stuff on the phone... panting...”
“Okay, but the second one is different, let’s skip it,” Li concluded as his usual way.
“Hey, Li! I know the second one might be a different case, but could you find a nicer way to say it? She must’ve been terrified when she got a prank call from someone unknown,” Sakura complained with an irritation that boys don’t understand at all that girls can be terrified of men acting perversion.
“All right, all right, I am really sorry.”
Lumina took a deep breath to calm herself down, walked three steps forward and three steps backward, before talking:
“Okay, anyway, let’s analyze the voice. I don’t like to be pestered without doing anything in return.”
“Are you saying you want to analyze the voice with us?” Sakura ascertained.
“Yeah, voice analysis is an applied region of physics. I think I can help you,” Lumina pronounced in a determined look.
Sakura and Li turned to look at each other, at the difficulty of what to reply, because their analysis needs the magic of Star Cards. Li whispered:
“Sakura, can you use your magic without being watched?”
“Mmm... I’ll try it,” Sakura narrowed her eyes.
After all this, Lumina Allison attended the analysis in the research room.
In the voice analysis, Sakura used her Voice Card and Wave Card. The Voice Card shifted the frequency and modulation, and pronounced the converted voice. The Wave Card eliminated unwanted sound waves, or strengthened the component they needed to extract. When Sakura thought the name of the card to use the magic card iteself slipped out of the deck; then she flipped the card at the opening of her pocket, and eventually the card was activated. As a beginner Cardcaptor in the past she used to need to hit the card with her sealing wand to activate the magic, but now she had so strong magical powers that all she needed to activate the magic was just flipping with a finger.
There was one more thing that worked in the analyzing job. That was the analyzing software programmed by Zachary, Li’s best friend from elementary school. Zachary’s analyzing software identifies the patterns of images and sound waves. L&S Detective Agency’s investigation was the combination of magical Star Cards and Zachary’s identification technique.
“We got it. Last night’s threatening phone calls to this office and Lumina belong to the same person. Look, the voiceprints are completely matched,” Li pointed the screen.
“Then how about the matching with the attacker a few days ago? I mean the ones who tried to snatch me,” Lumina urged.
“I just analyzed the data, but the attackers’ voiceprint was not the same,” Sakura reported.
“Beseides, those attackers spoke in a flattened speech, with weak intonation. I wonder where that accent comes from,” Li said shaking his head.
“Hmm, is that so? Please let me listen to the converted voice of the threatening calls of last night.”
Sakura secretly summoned the Voice Card to play the converted voice.
“Is this the optimum frequency of conversion?” the twenty-year-old client ascertained.
“Yes, I tried some other frequencies, but the voice was collapsed. This frequency is around the optinum,” Sakura replied.
“Hey, why is that girl acting like our leader?” Li whispered a complained in Sakura’s ear.
“Don’t mind it, Li. She’s a physics wiz, and she can give us appropriate directions, I guess.”
“Huph, that’s all right, then.”
Lumina listened to the converted voice carefully, with her thumb and forefinger on her chin.
“This sounds like someone I know from the university, but I don’t quite know who it is,” she said.
“The culprit told Lumina to take the SD memory card to the foot of the fire escape of the buileding E by 5:00 p.m,” Li changed the subject. “That may be the opportunity to identify the suspect.”
“What do you have in your mind?” Sakura asked.
“Lumina, you stand there at the foot of the fire escape by 5:00 p.m., as the culprit told you,” Li said. “You take your bag without the SD memory card in it.”
“Hey, are you going to use her as a decoy?” Sakura gasped and shook Li’s shoulder.
“Of course, it’s a good opportunity,” Li plainly replied, and continued to explain his plan. “We’re going to hide behind the shrub nearby and wait for the timing. The culprit will attack you before snatching your bag. At the moment the culprit appears we’ll jump in the scene and catch him.”
“Wait, let me ask you,” Lumina said in a worried look, “hiding behind the shrub, are you sure you can protect me from harm?”
“Don’t worry, we’ll do as hard as we can,” Li plainly answered.
“That’s not the answer to my question,” she stepped closer to Li, “I am asking you if you’re sure you can protect me.”
Instead of him, Sakukra replied, “Don’t worry, we have the skill to handle even in such dangerous states.”
Sakura walked beside Li and whispered, “To protect her from the distance, we’ll only have to use our magic.”
“Yeah, Sakura. We’ll use our magic if we really have to.”
Lumina and Sakura were guided into the room. The room had several bookshelves and instruments racks. The bookshelves were full of books on physics, chemistry, radio transmission engineering, and paranormal phenomena. In the instrument rack, some measuring instruments were placed neatly.
“Oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer, signal generator...” Sakura thought to herself. She knew a little of measuring instruments since her big brother is a sales engineers of a measuring instrument company.
“Now we are currently studying the electromagnetic effect of poltergeists,” Nikki joyfully explains. “Here, the aura detector.” She pointed the spectrum analyzer on a desk.
“Can this instrument really detect aura or poltergeists?” Lumina asked with her forefinger on her chin.
“In Ted’s opinion, the spirit is related to electromagnetic waves. So this instruments can detect poltergeists,” Nikki replied.
“Are there any other members in here?” Sakura interrupted.
“I’m sorry... uh, other members are out now, Sakura,” Nikki stammered. “Do you want to see other members?”
“Uh, no, that’s okay, thanks.”
Strange, I thought there’s another person... I’m not sure but I kind of sense there’re two people hiding. I wonder if Nikki knows it.
“Huh?” Lumina found Sakura thinking to herself, but she didn’t have any clue what stuck in Sakura’s mind.
Leaving the paranormal studies club, the two girls happend to meet Ted who just came to the club.
“Hi, Lumina, you just came here. Sorry, I was out.”
“That’s okay, Nikki explained the paranormal studies club,” she replied.
“Is that so? Did you see other members?”
“No, she was alone in the room.”
“Good.”
When Lumina and Sakura are leaving Ted spoke to Lumina again:
“Uh, I just want to listen to you with the physics point of view about paranormal phenomena.”
“I’m sorry I gotta go now,” Lumina replied.
“Okay, maybe another day, then,” Ted smiled.
Will this really work? What will the culprit do to me when he finds me? Will he knock me out, or thrust me over to snatch my bag? Or even snatch me, too? Will the two student detectives are able to protect me safe? But they aren’t close to me. Then how will they protect me. Why should I be acting like a decoy? This isn’t something a pretty girl like me does, is it?
Time went on; the culprit hadn’t shown though it was a quarter past five. Li and Sakura were hiding behind the shrub about 50 feet from the pretty decoy.
“Late, something is strange,” Li mumbled looking into his wrist watch.
“He may have noticed we’re hiding here,” Sakura said.
Similarly, the pretty decoy was watching her wrist watch in an irritated manner. At this minute, there was a thud on Lumina’s back and head, as she was knocked down on the ground.
“Know my plight release the light!”
“Windy Card!”
In response, two hiding wizards cast a spell to activate their magic onto the attacker. A thunderbolt struck him, before a gust of wind spun him into the whirlpool. He fainted.
“Awww...” Lumina sat up pressing the back of her head.
Sakura and Li ran to Lumina, “Are you all right?”
“Uhh, I’m all right. So is this guy the one who’s been bothering me these days?”
“Positively. Let’s check who he is.”
When Li rolled the unconscious man face up to identify, Lumina gasped with ashotnishment.
“Jeez, I don’t believe it. It’s Dr. Matthews!”
Sakura gulped at the unexpected result, “The truth is stranger than fiction. He was Dr. Allison’s assistant, but why did he...”
At this moment, Ken woke up.
“Wh-what just happened? Hey, you guys, what kind of joke is it?” Ken shouted in anger.
“Dr. Matthews, I’m sorry... but... I...” Lumina couldn’t find a good word to say even though she tried hard to look through her vocabulary.
“We are from L&S Detective Agency,” Li stepped front of the group and explained. “We are investigating the case someone is pestering Ms. Lumina Allison.”
Li and Sakura explained him that the culprit was aiming Dr. Allison’s research, and that Lumina was summoned by the culprit to give him the SD memory card received from Dr. Allison.
“Then you guys thought I was the one who’s been pestering Ms. Allison, and you attacked me, didn’t you?” Ken still unable to understand the treatment questioned. “Futhermore, it looked like you two were not nearby. What did you do to make me faint?”
“Uhh... actually... he is a kung-fu fighter, and I am an expert of aikido (martial art derived from judo),” Sakura managed to explain with a nervous smile.
Li was nodded his head several times without a word.
“Anyway, listen,” Ken began explaining the scene of attack they supposed. “I didn’t mean to attack Ms. Allison, I swear. I just came out through the emergency exit to get some softdrink at the vending machine. Who would have expected Ms. Allison was standing just behind the steel door?”
In Ken’s explanation, he opened the steel door to walk out of the building, where Limina is waiting for the attacker with her bag. In opening the door, the knob hit in her spinal cord first, and then the steel plate of door hit in the back of her head subsequently. Finally, thrust forward, she fell on the ground. Sakura and Li mistook this sequence of accident as an attack by the culprit.
“And, why should I steal Dr. Allison’s research?” Ken was still irritated.
“I believe you aren’t the one who did it, but... I’m sorry, Dr. Matthews,” Lumina apologized.
“No, you’re still insecure when there’s no evidence,” Li brusquely added.
“This brat...”
At this moment, something was thrown toward Lumina from a distance. Sakura noticed, “Windy!”
Sakura summoned the Windy magic to curve the trajectory, but it was too late. Although succeeding in bending the trajectory, something thrown hit the back of Lumina’s head with a dump. Lumina collaped and fainted on her face.
“Oh my gosh! What should I do?!” Sakura was upset. “I shouldn’t have used the Windy!”
“If you hadn’t used the Windy, it shouldn’t have bumped into her head at least,” Li brusquely replied.
“Oh, no! What should I do?! What should I do?!”
“Do nothing, Sakura. No matter how deeply you feel sorry, you mustn’t apologize to her,” Li said.
“Why not?”
“If you said you’re sorry, you’d have to explain you used your magic. Which is better,” Li coldly answered.
“Sorry, Lumina...” she cried silently.
About one minute later, Lumina woke up groaning. “Why me...”
The thrown stuff was a stone wrapped with paper, which Ken unwrapped. Reading the message written on the paper, Ken chuckled, “This message clears the suspicion against me.” The message read:
L&S Detective Agency... Don't underestimate us.
You tried to fool us with an empty bag. You have to pay for it.
“Thank you, Mr. Culprit. You saved the day,” Ken sang the praise.
“Anyway, where did he throw this stone at me?” Lumina said angrily.
“Maybe behind the shrub over there,” Li pointed the shrub 100 feet away.
“In that case...” Lumina frantically wrote equations on the ground and calculated something. “Daahhh, he just gave me the damage on my head by 8.7 Joules at least! It’s unforgivable!”
“Is it just me, or Lumina sure is pretty but kind of weird...” Sakura mumbled.
“Moreover, I don’t know if 8.7 Joules of impact is crucial,” Li sarcastically commented.
At that time, Ken Matthews walked closer to Li with a determined look.
“As a former assistant of Dr. Allison’s, I think I should help you with investigation. Should someone be truly planning to steal Dr. Allison’s research, should there be such a nasty scientist, that couldn’t be allowed,” Ken said firmly when he took his hand to Li.
“Uh... All right,” Li took his hand in response to Ken’s motion; the two shook hands for cooperation.
“Dr. Matthews looks terrific, but I think you’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Sakura’s question made Lumina blush instantly. The embarrassed girl started to toy with her blond long hair, as she sheepishly talks, “All I know about him is he was a former assistant of Dad’s, he’s kindhearted, and he practiced playing soccer. I first met him when I was 14; I visited Dad’s univeristy and found him in the laboratory. He’s twelve years older than me.”
“You haven’t confessed your feelings to him, have you.”
Lumina shook her head instead of replying in words.
“I hope some day you’ll have your own timing to confess your honest feeling you have about him,” Sakura gently whispered.
“Thank you,” Lumina smiled back filling tears in her eyes. “By the way, I wonder if Li Showron is your boyfriend, Sakura? I think he’s a bit of square, and brusque.”
Sakura clasped her hands behind and stretched backwards, as she said with a giggle, “He’s a kind and reliable person. I’ve known him from elementary school days. Whether he’s my boyfriend or not—I should say yes—but since we’ve known for such a long time, now I think he’s my precious.”
Putting her elbows on the handrail to support her head with the hands on the cheeks, Lumina smiled and looked distance. “You sound happy to be with him.”
“Does he have the same special powers like you?” Lumina changed questions.
“Wh-what do you mean?”
“I don’t know what kind of power it can be, but I have no idea how you knocked out Dr. Matthews unconscious from the distance. Acutally, I found something interesting at the paranormal studies club. They had the instrument to measure the intensity of aura...”
“That’s just a spectrum analyzer; ordinary laboratories have that kind of instruments. I kind of know it cause my big brother is a sales engineer of an instrument company.”
“I know. The aura detector they called was left powered on when we visited the club. Interestingly, when you’re thinking of or concentrating on something, some spectrums appeared in the screen.”
That must be when I sensed the presence of someone suspicious and tried to identify it!
“Wha... That can be... uh...” Sakura lost a word to say.
“I’m sorry, Sakura. I didn’t mean to give you a hard time. It doesn’t matter if you have special powers or not. So I won’t tell anyone about what I saw in the paranormal studies club, I promise.”
Sakura listened to her without a word.
“Well, I’m just a novice scientist.
Honestly speaking, I don’t have a little interest what kind of person you are,
or what kind of power you have. I’m not interested in whether or not
you’re one of those who were called witches in olden times.
However, I’m really interested in the mysterious power you might have
in the point of view of physics. I hope someday science will reveal
the mysterious power with equations, or I may be the first one
to reveal it.”
Sakura started giggling, “Oh, Lumina, you’re really an interesting girl.”
The two college girl students kept on talking for another ten minutes looking at the night sky above them, before going down back to the research room together.