An Encouragement of Learning/Story

## Introduction

 Librarian, do you have a minute? 司書さん、ちょっといいかい？

 I found this book in the shelf of the library... But there's nothing written on it. 図書館の本棚にこんな本があったんだけど……。中に何も書かれてないんだ

 ...You have no clue what it is? That's strange. ……身に覚えがない？　それはおかしいな

 There's a strange aura to it, but it doesn't seem like it's a tainted book, so I thought I'd report it to you just in case. 不思議な力を感じるけど、有魂書とも少し違うようだから、一応報告しようと思って

 Huh... Investigate? ...Fine, I guess.
To tell you the truth, I think we should investigate when the Chief Librarian is here, though... えっ……調査？　わかったよ……仕方ないな
本音を言わせてもらえば、こういう調査って館長さんたちがいる時にやるべきだと思うけど……

## School Entrance Exam Ch 1

### Library Personnel?

*So you all are finyal applicants for admeowssion to our Imperial Academy, too. I was about to fail you for being late.
I will nyow explain the practical exameownation.* *お前たちも我が帝國学園の最後の入学希望者だな……遅刻で失格にさせるところだったぞ
これから実技試験の説明を行う*

*He is the examiner. He decides whether you pass or fail, so I advise that you listen to him.* 彼は試験官だ。合否を決めるのは彼だから、言うことは聞いておいたほうがいいぞ

*You all will undergo a combat practical exameownation.
You will pass as long as you gather enyough points within the defined testing period.* お前たちには戦闘の実技試験を受けてもらう
試験期間内に一定以上の評価点を集められれば合格だ

*Sorry, but there's not much time, so we're not taking any questions.* すまないが、時間がないから質問は受け付けないぞ

*Of course, unless, you want to fail.* 不合格になりたいのなら別だがな

*Are you ready?
Then, the testing will begin!* 準備はいいか？
それでは、試験開始！

### Hagiwara Sakutarou & Library Personnel?

 I'm somewhere strange again... What is this place...? また変な所にでちゃった……何なんだろう、ここ……

*So you all are finyal applicants for admeowssion to our Imperial Academy, too. I was about to fail you for being late.
I will nyow explain the practical exameownation.* お前たちも我が帝國学園の最後の入学希望者だな……遅刻で失格にさせるところだったぞ
これから実技試験の説明を行う

 Owaa, Mr. Cat... Good evening. おわあ、ネコさん……こんばんは

*He is the examiner. He decides whether you pass or fail, so I advise that you listen to him.* 彼は試験官だ。合否を決めるのは彼だから、言うことは聞いておいたほうがいいぞ

*You all will undergo a combat practical exameownation.
You will pass as long as you gather enyough points within the defined testing period.* お前たちには戦闘の実技試験を受けてもらう
試験期間内に一定以上の評価点を集められれば合格だ

 Combat... We're going to fight? 戦闘……戦うの？

*...I will nyot be taking any questions, Hagiwara Sakutarou-kun. Do you want to fail?* ……質問は受け付けニャイ、萩原朔太郎君。不合格になりたいかね

 ...I wonder what's wrong with them. Maybe they're sick. ……どうしたんだろう、二人とも。病気なのかな

*Are you ready?
Then, the testing will begin!* 準備はいいか？
それでは、試験開始！

### Kitahara Hakushuu & Library Personnel?

 Hm. I heard that this would be different than usual, but this is a bit anticlimactic. ふむ。いつもと違うと聞いていたけど、少し拍子抜けだね

*So you all are finyal applicants for admeowssion to our Imperial Academy, too. I was about to fail you for being late.
I will nyow explain the practical exameownation.* お前たちも我が帝國学園の最後の入学希望者だな……遅刻で失格にさせるところだったぞ
これから実技試験の説明を行う

 Hm, you, huh? What on earth is going on? ん、君か。一体どうしたんだい？

*He is the examiner. He decides whether you pass or fail, so I advise that you listen to him.* 彼は試験官だ。合否を決めるのは彼だから、言うことは聞いておいたほうがいいぞ

*You all will undergo a combat practical exameownation.
You will pass as long as you gather enyough points within the defined testing period.* お前たちには戦闘の実技試験を受けてもらう
試験期間内に一定以上の評価点を集められれば合格だ

 ...You've sure gotten all high and mighty, ordering me around right off the bat. ......いきなり出てきて命令とは、君も偉くなったものだね？

*...I will nyot be taking any questions, Kitahara Hakushuu-kun. Do you want to fail?* ……質問は受け付けニャイ、北原白秋君。不合格になりたいかね

 I'm not one to submit to groundless orders, but......
 Judging from the presence of these enemies, its not going to let me, is it. 僕は根拠のない命令に従うつもりはないのだけれど
……この敵の気配は、どうやらそれを許してはくれないようだね

*Are you ready?
Then, the testing will begin!* 準備はいいか？
それでは、試験開始！

### Muroo Saisei & Library Personnel?

 Hmm, I was ready for anything, but I guess this is just the normal world. うーん、身構えていたけれど、意外と普通の世界だな

*So you all are finyal applicants for admeowssion to our Imperial Academy, too. I was about to fail you for being late.
I will nyow explain the practical exameownation.* お前たちも我が帝國学園の最後の入学希望者だな……遅刻で失格にさせるところだったぞ
これから実技試験の説明を行う

 Hm? Cat? Since when did you... ん？ネコ？　いつの間に……

*He is the examiner. He decides whether you pass or fail, so I advise that you listen to him.* 彼は試験官だ。合否を決めるのは彼だから、言うことは聞いておいたほうがいいぞ

*You all will undergo a combat practical exameownation.
You will pass as long as you gather enyough points within the defined testing period.* お前たちには戦闘の実技試験を受けてもらう
試験期間内に一定以上の評価点を集められれば合格だ

 Combat, examination?
Wait, don't people usually take tests with a paper and pen? 戦闘、試験？
っていうか試験って、普通は紙とペンでするものでしょ？

*...I will nyot be taking any questions, Muroo Saisei-kun. Do you want to fail?* ……質問は受け付けニャイ、室生犀星君。不合格になりたいかね

 Th-this is nuts! む、むちゃくちゃだ！

*Are you ready?
Then, the testing will begin!* 準備はいいか？
それでは、試験開始！

## School Entrance Exam Ch 2

### Muroo Saisei & Hagiwara Sakutarou

 An exam, huh... I wonder if I can pass. 試験かあ……合格できるかな

 ...So you're planning on passing.
I personally hate school, though. ……合格する気なんだね
自分は学校なんて大嫌いだけど

 Come to think of it, you did attend lots of different schools just to drop out. そういえば朔は色んな学校に行っては退学してたよな

 Yeah. Just thinking about school gives me chills. そうだよ。学校のことを考えると、今でも悪感が走るんだ

 Is that so? I don't really get that because I never really went to school but...
I think that schools are a fun place where you can learn and play. そうかあ。俺は学校に行くことはほぼなかったから、よくわからんよ
俺は学校って、遊べて学べる、楽しいところだと思うけどなあ

 Hmm, I don't really know...
But If I had met you back then, things might've been different... うーん、どうだろう……
でも、あの頃に犀と出会えてれば、また違ったのかな……

 You know, going to cafes after school, making exclusive poetry magazines with your fellow classmates...
Well, I did these things even when I wasn't a student! ほら、放課後はカフェにくり出したり、同級同士で詩の同人を作ったり……
まあ、これは学生じゃなくてもやってたことだけどな！

### Kitahara Hakushuu & Hagiwara Sakutarou

 Good grief, an entrance exam? We've gotten ourselves involved in something quite troublesome. やれやれ、入学試験か、面倒なことに巻き込まれてしまったね……

 School is a cursed, sullen place! 学校は呪わしい、陰鬱なところですよ！

 I figured a misanthrope like you would say something like that. 人嫌いの君ならそう言うだろうね

 I don't want to stay even one second in a place this cold and hostile......! こんな冷たい敵意しかない場所に、一秒でもいたくない……！

 It seems your loner tendencies surfaced during your days in school. 君の孤独癖は、どうやら学生時代に由来しているようだね

 I ended up squandering my life miserably...
If only I had given up earlier, I could have devoted myself entirely to poetry just like you, Hakushuu-sensei. 人生をひどく浪費してしまいました……
もっと早くあきらめていれば、白秋先生みたいに詩に没頭できたのに

 What's important is not where you study, but what you study.
...Well, in your case, it's just that the "where" ended up not being school. 大事なのはどこで学ぶかではなく、何を学ぶかだよ
……まあ君の場合は、「どこ」は学校じゃなかったというだけだね

### Kitahara Hakushuu & Muroo Saisei

 Saisei-kun, you seem to be working hard. 犀星くん、頑張っているようだね

 You know, since I'm here, of course I'd want to enjoy the school life that I've always longed for. ほら、せっかくなんで、憧れの学園生活を楽しみたいじゃないですか

 Indeed, the only time you can enjoy a free lifestyle with your friends is when you are a student. まあ、仲間と自由な生活をできるのは、学生ならではだね

 When you were a student, weren't you famous
with the headline "A genius student poet appears!", Haku-san? 白さんは学生時代に天才学生歌人現る！
って有名になっていましたよね

 I guess something like that did happen.
But I was a miscreant student, and I ended up quitting school. そんなこともあったかな
でも僕などは不良生徒で、結局は学校をやめてしまった

 Haku-san, you seem like a "student council president" kind of person but...
...So you were a delinquent, huh. 白さんって、なんというか、「生徒会長」みたいですけど
……意外と不良なんですよね

 I'm not the type to set rules, but break them.
You're the same, aren't you? 僕は規則を定めるより、破る性分だよ
君もそうだろう？

## School Entrance Exam Ch 3

### Library Personnel?

*You guys look quite promising.* お前たち、なかなか有望だな

*Oh man, how great it is to be young! I'm envious.* いやはや、若いというのは実に羨ましいことだな！

*Well, the next stage is the last...
Let's see if you can live up to the prestigious nyame of this Imperial Academy...* さて、次が最後だ……
由緒あるこの帝國学園の名に恥じぬ者かどうか、みせてもらおう……

*This is our school's final exam which has failed countless people...
But I'm sure you guys can make it!* 数多（あまた）の者が挫折してきた、我が学園の最終試験だ……
だが君たちなら大丈夫だろう！

*If you can pass this, you will pass in every sense of the word.
I wish you luck.* ここを超えることができれば、お前たちは文句なしの合格だ
健闘を祈っているぞ

### Kitahara Clan

 Yes! We beat the boss!
We'll pass for sure now! やった、親玉を倒してやったぞ！
これで合格間違いなしだな！

 Sai, you really started having fun in there, didn't you... 犀、途中からすごく楽しんでいたよね……

 It's a virtue of Saisei-kun's to be cheerful without sweating the small stuff. 細かいことを気にしない陽気さは、犀星くんの美点ではあるね

 You guys are the ones not paying attention to the small stuff!
I'm not going to give up trying to find who those Cat and Chief Librarian imposters were...
Aren't you curious?! 細かいことを気にしないのは、むしろ二人の方でしょう！
俺は諦めてませんよ、あのネコと館長のそっくりさんの正体を暴くのを……
気になるじゃないですか！

 Huh... Wait, those weren't the Chief Librarian and Mr. Cat...? え……あれ、館長とネコさんじゃなかったんだ……

 Imposters or not, you shouldn't mind every little thing that happens in this world so much.
It's not like we're novelists worrying about plot holes. そっくりさんだろうとなんだろうと、この世界で起こることをいちいち気にしないほうがいいよ
小説家のように話の脈絡なんて気にしていてもね

 Sigh, I guess...
...I wonder if this book has a sequel? はあ、そうですか……
……この本の続きは無いのかな？

 Didn't seem like it. Sorry, Sai. 無いみたいだよ。残念だったね、犀

 In any case, let's go back to report on this.
It's a strange book, but I'm glad there's no real harm to it. 何はともあれ、報告に戻ろうか
変な本だったけれど、実害はないようで安心したよ

 Hmm...
I wonder if I can find the sequel in the library? うーん……
続き、図書館を探せばあるかなあ

## School Entrance Exam Passages

*The following recollections were added to the story with rerun of the event in 2017!*

### School Entrance Exam Passage 1 - Aka & Ao & Tokuda Shuusei

 I see... So this is the record of the first white book and the particulars that surrounded it. なるほど……これが最初に発見された白い本とその経緯の記録なんですね

 That's right, why did Chief Librarian and Cat come out in the book? そうだよ、本の中でなぜか館長とネコが出てきたんだ

 It seems this book doesn't just reflect the personas of those who delved inside. この謎の白い本が反映するのは、潜書した奴らの人格だけじゃないみたいだな

 ...What do you mean? ……どういうこと？

 We cannot say for sure, but maybe those who appear in the book are formed from a reflection of the memories of those who delved.
It's a similar principle to how people imagine characters in books they read as people they know in real life. はっきりしたことは言えませんが、本に潜った人の持つ記憶を反映した形で、登場人物が形成されているのではないでしょうか。
本を読む時、登場人物を実際の知り合いをイメージしながら読むのと同じ原理ですね

 I don't really get it, but... guess it means the people who appear here take on the faces of people we know... よくわからないけど……ここの登場人物は僕たちが知っている人の顔で出てくるってことか……

 Yeah, kinda. ま、そういうことだな

 Now then... Since you're already showing us the documents, how about we do a followup investigation?
I am sure you are also curious about what kind of story has been hidden in the depths of this mysterious book. さて……せっかく資料を見せて頂いたので、追加調査をしてみましょうか
この不思議な本の裏にどんな物語が隠されていたのか、あなたも気になるかと思います

 I'm also free for a change, so let's dip our toes into this investigation! 俺たちも珍しく暇だし、ちょいちょいっと調べてみますか！

### School Entrance Exam Passage 2 - Kitahara Hakushuu? & Hagiwara Sakutarou? & Muroo Saisei?

*Oiii, hurry up! It'd suck if we're late on the first day of school!* おーい、急げ！　入学初日から遅刻だなんて笑えないぞ！

*W-wait, Sai...!* ま、待ってよ、犀……！

*Whew, looks like we're gonna have to cut through the courtyard, huh...?* ええい、これはもう中庭を突っ切るしかないか……？

*Unfortunately, the school entrance ceremony has already started.* 入学式はもう始まっているよ、残念ながらね

*\*appears\**

*I won't stop you if your desire is to bask in the gaze of the entire student body when you do join them.* 全校生徒の視線を浴びながらでも参加しておきたいなら止めないけれどね

*Wh-whoa, you scared me. Didn't think there would be anyone here...* び、びっくりした。こんなところに人がいるなんて……

*Smoking tobacco... He seems like a bad person. Are you also a new student...?* 煙草吸ってる、悪い人だ。君も新入生……？

*And ditching on top of that. You went to all the trouble of passing the exam to get in, and this already?* さてはサボりだな。わざわざ試験に合格してここに入ってきたのに、さっそくかよ

*Yes, just like you fellows.* ああ、君たちと同じなのだよ

*...True, in the end it's the same result.* ……そうだな、結果的にはだけど

*It's fine right, Sai? We'd just end up listening to the principal's pointless speech if we went to the ceremony.
It's a lot more worthwhile to just chill out here.* いいじゃない、犀。入学式で校長のくだらない話を聞き続けるくらいなら
ここでぼんやりしているほうがいくらか有意義だよ

*Indeed. Practically, it is more worthwhile. I've also stumbled across some interesting information.* ああ。実際、有意義だよ。面白い情報が入ってきたからね

*Interesting information...?* 面白い情報……？

*Wanna hear? I overheard this from some upperclassmen earlier.
Sounds a bit fake, but...* 聞きたいかい？　さっき上級生が話していたのが聞こえたんだ
ちょっと眉唾な話だけれど……

### School Entrance Exam Passage 3 - Kitahara Hakushuu? & Hagiwara Sakutarou? & Muroo Saisei?

*Something interesting, but sounds fake...?* 面白くて、眉唾な話……？

*...Apparently, at this school, they come out. Pale white ghosts, that is...* ……この学校ではね、出るみたいなんだよ。白い姿をした幽霊が……

*Gh-gh-gh-ghosts...* ゆゆゆ、幽霊……

*Indeed - after school when nobody is around, apparently they watch you from hallway corners and such...* ああ、誰もいない放課後、廊下の角やこっちを見つめてくるらしいよ……

*Eek!* ひぃっ

*Hey hey, that's a bit inauspicious to hear on the very first day of school.* おいおい、入学初日から不吉だな

*It's simply a rumor I heard from the upperclassmen...* 僕は上級生が噂していたのを聞いただけだよ……

*A school.. that's haunted...* 幽霊……のでる学校……

*Are you alright there? If ghosts frighten you, then there's no need to come to school.* 大丈夫だよ君、幽霊が怖いなら学校に行かなきゃいいのだよ

*O-Oh, is that true...* そ、そっか……

*Hey Saku! Don't fall for that!* おい朔！　そこで納得するなよ

*Haha, you're a funny pair. I'm Kitahara Hakushuu.* はは、面白いね君たち。僕は北原白秋だ

*I'm Muroo Saisei. And, this is...* 俺は室生犀星。で、こっちは……

*Hagiwara Sakutarou...* 萩原朔太郎……

*Nice to meet you, Saisei-kun, Sakutarou-kun.
Seems we're pretty compatible. I'm sure we'll bump into each other again in the future, so let's get along.* よろしく、犀星くん、朔太郎くん

なかなか気が合いそうだね。今後なにかと顔を合わせることになるだろうけど、宜しく頼むよ

*\*disappears\**

*What a weirdo.* 変わったやつだなー

*He was a kind person... Even if he's a delinquent...* やさしい人だったね……不良なのに……

*Well, he was smoking behind the school on the very first day.* 入学初日から校舎裏で喫煙だもんな

*...Hey Sai, I wonder if this is one of those fated meeting things.* ……ねえ犀、これが運命の出会いってやつなのかな

### School Entrance Exam Passage 4 - Aka & Ao & Tokuda Shuusei

 Whewie! From what we've seen, it looks like the prologue to a grand ol' story with plenty of ghosts runnin' around! ほーほー。見たところ、幽霊をめぐる壮大な物語の序章みたいだな……

 What even is this! We didn't find out a thing! なんなんだよ、これ。結局何もわかってないじゃないか

 It is not any fault on our part - the story simply ends here. それは僕たちが悪いわけじゃないですよ、物語がここで終わっているんです

 We can't drag up something that's not there, after all. Although it'd be a different story if there was a sequel to this? ないものは引っ張り上げられないからな。続きの本があるなら話は別だけど？ほーほー。見たところ、幽霊をめぐる壮大な物語の序章みたいだな……

 Now that you mention it, I feel like we did store that together with the report ages ago... Maybe if we dig deep into the document archives we'll find it. そういえばずっとまえに報告書と一緒にしまったような……資料庫をうんと漁れば見つかるかも

 　Understood. But let us leave it at this for today. We have also exhausted ourselves. わかりました。でも今日はこのくらいにしておきましょう。僕たちも疲れましたからね

 We'll analyze it if you find it for us! If we feel like it, that is! 見つけてくれれば今日みたいに解析してやるよ！　気が向いたらな！

 ...Then if I feel like it, I'll go look for it. ……気が向いたら、探しておくよ