Chapter 52…
Encounters at the Science Museum
Constellation Otaku
“How was the guidance on the 12 constellations?”
“The myths of each constellation were very easy to understand! And I also learned that the ecliptic is the path that the Sun takes!”
After the screening ended, we left the planetarium.
Yui had already become good friends with Mikagami-senpai and was still chatting with her.
As always, she makes friends quickly.
Yui turned to us and said, “Hey, everyone!”
“There’s an exhibit about constellations here too! Shall we go see it?”
The three of us exchanged glances. It was Shirou who responded.
“Yeah, since we came all this way, we might as well check it all out!”
“Yay~! So, Miyu-senpai! Please show us around!”
At Yui’s words, Mikagami-senpai looked a little happy and replied, “Alright.” Then we started moving again.
“Still, I never thought I’d meet a junior who likes constellations. Yui-chan, if you want, would you like to join the astronomy club even now?”
“Well, I’d be happy to be invited, but…”
Saying this, Yui looked at me with an expression that seemed to say, I don’t know what to say.
So I spoke the truth.
“You’re not in any club anyway.”
“Am I not?”
“Ah, um… not really… I’m just busy with other things…”
“I see. But if you ever feel like it, let me know. We’re always open for trial club activities. Now, let’s buy the tickets.”
Looking ahead at that, we realized we were at the end of the line for the science museum’s permanent exhibition.
☆☆☆
“We’re here. This is the exhibition room for constellations.”
“W-wow!!”
The exhibition room we arrived at was circular, with dim lighting, and a celestial globe projected on the ceiling. The floor depicted the 12 constellations, and the walls displayed information about the 12 major constellations and other notable constellations.
And as for people… there were a fair number of visitors. Not noisy, but a little bustling.
Yui looked around and happily said, “Miyu-senpai, please tell us more about constellations!”
Mikagami-senpai smiled and began speaking.
“First, there are relatively old constellations and comparatively newer ones. The older ones are called the Ptolemaic 48 constellations, also known as the ‘Ptolemy 48.’ These constellations consist of stars visible from Europe.
You might wonder about the skies outside Europe, and that leads to the current 88 constellations. Those outside Europe were only charted during the Age of Exploration, when people traveled all over the world. That’s when many new constellations were created that couldn’t be seen from Europe.
Over time, many constellations were created to fill gaps in the sky. But there were too many, stars overlapped, and some were arbitrarily created by powerful individuals. So, in 1922, an international conference established the current 88 constellations as a global standard. That’s how we arrived at the 88 constellations we have today.”
…As expected from the astronomy club, she had an incredible amount of knowledge.
I had studied a lot about constellations in middle school, but I couldn’t have explained it that smoothly and all at once.
And to speak that fast with hardly a breath… she didn’t even stumble.
As I thought this, Yui murmured, “I see…”
“Um, do the 12 zodiac constellations belong to… that… Ptolemy’s 48?”
“Yui-chan, you’re mixing it up. It’s Ptolemy or Ptolemaios. The 48 constellations are divided into three groups: the 21 northern constellations, 15 southern constellations, and the 12 zodiac constellations.”
“Oh… could you tell me more about those 48 constellations?”
“Of course! Here’s a list.”
The two walked toward it. Then Hanayama muttered softly.
“Mikagami-senpai is really a constellation otaku, huh.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
…Since we’re here, I might as well read the wall captions. Could be useful.
Then Shirou spoke to me.
“Aren’t the 12 constellations the strongest?”
“No, not really. By the way, aren’t you going over there?”
“Well… I can’t just go up to a senior I just met like Yui can…”
I wanted to say, you’re pretty bold yourself, but I held it in and just said, “I see.”
I then said, “Let’s move a bit toward the wall so we don’t get in the way,” and shifted slightly.
Meanwhile, Hanayama muttered again, “What a mouth…” I didn’t miss it. Fortunately, Shirou didn’t hear.
“So, not the strongest?”
“Yeah. The older and more famous a deity is, the stronger it is when its power is wielded.”
“So, the 12 constellations are the strongest, right? Even I know them.”
Shirou asked mid-sentence. I sighed and said, “Listen till the end,” then continued.
“Sure, the power of a constellation is partly determined by that, but we also have other factors—like personal skill and compatibility with the constellation. Considering all that, you can’t definitively say which constellation is the strongest.”
“I see… so don’t slack off, huh?”
“Exactly.”
After answering Shirou, I turned to read the wall captions. But Hanayama asked me another question.
“Hey, can people only transform with the 12 constellations?”
“Who knows? There are only three known cases of generating star armor, so it’s unclear.”
“Masato, Yui, and me?”
“Yeah… so the first person to transform was…”
“Yeah, me. But it’s not really a transformation.”
I’d been wondering about this ‘transformation.’ This isn’t Sunday morning TV… Should I correct her or not?
Then Yui returned. “Hey! What are you talking about?”
“We were talking here. I’ll tell you later too.”
“Oh, really? Thanks… wait! That’s not it! Miyu-senpai is teaching us so much!”
While Yui was complaining, Mikagami-senpai returned, “You’re still here?”
“Ah… sorry! We got excited discussing how to summarize things…”
“Geez…”
“You’re free to summarize however you want. I’d be happy if you just learn to like constellations. But don’t make too much noise.”
That’s true. This is a public place.
Also, by discretion, we spoke in hushed tones, so it should be fine. But generally, it’s better not to talk much in public.
…Though technically, I shouldn’t even be talking about this.
While I thought that, Yui exclaimed, “Miyu-senpai…!”
…What’s she impressed by?
“Um! Continuing, please tell me about Ophiuchus!”
“Of course. But Ophiuchus itself doesn’t have a myth. It used to be part of Serpentarius.
Serpentarius is based on Asclepius from Greek mythology, who learned about the effects of herbs thanks to a snake. He became a famous physician and even revived the dead. But this angered Hades, and Zeus struck him down.
Later, Asclepius’ skill as a healer was recognized, and he became a constellation. That’s roughly it.”
To explain the myth behind the constellations so smoothly… Mikagami-senpai’s knowledge is terrifying.
Shirou muttered, “Poor constellation, huh.”
Then Tomoharu asked, “Why were Serpentarius and Ophiuchus separated?”
“That’s… unknown. They were already separated when Ptolemy’s 48 constellations were determined.”
Then a possibility crossed my mind.
“It’s because it’s too big, right?”
“Too big?”
“Argonauta was split into four constellations in the 1922 international conference. Maybe it’s the same reason.”
“Really?”
“Yinsei-kun, you know a lot! But then, Argonauta is also in Ptolemy’s 48 constellations. So it’s weird that it wasn’t split.”
…Right, I completely forgot that. Embarrassing. I muttered, “…That makes sense too.”
Mikagami-senpai didn’t seem to mind my slip.
“But you know a lot about Argonauta. Were your test scores really that bad?”
“They weren’t bad, actually.”
The moment I said that, Yui poked my side from an angle Mikagami-senpai couldn’t see.
Yui hurriedly explained, “Well, he didn’t have homework, but he came along because he said he was worried about me!”
I hadn’t said a word, and she basically dragged me here… I wanted to argue, but it would turn into a fight, so I stayed quiet.
Mikagami-senpai then said, “Oh, you two are close.”
“Yes! We’ve been friends since kindergarten!”
Yui said this while looking at me. She was smiling, but it was a slightly intimidating smile. I reluctantly said, “…Yeah.”
Yui then smiled happily—the usual smile. …I don’t get it.
At that moment, a voice said, “Ah, Miyu. You’re here today too.”
Turning around, a male museum curator stood there.
