When the light cleared, I was lying on a cold floor.

Next to me... is Rea.

My vision is still blurry, but I can feel her holding my hand.

And, some humanoid figures were surrounding us.

"Wait, we're not monsters! We ran away and got teleported here!"

"That's hard to believe, as there are humans shape monsters. Moreover, you're holding a clearly suspicious bladed weapon. I can't trust you, appearing out of nowhere."

I hear someone talking.

Rea and... is the other person a man? Probably a slender man wearing glasses.

"I'm Oogi Rea from Class 2-C. Look, I even have my student ID."

Rea, we were the same age.

Despite that, I don't know much —well, considering I basically don't talk to others, it's natural.

"Hey, please, Erika is hurt. Let her rest."

"It's true, Ai has seen this face. we're in the same second year."

This time, it's the faint voice of an elegant sounding girl.

Her skin is fair, and she's short in stature.

"True, me too. I'm a first-year, but I've seen the face of the person named Oogi. Don't know about the one who collapsed, though."

Another guy—he seems like a junior, but his tone is a bit scary.

He looks frivolous and tall, honestly the type I don't want to approach.

But where exactly is this? How many people are here?

Apparently, since a conversation is taking place, the other party seems to be normal humans.

"I don't think you should trust them. If she wakes up, she might stab us with that bladed weapon."

I hear another woman's voice—wait, could this voice be...

"It's two against two. If we prioritize safety, I believe we are in the right."

"Even so, Ai doesn't think it's good to kick them out. There's an injured person too."

Lifting my heavy arms and rubbing my eyes, my vision clears up a bit.

The first person I made eye contact with was the classmate who had just called me "untrustworthy".

Ah, she was alive.

Joy wells up in my chest.

But when she noticed my gaze, she quickly looked away.

"Why... are you acting so awkward, Mitsurugi san?"

Mitsurugi Fuyu, that's her name.

My classmate from Class 2-B.

She's not the type to actively participate in bullying me, but she'll do it if invited, and she's the type to watch from a distance and laugh when I'm suffering.

While Mitsurugi san refuses to meet my eyes when I call her, the gazes of the others focus on her.

Rea said, sounding a little angry.

"You know each other? You tried to kick her out even though you knew her!?"

"...It's because I know her. I can't trust Kuragane."

"It's strange, I don't think I've ever harmed Mitsurugi san... though she has trample on my textbooks."

"Ugh..."

Mitsurugi san glares at me as if to say, "Why bring that up here?"

I wonder why she's angry.

I just stated a fact.

Even if she receives cold looks from the people around her because of it, that's Mitsurugi san's responsibility.

And then, I realized that this room was the infirmary.

It seems we were teleported here after escaping that mysterious hallway.

If we suddenly appeared from nowhere, it's natural they'd be cautious.

"...So that's your relationship."

"Wait, why are you only trusting Kuragane's words! She's not a decent woman either!"

"She's not decent either? Are you aware that you're in the wrong too?"

"Ah..."

Having dug her own grave, Mitsurugi san glares at me for some reason.

Without realizing that her actions are further damaging her trust.

"Ai doesn't think monsters can have this kind of exchange."

"What if even that is an act?"

"Then we have to give up. If there's a monster like that, Ai and the others wouldn't stand a chance anyway."

"...I see, giving up is indeed necessary sometimes. It seems I have no choice but to concede here."

It seems the discussion is settled.

My HP is still 2, and there's no sign of natural recovery.

Perhaps due to damage to my lungs, it's becoming difficult to breathe, rather than just painful.

As expected, I want to rest on a bed, not the hard floor.

"By the way, normally we shouldn't be the ones deciding this, but a teacher. What do you think about that, Meiji sensei?"

I see, since this is the infirmary, there's a teacher.

"Hmm, if it's decided, isn't that fine?"

"How irresponsible."

"Also, even if you call me 'sensei', I don't have any homeroom class or anything. So don't expect anything like that."

"Is that okay for a teacher?"

"It's crucial to give up on this. The Meiji sensei that Ai know is always like that."

The school nurse, Meiji sensei... she'll treat injuries if you ask, but she's always unmotivated.

Apparently, she's popular among the male students, maybe because she often wears clothes with an open neckline.

"If it's decided, help me carry Erika. I want to lay her down on the bed."

I was carried by four students, including Rea, and moved onto the bed.

Just having a soft back makes breathing a little easier.

As usual, it feels like even when I inhale air, it escapes somewhere and isn't taken into my body properly.

And the students stand beside the bed, exchanging words while looking down at me.

"What on earth happened to cause such an injury?"

"We were attacked by a monster. It was a zombie that was stronger, faster, and larger than any others monster."

"Are there even things like that?"

"Things we thought were outside scenery turned out to be monsters, I don't even know what's going on anymore!"

"You saw that too, Oogi senpai?"

When Rea nodded, the man with glasses seemed surprised for some reason.

"Are you talking about the story of being eaten by the scenery? So it really existed."

"That's why I told you."

"Tatsuoka senpai, you say to believe your own stories, but you're too quick not to believe Ai and the others' stories."

Tatsuoka—that's the glasses guy's name.

If he's a third-year, I guess I should call him Tatsuoka senpai.

"You're Ushizawa kun, right? I just think you believe things too easily."

And this petite girl here is Ushizawa san.

If her first person pronoun is her name, I guess her full name is Ushizawa Ai.

It's helpful that she naturally tells me her name.

"Since the teacher is useless like that, we need to survive based on our own judgment."

"That doesn't mean your judgment is correct."

"You said you're Shimakawa kun, right? I think juniors should quietly follow their seniors' judgment."

"Saying 'senior' or 'junior' at a time like this is so annoying. When so many people have died."

"It's exactly because of times like this that we need unity of will, understand that."

So the junior over there is Shimakawa kun.

Yeah, now that I know their names, I don't need to listen to their conversation anymore, my head is starting to hurt.

"We're just strangers who happened to meet. We can't possibly have unity of will."

"But if we don't—"

"It's pointless for Ai and the others to argue."

"That's right! First, we have to do something about Erika's wounds."

Perhaps Rea's words cooled Tatsuoka senpai and Shimakawa kun's heads, as the argument stops.

However, it's only temporary, and there's no way to resolve the fundamental incompatibility of their personalities.

"It's certainly a terrible bleed... if she's even vomiting blood, the internal organs might be damaged."

"Can we do anything about that with the infirmary's equipment?"

"Of course it's impossible. We have no choice but to call an ambulance."

"But... even the police won't come..."

Rea's voice is trembling.

Is she crying? For someone like me.

What a waste of tears, really.

"She got this wound while protecting me... and yet, I can't do anything again..."

"We have no choice but to think it was destined for someone's life to be lost the moment we were caught by the monster."

"I can't think so coldly! I survived thanks to Erika, and I don't think I can survive from here on without Erika!"

"What can one powerless woman do even if she survives?"

"Erika can fight. Um... I'd prefer she didn't have to fight, but I think Erika is probably the only one who can defeat the monsters."

"Hah, what a ridiculous story."

"She actually defeated several monsters right in front of my eyes!"

"Even Ai can't quite believe that she defeated them."

"Erika has a special power. Um, like magic..."

"Are you saying there's a manga like story like that?"

Well, it's natural that no one believes it even if told.

Because even I think it's fishy.

"...Rea."

"Are you okay, Erika? Does your body hurt?"

"Give me my smartphone."

"If you tell me, I'll operate it."

"There's something I want to check myself."

Rea hands over the smartphone, looking a bit downhearted.

I stared closely at the screen displaying my "status".

"A smartphone at a time like this, what are you intending to do?"

"It seems Erika can get stronger by operating that."

"Hah, it's like a game. I can't believe it at all."

"...I also know unbelievable things are happening. But since it's useful, there's no reason not to use it."

Talking is a bit tough too.

But if this is a game, I don't think there's no means of recovery.

For example, this screen.

Right now it's only the status, but if I slide it sideways—here it comes, another screen appears.

Is this the skill acquisition screen? The one Rea accidentally pressed earlier.

If this is really a game, who made such a bad taste thing?

The types of skills include attack magic, recovery magic, and even production skills.

Besides that, weapon skills...

"Ah, Erika's weapon is shown. I saw that screen back then too."

Before I knew it, Rea was peering in from the side.

Her face is close.

She's cute, so I don't really mind, but.

"It seems to be a screen where I can learn skills corresponding to the weapon I'm using. This weapon is called Dreamer."

"Did Erika name it?"

"No, it was named automatically."

But—Dreamer, a dreamer, huh.

Like the fact that my real name was there from the start, it feels creepy, like someone somewhere is peering into my head.

Well, it doesn't matter right now.

I displayed the recovery skill screen and decided to acquire "Healing" at the very top.

I have 5 skill points.

Considering 1 point decreased from acquiring Dual Slash, it seems I get 1 point per level.

However, the number of skills is enormous, and there seem to be prerequisite skills, and it seems I can make Healing level 2 or higher—yeah, this is definitely the type where I can't waste points.

Now, I pressed the plus button and learned Healing, but... it's embarrassing to shout the skill name here.

For now, I'll hold my palm over my chest, close my eyes, and pray.

...No reaction.

I'll wish for it.

Still no reaction.

Then, I guess it won't activate unless I say the technique name.

"Healing."

A white light was emitted from my palm, warmly enveloping the wound.

The pain eased, and breathing became easier.

HP is... let's see.

[HP 10/10]

[MP 7/10]

Oh, it's recovered.

Since the amount of MP is small, I can only use it 3 times, but I wonder if this will increase if I raise my magic power.

"That light... impossible, the wound is healing? What did you do!?"

Tatsuoka senpai is on edge, thinking I might do something harmful.

"That light just now really looked like magic."

"Is it really magic..."

Ushizawa san and Shimakawa kun are quite surprised.

Receiving attention gives me a slight sense of superiority.

And—

"Erika's wound is healing... thank goodness, thank goodness...!"

Rea shed tears of joy.

That figure overlaps with Yumemi chan after all.

Because she was the only one who cried for me.

Ah... but no.

Every time they overlap, the anxiety of betrayal wells up.

Between the fact that I accidentally killed Shudou kun and the fact that my heart just doesn't want to listen to what I have to say.

I'm disgusted with myself.

But on the other hand, I naturally placed my hand on Rea's head.

As if I had done so in the past.

And, my cheeks loosen on their own.

From the outside, I probably had a very gentle expression.

Disgusting.

I spat this out in my mind to myself.