Nanase san—the student from this school who committed suicide is buried inside the wall.

Around the skeleton that Meiji sensei showed us, there were marks that looked like they were crushed by hand.

While everyone fell silent, it was Tatsuoka senpai who broke the silence.

"W-What is the meaning of this? Why is her corpse in a place like this!"

His voice cracking, he yelled, clearly terrified.

There is certainly reason to be terrified, but compared to his calm demeanor up until now, he seemed somewhat emotional.

"I'm the one who wants to ask that."

"Are you the one who dug that wall, Meiji sensei?"

When I asked, she nodded.

"I guess you could say that. I gathered tools at a home center, snuck in at night, and secretly proceeded with the work."

"Ai doesn't understand why Meiji sensei would do such a thing."

"As I mentioned earlier, the day after Nanase san committed suicide, absolutely no trace was left at the scene. And a few days later, there was suddenly talk of renovating the infirmary. Of course I'd be suspicious, right?"

"Even so, Ai doesn't think that's a reason to dig into a wall."

"The Seven Wonders of Hikarinomiya Academy..."

Mitsurugi san muttered softly while hugging her knees.

"Bingo♪ You see, I think that's probably not just a rumor."

"Seven Wonders? There's something like that?"

Rea tilted her head.

'Seven Wonders' isn't a phrase you hear much these days, so people without interest probably wouldn't know.

Truth be told, I only knew they existed; I didn't know the specific details.

"Like, there's a basement in this school where students are offered as sacrifices. Or student corpses are buried in the school walls, that kind of thing."

"And when you dug, someone really was buried there."

"Yeeees."

Meiji sensei responded to my words with an out of place cheerfulness.

Somehow, I get the feeling this teacher is missing a few screws.

That's probably why she took the bizarre action of digging into a wall.

As a result, she dragged out the darkness that had been hidden.

"Nanase san, you see, was subjected to truly horrific bullying, and often fled to the infirmary. I even counseled her many times. In the end, I couldn't save her, though..."

Saying that, Meiji sensei moved in front of the shelf.

It was the spot Shimakawa kun had been looking at until recently.

She took out a notebook from there and flipped through the pages.

"What's that notebook?"

"She was studying here since she couldn't attend classes. Saying she was going to get into university to make her future dream come true. She was even in contact with me right before she committed suicide. She said 'See you tomorrow', so I wonder why she suddenly thought of dying."

Perhaps Meiji sensei even doubts Nanase san's suicide.

After death, her corpse was stolen and buried in a wall.

It wouldn't be unnatural to think that she might have been murdered by someone.

"I also attended the funeral. Her parents seemed quite exhausted, apparently having faced their daughter's corpse with its head crushed, but when I saw her, she had already been cremated. But I think this is her corpse. I don't have proof, but considering how shady this school is, it's more natural."

Even the teacher could no longer fake a smile, and with an emotionless face that gave me the chills, she continued to speak in monotone.

What's there is hatred.

Though the form is slightly different from mine, she desires revenge, but it's a resentment with nowhere to go, not knowing who to direct it at.

Meiji sensei gave off an unapproachable aura, but Shimakawa kun stepped forward and called out to her.

"Hey Sensei, can I ask something? I found a notebook with the name Shimakawa Yuya written on it on that shelf earlier."

"He also studied in the infirmary, just like Nanase san."

"I knew it. So my brother was bullied too. What the hell is going on in this school."

"He didn't hang around as much as Nanase san, but I've heard him talk about Daichi kun a few times."

Tatsuoka senpai interjects there.

"Brother... so you two are siblings. You and Yuya kun."

He said while covering his face with one hand.

I can't see his expression, but I feel like his voice is trembling slightly.

Shimakawa kun waved his hand to deny it.

"No, no, he's my cousin. A while ago, my his house burned down in a fire and his dad and mom died. After that, my parents were talking about taking him in, but he refused to leave this town. I got worried, so I decided to leave my hometown and enroll in high school here."

"So you lived together."

When I asked, he waved his hand again.

"That's not it either. That was the plan at first, but my brother is just too stubborn. In the end, we live in different rooms in the same apartment building. Well, we often eat dinner together, though. My brother should be in the school too, I hope he's safe..."

"Come to think of it, Tatsuoka kun, you were in the same class not only with Nanase san but also with Yuya kun."

"..."

"Tatsuoka kuuuun?"

"...Yes, that's correct."

Tatsuoka senpai's complexion is clearly bad.

I see... I can now see the reason why Meiji sensei was so harsh to him from the very beginning.

And also the reason why I felt the same aura from him as Mitsurugi san.

"Sensei, are you implying that I was complicit in bullying them?"

"I'm not saying that. But you have a face that suggests you know something."

"My classmate's corpse is right in front of me! Of course I'd feel sick!"

"If you know somethin', spit it out now."

"I really... know nothing. It's true that Nanase san was bullied, and after Shimakawa kun started defending her, he also became a target. After Nanase san died, they concentrated on him, and the violence escalated... It was truly a terrible state of affairs. My heart ached for him too."

"Did you try to help?"

"How could I!? One person died, you know! I could have been the next one killed!"

"Was Nanase san killed?"

"Ugh... No! It's a figure of speech. She was driven into a corner and took her own life, so it's no exaggeration to say she was killed!"

Well, I can't judge which one is the truth.

However, Meiji sensei and Shimakawa kun didn't seem to trust his words much, and Tatsuoka senpai, noticing their inner thoughts,he bit his lip in frustration.

Meanwhile, Rea, completely left out of the loop, was scared of the skeleton and clinging tightly to my side.

Also, Ushizawa san, having wiped her body and changed clothes, came out from the curtain and stood behind Rea, gripping her hem.

As for the three first-years who were truly, completely left out, they huddled in the corner of the room, looking awkward and trying not to look this way as much as possible.

However, we couldn't just stand by and watch Tatsuoka senpai and the others exchange words forever.

"Sensei, that story is fine and all, but in the end, why was Nanase san's corpse buried here? Don't tell me it was for a Kaisei kyou ritual."

"I have no idea about the reason either. The information I could get was, at best, obtaining the same gathering flyer as your younger sister. But seeing as they did something this crazy, I have to call it a ritual or something to explain it, right?"

"Was there any clue on that flyer?"

"Nothing that would make Oogi san happy. Maybe just that the name of the god who destroys the world is Giraiguu sama."

"So it's... Giraiguu"

Indeed, hearing that gives no clue whatsoever.

"Judging from the meaning of the characters, it's a god who manipulates light. I'm just arbitrarily thinking it might be a ritual or something to make this god descend."

"Ai might have realized something amazing."

At that, Ushizawa san claps her hands together.

I think I realized the same thing she did.

"The name of this city is Hikarinomiya City, and the name of this school is Hikarinomiya Academy."

"Right, they might be connected."

"If so, doesn't that mean they've been connected since ancient times!"

"If everything Sensei is saying is true, they probably have the doctors, the police, and places like that under their control, too."

"That's... something like that..."

We are being shown an impossible reality in a different direction from the situation currently happening.

Is it just a delusion?

But considering that, the evidence seems too aligned.

Either way, we have no way to uncover the truth.

Not unless we escape from this school.

The enemy is Kaisei kyou—if it's such a simple scenario, that might be the breakthrough.

But, assuming that's true, what exactly are the objects and creatures that appeared in the school, "clearly not of this world"?

◇◇◇

Once the conversation reached a stopping point, exhaustion hit me all at once.

We closed the curtains, made the room as dark as possible, and decided to sleep.

I covered myself with a towel blanket from the infirmary and drifted off to sleep.

Due to a lack of numbers, some pairs had to share one towel blanket.

Meiji sensei with Ushizawa san, Mitsurugi san with Uehara san, and I shared with Rea.

Before I knew it, I found myself getting used to Rea's body heat.

"It hasn't even been a day yet..."

In the silent infirmary, Rea whispered softly.

Because the room was so quiet, the groans of zombies could be heard from the hallway.

Her talking to me might have also been meant to distract from that fear.

"I didn't think I'd use this much stamina in one day."

"Yeah... my head and body are exhausted. Erika, you must be even more tired."

"I don't think it's something to compare."

"Let's compare. I want you to be more proud of it."

"Like, sticking my chest out?"

"Hehe, exactly."

Rea laughed at close range.

Perhaps because she was a little sleepy, her eyes were unfocused, and her expression was completely unguarded.

I couldn't help but smile too.

"The reason you doubt me, Erika... does it have something to do with that person named Yumemi chan?"

"That's right."

"You said she was missing..."

"I know her whereabouts."

"Eh?"

Rea looked at me curiously.

I took out my smartphone, operated the screen, and opened the image folder.

Although strange functions were added, the functions of a normal smartphone still remained properly.

Moreover, since it doesn't seem like I need to worry about the battery dying, it seems my smartphone has been super enhanced along with my body.

"This is Yumemi chan."

"U-um... what is, this."

What I showed her was a picture of a woman with flashy makeup sitting on a bed with her arm around a man.

"Do you want to see grosser ones? I was sent a lot. I have them all saved, so there are probably over 100."

"What do you mean...?"

"She sends them regularly. Like harassment, along with messages spelling out how happy she is and how I'm trash."

"Why would she do such a thing..."

"Maybe she resented me? Yumemi chan was... not as much as Rea, but a pretty cheerful girl, and she really wasn't the type of person to be bullied. But because she got to know me, became my friend, and defended me, she got dragged into it."

Exactly like Shimakawa Yuya.

In that sense, I can understand why Tatsuoka senpai didn't help Nanase san or Shimakawa Yuya.

"That's why I suggested we run far away together."

"Like... eloping?"

"Haha, something like that, I guess. Yumemi chan answered 'Okay' immediately. Even though we didn't have much money, a place to work, people to look after us, or any connections. I was happy, thinking she really loved me that much."

"If you were that close, why..."

"In short, I think she had already decided to abandon me at that point. When I went to the meeting place, it wasn't Yumemi chan waiting there, but my classmates. Yumemi chan sold me out."

Starting with Shudou kun and Asanuma kun, it was an all-star cast of people I hate.

They were standing in front of me grinning, and before I knew it, there were other students behind me too.

"Th-that means... Erika, could it be..."

"Yumemi chan told them my whereabouts and asked them to let only her escape. That they could do whatever they wanted to me, but spare her. So, you see, a bad acquaintance of Shudou kun prepared that kind of job for her, and even now Yumemi chan is living happily. Leaving only me behind in that hell."

I stroked the screen, displaying image after image.

"Looking happy."

I've looked at them countless times.

I look through all the images at least once a day.

That's how I burn them into my eyes.

"Laughing, smiling, sneering."

The face of you, whom I love so much.

The figure of you, whom I love so much.

I love you, I love you.

But my hand will never reach again, your—

"As if boasting 'I left only you behind there'."

Is this love?

Yumemi chan, because of you, I don't understand the love given by others, the love I give myself, nothing at all.

Rea, having seen those images, looked sad enough to cry at any moment.

"Hey, why..."

"I don't know."

"No... why do you alone have to go through all this, Erika? It's wrong. It's not about misfortune, or bad luck... Erika, this is abnormal. This is, normally impossible!"

Rea's emotional voice echoed in the infirmary.

She immediately realized it and covered her mouth, but her eyes were still welling with tears, unable to suppress her intense emotions.

"Because... what about the police? That person has family too, right?"

"The police just treated it as a runaway from home and wouldn't listen to us."

"What they did to you, Erika!?"

"They didn't pay attention to me because I had no proof."

"You had bruises and cuts, right?"

"They told me I just fell down."

"Then your parents—"

"My parents worried with me. They begged the police, trying somehow to find Yumemi chan."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"But then the pictures arrived along with a letter. After that, they verbally abused me, saying 'It's your fault'."

"Eh...? Why, does it, turn out like that...?"

I felt the same way.

Until the day before, we grieved together, got angry together, and resolved to find Yumemi chan, connecting our hearts so much.

And yet, the next day, they verbally abused me as if they were different people.

"Who knows. But when you're told that, you start feeling that way. No, I actually think I was in the wrong. I was bad, and ugly. And Yumemi chan was bad too. Together we're double bad, so to the extent Yumemi chan is happy, I might be suffering double. Haha."

I just thought that was normal.

I was the one at fault for having hope in the existence of Yumemi chan.

After all, has there been a single good thing in my life so far?

There hasn't, right?

So, the existence of Yumemi chan was just a setup for that.

Not just degrading me.

The cursed fate that clung to me had taught me the technique of raising it up and then dropping it.

If so.

In the end, Rea is that kind of existence too—ah, perhaps this power I obtained is also a setup for that.

"Hey, Rea."

That's why I want to give up.

I don't want to believe.

And yet, and yet why does Rea cry for my sake, and hug me like this?

Is it to make me suffer?

"Rea will disappear eventually too, right."

"I won't. I absolutely won't."

"...You're right, there's no point in saying this to you, Rea. Ah, I feel emotionally unstable somehow. Getting carried away, then feeling down."

"Then let's stay carried away. I think that's just right. No one will get mad, because you're doing that much, Erika."

"I can't do that. If I get excited, I'll probably even kill living classmates."

"..."

"Or will Rea affirm me even as a murderer?"

I'm such a pain, aren't I.

Asking such troublesome questions to someone who worries about me this much.

Even though I won't be able to trust the answer even if I get the one I want.

"...I will. If that's the way for you to be happy, Erika."

Even making Rea such a bad girl.

"Thanks..."

My head cooled down a bit.

Let's stop this.

Let's just surrender to Rea's comfortable warmth and sleep.

It's probably the quietness that's bad.

Because silence sinks human consciousness into a sea of thought.

Even if someone like me thinks deeply, only things like pitch-black, filthy garbage exist in my brain, whether emotions or memories.

"Let's go to sleep for today."

"Yeah..."

"Good night, Rea."

"Good night... Erika."

When I closed my eyes, my consciousness quickly faded.

In a sweet slumber—

'Let me go home.'

'Dad, Mom, let me go home.'

'I want to go home.'

Mixed with the groans of zombies, I felt like I heard a boy's voice echoing directly in my brain.

But for now, I ignored it and fell asleep.