episode_0026

“Rich? No, no. I didn’t feel any magic of the undead type at all. In that case -…”

Unlike before, the room piled with books and documents looked more suited for a library than a laboratory.

“So many books. Where did they all come from?”

Avoiding the stacked books as if playing a game, I arrived next to Mia. Placing a sandwich and cool water next to her, Mia instinctively took the sandwich and bit into it.

“Thank you. Surely in the records of the past…”

“I’ll come to collect in a little while.”

After reflexively expressing gratitude, Mia continued to flip through the books, occasionally nibbling on the sandwich. I quickly left the room.

Gurgle.

As if signaling dinner time, my stomach rumbled. I swiftly moved towards the dining area, brushing against my belly. Thanks to the quick movement, the entrance to the restaurant was visible in the distance.

“Huh?”

Next to the restaurant door, I saw a familiar person standing with a vacant expression.

“Pia, what are you doing there?”

…!

When I called her name, Pia turned around flustered. She was shivering with cold sweat.

“Why? Did you see something scary? A ghost, perhaps?”

“Ah… yeah.”

Pia seemed like she wanted to explain something, pursing her lips, but then nodded in agreement with my words. If she had indeed seen a frightening ghost, it would be difficult for her to speak clearly.

“Juliana and now Pia, are there many ghosts here? Is this some kind of haunted mansion or something?”

Thinking that, I spoke seriously to Pia.

“Pia, if such a ghost comes, say this, ‘How do you fix the horizontal coordinate system?’”

“What?”

Pia tilted her head as if not understanding my words. To help my poor friend, I grabbed Pia’s arms and said,

“Come on, try saying it. ‘How do you fix the horizontal coordinate system?’”

“…How do you fix the horizontal…”

“The horizontal coordinate system.”

“How are you fixing the horizon coordinate system?”

“Yeah! Just saying that will scare off any ghosts! If you can’t remember, clap your hands and make monkey sounds.”

If you do that, the ghost will definitely run away saying, “What’s that?”

“Hmph, hahaha!”

My words seemed to amuse Pia, who burst into laughter, looking much more relaxed. But I was serious.

“Don’t forget about the horizon coordinate system and clapping hands…”

“Huhu… Stop it, it’s too funny, my stomach hurts…”

“This is a serious matter…”

Just as I was trying to assert my opinion to Pia, Noah opened the door and came out from inside the restaurant.

“Why aren’t you coming in?”

“Oh, we were having a very important conversation.”

“Huhu…”

Noah looked surprised seeing Pia laughing. While she usually smiled, seeing her laugh so heartily, holding her stomach, was truly surprising.

“If it’s an interesting story, come in and tell us. I want to hear it too.”

Having regained some composure through training with Juliana, Noah laughed and said. I nodded and said,

“Surely this isn’t something only Pia knows.”

After releasing Pia’s shoulder, I headed into the restaurant. I picked up two sandwiches on a plate and headed to where Nero and Lily were sitting.

“Hey, Ryan.”

“Yeah?”

Noah quietly approached me and spoke. I stopped walking toward the table and listened to Noah.

“Did you know why the teacher suddenly screamed and ran away?”

“What? Suddenly ran away?”

“Yes, just a little while ago.”

“Is there something dangerous around here?”

Suddenly, the ‘ghost repellent method’ that I had earnestly explained to Pia in front of the restaurant came to mind. Instinctively, I realized that I was talking about something dangerous, or maybe I didn’t even realize I was listening.

“Well, he’ll probably be back soon.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah.”

I sat in the seat I was originally going to sit in, chatting lightly. Before long, Pia came into the restaurant.

“Oh? Did something happen while I was gone?”

Pia’s complexion had suddenly turned pale. Since we had been talking about ghosts a little while ago, I was worried about Pia’s complexion.

Pia always sat next to Lily, quietly eating her sandwich and waiting. As I expected, Pia came over to our table.

“…Lily, is it tasty?”

“Sis, are you feeling unwell?”

“No?”

Pia nodded as if she really was okay. After quickly devouring the sandwich in her hand, she stood up abruptly and said,

“This is all because of the ghost.”

“A ghost?”

“Huh?! A ghost?!”

The children who had been chattering while eating all turned their attention towards me at my words. I spoke with a stern expression,

“We don’t know where the ghost might appear, so I’ll teach you how to deal with ghosts.”

“Is there such a thing?”

I talked seriously about the Cartesian coordinate system and clapping like a monkey. As I did, some of the children, who had recovered quite a bit of energy, started clapping their hands while standing in a circle.

“Yeah! That’s it!”

When I praised them with applause, the children were very pleased. Pia, on the other hand, had her face buried in the table and was trembling.

“Pia, don’t be scared anymore. Let’s practice. We can definitely chase away things like ghosts.”

“Ugh, okay…”

Pia made a sound as if she was about to cry, her shoulders trembling. She seemed deeply moved.

“Look, Jyun! Look at this!”

“Wow! Jess, amazing!”

“Amazing!”

Following my words, Jess spun around wildly while standing in a circle. When Noah saw that the children weren’t eating and were challenging themselves to spin around, he urged them, “Let’s eat first and then play.”

The chaotic atmosphere of the meal was restored, and a cheerful meal continued as if nothing had happened.

***

“Why are you crying alone and pretending to be fine? On purpose?”

Pia recalled Lian’s face she had seen a little while ago. Traces of tears on her cheeks, tears gathering in her eyes, and reddened swollen eyes. They were full of signs of crying.

Seeing Pia in such a state, approaching with a smile, did not sit well with her. Pia bit her lip.

“Acting… She must be acting. Trying to gain sympathy with a pitiful appearance.”

While thinking so, the fixed idea settled in her mind breaks. Maybe? Is it true? Such thoughts floated around. But Pia shook her head.

Lian is a bad guy and she’s pretending. Deceiving us. There was nothing easier than blaming someone.

Pia sighed softly as she thought.

“Sigh… I shouldn’t act and think foolishly. To protect my sister, I have to doubt more, more, and more…”

Except for her sister, Pia, who had little interest in anything else, began to pay attention to her surroundings all thanks to being immersed in peace.

With peace in her heart, she had the leisure to focus on her surroundings. However, in a cruel world, a peaceful mind was akin to death.

Pia tried hard to firmly close her heart that tried to soften repeatedly and raise her guard. But Pia was still young. No matter how much she raised her guard, she could only be enchanted by the peaceful atmosphere that one might see in a fairy tale.

Thanks to that, there was no need to hold a grudge against anyone to protect Lily.

If things continued as they were, just like today, Pia would gradually find stability. Violent thoughts wouldn’t emerge, and she wouldn’t be consumed by trauma.

…That would have been the case if someone hadn’t disturbed her mind.

“Hu… Huhuhuk…”

Pia sobbed, holding back her cries under the overturned blanket.

“Pia, you must protect your sister.”

“As her older sister, you must protect your sister!”

An oppressive voice resounded in her ears. Pia tightly shut her eyes and covered her ears with both hands. It was an action to escape from the trauma, but it dragged Pia further into the abyss.

With closed eyes and ears, “that scene” began to unfold before her.

{ Unni… Unni..I’m cold.. }

Her pupils unable to focus, warmth fading from her body within her embrace.

{ Unni… }

Tears welled up in her younger sibling’s eyes and streamed down. Pia embraced her trembling sibling. Warm blood clung stickily to her hands against the cold body.

It felt like insects were crawling in her head. Dizziness. Nausea. Heat surged around her eyes, as if they might melt.

{ Unni..Don’t leave me behind. Unni… }

Her sister tightly grasped Pia’s arm. There was no warmth in the face that came close to hers. Through their locked gazes, “resentment,” “hatred,” and “disgust” were conveyed.

{ You said you’d protect me. You said -..you said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said! You said!}

A thunderous sound reverberated in her mind.

“I’m sorry..I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

{ Why did you do that? Why did you leave me? Why didn’t you protect me? You said you’d protect me! I’m cold, Unni, I’m so cold. Please save me, Unni. Please save me. Save me! Please save me! }

With a tearing sound, her sister grabbed Pia’s hair. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt.

{ Un -.. }

“Unni!”

“Gasp..!”

Suddenly, a voice snapped Pia back to reality.

“Re..Res..Restaurant! To the restaurant!”

The child seemed unfamiliar with the word “restaurant,” stuttering as she spoke.

“Yeah, thank you.”

As the child left the room, Pia touched her face. Tears flowed. Her body trembled, and she struggled to breathe.

“Ha, ha…”

Breathing heavily, she wiped her tears on the blanket and got out of bed.

“If I skip a meal, Lily will worry.”

Thankfully, the face she saw through the window seemed neat, with more sweat than tears. Pia staggered towards the dining area.

“Sister, why are you ignoring me?”

She flinched.

Despite having left the bed, she could still hear her younger sister’s voice.

“Why did you abandon me? Why did you leave me to die?”

Pia’s face turned pale. Her lips dried up and she struggled to breathe.

“I died like this, so why do you keep living? It should have been you who died, not me!”

Pia stopped in front of the restaurant, unable to move forward. Is it right for me, who survived instead of my sister, to comfortably eat and breathe?

Is it okay for someone like me to be alive?

At that moment when such thoughts overwhelmed her mind,

“Pia, what are you doing there?”

With a caring voice, the auditory hallucination vanished in an instant. Like magic.