Ch.24Chapter 4. Where People Live (3)

Given the situation, I had no choice but to go along with it.

However, I had only spoken to Sasaki once in this school, and it’s not like I had a ton of friends.

Actually, when I think of “people who might know a lot of guys,” Fukuda and Yamashita come to mind, but considering neither of them are in proper relationships and don’t really hang out with many people besides Miura, mentioning their names probably wasn’t the best choice.

So we ended up going to Yuuki’s class.

I didn’t need to take the initiative.

Kaneko casually stopped a student who was about to enter the classroom and asked them to call Yuuki out.

“Where does that confidence come from? Honestly, it’s kind of amazing.”

Ikeda commented with a voice half-filled with admiration and half with embarrassment.

Yeah, I find it amazing too.

Thinking back, Kaneko hugged me without hesitation the first time we met.

Maybe the reason I could be hugged like that without feeling uncomfortable, despite my awkwardness around women, was because of Kaneko’s completely “non-romantic” demeanor?

Looking back, she did have some “moe elements” back then. Slightly dark skin as if tanned by the sun, black short-cut hair. But the sides were kept long, emphasizing her femininity.

This is just my thought, and I’d be labeled a pervert if I said it out loud, but since it’s just in my head, I’ll be bold: under her uniform, you could probably see the exact outline of her swimsuit or running clothes.

Speaking of “moe,” what an outdated term. Otaku in the 2020s probably don’t even know that word. Some might not even understand what it means.

The student who heard Kaneko’s request went into the classroom looking a bit bewildered and relayed the message to Yuuki.

Yuuki, who had been resting her chin on her hand while looking out at the rainy window, looked in our direction with a slightly surprised expression.

Kaneko waved energetically at her, just like she had done to me.

“What’s going on?”

Yuuki came out of the classroom and asked.

It seemed like Yuuki didn’t consider herself particularly close to Kaneko and Ikeda. To be fair, though she was registered as a club member, she didn’t come by very often.

Still, Kaneko treated Yuuki with familiarity. Ikeda seemed… well, a bit intimidated. Understandable, since Yuuki always had a somewhat cold expression when not dealing with me, and despite being a year younger than Ikeda and Kaneko, she was noticeably taller than both.

“Oh, you see, we heard there’s a male member in our club, so we’ve been looking around.”

“A male member?”

Yuuki’s expression showed this was news to her. Naturally, Ikeda’s face turned red in real-time.

“Yeah. Apparently there’s a ghost member who registered but never showed up. This is the application form I got from Ikeda.”

Yuuki took the form and tilted her head.

“It doesn’t say which class he’s in.”

“Right? That’s why we’re searching. If someone just wrote their name and never showed up, that’s pretty rude, right? And if they made up a name, that’s even worse.”

“…What will you do if you find him?”

“Obviously grab him and drag him to the club room!”

Kaneko made a fist with her left hand and wrapped her right palm around it as she spoke. Rather than a respectful gesture, it was more like a “I’ll crush you” gesture, complete with a smacking sound as her hands connected.

Yuuki looked at the application form again.

“Y-you don’t need to look at it so closely…”

Ikeda, who had seemed so confident yesterday, appeared to have lost some of that confidence today.

“I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

Yuuki handed the application form back. As Kaneko reached for it, Ikeda quickly snatched it away.

“W-well, we should get going. Break time is almost over.”

It was clearly the words of someone who couldn’t bear the embarrassment anymore, but I had enough empathy not to point that out.

“Oh, you’re right. See you both later then!”

Kaneko checked her wristwatch and then grabbed Ikeda’s wrist and ran off. With Kaneko’s athletic background giving her superior stamina and leg strength, Ikeda could barely keep up. Kind of pitiful, really.

How did those two ever become friends?

My guess is they probably just sat near each other in elementary or middle school. In your teens, you often become friends with completely incompatible people for reasons like that.

“Those two get along well.”

Yuuki said.

“…Yeah.”

I nodded lightly in response.

*

An hour later, during lunch break.

Yuuki and I were in the literature club room.

We usually went up to the roof, but today it was raining too hard. Even sheltering near the roof door wouldn’t keep us completely dry.

But eating lunch in the classroom was… well.

I was a bit conscious of Yuuki sitting next to me.

Somehow, Yuuki had been eating lunch with me every day since she transferred here.

Come to think of it, our first meeting was quite strange—we happened to be the only two left at the school store.

Maybe we bonded over eating coppepan together?

Today, Yuuki bought bread again. I’d been thinking I should probably start declining out of politeness, but I didn’t want to go back to coppepan, so I was still undecided.

Today’s bread was melon bread.

Despite the name, it doesn’t taste like melon. It’s similar to soborubread, but a bit softer.

Most importantly, it’s delicious.

“Thank you for the food.”

We both said it simultaneously and were about to open the packages when—

The door slid open with a clatter.

“Oh, you’re both here.”

It was Kaneko’s voice.

When I turned around, Ikeda was there too. Judging by how Kaneko was holding her arm, Ikeda probably didn’t want to come here.

“Yes, yes, such exemplary juniors!”

Kaneko said as she placed her lunchbox on the desk. Ikeda did the same.

“Are the seniors coming up to eat too?”

“No? Ikeda and I are in the same class. We can just push our desks together and eat, so there’s no reason to come all the way up here.”

Ikeda sighed deeply.

“Well, I understand you two are in different classes. It’s a bit awkward to go into someone else’s classroom to eat and then leave.”

I’d never even thought about it. Back in Korea, we just ate in the cafeteria.

Of course, visiting friends in other classes after lunch was common.

Hmm, I’m not sure about Japanese sensibilities on this.

“Anyway.”

Kaneko plopped down at her desk and her eyes lit up.

“I spent the first 10 minutes of lunch break searching the first-year hallways to identify the name on this paper.”

…This person’s determination is incredible.

Did she really walk around with a lunchbox in one hand? Dragging Ikeda behind her?

I understand why Ikeda looks so fed up.

Actually, thinking about it, Ikeda always looks fed up.

“You could just go to each class and ask if there’s a student with this name, right?”

That would work if the person answering wasn’t someone like me.

“But there wasn’t.”

Kaneko said, slapping down the paper.

“There’s no male student with this name.”

Ikeda’s face turned bright red.

It got even redder when Yuuki and I looked at her.

“N-no, no.”

Kaneko said, seeing our faces.

“I don’t think Ikeda forged this to trick us.”

I wasn’t thinking that at all.

“Ikeda’s handwriting is much rounder than this.”

Eventually, Ikeda couldn’t bear the shame and put her lunchbox aside to bury her face on the desk.

“Anyway, I took Ikeda around and looked at students’ faces, but Ikeda couldn’t find anyone. Do you know what that means?”

Yuuki and I looked at each other.

Then back at Kaneko.

“…Either a student from another school, or a different grade?”

“No.”

Kaneko cut off Yuuki’s suggestion.

“It’s a ghost.”

“There’s no way that’s possible~”

Ikeda said incredulously, still face-down.

“My intuition tells me so. Hey, couldn’t we use this as an achievement? Wouldn’t this be grounds for starting an occult club?”

Rather than that, I think creating a folklore club and documenting yokai would be more appealing. But Kaneko didn’t seem interested in that kind of research, so I didn’t suggest it.

“…”

Naturally, Yuuki didn’t react either.

Nom.

I took a bite of my melon bread.

The crispy exterior, the soft interior, and the sweetness all flooded into my mouth at once.

Ah, delicious.

They say this school’s store collaborates with a local bakery, and that seems accurate. A regular factory-made bread probably couldn’t achieve this taste.

Yuuki had also lost interest and was eating her bread.

“Hey, you’re ignoring me!?”

“Of course, Kaneko.”

Ikeda sat up again and spoke.

Pushing up her slipped glasses, Ikeda opened her lunchbox.

“There are plenty of other explanations for a male student.”

“No, but there’s still a possibility it’s a ghost!”

Mmm, this bread is tasty.

With Kaneko and Ikeda’s argument as background noise, I finished my lunch that day.

*

I used to walk home with Miura, Fukuda, and Yamashita, but since starting club activities, I usually walked home with Yuuki.

Kaneko and Ikeda often stayed late at the literature club. Ikeda was the president, and Kaneko was her friend, so she probably waited for Ikeda who had club president duties.

But if there were things to do, they could have asked Yuuki or me to help.

Seeing Ikeda writing intently in her notebook and telling us to go ahead gave me a sense of an invisible wall.

…Maybe it’s something like a novel. If so, I could understand why she wouldn’t want to show it.

Anyway, Yuuki and I usually walked home in silence.

Neither of us is particularly natural when dealing with people. Strangely, Yuuki had been chatty with me from the first time we met, but she’s reserved around others.

That’s not to say she has a bad personality. Rather than putting up walls, she seems to find it difficult to approach others first. She doesn’t ignore Kaneko when Kaneko speaks to her, after all.

But why was she so nice to me from the beginning? Thinking about it, people I’ve met don’t seem to find it strange to talk to me.

Isn’t my hairstyle a bit intimidating? When I look at my expression in the mirror, don’t I look gloomy?

Anyway, we usually walked home without much conversation, but today we had something to talk about.

As we headed to the station with our umbrellas, taking advantage of a slight break in the rain, we discussed what Kaneko had said today.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if she tries to sneak into the school at night.”

“…Would she really go that far?”

“Doesn’t that seem like something Kaneko-senpai would do?”

Recalling her excited face when talking about ghosts, it did seem possible.

“…Maybe.”

“Right? Well, it’s not easy for ordinary people to see ghosts directly. Kaneko-senpai seems to have some sensitivity, but she’s never mentioned seeing one directly, has she?”

…

I stopped walking.

“…Ghosts are real?”

“Of course they are.”

Yuuki stopped with me and tilted her head.

“There are ghosts, and what people call evil spirits too. Well, they’re essentially the same thing. Even at our shrine, we get quite a few exorcism requests.”

“Are those… yokai?”

“No, yokai and ghosts are different.”

Yuuki made a gesture often seen in Japanese manga—holding her hand flat and waving it.

“Yokai are beings that intrude into this world from another world. Ghosts are beings that couldn’t go to the afterlife and remained here.”

…Huh.

“…Your seat, it has a ghost story attached to it.”

In the original work, when other students brought this up, I just scoffed.

“That’s because I exorcised it.”

“…What.”

“Even if there are ghosts, it’s not that difficult to exorcise them. Most can’t actually harm people. Well, occasionally there are troublesome or dangerous ones that need exorcism, but usually they’re harmless. Still, if there’s a ghost bound to a place, it’s pitiful, so we send them back.”

As I stood there with my mouth hanging open, Yuuki tilted her head again.

“What? Oh, are you afraid of ghosts?”

“…”

“Heh,” Yuuki let out an anime-like exclamation and said:

“That’s unexpected. The apartment you live in— Ah, never mind.”

What do you mean, never mind!?

“It’s okay, it’s okay. There’s nothing dangerous. Well, just in case, if you’re really scared, get a cat. That’s usually enough.”

No, I’m scared.

When an actual shrine-raised, practicing miko says things like that, it’s genuinely frightening.

I quickly caught up to Yuuki as she started walking again.

It wasn’t time for sunset yet, but the sky was covered with clouds, making the weather gloomy.

“What, are you scared? Should I come stay with you?”

“…No.”

Yuuki was teasing me, so I shook my head.

Even so, it’s not that bad.

Right. I haven’t encountered anything so far, so I probably won’t in the future either.

As I firmly convinced myself of this, Yuuki looked at my face and smiled.

*

“…”

After hearing such things, I can’t help but wonder if there really are ghosts living in my apartment.

Well, I’ve never seen anything myself, so it should be fine—

Snore.

I was a bit tense, but then I heard that sound from next door.

The usual snoring.

Hearing that sound made me feel a bit reassured that this was indeed a place where humans lived.

Alright, I think I’ll play games until late tonight.

This is absolutely not because I’m afraid to turn off the lights. And I’m definitely not trying to stay up gaming until I fall asleep naturally.

Anyway, I’m doing this because I want to. Because I want to.

With that thought, I reached for the Super Famicom with slightly trembling hands—

My phone rang with a single tone, indicating a message.

Click. I opened my phone to see it was from Kaneko.

[Looking for people to uncover the identity of Nakano Noboru. In front of the school. 9 PM.]

Wait, she’s really going?

Is her life incredibly boring or something?

There’s no demand that I must come. This email probably went to all the literature club members. Like Ikeda and Yuuki.

…

Ikeda probably won’t show up, right? She was already tormented enough by Kaneko today, and if it turns out to be a real ghost, that would just be scary.

Yuuki… Yuuki might not come either. It’s a 20-minute subway ride, and she just said today that “ghosts can’t cause much harm.”

“…”

I slowly withdrew my hand from the game console.

Sigh.

Is Kaneko planning to go to the school alone?

If I were Kaneko… I wouldn’t go in. Even if I went as far as the school out of curiosity, going into a closed school alone without friends would be too much.

It would be too much, but— hmm.

“Haah.”

If it’s ‘Kaneko’…

She’ll definitely go in. I can easily imagine her nimbly jumping over the closed school gate.

I scratched my head vigorously and got up.

The time was just past seven.

…Even if I leave now, it’ll be tight.

I sighed deeply as I put on my slippers. I was barefoot, of course.

And—

…I wonder if convenience stores sell flashlights?

*

Not at the convenience store, but I was able to find a flashlight at the 100-yen shop near the station.

The durability probably isn’t great, but I only need it for tonight.

After getting the flashlight and batteries and confirming it worked, I immediately headed to the subway to go to the school.

I almost gave up when I reached Omiya Station. Unlike when I was going home from school, it was raining heavily. My feet were soaked despite using an umbrella. Fortunately, being barefoot in slippers meant getting wet wasn’t a big problem.

Somehow, people I passed on the way to school seemed startled when they saw me, which was a bit of a downer.

…Maybe I should use a brighter colored umbrella next time?

After walking diligently to the front of the school—

“Oh, Kut-chan!”

Wow, she’s actually here.

I managed to make it just in time.

As for others—

…Ikeda is here too.

She probably came out of concern as well.

And—

“…Everyone ended up coming after all.”

Yuuki approached, saying that.

In the end, all the literature club members had gathered.

Yuuki met my eyes and shrugged her shoulders. That shrug drew attention to the long object slung over her right shoulder. Probably a katana for slaying yokai.

Does it work on ghosts too?

“Excellent!”

Kaneko’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

“Thank you all for coming at such a late hour!”

“…I came because I was worried you’d go into the school.”

Ikeda said, her face slightly flushed as she twirled the umbrella on her shoulder.

“Oh, you came to stop me? Do you really think you can stop me with your strength?”

With that strength, she could have been an excellent athlete if she had stayed in the track and field club.

I really wonder why she quit.