Ch.448IF Side Story: Seems I’ve Arrived a Bit Early (145)

In the end, I couldn’t find that male student in the third-year classroom either.

By this point, I was starting to think something was strange.

No matter how I looked at it, I didn’t think Izumi would really tell such a lie.

She would have just admitted, albeit embarrassingly, that they were short on club members.

And—

Well, that’s how it is.

Kaoru was convinced this was definitely the work of a ghost.

And she even suggested we should properly investigate it.

I’m not sure why Kaoru is so obsessed with ghosts. Then again, there are always some occult enthusiasts who eagerly chase after such things. In my previous life during middle school, there were kids who heard about these things from somewhere and tried everything once.

Not just Kokkuri-san, but also hide-and-seek alone. …Honestly, I’m not sure if they were really doing it. At that age, they’d normally be living with family. I wonder if their parents would have allowed them to perform séances with rice and hair at midnight.

The problem is that in this world, such things are entirely possible.

“…Really?”

I asked Yuka once more.

“…Really. But, let me say again, it’s probably not a big issue. If it were serious, something would have happened by now.”

Then Yuka tilted her head slightly as if finding something odd and added:

“By the way, you’ve fought yokai that eat people, and now you’re afraid of ghosts?”

“…You can’t cut ghosts with a sword, can you?”

“Ha.”

Yuka made a laughing sound at my answer but quickly closed her mouth.

Was she trying not to burst out laughing?

“Koko, what do you think?”

“Huh?”

Koko, who was walking beside me, looked at me.

“What do you think about ghosts and such?”

I asked Koko.

Koko stared up at me.

“Ghosts?”

“Yeah. Are they scary, or what do you think?”

“Ghosts, scary?”

Wait, I’m the one who asked the question.

“Hmm… rather than scary, I’m more concerned. At least I haven’t encountered any in this world yet.”

“You can exorcise ghosts with talismans. I saw it on TV.”

Koko answered, puffing out her chest.

We both have talismans given to us by Kagami. Both Koko and I have never taken them off since receiving them.

Koko probably thinks those talismans will protect us.

“More importantly, I think someone with a scarier aura than any ghost is following us.”

That’s what Yuka said.

A light rain was falling from the sky. Not heavy enough to call it a downpour, but the gloomy surroundings made it feel eerie. Yuka was using an umbrella by herself, while Koko and I were huddled together under a large umbrella.

In my previous life, when I lived in Korea, I wasn’t aware of this, but Japan has curfew hours for minors. It’s not like you get severely punished if caught by the police, nor do they detain you, but apparently they at least summon your parents.

And in just a little while, we would be entering that curfew time. The reason I wasn’t particularly worried was because of the person following us from a distance.

I looked back.

Far down the gloomy, dreary street, a person who had been following us at a consistent distance quickly ducked into a side alley.

It wasn’t that the person had a gloomy aura. Rather, she looked like a beautiful young housewife who had stepped out of the neighborhood briefly. She was also carrying an umbrella.

…

It reminds me of our school trip to Kyoto.

“Mom isn’t scary.”

“That’s right, Mom isn’t scary!”

“…Yeah, yeah.”

When Koko and I immediately objected, Yuka responded as if she found it ridiculous. Yuka doesn’t think Kagami is a dangerous person either, but if she had to rank them by danger level, she probably thinks humans are more dangerous than ghosts.

Anyway, that’s how it was.

Since we had an adult following us, if the police approached us, we could just call Kagami.

Kagami would be horrified if she saw me being questioned by the police.

“By the way, didn’t you consider making up a story?”

“I don’t want to lie to Mom.”

Koko nodded vigorously in agreement with my words.

“…Seriously, I wonder how much you have to love someone to say something like that.”

Yuka shook her head after hearing our responses.

*

“B-but do we really have to meet in the middle of the night like this?”

Izumi said to Kaoru, terrified.

“There was even someone outside the school gate. Staring intently at the school…”

“You saw such a person?”

Kaoru’s eyes lit up at Izumi’s words.

Of course, she was talking about Kagami.

Apparently, Kagami thought it would be too much to follow us into the school, so she was waiting outside.

She probably thought she was being discreet by waiting from a distance, but it seems Izumi spotted her on the way here.

“…”

And Harumi, Yuu, and Mako, who joined us a bit later, stared at me.

They know who that person is.

When I pouted, Harumi and Mako looked like they were about to burst out laughing. Fortunately, no one actually did.

“So? Let’s hurry up and get this over with. Besides, if that person was really a ghost, we wouldn’t need to do this at this specific time.”

Izumi objected.

“When I met him, it was during school hours, so it was just daytime…”

“But it’s a ghost, right? Isn’t it more likely to appear at night?”

I looked at Yuka.

“…Why are you looking at me?”

Yuka feigned innocence.

I’ve been thinking this since earlier today, but she honestly seems to be enjoying this. At first glance, she appears to be pretending to be annoyed or finding it absurd, but she couldn’t hide the interest gleaming in her eyes.

To be precise, it’s probably not because of the ghost, but rather the situation itself that intrigues her.

Sneaking into school in the middle of the night with friends to summon a ghost.

Although she’s made more friends since getting to know me, Yuka was fundamentally a well-behaved child.

Even hunting yokai is ultimately a job assigned from above, and she keeps changing schools because of it.

So, occasionally doing something slightly rebellious like this might be enjoyable for her.

“Yuka, you shouldn’t stray in strange directions.”

“…What’s that supposed to mean?”

When I admonished her, Yuka responded as if she found it ridiculous.

“So, have you thought of a method, senpai?”

At Harumi’s question, Kaoru grinned.

Then she rummaged through her bag and—

“Ta-da!”

She pulled out a piece of paper.

It was Kokkuri-san again.

“…Again?”

“It worked last time.”

At Kaoru’s words, everyone’s expressions turned a bit incredulous, but interest quickly returned to their faces. Izumi and Mako looked somewhat scared, though Mako’s face showed about half interest, while Izumi looked completely terrified.

Well, something did happen last time. Everyone seems to think it was a bit ambiguous, but the coin did move while none of us were properly paying attention.

And what moved that coin wasn’t just a ghost.

…

Wait, if this works, aren’t we barking up the wrong tree? That wasn’t “Nakano Noboru.”

It seems like we could summon it anywhere, not just here.

Of course, I kept quiet. It would be a bit awkward to reveal that entity’s identity here.

“Alright, then… let’s do it! Come on, Kotone, please!”

“…”

Yeah, I had a feeling this would happen.

Fortunately, the place where Izumi met that boy was a small park in the school. Luckily, it was under a tree that provided shade, so with an umbrella held above, we could avoid most of the rain.

Kaoru and I spread the paper on the bench and sat side by side.

Then, just like last time, we called for Kokkuri-san.

“…”

But this time, there was no response.

“Huh?”

Kaoru seemed a bit confused.

The other kids had expressions that suggested they weren’t surprised, but honestly, I was a bit confused too.

“Woo?”

Koko, who was watching, felt the same.

I looked at Yuka again.

“I told you, why do you keep looking at me?”

Yuka shook her head and sighed deeply as if she found it ridiculous.

*

In the end, we disbanded without any results.

By the time we slipped out of the school, it was almost midnight.

Perhaps we were a bit off from the time when ghosts are most active?

Kaoru had an expression of someone who couldn’t quite accept the outcome.

“Well, since it’s late, how about staying at my place tonight, Kotone?”

Harumi suggested, but I shook my head.

In the direction I was looking, Kagami was waiting for me, fidgeting anxiously.

She’s not even trying to hide anymore.

Harumi smiled wryly, and Yuu deliberately looked away.

“Then, see you tomorrow, Kotone!”

Mako waved her hand.

“See you tomorrow!”

Koko also waved energetically. Harumi gave Koko a big hug before letting her go and parting ways with us.

And then.

“Well… we’ll be going. Are you able to get home?”

“I can. I think Dad will come pick us up.”

“Ah, that’s good. You’ve had a hard time because of Kaoru.”

I looked at the sulking Kaoru.

“…”

After being lost in thought for a moment, I suddenly asked:

“Kaoru-senpai. Why do you want to see ghosts so badly?”

Yuka and Koko, standing beside me, blinked.

As if my question was a bit strange.

But… well.

It might just be a passing thought.

Somehow, Kaoru’s intense focus on the occult seemed a bit desperate.

“Kotone?”

Unable to wait for our conversation to finish, Kagami had approached and was now speaking to us.

“Eek!?”

Izumi was startled.

Ah, right.

I haven’t told her about Mom yet, have I?