44. On The Third Floor Of The School’s East Building

That night, I received a call from Sumire.
I couldn’t think of anything in particular, so I picked up the call while wondering and, for some reason, began to talk about a strange school’s ghost story.

“This is a story I heard from a female student. Because of a committee meeting, she returned a bit late for club activities and was in a hurry. Then, she saw something on the far left. When she stopped and turned around fearfully, she saw a little girl with a bob cut walking towards her while looking downward. Her appearance looked like a Japanese doll, and her skin was transparent in the sunlight. She was so pale that it was hard to believe she was from this world. Then, the girl said something like “Re….” with a faint voice that seemed to disappear. However, the female student couldn’t hear her, so she asked back. Then the girl shouted, “Leaveeeee” in a lower voice than before. The startled female student ran out of the hallway in panic and desperately escaped from that place…I wonder what was that?”
“No punchline?”

It seems Sumire called me just to tell me this strange ghost story. I wonder, is it really necessary to call me just to talk about this? The story was not scary at all, but what scared me the most was the way Sumire talked.

“It’s not like that, Maria! The problem is the place where this happened!”
“The hallway?”
“Not that! It’s on the third floor of the school’s east building! Moreover, after school.”

The third floor of the school’s east building is, the floor where we do our Kashifure activities. However, we also have club activities after school, but I’ve never seen a girl with a bob cut like that.

“And you see, Maria. English make-up classes will be on the fourth floor of the school’s east building.”
“Ah, that’s right.”

Even though the summer vacation had just started, I had to take English make-up classes starting the very next day. How depressing. I wanted to slack off in the morning and work out in the afternoon, but the make-up classes took away my freedom. I should have studied English frantically if I had known that this was going to happen.

“Be careful of the bob-haired ghost!”
“Don’t tell me, you wanted to say that?”
“It seems it’s good to do the Nine Symbolic Cuts.” 

That’s some ritualistic thing that amateurs shouldn’t do!
Sumire chants power, direction, harmony, healing, and so on like she is teaching me. I think I will be fine, but it’s scary, so please stop!

“You’re safe now! Uwahahahaha!”
“Y-yes…. Thank you.”

I don’t think I’ll ever get the chance to use it, though. Or rather, I don’t think I have the time to do that if I run into a ghost, It’s either I lose my legs due to fear or run away desperately.

When Sumire was in a good mood talking about the nine symbolic cuts, there was a commotion over the phone. I heard the voice of a man screaming, “My little sister, Sumire. Who are you calling? Is it your boyfriend!? How outrageous! I won’t allow it. Young lady, who is unauthorized, please hang up the phone immediately!” …It’s one of the rumored older brothers, eh.

“Gyaaa! What are you doing!? Begone evil spirit! Power, direction, harmony….”

Sumire, please stop giving your brother the Nine Symbolic Cuts. Because it is so pathetic.

“Haha! Such a thing doesn’t work! Look at the hawk-eye on my forehead! It repels back!”
“W-what! Isn’t that just a mole!? How uncool!”
“What did you just say!? I will take a picture of your angry face! So cute!”
“Wait! Don’t take so many pictures!”

I don’t mean to be rude, but Sumire’s brother seemed like an idiot.
This is probably what Hitomi was referring to when she said it was best not to meet him.

After having a mysterious conversation for a while, I hung up the phone with Sumire and took out my notebook summarizing this world from the drawer.

The rumors of the ghost on the third floor of the school’s east building…. Come to think of it, I think I have heard something like this before.
Not in this world, but in my previous life, when I read the Koi Spa, there was such a thing. If I remember correctly, in my previous life, Tengenji told Asami about it, and she happened to meet the ghost.

“Ah, could that be…that person?”

If this world and the manga world are not out of sync, then the ghost identity would be  “that person.”
I don’t know to what extent the world is the same. There may be some differences like the pool’s incident, but just in case, I will go check it out after the make-up classes are over.

＊＊＊

Sadly, I was the only one in the make-up class.
Apparently, we were divided into two groups, the first group from class A to class C and the second group from class D group to class F, and unfortunately, I was the only one in the first group for English make-up classes. Teacher, if that’s the case, couldn’t you put me in the second group?

I took a one-to-one make-up class in the morning and was released at noon. I had planned to eat lunch at home since I heard that the class would be over in the morning, but my empty stomach began to growl.

I was so hungry that I couldn’t muster my energy. When I staggered down the stairs, I smelled a delicious aroma coming from somewhere.
I wonder what this is? A gentle, warm smell that stimulated my hunger that I had smelled before.

It seemed to be coming from the third floor, and I followed the smell as I walked. I stopped at the counseling room—a room on the opposite side of the second tea ceremony room where Kashifure was held—It seems that the smell is coming from this room.

This room doesn’t have a peep window, so I opened the door just a little and peeked inside.
There was a black-haired man inside. I’m sure I was seeing him for the first time, but why do I feel like I’ve seen him before?

The man had multi-tiered food boxes spread out on the table, and he seemed to be having lunch. I had already peeked in, it was too late, but I couldn’t help but look for the source of the smell. Let’s go home and eat without making a detour.

That’s what I thought the moment I was about to close the door.

It couldn’t stand it any longer and began to rampage. The ugly, growling voice was definitely coming from my abdomen. It seemed that the worm in my stomach aimed its scream the moment I exhaled.