Chapter 3 - Wonder Academy (2)
Wonder Academy (2)
****
A week had passed since I enrolled in the academy.
'It's more peaceful than I thought…?'
Of course, when night fell, a strange gaze would appear and for some reason, a chill would run down my spine.
But my school life during the day was peaceful and ordinary to a fault.
"Ah, Ares! That meatball in your lunchbox… it looks incredibly delicious…!"
"Mia, you're being so rude. That's why I told you to buy the same lunchbox as Ares, didn't I?"
"Hehe, but trading food like this is part of the fun of lunchboxes! Right? Ares~."
"Yeah, that's true."
Lunchtime.
I was having lunch with Levin and a classmate named Mia.
A female student from the same class.
The reason Mia was eating lunch with us was thanks to Levin's suggestion.
When I told Levin that I was having a hard time getting along with my classmates.
'Then how about we eat with one person each week?'
She had suggested such a clear solution.
'…Is this girl a monster, or is she human…?'
I still couldn't believe it.
Honestly, if it weren't for that eerie and bizarre sensation I felt in the middle of the night.
Levin and Mia, who were right in front of me, were nothing more than the kind of beautiful female students commonly seen in subculture.
"Then I won't hold back, thank you for the food~!"
"Aah! Mia! …I'm sorry, Ares. If I had known this would happen, I would have introduced you to a different friend."
"What! That makes it sound like I'm a weird person!"
"You're not weird, but you are being impolite, aren't you?"
"Hmph! See this, see this. Levin judges people after seeing only one side of them, you know?"
Mia, letting out a snort, picked up a cherry tomato from her lunchbox and placed it on top of mine.
"I'm doing an exact trade!"
"How is this a trade in any way! If you took a meatball, you should give a hamburger steak!"
"They're both round! So they're the same thing!"
The sight of the two of them bickering was truly a scene from an ideal school life.
'…I wish this world was really just a rom-com like this.'
I thought to myself as I popped the cherry tomato into my mouth and chewed.
'The lunchbox is delicious, though.'
For reference, this lunchbox was purchased from a lunchbox shop in the commercial district next to Wonder Academy.
That's right, there was a commercial district within the academy grounds.
Not only were there lunchboxes, but there were also cafes, restaurants, a pharmacy, and a bookstore.
The bookstore was even stocked with the manga I used to enjoy reading in the modern world.
…This was supposed to be a fantasy world, so why was that?
Anyway,
This academy was incredibly vast.
It was equipped with not only a commercial district but also all the various things a person would need to live.
This academy was, in effect, serving the role of a small city.
"Hey Levin, want to go clothes shopping with me today?"
"What? Mia, if you do that, you'll use up all your Cocoon."
"Ufufu, a girl has to know how to make sacrifices to maintain her appearance! Ah, how about you come too, Ares? I think it'd be even better if a guy was there to give his opinion."
"……."
Mia suggested shopping to me with a cute smile.
Looking at her like this, she was a girl through and through.
Was this child human, or was she an anomaly?
"Sorry, I'm thinking of saving up my Cocoon a bit."
"Eehh~, it's not like you need to spend any Cocoon, Ares."
"…If I tag along, I feel like I'll get swept up in the mood and buy something too."
"Hmm…, I get it! Then let's go together next time when you have some to spare!"
"……."
There were two reasons why I refused her invitation.
One was the advice from the gallery.
[NightRat: You can think of Cocoon as money, you get a certain amount each month]
[NightRat: Don't spend it too recklessly]
[NightRat: There might be a time later when you need to spend a large sum]
So my words about saving up Cocoon were not a lie.
And the other reason was.
'……Is this a normal reaction?'
To see her reaction after her shopping invitation was rejected.
'…They said if it's an anomaly, I'll find out somehow if I spend time with them.'
The method of determining if a female student was an anomaly was simpler than I thought.
It was a chilling feeling that couldn't be felt from a human.
It was a sensory thing, but everyone on the gallery agreed and explained that it was 'almost 100% accurate'.
'…Then is Mia normal? No, I can't know for sure just from this.'
They said that as I interacted with a female student I had built a friendship with.
At some point, she would show a reaction that wasn't human-like.
They told me to be careful of that moment.
The problem was….
In the case of a human female student, you couldn't help but never feel that anomaly-like sensation, right to the end.
And at that point, most people would get confused.
Did I miss something?
Is this one just gritting her teeth and hiding it?
Have I gotten so used to the anomalies that I'm just perceiving this as normal?
They said that as long as I was careful of that kind of confusion, finding a human wasn't impossible.
Besides, it wasn't like there was only one human female student.
So everyone told me not to give up.
'…Right, I have plenty of time anyway.'
After that, lunchtime ended, and the three of us returned to the classroom.
I crammed difficult fantasy lessons into my head.
And after returning to the dormitory trembling with anxiety, I spent a terrifying night.
And so.
I safely passed my first week at Wonder Academy.
"Have a good weekend~!"
I had become as close with Mia as I was with Levin.
'At that level, wouldn't she be human?'
After spending about a week with her, my guard had lowered quite a bit.
After the weekend passed, I was thinking of trying to get a little closer to her starting next week.
Who knew?
I might find a human on my first try.
[StudentCouncilTerrorist: As if lolololol]
ㄴ[fr lolololol]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: Isn't this bastard underestimating our Wonder Academy too much??]
ㄴ[Ares: I know, I know, you fuckers.]
ㄴ[Ares: Can't I have a little hope?!]
Of course, the guys on the gallery were quite negative about my thoughts.
For reference, I had made a fixed nickname using my own name.
The reason was because of their recommendation.
Since it was easier for them to check a fixed nickname than ㅇㅇ(1809).
***
The weekend passed by quickly.
I lazed around moderately, did some window shopping, and looked around the shops on the grounds.
At night, I suppressed my fear by chatting with the guys on the gallery.
And then, Monday soon arrived.
"……."
Murmur, murmur.
I noticed the abnormality.
"…Hey, Levin."
"Hmm? What is it?"
I went straight up to Levin after the first period ended.
"…Mia, she didn't come to school?"
"Huh? You're right. What's going on? Is she sick?"
"……."
Over the weekend, I had made various preparations to get closer to Mia when the next week came.
I had mostly talked about those things on the gallery.
Things like how to best get close to her, or what to be careful of.
But all of that had become useless.
Because Mia.
Had not come to the academy.
Of course, she didn't come the next day either.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: Mia's gone missing???
She's not coming
The professor doesn't know, and all the kids in class don't know either
What is this???
Don't tell me Mia was a real human and died over the weekend??
• • •
Overcome with anxiety, I accessed the gallery from the classroom and wrote a question.
The most worrying thing was if Mia was human.
Because I really didn't want the key to my escape, which I had finally found, to disappear so meaninglessly.
'Please tell me it's not true…!'
A reply was posted quickly.
• • •
Comments
[She's not coming?? Looks like she was gotten by an anomaly??]
ㄴ[Ares: Then was Mia human??? Please tell me she wasn't!!]
ㄴ[RedNightSky: You can't tell if she was an anomaly or a human just from that]
ㄴ[Ares: Why? Isn't it because she's human that she'd be gotten by an anomaly??]
ㄴ[RedNightSky: You'll get used to it as you go, but anomalies get gotten by other anomalies too lol]
ㄴ[Ares: What kind of bullshit is that;;]
ㄴ[lololololol]
ㄴ[That would be pretty fucking mind-boggling lolol]
ㄴ[StudentCouncilTerrorist: An anomaly getting gotten by an anomaly lololol]
The conclusion was that there was no way to know if Mia was an anomaly or not.
Nothing had been resolved, and only the phenomenon of Mia's disappearance remained.
Just then, another comment was added.
[NightRat: But did Mia just disappear suddenly? Without any warning signs?]
It was a question from a user with a familiar fixed nickname.
'Warning signs…?'
At those words, I looked around the classroom.
There were three empty seats.
ㄴ[Ares: Come to think of it, even before I transferred, there were two people not coming to school]
ㄴ[Ares: The first week, a male student named Kon? Kyon?, and the second week, a female student named Millie.]
And right after that reply.
Several replies were posted at the same time.
ㄴ[NightRat: Hey, you fucker, why are you only telling us that now;;;]
ㄴ[This bastard didn't even memorize the male student's name but memorized the female student's name perfectly in the midst of all that lolololol]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: An event has staaaaarted!!!]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: Emergency, emergency, emergency!!!]
'An event…?'
I had a bad feeling.
…If it was an event in this Wonder Academy.
It meant that an anomalous phenomenon of an anomaly was beginning.
And on the gallery, several posts about my event were immediately created.
• • •
Author: NightRat
Title: Rough prediction of the event's content
First, I don't know which bastard is behind it.
But if one person is disappearing each week, and only from your class, then another person from your class could disappear next week.
And that could be you.
• • •
Comments
[Ares: Then what am I supposed to do now?? If something happened, shouldn't there be a solution??]
ㄴ[NightRat: This information alone isn't enough yet]
ㄴ[NightRat: We need to know how they're disappearing over the weekend to figure out the solution]
ㄴ[Ares: So you're saying you won't know until I'm on the verge of dying???]
ㄴ[NightRat: Kyah, as expected, his comprehension is top-tier]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: This newbie is a fucking honor student lololol]
'Goddammit…!'
I had no intention of joking around and laughing in a situation where I might disappear next week.
Could I really react immediately when the situation blew up?
'First, he said information…!'
Let's gather information.
Anything would be fine, any information at all about the weekly disappearance case, let's get something and post it on the gallery.
It was just as I was frantically looking around the class.
Tap, tap, tap—
"Huh…?"
"……."
A purple ponytail.
A female student with a somewhat uncomfortable expression on her face walked confidently to the front of the podium.
'Her name was… Lana…, I think?'
And when she stood in front of the podium, she slammed her hand down on it with a ‘Bang!’.
"Everyone! Isn't it strange that a classmate has disappeared?!"
The atmosphere in the classroom instantly fell silent.
The attention of every student focused on her.
"Even when I ask the professor, he just says he doesn't know! I can't find her even after looking all over the academy! She was definitely with us until we left school on Friday…! Doesn't anyone think this is strange?!"
"……."
I stared at her with surprised eyes.
It wasn't that I was surprised by her confidence to shout like that in front of everyone.
The reason for my surprise was something else.
'She noticed the strangeness….'
If she noticed the strangeness…, then, could that mean she was a real human?
Just as I was thinking that and staring intently at Lana.
Stare!
She glared at me, and our eyes met.
'Wait, why me….'
It was a look as if she was suspicious of me.