Midterm Exam (2)
The exam prep is perfect.
There’s no need to even call it prep in the first place.
All I have to do is memorize every correct answer from the future Ellie’s diary and write them down exactly as they are.
Title: The exam is fucking easy??
Surely there’s no idiot here who died from getting a failing grade, right??
Eeeh! Is there really someone who failed this easy-ass test and died???
There’s no way one of our fellow students died like that, right???
The ghost story items are definitely worth the 300,000 Cocoon. Just the diary alone has saved my life who knows how many times.
“Let’s see… nothing weird tomorrow, right?”
That evening, after asking Ellie to write down the exam answers, I returned to the dorm and checked her diary as the final task of the day.
The effect from the last doppelgänger incident still had a few days left, so I could see the future up to next Tuesday.
Since I spent a fortune on those 300,000 Cocoon, I have to check it every single day without fail.
‘Come to think of it… Ellie asked if she could write about me…’
What did she mean by that?
Was she asking permission to write down her deeper feelings for me?
‘Or… did she notice that I’ve been reading her future diary?’
To be honest, I’ve been pretty obvious about it. From the movie theater to the doppelgänger incident. From her perspective, she must’ve wondered why I kept making such strange requests.
If she thought about it even a little, it wouldn’t be hard to realize I was seeing the future through her diary.
‘But even so, she’s still writing down all her deepest thoughts…’
If she figured out I was reading it, wouldn’t she stop writing those things?
Normally, people would at least tone down the personal stuff.
Yet Ellie’s diary remained brutally honest. She even wrote about touching herself.
‘I should check today’s entry too…’
I opened today’s page.
If Ellie had noticed, there would definitely be changes starting from today’s entry.
“Let’s see…”
…
……
………
That fox bitch Lana bit Ares’ hand with her dirty mouth.
I stopped her right away, but it still pissed me off…
Did Ares get excited?
He said no, but his face looked super thrilled…
Fox bitch, fox bitch, fox bitch.
I wish she’d just disappear from in front of us.
Maybe she’ll die from some chronic illness…
Still, I’m glad Ares looked so happy when he hugged my chest ♡
Ares was so cute.
Like a baby clinging to me…
So adorable.
Does he really like breasts that much?
I’m happy…
If I ever have a baby with Ares in the future, maybe he’ll even drink the baby’s milk…
“Ahem…”
She definitely hasn’t noticed.
Her fantasies are written way too explicitly.
…Still, she imagined that while hugging me.
It’s embarrassing in all sorts of ways, but also makes my heart race.
A girl’s soft, secret diary… impressive.
‘Then what did she mean by writing about me…?’
After calming down, I kept reading Ellie’s diary.
She said she got permission to write about me, so something must’ve changed.
And soon enough, I understood what her request really meant.
…
……
………
Ares is struggling with the pop quiz.
Cute.
Handsome.
The way he’s concentrating on the problems is so cool.
What does Ares want to do in the future?
Ah, he just smiled. Did he solve the part he was stuck on?
Cute…
I like him…
“Ugh…”
So that’s what it was.
I roughly understood what writing about me meant.
‘She meant she’d write an observation diary about me…’
It’s very girly… or maybe just cute that she asked for permission to write about me in her own diary.
Above all, reading about myself from Ellie’s perspective felt strangely embarrassing.
‘She wrote a lot.’
Ellie had recorded all sorts of things about me at school—who I talked to, where I went during breaks, who I seemed close with, how many times I spoke with Lana, and so on.
The second half of today’s entry was basically a diary all about me.
‘At this point, I can understand why she asked for permission…’
Having someone else fill their diary with so many details about you could definitely feel unpleasant.
…Ellie must’ve been worried about that part and asked for permission.
“Huh…?”
While reading through today’s embarrassing entries about myself, I felt something was off.
“She already went home…”
When the diary’s content reached after school hours—
The entries about me kept going.
“Eh……”
…
……
………
Today I’m walking home with Lana.
Don’t cling to him, don’t cling to him…
Don’t seduce Ares…
What does Ares think of Lana…?
Today’s story about walking home with Lana.
I could accept that much. She might’ve written it while following behind.
But the problem was what came after.
……
Ares looks a bit dazed when he enters his room?
Cute.
He’s muttering something while staring at the air. Is he having some fun imagination?
Ares is taking a shower…
My heart’s pounding…
It felt weird last time too…
“No, no no no…”
The diary’s contents were getting strange.
…
……
………
Ares’ dinner tonight is grilled salmon lunchbox.
He seems to think it tastes pretty good.
He’s smiling at the air again.
Cute.
Ah, he took out his diary.
The same diary as mine…
I’m glad Ares bought the same one after seeing mine back then.
He’s probably going to write in it today?
No, he seems to be rereading the contents.
What’s he thinking about? Which date’s entry?
Does it have stuff about me too…?
I’m curious…
The more I read the diary, the more chills ran down my spine.
Everything I had just done was written in there.
The salmon lunchbox I ate for dinner.
Laughing while chatting with the gallery guys.
Even opening the diary to read it.
And then—
…
……
………
Why is Ares acting like that?
He looks really scared.
Ah, he’s looking around.
Eh… Did he notice me?
How did he find out??
Was it the scent?
I see… Did he notice by smelling my scent or something?
Amazing.
He’s like a puppy. So cute…
I like him.
I looked around after reading that far.
Ellie.
━━was inside this room.
“The diary…!”
It would say where she was hiding.
I frantically checked the diary.
…
……
………
He suddenly started looking through the diary.
Why is Ares doing that?
Ah, he stood up.
He’s coming this way.
Amazing, amazing!
My heart’s pounding so hard.
He’s approaching me.
He figured out where I am.
Ares is so smart.
How did he know?
The closet door opens.
Ares is staring straight at me.
“E-Ellie…”
“Ah, I got caught…”
The closet door was slightly open.
When I opened it, Ellie, who had been hiding inside, smiled brightly and put down her pen.
She had been writing in her diary just moments ago.
“Since when… have you been here…?”
“Since you took Lana to the girls’ dorm… Hehe, surprised?”
……
Title: Kyaahhhhh!!!
[VIDEO]
“Sorry… Ares…”
“No, well… I did give permission, after all…”
The permission Ellie mentioned—to write about me—
Meant exactly this:
━━Is it okay if I observe and record every single thing you do?
“Even so, sneaking in is a bit…”
“Sorry… I know it’s wrong, but… I couldn’t help it…”
……
“B-But I wasn’t trying to do anything bad! I just really wanted to see everything about you…”
……
That is a bad thing, Ellie…
Still, it’s a relief that she understood her mistake once I explained it properly.
‘I knew she was obsessive, but… I didn’t think it was this bad.’
Hiding inside my room and secretly stalking me.
I had let my guard down.
When we were together, she just seemed like a cute girl, so I hadn’t been wary at all.
“More importantly… I definitely locked my door. How did you get in?”
“Ah, that’s…”
At my question, Ellie avoided my gaze and fidgeted with her fingers.
Then she pulled a key out of her pocket.
“A key…?”
“Uu, sorry… L-Last time when I stayed over…”
“Don’t tell me you made a copy?”
“Yeah…”
……
I never expected that.
To think this girl who looked so innocent had secretly copied my room key without me knowing.
……
“Uee…”
I silently held out my hand to Ellie.
Her eyes grew moist as she clutched the key tightly and spoke.
“Sorry, sorry…! B-But can’t I keep this key, Ares…?”
“No, even so…”
“B-But…! You said I couldn’t write about your diary…! You have to grant my request…!”
“Ugh…”
“Instead of that… can’t you just let me keep the key?”
“Uuuugh…”
Title: Ellie has a copy of my room key
She said she copied it during the movie theater incident…
…Should I take it back?
She says she’ll just keep it.
In exchange for writing in the diary like I asked.
Most of the gallery’s opinions were similar.
Since she’d just find another way in even if I took the key, it was better to let her keep it and warn her instead.
I felt the same.
If I took the key and she stopped writing in the diary properly… that would be a problem.
Maintaining a good relationship with Ellie was important.
“Got it? When you come into my room, you have to tell me first.”
“Okay…!”
“And don’t go rummaging through my stuff even if you come in.”
“Okay…”
“If you sneak in and hide and get caught… I won’t ever speak to you again after that day.”
“Ah, got it…! I’ll be careful…!”
……
And so, in exchange for today’s diary entry, I ended up giving Ellie a copy of my room key.
‘She’s really not a ghost story entity, right…?’
Even if she isn’t, this level of behavior is still pretty abnormal.
But since nothing particularly creepy has happened yet, I decided to trust Ellie a little longer.
And.
There was still something more important.
The sun had already set.
The dorm outside was already covered in darkness.
……
……
If I sent Ellie out now, she might run into danger.
…Well, they say female students are usually fine walking around at night.
But danger is still danger.
It’s definitely not because I have any ulterior motives.
“You’re… staying over, right?”
……“Yeah.”
Ellie nodded with flushed cheeks at my question.
“Pajamas…?”
“I brought them…”
“You’re thorough.”
“Then… can I wash up?”
“S-Sure.”
Without meaning to… I ended up spending another night with Ellie.
…Looking at it this way, stalking isn’t so bad after all.
Title: Ellie stayed over
[VIDEO]
She’s washing up right now.
I decided to let her keep the key.
A short while later.
After Ellie finished washing up, we lay side by side on the bed like last time, getting ready to sleep.
……
……
Since we’d already done this once, it wasn’t as heart-pounding as the first time.
But the shampoo scent…
The pajamas…
Her flushed face…
Facing Ellie in her just-washed pajamas right next to me in bed still made it hard to endure in many ways.
“Um, Ares…”
“Y-Yeah?”
Ellie softly broke the silence.
“Sorry… for sneaking in on my own today.”
“No, that’s… It’s fine now. Just don’t do it again.”
“Okay…”
……
……
Silence returned, and Ellie kept glancing at me with flushed cheeks.
She probably still had something she wanted to say.
Since she seemed embarrassed to say it, I carefully asked first.
“…What’s wrong? Do you have something else to say?”
Ellie’s eyes widened in surprise.
Then she looked at me and smiled brightly.
“As an apology…”
“Yeah…”
“Want me to hug you…?”
……“Eh?”
As she said that, Ellie gently spread her arms.
The blanket lifted, revealing her upper body in pajamas.
And the massive peach garden appeared right in front of my eyes.
“I thought you liked being hugged, Ares…”
“E-Eh, uh, th-that’s…”
“It’s just a hug… As an apology…”
“S-So…”
Is this girl actually a ghost story entity?
Is she trying to seduce me past the line and kill me?
If so, I’d have to praise her.
This is definitely a checkmate for me.
“You… won’t accept my apology…?”
I couldn’t refuse.
‘Damn it…!! Damn it…!!’
Soft.
Squeezed tight.
Warm body heat, soft sensation, sweet fragrance.
The ecstatic feeling enveloping my face.
The sound of a pounding heart.
I’m happy.
Happy yet tormented.
Tormented yet happy.
‘I have to endure…!!’
I can’t die here.
Title: Save me
I think I’m gonna die.
The day of the small incident with Ellie.
That day, I somehow endured and safely made it to morning.
As expected of a horror academy.
You can never let your guard down for even a moment.
And so, one week later.
I faced the midterm exams.