Board Game (1)
“Hmm…”
Sunday. On the bed in my room at the cathedral.
I stared at the gallery comments and hesitated for a moment. Then, with no other choice, I typed out a reply.
This should be fine. It's not like I'm showing Claire's naked body to the gallery users or anything.
Comments poured in right away.
Most of the gallery users, just like me, figured it was either a hallucination or a delusion.
‘So that’s what it is…?’
Getting the superpower to read Claire’s inner thoughts seemed less realistic than developing auditory hallucinations as a side effect of the evil spirit possession.
But…
‘Why doesn’t it feel like a delusion…?’
My gut was telling me this wasn’t a delusion.
Then one anonymous user came up with a good idea.
“Oh…!”
It was a solid idea. If I guessed correctly, I could just pass it off as a magic trick. That way, I could check whether this was a real ability or just a hallucination without Claire realizing I was reading her thoughts.
I immediately put the suggestion into action.
“I’m bored. Want to do something fun?”
“Something fun?”
I casually suggested it to Claire, who had come to my room.
It was Sunday, right after the evil spirit had been exorcised. I’d decided to rest in my room for the day. I wasn’t really injured, but the nuns had recommended I take it easy since being possessed might have left me in poor condition.
So I ended up lying in bed all day, with the nuns taking turns checking on me every hour.
It was 3 p.m., after lunch. Claire had just arrived, and I figured this was the perfect time to test the magic trick verification.
“Yes, I’d like that. It sounds fun.”
Claire smiled brightly and agreed right away.
“……”
Then the voices came again.
— Something fun… I wonder what it is?
— Is it something lewd…? Since Ares said it’s fun…
— A movie? Or maybe showing each other things like last time…
— Or maybe he wants to do what we did during the exorcism again…
— I’m looking forward to it…
“……”
“……Ares? What’s wrong?”
Claire looked at me curiously when I didn’t respond. Her cheeks were faintly flushed—so faint you’d miss it if you weren’t paying close attention.
If this wasn’t a delusion or hallucination… then her poker face was terrifying.
“No, it’s nothing. More importantly, how about a magic trick? I know a simple card trick.”
“A magic trick?”
Anyway, I steered the conversation back to my original goal. I needed to verify whether the voices I’d just heard were real.
“I see. A magic trick. Hehe, that sounds fun.”
Claire smiled again and nodded.
— Ah… so it’s about magic.
— It wasn’t that after all…
A very disappointed-sounding voice followed.
“……”
“……Why are you looking at me like that, Ares? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, I was just trying to remember the trick.”
After brushing off the voice I’d just heard, I pulled out the deck of cards I’d prepared in advance. I’d asked Sister Marta to get them for me after seeing the card trick idea in the gallery around lunchtime.
“Ahem, let’s get started then.”
“Okay.”
I began acting out a card trick. I didn’t actually know any real magic tricks, so I just imitated the gestures and lines I’d seen magicians use.
“Alright, pick a card, look at it, and flip it over so only you can see it.”
“…Yes, I’ve looked at it.”
“Now think about what card it is in your head and look into my eyes.”
“My eyes…?”
Claire, who had drawn a card and placed it face-down on the table, hesitated for a moment at my words. Then she blushed slightly and met my gaze.
— What do I do…? This is a little embarrassing.
— Ares is handsome.
— His eyes are so intense, I’m getting nervous…
— What if Ares pushes me down with that same intense look, rips my clothes off, and I resist saying no, but eventually our eyes meet and…
“……Hey, Claire.”
“Y-yes?”
“Are you actually thinking about the card…?”
“Ah, I’m sorry…! I got distracted for a second…”
At my remark, Claire blushed and lowered her head before looking back at me. This time, though still embarrassed, she stared at me more seriously.
Then the voice came again.
— Five of hearts… five of hearts…
“……”
“……”
After confirming the voice, I casually answered.
“The card you drew is the five of hearts… right?”
Claire’s eyes widened.
“Wow! You’re right! How did you know?”
“……”
I flipped over the card to double-check. It was definitely the five of hearts.
…Could a delusion or hallucination really do this?
Just in case, I tested it a few more times.
“You’re right again… This is amazing. How are you guessing them all correctly?”
“There’s a trick to it.”
“Whoa.”
— It’s like he’s actually reading my mind.
— Ares is incredible…
Fortunately, Claire didn’t seem to realize I was reading her thoughts.
The aftermath of the evil spirit incident had given me the ability to hear Claire’s thoughts. It wasn’t a particularly powerful ability, but the fact that it was Claire made it strangely concerning.
“Good morning, Ares.”
“Hey, Claire.”
“A whole week has already passed… It feels a little lonely.”
“We’ll see each other every day at school.”
“Hehe, that’s true.”
After Monday arrived, the long service period finally came to an end. On Monday morning, I headed from the cathedral to school. I planned to bring the rest of my things back to the dorm after class.
“Wearing a school uniform feels weird.”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen you in it, right? You’ve only worn a nun’s habit so far. …How do I look?”
“It suits you. You look cute.”
“……”
Since we were leaving the cathedral together, it was only natural that Claire and I walked to school side by side.
— He said I look cute… Somehow that makes me happy.
— Ares must see me as a woman too, right…?
— Maybe when Ares is alone, he thinks about me…
“Shall we go…?”
“Yes. Oh, did you say goodbye to everyone?”
“No, I was going to do that when I come back for my things after school.”
“I see… Then that really will be the last time.”
— Now I can only see Ares at school…
— So the movies really were the last time…
— It’s a shame. If I’d known, I would’ve watched one more yesterday.
“……”
Her thoughts came through crystal clear as well.
…She must have really enjoyed watching movies together.
‘When she was possessed by the evil spirit… she said she touched herself while watching the movie…’
She did it on purpose even though she knew I’d noticed.
…Had she developed a taste for that sort of thing?
Just imagining it made my heart race.
“Um… Ares.”
“Yeah?”
“If possible, would you like to watch a movie together sometimes…?”
“Huh…?”
Claire, who had been walking quietly beside me, carefully brought it up.
“We can’t watch in the same room anymore, but we can still go to a theater, right?”
“Ah, the theater. Right. That works.”
I’d misunderstood for a second. I almost thought she was suggesting we watch another dirty movie in my room.
Well… no matter how much Claire had opened her eyes to that kind of thing, she was still a pure girl at heart. It was just her way of saying she wanted to stay close.
— They probably show adult movies in theaters too, right…?
— Since it’ll be dark, no one would notice if I touched myself…
— Or maybe Ares won’t be able to hold back in the dark theater…
— Then we could touch each other…
“……”
“……”
If I couldn’t hear her thoughts… I might have taken her offer at face value. This new ability was making things unnecessarily complicated.
‘Imagination is free… Imagination is free, after all…’
I couldn’t blame Claire for having those thoughts. The problem was me, reading them.
Everyone has the freedom to imagine whatever they want in private.
‘That aside…’
I glanced sideways at Claire walking beside me.
I had to find a real human among my female classmates. Claire was the third girl I’d formed a connection with.
‘Out of the three, she feels the most human…’
Lana was definitely a Anomally. Ellie… I still wasn’t sure if she was human. Honestly, the way she sometimes acted felt more like a Anomally than a person. I didn’t know if that was just her peculiar nature as a Anomally or not.
Anyway, out of the three girls, Claire felt the most human.
‘If that’s the case, I should get as close to Claire as possible…’
I needed to protect Claire—who was most likely human—from the Anomallys for three years while also growing closer to her.
First, our relationship…
“Ares, who do you usually eat lunch with?”
“My classmates.”
“Then eat with me sometimes too. Is that okay?”
“Sure. Just say the word anytime.”
…Our relationship wasn’t bad. In fact, considering we’d only known each other for a week, it was pretty good.
— Should I ask what kind of food Ares likes…?
— Would that be too forward…?
“……”
Maybe her favorability toward me was even higher than I thought…
Well, we’d gone through a lot of intimate events together—watching dirty movies, showing embarrassing sides of ourselves. So there were no issues on the favorability front.
‘Then the important thing is protecting Claire.’
I hoped she really was human. So that I could choose her at the graduation ceremony and survive safely.
‘…Wait? But if that’s the case… what happens to Ellie and Lana?’
While I was thinking about the future, something I hadn’t considered suddenly occurred to me.
And just then—
“Ah, Ares!”
“……Oh, Ellie.”
Speak of the devil.
Just as I was thinking about Ellie, she appeared. We happened to be passing by the girls’ dorm.
“It’s been a while…! How was the service?”
“Ah, yeah. It ended safely.”
“Thank goodness…”
Ellie ran up to me, greeted me, and asked how I was. After hearing that everything was fine, she sighed in relief and patted her chest.
Then—
“……Who’s this?”
She noticed Claire standing next to me.
— Her chest is huge…
— Even bigger than Sister Isabella’s…
At the same time, Claire’s inner voice came through.
…The first thing she noticed was her chest?
Well, with Ellie, anyone’s eyes would naturally go there.
Since they hadn’t met before, I figured I should introduce them.
“Ah, let me introduce you. Ellie, this is… Whoa?!”
While I was introducing Claire to Ellie, Ellie shot Claire a cold glare and pulled me toward her.
Squish.
‘Uwooooh…!’
That familiar, long-missed sensation. My arm sank into that massive, soft place, and for a moment I felt dizzy.
“Who is she…?”
“No, I was just about to introduce her…”
“A friend…?”
“Uh, yeah. A classmate I met at the cathedral.”
“……”
“Her name is Claire.”
“……I’m Ellie.”
Claire and Ellie, after saying their names, stared at each other in silence for a moment. I couldn’t tell what Ellie was thinking, but her wariness was obvious.
And Claire’s thoughts came through loud and clear without me even trying.
— Ares’s friend…?
— They seem closer than friends…
— Come to think of it, Ares never mentioned not having a girlfriend…
‘…Oh no.’
Claire was starting to misunderstand. Ellie’s current behavior was more than enough to make anyone think that way—her possessiveness was written all over her face.
Anyone could see she was screaming, “This man is mine!”
‘Should I just correct her and say we’re friends…?’
The moment I considered clearing up the misunderstanding, I stopped myself.
‘No no no, that’ll just make Ellie even more aggressive…’
I could already picture Ellie’s jealousy and obsession exploding, so I immediately dropped the idea. Explaining that we were “just friends” would be a mistake. Ellie’s attachment was stronger than I’d thought.
…She might even drag me off somewhere and lock me up at night.
“Uh, Ellie is…”
“……”
“……”
But I couldn’t just let the misunderstanding stand either, so I desperately searched for an excuse. Something that would clarify we weren’t dating while not upsetting Ellie.
That kind of excuse.
“…We’re old friends. Childhood friends!”
“…Childhood friends?”
“U-uh-huh…”
Claire’s eyes widened at my words, and Ellie’s cheeks flushed red.
Bingo!
Seeing Ellie’s reaction, I grew confident and started pushing the narrative.
“Yeah! Friends! My best friend! Basically my first friend, and the one I’ve known the longest!”
“Wow, I see.”
“……Uuuu…”
Fortunately, it worked. Ellie placed a lot of meaning on being called my childhood friend. When I emphasized our deep connection first, her psycho-killer eyes softened into a shy, girlish expression.
Claire’s misunderstanding was also resolved.
— I see, childhood friends.
— That’s why she treats him so preciously.
— …Still, it seems like she has feelings for Ares.
The girlfriend misunderstanding had cleanly disappeared.
— Then does that girl also touch herself while thinking about Ares…?
— Since they’re childhood friends… maybe they’ve done even more
— Like doing it while facing each other…
— What do I do…? Just imagining it is making me wet…
“……”
Instead, I’d ended up stimulating her imagination in all sorts of ways.
Let’s just pretend I didn’t hear that last thought.
“Ares and I became close when he came for the service this time. We get along well, Ellie.”
“……Yeah.”
“Please tell me some stories about Ares from the past sometime.”
“……Yeah.”
Fortunately, Claire took the initiative to approach Ellie in a friendly manner. Ellie, thanks to my childhood friend explanation, seemed to have lowered her guard a little. She was still cautious, but she didn’t seem to reject Claire.
‘Phew… Thank goodness.’
It looked like the two of them would be able to get along. If they bickered like Lana and Ellie did, I’d be the one stuck in the middle and exhausted.
“Hey, Ares. Then what about me?”
“What do you mean?”
“If Ellie is your best friend… what am I?”
“……”
Just then, Lana’s voice suddenly came from behind me. At the same time, both Ellie and Claire, who had been standing on either side of me, turned to look at her.
Swish…
Ignoring both of their gazes completely, Lana casually slipped her arm around my waist.
Squish.
“W-wait…! Lana! What are you doing…!”
“Why? We used to greet each other like this before you left for the service too.”
“B-before I left…?”
“……”
Claire looked shocked at Lana’s words, and Ellie’s eyes were starting to take on that psycho-killer look again.
Completely unfazed, Lana asked me again.
“So? What am I? Tell me.”
“Y-you are…”
This girl was a Anomally.
She was definitely a Anomally. Because right now, she was dragging me straight into the depths of death.