Chapter 9 - The Diary (1)
The Diary (1)
****
I saw the book on the desk and my body froze.
It was a book with the exact same form as Ellie's diary, which I had seen at school just a short while ago.
"Why is this here…. Is it just a similar book…?"
Maybe it wasn't Ellie's diary, but a notebook that the academy hands out to everyone.
"……."
No, that probably wasn't it.
This was definitely the diary Ellie had been holding.
Because for something handed out by the academy, the worn state of the thick hardcover was completely identical to the diary I had seen in the classroom just a moment ago.
"Mmm…."
I definitely didn't remember bringing it with me.
If I had brought a book this thick, it would have surely remained in my memory.
Just in case, I gently picked up the book and opened it.
There, short diary entries were written on each page.
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Today, I fell while walking down the street.
Thanks to that, my glasses flew off, and a passerby stepped on them.
I received an apology, but in turn, I felt sorry.
Is mother still angry with me, I wonder.
The same handwriting as the diary entry from Ellie I had seen a little while ago.
This was definitely Ellie's diary.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: Hey, what is this??
[Photo]
A girl named Ellie who I got to know today
She was writing in her diary after school, and somehow it’s in my room now
What is this??
• • •
Comments
[LunchboxCollector: Ooh-yah…, stealing a diary is….]
ㄴ[Ares: As if, you fuck;;;]
ㄴ[LunchboxCollector: Ah, so you didn't steal it??]
ㄴ[Ares: What the hell do you think of me???]
ㄴ[LunchboxCollector: A sexual harasser with the libido of a beast??]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: Surprisingly, all of that is true;;;]
ㄴ[StudentCouncilTerrorist: For a moment, I also thought this bastard stole a girl's diary lolol]
"These bastards…."
I was being very serious right now.
A girl's diary that I hadn't even brought with me was now sitting on my desk in my room.
Shivers!
Thinking about it, a chill went down my spine.
Just then, a single comment slid into view.
It was NightRat.
[NightRat: It's an event]
…That's probably what it is, right?
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: Emergency!!! Survival-bros, come on!!!
[Photo]
The diary of a girl I just got to know today is suddenly in my room
For reference, I didn't steal it
What is this?? No matter how I look at it, it seems like a ghost story event, do you guys know anything??
• • •
Comments
[RedNightSky: Well, since it's a diary, shouldn't you read it??]
ㄴ[Ares: I should read it, right…?]
ㄴ[NightRat: ㅇㅇ, it's in your room anyway, so the event seems to have already started]
ㄴ[NightRat: It doesn't seem to be the type where you die if you read it]
ㄴ[Ares: Phew…, then I guess I have to read it.]
ㄴ[Ooh-yah, a female classmate's secret diary]
Just in case, after getting confirmation from the gallery, I sat down at my desk, tense.
Honestly, to be peeking at a diary written by someone else, and a female classmate at that.
I felt a sense of guilt.
But at the same time, along with a sense of depravity, my heart pounded at the thought of what kind of secret stories might be written inside the diary.
For no reason, the large breasts that stood out on Ellie's small frame came to mind.
"Ahem, let's see…."
First, as is standard, I would read from the very first page.
The volume was a bit large, but let's just get a taste of the beginning.
And so, I began to read the diary.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: This isn't what I was expecting
Where did the girl's fluffy, squishy, secret diary go??
Fuck TTTT After reading it, it turned out to be a misfortune diary that's making me depressed too….
• • •
Comments
[StudentCouncilTerrorist: What's it about, roughly??]
ㄴ[Ares: Cinderella was young and lost her parents…, shaba shaba ai shaba….]
ㄴ[StudentCouncilTerrorist: Oof, just looking at the lyrics brings tears to my eyes TTTT]
ㄴ[His ability to empathize is insane]
[NightRat: Anything unusual? Like something a bit creepy.]
ㄴ[Ares: Well, just that Ellie sees things that aren't there]
ㄴ[Ares: And she blames herself for all the various things that happen around her??]
ㄴ[Ares: It's still the beginning, so that's all I know.]
ㄴ[NightRat: What about the very last entry? Have you read it??]
ㄴ[Ares: I haven't read the most recent entry yet]
ㄴ[NightRat: Then check that first]
Following the advice of NightRat, who always gave serious help, I quickly flipped through the beginning of the diary and looked at the first page.
And at some point as I was turning the pages, one page opened as if it had been caught on my hand.
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Today, Levin introduced me to a friend.
A boy named Ares.
For some reason, he kept staring at my chest from our very first meeting.
Levin said he was a nice kid, but is that really true…?
It was the content of the diary that Ellie had been writing during dismissal after class had ended today.
It seemed that since it was the page she was writing on today, the opened part had been pressed down by her hand and naturally got caught on my finger.
'There's nothing particularly strange….'
And so, I was about to take a picture and post it on the gallery to let them know there was nothing wrong.
But…
"…Huh?"
Flip!
The next page of the diary turned over before I knew it.
There, more of the diary was written.
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Today, I saw mother for the first time in a long time
Mother was standing behind the homeroom teacher
What could it be this time
Mother still hates me
"…What is this?"
It was clearly a diary entry for tomorrow's date.
Did she perhaps write the date wrong?
No, let's get a grip.
That was just wishful thinking.
The world I was in was not so lenient as to be passed off with such a cute mistake.
First, I let everyone on the gallery know about this fact.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: Found something strange
[Photo]
A diary entry for tomorrow's date is written
Looks like there's more after this
For now, I'm just posting tomorrow's entry
• • •
The comments came in quickly.
And, the thoughts of the gallery members were also similar to mine.
No, anyone who saw this diary would probably think the same thing.
[NightRat: It's a future diary]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: It's obviously the story of what will happen tomorrow]
ㄴ[What the hell is this about the mother??]
ㄴ[Ares: She saw her mom die because of her mistake when she was young, and she's been seeing things like that ever since]
[StudentCouncilTerrorist: By any chance, what's the content of the next page??]
ㄴ[Ares: Hold on brb]
When you open the book, a total of two pages are visible.
Since each page was normally used for a single day’s entry, I checked the page next to it.
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Today, I had lunch with Ares again at Levin's suggestion.
Just like yesterday…, for some reason, it feels like he's making an effort to fix his gaze on my eyes.
Is he trying not to look at my chest?
Maybe he's not as bad a kid as I thought.
From what I heard, it seems his relationship with Lana was also a misunderstanding.
"It's normal…?"
As I read the diary entry from two days later, I tilted my head.
Just then, my gaze fixed on the very last line of that day's entry.
[Mother is still behind the homeroom teacher.]
"……."
The apparition of the mother that had been appearing since a while ago.
This was what was particularly unsettling.
In the beginning of the diary, the young Ellie's mother had died due to her mistake, and after that, she would often see her mother's apparition.
And when unfortunate things happened, like falling on the street or losing things.
She thought it was all because she was being resented by her mother.
'Looking at the content now, it seems like she's seen the hallucination for the first time in a while.'
With a tense heart, I turned the page.
And
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Mother smiled
On the next page, only a single line of diary was written.
"What the hell…."
Feeling a sense of dread, I moved on to the next page.
The diary from four days from now.
The content there was once again a peaceful daily life.
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Today, Ares invited me to the cafe again.
Last time, I was so surprised that I ran away.
After knowing him for a few days, he seems different from my first impression, so I agreed.
Seeing how happy he was, he seems pure, maybe….
"No, what about the teacher…?"
The mother smiled, so what about the homeroom teacher the mother was attached to?
For some reason, there was no content about that, only stories related to daily life.
Not only the homeroom teacher, but there was also no story about the mother.
Would there be one the next day?
I turned the page.
"Ah, fuck—!!"
And I immediately shouted and threw the book.
"……."
I calmed down and, with trembling hands, opened the diary again to check the contents.
"Fucking hell, for real…."
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Mother was standing behind Ares.
After confirming the 5th day's diary, which was fucked up from the first sentence, I read the rest of the diary, conscious of the somehow tingling back of my head.
When I came to the cafe, she was standing behind Ares.
This time, it's Ares.
Ares is a good person.
Does mother hate it when I make friends?
That must be it.
Mother doesn't want to see me happy.
Mother still hates me, after all.
After that, it was roughly written about what we talked about at the cafe and how the coffee tasted.
There was nothing more written about the mother, nor any more impressions about me.
As if the Ellie who was writing the diary was deliberately looking away.
"What the hell is this…, why me again…!"
With a feeling of being wronged, I turned to the next page.
The 6th day's diary.
[ㅁㅁMonth ㅁㅁDay]
Mother smiled
"……."
After confirming the 6th day's diary, which had only a single line written, I immediately tried to check the next diary entry.
But on the next page, nothing was written.
The next page, too.
And the next.
No matter how many pages I turned, the next entry was not written.
"……."
Hoping my gut feeling was wrong, I took pictures of the six days of the future diary and uploaded them to the gallery.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: This isn't fucked, right??
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
[Photo]
Tell me it's not…
• • •
Comments
[StudentCouncilTerrorist: You're fucked;;;]
[NightRat: It's a prophecy-type ghost story. It'll probably come true just like that.]
ㄴ[Ares: After the mother fucking smiled, there's no story about the teacher]
ㄴ[Ares: No, for me too, the diary cuts off after the mother fucking smiled. This isn't what I think it is, right???]
ㄴ[NightRat: Of course it is, you idiot. Hurry up and think of a solution.]
ㄴ[Ares: Ah, fuck]
In fact, it was the kind of anomaly that didn't leave much room for interpretation.
I had heard this kind of story a few times before I fell into this place.
'What happened to the protagonists in those stories…?'
I think they all had bad endings.
"No, no…. I can't die like this…."
I got a grip on myself.
Because if there was one thing I was good at, it was accepting things quickly.
The contents of this diary would happen in the future.
And if I didn't change the future.
I would probably die.
***
Late into the night, until dawn, I shared thoughts with the gallery members on how to break through this anomaly event.
The first idea, burn it.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: How about burning the whole diary??
Usually, shamans burn this kind of thing
What do you guys think about burning it??
• • •
Comments
[StudentCouncilTerrorist: Burning it isn't a bad idea]
[ForGlory: There was a bastard who burned a similar anomaly item before]
ㄴ[Me me me me]
ㄴ[Ares: Oh, what happened???]
ㄴ[Can't you tell by looking, I'm right here ㅎㅎㅎ]
ㄴ[Ares: Ah, fuck, for real;;;]
It seemed that burning things in this world was not a very good solution.
And next.
The second solution.
That was to act directly.
• • •
Author: NightRat
Title: Ares, you have 6 days left anyway
It's a prophecy-type ghost story, but what's important is whether it changes according to your actions or not
You have 6 days left, so try to change the future somehow before that mother attaches to your back
• • •
Comments
[Ares: Will that break the ghost story???]
ㄴ[NightRat: I don't know if it will or not, but it's worth checking.]
"Phew…."
And so, the next day came, and I went to the academy as usual.
"Hi, Ares♡"
"Ah, Lana."
"What's this? How come your expression brightens up when you see me? What's going on?"
"……."
In the morning, instead of Levin, Lana came up to me, and we went to school together.
Why was it?
I was so scared and tense, but when Lana clung to me, my heart inexplicably calmed down.
Even though this bitch was an anomaly too.
Was this why kings of old sought out concubines so much?
There was something about a woman's warmth that calmed the heart.
Anyway, I moved to the classroom like that.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: Mother's entrance
The homeroom teacher came in for the morning meeting.
A bizarre woman in a white dress followed the teacher in
• • •