Ten Ghosts Night Parade (8)

I climbed the central stairs. Going down might mean running into the cat youkai, after all. If there's even a chance that cat youkai could be going up and down the stairs, it was best to avoid it altogether.

When I reached the middle of the stairs, the emergency light flicked on, and the hair didn't seem to be approaching anymore—it was nowhere in sight.

"If that emergency light goes out, it won't move."

Kim Eat-Chil, who had been trailing right behind me, said that. Thinking it over after hearing him, I realized he had followed me even through pitch-black darkness all around.

"You can see even when the emergency light's off?"

"Can't you, ajusshi?"

"Huh?"

What was he talking about? Of course you can't see when the light disappears. Was the world youkai saw different from mine? There was no reason for Kim Eat-Chil to lie to me on purpose, so thanks to him, I now knew the hair stopped moving when the lights went out.

But knowing that didn't help me much. Even if I went down the right stairs, checked the door on Classroom 5, and bolted right away, Classroom 4 would still be a problem. With the youkai waiting at the classroom door, I'd have to chase it off somehow to lock it. Who knew what touching the hair would do? What was I supposed to trust to get close?

"Eat-Chil, can't you do something about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that hair?"

"Nah, don't wanna."

"Why? We made a deal—you'd help with my shift."

"I am helping. I haven't gotten in your way, and I just gave you some info."

"I appreciate that, but... can't you use ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠some of that power you've got?"

"I wanna avoid direct fights."

When I asked why he wanted to avoid fights, he didn't give a straight answer. And if I really wanted to force him into one, he suggested paying extra. When I asked what he wanted, he said one of my legs would be just right.

That was as good as saying he absolutely wouldn't, so I decided to give up on using Kim Eat-Chil's power.

Up on the fifth floor, the lights came on like usual, brightening everything, and Kim Eat-Chil reverted to his normal student form. I had no intention of lingering there anyway. I headed straight for the right stairs.

Right then, the school bell rang out suddenly. I hadn't expected it at all and nearly jumped out of my skin, my heart dropping. It was ringing at a time it shouldn't, so I had to go to the broadcasting room to turn it off—and conveniently, I was already on the fifth floor. I spun around from the right stairs and made for the broadcasting room.

But the bell, which I'd figured would keep ringing, stopped after just one chime.

Huh.

Did that mean I didn't need to check the broadcasting room after all? To be safe, I went up to the door and peeked in—the lamp was lit.

What did the rulebook say for times like this?

There was no instruction to go in and turn it off. And even if there was a broadcast, the rules explicitly said not to enter. I figured I should just ignore it and keep going, so I turned back around.

"Staying here too long seems like a bad idea."

"I know. I was just ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠about to head down."

"...Ajusshi, you can't see that?"

"That?"

Kim Eat-Chil looked a little scared. Unlike his youkai form, his expressions were visible now, making it easier to read his thoughts. Tensing up, I turned to where he was pointing.

The window was slightly open. That was it. Nothing else unusual caught my eye.

"There's nothing there?"

"......"

I'd thought of Kim Eat-Chil as just another scary youkai, but he turned out to be pretty jumpy. Maybe that was why he didn't want to fight other youkai—he was scared of fights. Though he'd happily eat a human who struck first.

Survival of the fittest held true for humans and youkai alike. Of course, I wasn't about to dismiss him as a coward and take him lightly.

The fifth floor was dangerous if you stayed in one spot too long—a female student youkai with mutilated facial features would show up. I gestured quickly, and Kim Eat-Chil and I hurried to the right stairs. Nothing happened, and we escaped the fifth floor safely.

Kim Eat-Chil and I returned to the guard room on the first floor. I left him outside and went into the break room alone, sitting down at the monitor.

Kim Eat-Chil wasn't the only one who could help me. If I couldn't figure it out on my own, why not ask the Gallery? The hive mind might come up with a fresh approach.

No write-prohibit popup appeared, and the post went up smoothly. Still, the fact that the admin hadn't mentioned this youkai meant none of the predecessors had ever encountered it—or at least survived to report it. I'd met it twice now and was still alive, so it probably gave chances to escape.

Me, the first discoverer of this youkai? Not a title that thrilled me.

Of course, someone sharp-eyed spotted the inconsistency right away. Saying I was traveling with a youkai would've been too much, so I glossed over it. I was already getting misunderstood as some youkai charmer building favor—didn't need to fuel that fire.

The admin had finally graced us. Chieon Nak-si-kkun, always delivering solutions. What salvation would he bring this time?

Of course I remembered. But right now, the youkai was blocking the shift at the door.

I got the gist. Touching the hair wouldn't be instant KO. Still, wasn't testing that too risky? If it turned out tougher than expected and wrapped around me, dragging me away—that'd be nightmare fuel. And per the rules, stepping into Classroom 4 where the main body hid meant no coming out alive.

The admin jumped at my take and corrected me right away. "Not picky" referred to the youkai's pattern. The hair couldn't track me without eyes, so figure out how it did, lure it another way, then lock the door. Sounded plausible. I'd been stumped alone, but asking the Gallery was the right call.

One issue left, though.

Made sense. If the main body was strong enough to block the shift entirely, nothing for it. The second floor had looked tricky anyway—fine, skip it, take the warning. Another would leave me one chance till firing, so I prayed the admin was right about its weakness.

I thanked him, then headed back up to the fourth floor with Kim Eat-Chil.

This time, I changed my approach. Might as well use Kim Eat-Chil since he was helping. I'd approach via the right stairs from the fifth floor; he'd take the left. A classic pincer move. If it got dicey, we'd retreat and regroup at the guard room.

That way, when the lights were on, we'd see which way the hair extended. As soon as the emergency light went out and we hit the fourth floor, I hurled a baseball hard down the left hallway. The thud as it hit the floor was Kim Eat-Chil's signal to charge my way.