Chapter 127
Chapter 127
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: School Ghost Story
-----------------------------------------------------------------
My head was spinning quite a bit. Ian stared quietly at the girl clinging to his arm like a cicada and rapidly turned his brain.
'Where the hell am I right now?'
Beyond the front gate of Sayo High School. The cherry blossom-lined path to school looked no different from the one he'd seen at dawn. The number of street trees, the shape of the athletic field, and crucially, the school building itself were all exactly the same. There was no room for doubt.
'What time is it?'
He swallowed and pulled out his phone to check the time.
The clock, plastered with question marks, greeted Ian with a wide grin.
This wasn't a metaphor. Beyond the surely monochrome phone screen, he could see someone smiling as they rushed toward him. The faint laughter grew louder and louder.
Squeeze.
There was no need to listen to all of it. Ian immediately turned off the phone, confirmed there were no issues, and pocketed it.
'Definitely an anomaly.'
The strangely appearing time. The changed wallpaper despite not setting it. And the woman in mourning clothes charging at him with a kitchen knife, among other things.
Things that could never happen in reality had occurred one after another in just a few seconds. Ian let out a long breath and glanced up at the sky.
"......"
Strangely, there was no sun in the sky. Just blue skies and clouds. Yet sunlight existed, its hot temperature fully felt on his skin. Only the shadows remained perfectly still, unmoving.
It probably wasn't the ghost story hiding the sun. It was better to assume they'd entered an entirely different space.
Whether it was a spatial anomaly or one eroding reality wasn't clear yet, but given the completely altered time, it was no ordinary one. Get careless, and they could be goners. If Lee Seo-ah had come alone, her survival wouldn't even be guaranteed.
With that thought, tagging along had been the right call. Ian pushed away the girl resembling the Master of the Outer Sea and checked the surroundings for Lee Seo-ah. The girl whined, "Ah, senpai!" but he ignored her for now.
"......Ah, there she is."
Fortunately, Lee Seo-ah was easy to spot.
On the second floor of the main school building. Her face was clearly visible through the window of what looked like a classroom. The distance wasn't far, making it possible to recognize her.
Mind control... didn't seem to have affected her. Instead of a calm expression, her face was full of confusion and irritation, suggesting her head hadn't gone haywire. That was a relief, at least.
'Guess we link up there for now.'
Ian sighed deeply and rummaged through his pockets for a cigarette, but paused upon realizing this was a school.
Obviously, smoking was banned on school grounds. Students couldn't smoke in the first place. If this place had rules like the library or hospital, lighting up carelessly could lead to penalties, demerits, or worse.
"......"
Now was the time for caution. Information was too scarce. Whether this was truly a spatial anomaly was uncertain, and even if those walking students were human was unknown.
And above all...
'Is this thing really the Master of the Outer Sea?'
Ian furrowed his brow and glared at the girl's face as she kept clinging to him.
"Uh, u-um... senpai...? Why are you looking at me so scary...?"
Her pupils trembled in fear, her shoulders slightly hunched.
She looked every bit the fragile girl, but Ian didn't let his guard down. He didn't know exactly what "it" was, but taking the form of an Outer God alone made it a target for suspicion.
'Not the real one. If it were, this space couldn't hold.'
The Master of the Outer Sea appeared often in various works of fiction, so its reputation had diminished, but reality and fiction were distinct. Even if not the Master, if a cosmic entity revealed its true form here, no mere ghost story could withstand it. A school-based entity and a god swimming the cosmos weren't on the same level.
Besides, the Master was among the highest Outer Gods, an exalted being. If it came in true form, the school ghost story—and Earth itself—would crumble. The weights were different.
Still, just in case, Ian swallowed and murmured her name softly.
"......Master of the Outer Sea."
His voice made her react.
"Master of the Outer Sea...? What's that? A new game?"
The girl, identical in appearance to the Master, tilted her head cutely.
"Is it a game you play, senpai? Then I wanna play too! Does it have a couple system?!"
Her eyes sparkled as she approached Ian. He took two steps back for every one she took, exhaling deeply.
'......No reaction.'
Did she really not know? Or was she pretending?
He couldn't tell. That made it even more unsettling. It felt like something wearing human skin, acting and speaking like one. A nauseating sensation ran up his spine. Hard to describe.
If she were the real one, Ian might feel easier. Form aside, he'd spoken with the Master once before. A few words might even make her back off.
But this was an unknown entity. Nameless. Just ■■■ etched absurdly on her name tag.
No clue what to call it. Square-square-square? Blank? Or just make something up?
Maybe it responded to whatever he called it. Either way, it creeped him out.
"......"
Ian racked his brain here. Was it better to play along with this damned puppet show or act strictly as a mage? Which gave higher survival odds?
"Tch."
He reached a conclusion soon enough.
"......For now, let's head inside."
Ian said that and stepped toward the school building. The Master of the Outer Sea—no, ■■■—followed.
"Yesss. But senpai, why are you so prickly today? You always hug me when we meet."
"Probably 'cause something bad happened."
"......'Probably'? Why guess? Did something bad happen or not?"
"If I had to say, yeah."
Ian glanced at his wrist. Where nothing had been, a watch now dangled. Like handcuffs, impossible to remove, it blinked the time.
His externally brought phone was dead, but the watch worked fine. Meaning this watch was part of the "school ghost story." Ian twisted his lips and tapped it.
The metal watch didn't react. It just silently ticked clockwise.
"Senpai? Why'd you stop suddenly?"
"......Nah, it's nothing."
He brushed off ■■■'s question and pulled down his sleeve. The watch hid under the pristine school uniform shirt.
"Let's go in."
He'd decided to play along with this backwater drama, so now he had to match the ghost story's pace. Anomalies with rules had severe risks for breaking them. No choice.
Acting blatantly defiant could summon a hospital director-level something, and even Ian couldn't guarantee survival.
'......First, link up with Lee Seo-ah. Then discuss countermeasures.'
With that, Ian slowly entered the building. The interior, filled with the excitement of a new semester and the fresh scent of youth, had no trace of eerie chill.
"......"
And that was the most bizarre part of all.
"See you during break, senpai!"
■■■'s class was 1st year Class 3. She slid open the back door, flashing Ian a bright smile. Her pale skin peeked through the swaying skirt.
"And you know there's joint PE in 3rd period today, right? Hehe... I'll be your partner, senpai, so don't even glance at those other girls......"
"Just get inside already."
"Yup."
■■■ winked at Ian, closed the door, and headed to her seat. Ian noted her smile turning blank in an instant, clicked his tongue, and headed to the third floor.
The third floor held second-year classrooms. He found his familiar one, entered, and plopped into his seat.
Back row by the left window. Right next to Lee Seo-ah. She, sitting with a serious expression gazing out the window, whipped her head around at the presence beside her. Her glare was quite fierce, but softened upon seeing it was Ian.
"Ah, Ian...! You're safe!"
"Managed somehow. You okay?"
"No injuries. Mind's fine too. But my phone's dead, so no contacting outside."
"Mine got contaminated too. Got this watch instead, though......"
"Same here. Some unfamiliar watch on my wrist."
She rolled up her sleeve to show the black leather watch. Ian groaned.
"Same time. Probably this space's time."
"Yeah. Sigh... I just wanted to stroll the midnight school and catch some ghosts. What is this?"
"We didn't know coming in, so no helping it. Tell your parents you'll be late today. I'll do the same."
"Got it."
Lee Seo-ah nodded. Ian swept back his hair and hung his bag on the hook.
"......Ah?"
His eyes widened. He turned to Lee Seo-ah, face twisting.
"Wait, shit. We're both orphans. Where are our parents?"
"......Huh?"
Lee Seo-ah's face went blank at his words, then paled.
"......Right? Then whose memory is this?"
"......"
"I swear, just yesterday I ate and walked with my parents? No, wait. Yesterday I was doing magic practice, then heard you were coming down, and...? Huh...?"
Her pupils quivered. Ian cursed inwardly and bit his lip hard.
For the first time in ages, chills ran down his spine.