Creepy Doubles on the First Day
On the first day at the academy, I swallowed hard. This situation was dangerous.
“Jovolmuilson?”
I had to say something, but I couldn’t remember what I’d been about to say. And the longer I stayed silent, the sharper its suspicious gaze grew—its eyes tearing all the way to its ears.
My response was instinctive.
“...N-no, I just heard the bread at the snack bar is really good. I haven’t been teaching here at the academy long, so... could you recommend something tasty?”
“....”
An eternity of silence stretched out.
...Did I mess up?
“Delmareen i yossee mat.”
But thankfully, it seemed I’d fooled her. She gave me a curt reply and brushed past, vanishing. At the same time, the gazes of the countless things watching me drifted away.
...I survived.
Only after putting plenty of distance between myself and those bizarre humans—no, those things imitating humans—could I finally let out a sigh of relief.
“...Haa. What the hell was that? Those things just now.”
Weird humans dotted sporadically among the students. There was this concept called the uncanny valley—the idea that the more something clumsily resembled a human, the creepier it felt. Those grotesque students fit the bill perfectly.
I remembered a cartoon from my childhood about fake humans made of konnyaku infiltrating human society to replace the real ones. They looked just like ordinary humans, or students in this case, but you couldn’t help sensing an inexplicable, unpleasant presence about them.
Yet strangely, the normal students around them didn’t seem to notice anything off while hanging out with these fake ones. Or actually, I was the same. Just yesterday, I hadn’t even noticed their existence.
...But what if I’d let on that I’d spotted them? I didn’t even want to imagine it.
I shook my head and decided to head back to the staff room first.
Once I returned to the staff room and confirmed it was safe, I could finally sort through things calmly. A endlessly repeating day, plus grotesque humans hiding among the students. Two elements that didn’t seem connected at all. What could they possibly have to do with each other? Or were they separate incidents entirely?
And something this memorable—I couldn’t have forgotten the title of whatever story this was from.
“Is something wrong? You don’t look so good.”
As I returned to the staff room, Lydia asked me with evident concern.
Was it that obvious on my face? Not good.
“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just worried if I can really make it here at the academy.”
“Don’t worry. When I first stood at the front of the classroom as a teacher, there were so many tough and difficult things... but somehow, I’m managing now.”
Lydia smiled brightly, encouraging me despite my half-hearted excuse. I’d thought she was just a fragile sort of person until now, but maybe she had a tougher core than I realized.
“Heh heh heh. Lydia, I never knew you could say something like that. What a surprise. Wasn’t it just the other day you were sobbing face-down in the staff room after botching a lesson?”
“Mr. Fresian! D-don’t tease me!”
The one who interrupted me and Lydia’s conversation was a rotund middle-aged man in his mid-to-late forties, with a friendly impression.
“Ah, I’m Fresian, the grade chair.”
“Nice to meet you. Looking forward to working with you.”
“Heh heh heh! No need to be so tense. Everyone gets nervous and flustered at first with unfamiliar work. Anyway, we’re truly grateful to have a talented individual like you, Mr. Allen, joining us as a teacher. Isn’t that right, Ms. Lydia?”
Fresian smoothly inserted himself into our conversation. Was it that natural affability middle-aged guys often had?
“Yes, exactly. It’s somehow surprising to see someone as impressive as you getting nervous, Mr. Allen. Ah, I don’t mean to mock you or anything...”
“Haha, I get it. You’re thinking of me.”
“Y-yes...”
Lydia’s face flushed bright red as she bowed her head. The other teachers in the staff room watched her with warm, affectionate smiles. It was a cozy scene, as if everything I’d just gone through was all in my head.
Ah, right. I’d been under the delusion that I had to handle these anomalies alone. But really, there was no need to shoulder it all by myself.
Trying to solve it solo was just my stubbornness, wanting to keep the academy’s “scenario” under my control. But since I’d faced the anomalies and still couldn’t recall the story’s title, there was no point clinging to that stubbornness till the end.
In times like this, sharing what I’d experienced with everyone and tackling it together was the rational choice.
“Um, Ms. Lydia, Mr. Fresian. There’s something I’d like to consult you about.”
“Heh heh heh! Excellent! A newbie in society has to know when to lean on their seniors. Though I’m not sure if we can call you a newbie, Mr. Allen—at least on the stage of education, you’re still a rookie.”
“Yes! I’ll help with anything I can!”
Both of them eagerly offered their support. Luckily, the teachers at this academy where I’d been assigned all seemed like good people.
“Actually, it’s not directly related to my duties as a teacher. While I was wandering the buildings to get familiar with the academy’s layout, I ran into some... unusual students. It’s hard to believe, but...”
I explained only about the weird students I’d seen, leaving out the time loop part. No matter how friendly the teachers were, repeating the same day over and over wasn’t something to casually bring up.
“It might just be me overreacting, or maybe some weird prank trending among the students these days. But it bugged me enough that I couldn’t just ignore it. Do you know anything about it?”
I downplayed it as much as possible, making it sound trivial. The true nature of those grotesque humans would come out with a little investigation anyway, and it’d be worse if they started suspecting me of being the weirdo here.
“By the way, Mr. Allen... did you end up going to the snack bar and getting a madeleine after all?”
“No, I was too distracted and gave up on it. More importantly, what do you think about what I just told you...?”
Was it a mistake to treat the incident so lightly? Fresian didn’t seem to sense anything odd and tossed an irrelevant question my way.
Wait—had I even mentioned trying to go to the snack bar?
In the eerie silence, I cautiously lifted my head to look at Mr. Fresian.
Our eyes met. He was staring at me with a blank expression. And it wasn’t just him—the other teachers were glaring at me with emotionless faces too.
“You did notice, didn’t yooooouuuuu!!!!!!”
Mr. Fresian bellowed and lunged at me. And with him leading, the other teachers in the staff room began charging one after another.
Damn it!
I bolted up from my seat and fled as their hands narrowly grazed my collar.
“M-Mr. Fresian!? Mr. Allen!? What’s going o— Kyaaah!!”
Lydia flailed in confusion at the teachers suddenly coming for me, only to get swept up by the fakes and vanish in an instant.
“Mr. Fresian, what the hell are you doing?!”
“What did Mr. Allen do to make you snap like that?!”
“The students are still in class!”
The normal teachers, finally realizing something was wrong, cried out in shock and tried to intervene. But the fakes, having dropped their masks, attacked indiscriminately.
Blood splattered across the staff room in seconds, soon filling with screams and inhuman howls.
Ironically, I was the only one who could escape the chaos—thanks to knowing about the fake humans ahead of time. Seizing the moment when their attention split toward the other teachers, I slipped out of the staff room.
But outside, hordes of fake humans already prowling the halls were waiting for me.
The grotesque students, who’d at least pretended to blend in among the others until now, no longer hid their true nature as they rushed me.
Normal students still cluttered the corridor, though, slowing their charge. Using them as shields, I desperately dodged away.
Damn! So they weren’t acting obviously bizarre enough to spot at a glance? To think they could fully masquerade as ordinary humans.
“Kya kya kya!! He’s over there!”
“Rennamul eomukkeo myeonganda!!!”
“This is the broadcasting club. The time is 62:542 AM.”
I ran nonstop, fleeing the grotesque voices echoing from behind. Since reincarnating, I’d never run this much—my lungs burned right up to my throat.
How long did I run? Dodging voices from behind, veering away from fakes ahead, climbing stairs, dashing through empty classrooms, descending again.
But when I snapped to, I was surrounded by the grotesque humans.
The students who’d been blocking for me had either been slaughtered or fled—none were in sight.
“Kya kya kya kya!!!”
“Ding—dong—daeng—dong—. This is the broadcasting club. School’s out— all staff, please clock out to hell.”
Right, left. Packs of grotesque humans closing in from both ends of the hall. Even trying to climb the stairs again, more stared down from above.
Was I really going to die like this? Without even surviving the first day?
What happens if I die here? Back to the loop’s start?
...Or just dead for good?
I didn’t want to go down without a fight, but no ideas came.
“Kya kya kya kya!!!”
“Ding—dong—daeng—dong—.”
“Heh heh heh heh!!!”
The encirclement tightened slowly. Treating me like cornered prey they’d already caught, they weren’t rushing.
That’s when it happened.
“This way!!”
A woman’s voice called from behind me. Before I could respond, its owner grabbed my nape and yanked me back.
Caught off guard, I toppled without resisting and tumbled down the stairs.