Anonymous Chat Room
Anonymous Chat Room
The Lichten Academy's magical network: Kirtos.
There were two ways to use it.
The first was a text-based bulletin board that ran on paper commonly called "thermal sheets."
People mostly used this method when they couldn't afford a terminal for connecting to Kirtos or just wanted to browse casually outdoors.
As the name "thermal sheets" suggested, you couldn't access all of Kirtos's functions that way.
"Hoo..."
Third-Ranked Women's Dormitory.
Rina Rosewell kept glancing at the clock.
[ 20:45 ]
Today was the day the four female students connected to Ian had arranged to hold an anonymous meeting. The agreed-upon time was nearly upon them.
"I'll wait ten more minutes."
In truth, Rina had been waiting for an hour.
Time to talk about Ian with other people.
Chances like this were rare.
If she spoke carelessly about him outside, all kinds of bizarre rumors would spread.
"That would be... impossible."
She wanted to avoid getting tangled up with Ian if she could.
If she had wanted that, she would have accepted his confession to begin with.
It was true that Rina's reputation was good...
But everyone had their limits.
Ian existed beyond those limits.
That was why she'd said harsh words when he offered her the lunchbox.
"Was it because of that, or the shock from falling off the rooftop?"
Out of the four people involved, Rina was probably the one closest to Ian.
The fact that Ian had changed.
At first, she couldn't accept it at all. Now it was different.
She'd witnessed Ian's change with her own eyes.
'His personality, his attitude—everything has completely changed.'
Above all, his suddenly improved skills bothered her.
The better he did, the more her own grades slipped.
And if her grades slipped, her scholarship was at risk.
If her scholarship was at risk, she couldn't pay the academy's tuition.
That meant expulsion.
"...This is seriously dangerous."
Rina felt the unfairness of it all.
Lichten Academy was fanatically obsessed with student performance.
Especially when it came to scholarships.
"...And I can't even take a part-time job."
The entrance scholarship came with a ban on part-time work.
A condition tied to maintaining decorum.
— Grumble
That was why Rina went hungry every day.
Now that her one source of lunchboxes had been cut off, it was even worse.
"Ah, seriously!"
Thinking about Ian again.
These days, it felt like every thought led back to Ian.
If only.
If only Ian hadn't come back.
Would things have been better than they were now?
Rina bit her lip lightly.
[20:55]
Only about five minutes left now.
"I can log in by now, right?"
A long black cloth rested in her hand.
Its identity: a Kirtos access terminal.
Rina wrapped it around her eyes.
Total darkness.
She gently pushed elemental mana into the cloth, and the terminal's mana circuits hummed to life.
[ User verification complete. ]
[ Connected to Kirtos. ]
[ Anonymous Chat Room KEY confirmed. ]
Soon her vision brightened.
A type of illusion magic.
Normally, she would have landed in a massive virtual plaza.
That was the default setting for a Kirtos connection.
But accessing an anonymous chat room was different.
A large dressing room unfolded before Rina's eyes.
This room existed to customize her outward appearance.
To guarantee anonymity, all sorts of accessories could conceal a person's looks.
'The Kirtos avatar already looks different from the real thing anyway...'
But still, things like body language or everyday habits could give someone away.
An entire wall covered in masks.
Standing before it, Rina fell into brief contemplation.
"...Which one should I pick?"
She picked up one of the masks.
◆
Fitting for a virtual space: an endlessly antique mansion.
In a space that was hard to classify as indoors or a garden,
a huge donut-shaped table with a large hole in the center stood.
One wooden chair for each cardinal direction.
Three were already occupied: a crown mask to the north, a bandage mask to the west, and a rabbit mask to the east.
— Creeeak
The sound of a door opening drew their attention toward the entrance.
A student wearing a leaf mask walked in.
"Welcome."
The queen mask greeted the leaf warmly.
Though her manner of speaking was rather odd.
"Ah, hello?"
"You have every right to be bewildered. Worry not. The speech is a concept."
"That's a relief."
"Before we continue. Allow me to explain a few rules."
The queen continued.
"Here, I would ask that we conceal all personal information that might reveal our identities as much as possible."
"Ah... understood."
"I recommend altering your manner of speech like I have, if you can."
The queen mask's way of speaking was certainly unusual.
Even the crown decoration atop her head was extraordinary.
At least as far as anyone knew, there was no royalty at Lichten Academy.
Proof that it was an act.
Leaf nodded lightly and took the remaining seat.
The rabbit mask, who had been quietly observing, spoke up.
"I fail to understand why we must gather anonymously like this. Even altering our speech."
"Fufu."
The queen's open mockery.
Rabbit bristled.
"Are you trying to pick a fight?"
The bandage mask cut in.
"I think I understand."
Bandage flinched slightly as three gazes converged on her.
But she soon found her voice without much trouble.
"One of the four of us here might be on Ian's side, after all."
"Hmm."
"The same goes for you, Rabbit Mask. It's a necessary step to protect each of us. Everyone here knows the contents of Ian's suicide note, don't they?"
"Hmm."
"The Ian who wrote that note has now returned to the academy. We simply don't know what he might do next."
Bandage finished with a grim voice.
Ian's suicide note had indeed been serious.
The claim that he jumped because they had rejected his confessions was unsettling to the core, no matter how you interpreted it.
Even if someone had rejected his confession without harboring any ill will toward Ian, reading that note would inevitably kill whatever goodwill remained.
Ian's suicide note was the adhesive binding these four people together.
All four nodded.
Including the culprit who had forged the note.
"Bandage speaks true."
The queen resumed.
"All four of us here are victims of Ian's coercive suicide attempt, one could say. And even before that, each of us suffered his obsession, did we not?"
"That is correct."
"...Yes."
The queen slowly looked around the room.
A palpable confidence radiated from her.
"Therefore, we must seize this opportunity to drive Ian out of the academy. Ensure he can never set foot in Lichten again."
Bandage nodded, while Leaf seemed faintly hesitant.
Rabbit spoke.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
"The upcoming Disciplinary Committee hearing. And the preliminary review before it. You will all have heard about this by now."
"Correct."
"I am proposing we get our stories straight. So that he receives a fitting punishment for his crimes."
Bandage and Rabbit nodded.
But Leaf seemed to have lingering misgivings.
The queen asked.
"If anyone has an opinion, voice it freely. That is, after all, why we are doing this anonymously."
"......"
After pursing her lips for a moment, Leaf cautiously spoke.
"...I don't think Ian has done anything wrong to that extent."
Silence settled over the round table.
Sharp stares fixed on Leaf.
◆
"Ah... n-no, I'm not defending him."
Leaf hastily waved both hands.
"Then what do you mean?"
"I can't follow your line of thinking at all."
The queen and rabbit murmured coolly.
Leaf lowered her head slightly.
"W-Well."
A beat of silence.
Lifting her head, Leaf spoke.
"I think there's a possibility that Ian isn't the culprit."
As if her earlier stammering had been an act, Leaf's words were now clear and crisp.
"Even if that possibility is infinitesimally small, I don't think we should go out of our way to rig the Disciplinary Committee's outcome. If it's true that Ian did wrong without us going that far, the result will be the same anyway. And that's very likely."
It was a sound argument.
"You make a valid point."
The queen nodded.
This was the same queen who had been insisting they bury Ian for certain. Rabbit and Bandage stared at her in disbelief. The queen shrugged.
"I am merely stating that it is a valid argument. We should hear more of what Leaf has to say."
Nodding, Leaf continued.
"Besides, there have been rumors going around lately that Ian has changed. What does everyone think about that?"
"I do feel like he has changed, somewhat."
Bandage murmured.
"I have heard such things."
The queen answered as well.
At that moment.
"......"
The silent Rabbit Mask raised a hand.
The queen gestured toward her.
"Speak."
"I have a strong suspicion that Ian has put a curse on us."
"A curse?"
Bandage and Leaf exclaimed simultaneously.
"I thought all of you might have felt it too. Aren't you all renowned for your abilities to some extent?"
At Rabbit's words, Bandage and Leaf looked away.
They seemed rather embarrassed.
The queen smiled and summarized the discussion.
"In short: there are signs Ian may have changed, yet at the same time, the harm he is doing to us seems certain. Furthermore, while he might be innocent, if he is not, the situation is quite malicious and could worsen."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
"We still have time, so it wouldn't hurt to consider how to align our statements. Before that, if anyone finds other evidence regarding Ian, we can change course."
The hour had grown late as they talked.
It wasn't a bad proposal to end the first day's gathering.
Everyone nodded.
Just as they were setting the time for the next meeting and about to disperse.
"Ah. And one more thing."
The queen spoke as if she had just remembered.
"Combat training for each class will be scheduled soon. It's a significant event, so I trust you all know something about it."
Combat training.
A crucial exercise that comprised a substantial portion of the academy's semester grades.
"Keep an eye on Ian. This is for the Meiji Class member among you. We'll see whether he has truly changed or not. I suspect the training will reveal his true nature."
"You told us not to reveal our identities, but if we do that, won't our identities be exposed? Only one of us here could be in the Meiji Class."
The queen laughed at Rabbit Mask's remark.
"Fufu. Could I not be the Meiji Class student?"
And with that, the anonymous meeting came to an end.