12:40 PM
Lunchtime arrives. It's obviously a bit delayed due to everything that happened this morning, but the student council managed to organize the cafeteria even under these circumstances.
The only issue now is the unease. We're all standing in front of the cafeteria, but no starving student dares to grab food. And there's an apparent reason for this.
What guarantees the person responsible for Keiko's death hasn't infiltrated the cafeteria staff and poisoned the food?
This has been a recurring comment in the conversations I overheard.
The president seems well aware of the fear occupying the crowd's minds before her. She observes us with a look that suggests she had already anticipated such a reaction.
The tension is broken by a boy who steps forward, making his way to the utensils and proceeding to fill his plate. Nothing less is expected from Haruki. If it had been anyone else, the president would have forced them, but his case is different. He was probably the first to volunteer for this task.
He stops in front of us, wearing a calm smile, and lifts his fork with food to his mouth.
"It's delicious—especially for school standards. You'd better hurry, or there won't be anything left!" he chirps after taking the first bite.
Not bad. He managed to lighten the mood a bit after this morning's incident. However, the fear only dissipates entirely when the most substantial presence in the school decides to act.
The girl with long black hair steps forward and delivers a brief but effective statement.
"As you can see, the council guarantees that the food has not been tampered with."
"I was a little scared, but if Haruki ate and Kaichou says it's safe... we can trust them, right?" one student comments.
"Of course! They know what they're doing!" another agrees.
It seems they're getting everything back on track. Perhaps I should also place my trust in the president and the council. After all, she knows what she's doing.
"Wow, I'm starving. Let's grab something before they devour it all," Shou says.
"I could eat like a shounen protagonist," Manabu adds.
The line to get food grows quickly. Despite my hunger, I feel discouraged about joining the crowd.
The vice president, Takashi, struggles to keep everyone in a single-file line by himself. He seems pretty irritated. Where does he find the motivation to stay in such a stressful role? It might even be more exhausting than being president, considering she leaves all the dirty work to him.
The three of them head toward the line. When they notice I'm not following, Miyu looks back and asks.
"Aren't you coming?"
"I'm on my way."
I watch the president leave the area without eating and then head to the line myself.
2:51 PM
After lunch, I decide to rest a bit in the courtyard. However, there's a presence bothering me. In these circumstances, the wisest thing to do is ignore it completely. I'll take advantage of the school's current calm to try to get some sleep.
Calm, huh? Everything has settled down so quickly. It seems contradictory. We're trapped in a supernatural dimension; a student was poisoned, and others have "disappeared." After lunch, I only recall Natsuki being unstable.
How did everyone else's nerves settle so fast? Gradually, they're acting like this is the world's most normal thing.
Strange...
I doze off.
I wake up. I glance at the clock and see it's already four in the afternoon.
I dozed off for about an hour, and to my surprise, he's still there, staring at me. This is getting unnerving, really unnerving. But I imagine it's only a matter of time before his hyperactive personality makes him give up.
I fall asleep again and wake up once more. He's still watching.
"Shou, what's the meaning of this? You're really starting to piss me off," I ask, irritated.
"It's nothing! You get annoyed over the smallest things," he replies, slightly sulky.
"All right, if it's nothing, do me a favor and leave."
"If I could, I would've left already!"
Is he here against his will? I think I can connect the dots now.
"Did she send you here?"
"Yes, Miyu-chan told me to apologize for suggesting we should kill you earlier."
"You didn't know I was a player. And it wasn't directed at me specifically anyway."
Not that this changes the fact that he was willing to support killing someone to get out of this...
"Exactly, Johann! That's what I told her, but she insisted I apologize anyway. It's nothing serious. Girls these days are so overly dramatic!" He puffs out his chest and starts laughing.
When he notices he's laughing alone, he stops and focuses back on me.
"So? What are you waiting for? Go talk to Miyu."
He strokes his chin, looking down thoughtfully.
"Hmm... I don't know if I can do that. Technically, I haven't apologized to you yet..."
What's wrong with this idiot?
"You're forgiven. Does that work? Now go."
"Maybe. But I'd still be lying if she asked if I apologized."
"What's the problem? Just apologize and end this."
"It's not easy for someone with as much self-love as me."
Okay... we're getting nowhere.
"Just say I predicted what you wanted to ask and forgave you immediately, got it? Now leave."
Amid my argument with Shou, I spot that strange scene again in the background—the same foreign girl from yesterday. Once again, my mind begins to cloud with confusion. Where do I know her from? I can't remember for the life of me.
I need to get rid of Shou and follow her. There's something extraordinary about her, and I can't let her out of my sight. If I manage to talk to her, I should uncover something.
"All right, I'm in—" Shou cuts himself off when he notices I'm already walking away. "Hey, where are you going?"
"To the library. I'm looking for something to read tonight," I reply, quickening my pace.
After losing him, I head toward the girl, who tries to move away from me. I pick up my pace.
5:07 PM
"Hey!" I shout as I run after her.
As dusk approaches, there are very few students wandering the courtyard, and we're moving farther and farther from the main building. Consequently, I'm following her to a completely isolated part of the grounds.
Gradually, the only sound I can hear is our footsteps as we run. There's no one left to witness what will happen next.
"Hey, wait!" With no response, I keep trying to get her attention.
I'd really like to know where my sense of responsibility went. It's not impossible that she's deliberately leading me into an ambush. I'm definitely being as reckless as possible lately.
She stops moving away but remains with her back to me.
"Can't you hear me?!" I ask as I approach.
Finally, I've caught up to her.
In response to my call, she turns around and starts glaring at me with an unfriendly expression.
As I see her angry gaze, a strange sense of déjà vu washes over me like yesterday.