2:51 PM
She's not in this room either. This was the last floor I needed to search.
Where could she have gone? She just entered this building, but now I can't find her anywhere.
I head back down to the ground floor and approach Manabu.
"Nothing here either. I think she has the ability to dematerialize or turn invisible," Manabu says.
At least he was helpful in assisting with the search. But in the end, contrary to the laws of physics, this girl has indeed vanished. I checked every room, and Manabu stayed near the entrance to make sure she didn't try to leave.
Maybe she noticed we were following her and jumped out of a window on the ground or a low floor.
Damn it, I can't believe I lost her trail over such a silly mistake.
"Let's give up, Jocchi. You can talk to her another time," he says, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"You go on ahead. I'll search a bit more. She has to be somewhere in this school. She couldn't have left the premises."
"Jocchi, have you realized you're not yourself? This is far from the cautious person I used to know."
This may be how the anomaly has affected me, but even though I'm aware that I'm not acting normally, I still want to persist in this.
"I don't know. But my instincts tell me this is what I need to do."
"Fine, I'll go on ahead. But I might have an interesting suggestion. There's a place in this building you might not have checked yet—the basement."
"The basement? I didn't even know this building had one."
Wait, there is one. Those small windows near the ground must belong to it.
"This building is very old, so it's in the process of being abandoned and will eventually be demolished. The basement used to be the school's old storage area, but now it's forgotten."
This information is invaluable. That must be where she spends her time when she disappears.
"Thank you. I'll check it out and come back soon."
He waves and walks out of sight. I search for the basement entrance and find an old door on the ground floor within minutes. Curiously, the lock is broken, suggesting it was forced open at some point.
I open the door and see a staircase leading downward.
She must be here. It's a quiet and discreet place. There's no better hiding spot.
I gather my courage and descend the steps cautiously. Knowing her, it's not out of the question that she'd set a trap for intruders.
Reaching the bottom, I find what appears to be an ordinary storage area. There are old desks once used in classrooms, rusty chairs, and other odds and ends. However, I soon spot a shadow in the distance.
3:09 PM
The entire space is a chaotic mess, but I'm sure the shadow was here. With so many shelves and old furniture, this place is a labyrinth, making it hard to navigate.
There's so much debris on the floor that it's difficult to walk without tripping. I have to move carefully. Most of the debris consists of wooden pieces and outdated electronics.
Honestly, why keep all this here? It's clear no one has cleaned this area in years; the floor is completely covered in dust.
In the dead silence, the sound of glass breaking echoes.
Damn it! I stepped on a piece of a mirror on the ground. With this mistake, she's definitely aware that I'm he—
I can't even finish my thought when I find myself staring down the barrel of a gun.
A firearm? The foreign girl I spoke to two days ago has the barrel of a gun mere millimeters from my face.
This is far more terrifying in person than I ever imagined. My chest is pounding with fear.
"Wait! Don't shoot!" I exclaim reflexively.
"Give me one reason to do what you say," she replies, her voice devoid of emotion.
For the first time in my life, my survival instinct kicks in. I don't want to die now. I need to convince her somehow.
There is a good reason—one that might make her listen to me. In the end, the curse I've been granted will be my bargaining chip.
"If you fire, you'll face the same fate as me. I assume you don't want to die, either. I'm a player," I respond.
"That's a very convenient excuse if you're lying. How can I trust you?" she says, pressing the gun harder against my head.
How can I prove it? I'll have to rely on my word that I witnessed what happened on the first day. I can only hope she saw it, too.
I have nothing to lose by revealing what I saw.
"I was able to see it. That thing that took the teacher's life."
If she's a player like me, she'll understand what I mean. I really hope my intuition is correct. If not, I'm in serious trouble.
The girl sighs but doesn't lower the gun. Instead, she steps back a few paces and points it at my right leg.
"It seems you're telling the truth about being a player. But know this: being a player doesn't make you immune to attacks that don't result in death."
She's right. Nothing in the game's rules protects players from physical violence or even torture. She can do whatever she wants to me as long as it doesn't kill me. I was naive to think I'd be safe just because I'm a player.
Manabu was right. Why did I act on impulse like this? I shouldn't have followed her but taken a different approach.
To appear non-threatening, I raise my hands in a ridiculous gesture I've seen actors use in movies. Then, I try to continue our friendly conversation.
"What do you want me to do so you won't shoot and will listen to what I have to say?"
"Very well. Kneel with your back to me, put your hands on your head, and then start explaining why you followed me here," she replies, slightly irritated.
The most sensible thing to do is follow her orders. Lying to her also seems like a very risky move. My lack of skill in deception was evident in my conversation with Mikoto yesterday afternoon.
As instructed, I slowly turn my back to her and kneel carefully to avoid the shards of glass scattered on the floor. I intertwine my fingers over my head and begin to speak.
"To be honest, I followed you purely on instinct. I felt that the best way to end this game and solve the series of murders was to talk to you."
"And you planned to do that by sneaking up on me and trying to catch me off guard? Do you really expect me to believe that? You should have thought of a better lie before deciding to follow me," she retorts.
I must stay calm and convince her I'm not a threat. But I can't think of anything. If I were in her position, I'd find the truth I just revealed suspicious, too.
"I planned to announce my presence, but I wanted to confirm this 'hideout' was yours first. I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I slipped up, and now we're in this unpleasant situation."
After my explanation, I feel a sudden force pushing me down. My face is pressed against the floor. Luckily, there's no sharp debris under my face to injure me.
What the hell is she doing? What did I do wrong? I thought I had followed her orders in the letter.
"Be more careful with what you say. That remark was highly offensive," she says while stepping on my head.
"What?! When did I offend you?!"
What did I say that was so bad? I don't recall saying anything ambiguous or even remotely offensive.
"Who do you think I am? An amateur? Do you think I only noticed you were following me after I heard the sound of breaking glass? Spare me. I knew before you even entered the building. If you slip up again, your punishment won't be as gentle as this."
I see. I hurt her pride. Dear God, what a complicated girl. She might even be more complex than Mikoto.
And she calls this a gentle punishment? This girl is a complete sadist. Frankly, how am I supposed to deal with someone like this?
"I apologize for my insensitivity. Now, could you please stop stepping on my head, Ailiss?" I ask.
It's more unpleasant than it seems. It's really starting to hurt. Who would have thought such a beautiful girl could possess so much strength?
"Ow!"
She increases the pressure. It feels like a hydraulic press is crushing me. It's only a matter of time before my skull bursts. Every time I try to apologize, my situation worsens. Why?
"Did I tell you my name at any point?" she asks in an expressionless voice.
Oh, so that's why.
But now that I think about it... why did I call her that? It came out naturally as if I'd been referring to her this way for years. This only reinforces the feeling that we know each other. But strangely, I can't recall ever meeting someone with that name.