"I don't know why you people think Misaki doesn't exist. Is it because her na sounds the sa as the Misaki who died twenty-six years ago? Or for so other reason?"
Rinji casually asked the question on his mind, and the girl opposite him stepped back in fear after hearing it.
"H-how do you know that?"
"Right now I'm the one asking questions." Rinji's tone was calm. "Yomiyama North's Class 3-3 has had problems every single year. I already knew about that. Do you really think I would transfer here if there weren't?"
"Transfer… on purpose?"
The girl caught the key word in his speech.
"Could it be that you heard about us and deliberately transferred into our class?"
"Sothing like that." Rinji smiled.
"…What's your purpose?"
Not just the red-haired girl, but nearly all the students in class now focused their eyes on Rinji.
"Just to investigate sothing I'm interested in," Rinji smiled. "I think I already made it clear. I don't plan to have deep exchanges with you all, and I don't intend to spend the rest of my third year with you. I ca here only to investigate the so-called curse, nothing else."
"…"
"I have no interest in the rules you've set up in this class. The only thing I care about is the truth. If you know it, then tell directly. If you don't, I'll just go ask Misaki."
Rinji smiled as he spoke.
"After all… your lives are less important to than the truth."
"…"
The red-haired girl's face darkened, and the surrounding students also looked grim.
"…Takamine, please co with ."
She turned and walked toward the classroom door.
"You're also a mber of Class 3-3 now. You have the right to know."
---
"Creating a 'person who doesn't exist'?"
"Yes, that's the strategy we ca up with."
In the library, Rinji sat face-to-face with the girl from earlier.
Two other boys were also nearby, clearly staying with her for protection.
Without exception, all of them watched Rinji with maximum caution and hostility.
"You should already know about what happened at Yomiyama North twenty-six years ago."
"I do. The whole class went crazy pretending the dead Misaki was still alive until graduation," Rinji said. "But what does that have to do with treating Misaki as nonexistent now?"
"You must have heard that because of what happened twenty-six years ago, when the graduation photo was taken, there was suddenly a shadow of soone who shouldn't have been there."
"Yeah, I've heard that."
"That was like summoning the 'dead' into Class 3-3, and after that the entire class beca a place closest to death."
"Explain in detail."
"It first happened twenty-five years ago, the year after the incident began," she said. "The students promoted to Class 3-3 discovered one of the desks prepared was missing."
"…"
"At first no one paid attention, but then… six students and ten family mbers died in 1973."
"…"
"From that year on, nearly every year sothing similar has happened. Students of Class 3-3 and their families would mysteriously die in accidents. It was then that the class began forming counterasure groups."
"So you're part of the counterasure group?"
"Strictly speaking, I'm the leader of this year's counterasure group," the girl said. "I haven't introduced myself yet. My na is Akazawa Izumi, this year's group leader."
"Oh."
"The original transfer student this year was already here. His na is Sakakibara Kouichi, your seatmate."
"So it was him."
"And your transfer has made things even more complicated," Akazawa said with a troubled expression. "Before Sakakibara arrived, we had already designated Misaki as the nonexistent person. After he enrolled, things got harder to control, and now with you, Takamine…"
"So you still haven't said why you chose Misaki to be nonexistent."
"Based on the experience of our seniors, because a 'dead person' mixes into the class, we must choose one student to beco the 'dead person.' In other words, everyone pretends one student doesn't exist. That's the only way to avoid disaster."
"So then… why choose Misaki?"
"Because like the dead one from back then, she shares the na Misaki."
"…"
"The whole class voted."
"So basically, because you couldn't solve the problem at its root, you just voted out a scapegoat, right?"
"Say what you want. This is the only way to protect the whole class from disaster. We hope you'll follow it."
"And if I don't?"
"Then the entire Class 3-3 could be affected by the disaster," Akazawa said. "Including you, Takamine, since you're now part of this class. Both you and your family could be killed."
"Family?"
"Yes. The disaster affects two generations living in Yomiyama. That ans your siblings and parents too."
"…My old man's in Yomiyama."
"Then for your father's sake—"
"Great~"
"Huh?"
Izumi was stunned by Rinji's sudden excitent.
Rinji said, "Actually, I'd love to see my old man in trouble. Maybe this so-called disaster will give the chance."
"…Did you even understand what I just said? The disaster kills without fail—"
"If he dies, then he wasn't my old man."
"…"
She realized now—Rinji was definitely not normal.
"In any case, for the sake of the whole class, please follow our rules. From now on, ignore the nonexistent person."
"Yeah."
---
"Akazawa already told . You've been voted to be the nonexistent one."
"…Takamine-kun, since you know that, why are you still talking to ?" i asked.
"Because like I said, their lives are less important to than the truth," Rinji smiled. "For students, they sure don't know how to read a question properly."
Reviews
All reviews (0)