第６０３堀：残る噂 (Part1)
**Chapter 603: The Remaining Rumors**
**Side: Yuki**
Unfortunately, finding Sota-san didn't mean we could just check "The Seven Wonders of Haiden Academy" off our list and call it a day.
Well, if you think about it, since one of the wonders—the resident of the secret room in the library—was standing right in front of us in a semi-transparent state, we couldn't just dismiss the remaining rumors as fake. If anything, this only added credibility to the other ghost stories. In other words, there was a high probability that they were real.
Fortunately, I had learned that three of the seven wonders were Sota-san’s handiwork, and I was able to quickly arrange for their removal, so that wasn't an issue. However, the remaining three were rumors and mysteries that Sota-san knew nothing about, and there was a high possibility that these, too, were genuine.
Unless we verified those rumors, holding an international conference at this academy would be impossible. If a dignitary from another country were to go missing or die due to a ghost story, it would ruin everything—or worse, trigger a war. At the very least, we would have to declare those areas "under renovation and dangerous," closing them off and reinforcing security.
Well, that’s the worst-case scenario. For now, I was asking Sota-san about the remaining three rumors. Maybe, just maybe, it would turn out to be a case of him simply forgetting that he had set them up.
...Yeah, I know that’s just a pipe dream.
While I was lost in that lottery-winning level of delusion, Mikos finished explaining the three remaining rumors to Sota-san.
"...And so, excluding the ones you mentioned, Sota-sama, it boils down to these three."
"I see. Yes, that’s very easy to understand. Thank you, Mikos-kun."
"N-no, I’m just glad I could be of service."
Sota-san held the notebook used for the explanation and reread the section where the three rumors were written down.
"Um, was there something missing?"
"I-I’m so sorry! Mikos is my friend. Please, I beg you, forgive her!"
"Ah, no, that’s not it at all. Don't worry. That goes for you too, Kagura."
He was likely smiling bitterly because the remaining rumors were classic, high-stakes "danger zones," but since that was something only a Japanese person would understand, to everyone else, he just looked like he was making a difficult face. Seeing this, Mikos and Kagura tilted their heads, and then Kanna and Principal Grimo, who had been scrutinizing the rumors, spoke up anxiously.
"U-um. We were the ones who scrutinized those rumors, but was there something unclear about them?"
"I apologize. Since these are rumors from nearly 500 years ago, it was difficult to gather information..."
"No, no. It’s just that the content is what it is, so I was lost in thought. I have no complaints about the work you and the Principal have done. I’m actually impressed you managed to collect rumors from 500 years ago."
When Sota-san replied, Duke Kamishiro joined the conversation.
"First Founder. What do you mean by 'the content is what it is'?"
"Hmm. I feel like this sensation is something only a Japanese person would really understand... right?"
Sota-san said, looking to me for agreement. But I wasn't sure how to answer either... Should I just be honest?
"Yes. They are classic ghost stories that are very common in Japan."
"Classic?"
Duke Kamishiro tilted his head. Of course, he wouldn't know about Japanese ghost stories or horror tales.
"The 'evening classroom' thing, for instance. In the old way of speaking, twilight is called the 'Hour of Meeting Demons' (Oumagatoki), a time when day and night intersect and the door to the otherworld is said to open. The term comes from the idea of meeting demons or encountering something ominous. I’m not entirely sure about the 'classroom' part, but since it’s specifically limited to the evening, it’s known in Japan as a time when something is bound to happen, so we find it quite... recognizable."
As I said that, Taiki-kun joined the explanation.
"Especially since it’s a school or an academy. These kinds of special environments undergo drastic changes depending on the time of day."
"Special environments?"
This time, the Principal latched onto Taiki-kun’s explanation.
"Yes. This academy is a place where children who will carry the future come to hone various powers, but that’s during the day. In the evening, classes end, and everywhere except the dormitory buildings becomes quiet, right?"
"Well, yes, that is true."
"The contrast is incredibly intense. The Principal and the faculty might take it for granted, but is there any other place where such a large number of people come and go every day, only for it to be completely empty at night?"
"...I see. Indeed, the only place with that level of foot traffic is the Royal Castle, but the Royal Castle has soldiers patrolling even at night, and it’s not a place for learning—it’s a workplace and a symbol of royal authority."
Well, in modern Japan, there are places like factories where the contrast between day and night is just as sharp as in schools. But workplaces and schools have different intentions behind them. There are more "school ghost stories" than "factory ghost stories." Scientifically—or rather, as a general opinion—it’s said that this is because of whether or not Japanese people can share a common recognition of the setting. That’s why school ghost stories became popular rather than factory ones. Every Japanese person is required to attend school through compulsory education. It becomes a shared recognition, a common topic.
Well, there’s no point in giving a lecture that’s half-psychology, so it should be enough for them to understand that it’s a place that amplifies anxiety due to the sharp contrast, right?
"Anyway, the teachers at the academy might not feel it, but if the students who attend here were to step into the empty academy in the evening for something like a forgotten item, they would be overcome by an indescribable sense of unease."
"Indeed, the academy the students know is the one filled with many classmates during the day."
"That’s exactly why such eerie rumors fly around. No, they’re flying around all the time. Didn't you have strange rumors when you were a student, Principal?"
"Yes. I did. I laughed them off, but... I see. Hearing you put it that way, it’s only natural that rumors would spread."
"Yes. And the remaining three rumors are packed with elements that stir up anxiety. Yuki-san already explained the evening classroom, but the other two... the restroom and the basement. The things they evoke are just too unpleasant. If they’re just rumors, they’re a laughing matter, but if they’re real, it’s like being gifted a top-tier nightmare."
"Evoke?"
"As for the restroom, well, it’s a staple of ghost stories. A narrow, enclosed space, only one exit, a place where impurities gather—it’s a traditional location in Japan that never runs out of ghost material. Doors that won't open even when no one is there, someone peering down from above in an impossible posture..."
When Taiki-kun explained that, Kagura, Mikos, and Kanna, who lived at the academy, let out a shriek.
Hey, hey, don't scare them unnecessarily. Since the restroom rumor is about the girls' restroom, if we’re going to verify it, these three are the prime candidates. I poked Taiki-kun with my elbow, and he seemed to realize it, immediately changing the subject to the other one.
"Ahem. That’s enough about the restroom. The basement of the dormitory building... I have an image of it being under the earth, like a grave, but this one doesn't quite click for me. What kind of rumors are they?"