落とし穴１１７堀：㐧弐夜 開幕 (Part2)
"For now, let's decide whether to push forward or turn back. I feel bad for Lady Luna, but since Kagura and Enora seem to sense something too, I think it's worth reporting what Solo saw rather than ignoring it."
"But if we do that, we’ll be breaking our promise to Lady Luna..."
"Not only that, but if we claim something unknown has slipped into this place, we’d essentially be complaining about the security measures set up by Lady Luna and Yuki-dono..."
Indeed, I honestly wouldn't recommend turning back. As Enora said, not only would we be breaking our word to Lady Luna, but we would be questioning the security without having properly verified anything. If we just said, "We're back because Solo saw something and Kagura and Enora had a bad feeling," it would look like nothing more than us getting scared and running away. And that’s after all the training we’ve done in zombie and lich-infested undead dungeons.
The two of them seemed to be agonizing over what to do, and just as I was wondering if there was some deciding factor...
"Seniors, let's proceed. I’m the only one who saw something strange, and there hasn't been any actual harm done. Perhaps I just misidentified something because I was affected by the atmosphere of this abandoned school. I don't believe Lady Luna or Yuki-sensei would neglect the security and safety of the places they send us."
Solo seemed to have steeled her resolve, her face no longer as pale as it had been moments ago.
"If Solo says it's okay, then fine. I was only worried because Solo looked so ill and we all had a bad feeling."
"Hey, Kagura. That makes it sound like we're leaving because of Solo. Keeping our promise is a given. If there really is a strange person like the one Solo saw, we should just capture them and drag them out."
"I have no objections. Then, for now, let's search this staff room."
"Yes."
And so, we began our search of the staff room, but as expected...
"The dust on the floor is incredible. Look, footprints."
"True. But doesn't this mean what Solo saw was just a misunderstanding?"
As Kagura and Enora noted, the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, and walking across it would leave clear tracks. Since there were no such tracks, it seemed no one had been here, and everyone felt a sense of relief.
"I'm sorry for the trouble..."
"No, no, it’s not your fault, Solo. It’s a place like this, so it’s only natural to missee something or get confused."
"Exactly. Let's pull ourselves together and continue the search."
"Yes."
We split up to search the large staff room, but there didn't seem to be anything unusual. Although the place was neglected, almost everything except for the large furniture had been cleared out, and the desks were empty. All we found were math textbooks, which weren't particularly helpful. Well, the contents were incredibly advanced academic texts, but that’s beyond me. It’s terrifying to think that Japanese students are expected to memorize this stuff.
"Hmm, a bust. Nothing over here. How about you guys?"
"I only found some rare textbooks. But these are the chemistry books Taizo-sensei was talking about—could they be incredibly valuable...?"
Solo was trembling as she looked at the chemistry-related books Taizo-sensei had taught us about. Wait, if things that are useless to me have value to others, could we sell them for a high price if we take them back?
"Yes, yes. You two, these things belong to Lady Luna, so don't go taking them without permission. You were just surprised by something strange a moment ago, for heaven's sake. Right, Enora?"
Kagura asked for Enora's agreement, but...
"..."
There was no reply from Enora. We found it strange, and when we looked around to find her, we saw she was standing in the corner of the room.
"Enora?"
I thought perhaps she hadn't heard us from that distance, but when Kagura called out again, she finally seemed to notice, lifting her face which had been cast downward. I suppose it’s possible to lose track of sound when you’re concentrating on something. That’s what I thought, but...
"Hey, Solo. That strange person you saw... was it someone with disheveled hair, moving on all fours, or rather, crawling?"
What kind of pervert is that? How could someone like that be here without us noticing...
"Y-yes!! That’s the one!!"
It seemed to be the same strange person Solo had seen, but...
"So? Is that pervert still here? Hiding behind a desk or something?"
"...No. The moment I saw it, it crawled away quickly. It went around that corner."
"The corner? If that were the case, it would have been caught by my Mikos-chan Eye! But I didn't see anything like that."
There’s no way we wouldn't have noticed a pervert like that. Ah, I see. I had a flash of inspiration.
"Mikos-chan has an idea. It’s that, right? A joke to lighten the mood!"
"..."
But Mikos-chan's intuition was wrong. Enora spoke up with a grave expression.
"...I wish it were a joke. But it's serious. There is something here that we cannot perceive. In this abandoned school."
"..."
It seems Mikos-chan and the others might have come to a truly dangerous place...
Welcome.
And so, the night of terror begins. The second night opens.
Will Kagura and the others manage to escape the school safely?
And what of Yuki and the others...?
Oh, it looks like Volume 9 will be released on the 30th. Please check it out!