Chapter 1175

<Chapter 1175> Day 15

I was digging into my meal with gusto when the shop door slid open and a customer entered. Na and Nakagami Risa tilted their heads to check out the visitor.

It was Hagawa Ryouko and Wada Kyoushiro.

“Nakagami-senpai… and Mr. Gender?”

Wada Kyoushiro’s eyes widened comically. Standing beside him, Hagawa Ryouko furrowed her brow, glaring at Na and Nakagami Risa.

“Are you first-years? Here to buy something?”

“Nakagami-senpai, are you… eating here? Do you sell meals here?”

“We don’t sell them. Grandma invited us to eat together. Right, Grandma?”

Nakagami Risa smiled and turned to the elderly woman, who glanced at me before nodding.

“Well then, it gets lonely eating alone, so I invited the students over.”

Wada Kyoushiro and Hagawa Ryouko approached.

Gurrrr…

An awkward sound escaped from Wada Kyoushiro’s stomach as he eyed the food. His face turned beet red.

“Should refuse… but this looks too good… can’t say no…”

“No need to refuse.”

“W-well, just a little then.”

Wada Kyoushiro and Hagawa Ryouko joined the meal. While Wada continuously marveled at the deliciousness of the food, Hagawa Ryouko poked at hers suspiciously with her chopsticks.

“Wow, this is really good! Feels like I’m having a proper meal for the first time in ages!”

He seemed to be the only one without a care in the world.

“…Uh, why were Nakagami-senpai and Mr. Gender here together?”

Before I could answer, Nakagami Risa wrapped her arm around my right arm with a grin.

“We decided to start dating yesterday.”

“…Why?”

“Why not? We like each other. Eugene’s a great guy. He fits me perfectly, and vice versa.”

“…Congratulations, Senpai.”

“Congratulations, Senpai! Mr. Gender!”

Hagawa Ryouko and Wada Kyoushiro said in unison.

Surprisingly, Hagawa Ryouko remained expressionless. I thought she’d openly rejoice, but instead, she acted disinterested, reaching for the mixed vegetables with her chopsticks. The noodles slipped off. After a few more tries, she finally managed to pick them up.

Once Wada Kyoushiro had his fill, he broke the slightly awkward atmosphere.

“Oh, by the way, I heard something about Tanaka-senpai from Mori-senpai earlier… Apparently, he escaped again last night.”

“Escaped?”

Nakagami Risa showed interest. If it’s Tanaka Hiroshi, he’s the guy I slammed against the wall by his hair. I left his corpse in the holding cell; the police must have taken care of it.

“Yeah, Mori-senpai mentioned that the station chief Shimada said he fled down the mountain.”

“How? Wasn’t he locked up?”

“The cell bars malfunctioned and didn’t lock properly. Mori-senpai tried contacting Tanaka-senpai along with Gonjo-senpai and Sakurai-senpai, but their phones were all off.”

“Wada…”


“Are you still calling those guys seniors?”

“Huh… Nakagami-senpai. Those seniors may have bad attitudes, but they’re not criminals.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Gut feeling, I guess. And…”

Wada Kyoshirou hesitated, glancing at the old woman before continuing.

“This village is weird.”

“Hmm.”

Nakagami Lisa merely nodded. The way she looked at Wada Kyoshirou changed slightly—as if he’d gone from being an ordinary pebble to a peculiar one.

Bzzz.

Wada Kyoshirou’s smartphone vibrated. The rest of us had turned ours off to save battery.

“It’s Mori-senpai. He says to gather at the boys’ dorm by 3 PM. There’s going to be a summer festival in the village tonight.”

The summer festival of Okaruma Village.

The Japan Festival Study Circle came here specifically to investigate this festival and build our track record.

From Mori Masahiro’s perspective as club president, we couldn’t miss this opportunity even in our isolated situation. Same goes for the other members—we need to think about what happens when we return to university too.

After dinner, Wada Kyoshirou and Hagawa Ryouko bought drinks and food supplies.

“Nakagami-senpai, Spirit Gender. Are you staying here?”

When Wada Kyoshirou asked, I smirked and replied,

“I’ve got some things to talk about with grandma. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before 3.”

It was over two hours until 3 PM. They left, leaving just the three of us in the convenience store.

The old woman trembled, fearing I might curse her. But she worried for nothing—I didn’t care about her at all.

“Lisa-senpai, now that we’ve eaten, it’s time for exercise!”

“Exercise? Is there something we can do here?”

“Sexercise is always possible when I’m around.”

“Heh. Sure, I don’t mind exercising.”

She dramatically threw off her clothes, and right in front of the old woman, we spent some steamy moments together.

“You hag! Stay in the corner!”

“Y-yes, yes!”

The old woman sat trembling in the corner.

•••

Nakagami Lisa and I entered the boys’ dorm early. Despite arriving ahead of schedule, everyone was already gathered.

Tanaka Hiroshi and his two lackeys were gone, leaving nine circle members—four boys and five girls. There used to be more girls, but they were all shy.

“Alright, everyone’s here.”

President Mori Masahiro brought out something and spread it in front of us.

A map of Okaruma Village.

“Mori-senpai, where did you get this map?”

I asked. This village is strange. The villagers are clearly up to something. If Tanaka Hiroshi’s words yesterday were true, then their goal involves our lives. They wouldn’t give us such crucial information like a map.

“Oh, this? Fujido and I made it ourselves.”

Fujido Jun, a third-year male student. He seemed especially close to Mori Masahiro.

“Nice work.”

“We referenced digital camera footage taken from various parts of the village.”

“But why make a map? Was it really necessary?”

“Hmm, I figured it’d be convenient.”

Mori Masahiro brushed it off casually, though there must be another reason. It seems he noticed something odd about this village and prepared the map accordingly.

He pointed to a spot on the map.

“This is our dorm. As you can see, it’s far from the village entrance. It’s also quite a distance from the shrine.”

Behind the dorm was a mountain surrounded by fields instead of houses.

“Fujido and I scouted the back earlier. There’s a cliff not too far away. It’s pretty deep, so escaping this way isn’t possible.”

Wada Kyoshirou interjected.

“Mori-senpai, it sounds like you’re explaining how to escape… but didn’t we agree to stay here until the road repairs are done?”

“I planned to do that too… but this village is just too suspicious. Something’s definitely off. Tanaka, Gonjo, Sakurai—they contacted the police…”


“He was caught, escaped, and went missing. Setting aside Gonjo and Sakurai, Tanaka was in no condition to run, yet he disappeared during the night!”

“Did… did the police do something to Senior Tanaka?”

Wada Kyoshiro asked with a serious tone.

“…There’s no evidence.”

“So you suspect something, huh.”

“Do you remember the story I told before? A similar situation happened last year. The incident where a tourist went missing in Ookaruma Village, right?”

At that moment, a woman raised her hand—her long, thin arm stretching high above. Her lusterless hair cascaded down, her sharp three-hundred-degree eyes gleaming, her beak-like nose and thin lips making her face pointy and eerie. She had an unsettling aura about her.

It was Minegawa Jurie from the second year.

“Senior Mori, regarding that incident… I investigated it…”

“Investigated?”

“…I asked around the villagers, but apparently no tourists visited last summer.”

“Minegawa, I also questioned the villagers. Their responses were all the same: evasive or outright denying. Don’t trust the villagers too much. You know they’re strange.”

“…”

Minegawa Jurie fell silent. Just as Mori Masahiro was about to address the group again, she spoke up.

“…I also searched online for the disappearance case using my smartphone. There wasn’t a single article related to it. How did you know about the disappearance, Senior?”

Everyone’s gaze turned toward Mori Masahiro. The atmosphere grew heavy due to the isolation and mounting stress.

“…Hmph. One of the people who went missing last year in this village was an old friend from my hometown. The last time we talked was around this time. All I knew was that something was off about this village. I reported it to the police and asked them to investigate, but they completely ignored me.”

An uncomfortable silence enveloped the room.

When Minegawa Jurie’s face twisted, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Her expression became terrifyingly demonic.

“It’s your fault, isn’t it?!”

“…Minegawa?”

“If it weren’t for you bringing us here, none of this would’ve happened! You dragged us here just to find your missing friend! It’s all because of your selfishness! The disappearances of Tanaka, Gonjo, and Sakurai—they’re all your fault! ALL YOUR FAULT!!”

Minegawa Jurie’s screams filled the living room.

Mori Masahiro tightly shut his eyes and bowed deeply, a perfect 90-degree bow.

“I’m sorry. Minegawa is right—I chose Ookaruma Village because of my missing friend. I wanted to see what had happened firsthand.”

“You could’ve come alone! Why did you drag us into this?!?!”

“…I was scared. I didn’t have the courage to come here by myself, so I buried it and tried to forget. But when the opportunity arose, I decided to choose Ookaruma Village. I thought if I wasn’t alone, it would be fine… I promise to take responsibility for all of you, so please follow my instructions.”

“AAAAAAAAAHHH! I DON’T TRUST YOU!!!”

Minegawa Jurie went into a full-blown tantrum before storming back to the girls’ dormitory.

Even after she left, Mori Masahiro couldn’t lift his head.

Finally, third-years Hudo Jun and Nakagami Risa stepped forward.

“I think Senior Mori is 20% at fault. The remaining 80% isn’t his doing—it’s this cursed village and the typhoon covering Japan. If anyone should be blamed, it’s the villagers. Raise your head, Senior Mori.”

“What matters now is what we do next. We can sort out blame later. What do you all think?”

Nakagami Risa asked the second- and first-years.

We all rallied behind Mori Masahiro, though some may still harbor resentment deep down—it wasn’t the time to voice it.

Only after confirming everyone’s support did Mori Masahiro finally lift his head.

“Thank you. As for Minegawa… I’ll visit her later, apologize, and try to reason with her.”