A shadow moves through the darkness.
It is a small, black shadow with fur that flutters around its eyes.
– Sasa-sak. Sasak.
After staring at me for a while, the shadow quickly concealed itself within the bushes. Its movements were unexpectedly swift, making it difficult to follow with my eyes.
“Pr, Professor….”
Suddenly, a soft sensation was felt strongly on my arm. Glancing over, I saw Chloe tightly hugging my arm and sweating profusely.
“Wh-what was that just now?”
“Chloe, ah… no, Chloe-san.”
“Could it… could it be a ghost? Is that it? Huh?”
Having just listened to Daniel’s terrifying stories, Chloe was now in a panic after witnessing the unidentified shadow.
Now that I think about it, I recall hearing that Chloe is weak against scary things. She enjoys things related to the occult but is also extremely frightened by them.
Indeed, the shadow we saw moments ago was hard to consider human. Given the frightening stories I had just heard, it was not surprising that she was trembling in fear.
“Calm down.”
I raised my empty hands to cover Chloe’s eyes and spoke in a soothing voice.
“Chloe-san. Take slow, deep breaths.”
“Ugh….!”
Chloe’s trembling did not subside. Was it because her vision was blocked?
I removed my hand from her eyes. As soon as her field of view returned, the first thing Chloe did was bury her face in my arm.
“Slowly… breathe in, breathe out….”
“Ugh…. Hah….”
The warm breath coming from Chloe’s mouth penetrated through my clothing and touched my skin. I gently patted her back, holding onto her as she clung to my arm.
“Breathe in, breathe out….”
“Huh….”
The area where Chloe had buried her face began to become damp. It wasn’t crying, but perhaps it was moisture from her heavy breathing.
“Suuuh…. Hah….”
“Good. Maintain that breath….”
In exchange for her breathing becoming steady, the intervals of Chloe taking in breaths became unusually long. I silently waited for her to calm down.
“Suuuh—. Hah—.”
“…?”
“Suuuh—.”
Although her breathing seemed suspiciously off, it wasn’t something to worry about. I looked back at the place where the shadow had disappeared.
‘It disappeared.’
The shadow that had been watching us had concealed itself long ago among the thick grass and trees. I didn’t take my eyes off that spot for a while.
The gaze that had been fixed on us. Even after several years had passed, my senses, which had accumulated exhaustion from just standing still, were unable to catch anything so subtly hidden.
Moreover, if I hadn’t focused intently, I wouldn’t have heard the faint rustling of leaves. Whatever it was, it seemed to know how to hide and move stealthily. It showed signs that it had learned such methods and had practiced them in real situations.
Could that small-sized figure possibly be a monster? Or perhaps…
‘…No, it couldn’t be.’
I gently closed my eyes. Though I hadn’t fully grasped the fact, my eyelids were trembling. I swallowed a dry gulp.
I wasn’t certain. But it was worth being cautious and checking.
No matter what it was, the fact remained that it had been watching us from afar. It was hard to believe it acted with good intentions.
In short, there was something in this mountain.
Whether it was the monster Vivian had mentioned, or…
“Chloe-san.”
“Suuuh…! Yes, yes?”
Calling her name, Chloe, still gasping oddly, looked up at me in surprise. She looked like a child caught doing something wrong.
Yet, with her nose and mouth still buried in the sleeve of my arm, the sight was peculiar. Shifting my gaze away from her odd behavior, I continued to look at the spot where the shadow had been.
“For the time being, don’t come out of the lodge recklessly.”
“Huh? But that….”
“Tell the other students too. Under no circumstances, especially when alone, should they go outside without me.”
Chloe might feel anxious hearing such words. However, given the presence of something unidentified, I had to act decisively.
“…….”
I took Chloe, who held her tongue, and led her back into the lodge.
The second night passed in that manner.
*
With the mysterious shadow we had witnessed left behind, the morning of the third day dawned.
Using the ingredients we had brought, we filled our stomachs before stepping out of the lodge again, as bright sunlight shone through the forest.
It was true that I felt a persistent unease from the shadow I had seen yesterday, but it also felt wrong to remain cooped up inside the lodge.
Moreover, at Vivian’s request, the two local guardians we had encountered on the first day were now patrolling the area around the lodge. I felt immense relief in that. Had that not been the case, I would have absolutely refused to enter the forest today.
Additionally, I had heard that the local guardians from various outposts scattered throughout the woods were also patrolling regularly, which allowed me to worry far less.
– Beep. Beep.
With the antenna that made mechanical sounds in hand, Vivian, along with Daniel holding bells and measuring devices, led the way as we walked between the trees.
“Um… this is odd….”
It seemed that things weren’t going as Daniel had hoped, as he frowned and swung the bells. Although the bells in his hands were swinging vigorously, strangely, they produced no sound at all.
“Is there nothing around here? The bells aren’t ringing.”
“Yes. My ‘Soul Reaper MK. 1’ is showing no response either.”
That antenna had such a scary name, huh. Vivian, who calmly blurted that out without any change in expression, was indeed something else.
“Hmm… should we go this way?”
“Let’s do that.”
When Daniel, having changed direction, started walking ahead, Vivian, who had been leading, slowed her pace and naturally moved beside me.
“Professor Antorelli. I have a question.”
“Yes, Vivian-san.”
As I called her name, Vivian looked at me with a strange gaze. At the same time, I felt intense gazes from behind and beside me as well.
“…That tone, what suddenly happened… no, that’s not it.”
“What do you want to know?”
“The monster you mentioned seeing yesterday. You said you saw it near the lodge.”
“I’m not sure if it was a monster, but yes, that’s correct.”
This morning, after gathering the students in the living room, I had sternly told them not to go outside the lodge recklessly as night fell.
“Professor, do you have a rough idea of what it looked like?”
It seemed that Vivian strongly believed the shadow I had seen was a hairy monster living in the mountains. I shook my head in response to her sparkling eyes.
“I only caught a glimpse of its rough outline. I couldn’t see any details.”
“Hmm… well, you did say it ran away before that.”
Vivian sported a disappointed expression. With her lips slightly protruding, she seemed to have expected me to provide a detailed description.
At that moment, Laura approached me from the side and spoke.
“Professor, are you alright?”
“Oh, Laura-san.”
“…Huh.”
“…?”
Ever since this morning, I had noticed that when I changed how I addressed them, following Chloe’s advice from last night, everyone reacted strangely. Could it really be that incongruous?
As I was lost in that thought, wearing a serious expression, Laura returned to her usual demeanor and continued speaking.
“Ahem… anyway, you’re okay, right? Your expression hasn’t been good for a while.”
“Yes. I’m fine. It’s nothing serious.”
Satisfied with my answer, Laura nodded. It was fortunate she hadn’t witnessed that terrifying thing yesterday since she was also rather sensitive to scary things.
“Hmm… this direction isn’t right.”
“How about going that way?”
“No. Vivian, I don’t think that way will work.”
“Professor, is that the way we just came from?”
“Yes. It’s where we just passed a moment ago.”
Using the map and compass in my hands, I provided direction updates as we continued following Daniel and Vivian.
“Huuh….”
Suddenly, Daniel, who had been walking ahead, let out a tired sigh.
It was understandable; even though the trees blocked some sunlight, the heat was of a kind that could not easily be dismissed. While the forest was cooler compared to other places, it still felt warm to us.
“Professor Antorelli.”
At that moment, Vivian, who had been walking beside Daniel, approached me again. Her steps slowed as she glided closer, resembling a ghost.
“Yes, Vivian-san. What is it now?”
“Daniel is getting tired. So am I.”
“I know. It’s about time we should take a break.”
As I looked around, trying to find a place to sit and rest, Vivian shook her head and spoke.
“That might be good, but the issue isn’t resolved.”
“Is that so?”
“You know, Professor, we’ve been here for three days now.”
“…….”
“And yet, we haven’t found anything….”
Vivian’s expression drooped. She wasn’t weary from the heat but rather dejected because of the lack of any results.
It was unfortunate. Knowing how sincere Vivian and Daniel were about the occult only made it more painful.
“We need to start making decisions soon.”
“What kind of decision…?”
“The grave we discovered yesterday.”
Vivian’s expression grew serious. Her strange goggles, resting on her head, did nothing to enhance her serious demeanor.
“The only place we had any sort of reaction while wandering around here was that spot.”
“That is….”
“Professor, let’s go there just one more time, okay?”
Vivian wore an unusually pleading expression. I gazed at her face for a moment before observing Daniel moving ahead of me.
“Huh…. Huh….”
He was looking around with sharp eyes while roughly wiping the sweat from his neck. Seeing that, I couldn’t help but genuinely reflect on my unruly attitude.
‘These kids….’
These kids were truly sincere. They had come all this way, enduring such hardship purely out of curiosity for the occult.
Yet, I…
‘I was a disqualified professor.’
I had treated the efforts of Daniel and Vivian as eccentricities.
A hollow laugh escaped me. Could I claim to be an educator while judging my students like this?
I had always invoked the promise I made with Helena, yet it was I who had pulled away from my students.
– It seems you want to bridge the gap between us, Professor, but it doesn’t seem to be going well, which upsets me.
Chloe’s words from last night resurfaced in my mind.
Resolving myself, I said, “Daniel-kun.”
“Hah…. Yes?”
Daniel turned to look at me, beads of sweat prominently lining his forehead.
“…I think it might be good for us to go to the grave we saw yesterday.”
At the very least, I needed to preserve their pure curiosity and passion.
That was my resolve.
