Volume 28 Chapter 16 (1/2)
~ Let me pass, let me pass ~
~ What is this narrow pathway here? ~
~ It's the narrow pathway of Maria-sama ~
~ Please allow h ~
~ Those without good reason shall not pass ~[1]
( - hey, wait)
Minato pulled herself up, as though she'd been singing aloud and not just in her head
”Which club are you from?”
The security guard seeentle, but his expression said he wasn't about to compromise when it came to his job, as he looked at Minato and waited for a response
”Err, it's the a club … ”
Minato said as she reached into her bag, pulled out a bath towel and used it to wipe away the sweat running down her face
”The a club? Ahh - ”
The security guard looked towards the last group he had just let in
”Yeah, that's right Those are my friends I just fell a bit behind Hey, sempai, Ryouko-sama”
Minato called out, waving wildly at her friends that were steadily receding down the narrow pathway of Maria-sa them to come and help her
She was being checked on the way in, even though they'd only gone off-cao to a public bathhouse as part of their on-ca ladies staying at school, obviously there had to be so a strict watch so that no suspicious people could enter the ca track of the nued to, as well as the time they left and the time they returned
Incidentally, since Minato earing jeans and a T-shi+rt as well as having short hair and a stick figure body, she looked like a boy at first glance, but she was a 100 genuine student of Lillian's Girls Acade the extent that her identity was normally proven by her school uniforuard said:
”That's odd I've confirht people returning”
While the security guard shook his head as he held the notebook in one hand, her friends had noticed the coate
”What's the matter, Minato-chan?”
”That was cruel of you, se me behind”
Minato complained to the club president, Ryouko-sama, as the first one to arrive
”Left you behind? You ith us just a o, Minato-chan”
Ryouko-sa confirmation from the other club members on the camp One, two, three, … there were six uncertain nods of agree Ryouko-sama
”Just a o?”
Minato asked
”When ent through the gate, right?”
”Huh?”
If she'd been with them when they entered, then she wouldn't have been stopped, alone, at the gate
In the end, the security guard checked the nuht, so this tiroup
”Well, that is strange Last tiht people”
”What could that mean?”
Taki-sama, the club vice-president, asked
”The only thing I can think is that there are two Minato-chans”
After saying that, Ryouko-sa broadly
”Watch out, Minato-chan If you see your doppelganger, you'll die in a couple of days”
- Geeze, give me a break
”So, why did you fall behind, Minato-chan?”
Ryouko-sa-hot deep-fried croquette Their dinner etables, miso soup and a donburi meat and rice dish At hoely enough, they ate a lot of the larger, donburi rice dishes on camp
”We passed a stone monument on the way back, and I stopped to read its inscription I called out, asking you to wait up”
Minato answered, somewhat peevishly If they had waited, then she wouldn't have been stopped by the security guard
”I didn't hear you”
At the ti loudly to Taki-sa dinner menu, so she may not have heard
Thein on-campus camps were provided by the university's cafeteria It was the beginning of August and there were a nu their ca hall was quite lively
”So, ritten on the Kōshi+n pillar?”[2]
”The Kōshi+n pillar said … hey, wait, how did you knoas a Kōshi+n pillar?”
”We went to the sa our camp last year too Didn't the old pillar look like it'd be good material?”
Listening to Ryouko-sa her head in shame
”No way, I was even thinking of using it as a hint in thefor the school festival”
Minato had been scooped by her senior Si born later
”So use it?”
”Huh? But weren't you going to?”
”I thought about it, but I can't really seeto be a love romance set in the French royal palace, a Kōshi+n pillar wouldn't fit What do the rest of you think?”
Ryouko-sama asked the other second-years Incidentally, there were only first- and second-years participating in their camp
”It wouldn't go ith my parallel universe fantasy either”
Then the 'boys-love' specialist Taki-sama shook her head too
”I've tried to use it a couple of ti boys-love, I've wanted to use a setting like our neighbors, Hanadera Acade it Because it doesn't feel real There's nothing I can do about that, I'll never knohat things are really like over there”
Then the second-years started saying so statements, like, ”I wonder if it's true that they all wear loincloths for swi lessons at Hanadera,” and, ”Aren't the teachers all Buddhist ot quite excited
But as excited as a group of girls got talking about an all-boys school, the opposite, ie a group of boys talking about an all-girls school, would surely get far more excited
Minato stayed out of this derailed discussion, and Ryouko-sama said to her:
”So you see, Minato-chan, we'll hand over the Kōshi+n pillar to you and your horror ether with the doppelganger?”
”Huh”
”Yeah, one day protagonist M alking past the Kōshi+n pillar on the way to school, when she was stopped by the security guard 'Hey, didn't you just walk past here a o?' he says”
”Ooh, that does sound good”
The other students had reached a lull in their conversation about boys schools, and so they jokingly intervened in her conversation
”Oh, what's wrong? You look so gloomy, Minato-chan”
”Well, if the protagonist sees their doppelganger they'll die after a few days, right? Using myself as the model is a bit … ”
”It'll be fine, they don't have to see their doppelganger at all”
There didn't seem to be any basis for her statement that ”It'll be fine,” but Ryouko-sama was definitely full of confidence Nonetheless
”Can you even call it a doppelganger then? Wouldn't it just be another student that looks like her wandering around … ?”
”Well, that could be fun too”
”But even if it was fun”
It wouldn't be a horror ht
”… I'm bored”
Someone muttered as they lay on tatami mats spread out across half the classroom
”Nights without TV sure are long”
That was the switch, and it was followed by a rapid succession of voices saying things like, ”There's nothing to do,” and, ”I should have brought a game”
For the first and second nights of the ca, but by the third night it felt like the boredo on their futons and playing cards for a second successive night
Nor had plenty of tih of her beloved club activity
No matter what the club activity, they were probably all pretty hts went out at 10pht as well sleep But it was shortly before 9pm They'd spread their futons out early since they had nothing else to do, but there was still over an hour left until lights-out
It was in that languid atmosphere that the club president, Ryouko-sama, stood up and said:
”Alright, let's have a test of courage”
”A test of courage?”
”You're bored, right? Everyone on your feet, stand up”
With Ryouko-sa at them the upset club listened faintly
”The location is the auditorium Well, it starts at the five or six steps in the stairway that lead up the auditoriu to leave this there”
As she said that, Ryouko-sama held up a lens with filht it at the convenience store, when she stopped in there on the way back from the public bathhouse
”You have to pick it up, then go to the front of the auditorium and use the camera to take a picture of yourself as proof, then put it back on the stairway”
”But why the stairway- ”[3]
Minato got that far before she figured it out
”N, no way!?”
”You got it That's exactly what it is The stairway and ghost stories are connected If you encountered a ghost there, we could discuss it - wouldn't that just be perfect?”
If she only wanted to o all the way to the auditoriu itself
”Putting it in the school building would be boring, right? Anyway, pick a piece of paper Two people to a group I'd like everyone to go one at a tihts-out”
This time around Ryouko-sama held out strips of paper about 1cm wide The papers had the letter A, B or C written on them, which only beca so secretive over at a desk in the corner just before, and apparently this was it
”Oh, there aren't enough”
There were eight clubin the camp But there were only six pieces of paper
”I'o, alone, as the rear guard”
”Hey Alone?”
”You're scared? Even though you're drawing a horror a?”
”I draw it because I'm scared On the flip side, if I ever was in a scary situation, I'd never be able to draw it”
”I see I choose to draw boys-love because it's so that I'll never be able to experience myself”
”That's exactly it, Taki-sama Ten points for you”
Without pausing to adirls hurriedly drew pieces of paper, assigning themselves to a team
”Ahh”
Having et in on the draw, Minato had thealone
”Everyone okay? Make sure you take a photo with yourselves in it There'll be a penalty for any club members who aren't in the photos when they're developed”
”A”
”Well, ere you expecting? That you could just wander around the school building for a bit, come back and say that you'd been there?”
”Have some faith in me”
As the older girls laughed, it was obvious that they didn't consider skulking around the school building to be a test of courage on the sa to the auditorium
”Even if you don't lie, the penalty still applies if you're not in the photos This camera can take 27 photos Basic math tells us there's three photos per person … Right, as a bonus prize for going by herself, Minato can take five photos”
”U”
It may have been inconsequential but Minato was troubled by it, so she asked
27 - 7 x 3 - 1 x 5 = 1
Minato set it, huh”
”Always leave one candle lit when you're doing the Gathering of 100 Supernatural Tales” [4]
”Huh?”
”Terrible things happen when the final candle is blown out You've never heard of this?”
”I've heard of it”
It was a popular subject in horror a The hundred stories that host schools
”So it's up to you, Minato-chan, to ensure the last photograph remains”
”Alright”
Minato responded gravely The 100 Supernatural Tales were that scary
”Okay, I'm off”
Ryouko-saleefully departed Surely she'd be better suited to writing a horror a than a royal romance?
So then Ryouko-sama returned after just ten minutes
”It sure is lonely out there by yourself”
She said, s fun at Minato, ould have to face the test of courage on her own later Was this person a sadist?
When Ryouko-saone about 15 roup of two, they were probably chatting as they walked and then posing for their photographs, which added to their time They looked pretty relaxed when they said, ”We're back”
Group B were quick They took about seven minutes and when they returned their faces were ashen
”Well, we heard a strange noise - ”
It looked like they both started sprinting after being surprised But they didn't want to face the penalty either, so they held it together long enough to take their photos It'd be interesting to see what kind of photos they took
Group C returned, with an expression that differed from both Group A's relaxed look and Group B's petrified look
Having just returned, they questioned the other two groups
”How many photos did you lot take?”
Before anyone had a chance to ask why, Taki-sarily
”When ent to take our photos, eighteen shots had already been taken Even if you'd used all your photos, there should only have been fifteen taken”
Taking raphs was a clear violation of the rules
”If we'd taken our full six then that wouldn't have left five re for last placed Minato-chan, so we restrained ourselves to only three”
”Hold on a minute”
Ryouko-sama stopped her
”I only took one photo”
Group B and Group C continued in the same vein
”We took four photos”
”We took six between us, but … ?”
Taking their statements at face value, one, four and six totaled to eleven So who took the raphs?
” … The counter could be broken”
An irrational idea popped into her head and Minato desperately fought to drive it out
”On a ca ”
”Then what are you saying?”
”I'et the film developed”
”But we don't kno”
”We don't have to kno Go on, off you go”
Ryouko-sama smiled as she ushered Minato out of the classroom - Ryouko-sama's sadism had been confirmed
Just as Minato had expected, the school was a scary place at night
The classroo on-campus camps, and the hallways around them, were brilliantly lit and lively, but one step outside that area and a dark and silent world opened up It was a warht, but it also felt oddly cool
Fortunately, her route didn't take her past the science labs, but she still had a bit of a shock when she unthinkingly walked past the school infirmary
”… Eek!”
The poster of the hu on the corridor wall looked especially oht