T/N:
Finna go crazy with this 6 chapters boiss! I was so into it when I was translating the 6 recent chapters, author literally dragged a 'city' into this fic.
Xiao~
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After turning on the light, the student council room brightened up, and the atmosphere shifted.
The sense of fear instantly vanished.
The two flustered girls gradually came back to their senses.
Kaguya slowly lifted her head, and despite the earlier panic, a hint of delight crept into her heart.
Pretending to be afraid in order to have physical contact with a boy, this could easily stir affection in the other person.
It was an expression of the protective instinct, something akin to the suspension bridge effect.
This was a little strategy Kaguya had picked up after some advanced "love study."
And she actually got to use it this time.
(Even though Kaguya was genuinely scared.)
Right now, she was eager to see Haruto's reaction.
However, the moment she looked up, she locked eyes with Miko.
Kaguya: ?!?
Seeing Miko in Haruto's arms, Kaguya froze completely.
A backstabber!
She had thought that merely clutching his arm was already bold enough! Yet someone else had taken it a step further—directly jumping into his arms!
Kaguya's low blood pressure was instantly cured.
At that moment, Miko Iino also realized what had happened.
She quickly scrambled out of Haruto's embrace, returned to the opposite sofa, and lowered her head, too embarrassed to look at him.
The scare just now had made her instinctively leap toward Haruto.
It was a subconscious decision.
After all, in the few brief times she had met him, Haruto had always left her with a strong sense of security.
"Woah..."
Chika, munching on drama from the sidelines.
"Shut it, Secretary Fujiwara!"
Kaguya and Miko both yelled at the same time.
Yu Ishigami sighed and shook his head.
"Haruto-senpai, Secretary Fujiwara probably won't live past the month, and Miko's probably next."
Haruto: ???
While Secretary Fujiwara was being scolded and the other two girls were teary-eyed...
Haruto took out his phone and searched for information about Kisaragi Station. However, the expected urban legend results didn't come up.
All he found were unrelated bits and pieces, occasional forum threads with only fragments of info.
His fingers rhythmically tapped the desk as he frowned.
"Secretary Fujiwara, where did you hear the urban legend about Kisaragi Station?"
Haruto suddenly asked.
Still sniffling, Chika thought for a moment and replied,
"It's just something that's been passed around the academy. I don't know where it started."
Haruto rubbed his temples.
Tch!
What he thought was just a fun ghost story was clearly not that simple.
He then looked at Kaguya.
"Kaguya, Hayasaka didn't come to Shuchiin today. Did you assign her anything?"
Kaguya shook her head.
"Hayasaka asked for leave yesterday. Said she needed to go home, and she left in the evening..."
As she spoke, her expression changed.
The time Hayasaka left yesterday lined up almost perfectly with the nonexistent last train Chika had mentioned.
That coincidence sent a chill down her spine.
Haruto pulled out his phone.
Hayasaka had messaged him in the morning, but there had been no further replies. When he came to Shuchiin today, Haruto had especially tried to sense her presence.
He couldn't detect Hayasaka Ai at all.
Even without the ghost story, Haruto had planned to ask Kaguya about her whereabouts.
Hayasaka would occasionally act mischievous.
She was part of the founding team of the Foundation, after all.
Having worked closely together during its early days, she didn't show the same deference or awe that the other members did. So even though Haruto had noted the odd message, he hadn't initially thought she might be in trouble.
Now, he quickly dialed her number.
After a few rings, the call connected.
"Hayasaka?"
Haruto called out.
A string of strange noises came through the earpiece, and then the call ended.
The entire call lasted only about a second.
The sudden change made Kaguya panic completely.
"Hayasaka!"
If something had happened to Hayasaka, Kaguya might just lose it.
Haruto placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her.
"She's okay for now, but in some trouble. I'm going to take care of it."
Hearing this, Kaguya covered her face with her hand and forced herself to calm down.
"Hayasaka might be in a bit of trouble. I'll bring her back—don't worry."
He reassured Miko, Chika, and Ishigami, then quickly stood up and walked toward the exit.
Kaguya tightly followed him.
They didn't leave Shuchiin directly. Instead, they found a quiet spot out of sight.
"A containment task, you—"
Before Haruto could finish, Kaguya cut him off.
"I'm going!"
Haruto simply nodded and took her hand. In the next moment, they leapt into the air. Soon, they were out of view from the ground.
Haruto was holding Kaguya in his arms.
Normally, she'd be flustered and shy.
But now, she was strangely calm, though her hand holding her phone was trembling slightly.
"It's that way."
Kaguya pointed the direction.
Leaving from the Shinomiya estate, the train station location was fixed. It was easy to look up.
Haruto flew toward that location.
"Just now on the phone, the strange sound—was that...?" Kaguya clenched her fists.
She couldn't accept anything happening to Hayasaka, but reason told her things rarely go as one hopes.
Haruto shook his head.
"Don't worry. Hayasaka is still safe. The sound on the phone—that was her voice."
Kaguya exhaled in relief, but she looked even more confused.
Haruto explained,
"Where Hayasaka is now, the flow of time is probably distorted. What you heard—those strange sounds—were actually her voice played at ultra-fast speed. She told me some important things. Let's go there first."
Meanwhile, with Hayasaka Ai—
The ringtone of her phone woke her from unconsciousness. The moment she opened her eyes, she went on high alert.
She'd actually fallen asleep in a place like this?
Something was definitely wrong.
As an investigator for the Foundation, Hayasaka had been enhanced with excellent compounds. Not to mention fatigue—even regular ether wouldn't knock her out easily.
Which made the fact that she passed out on the train incredibly suspicious.
She quickly scanned her surroundings.
She was still on the same train but the passengers looked odd.
They remained exactly as they were when she got on.
Same position, same posture, same expressions. Nothing changed.
That was deeply eerie.
Hayasaka was certain she had been asleep for a long time. But these people looked like lifeless dolls.
Still, she answered the phone.
It was the annoying president calling.
No matter how bizarre the situation, Haruto's name always gave her a sense of security.
She quickly spoke:
"President!"
But the only response was a continuous strange sound—like a distorted growl being endlessly stretched.
Hayasaka froze, waited, but the sound didn't change.
She calmly reported,
"President, I boarded Train C137 from Chiba Station on November 7th, 2020, at 10 PM."
"There were five passengers: three men and two women, all office workers in their 30s to 40s."
"After boarding, I lost consciousness uncontrollably and only woke up to the phone ringing."
"I can't tell how long it's been. My phone clock has failed, and there's no signal."
"The train is still moving, with no signs of stopping."
"The passengers remain in their original positions, completely unchanged."
"Outside the window is a grayish-white mist. Nothing is visible. No lights, no sunlight."
Though the call still only returned strange sounds, Hayasaka kept her tone steady, reporting everything she knew.
Even if it didn't work, she knew this was the best course of action.
As she spoke, the train began to slow down. The mist outside started to thin, revealing a platform. Hayasaka paused, then quickly reported,
"The train is approaching a stop. The gray mist is thinning. The platform—I've never seen it before."
"It's very old and run-down. Wait—I see the station sign. It says: 'Kisaragi Station.'"
"The train has stopped. I have two options: stay on or get off."
"President Haruto, my instincts tell me I should disembark. I've decided to go with that."
"Before getting off, I'll confirm the passengers' status... Confirmed—all passengers are deceased."
"The doors are opening. The platform... I'm... gett—"
The call ended with a busy tone.