"I am so miserable…"
Her steps were wobbly, but the white-clad female ghost's wet footprints were noticeably fading. After all, she couldn't keep adding water to her head, and the water on her body had long dried up after being chased for so long.
"You all must… die!!!"
"Azusa-senpai, that's a bit too much…"
Perhaps because there were more people, Aina wasn't screaming this time, and Kotegawa Chisa, no longer restrained, was completely speechless.
After all, a female ghost isn't scary until she speaks, and once she does, the fear factor plummets.
And Azusa-senpai wasn't as versatile as the three scumbags; even if she spoke in a pinched voice, an acquaintance could still hear a hint of similarity!
"Eh? No, I'm not Azusa-senpai, I'm a pitiful girl who was pushed into the campus lake by jealous female classmates and died with her eyes open in unrequited despair~"
"Don't arbitrarily add so many self-settings!"
Sighing lightly, Kotegawa Chisa rubbed her temples, looking at the source of the heavy footsteps behind them, and said bluntly: "Yuu, stop trying to sneak attack from behind. Iori and the others are miserable enough."
"Yuu!"
All the hairs on his body stood on end. He had been too focused on the female ghost Azusa-senpai just now. Kitahara Iori, shrinking behind Chisa, was shivering with intense cold and his eyes were full of contempt.
"Chisa, this guy isn't wearing any underwear!"
"What are you talking about, Iori? Aren't you a firm believer in the no-underwear ideology?"
Looking at him as if he were an idiot, Chisa didn't understand why the guy who drank naked every day and slept naked together with Yuu would be scared by Yuu not wearing underwear.
Imamura Kouhei felt deeply offended by this. They indeed enjoyed freedom, but man-locking-man was going too far!
"No, Chisa! This guy poked my butt! He poked my butt!"
"Wait! Let me clarify, the one who poked your butt was the konjac jelly. Please don't slander a respectable man's sexual orientation!"
Reaching out to stop Kouhei's ranting, which was ruining his reputation, Miyazawa Yuu threw the "used" konjac jelly far away, shrugging his shoulders helplessly: "To be fooled by the same trick twice, Kouhei, you really don't learn, do you~"
"You bastard!"
Even if it was konjac jelly, it was unacceptable! Does he know how much psychological damage being poked on the butt causes a boy!
Finally understanding the truth, Imamura Kouhei immediately prepared to angrily confront Yuu, but Aina, who was tightly clutching his waist, firmly kept him stuck in place.
"Chotto matte! Wait until the rooftop! Can you two settle your scores after we reach the rooftop!"
Another familiar scumbag had been added. With the number reaching six and the strongest combat unit among the freshmen back in place, Yoshiwara Aina was no longer as scared.
But not being scared was one thing; her legs being weak and clutching Kouhei tightly so she wouldn't fall was another!
Seeing that the Pab three scumbags were about to start a real-life fighting game right there in the dark hall, she quickly and pitifully begged them to go upstairs first and find the seniors!
"Oh yeah! Since the white-clad female ghost is a disguise by Yuu and Azusa-senpai..."
Holding up one finger, she suddenly recalled the figure that flashed past the music room and specifically asked: "Then the elementary school student I saw outside the music room…"
"Huh? What elementary school student? We didn't arrange anything like that?"
"Hiss... Aina saw it too?"
Sensing that something was a bit off, Kitahara Iori kicked the konjac jelly on the floor to vent his frustration, and also recalled the figure he saw before entering the teaching building.
"Was it a long-haired elementary school girl? About a head taller than the window?"
"No! It was an elementary school boy; you could only see the top of his head at most!"
Shaking her head frantically, Aina guaranteed that based on the hairstyle, her judgment couldn't be wrong! The one who ran past Chisa had to be a slightly shorter boy with spiky hair!
This was very strange. Iori said he saw a tall girl, and Aina said she saw a short boy, and the scene fell into silence for a moment.
Taking off his wet wig and holding it in his hand, Miyazawa Yuu tilted his head in confusion: "At that elementary school age, isn't it normal for girls to develop earlier and be a bit taller? Could they be siblings?"
"That's not the point! The point is, are these two not meant to scare us by the seniors?"
"How could that be~"
Waving her hand, Azusa Hamaka pushed back her hair, revealing an unconfident expression as she explained: "Leaving the boy aside, Nanaka definitely can't disguise herself as a little girl! So, you must have seen it wrong!"
"Really?"
Two people simultaneously being mistaken—the probability was too small, but since Azusa-senpai said so, Yoshiwara Aina could only tentatively attribute the situation to visual errors.
And the top priority now was to find the way and meet up with the seniors. It was best to put this small problem aside for now!
"Yuu, did you bring extra batteries? The flashlight seems to be dead…"
"Dead? That shouldn't be right; it's a rechargeable flashlight, and I personally fully charged it yesterday!"
Miyazawa Yuu shook his head, regretting that he couldn't help. Seeing this, Imamura Kouhei shook the flashlight in his hand and said casually: "Then let's use ours; there's only one last section of the road left anyway."
"Mhm, after going up here, it's the rooftop…"
"Tap! Tap! Tap!"
Before Miyazawa Yuu could finish his sentence, the clear sound of footsteps echoing in the empty school building choked the rest of his words back into his throat.
This was the crisp sound of rubber-soled shoes stepping on tile—a material used for the indoor shoes that elementary school students are required to change into before class!
And as the footsteps gradually approached, Imamura Kouhei instantly became alert, shining the flashlight towards the direction of the sound. He saw two pairs of elementary school students' legs appear in the field of view of the group amidst the inexplicably flickering light.
Not only that, as the brand-new rubber-soled shoes continued to advance, red and blue elementary school sports pants and white shirts sequentially revealed their features.
"Big brothers, big sisters…"
An ethereal child's voice hit the floor and echoed against the walls.
Finally stepping fully into the light, the elementary school boy and girl held hands tightly, but their entire faces were obscured by shadow due to their low height and downward gaze, making all facial features unobservable.
"Can you... take us home? We can't get out of this school; no matter what we do, we can't…"
"Quack…"
Frozen on the spot, the scream in Yoshiwara Aina's mouth turned into a strange duck-like quack before it could escape.
It wasn't just her; even Chisa, who had remained relatively calm, was now rolling her eyes—can't go home, can't get out, isn't this purely a confined spirit (Jibakurei)!
No! She had to run! But…
Even though her heart was screaming for her feet to move, she found herself somewhat stiff from fear, and she couldn't move a single step!
Just as she was completely despairing, hoping she wouldn't look too ugly after being scared to death, a pair of annoying hands around her waist lifted her up with surprising strength.
Kitahara Iori, with a strained face, said nothing, but picked up Chisa and ran. Although he appeared fearless in a crisis, he was probably halfway dead inside, his actions being purely instinctive.
Imamura Kouhei was in a similar situation; before Aina's soul could be scared out of her body, he immediately covered her eyes with one hand.
Aina's soul, which was chasing behind her, didn't know what happened next, but the bumping of her body confirmed that she was still alive.
"...Mhm, that's so sad~"
Her companions ran away in less than three seconds. The white-clad female ghost, abandoned in the original spot, helplessly lowered her hair and complained to the white-clad male ghost: "No one cares about their senior; Iori and Kouhei are so mean!"
"It's okay~ Then let's be the only two to die together for love!"
Very cooperatively, Miyazawa Yuu struck a look of heroic self-sacrifice, patting his head with his hands behind his back and lamenting: "Let's be together in the next life too, Azusa-senpai!"
"Hahaha! Okay, but let's talk about that after we send Iori and the others to hell when we drink later!"
"Older brother, when will you give us the candy you promised?"
They were ignored, and the handsome big brother and big sister were showing off their affection. The smart elementary school students of the new generation immediately shed their horror filters, raised their heads, and clustered around appealingly.
As everyone knows, whether it's phones or pocket money, it's best to ask when the adults are already involved, as they might give you more!
"Yes, yes, yes, thank you for your thoughtful performance. You will definitely get all the snacks I promised~"
Touching each child's head one by one, Miyazawa Yuu gained a deeper understanding of the intelligence of children today.
These children were brought by fellow backpackers camping at the elementary school. Although the two were not siblings, their cooperation was extremely seamless, and their acting skills were astonishing!
Whether it was the fleeting flash to increase psychological pressure or the final tearful tone, everything was perfect! They deserved a reward!
"Oh~ It looks like the effect was very good!"
"Kotobuki-senpai, please escort the children back to their parents…"
Looking at the bodyguard walking towards him, Miyazawa Yuu confidently handed the two children over to him. As for him and Azusa-senpai, they still needed to continuously track the two pairs of unstraightforward, strange couples!