The ghost girl's disheveled hair could extend and completely wrap around a grown man. Using just a portion of those strands to grab hold of multiple people shouldn't be that difficult for her.
Since she hadn't done that back then, it meant either she didn't want to or she couldn't.
Between those two options, they desperately wanted to believe the latter.
This cursed school building had to have some kind of limiting rules. Otherwise, there's no way they could stand a chance against that ghost as ordinary humans.
"I need to know everything that happened before and after you encountered the ghost. Don't leave out a single detail."
Hayato's tone left no room for argument.
Now that Sawano was dead, the remaining three had zero intention of objecting. At this point, they'd pinned all their hopes on Hayato. This guy, who could stay calm even when facing a terrifying ghost without panicking, was probably the one most likely to survive until the end.
He was their best shot at actually getting out of here alive.
The otaku, Kazuya, spoke up first.
"W-we ran up to the fourth floor, all four of us. We kept looking for somewhere to hide, and eventually we found a classroom at the far end of the west side with its door open. So we hid inside."
"After you entered that classroom, did you hear anything from the PA system?"
Hayato asked directly.
Kazuya blinked and shook his head.
"No, nothing."
So it seemed like only classrooms that were originally locked would trigger the broadcast when entered...
"How many classroom doors on the fourth floor were locked?"
"Uh! A lot. We went down the hallway trying to push doors open, and most of them wouldn't budge."
Kazuya continued his explanation.
"After that, we hid in that unlocked classroom for maybe seven or eight minutes. Then we heard footsteps coming from the hallway, getting closer and closer. We started panicking, and Sawano carefully peeked out to check. The ghost was heading straight for our classroom."
"And then..."
But Kazuya's words were cut off by Chiharu's furious interruption.
"That bastard! To save himself, he... he grabbed me and threw me at that ghost! He tried to use me as a meat shield to create an escape opportunity for himself! Damn bastard, serves him right for dying! Hahaha!"
Chiharu's voice trembled with anger and lingering fear, but she also laughed mockingly at Sawano's self-inflicted fate.
Her boyfriend Kawasaki chimed in, constantly expressing his own anger and dissatisfaction with what Sawano had done.
Kazuya wanted to say something in his friend's defense, but could only swallow his words. He knew what Sawano did was wrong, but still... at least toward him, Sawano had always been protective, always trying to keep him alive.
"Alright, enough. I need detailed descriptions of the ghost's attack methods and how she manifested physically."
Chiharu had made physical contact with the ghost. It was cold, like touching a block of ice.
The hair could extend, hook around people's legs, and continuously bind them until it completely swallowed the victim whole.
The three of them stammered through every detail they could remember, filling in gaps in each other's accounts.
Nobody held anything back. They understood clearly that knowing more information now meant better odds of surviving and escaping this place.
Hayato processed all the information they'd shared.
The thing that bothered him most was still the ghost's physical form.
When she first appeared, she'd been completely intangible. He couldn't touch her at all.
Had she been becoming more solid over time?
"Fujibayashi-san, share what we've learned with them."
The purple-haired girl who'd been standing quietly beside Hayato this whole time blinked in surprise.
"Oh! Um, okay. So I'll tell them about... the broadcast?"
"Yeah."
All three immediately focused their attention on Fujibayashi Ryou.
"Hayato-kun and I entered a classroom that had been locked and couldn't be opened by force. Year 2, Class A. When we turned on the lights, the PA system in the classroom started playing something."
Fujibayashi Ryou relayed the content of the broadcast.
The three had expected crucial survival information, but this was... completely useless!
"There's not a single helpful piece of info in that."
Kawasaki grumbled, his brief excitement deflated.
Hayato didn't rush to respond. Instead, he observed the three people's reactions carefully.
"Hayato-san, I think we should focus on this 'Yuuko' student."
Kazuya hesitated for several seconds before speaking up.
"Isn't she just the ghost? How are we supposed to 'focus' on her? Go kill her?"
Kawasaki shot back irritably.
"Now that we know her name, we can search specifically for items and information related to her."
Kazuya ignored Kawasaki's attitude. He was obsessed with anime and manga, sure, but right now his survival instincts were firing on all cylinders. He needed to prove his value.
If someone had to die, if someone had to be abandoned, it would definitely be whoever was the least useful, this is what he's always read from the manga. Kazuya didn't want to be that person. Now that he'd lost his friend Sawano, his only option was to stick close to this Hayato guy.
"Tell me what you're thinking."
Hayato looked at Kazuya calmly.
Kazuya realized he'd said the right thing. He became even more certain that Hayato had been testing them just now, judging their analytical and critical thinking skills.
Kawasaki over there had probably already been mentally marked with a big X.
Idiots die first.
That thought made Kazuya suddenly remember his friend.
"We should go to the teachers' office. There's probably a class roster there. With the student roster, we can find out which class she was in and her full name. I think in her classroom, especially at her desk, there'll definitely be more clues."
That was all Kazuya could come up with.
"Good. Staying calm and thinking things through is key to surviving this cursed school."
Hayato patted Kazuya on the shoulder.
"I'm leaving this task to you."
Kazuya froze instantly.
Leaving it to him? Weren't they going together?
Kawasaki almost burst out laughing. This was too good. Show off your big brain, and now look what happened! Now you have to go find the office and the roster by yourself!
"You're going with him!"
One sentence made Kawasaki's eyes go wide.
"What? I had to go too?!"
"You scared?"
"N-no... it's not that... I'm worried about Chiharu! If both of us go, what happens to her?!"
"I'll look after your girlfriend!"
Kawasaki's brain short-circuited.
"I guarantee she'll be alive when you get back."
Hayato actually wanted to use this opportunity to further test whether the number of people attracted the ghost.
If the ghost came for him this time, he could basically confirm that "more people equals stronger attraction to the ghost."
"But..."
"Then you should go with them too!"
But the moment those words left his mouth, Chiharu immediately exploded and rushed over to Hayato's side.
"No, no, I'll stay with Hayato-san. Kawasaki, are you even a man? You want me to come along on your dangerous mission?"
"I just want to protect you, Chiharu! It's dangerous for you to stay with him, too!"
"Hayato-san can protect me better."
Kawasaki felt nameless anger rising in his chest.
"Then what are you even going to do? We'll go find the clues while you just stay here in the safe spot waiting for us to bring them back?!"
Kawasaki couldn't suppress it anymore. His words shot directly at Hayato, expressing all his dissatisfaction and fury.
This guy is acting all high and mighty, ordering them around to find clues while he stays somewhere safe? What kind of bullshit was that?
"Who do you think you are?! What gives you the right to order us around?"
Kazuya stayed silent, but the same thought had crossed his mind.
He'd assumed they'd all go together, but instead they were being sent off while Hayato stayed behind. Of course, he couldn't accept that.
"The shoe lockers!"
That one statement made everyone freeze.
"The school building's shoe lockers. We know her last name is Yuuko. We can find her locker."
Everyone immediately remembered that scene from the video they'd watched earlier.
The female lead had gotten a letter from her shoe locker.
They'd all overlooked that detail!
Was this the difference between them?
"W-we'll go to the shoe lockers."
Kawasaki quickly changed his tune.
Compared to searching through teachers' offices on multiple floors, checking room by room, he'd much rather go to the shoe lockers by the school entrance.
That wasn't even far. They could run there in less than half a minute.
Sure, there were a lot of lockers, but now that they knew the name, searching would be way faster. It wouldn't take long at all.
"Fine. The shoe lockers are yours, then."
What surprised Kawasaki was that Hayato agreed immediately. Something felt off about that.
Was the shoe locker area more dangerous?
Kawasaki's anxiety spiked.
"Fujibayashi-san and I will search the teachers' offices..."
His gaze fell on Chiharu.
The woman hesitated and struggled with herself for a moment before making her choice.
"I... I'll stay with Hayato-san."
Instantly, Kawasaki's expression darkened.
His own girlfriend trusted a complete stranger more than him?
Kawasaki was about to say something when Hayato simply walked past him, making him swallow whatever words he'd been planning.
Kawasaki remembered the scene of the tall guy doubled over in pain after Hayato hit him. If he tried to start something, he'd probably be the one suffering in the end.
Damn it!
"Come on, otaku. Let's check the shoe lockers!"
The two of them headed out, but their eyes constantly darted around, scanning front, back, left, and right. The moment that the ghost appeared, they'd bolt immediately. Run as fast as humanly possible.
Finally, they reached the shoe lockers at the entrance.
Under the dim lighting, the worn-out lockers looked beaten up and damaged, as they might collapse at any moment.
"I remember in the video it was somewhere in the middle section. Let's start searching from here."
Kawasaki and Kazuya each took a row and started checking the name tags on the lockers.
Yuuko.
Yuuko.
They couldn't find any locker labeled with Yuuko's name.
"Hey, have you found anything yet?"
"Nope."
"Hurry up! Who knows when that thing will show up again?"
Finally, when Kazuya spotted the name 'Yuuko' on one of the lockers, he shouted out in surprise.
"Found it!"
They actually found it!
Kawasaki ran over. The two of them stared at the half-open locker.
"You do it. I'll keep watch."
Kawasaki gave him a push, urging him forward.
He might not be able to handle Hayato, but he could damn well handle this otaku.
Right now, Kawasaki felt completely confident about that.