Weekly Disappearances (4) ****
I was confused.
One person was making two arguments, fighting with each other, saying the other was the fake and they were the real one.
But what brought me the most confusion was this.
Depending on whose words among them were the lie—I would die.
ㄴ[NightRat: Think carefully. Ares, today's the last day.]
ㄴ[NightRat: So you have to open it.]
ㄴ[NightRat: Fuck, I'm the one talking;;; don't butt in.]
ㄴ[NightRat: Anyway, absolutely do not open it. That's the right move.]
ㄴ[NightRat: Don't be confused. Opening it is the right move. I told you, right? You don't know what those anomaly bastards will do at the end]
ㄴ[NightRat: That was me who said that;;]
ㄴ[NightRat: Don't make me laugh lolololol Now that you're at a disadvantage, you're claiming you said it??]
"...."
Who the fuck was right?
No, in the first place, how could I even distinguish who was right?
I was confused.
As the two of them posted comments one after another, I became even more confused.
And it wasn't just me.
ㅁ He's really fucked;;;
ㅁ I think opening it is the right move
ㅁ Did NightRat's way of speaking used to be like that?? No, is it similar???
ㅁ They're really playing this game like shit lolololol
ㅁ It's definitely Lana's last-ditch effort
ㅁ I really don't know;; Good luck, Ares
The majority of the people on the gallery were also lost in confusion, finding it hard to distinguish between them.
But this was not something I could give up on.
My life was on the line here.
I couldn't just leave it to luck.
'There's still plenty of time….'
The night had just begun.
Lana would disappear after dawn.
So… I had been given about six hours to make a decision.
It's okay, it's still okay….
[Hey~, Ares. Are you listening to me?]
"H-huh? Ah, yeah. I'm listening."
[Really, you're such a liar. Are you worried that I'll actually keep you here all night with questions?]
"…Huh?"
[Don't worry, I know you're tired, Ares, and I'm tired too since I haven't been sleeping well lately.]
"No, no no no, it's fine. You can stay until morning!"
[Hehe, you're so considerate. Really, don't worry. Mmm~, I'll head back in an hour.]
"...."
[That's okay with you too, right, Ares? Let's just stay together for a little while?]
"...."
The other NightRat that had appeared on the gallery… was definitely the Lana outside the door.
In other words.
She was telling me this.
—The time limit is one hour.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: It's 1 hour
Lana says she's leaving in 1 hour
I have to figure out which of those bastards is the anomaly within 1 hour
Help me, seriously
What should I do?
• • •
First, I wrote a post.
It would be better to put everyone's heads together than to agonize over it alone.
[ForGlory: Just make him talk about something only he would know.]
ㄴ[ForGlory: I watched over NightRat's situation when he was attending the academy too]
ㄴ[ForGlory: I'll judge if he's lying]
ㄴ[Gramps-chan is going to do it???]
ㄴ[ForGlory: I'm not sticking around and being called gramps for nothing!]
Just then, the fixed-nickname user who had been on this gallery the longest offered an idea.
'This is it…!'
I immediately put it into action.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: The one who says to open the door, come here.
Question.
Why is your nickname NightRat?
• • •
There was still a lot of time.
Ask each one a different question in turns, and the veteran fixed-nickname user will judge.
One of them was a fake.
With this method, I should definitely be able to tell.
And just then, the NightRat who was insisting I open the door posted a comment.
[NightRat: Because back then, I was the one who was most active at night.]
ㄴ[NightRat: People told me not to go out, but I stubbornly did, so I just used the nickname I got from that as my fixed nickname]
"...."
I didn't know the detailed circumstances.
Of course, I had only just been dropped into this world a short while ago.
But….
The story sounded so plausible…?
ㄴ[ForGlory: That's right, I remember everyone foaming at the mouth because this bastard went out every night back then.]
ㄴ[ForGlory: That's the right answer.]
ㄴ[NightRat: Hurry up and check the one who says not to open it. Before time runs out]
In that case, was the correct answer really to open the door?
If this guy was the fake, could he have told such a fact?
[Hey, Ares, what's your type… in a girl?]
"A pretty one."
[....]
"...."
[I like that you're honest, but is there anything else?]
"One with big tits."
[....]
I gave a half-assed answer to Lana's question from across the door and immediately wrote the next post.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: The one who says to close the door, come out
Question.
How did you die?
• • •
After writing the post, I clasped my hands and prayed.
Please be wrong.
Please let it be revealed here.
Because if he answered correctly here, instead of his identity being revealed, it felt like I would just fall deeper into a labyrinth.
And then.
[NightRat: I chose wrong at the graduation ceremony]
ㄴ[NightRat: It was a pink-haired girl named Aris, I had hoped she was human.]
"...."
This time, too, it was a plausible answer.
But it was an answer that could easily be made up.
Without even blinking, I waited for the veteran fixed-nickname user's judgment.
ㄴ[ForGlory: This bastard is right too??;;;]
ㄴ[NightRat: I don't know why, but it seems like the anomaly bastard has looked through all my past records.]
ㄴ[NightRat: It seems it'll be difficult to judge with this.]
ㄴ[StudentCouncilTerrorist: Wow, fuck, that's relentless. The ones who came to the gallery until now weren't like this??]
"...."
It was the correct answer.
"Fuck…."
[Oh, what's wrong? Did something happen?]
"…Ask the next question."
[Hehe, okay, okay.]
I was thrown into confusion.
What should I do?
Was there another way to distinguish them?
But judging by the reactions of the people on the gallery, this had never happened before.
"...."
It couldn't be helped.
The only way to judge whether I should open the door or not right now was to find the fake NightRat.
I continued with the questions.
Question.
The first anomaly you encountered?
[Ares, between a sandwich and a rice ball, which one do you prefer?]
Question.
The first female student you were certain was an anomaly?
[Then between the mountains and the sea, which do you like more? Ah, for reference, I like the sea.]
Question.
What was your score on the first midterm exam?
[You said you like girls with big tits… so… how big do they have to be? Is average okay?]
Question.
Between swordsmanship and magic, which did you choose?
[Have you had a girlfriend? If so, how long did you date?]
Question.
A female student other than Aris that you were certain was human.
[If you were to go on a first date, where would you want to go?]
Question.
How was it right after you died from the graduation ceremony...
[If I asked you to go see a movie...]
Countless questions followed.
The two NightRats answered each of those questions with perfect accuracy.
At some point, the questions became so deep that even the veteran fixed-nickname user had difficulty judging.
And as the questions continued, I also answered a whole bunch of Lana's questions.
Before I knew it, the time was approaching one hour.
'I have to find it, somehow… I have to find it somehow….'
Tick, tock, tick, tock~
The sound of time passing began to sound like the time limit of a death sentence.
My breathing gradually became ragged, my hands started to tremble, and my judgment became clouded.
Question.
And just like that.
I wrote the next question in a long line of questions I was no longer sure even had any meaning.
What was the name of the first female student you kissed?
It was the moment I was waiting for the comment on that question.
[....]
"...."
[…Ah, well then. What is your most confident body part, Ares?]
"…Huh?"
[Fufufu, this is revenge for yesterday's questions. You'd better answer honestly.]
One beat.
It was one beat slow.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: The one who says not to open the door
Question.
What was the name of the first female student you kissed?
• • •
Comments
[NightRat: Mona.]
ㄴ[NightRat: Do I really have to talk about this stuff;; isn't this meaningless now?? Isn't time almost up??]
The answer to the question I had just asked was posted.
I didn't check whether the answer was correct or not.
No, I took my eyes off the gallery completely.
And focused my attention on the other side of the door.
[What~, there's not much time left now. Are you not going to answer? You're so cheap~]
"…My eyes, I guess?"
[Aah, right. Your eyes are pretty, Ares. …But isn't that kind of answer a little too cowardly?]
"...."
It was definitely one beat slow.
"Next question."
[Hmm?]
"There's no time, let's go to the next question."
And I immediately wrote a post.
This time, it was for the NightRat on the side of opening the door.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: The one who says to open the door
Question.
How did you survive the first ghost story?
• • •
Comments
[NightRat: Sticking my head in a fish tank and holding my breath]
ㄴ[NightRat: Is the time okay?? I'm being serious, trust your gut]
ㄴ[NightRat: You'll die if you hesitate]
• • •
[Then what's the ideal height difference Ares wishes for?]
"...."
This time, it wasn't one beat slow.
She threw a question at me right away, and on the post, NightRat also commented right away.
"...."
[Hey, Ares? Your answer? Ah, there's only 1 minute left now?]
"...."
[Ares~? It's the last question.]
I tuned out the gallery and Lana from the other side of the door and fell into thought.
Any more questions were meaningless.
Me, and Lana.
—It was time to make a decision.
Tick, tock, tick, tock—
Tick, tock—
Tick….
Click!
[Ah, it's been an hour?]
"...."
[Well then, will you answer the last question?]
"...."
I got up from my spot leaning against the wall and faced the door.
Lana was still on the other side of the door.
And I had two options.
Open the door.
Do not open the door.
"Hey, Lana."
[Hmm?]
Instead, for the very last time.
I threw a question at Lana.
"…You did that on purpose, didn't you?"
[....]
Of course, it was a question with a predetermined answer rather than a real question.
I….
…decided to trust my gut.
[....]
And to my question.
Lana's amused-sounding voice came back from the other side of the door.
[Aah, what a shame. Ares. Truly.]
"...."
For some reason, I could picture Lana's face, grinning slyly in front of the door.
[I thought you would open it.]
"...."
Right after those words, Lana's voice was no longer heard from the other side of the door.
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: I'm alive, fuck
Not opening the door was the right answer;;;
I was almost fucked
• • •
Comments
[StudentCouncilTerrorist: You're alive??? Wow, fuck, how'd you get it right;;;]
[ForGlory: This newbie's gut is insane, even I didn't know.]
[What??? How did you know??]
ㄴ[Ares: This bitch was playing games from outside the door.]
ㄴ[Ares: When I was questioning the one who said not to open the door, the tempo of her questions from outside the door slowed down too, as if it were her;;]
ㄴ[And you judged that that was a bluff in that short time???]
ㄴ[That's really crazyㄷㄷㄷ]
ㄴ[RedNightSky: I think I would've been fooled, wow lolololol]
[NightRat: You did well, honestly I thought you were going to die]
ㄴ[NightRat: I think this bastard will at least live until graduation.]
ㄴ[Hikikomori: fr lolol I would've opened the door]
And so, the first anomaly I encountered ended with my survival.
***
The next morning.
It was a weekday morning. The weekend was over, and it was time to go to the academy.
"Aah~! What a fucking refreshing morning!!"
Was it because of what I went through yesterday?
This peaceful morning I was greeting was so very welcome.
So much so that the naive thought of not wanting to go to school didn't even cross my mind.
"Ghost stories are nothing, fuck!"
With a vigorous morning cheer, I changed my clothes and left the dormitory.
"Hi Ares. Hehe, you're full of energy today, aren't you?"
"Hi Levin."
I met the pretty Levin in front of the dormitory and exchanged morning greetings.
And we headed to the academy together.
A peaceful daily life.
"Ah, good morning, Ares."
"Huh? Ah, hi. Lana. …Huh?"
"Why? Are you getting flustered seeing me first thing in the morning?"
Into that daily life, a female student who was clearly an anomaly greeted me warmly.
"Why are you…."
"Me? Why? What about it?"
• • •
Author: Ares
Title: Why is this bitch Lana at school???
The ghost story is over
If it follows the clichés, shouldn't she disappear from school and that be the end??
She's greeting me so cheerfully, what is this??
Is this a super fun hidden camera prank??
• • •
Comments
[StudentCouncilTerrorist: Ah, she doesn't disappear lolololol]
ㄴ[Ares: ?????]
ㄴ[StudentCouncilTerrorist: There's no such thing as disappearing just because her being an anomaly was revealed.]
ㄴ[NightRat: You have to carry that burden.]
ㄴ[Ares: What kind of fucked up situation is that;;;;]
"...."
"Ares, our sincere conversation yesterday was fun."
"...."
"I think I've come to like you a little more, Ares. You feel the same, right?"
"...."
"Let's get along well♡"
I stared blankly at Lana, who bumped her shoulder against mine and returned to her seat.
Amidst the confusion, I was certain of one thing.
Getting involved with that bitch would be very troublesome.
****
[T/N: Toast? Pff… more like charred beyond repair]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Read 26 more chapters ahead on NovelDex!
https://noveldex.io/series/academy-survival-gallery
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━