His head was spinning violently. Ian quietly stared at the girl clinging to his arm like a cicada, swiftly putting his mind to work.
*‘Where am I right now?’*
Beyond the main gate of Sayo High School. The school road lined with cherry blossom trees was no different from the path he had seen at dawn. The number of street trees, the shape of the playground, and most crucially, the school building itself were all exactly the same. There was no room for doubt.
*‘What time is it now?’*
Swallowing dryly, he took out his phone and checked the time.
[Year ???? Month ? Day ?? ??:??]
A clock plastered with question marks welcomed him with a wide smile.
It was not a metaphor. Beyond the achromatic phone screen, he could see someone running toward him with a smile. Faint laughter echoed, growing louder and louder.
*Click.*
He didn’t need to hear the rest. Ian immediately powered off the phone, confirmed there were no other issues, and shoved the device into his pocket.
*‘Definitely an anomaly.’*
A time appearing out of nowhere. A wallpaper changed without having been set. And a woman dressed in mourning clothes running at him wielding a kitchen knife, among other things.
Things that could never happen in reality had occurred in succession within mere seconds. Ian exhaled a long breath and glanced up at the sky.
“…….”
Strangely, there was no sun in the sky. Only blue sky and clouds existed. Yet the sunlight was real, and its blazing heat was felt fully on his skin. Only the shadows remained frozen in place, not stirring in the slightest.
It was unlikely that an urban legend had hidden the sun. Rather, it was more correct to assume they had entered a completely different space.
Whether it was a spatial-type anomaly or one that eroded reality was still uncertain, but judging by how the time period had completely changed, it was at least not a common one. If he let his guard down, he might be done for in an instant. If Iseoa had come alone, guaranteeing her survival would have been difficult.
Thinking so, it seemed he had done well to accompany her. Ian pushed away the girl who resembled the Lord of the Outer Sea and checked if Iseoa was nearby. The girl whined, “Ah, Senior!” but he ignored her for now.
“……Ah, she’s over there.”
Fortunately, Iseoa could be found quickly.
On the second floor of the main school building. Beyond the window of what looked like a classroom, her face was clearly visible. The distance was not so great that he could fail to notice her.
Mind control…… didn’t seem to have taken effect. Seeing her face full of confusion and annoyance rather than a calm expression, it seemed she hadn’t lost her mind. That was a small mercy.
*‘For now, should I join her over there?’*
Ian let out a deep sigh and rummaged in his jacket for a cigarette. A moment later, realizing that this space was a school, he stopped his movement.
It went without saying that smoking was prohibited on school grounds. To begin with, the very act of smoking was impossible for a student. If rules existed in this place just as in libraries or hospitals, smoking carelessly could get him killed under the pretext of disciplinary action or penalty points.
“……”
Now was the time to act cautiously. There was still too little information. It was uncertain whether this place was truly a spatial-type mystery, and he couldn’t tell if the students walking over there were really human.
And above all else…….
*‘Is this being truly the Lord of the Outer Sea?’*
Ian furrowed his brow and glared at the face of the girl who kept clinging to him.
“U-uh…… Senior……? Why are you looking at me like that……?”
Pupils trembling in fear and shoulders slightly hunched.
No matter how he looked at her, she was the very image of a frail girl, but Ian did not let his guard down. He didn’t know exactly what *that thing* truly was, but the fact that it took the form of an Outer God made it a target of caution.
*‘I don’t think it’s the main body. If it were the main body, this space wouldn’t be able to withstand it.’*
Since Outer Gods frequently appeared in various works of fiction, their name didn’t carry as much weight as before, but reality and fiction were strictly separate. Even if it wasn’t the Lord of the Outer Sea, if a cosmic entity revealed its true body here, a mere urban legend couldn’t possibly endure it. A being that used a school as its base and a god that swam through the cosmos could never be placed on the same level.
Moreover, the Lord of the Outer Sea was a noble existence belonging to the highest class even among Outer Gods. If it had come here in its true body, not only the school urban legend but even the earth would have collapsed outright. The weight of its caliber was simply different.
Still, just in case, Ian gulped and muttered her name quietly.
“……Lord of the Outer Sea.”
She reacted to Ian’s voice.
“Lord of the Outer Sea……? What’s that? The name of a newly released game?”
The girl with an appearance exactly like the Lord of the Outer Sea tilted her head cutely.
“Is it a game you’re playing, Senior? Then I want to play too! Does that game have a couple system too?!”
Her eyes sparkled as she approached Ian. Each step she took forward, Ian took two steps back, exhaling a long breath.
*‘……No reaction.’*
Did she really not know? Or was she pretending?
He couldn’t tell. That made it all the more unsettling. Should he call it the feeling of something draped in human skin acting and talking like a person? It was a sensation of disgust racing down his spine through his entire body. It was truly difficult to explain.
If she were the main body, Ian would have felt a bit more at ease. Whatever the form, he had already conversed with the Lord of the Outer Sea once. Perhaps he could make her back down with just a few words.
But what stood before him now was of unknown identity. An unknown existence. He didn’t even know its name. Only a ridiculous name, ■■■, was engraved on its name tag.
He had no idea what to call that. Boxboxbox? Or Blank? If not that, should he just call it whatever he wanted?
Perhaps the way it perceived things changed according to what it was called. Whatever the case, it was equally repulsive.
“…….”
Ian took a moment to think things through right then. First, whether it was right to play along with this damned puppet show, or whether it was better to act thoroughly as a mage. He pondered which offered a higher probability of survival.
“Tch.”
Before long, he reached a conclusion.
“……Let’s head inside for now.”
Ian said so and moved his steps toward the school building. The Lord of the Outer Sea—no, ■■■—followed him.
“Okaaay. But Senior, why are you so prickly today? You used to hug me every time we met.”
“Must be because something bad happened.”
“……Must be? Why are you being so vague? Is something bad happening or not?”
“If I had to say, something bad is happening.”
Ian glanced at his wrist. A watch was dangling on his wrist where there had definitely been nothing before. A watch impossible to remove, like shackles, blinked and told the time.
[AM 08:25]
The phone brought in from outside was dead, but the watch was working perfectly. What this meant was that this watch was an item belonging to the *school urban legend*. Ian twisted the corner of his mouth and tapped the watch.
The metal watch didn’t react. It simply rotated its second hand clockwise in silence.
“Senior? Why did you suddenly stop?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
He brushed off ■■■’s question and pulled down his sleeve. The watch was hidden beneath the white school uniform shirt.
“Let’s go.”
Since he had decided to play along with this damned farce, now was the time to match his pace to the urban legend as much as possible. A supernatural phenomenon with rules carried severe risks when those rules were broken, so he had no choice.
If he went around practically asking to be gutted, and something on the level of a hospital director popped out, not even Ian could guarantee his survival.
*‘……First, let’s join up with Iseoa. And it’s right to discuss countermeasures.’*
Thinking so, Ian slowly entered the building. The school interior, devoid of any gloomy chill and instead filled with the excitement of a new semester and the fresh scent of youth, held nothing strange whatsoever.
“…….”
And that was, more than anything, what felt the most grotesque.
*
“Then Senior! See you during break!”
■■■’s class was first-year Class 3. She creaked open the back door and sent Ian a bright smile. Pale skin peeked out from beneath her fluttering, swaying skirt.
“And you know we have joint PE class during third period today? Hehehe…… I’m going to be your partner, Senior, so don’t even look at other girls…….”
“Hurry up and get in.”
“’Kay.”
■■■ winked at Ian, then closed the door and walked to her seat. Ian confirmed that her expression changed from a smile to expressionless in an instant, clicked his tongue, and went up to the third floor.
The third floor was the second-year classroom area. He found his classroom with familiarity, entered, and plopped down into his seat.
Back seat by the left window. It was the seat right next to Iseoa. She had been sitting still, looking out the window with a serious expression, but turned her head sharply at the presence felt beside her. Her gaze was quite fierce, but upon confirming the owner of the presence was Ian, her expression immediately softened.
“Ah, Ian……! You’re safe!”
“Somehow. You okay?”
“I’m not hurt. My mind is fine too. But my phone is dead, so I don’t think contacting the outside is possible.”
“Mine was corrupted too. Instead, I got a watch…….”
“Me too. A watch I’d never seen before was on my wrist.”
She rolled up her sleeve and showed a black leather watch. Ian let out a grunt.
“The time is the same. It must be this space’s time.”
“Probably. Sigh…… We were just taking a walk at the school at midnight trying to catch ghosts. What is this.”
“We didn’t enter knowing this, so it can’t be helped. For now, tell your parents you’ll be late today. I’ll do the same.”
“Okay.”
Iseoa nodded. Ian swept back his hair and hung his bag roughly on the hook.
“……Huh?”
At the same time, his eyes widened. Ian hurriedly turned to Iseoa, his face twisting.
“No, fuck. We’re both orphans. Where are our parents?”
“……Huh?”
Hearing Ian’s words, Iseoa’s face blanked out, then soon turned pale.
“……Right? Then whose memory is this?”
“…….”
“I mean, I clearly ate with my parents and went for a walk yesterday? No, no, wait. Yesterday I was just taking a magic exam, and then I heard you were coming down, and huh? Huh? Uhh……?”
Her pupils trembled. Ian inwardly cursed and bit his lip hard.
For the first time in a very long while, chills ran down his spine.