The applause grew louder and louder, spinning in my head. A cold sweat broke out all over my body. The pain in my head felt like it was about to split open. The sound of the chime, the teacher’s voice, and the high-pitched applause all mixed together made me feel dizzy. Feeling nauseous amid the fading consciousness, I twisted my body but could faintly recognize the slow footsteps descending the stairs, approaching me…
Staggering, I managed to support myself and directed my gaze toward the approaching footsteps. The first thing I saw in my blurred vision was the black cat that had run away.
The black cat was being carried by someone. They wore a duffle coat and a plaid scarf and had long brown hair that fluttered in the wind. I couldn’t see their face clearly.
Could it be a woman? Holding the black cat, they passed by my side.
It’s not the Death God…
As I found solace in the fact that the figure passing by me wasn’t the Death God, the strength supporting my body suddenly drained away. I sat down on the top of the long staircase, crouched as if squatting, and lost consciousness.
Tick, tick, tick…
I heard the sound of the clock’s hands.
“…disappear.”
A small voice on the verge of tears.
I found myself standing in a dim room. As I surveyed the room, I noticed a figure leaning against the door.
Who is it?
I focused my gaze on the figure, and my breath caught in my throat.
“I want to disappear…”
Whispering those words, crying in front of the door… was none other than “me.”
“Oi… Hey.”
My head throbbed. I heard a familiar, low voice… I slowly opened my eyes. In my blurred vision, I saw a boy with a beautiful face.
The boy I had met when I became a half-spirit was peering at me.
Ah, this must be a dream. After all, that boy shouldn’t be here.
The boy in my hazy vision had a troubled expression as he scratched the back of his head with his left hand. Then he gently clasped his hands together.
“Rest in peace…”
My mind became clear with those words.
“I-I’m not dead!” I forcefully raised my upper body from the railing of the long staircase I had been leaning on. At the same time, my headache throbbed dully, causing me to clutch my head.
Looking down at me, the boy calmly asked in a composed voice, “Are you okay?”
I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was unimaginable. But that boy, he was definitely right in front of me. It wasn’t a dream.
“Did you give up?” the boy asked me with a hesitant expression, further inquiring.
“Huh?” I tilted my head, not understanding what the boy was talking about, while still clutching my head.
“That’s why you came to the Death God’s Mansion…” Seeing the boy’s bitter expression, I realized. He misunderstood and thought I had given up on coming back to life, thinking I had come here to meet the Death God.
“No, it’s not like that! I thought that if I came here, I might be able to remember something. I remembered falling down this staircase…” I hurriedly tried to clear up the boy’s misunderstanding.
“Ah… I see,” the boy responded, looking disappointed.
A question came to my mind. Why was the boy here now? It might be a convenient thought, but…
“Could it be… you were looking for me?” I asked, and for a moment, the boy’s eyes flickered.
“Well, I didn’t really think I’d be able to find you. But I remembered something about the Death God… And there was something I wanted to confirm,” the boy explained, looking awkward.
Something he wanted to confirm? I must have had a puzzled expression on my face. The boy looked uneasy and opened his mouth.
“Grandpa regained consciousness. As soon as he woke up, he started saying that Granny, who had passed away, had saved him,” the boy said, sounding happy.
“Granny…” I trailed off, my voice barely a whisper.
“When he was drifting in and out of consciousness, he felt the presence of someone running toward him, even though he couldn’t see them. He said it must have been Granny… probably,” the boy explained.
Finally, I realized. Could it be…?
“Maybe it was me,” I said, and the boy lowered his head.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, bowing his head.
I couldn’t immediately respond to the boy, who lowered his head.
When he lifted his face, looking as if he were observing me, his expression was one of surprise.
I felt like crying. Until I arrived here, I passed by countless people. No one noticed me. No one could see me. I had nowhere to go. I felt a loneliness that was like being left behind, abandoned, and all alone in the world. That was probably why. The fact that someone had searched for me, someone who didn’t know where I was, made me so happy that I wanted to cry.
“Thank you… for finding me,” I said, tears streaming down my face.
The more I tried to hold back my tears, the more they welled up uncontrollably.
“Why… Why are you crying?” the boy asked, perplexed by my reaction.
His face, blurred by tears, looked confused, and I lowered my gaze.
“I’m… glad… you found me,” I managed to say in a weak voice.
“What? What do you mean?” The boy couldn’t make out my feeble words, so he cupped his hand to his ear and asked again.
“There’s no one else but you… who can find me,” I said, my voice barely audible.
The boy muttered something, his face showing a pensive expression.
“Maybe it’s really me after all,” he said.
“Huh?” I raised my face in response to the boy’s murmured words.
Our eyes met, and the boy spoke to me.
“It’s… okay. I’ll help you. I can’t guarantee that I can save you, though.”
I froze, caught off guard by the unexpected words. Seeing my reaction, the boy laughed.
“Otherwise, you might end up becoming a real spirit and casting a curse on me,” he added.
Even though he teased me and laughed, I didn’t feel the slightest bit bothered.
Contrary to his words, the boy had a genuinely kind expression on his face, and that was why—