Chapter 141

Interlude II There was an accident yesterday, right around here. An accident… What happened? You don’t know? There was a big uproar about it… Oh, right, you were absent yesterday. I was in bed with a cold then, plus the day before. I’ve got to take the midterms alone next week. My condolences. Are you feeling better? Yeah, more or less. You should sit out of club activities on the second and fourth Saturdays, too. Practice will be hard on you. I really would have liked to sleep in for another day. What about the accident? A third-year girl died. Apparently, she was one of the Class 3 reps. She croaked? Here? The wind was intense yesterday afternoon, and it sent a shingle from the gymnasium roof flying. It flew over here and… It hit her? That’s what I heard… Ah, look over there. See where the pavement is stained? I think that’s from the blood. Gah, it’s fresh! The shingle stabbed her in the neck. It was going very fast; they say she died instantly. Ow, that sounds painful. If it was instantaneous, it probably wasn’t too bad. But yeesh, talk about bad luck. Of all the things that could happen… Yeah. But you know, she was in Grade 3 Class 3. What’s so special about that? What, you don’t know? Know what? I’m surprised there’s anyone who isn’t aware. According to the rumor, Grade 3 Class 3 has been cursed for a long time… It’s begun, hasn’t it? It has. The “calamity” has begun. Yes. So the “countermeasures” failed after all? That’s what it comes down to. It’s…unfortunate. It must be because Hazumi, the “second non-exister,” called it quits… Probably, yeah. Could it be anything else? It’s not clear. But we can’t stop people blaming her now… ………… ………… ……So? Hmm? So what should we do now? There’s no point in my keeping being a “non-exister” anymore. That’s… Well, listen, I’d like you to hold off on that for a bit. Wait? I told you before, didn’t I? If this is the worst-case scenario, I’ve got one last-ditch idea. Uh…yeah, sure. I don’t know whether my hunch is correct or if it will even accomplish anything, but—but I think it’s better than doing nothing. So please, don’t give in just yet… At least keep acting invisible like you have been. I’ll inform the teacher and the rest of the class. Why…what’s your idea? Okay, here it is… It’s started. The “calamity” has begun. Really? I heard it was the female class representative on exam day, just like three years ago. Though that could simply be a coincidence, of course. If you include Ms. Kanbayashi’s older brother, there have already been three casualties. So it probably started on May 7, huh? The day that Hazumi resigned. I knew it… I thought that wouldn’t do anything, though. We were supposed to be all right as long as I took it seriously, weren’t we? Yes, that’s how it was supposed to be. But it didn’t turn out that way. It shouldn’t have happened…so why? ………… Something feels off… Ah, I’m sorry, Sou. Oh no… You trusted in what I said, didn’t you? I’m sorry. Oh. It’s not like that; you don’t have anything to apologize for, Mei… ………… ……And now that it’s started, more people are going to die, aren’t they? ………… At least one “related individual” a month. Yes. And there’s nothing we can do about it anymore, right? Once the “calamity” starts up, it’s over. Yes. Basically… But there’s still one more “countermeasure” we can discuss. Wait, really? Let’s look into it for now. We won’t know whether it’ll do anything until we try, though. Hmm. And just what kind of “countermeasure” is it? It’s…