Chapter 147

Interlude IV It sounds like this year’s “calamity” is already over. Is that really true? I heard a rumor that it was. The “calamity” may be gone…but we can’t say we really did anything to stop it, can we? I mean, didn’t Hiratsuka’s grandfather die in an accident just this month? That was probably the “calamity,” too, wasn’t it? Ah. But that was the last one, and now it’s done for the year—it’s supposed to have stopped. Really? I wonder why…? According to one theory, it might be because the “casualty” disappeared. The “casualty”? Is that the “extra person” who joins the class? Yeah. Why do people think that? Because of the number of desks and chairs in the classroom. Desks and chairs… They say there’s an extra set. Yeah, now that I think about it, there’s definitely one too many. Oh, really? Counting Tsugunaga, who died in May, and Kouda, who died in June, plus Makise, who’s in the hospital, and Hazumi, who hasn’t come to school in a long time, that should make four empty seats, right? Mm-hmm. But now there’s one more empty seat besides those four. Whose seat is it? Nobody knows. Nobody is absent besides Makise and Hazumi, but that seat’s still empty. That didn’t happen before. Weird, right? ………… So people figure that desk has to belong to the “extra person,” to the “casualty.” They went away, so the seat that was added at the beginning of April for them is now unoccupied. ………… The disappearance of the “casualty” must mean that the “phenomenon” is over, right? Which means the “accidents” are, too… Really? I hope so. The countermeasures officers and the teachers are discussing it as we speak. ……The “calamity” is over, so we don’t need to worry about anything anymore. Really? Mm. I heard that none of the “countermeasures” really worked… It’s all right now. But how did that happen? I haven’t heard anything from anyone in the class. A report is coming soon. ………… So listen, you don’t have to be afraid. Don’t be so timid, okay? But I… This has dragged on for an awfully long time, so I think it’s only natural to be a little hesitant, but… You know, sometimes I have this thought. Well, it’s less of a thought and more like, how do I say this…like something I’ve become aware of. Aware of what? It’s like I’ve always been here, like time has been frozen here forever, so…you, me, our very existence, has also been on hold. Like we’re stuck in time, trapped here for eternity… No way. That could never… Or, if time’s not standing still, then we’re circling around to the same places. Endlessly circling back on ourselves so that we’re trapped here for the rest of time… I understand you feel that way, but it’s all right now. Time is moving forward like it should. You’re not stuck here or anywhere. But…but listen, maybe I already… ………… …Ah, sorry for whining like this again. I don’t mind listening to you complain a bit. You don’t have to act brave all the time. But listen, I’m sure you’re gonna be all right. Thanks. I’ll come back again later, okay? Ah, yeah. Thanks.