Chapter 127 The Secret Chamber.

In the end, Tsukino and Chiya managed to get away with the matter of "Brother Fang Ming".

It is obvious that although it is unknown why Higashigo Miya would remember someone's name as the strange-sounding "Fangming" and insist that it was that name, there is no doubt that the person she was referring to was actually Fusashi Yomei.

This wasn't the first time Higashigomi Miya had inquired about the "Brother Fangming" she mentioned from people connected to the Disaster Society. It was impossible for her to have found out absolutely nothing over the years.

As far as Tsukino and Chiya knew, Higashigo Miya now understood the man who called himself Yangming to the point that "that person has a lover, so I advise you not to provoke him; the strength of a top-tier martial arts faction is not to be trifled with. And that person will not take the initiative to attack unless it is for his lover."

After that, Higashigo Mimi's obsession with that person... at least on the surface, seemed to have lessened considerably, and Tsukino and Chiya thought she wouldn't ask about it anymore.

After first hearing about this, Tsukino and Chiya tried to subtly inquire how Higashigo Mimi met that man, but he clearly considered it a private matter and was unwilling to say more.

However, Tsukino and Chiya still managed to glean some information. For instance, when Higashigo Mimi first met the guy who called himself Yangming, he had only recently escaped from the Salvation Ranch and was practically a child…

This made Tsukino and Chiya feel, on the one hand, "Dad, what did you do back then? Why would a child like you be so hung up on you?" On the other hand, they also felt, "But since it's you, it seems like anything that happened is reasonable."

However, this matter is actually not that important.

Tsukino and Chiya could tell that although Higashigo Mimi had been searching for her beloved Fusashi Higashi, she wasn't actually that deeply in love with him. It was just that not long after she left the extreme place of the Salvation Ranch alone, she met Fusashi Higashi, a person that Tsukino and Chiya also acknowledged to be very special, and from then on, she developed a certain obsession.

If one day Mimi Higashigo really does meet him again, Tsukino and Chiya believe that Mimi Higashigo will still know her limits.

When Higashigo Mimi suddenly mentioned "Fangming-nii," it was indeed just a casual remark; she didn't expect to get any real information from him. So, after Tsukino and Chiya earnestly stated that they really didn't know anyone named Fangming, she didn't press further, simply nodding casually to indicate that she understood.

"Okay. Well then, one last thing."

The purple-haired woman who had been sitting on the steps stood up unhurriedly. She casually brushed off any dust that might have gotten on her trousers as she spoke.

Let's meet at the old school building tonight.

Wait a minute, how did the topic suddenly jump to this?

Tsukino and Chiya asked in surprise, "Us?"

“Of course, there’s also Ohma-kun.” Higashigo Miya returned a smile. “Ohma-kun and I already made plans at noon, I’m just letting you know. Of course, if Tsukino-kun doesn’t plan to come, I can’t force you to come.”

Why emphasize your status as a teacher at a time like this...? And why did you and Wangma suddenly reach a consensus at that time?

"So why the old school building?" Tsukino and Chiyo asked. "The strange creature that was originally lingering in the old school building should have already attained enlightenment. Hope's Peak also paid me the remaining commission fee after confirming it. After that, I haven't heard of anything unusual happening at the old school building."

If anything were amiss, Hope's Peak's request shouldn't have ended so abruptly. Judging from what Tsukino and Chiya noticed, Hope's Peak was clearly quite satisfied with his efficiency and results.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have brought up the idea of ​​transferring him to the undergraduate program again. However, this suggestion was decisively rejected by Tsukino and Chiya.

"Did you notice something?" After thinking it over, Tsukino and Chiya could only think of this possibility.

If all you need is a suitable setting for three people to talk, then choosing the old school building is really unnecessary.

After the problem was resolved, the guards who had been withdrawn from the old school building to facilitate Tsukino and Chiya's operations should have resumed their work. The reconstruction work that had been suspended has probably also resumed, and after a holiday, there may have been considerable progress.

While it wouldn't be difficult for any one of the three of them to avoid the guards or other staff who were probably already active around the old school building, choosing such a place just to talk seemed a bit redundant and unnecessary.

Wait a minute, sometimes you don't need so much meaning to do things. As long as it's interesting, isn't that enough of a reason to do it?

...For a moment, Tsukino and Chiya felt that this reason might not be impossible for Ouma Kokichi.

However, Tsukino and Chiya knew that although Ohma Shokichi seemed to do some outlandish things that ordinary people would never think of on the surface, he was actually very sensible.

As expected, Higashigomi Miya didn't rush to answer the question. She picked up a plastic bag full of various kinds of garbage, turned around and walked several steps away from the rooftop before slowly tossing out her answer.

"When I arrived at this school, the first thing I did was to take a good look around the place."

"Unlike some ordinary person—"

She deliberately emphasized certain pronunciations, highlighting the identities that Tsukino and Chiya were used to emphasizing in their speech.

"I can still notice things that don't seem right."

*******

"—Just as I thought."

That night.

After easily evading the guards and arriving near the old school building, Higashigo Miya looked at the old school building, which was blocked by a fence, narrowed her eyes slightly, and spoke with great certainty.

Tsukino and Chiya both looked toward the location of the old school building.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't see anything.

Although some time has passed since they came here openly and legitimately because of Hope's Peak's request, it's not enough for Tsukino and Chiya to feel unfamiliar with the old school building. From the outside, the old school building seems no different from what Tsukino and Chiya remember it to be.

After that incident, the illusions that had appeared before Tsukino and Chiya disappeared as well, and have not reappeared since.

So, to be honest, in Tsukino and Chiya's eyes at this moment, the old school building looked even more normal than before. It was just an ordinary abandoned building.

Presumably, in Wang Ma's eyes as well...

"Wow...! I see!" Wang Ma Xiaoji also looked in the direction of the old school building. His expression was unusually serious and focused, and he couldn't help but exclaim in surprise as he looked, "That's right!"

...The same?

Tsukino and Chiya turned their heads with a blank expression, and then received an innocent smile from Ohma Kokichi after he noticed their gazes.

Tsukino and Chiya asked, "Ohma, have you noticed anything wrong?"

Wang Ma Xiaoji said confidently, "Absolutely not!"

Tsukino and Chiya: "So what was your statement just now?"

Wang Ma Xiaoji: "Oh dear, it's because Kozuki no Kazuha's reaction was too bland. I was really trying my best to support the teacher, you know?"

Miya Higashigo: "Okay, Ohma did a good job. Hope's Peak undergraduate program will get bonus points."

After a brief joke, Mimi Higashigo kindly offered a simple explanation, at least preventing her two collaborators from being completely confused: "When I was walking around the school earlier, I noticed a strange aura in the old school building. I can't quite pinpoint what it is, but it's definitely not something good."

“However, I didn’t go in alone to investigate. After all, you two have been investigating strange events for a while now, and you might have made some good discoveries. Anyway, once we go in, I should be able to trace the source of that aura more clearly.”

I see.

Tsukino and Chiya nodded. Meanwhile, Ohma Kokichi started complaining: "Hey—is Hope's Peak's feng shui a bit bad? It seems like too many things are happening here. One after another, and they're all supernatural events."

“However,” Wang Ma Xiaoji didn’t seem to have any complaints about this development, “this is the kind of school evil leaders should attend! Only students who can successfully survive such a perilous environment deserve to be my classmates!”

Tsukino and Chiya: "Then I will try my best to survive... Wait a minute, someone is coming."

The three of them fell silent again in tacit agreement. However, this time the people who came were not like Komaeda Nagito, who had secretly followed them during the old school building incident; they were just guards conducting their normal night patrol.

After confirming that the patrolling guards had left, the three men, familiar with the area, took advantage of the fact that no one would be returning for the time being and successfully sneaked into the school building.

It was now completely dark, and there were no guards or other staff members in the dark. Clearly, there was no one else inside the sealed-off school building.

After entering, none of the three rushed to take action.

Tsukino and Chiya waited silently for Higashigo Miya's reaction. Ohma Kokichi also kept quiet, with his hands behind his head, looking relaxed and content, as if he were just having a normal after-dinner walk.

Higashigo Miya stood at the very front.

She slowly closed her eyes, as if sensing something. Neither Tsukino nor Chiya, who were free from any calamities, could discern the power at work behind her appearance, but they knew it was far more complex than it appeared.

Finally, after a few seconds of deathly silence, Togo Miya slowly reopened her eyes.

In the dim light, her wine-red eyes, without the aid of lamplight, were fixed clearly in a certain direction: "Over here."

After leaving those brief words, Higashigo Mimi, now in a serious state, took the lead and walked deeper into the corridor. Tsukino and Chiya exchanged a glance with Ohma Kokichi, then followed behind her.

The three men's uncoordinated footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. Finally, they arrived at the far end of the first floor of the old school building.

It seems there's no way out.

but……

"If I remember correctly."

Tsukino and Chiya remembered something. It was part of what Hinata Hajime had told him before, but since it had nothing to do with the supernatural, he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time.

"Hyuga said there's a secret room here... Behind this wall is the place in the 'future' where Kamukura Izuru is housed. But you need a key to get in."