Chapter 29. Xiao Ji burst into a thunderous laugh. ...

There was still some time before the lunch break ended, and there weren't many people in the class. In addition, Hinata Hajime's seat was relatively far back, so for a while, apart from Tsukino and Chiya who were closest to him, no one else noticed his unusual behavior.

There was something new inside Hyuga Hajime's desk.

Because he had seen what appeared to be a human face, Hyuga Hajime checked his desk compartment many times. He was quite certain that there was no "that thing" in his desk compartment before he left the classroom for lunch break.

The boy with short brown hair stared in disbelief at the new presence that had appeared in his desk drawer. He felt all the sounds around him gradually fade away, leaving only a ringing in his ears that seemed to pierce his eardrums.

Hyuga Hajime felt as if he had been split in two. One side was in a state of confusion and disorientation due to the sudden event, while the other side, with its still-present rationality, calmly reached into the drawer of the table and took out the thing directly.

What made Hyuga Hajime treat it as a major threat was merely an envelope whose contents were still unknown.

The envelope was light cherry blossom colored, with no extra writing on it, but it was carefully decorated with a few cherry blossoms and adorable little animals... It looked cute and heartwarming.

"Is it what I think?" Tsukino and Chiya, who had noticed the situation, couldn't help but ask.

If it really is what they think... I really don't know whether to say that Hyuga Hajime's luck is good or bad.

Hearing Tsukino and Chiya's voices, Hinata Hajime snapped out of his daze, slowly exhaled, and barely managed to suppress his emotions so as not to appear too out of control.

Regardless, let's check the contents first.

With that thought in mind, Hyuga Hajime quickly opened the envelope and took out the card inside. He then gestured for Tsukino and Chiya to come and take a look as well.

The black-haired boy moved his chair closer to the seat.

The handwriting on the card was unfamiliar to Hinata Hajime, Tsukino, and Chiya. It invited Hinata Hajime to meet alone on the rooftop before 8 p.m. that night.

Besides these, there are also very common phrases in love letters, such as "I like you," "Actually, from the first time I saw you..." and "I hope you can come."

In addition, the card also features a heart drawn with care, as well as a "love" symbol...

Although the meeting time of "8 pm" written on it is really wrong, and it doesn't match the time when Xia Chuan had the accident yesterday... But no matter what, this is definitely a love letter, right?

The envelopes and cards were small, so when Hajime Hinata placed them on the table, he didn't have to worry about them being noticed by his classmates—even if someone suddenly walked over, he could react in time to cover them with a book.

Tsukino and Chiya seemed to be thinking about something before asking seriously, "Hinata, have you noticed any girls at school who have a crush on you lately?... Or guys?"

"That's not true!"

Hyuga Hajime was relieved he hadn't drunk any water earlier, otherwise he might have accidentally spat it out. He hadn't expected Tsukino and that kid to be so meticulous.

"At least I didn't notice it myself."

"Besides, it's only been less than two weeks since school started. I don't know about Xia Chuan's situation, but I don't know anyone in the preparatory course."

Hyuga Hajime continued.

"So we can rule out that this letter was sent to me by someone I've known before. And you know the few people I'm close to since the start of the semester, and as for girls... I haven't had much contact with them."

After successfully enrolling in the preparatory course, all he could think about was his undergraduate studies and... that matter. That matter had kept him hesitant, so much so that since the start of the semester, Hinata Hajime, who hadn't been in the mood to make friends, didn't have any other friends besides Tsukino and Chiya.

“That makes sense.” Tsukino and Chiya nodded. “And similar to what we said before, ‘treat it as if we saw a face, whether or not we did,’ we should treat this letter as if it were indeed sent by a supernatural entity, regardless of whether it is related to the supernatural or not.”

After all, the bizarre can be deadly, so unless someone is determined to die, it's not too much to treat others with the utmost care.

Hyuga Hajime agreed with Tsukino and Chiya's statement.

He looked at the card on his desk and felt that it was more like a death warrant than a love letter, or even more so than the unresponsive mark on his arm.

The love letter has been checked inside and out; it is indeed just a simple envelope and card, with no additional information except for the few lines written on the card.

However, the love letter didn't mention the writer's name or explicitly name the recipient; it only used pronouns like "I" and "you" throughout. But given that it had already appeared in his desk drawer, and considering Natsukawa's situation, Hinata So couldn't be so careless as to think the love letter had been sent to the wrong person.

I don't know what bad consequences might result from accidentally losing the love letters, so just in case, I'd better keep them safe for now.

After receiving the reply from Tsukino and Chiya that "I don't need to look anymore," Hinata Hajime reached out to the envelopes and cards placed on the table, wanting to put them away again.

Then, at the very moment the finger touched the card—

The hideous mark perfectly concealed beneath the sleeve seemed to echo the touch of the fingertips; a chilling sensation shot upwards from the mark, rushing straight to the brain.

Hyuga Hajime was drenched in cold sweat. The premonition of death surged through him like a tide, and his reason, like fine sand caught between his fingers, kept leaking out.

"Well,……!!"

But this discomfort only lasted for a moment... The next second, Hyuga Hajime, having successfully escaped this unpleasant feeling, began to breathe more rapidly than usual.

It was only a fleeting moment, yet it felt like escaping death.

Hyuga Hajime's seat in the classroom was right next to the window. At this moment, without the curtains to block the sunlight, it shone directly on Hyuga Hajime through the window, but he couldn't feel any warmth.

Tsukino and Chiya, who were already keeping an eye on Hinata Hajime, naturally noticed his unusual behavior.

However, perhaps mistaking the source of this anomaly as "fear of the meaning represented by this special love letter," the black-haired boy spoke more slowly than usual, as if to comfort him: "If you're worried about something going wrong, just keep your appointment as promised."

If the problem really lies with the love letter, then according to Qianye and the others' guesses... Xia Chuan had his accident on the day he didn't keep his appointment, while on the days before that when he did keep his appointment but was stood up, he was fine.

Or... although the probability is small, if someone did secretly put this love letter in Hinata's desk drawer while she was away, then there's even less reason to worry about anything going wrong if she goes to the appointment.

...Although who would be so kind as to write a love letter and arrange to meet someone at school at 8 PM? There probably wouldn't be anyone else at school at that time except for the security guards.

Indeed, Tsukino and Chiya were right. If they had kept their promise, they might not have ended up like Natsukawa, who broke his promise.

but--

"No, we can't do that."

After a moment of silence, only he knew that Hyuga Hajime, who had been struggling with inner turmoil and hesitation, had made up his mind.

“Indeed, according to our guess, I might be safe as long as I keep the appointment. But that would also bring the whole thing to a standstill. If we want to know what Xia Chuan went through or even successfully bring out the strange entity, we actually need to do the things that are ‘impossible’, right?”

“Therefore,” Hyuga Hajime declared definitively, “I will not be keeping my appointment today.”

After Hyuga Hajime finished speaking, Tsukino and Chiya did not immediately respond.

The black-haired boy seemed surprised by what Hinata Hajime had just said.

A breeze blew in through the crack in the open window, making a few strands of her otherwise neatly styled black hair dance wildly, and even partially obscuring Tsukino and Chiya's view.

But Tsukino and Chiya seemed oblivious, their gazes fixed undisguisedly on Hinata Hajime. Hinata Hajime, who had just made what sounded rather cool, felt a little embarrassed as two undeniably serious eyes fell upon him.

Wait a minute? Two? Doesn't something seem off?

Hyuga Hajime, only then noticing someone had appeared behind him, asked in surprise, "Ohma? When did you get here?"

Although my location is rather remote... it's amazing that I was able to sneak into the preparatory class without being discovered!

Where did you come from?!

Tsukino and Chiya were standing next to Hinata Hajime's table. After Hinata Hajime finally noticed them, Ohma Kokichi unceremoniously took Chiya's seat.

"Hehe, actually I was there when Kohinata found the love letter. Kohinata is really careless, she didn't even notice. But then again, not just anyone can notice someone like me who's deliberately hiding, after all, the leader of an evil secret society sometimes needs to lie in wait~"

Before Hyuga Hajime could even begin to discern the truth in those words, Tsukino and Chiya calmly revealed the real reason: "Ohma came in through the back door when you were about to put the card away... Um, I thought you noticed, so I didn't warn you."

Hinata realized that he had finally come to understand the negative feelings that Tsukino had mentioned when explaining the nature of marks. That's why he hadn't noticed Ohma Kokichi's arrival because he was too busy taking care of himself.

"But you actually changed your clothes." Hyuga Hajime looked at the preparatory course uniform that Ohma Kokichi was wearing. "There are only two classes of students in the preparatory course right now, and there are no seniors who have graduated yet. It will probably be difficult to borrow clothes."

"Hmm? Really?" Wang Ma Xiaoji looked down and casually tugged at his clothes. "No, the senior students from the preparatory courses who were stuck in the alley were very enthusiastic and knelt down to take off their clothes for me."

Hajime Hyuga: "...What did you do to your seniors?!"

Wangma Xiaoji: "Hehe, Hinata, you want to know? You're really brave! No wonder you're the kind of person I hit it off with at first sight, wanting to talk about everything from astronomy and geography to murder and arson. Sure, you'll see for yourself~"

Tsukino and Chiya: "Is that so? But I still don't think this approach is very good."

Hajime Hyuga: "That's right, that's right. Although Ohma is probably lying, it still sounds like..."

Tsukino and Chiya: "Well, just to be on the safe side, how about we just have the seniors disappear?"

Hyuga Hajime: "...This is hopeless too."

*******

Wang Ma Xiaoji did not stay in the preparatory course for long.

In his words, "If I attract too much attention, it will affect my future actions in preparatory courses, which will be more troublesome. I don't want that, so bye-bye, see you after school."

Only Tsukino, Chiya, and Hinata Hajime remained in the classroom to continue discussing the next steps during the few breaks after lunch.

Although the time given on the card was strange, and obviously different from the time given on the love letters that Xia Chuan had received before, well... it's weird, people's thought processes are always different from ordinary people, and they can't be judged by ordinary people's values ​​and beliefs.

Moreover, it must be said that the time given on the card this time also helped them a lot in a sense.

After all, even though Hajime Hinata chose not to keep the appointment, it doesn't mean they can just stay in one place until the appointed time is over—what if the strange thing suddenly appears and injures other classmates or teachers nearby who are completely unaware of the whole thing?

Although judging from Xia Chuan's situation at the time, only Xia Chuan was harmed... who dares to bet that the strange phenomenon won't hurt anyone else this time?

However, it seems that 8 PM is a time when they don't need to worry so much. At that time, apart from the patrolling guards who might be there, there won't be anyone else on campus. And the guards aren't always patrolling the school.

“Since you’ve decided not to keep the appointment, Hinata, I’d like to go to the rooftop after school,” Tsukino and Chiya said. “Given how much importance we’ve placed on this meeting, the anomaly should appear there first.”

“But if that’s the case,” Tsukino and Chiya paused, “leaving you alone to wait for the time on the card to pass… I’m not entirely comfortable with that.”

This is rather dangerous.

Although their original intentions were completely different, at this moment, the same thought appeared in the minds of Hyuga Hajime, Tsukino, and Chiya.

Hyuga Hajime thought, if Tsukino and Kazuha stay on the rooftop, wouldn't they be very likely to face the strange creatures that are angry because they can't find him? In that case, leaving Tsukino and Kazuha alone on the rooftop would be too dangerous.

Tsukino and Chiya thought that if Hinata Hajime and they were not in the same place, and the strange entity went straight to Hinata, Hinata, who did not keep the appointment, would be in a very dangerous situation, given Natsukawa's previous experience.

Clearly, both of them felt that this matter was inappropriate.

However, neither of them immediately denied the proposal. As the two who took the initiative to "not decide to keep the appointment" and "prepare to go to the rooftop to wait until the time comes," they both knew the underlying resolve in each other's hearts when they made the proposal.

Moreover, if one is simply afraid of danger... running away might allow one to escape for a while, but it cannot escape the death deadline represented by the mark.

Being unafraid of danger doesn't mean they can't try to find ways to reduce it before it arrives... After all, nobody's stupid enough to just sit back and wait for danger to come and tough it out; that's really not wise.

However, there is actually a very simple way to simultaneously allow the three of them to look after and help each other in a timely manner, while also ensuring that Tsukino and Chiya can stay on the rooftop while Hinata Hajime is somewhere else outside the rooftop.

"Wait until tonight at that time..."

*******

Eight o'clock in the evening is a time that would take several more hours to arrive even after school ends, and it is also later than the dinner time that Hyuga Hajime, Tsukino, and Chiya have usually eaten.

Before dealing with the strange creatures, you must first fill your stomach.

...And to put it bluntly, this might be their last meal?

Neither Tsukino nor Chiya, nor Hinata Hajime, intended to mistreat themselves. Of course, neither did Ohma Kokichi.

Wang Ma Xiaoji messaged Qianye early on, saying that he was going to the undergraduate cafeteria tonight to eat a big meal prepared by his classmate, who was a "super high school level chef," and would not be going with them for the time being.

Dinner prepared by the Ultimate Chef sounds delicious...

However, since Hinata Hajime, Tsukino, and Chiya couldn't go to the undergraduate campus, they went to a nearby fast food restaurant frequented by students for dinner.

Surprisingly, the two of them tacitly avoided bringing up any topics related to the strange during their meal.

Bubbles rise from the bottom of the soda glass and burst, the sweet yet refreshing liquid sliding down the throat, the pleasure it brings seems to wash away the gloom brought by all the bad things in my heart.

However, the pleasure that food brings is ultimately fleeting.

Considering they might have to run away and escape later, the two of them didn't eat much that night.

When they pushed open the door of the fast food restaurant and stepped outside again, it was already completely dark—they hadn't gone straight to the fast food restaurant after school; they had made some other preparations for tonight's operation, such as preparing flashlights.

After the warm sunshine faded, the temperature was noticeably lower than during the day. A slightly chilly breeze blew by, as if trying to blow away the joy of the delicious meal and pull them back to reality.

Because next, all they have to do is wait until it's past eight o'clock.

The fast food restaurant wasn't far from the school, and the two returned to Hope Peak in no time.

"Are we going to wait for Ohma there?" Hyuga Hajime looked at Tsukino and Chiya, who easily opened the previously closed school building door with a key, and after hesitating for a moment, he couldn't help but ask, "Tsukino, I've wanted to ask this for a long time...where did you get this key?"

“No need, I’ve already texted Ohma, and he said he’ll come find us at the place we agreed on soon.” Tsukino and Chiya pushed open the door. “Alright, come in. As for the key… Ohma brought it.”

If nothing unexpected happens, the mark on Hinata's body is most likely left by the strange entity that caused Natsukawa's tragedy. In other words, once this matter is resolved, Hinata can return to his daily life.

Knowing this, Tsukino and Chiya didn't intend to tell him too much information unrelated to the incident... After all, it would be too unethical to drag innocent people into dangerous things.

"I see."

If it was Ohma who obtained the key, although it's unclear how he did it... it just feels surprisingly credible in this situation. At least Hyuga Hajime believed it and lost the desire to ask further, since even if he did ask, that person wouldn't answer honestly.

The two walked up the steps, but as they walked, only the sound of one person's footsteps remained.

Just as he had suggested, Tsukino and Chiya walked up the last step, and after unlocking the rooftop door, which was also locked, they went straight to the rooftop.

He then turned around.

Then he met Hyuga Hajime's gaze from a few steps below.

It is indeed a very simple solution, isn't it?

Hyuga Hajime stood a few steps below, so he wasn't considered to have reached the rooftop, and therefore not to have kept the appointment. While Tsukino and Chiya were on the rooftop, they could easily see Hyuga Hajime's situation below by simply peeking down.

Moreover, standing in this position makes it easier for Tsukino and Chiya to notice something is wrong and run down... After all, this is the only way to escape from the rooftop; they can't just jump down, can they? That would be suicidal.

Upon arriving at the agreed-upon location, neither of them spoke for a moment.

Hajime Hinata stood on the platform below this step, looking up.

After the daytime hustle and bustle faded away, the pitch-black campus was exceptionally quiet. And it is precisely this kind of lonely, silent night that makes it easier to stir up people's thoughts... otherwise, why would so many people toss and turn at night, lost in their own thoughts?

Next, all we have to do is wait for time to pass. And then, who knows what awaits us...

Because his mind had been filled with all sorts of action plans and thoughts, now that he didn't have to do anything and just wait, Hajime Hinata suddenly felt an absurd sense of "things are moving so fast".

Until he met Xia Chuan after school yesterday, he knew nothing about the existence of strange beings. But now, he has become one of those who have been marked by strange beings and even received love letters that are like death warrants.

Next, he would deliberately recreate Xia Chuan's experience from yesterday—not keeping the appointment and then being met with a strange, angry response.

It's impossible not to be afraid.

But at that moment, the instant his fingertips touched the card, the chilling feeling of death emanating from the mark, as if invading his heart, was something he really didn't want to experience again.

If this isn't resolved, I really will die—a feeling I've never had so clearly crossed my mind.

Therefore, he had to do this, he had to risk drawing out the strange creature, only in this way would there be a glimmer of hope.

However, even if one rationally knows this...

Hyuga Hajime called out to his classmate, who was standing by the door, seemingly gazing up at the stars in a daze: "Tsukino Kazu."

The person whose surname was called turned their head upon hearing the voice: "Hmm?"

“Even in situations like this, you and Tsukino remain remarkably calm,” Hyuga Hajime said. “Is there some secret to it? We might have to… But, I’ve never seen anything like that before, so could you share some more tips on staying calm?”

Tsukino and Chiya stared at Hinata for a few seconds, as if deep in thought: "Among the former Indigenous people, there were many ordinary students like us, as well as those who were particularly afraid of supernatural events, and even elementary school students. But they all overcame their fear and survived, so I think... we should be able to too."

As the phrase "ordinary students" was mentioned, some strange noises seemed to be heard nearby.

"And, don't let my appearance fool you." Tsukino and Chiya paused, "Well, actually I'm a little nervous right now. But I only have this one expression, so you can't tell."

Hajime Hyuga: "Is that so...?"

Wangma Xiaoji, who had just arrived and made what sounded like he was trying to suppress a laugh, couldn't hold it in any longer: "Pfft... Hahahahahahaha!"

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Author's note: Happy Children's Day! [Sprinkling flowers]