Chapter 68. The high-risk profession of bodyguard. ...

The person he contacted by phone today was not Huang Ying Gongyi, whom he had met twice before, but a teacher he had never met before... Hmm, a teacher, is that right?

Tsukino and Chiya sized up the man in front of them.

Yes, I really don't know him.

This was a middle-aged man who appeared to be older than Huang Ying Gongyi. He wasn't listed on the school's official website, so he might not be a teacher, but some other staff member... or even a member of the board of directors.

In terms of attitude, although she could barely be considered to be in a businesslike manner, she was still much more arrogant than Teacher Huang Ying, who seemed to only want to slack off and drink after get off work.

However, who this person was and what his attitude was, was not important to Tsukino and Chiya. They also had no interest in such a man.

Wasn't the previous teacher, Huang Ying, more interesting...? But that doesn't really matter.

As for why the person being met suddenly changed, that's still not important. Maybe it's because Ms. Huang Ying didn't want to deal with work-related matters after hours, so she delegated the task of explaining the commission to someone else.

Even if they asked, they wouldn't get an answer anyway. So, compared to things they knew wouldn't get a result, what Tsukino and Chiya, sitting in their usual meeting room chairs, were more concerned about was—

"...What happened a year ago?"

It's this time of year again. It's hard not to think of Aurora, who left her mark on them back then... and Ohma Koki, whom I found back then.

“That’s right.” The man who invited Tsukino and Chiya to meet nodded slightly. “A year ago, there was a problem with the old school building.”

Is it about 'a multifaceted person wandering around the old school building'?

"This matter has already reached the ears of you students."

The lack of denial implies an admission that it is indeed related to that campus ghost story.

Tsukino and Chiya pondered.

After hearing about the strange tales surrounding the old school building from Hajime Hinata, Tsukino and Chiya, while busy cleaning as students on duty, received a call from Hope's Peak.

Considering that Hope's Peak had contacted them last time regarding a request about a paranormal event, a thought popped into Tsukino and Chiya's minds—

Is it really that much of a coincidence?

As it turned out, it was indeed such a coincidence.

After arriving at the meeting room, which was usually deserted by students, and meeting the unfamiliar man, the man skipped the unnecessary small talk and got straight to the point, telling Qianye that she had done a good job last time, that the school recognized her abilities, and that he had decided to assign her a new task.

And then, that's how things turned out.

“I only heard about it recently. But according to you, it must have happened more than a year ago,” Tsukino and Chiya said. “It’s normal for ghost stories to circulate in schools. Generally speaking, schools don’t take nonsense so seriously.”

He slowly revealed his conjecture: "So, more than a year ago, just like the situation at the preparatory school building... someone had already had an accident there, right?"

Since it involved information about the case, the man hesitated for a few seconds before answering Tsukino and Chiya's question: "That's right."

"So far, a total of four people have been involved in the incident. Two are school security guards and two are students."

Hmm...is that so?

Tsukino and Chiya silently noted down this information and continued to ask, "Since there were incidents at both the preparatory school building and the old North Campus school building, why were you only entrusted with the preparatory school building issue first? Is it because there will be more people at the preparatory school building after the start of the semester, making it more prone to incidents? Or is it—"

The black-haired boy observed the man's expression: "Is the incident at the old school building what you're more concerned about? So you want to use the preparatory course school building incident to observe and evaluate my capabilities before considering whether to entrust this matter to me?"

"...!"

The middle-aged man's previously expressionless face tensed for a moment, his brows furrowing unconsciously. He replied curtly, "This has nothing to do with the content of the commission; it's not something you need to know."

The attempt to push further failed.

Tsukino and Chiya weren't too disappointed. Sometimes, refusing to answer is also a form of answer.

Moreover, no matter what answer the man gives, Tsukino and Chiya may not necessarily believe it. In any case, he will always have his own judgment rather than just one side of the story.

So Tsukino and Chiya didn't press the matter further. Although their expressions and tone didn't change much, they unexpectedly gave off the impression of well-behaved students: "Sorry, I asked too many questions. Please continue."

"..."

The middle-aged man stared at Tsukino and Chiya for a few seconds, but he couldn't glean anything from his face. For example, no matter how you looked at him, he only gave off an impression of being attentive, obedient, and trustworthy.

A few seconds later, the man nodded and began to recount the story: "It's like this..."

Hope's Peak Academy grew in size after the establishment of its preparatory courses. Before the establishment of the preparatory courses, which charged high tuition fees, the Ultimate High School Students studied in the old school building located in what is now the North District.

After the establishment of the preparatory courses, undergraduate students have moved to the campus located in the eastern part of the university. The old campus has since fallen into disrepair. Due to construction and renovation work, students have been prohibited from entering it.

So, the people who usually go in and out of there are either construction workers or security guards.

The first to get into trouble were two guards.

Two guards patrolled the old school building at night. The old school building was quite large, so the two men split up, and then... when one of the guards met the other again...

What I saw was that person's gruesome corpse.

According to the surviving guard, the man was apparently cut in half at the waist by some tool... and died a particularly tragic death in the old school building.

The guard didn't dare linger and had no intention of retrieving his colleague's body; his first instinct was to escape the dangerous place as quickly as possible. After he calmed down and notified the others, they arrived but found no body. They searched the old school building throughout the day but still couldn't find it, leading them to doubt the guard's story.

However, although the body mentioned by the guard was not found, another guard who was on patrol that day did indeed go missing.

Then a few days later, the guard who was originally alive suddenly fell into a strange coma and has not woken up to this day.

After several unsuccessful investigations, the school temporarily suspended nighttime patrols inside the old school building. No one usually went there, and it seemed unlikely that anything unusual would happen if patrols were only conducted on the outskirts of the north campus.

until--

“One of the students also had an accident.”

"That's what the man said."

"He suddenly collapsed in class one day and never woke up again. Even the other Ultimate Students tried to wake him, but to no avail. Of course, probing his memories also failed... However, we found marks on that student that resembled those on the unconscious guard, so we suspect he may have entered the old school building without our knowledge, and then..."

Tsukino and Chiya seemed to understand: "Hmm... I see."

So that's how it is. After hearing the man's words, Tsukino and Chiya suddenly understood some things.

The death mark incident caused by the doll monster that Mr. Hachishiki and Mr. Mashita experienced was so deeply ingrained in people's minds that when Aurora, who was also a doll monster, left a mark on people, everyone subconsciously thought that the mark would bring death. The unpleasant feeling caused by the approaching time limit was a reminder that death was coming.

But in reality... that might not be the case.

After all, Aurora's mark and the previous Death Mark were not the same kind, were they? They had many similarities, and since no one doubted the intense malice the doll monster harbored towards humanity, they subconsciously imagined the effects of the mark as a terrifying death.

But perhaps, when the time limit for the marks left by Aurora and the monsters she awakened expires, the result will not be death, but something else entirely?

For example, being in a coma?

For example, like the ghost stories of Sarayashiki, those students who left the house but went mad... fell into endless madness?

...Is something like this possible?

However, in any case, once the mark is applied, it definitely doesn't mean anything good, and no one would want to try it out for themselves.

"Then, the last incident happened recently."

“Recently, a student was on campus at night, violating school rules. While trying to avoid the guards, he accidentally hid in the old school building. The guards had been notified in advance, so they did not rush into the school building at that time... and then the next day.”

"That student has also gone missing. It seems this news has spread among you students."

"However, because it's so bizarre, the school hasn't paid much attention to the spread of ghost stories. Anyway, in this day and age, no one really believes in them." Tsukino and Chiya nodded, indicating they understood. "So... who is that person?"

The man was taken aback: "What?"

"No, it's nothing. I just misspoke," Tsukino and Chiya said without changing their expressions. "Anyway, the task this time is to solve the paranormal incidents in the old school building in the North District, right? I understand."

"Then, similarly, please cancel or relax security in the North District during the period before the incident is resolved. Leave the rest to me."

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Author's Note: Being a bodyguard is a high-risk profession in the Death Mark series (sadly).