Chapter 80: The four meet.

The locked door suddenly made a sound.

Hyuga Hajime and Ohma Kokichi both subconsciously remained silent.

Even after the two of them quieted down, the noise coming from the front door of the classroom did not disappear.

Hyuga Hajime, who was originally sitting with his back to the door, turned around to look at the door and slowly stood up.

Hinata Hajime heard Ohma Kokichi behind him ask in a low voice, "Huh? That's strange. Hinata, didn't you say before that it was safe in the classroom and that strange things wouldn't come in? So what's going on now?"

"I can't guarantee anything about this; it's just speculation..."

Hajime Hinata froze, both in his movements and his voice. The increasingly obvious noises at the front door were a constant reminder of his current predicament.

He had just managed to run into an acquaintance, and his heart, which had gradually relaxed a little during their conversation, suddenly jumped into his throat again.

"Eh~? That Hinata is really carefree—just because the inhuman thing outside didn't manage to get in by some twist of fate, does she think it will never come in?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Ma Xiaoji added fuel to the fire.

"We encountered the striped man at the preparatory school building just a few days ago. Logically, Kohinata should know that anything can happen in a place like this, right?"

"Ah—what should I do?! I'm still young! I don't want to die here! I haven't lived enough yet... Tch, it's faster than I expected."

No... that's not how it is. Of course he knows he's only temporarily safe, but with things outside, he has no other choice but to hide here for the time being.

Hyuga Hajime knew he wasn't as carefree as Ohma Kokichi claimed, but seeing the commotion at the door growing louder, now wasn't the time to defend himself.

More than that, Hyuga Hajime was troubled by the lack of a suitable hiding place in the classroom. He even considered whether to wait until something outside broke in, then immediately grab a nearby desk and chair and smash it, before running away in the chaos…

However, before he could make up his mind, the front door was suddenly opened.

...The door was forced open.

With a loud bang, the door, which Hyuga Hajime had locked from the inside, was suddenly violently kicked open. The enormous noise in the otherwise quiet environment startled even those who were prepared.

Two figures appeared at the doorway.

Hyuga Hajime, who was already staring intently at the door, tensed up even more. Two figures... Indeed, perhaps the one with the chainsaw couldn't get into the classroom, but if a new one came along, perhaps they could ignore the strange, inexplicable rule of "not entering this room to attack people" and break down the door.

...No, wait a minute.

Something seems off.

Upon recognizing the two individuals, Hyuga Hajime exclaimed, "Tsukino Kazuya?!"

Tsukino and Chiya exclaimed briefly, "Hinata? You're here too?"

Komaeda Nagito smiled and waved: "Hey, good evening, Ohma-kun."

Wang Ma Xiaoji exclaimed, "Wow, there are so many people!"

The scene became extremely chaotic.

*******

Finally, after the initial greetings (or perhaps awkward pleasantries) of the four of them meeting, they quickly realized that talking to each other like this wasn't very effective and facilitated communication. It would be better if one of them took the initiative to bring up topics one by one and guide everyone to gradually exchange information.

Thus, Wang Ma Xiaoji successfully secured the task of "leading the conversation".

Hyuga Hajime didn't really think it would work, but he decided to wait and see with a skeptical attitude.

Tsukino and Chiya didn't really care who would guide the conversation and help everyone exchange information; anyone was fine with it.

As for Komaeda Nagito, needless to say... Of the people present, if you were to ask him who he values ​​the most, he would definitely support Ouma Kokichi, who is the Ultimate High School Student and his classmate, more than Tsukino, Chiya, and Hinata Hajime, whom he had just met and who were also preparatory students.

Don't ask, the answer is hope.

Then they heard the first words spoken by the Ultimate Leader:

"Hehe, Kazuki, you really aren't as good at lock picking as I am~"

Hajime Hyuga: "...Wait a minute, aren't we missing the point?"

Nagito Komaeda: "Hahaha, there's a reason why Ohma-kun said that as his first sentence. Scum like me should just listen quietly for now."

Tsukino and Chiya: "Yeah, and it's locked from the inside... kicking the door down would be faster."

Hyuga Hajime: "That's how I answered so seriously... By the way, Ohma, did you already realize that it was Tsukino and this... Komaeda outside the door? Thinking about it now, your reaction was a bit too arrogant."

Upon hearing this, Ouma Kokichi readily admitted, "Hehe, Kohinata found out. Actually, I noticed Kozuki no Kazuha through the window. But I didn't expect Komaeda to show up too... Anyway, I do know that the one who opened the door wasn't a ghost."

Hyuga Hajime took a deep breath: "Next time this happens, please remind me, Ohma." After all, this is a real haunted place, it's too easy to become paranoid, and people scaring each other can really be terrifying!

Wangma Xiaoji agreed just as readily, but agreeing was one thing, and how he would actually act in a similar situation next time was another: "Yes, yes! I understand. After all, the opportunity was rare, and it would have been a real shame not to take the chance to tease Xiaoyina. If I hadn't played like that back then, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life!"

Nagito Komaeda, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation for a while, said thoughtfully, "Ohma-kun, it seems you're quite familiar with Tsukino Kazuki. In this dim light, it's not easy to see who's outside through the window, is it?"

"..." Ouma Shokichi didn't respond immediately. He paused briefly but strangely for two seconds before saying, "Because it wasn't completely impossible to see clearly, I only saw the general outline. Plus, I thought that besides me and Kohinata, the only other living person here was Kozuki no Kazuha, so I judged that it was Kozuki no Kazuha, right? But why are you here, Komaeda?"

Komaeda Nagito smiled and said, "The reason I appeared..."

He had no intention of hiding these things, so he recounted his experiences that afternoon and evening, and also mentioned some things that happened after he met Tsukino and Chiya, which finally made some progress in the exchange of clues.

"Then, Tsukino Kazuki and I encountered a... strange creature wielding a short sword, is that what you call it?"

Nagito Komaeda, who was initially calmly recounting his experiences, gradually became more and more excited.

"As a result, after realizing that he couldn't escape for the time being, Tsukino Kazuki took out a dagger, and then... ahahahaha."

He paused the conversation, seemingly chuckling softly as he recalled the scene, a suspicious blush creeping onto his face from excitement.

Hajime Hinata, who was not yet familiar with Nagito Komaeda's personality, was slightly puzzled by the abrupt end of the conversation, but more importantly...

Hyuga Hajime looked at the black-haired boy: "Tsukino and you..." You faced the monster head-on without getting hurt?

"I'm fine." Tsukino and Chiya noticed Hinata Hajime's gaze and explained knowingly, "After that, Komaeda and I went up the stairs again and successfully made it to the second floor. That's when we encountered the guy with the chainsaw, and then we successfully found you."

Hyuga Hajime subconsciously remarked, "Did they omit a lot of steps in this process?"

"Hmm—" Ohma Kokichi drawled, "Did Kozukino kill the monster?"

"We just managed to repel them." Tsukino and Chiya shook their heads. "Well, after all, I'm just an ordinary student. Killing monsters is too much for me. It's great that they were able to leave in time and not cause any trouble. In a sense, it's really good that those monsters were able to be successfully repelled after being injured."

"No, Tsukino Kazuki, don't belittle yourself." Komaeda Nagito, who had been lost in memories, suddenly snapped out of it and said quickly, "I... have always been chasing after the moments of hope that those talented people radiate! And because of that, I have spent a lot of effort trying to get close to that hope, you know?"

"Some people's talents are related to cooking, and I've carefully savored those exquisite dishes. Others' talents are related to martial arts or something similar, and I've paid to watch some of their competitions... So, the limits of those without talent, and the limits that talented people can reach after breaking through the limits of ordinary people... Although it seems a bit inappropriate for a nobody like me to say this, I think... I should be able to make a rough judgment, you know?"

Paranormal events...

Komaeda Nagito doesn't know how to address the people involved in this kind of situation.

Exorcists? Demon hunters? Onmyoji? ...Most people in the world are unaware of the existence of the supernatural, let alone allow those with such talents to step into the limelight and fully display their abilities.

I didn't know that such a situation could occur.

Nagito Komaeda thought to himself, "A new world has been opened to me."

Yes. Some things happen quietly, hidden behind the scenes. Even Hope's Peak might not be able to bestow the title of "Ultimate" upon those with such talents, perhaps due to a lack of understanding of paranormal events. Or perhaps, these individuals simply need to conceal their identities, unable to emerge from the public eye…

In that case, he would need to judge for himself whether the other person was truly talented and capable of creating hope!

Komaeda Nagito looked at Hinata Hajime, whom he was also meeting for the first time.

He didn't recognize the brown-haired boy, but he could tell that the boy was wearing the uniform of the preparatory course. Considering his seemingly familiar attitude towards Ouma Kokichi…

Could it be... that he is too?

While Komaeda Nagito was deep in thought, Tsukino and Chiya held their backpacks to their chests. The black-haired boy unzipped his backpack and took out some things.

"Oh, right. After we defeated those two weirdos, something like this appeared on the ground where they left. It looked like a box, with names printed on the side... and some of the names looked familiar to me."

Tsukino and Chiya placed the items on the desks in the classroom.

"Take a look."

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Author's note: Sorry I'm late today [crying emoji][crying emoji]