The note continued.
Several lines in the middle were too blurred to make out any clear text.
Then came...
[If you see her, don't panic, don't be afraid. Fear will only make her more ■■.]
[If you encounter her, you can hide in the teachers' offices. Remember, you cannot stay for long periods.]
[Don't ■■, don't ■■, and absolutely do not ■■.]
[■■■■, her power will ■■.]
[Survive until dawn, and you can leave alive.]
[Or else...]
More blurred sections. Nothing useful until the very end.
"Survive until dawn?"
Fujibayashi Ryou looked toward the sky outside.
Dawn was at least three or four hours away at the earliest. Could they really hold out that long?
"Will dawn even come?"
Hayato's single question made everyone's hearts skip a beat.
"It... it should, right?"
Chiharu said hesitantly.
"This is a supernatural world. We can't approach it with normal logic. When a hint only mentions 'dawn' without giving a specific time, and we have other options, ignoring it is the best choice."
The Love Hotel had given them a specific time, and there were clocks everywhere showing the exact hour.
Sure, there might have been some discrepancies in how fast time moved, but compared to this vague "dawn," it was way more concrete.
"What if we're somewhere like the Arctic Circle?"
That region experienced polar day and polar night.
If it were during the polar night period, who knows when "dawn" would actually arrive.
Everyone accepted this logic, though with a hint of reluctance.
"Hayato-san, what do we do next?"
"Find the other notes he left in different places. Locations related to her. Her classroom and her desk are definite spots."
They'd already searched the first-floor teachers' office. Next up was the second floor.
All four of them started searching.
"The Year 2 class roster."
Three people searched while Hayato kept watch outside, observing their surroundings.
"Found it!"
Yuuko, Yuuko...
The moment Fujibayashi Ryou spotted the name, she immediately covered her mouth.
Hayato had specifically warned them about this. Know it, but don't say it out loud.
Hayato came back over and glanced at the name, acknowledging it with a nod.
"Could be someone with the same surname, but still, don't say it aloud."
The first note's warnings had mentioned "don't ■■" multiple times. Hayato suspected it meant "don't say the name."
After all, the ghost's name in the note had been affected and censored.
"We understand. Don't worry."
"Let's go. Year 2, Class F."
They searched the entire office but couldn't find any keys.
The group headed over to check it out anyway.
Along the way, Hayato walked at the front, followed by Fujibayashi Ryou, then Chiharu, and finally Kazuya, bringing up the rear all by himself. He was scared out of his mind.
Terrified, the ghost would suddenly appear behind him.
"Offices, offices..."
His eyes kept darting toward the teachers' offices. The moment something felt off, he'd duck inside immediately. At least the offices were safe for short periods.
Finally, they passed Class E.
The four of them arrived at Class F.
Class F wasn't locked.
After opening the door and turning on the lights, the classroom brightened up.
Unlike the previous classrooms they'd searched, this one had textbooks sitting on the desks. A faint atmosphere of student life still lingered in the air.
"Hayato-kun, let's start searching."
Fujibayashi Ryou was ready to begin. She couldn't help much with analyzing and solving the key mysteries, but she could at least handle simple tasks like looking for clues.
She tried to do whatever she was capable of. That was just how Fujibayashi Ryou operated.
"Check those seats over there first."
Hayato pointed toward the last few seats in the first row by the window.
"Oh! I remember now! In the video at the very beginning, she was sitting in the last seat right there!"
Fujibayashi Ryou rushed over immediately. But the last seat wasn't the right one.
She worked her way forward until she finally found a textbook with "Yuuko" written on it.
"Found it, Hayato-kun!"
She showed him the book excitedly.
Now they just needed to find that note.
"She's... she's... run from her!"
Chiharu's trembling shout cut through the air as she immediately spun around and bolted for the classroom door.
Fujibayashi Ryou instinctively looked up and saw a figure with long black hair sitting in what had been an empty seat.
In that instant, her body went rigid. Her heart clenched violently, her eyes widened, and terror flooded through her completely.
I'm going to die... I'm going to die...
I'm going to die here!
Sister, I don't think... I can come back home!
I'm sorry!
The next second, in the blink of an eye, Fujibayashi Ryou found herself being carried and running through the hallway at high speed.
"Huh?"
A massive question mark appeared in her mind.
What just happened? Why am I being carried?
The constant jostling made her stomach feel uncomfortable.
"H-Hayato-kun..."
"I'll put you down in a bit."
That stopped Fujibayashi Ryou from struggling instinctively.
She could see Chiharu and Kazuya sprinting behind them.
All four of them had escaped Class F, and the ghost stood in the distance at the classroom doorway.
That fast?
Fujibayashi Ryou couldn't wrap her head around it.
Confusion filled her mind, but she understood one thing clearly: she'd survived.
"Thank god..."
Once they were inside the teachers' office, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Hayato set Fujibayashi Ryou down. Her face flushed slightly. When he'd put her down, there'd been unavoidable physical contact, especially when his hand had brushed against her more sensitive areas.
She knew perfectly well Hayato hadn't meant anything by it, but still, having a place no other guy had ever touched be touched by him made her feel that distinctly girlish sense of embarrassment.
"That was way too close."
"Thank god we got out."
"Hayato-san, how did you run so fast?"
Hayato had been carrying someone, yet they hadn't even seen the process of him picking her up, much less noticed when he'd gotten ahead of them.
Kazuya and Chiharu were full of questions.
"Don't ask about things you shouldn't. If I've survived this long, I've obviously got some life-saving skills."
Hayato gave them an explanation, but didn't elaborate further. This only made Kazuya and Chiharu feel even more certain of Hayato's mysterious strength.
That made sense. Someone like Hayato, who clearly had experience with supernatural incidents must have special skills and methods unknown to others. That had to be what kept him alive.
Hearing this, Fujibayashi Ryou looked down and started fidgeting with her fingers.
Life-saving skills. Those would only be used when someone was facing a life-or-death crisis. And Hayato had used one of those precious skills to save her.
This... How was I supposed to repay this debt? What could I even offer in return?
Fujibayashi Ryou sank into confused turmoil.