Urban legends.
None of them ever thought things like that could truly exist in reality.
“She isn’t entirely gone,” Ren said, pulling out his lunch bread and shaking his head with complete calm.
“Not gone?”
All three girls immediately looked at him.
“Does that mean Sadako is going to come back?” Utaha asked.
“You have got to be joking,” Eriri muttered.
Ren saw how worried they looked and sighed.
“Relax.
The curse on you is gone.
Even if Sadako comes back, she won’t bother you unless you watch the videotape again.”
The three girls let out sighs of relief.
“Urban legends aren’t like normal evil spirits,” Ren went on.
“They live in people’s minds.
As long as someone remembers them, they never really go away.
They just need time to come back.”
In fact, the Slit-Mouthed Woman he got rid of before would eventually return as well.
As long as someone remembered the story, the spirit would show up again.
It really wasn’t fair at all.
“Now that you mention it, I have heard theories like that before,” Yukino said thoughtfully.
“Looks like I need to study urban legend lore more carefully,” Utaha mused.
“Or I might blindly stumble into another deadly trap.”
“It doesn’t matter even if you do,” Ren said.
“You have me.”
“…” Those words made all three girls’ hearts skip a beat.
Sometimes, the simplest reassurance worked best.
“For a fee, of course.”
The mood was ruined right away.
Utaha gave him a resentful look.
“You really know how to ruin the mood, Kouhai.
My heart was fluttering for a second there!!”
“I have rent to pay.” Ren shrugged, not feeling guilty in the slightest.
“I doubt you want to see me sleeping under a bridge next month, Utaha-senpai.”
Without money, he wouldn’t even have a place to stay.
It was hard to argue with that.
Just then, Yukino noticed him opening his store-bought bread.
She quietly took out two bento boxes and placed one on the desk in front of him.
“Hmm?” Ren looked at her in confusion.
“I made too much food this morning.
That’s all.”
Saying that just made it even more obvious.
Still, the food looked great, and Ren had no reason to say no.
“If you say so.”
He took the bento without complaining.
Utaha and Eriri watched, narrowing their eyes.
They thought everyone had the same chance, but Yukino had quietly gotten ahead…
Now that the Sadako incident was over, things in the Service Club felt calmer.
Utaha and Eriri often talked about various urban legends, and soon Yukino joined in.
Meanwhile, Ren stretched and got ready to nap.
He had run into an unusually agile evil spirit the previous night.
The thing had fled like the wind, and while he had managed to exterminate it in the end, the chase kept him awake until sunrise.
He needed to make up for that lost sleep.
“The monthly exams are coming up,” Yukino said after noticing him nodding off.
“Aren’t you going to review?
If you fail, Hiratsuka-sensei will definitely come looking for you.”
“I’m not worried,” Ren said, waving lazily.
“I just never tried before.
This time, I’ll get first place.”
Back in his old life, he’d survived much tougher exams.
“You certainly have confidence,” Yukino said.
First place?
That spot had always belonged to her…
“THIS IS SO ANNOYING.” Eriri groaned and slumped over the desk.
“Why do we even have exams every month?
Once a semester should be enough.”
It was the usual complaint from someone having a hard time in school.
Utaha laughed.
Yukino was first among the second-years, and Utaha was top for the third-years.
Both were great students, which made Eriri’s struggles stand out even more.
“Who would have guessed that a half-British girl would consistently fail English exams?” Utaha said.
“Being mixed race has nothing to do with passing English.” Eriri flushed with indignation.
“YOU OVERGROWN COW.”
“My, my.
Is that the best a losing blonde can do?”
“You little…”
“…” Ren decided not to get involved in their usual arguing.
With all the noise, there was no way he could sleep now.
“I’m going to grab a coffee.
Do you guys want anything?”
“We’re fine,” Utaha replied.
“We brought our own drinks.”
“Got it.”
He left the clubroom without saying anything else.
As soon as the door closed behind him, the room got a lot quieter.
“Somehow, without our dear Kouhai here, I don’t feel like talking,” Utaha said.
“Tch.
Overgrown cow,” Eriri muttered.
Yukino said nothing.
She only looked at the door Ren had just walked through.
While standing by the campus vending machines, Ren noticed a new kind of coffee.
“Oh?
A new flavor.”
He bought a can and took a sip.
The aftertaste was weird, but he cared more about the caffeine than the taste.
“Whatever.
At least it has caffeine.”
He turned to go back, but then noticed a girl with a bob haircut sitting on a bench nearby.
She had a really cute face, but her expression was blank.
Still, her eyes looked lonely—almost desperate.
It was a strange look.
Megumi Kato?
No wonder he felt like something was missing.
Utaha and Eriri were already here, so of course Megumi would be in this world too.
Despite her enormous reputation in his previous life, Ren just glanced at her and kept walking.
But that brief eye contact sparked a little hope in Megumi’s empty eyes.
She stood up and walked over to him.
Her face stayed mostly blank as she stopped in front of him.
Then she waved her hand in front of his face, like she was checking if he could really see her.
“…” Ren stared at her.
Is she crazy?
“What are you doing?”
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Thanks for reading.