The next day.
Utaha Kasumigaoka and Eriri Spencer Sawamura both called in sick.
Mr.
Spencer took them to the area’s most famous shrine.
As they left the main gates, both girls looked lost.
Anyone would be scared after being pulled into something like this.
“Hey, what happened to my amulet?” Eriri noticed the protective amulet she had just bought was nothing but a handful of ash in her pocket.
Utaha realized what that meant and quickly checked her own amulet.
It was also just ash.
The amulets had worked, but only barely.
“You two really ran into an urban legend?” Mr.
Spencer’s face drained of color when he saw the ruined amulets.
“I told you the truth from the start, but neither of you believed me!” Eriri yelled, her voice breaking.
At first, Mr.
Spencer thought it was just a dark joke.
But seeing the evidence changed his mind, and his face grew serious.
“I will have someone track down Tomoya Aki.
If showing that tape to someone else actually transfers Sadako’s curse, I will find two death row inmates to take your places.”
“But…” Eriri hesitated.
She had a kind heart, and the thought of forcing someone else to die for her made her stomach twist.
“Don’t worry about it.
They are already on death row.
It won’t cause any real trouble.”
Eriri stayed quiet and stared at the ground.
In the end, nobody really wants to die.
The next day, Eriri and Utaha went back to Sobu High.
Even with Sadako’s curse, they still had to go to class.
Then the call came.
Tomoya Aki was dead.
Sadako’s curse could not be transferred.
Hearing about his death left them both with mixed feelings.
But they couldn’t afford to mourn him now.
He was the reason Sadako targeted them.
Worse, if the curse couldn’t be passed on, they were next.
Up on the school roof, the two girls stood in silence.
“We are going to die, aren’t we?” Eriri collapsed onto the concrete, looking like a wounded puppy.
Fear of dying made her clench her fists until her knuckles turned white.
She couldn’t give up.
Waiting around to die wasn’t an option.
She had just started her career as a light novel author and hadn’t even had a real romance yet.
Dying now was unthinkable.
If an underclassman tried to flirt with her, she might not even turn him down as sharply as usual.
Not that she’d say yes, but still.
“Wait…
Flirt with me?” Suddenly, something clicked for Utaha.
She looked up quickly.
“Are you seriously thinking about that kind of stuff right now?” Eriri stared at her in disbelief.
They were about to be murdered by a ghost, and Utaha was thinking about getting hit on?
“I THINK I KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS!” Utaha said.
She wasn’t completely sure, but she remembered that right here on this roof, a boy named Ren had given her a business card.
It said: Exorcism!
She hadn’t believed him back then.
Now, it felt like her only hope.
“Wait, the card!
Where is the card??” Utaha frantically patted down her pockets.
Eriri watched her panic, looking confused.
Utaha froze.
She remembered dropping the card right here on the floor.
Regret hit her.
He hadn’t been trying to flirt with her at all.
“What is going on with you?” Eriri was still totally lost.
“We just need to find him.
That student, Ren.
He definitely knows what to do!”
“But…” Eriri started, wanting to ask who Ren even was.
Utaha didn’t let her finish.
She ran for the roof door and dashed down the stairs.
They had only a few days left before the seven-day deadline.
It was a desperate move, but it was all they could do.
Eriri scrambled to her feet and chased after her.
“You seem to be in a good mood today.” This story is hosted at g.com.
Inside the Service Club, Yukino Yukinoshita looked up in surprise as Ren walked through the door humming a tune.
“Is it that obvious?” Ren chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.
He had faced an evil spirit the night before.
Defeating it gave him enough Yin Energy to boost his Palm Thunder to level three.
No wonder he was in such a good mood.
“It’s nothing,” he said, waving off the question.
He pointed at the empty room.
“Shouldn’t you put up some posters to promote this place?”
He shrugged and took a seat.
“I highly doubt anyone in this school even knows the Service Club exists.”
If nobody knew about the club, nobody would come to them for help.
So far, not a single student had come through the door with a request.
Yukino went quiet.
She closed her book with a soft thud.
“That’s a fair point.
I missed that,” she admitted right away.
Then she looked right at him.
“Since you are an official member now, I’ll leave the promotional posters to you.”
“You really know how to put people to work,” Ren said, rolling his eyes.
She handed him the job without a second thought.
“I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“I’m the club president, after all.” When she saw his annoyed look, Yukino couldn’t help but smile a little.
For some reason, teasing him just felt right.
“I…”
Before Ren could finish his sentence, the clubroom door flew open.
Out of breath from sprinting across campus, Utaha stood in the doorway.
“EXCUSE ME!
IS REN HERE?”
Yukino froze.
Utaha Kasumigaoka, the unreachable beauty from the year above, stood there.
Right behind her was Eriri Spencer Sawamura, the art club’s ace.
Yukino knew exactly who they were.
But why were they here?
And why were they looking for him?
Confused, Yukino turned to look at Ren.
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Thanks for reading.