Spider - A Nightmare Downtown (3)

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…

…Ummm.

HiMERU thought he’d lose his lunch…

I somehow found myself sticking out of the floorboards too…

…Augh. My body, it feels like it’s bent at an angle it shouldn’t be. Can anyone see it?

E-everyone, sorry… I just got a liiiiitle surprised~…

It can’t be. The cause of shock wasn’t the ghosts inside, but Oukawa right beside us… We were blindsided.

Kohaku-chan’s fists would be thrown whenever he was jumpscared by a ghost~ Even a skilled fighter would turn pale, that was a crazy barrage.

That was…um…that was an accident…

That’s no good, that’s just no good! At this rate, our “ES Halloween” attendance is seriously gonna be in danger!

You’re not wrong. If he was to go bonkers every time he’s jumpscared then there’s a chance he’d just do that theday of the event too~

⁠—Also, at this rate, the live performance may be impeded.

This year the event is supposed to be made with attention to realistic details, after all. HiMERU doesn’t suppose our costumes will be an exception to that.

There’s no way you’re expecting me to react like that at the live…

Really? What’s to say our costumes aren’t gonna be like the ones in the haunted house?

Are you gonna be able to keep a cool head when you’re surrounded by a bunch of ghosts? Can you promise that you’re gonna perform like normal?

Th-that’s…well…

Alright! In that case, we’ll do some special training! No matter what motif or stage comes our way, we’re gonna help you out, Kohaku-chan!

Hah?! Special training…?!

Jeez… why was I pulled into this mess…

Not only that, I don’t care if you call it training, but staying at ES to tell stories is ridiculous! This is all for Rinne-han’s amusement, so why do I have to be put through all this…?!

You think so too, right, Niki-han?!

Unn…Uuuunnnn…

Hey, are you even listening to me Niki-han?

Ah, just wait a sec! I’m trying to seriously think of what kind of snacks I wanna bring with me here.

Ummumumum…this is such a life or death matter~

What’s with you and your worrying. If you really can’t choose, then isn’t it okay to choose both?

Aren’t you a genius, Kohaku-chan?! You’re right! When in doubt, I can just take it all!

You were wondering which of these two to pick from, but why exactly did you need to bring all this?

Even if I picked from these two, I was still gonna struggle with picking which sweets to bring. But, if I take everything with me, then I’m not gonna have that issue anymore!

So! What’s up? Didn’t you want to say something earlier?

As I was saying…I don’t get why we’re getting pulled along Rinne-han’s whims so easily.

Nyaha, that’s true. Well, Rinne-kun offered me dinner so that’s why I went with it~.

He said that he’d feed you, but Niki-han, aren’t you the one that makes the food anyways? That’s just being competent.

Nono, the issue is the cost of everything, not the fact that I’m making the food. Rinne-kun said he’d cover that for me!

I’m sure he’s just gonna use “Crazy:B”s funds or whatever else he can get his hands on to cover that.

If I can eat a big full meal for free, then I’ll follow you anywhere, no matter what it takes~

Niki-han… Don’t go being lured away now, ok? And don’t go following some stranger either.

Nyaha. Don’t expect me to be that greedy~ I would never, Kohaku-chan.

That’s not very convincing…

Now then, since you’ve got all of your snacks and stuff ready, let’s go to the practice room. I’m pretty sure Rinne-han and HiMERU-han are getting it ready.

Actually, how did we get permission to stay here at ES anyway? It’s unusual.

Rinne-kun went and talked to the Vice President and got special permission. I have no idea how he managed to convince him, but now that we have the permission, can’t we sit and train for “ES Halloween”?

Fuu~un. I’m amazed at the fact that Rinne-han managed to convince the Vice President.

Actually, why are we even training to begin with! I told him tons of times, I’m not scared. If I’m caught a little off guard, then a defensive instinct kicks up and my fists lash out. It’s just a natural reaction.

Kohaku-chan, why are you so scared of monsters⁠—I mean… why do you have that defensive instinct?

I’m actually surprised… I didn’t think you’d be bothered by that kind of thing.

…

It’s not that I’m scared, but maybe I’m so hypersensitive because of the time I spent in the zashikirou.

Zashikirou? Well, just hearing about it does make it seem kind of scary.

That’s not it. It’s not the place itself.

When I was in my zashikirou, my only way to connect to the outside world was the internet. So I was always surfing the net.

One day, I’d wandered onto a popular occult forum. All the threads there were full of disturbing faces…my instincts just knew I was in the wrong place…but then a huge tragedy happened.

Tr-tragedy…?

All my instincts told me to close the browser, but I couldn’t really help but look around.

Then, there it was, a bunch of horrifying stories.

There was one about a monster that took the form of a 2-meter tall woman¹, and another about a seance that would happen if you played hide-n-seek alone². Then there was an entire story about a vacant station that nobody knew anything about³.

Ohhh, so that’s what you meant by “tragedy”. So you saw it and got scared?

Arrgh. Niki-han, don’t you think it’s bad?! You idiot! All of these ghost stories take place in old-style Japanese houses or the countryside!

Niki-han, do you even understand what it’s like to read those kinds of stories in such a low light place?! You just don’t get it!

That’s…

(If it was that scary, then you really didn’t have to see it…that’s what I think…is this what they mean when they say “curiosity killed the cat”?)

This talk. If Rinne-han was to find out about it, there’s no way he wouldn’t make fun of me. So keep it hush.

Nyaha. I won’t say anything~. It’s gonna be me and Kohaku-chan’s secret!