・Epilogue

"—I managed to recover a few of these before that cafeteria vanished."

Darkness.

The deepest part of the Student Council room, where not even a single ray of light reached.

Only the white uniforms, the symbol of the Student Council, stood out in the deep gloom.

Before the most prominent freaks in the academy, Glietta spread out a single "talisman." In her posture, there was no trace of the friendly cook she had shown herself to be in front of Guest the other day.

Red liquid was seeping from the lining of her clothes, which resembled beast flesh.

The drops fell, slowly staining the paper talisman.

"Shelpis found some too. Lots of the same ones. Today."

. "—I didn't think I'd run into Guest, though. Hehe."

"Today... does that mean, the West Wing...?"

With a rustle, Shelpis nodded.

Miruru placed a melting fingertip to her chin.

"That's where the Fifth Shop was located. Miruru used to go there often to buy lantern wicks... sigh. This is troublesome."

"Me too. There was a whetstone they only carried there. What am I supposed to sharpen my kitchen knives with now? Honestly."

"Shelpis."

A low, singing voice laced with static.

From further back in the Student Council room.

Out of the clinging darkness, a single girl stepped forward.

In that instant, tension shot through everyone.

She had been there from the very beginning.

And yet, everyone straightened their posture as if welcoming someone who had just appeared.

As if, unless they forced themselves to believe that, they couldn't bear the fact that she had been there all along.

"Shelpis. The one that vanished two days ago was the outer athletic field, wasn't it?"

"Y-yes..."

"I hope the sports club members aren't inconvenienced. There are many talented children there. Let's take some measures for them soon."

A violent rustling sound of paper came from Shelpis's body.

She was trembling.

She felt thankful from the bottom of her heart that she had a paper body.

Otherwise, the report in her hand would surely have been soaked with enough sweat to wring out.

"Before that, the chapel near the Third Lecture Hall—the Star-Rite Hall—disappeared. The Third Lecture Hall itself is nothing but ruins now, though."

In a gritty voice, the Student Council President continued as if singing.

A voice that echoed quietly in the velvet-like darkness.

Like a scratched old record playing during a funeral, it grated on the hearts of those who heard it.

"The pizza from the food truck there was really delicious, wasn't it?"

The three of them looked up at once.

"...President?" "The thick ones, like a quiche. Ah, did that stall vanish along with it? What a shame." "U-um..."

"The chapel choir was also magnificent. Enough that large donations were gathered every year from the bigwigs of the Golden Highway."

"The things that are vanishing..."

Her lips slowly split open.

"...Are all 'precious things,' aren't they?!"

"Eep!"

Miruru stifled a scream in the back of her throat.

Beside her, Shelpis's paper body was trembling so much it was noisy. Glietta swallowed hard.

This was it.

This was why this person was terrifying.

The well-featured face of a girl. Just beneath that thin layer of skin, an uncontrollable ferocity was swirling, ready to burst out at any moment.

"Value, value... 'precious things' are expensive, aren't they? Value, huh."

The Student Council President rolled the word over her tongue again and again.

"In this academy, there was an organization that paraded those kinds of things around quite a bit, wasn't there?" "The Purchasing... Committee..."

The moment she spoke it reflexively, Glietta covered her own mouth.

It was too late.

In the gloom, the Student Council President's gaze was slowly fixing on her. It was unbearable to be watched by those eyes for even a split second.

—Are those really pupils? —They're more like holes named Chaos.

"I wonder what those guys are up to."

The Student Council President licked her lips.

"Even though the 'value' of the academy is being lost like this."

Well, whatever.

As she muttered that, her eyes didn't look like they were "whatever" at all.

A rigid tension filled the room. Amidst it, she was the only one smiling happily.

Her fingertips were slowly scratching the surface of the desk.

Scritch.

Scritch, scritch.

Her skin wore away, leaving several thin red lines on the desk. Still, her fingers didn't stop.

"I wonder if they're plotting something?"

The smile that was only on her mouth deepened further.

"Right? Ledonia?"