Episode 78

8:00 PM sharp.

The courage test finally began.

I was stationed at the last of four surprise points along the straight course, just before the turning point.

Start Turning Point

◎──○──○──○──●──◎

Given the nature of this section, where participants pass by twice in quick succession, the plan was to let them pass the first time and then surprise them on their return after they had turned around at the tree marked with a handkerchief, the designated turning point.

During the day, it was merely a short 15-minute stroll back and forth, but now, in the middle of the night, it’s deep in a forest alive with the sounds of insects.

Naturally, the pace of those walking would slow.

A pair—a boy and a girl—walked along the forest path, guided by a single flashlight.

The “shaky bridge” effect made hearts race, and when the boy showed a brave side rarely seen, the girl would be charmed…

Ah, it was like watching a whole rom-com unfold.

Anyway, it seemed there were still about 10 minutes before the first group would arrive, so I hid behind a tree and turned on my smartphone.

[What are you doing, Senior?]

[You’re not ignoring your cute junior’s message while having fun with other friends at the school trip, are you?]

[Senior?]

[Senior?]

[Senior?]

Despite being a busy actor, Minato, who sent messages every 10 minutes, received my reply.

[Currently performing a ghost role in the courage test.]

And then I sent a photo of myself wearing the oni mask.

Then, the continuous flow of messages suddenly stopped, followed by a completely different message.

[Senior, are you okay? And what about the people from your class…?]

Surprised that she was more worried about the other kids in my class than me, I asked,

[Is it that scary?]

[Yes. Imagine a giant wearing a red oni mask suddenly appearing in the dark forest at night.]

“……”

Now that I think about it, it does seem a bit scary, doesn’t it?

I realized why the kids from other classes had been so frightened earlier.

If I was scary enough in the light, I became even more terrifying when I suddenly appeared in the dark.

Realizing the impact of my appearance, I thanked Minato for sharing her thoughts.

[Senior… please, go easy.]

[Okay.]

After replying, I put my smartphone, which I had been intently looking at, back into my pocket.

This was because I could hear footsteps approaching from a distance.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Hiding in the tree, I lowered the red oni mask that was askew on my head.

It was time to welcome the night’s first guests.

Akagi Shun was number 2 in Class 2-B.

Since his name started with A, he had always been at the front of the roll call since elementary school.

Actually, having a front number usually comes with more disadvantages than advantages.

In most school events or classes, being a front number meant you were often the first to be called upon.

But today, he was thankful for that fact.

The courage test at the school trip.

Most boys hope to go through the courage test with someone they like.

And Akagi Shun, thanks to the merit of being at the front of the roll call, had the privilege to choose first, and against the odds of 1 in 12, proudly became partners with Aizawa Minami.

Meeting Aizawa Minami at the beginning of the semester felt almost like destiny for him.

She was always number 1, and he was always number 2.

It was almost as if they were meant to be.

Akagi Shun was already excited, planning to impress Aizawa by showing his bravery during the courage test.

“Alright, first group, start.”

Following Mr. Matsuda’s instructions, the pair of Akagi and Aizawa began to walk along the forest path.

“It’s scarier than I thought…”

Initially unfazed, Aizawa began to look around nervously and muttered when they reached a place where no other human shadows were visible.

“Really? I’m not scared at all.”

But Akagi was too elated to be afraid of the darkness.

After all, the two naturally got closer due to fear.

When people feel fear, they tend to rely on those beside them.

The courage test, conducted in the middle of the night, was an ideal situation to trigger the shaky bridge effect.

About five minutes into their cautious walk along the path, relying on just one flashlight, suddenly, something wearing a white cloth leaped out of the bushes.

“Cursed be this fate!”

“Aaaaah!”

Aizawa screamed and clung to Akagi.

Akagi felt a surge of happiness but didn’t show it; instead, he gave a thumbs-up to the student in ghost makeup.

The student playing the ghost then disappeared back into the bushes, as if deflated.

“It’s okay. The ghost is gone now.”

As Akagi reassured her, Aizawa cautiously turned her head to look at the place where the ghost had appeared.

Then she asked in a slightly scared voice,

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Then Aizawa, blushing slightly, stepped away from Akagi’s embrace.

“L-let’s go quickly.”

Akagi nodded, feeling as if he could fly with joy.

Afterward, ghosts played by students from other classes suddenly jumped out from the shadows.

Each time, Aizawa screamed and clung to Akagi.

In fact, Akagi was also startled the last time but gritted his teeth and refrained from screaming, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of Aizawa, whom he liked.

After three such surprise events, they finally reached the turning point marked by the tied handkerchief.

“This must be the proof of completion Mr. Matsuda talked about.”

They took out a piece of paper with a red circle drawn on it from a box under a tall pine tree and put it in their pocket.

Now, all that was left was to return.

Honestly, going there was scarier, but returning seemed less frightening since they were just retracing their steps.

So, reassured, the two began to walk back with lighter steps.

It was about five minutes after they had turned around and started back on the same path.

Rustle!

“Huh?”

At the sudden noise from above, Akagi looked up, at a loss for words, without realizing it.

It was because a giant wearing a red oni mask was standing in a tree, backlit by the moonlight.

And the moment their eyes met through the mask, the figure suddenly leaped down from the tree.

“Cursed be–”

The deep, resounding bass pierced their eardrums.

The voice sounded familiar, but that wasn’t what was important right now.

Just standing there, the man in the oni mask radiated an unprecedented fear.

Shaking uncontrollably…

Hands and feet trembling on their own.

Aizawa, her face pale, unable to scream, stared at the masked figure with trembling eyes.

They say you can’t make a sound when you’re too shocked, and it seemed that was exactly the case now.

Thud!

Footsteps that seemed unusually loud to the ears.

A man wearing traditional wooden shoes stepped forward and said,

“Give me your neck.”

Akagi couldn’t take it anymore.

“I’m sorryyyyy!”

So, he ran away.

Without looking back.

Having sprinted about 500 meters down the path like a madman, Akagi was about to ask Aizawa if she was okay when he belatedly realized something.

He had left Aizawa behind and run away alone.

“Ah…”

Later, Aizawa Minami, sniffling and alone, returned without making eye contact with him and headed towards the group of girls who hadn’t departed yet.

It was quite obvious that Akagi’s reputation among the girls had plummeted.

“…Did I go too far?”

He felt uneasy about possibly causing a couple to break up unintentionally because he had been too aggressive with a “grand opening” customer.

He explained the situation to Aizawa, who was too scared and had collapsed on the ground, after removing his mask, and somehow managed to send her back.

She seemed to regress to a childlike state when scared, sniffling yet nodding earnestly before relying on her phone’s light to make her way back along the path.

After reflecting, he only scared the pairs who thought they were done after turning at the returning point by suddenly jumping out of the darkness.

Though there were still those who ran away in terror, making cleanup a bit difficult, at least there was no one crying inconsolably like Aizawa, so he was able to safely send back any student who ended up alone.

After doing this repeatedly, he got the hang of it, and from the sixth pair onwards, he hid his presence, uttered, “Cursed be this,” and then appeared after a delay, giving them time to prepare.

Doing so resulted in less shock than expected.

Of course, those who were inherently scared still panicked and ran away, even with prior warning.

After sending off the seventh pair, he was waiting for the next one.

“It’s about time for some familiar faces to show up.”

As he fiddled with his smartphone, waiting for Satoru, Sasha, Rika, and others who hadn’t arrived yet, he quickly got up at the sound of footsteps from afar.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

But something was different.

The distance between the third surprise point and the returning point was quite far, so there was nothing to cause such screaming and running.

Yet, unmistakably, a voice filled with terror was rapidly approaching.

Curious, he shone his flashlight beyond the path.

Then, a black figure running from afar, having spotted him, sprinted at full speed.

“Yuseongaaaa!”

They were familiar faces.

One was Satoru, and the other was the Class President.

The two were running desperately towards me, their faces pale as if they had seen a ghost.

At first, it was too dark to see clearly, but I belatedly realized that a bulky black shape was chasing them.

Roooaaaarr!

The roar echoed through the darkness, perhaps disturbed by the sudden appearance of light.

The large shadow fiercely pursuing Satoru and the Class President turned out to be a wild bear.

“???????”

Why is there a bear here?