A ghost. A hallucination. Or perhaps a dream.
Kamase Imoutoya stared blankly at the Suit Man who had suddenly appeared—the question that escaped her lips was utterly clumsy.
“H-How did you…”
“The means are hardly a significant issue. Isn’t suddenly appearing before someone the privilege of a villain? Though I’m just a humble commoner, far from being a villain.”
After a reply that wasn’t really an answer, the man settled into Imoutoya’s desk chair.
While fiddling with a Smartphone in his hand—he remarked with a hint of exasperation.
“You have a nice location, your home.”
“…Huh?”
“A two-story house not too far from the station. Your mother is a stay-at-home mom, enjoying elegant lunches every day. Quite affluent, I envy you… Though, financial wealth doesn’t always equate to a happy family.”
“…………”
“Ah, there’s no deep meaning in what I’m saying. It’s just that, often in this world, there are many who constantly complain despite being in such fortunate circumstances.”
“The world is often unfair,” he said, handing the Smartphone back to Imoutoya.
She snatched it wordlessly, finally catching up with the situation.
…But, precisely because she understood it was reality, she couldn’t grasp what was happening.
How did this man even get into my room?
And without my family noticing…?
“…What is your purpose…?”
Imoutoya squeezed out the words, cold sweat trickling down her skin.
A reason. First, she had to know the reason.
…If he intended to attack me, I’d scream immediately…
“You must have a purpose, right? A reason for coming to see me.”
“No, not particularly.”
“…Huh?”
“I just happened to think of it on my way back from the convenience store and decided to pay a visit.”
The Suit Man raised both hands, flashing a faint smile as if to say he meant no harm.
That very gesture only served to fuel Imoutoya’s irritation.
“I don’t find that funny.”
“Well, if I were in your position, I’d suspect a robbery or something similar. But I swear, I have no malicious intent.”
“There’s no way I can believe that…”
“I’d like you to think about this calmly. If I had any harmful intentions, wouldn’t you already be dead?”
“Ugh…!”
“You are alive now, conversing with me. That fact alone is proof that I have no harmful intentions and is sufficient to infer that I seek dialogue.”
That… was certainly true.
Imoutoya hadn’t even noticed the man’s intrusion in the first place. A single knife would have been enough…
A chill ran down her spine, and her breathing grew ragged.
He hadn’t come to kill her.
But, barging into someone’s home… suddenly, without a word…
What on earth had this man come for…?
“That being said, I’m sure you’re not satisfied. So, if I were to give a reason that sounds like a reason—it’s reconnaissance.”
“Huh?”
“A viewing. A parent’s observation of a class.”
The man crossed his legs in a relaxed manner and raised his index finger.
With a gesture that seemed deliberately theatrical, he said with amusement—
“Let’s use an analogy.
…Imagine a girl eagerly awaiting her birthday cake.
She adores sweet, sweet cake.
She wants to stick candles into a large whole cake, light them slowly, cut it into eight equal pieces with a knife, and then slowly and deliciously devour the bright red strawberries and sweet, sweet cake. Let’s say there was such a girl.”
“…………”
“If you heard such a story, the role of an adult is simple. You’d do some research beforehand to find out what kind of cake she wants, wouldn’t you?”
“……………”
“I’m insensitive to the nuances of others and lack understanding. But even so, I don’t intend to be so boorish as to snatch someone else’s main course. So, today is just preparation for that.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“There’s no need to understand. From the beginning, I haven’t been speaking in a way that you can understand. It’s just that, as a matter of my own pride, I thought I should offer an explanation.”
The man smiled thinly, cruelly—and Imoutoya felt a coldness and trembled.
She had no idea what this man was talking about.
His words were too abstract and vague. Just like how an idiot speaks.
But for some reason, Imoutoya judged this man as dangerous.
The way this man spoke, for some reason, gave the impression that he saw human lives as nothing more than weeds… like an emotionless killing machine.
…Completely different from Imoutoya’s rational way of thinking…
“You sisters, both the older one and you, are essentially more malicious in my view. …If your sister is a crude and violent goblin with a bad personality, then you are like an ugly pig, an Orc, who uses cunning tricks, wouldn’t you say?”
“Wh-What?”
“Let me add that I’m not talking about appearances. Objectively speaking, you have a cute face. Please understand that it’s a metaphorical expression for a mind that is cunning and ugly.”
Before Imoutoya, who was stunned by the barrage of insults, the Suit Man stood up as if he had grown bored, and adjusted his tie.
“Well, I should be going now. Staying up late isn’t good for your health, you know. …Ah, though it may be futile, if you want to live a life with all your limbs intact, it would be wise to stop delving any further.”
“…What’s that supposed to mean?”
“When you gaze into the Abyss, the Abyss gazes also into you… or was it?
If you curse someone, you dig two graves. Requesting something from someone in the shady business means you also become a target. If you truly desire a life of safety, security, and no stress, I recommend you withdraw now.”
“…………”
“You’ll drown, you know. An amateur who only has a big head but doesn’t know real combat—a person who relies on others and doesn’t try to accomplish anything with their own power, right?”
“Well, goodbye,” the Suit Man said with a slow bow…
And vanished.
Truly, like a magic trick…
As suddenly as an edited video.
Imoutoya dropped her Smartphone onto the bed with a thud.
…What was that just now?
Was it really a real event?
It could be explained as a vampire appearing in modern times—no, that’s not it.
It wasn’t such a gentle existence.
That was…
Something more terrifying and grotesque. Something not human, wearing a human skin.
Something that shouldn’t be understood.
“Ugh…”
Before she knew it, her teeth were chattering.
Filled with disgust and fear as if she had seen something she shouldn’t have, she felt nausea rising from the pit of her stomach and bent her body into a U-shape.
This is bad. Something. Something Imoutoya didn’t know was completely out of order.
…….
…….
…And there was only one reason Imoutoya could think of for why she was being targeted by such a monstrosity.
…Could that have been… a companion of the Class Representative?
If that was the case, then she had…
Had she just witnessed something she should never have provoked?
Her instincts screamed a warning.
Run. Run. Run away now.
She could cry to her family. She could panic like her sister.
She could act like she was afraid to go to school and move to a distant land where that man wouldn’t see her, and then live a life of hiding and cowering so she wouldn’t stand out.
If she lived a plain and ordinary life that wouldn’t remain in anyone’s memory, that man would surely overlook her—
Such was the alarm bell of her instincts,
“—Don’t screw with me…!”
Imoutoya gritted her teeth and shook it off.
No way.
Living in fear of a stranger for the rest of her life was not funny, even as a joke.
Kamase Imoutoya had always been at the “top.”
She had always been careful, sometimes consciously, to avoid being looked down upon by others, and she had lived by sniffing out the weak and despising them.
She had pushed her troubles onto her sister and hid behind her shield, continuing to suck the sweet nectar.
Her foolish parents, her sister, her classmates, her teachers, everyone was “below” her.
For Kamase Imoutoya, who had smirked at the ridiculous world while looking down on others, and who had spent her days laughing at the weaklings of society,
Running away while being looked down upon by others was absolutely unacceptable.
“…I won’t allow it. I won’t allow it, I won’t allow it, I won’t allow it…!”
What was this about someone who gazes into the Abyss? What was this about digging two graves?
If that’s what he was saying, then she would jump in herself.
She didn’t care if her body was cursed.
She could throw all her troubles onto that idiot sister or her mom, and they would somehow manage.
At worst, she could cry to her dad and get him to pay for a solution.
She would make that man understand that she was in the safest place in the world.
With emotions simmering in her heart, Imoutoya fiddled with her Smartphone.
Someone who could eliminate that man, the Class Representative, from this world for sure.
If possible, she wanted someone who hated those guys—Imoutoya, while searching SNS with irritation, suddenly noticed a strange word that caught her eye in the Dungeon-related trends.
There were specific, hidden terms in the Dungeon community.
Imoutoya, who had heard rumors from Akushichi Nana, a senior at her school, eventually…
Found it.
A Shady Dealer who specialized in such things on SNS.
Imoutoya suppressed her excitement and slowly searched the contractor list.
Don’t rush. Don’t panic. But be certain.
–Imoutoya stared intently at her Smartphone, a faint smile on her face, vowing to herself that she would definitely get her target.
Unaware that on that day, he would clearly–stray from his peaceful life.