—I am perfect.
“B-ko-chan, you’re so cute!”
“Right? And great style, too, like an idol.”
“Smart, and a great personality …. I really envy you~”
“Eh— …. Oh come on, that’s not true.”
“It totally is!”
“Good reflexes, too! It’s a shame you’re not into any club~”
“Hmm …. Compared to people that are in clubs though, it’s nothing.”
“Oh, stop being so modest. Plus, you’re really popular with the guys.”
“Isn’t she—? But it’s B-ko, so of course she is~”
“If I was a guy, I’d confess to you too!”
“Ahaha”
“So, so, do you have a crush on anyone, or someone you want to go out with?’
“Hmm~ …. I don’t really know about that~”
“Eh—That’s so boring~”
“But, you know, honestly, there probably isn’t any guy that’s worthy of dating a girl like B-ko.”
“You said it.”
“Anyway, if you find a crush or anything, make sure you tell us! You have to!”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
“It’s a promise~!”
“A promise!”
“Ah, oh no, class is about to start.”
—Yes, I am perfect.
A perfect ‘imposter.’
All people live their lives wearing different “masks.”
For example, when talking with classmates, when talking with teachers, when talking with family …..
Each and every one requires a different expression.
More than other people are, I am extremely skilled at creating perfect masks.
Come to think of when, when I was younger, being constantly transferred to different schools at my parents’ convenience may have also been one of the reason for this.
How to not make enemies …. It wouldn’t be too dark to call it that.
How many people could I get to like me? How could I lessen my number of enemies? … I was a child that spent a lot of time thinking about that kind of thing.
Summing it all up, there is the perfect me of now.
…. But, this is not “me.”
The one that everyone praises, envies, relies on, likes, and confesses to, is completely different person from the real me.
Cunning, and with emotions always out in the open.
That kind of person dwelled inside of me.
“No one sees the real me.”
Somewhere down the line, I became enveloped by a sense of isolation, as if trapped by the people that surrounded me.
I began to worry about the gap between the actual me, and the person everyone wanted me to be. After more than ten years of this, I’d become so accustomed to this way of getting by it in life that it became a part of me, and problem-free as it has always been, I began my high school life favorably.
—However, one day, something irregular happened.
A very small, very minor “rumor” spread throughout the whole class.
“It seems that B-ko used to be a gyaru when she was in middle school.”
Such silly gossip.
In reality, the students that had graduated from the same middle school as I had denied this immediately, but the speed in which this rumor had spread was abnormal.
I had never felt so much anger.
Don’t think that you can so easily destroy the invincible mask that I created.
Don’t you dare think you can destroy this “imposter,” that I’ve gone as far as sacrificing myself to create!
—I would find the culprit.
Acting like I had no interest in the rumor at all, I began to make my move to locate the source.
“That’s a weird story. But who did you hear it from?”
Everyone I asked gave me a vague answer.
Somehow or other. From a rumor. Those were the only answers I received.
Finding the culprit was more difficult than I had imagined, and without getting any results, several days passed.
However, one day, I passed by a student in the back of the school where the dumpsters were.
At first, I thought about going back to classroom right away because the stench of the trash was getting to me, but I immediately noticed that that student was giving off a certain atmosphere, as if he were trying not to stand out.
—I instinctively thought that he was the culprit.
“…. Hey, you, hold up for a minute.”
“Hm? What is it, B-ko-san?”
“….. Um …. This is …. our first time meeting, right?”
“Ahh, that’s right, now that I think about it. Since you’re so famous, it doesn’t really feel like this is our first time talking at all. Fufu …. I’m A-ya, nice to meet you.”
There’s no mistake. It was him.
I made no attempt to hide my suspicion.
“Why did you do it?’
“…. Hm? What do you mean?”
“…. I’m asking you, why did you spread that rumor? ….”
“…. Huh …..”
“—I won’t let you play innocent!”
A short silence.
Most likely due to my tone turning harsh, or rather, because my true nature was shown on my face.
He looked slightly surprised for a moment, but soon grinned again.
“…. Sorry. I apologize. But, you’re even more interesting than I thought you’d be.”
“Shut up. More importantly, tell me the reason why you did it.”
“…. Don’t have one.”
The added stench of the trash only further increased by growing irritation at his attitude that seemed to be ridiculing the world, and everyone in it, and my mood turned even harsher.
“It was just a bit of a survey.”
“…. Survey?”
“’Right. Of how a rumor would spread. The way your rumor spread was extraordinary.”
“ …. What?”
“When it comes to rumors, the content matters too, but what’s important is how you spread them.”
“?”
“Who you tell it to, the order you tell it, what kind of rumor you’re trying to spread—if you don’t consider all of this, the rumor won’t be convincing.”
“…. Convincing? No matter how far a rumor goes, isn’t it just a rumor?”
“In this world, there are only things that seem like the truth, and things that seem like lies.”
“…. What do you mean?”
“Well, long story short, this is something like the only hobby I have in my boring life.”
“Could you not use people for that tasteless hobby of yours?”
“Hmm …. I don’t know about that. Anyway, I’m more interested in how you knew that it was me.”
After thinking for a moment, I continued speaking.
“…… Because you weren’t just studying people’s reactions for no reason.”
“…. Haha! How interesting!”
Covering his face with one hand, as if he wasn’t able to bear it, he said this while laughing.
I felt like I had played the wrong hand by thinking it would be fine to show him my true personality.
“I wonder if it’s because we’re two of the same bunch …. Although we’re on completely opposite vectors.”
“….. What does that even mean?”
“We both live with awareness of peoples’ rumors. I try not to stand out, while you get along well with people …. Well, although that’s similar to how my childhood friend is, the level you’re at is something to be feared.”
“….. Could you not talk about people like they’re some kind of disease?”
“You’ve been checking the surroundings since earlier. If someone else comes by, surely you’ll go right back to being the usual B-ko-san?”
“……..”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. Well then, see ya.”
“…. Wait!”
—And this was how I met A-ya.
After this, he showed no sign of remorse for his actions, and instead continued to make up false stories about me.
Other than those, I also heard many rumors that seemed to be created by his hand.
All of them in the form of letters, so beautifully written that it was despicable, with the source of the rumor being unknown. And although all of them had occult-like elements in them, they were spread among the students as something credible.
As I continued to chase him down to question him, for some reason, I eventually came to participate in meetings in the old school building.
And from this, I realized something.
It would seem that I liked things that had to do with the “occult.”
Although I had never shown passion towards anything in my life, when I heard things about the occult, I would feel a tingling feeling of excitement in the depths of my heart.
When I had heard about how in the past, there was an incident at this school when students died an unnatural death, I got goosebumps from being both afraid and indiscreetly interested.
Well, in any case, this was how I was currently living my everyday life as a perfect “imposter,” and after school, as a member of a group that met to share “rumors.”
—It happened one day at lunch.
Whenever I felt that I needed a breather sometimes, I would go up to the roof and simply gaze at the sky.
Unfortunately, today the weather was overcast. There was an unpleasant odor in the air on cloudy days, so I didn't like them.
However, due to this, few people came up to the roof, so that was the one good thing about it.
Taking a brief rest on the peaceful, empty roof ….. had been my intention. However, recently, even that had been taken from me.
“B-ko-chan~”
“….. As I thought, you’re here again …..”
“Eh~ It’s just a coincidence~”
This smiling girl’s name was D-ne.
Unlike me, she was a short and delicate girl, with characteristic long, pretty black hair.
For some reason, whenever I decided to go up to the room, she would be there.
I felt scared because it was like she was reading my mind, but since it seemed that she cared about me, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to her.
By the way, she’s also one of the members of our after school group at the old school building, so she knew about my other side.
“But, y’know, I never get to talk to B-ko-chan like this, so I’m happy that we can when we’re here.”
“Why don’t you just talk to me?”
“…. That’s because, there’s always so many people around B-ko-chan ……”
“Hm~ ….. Well, you’ve got a point~ …..”
Although I wouldn’t call them my followers or anything, it was true that there was always someone with me.
Including the fact that D-ne was from a different class, she probably didn’t have many chances to talk to me.
However, I did notice that she seemed to admire me a lot.
“You shouldn’t worry about it so much, you know?”
“I know. But I like B-ko-chan, so I’m just happy that we’re able to talk.”
Saying this, she grinned again.
Her long hair swayed, and gave off the scent of shampoo.
I laughed awkwardly, and once more turned to stare up at the sky that seemed to signal rain.
“I heard that B-ko’s imposter appeared.”
From somewhere on the roof, we heard someone say this.
The spot that we were in was slightly secluded, and in the shadow of a smaller building, making it a blind spot for the people that were talking.
“What do you mean by imposter?”
“Like, while B-ko’s in her house, it’s going around places at night?”
“Eh? What? Like some kind of monster?”
“I dunno. But you know, B-ko’s a nice girl, so it feels like it’ll build up?”
“Build up? What will!?”
“Ahaha, that’s not it! I mean like, that “I want to go out~” feeling builds up.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying at all~”
“But like, I heard there’s people that really saw it~ ….”
—I had an intuitive feeling that this was A-ya’s rumor.
Know that it was about me was proof enough, but if it was combined with some kind of occult-like thing, then there was no mistaking it.
“How dare he …..”
“Ufufu ….. B-ko’s cute when she’s angry, too.”
“…. I’m going straight to the old building after school.”
“Understood.”
As the time signaled the end of the lunch break, the sky darkened once more, and the falling rain enveloped the school in noise.
*
—After school, I went with D-ne to the old school building right away.
Once we got to the second floor and opened the door of what had originally been the music room, we found that someone was already there.
“Oh? You seem awfully angry today.”
The one that was smiling like an idiot as usual.
This was A-ya’s childhood friend, C-ta.
“….. Can’t you do something about that childhood friend of yours?”
Putting down our bags, D-ne and I sat down in our usual seats.
“Ahh, that rumor, you mean? Isn’t it a masterpiece? As usual, it’s the best.”
“…. Why you ….”
Just as I started to draw closer to C-ta, we heard the sound of the door sliding open again.
“…. Hey.”
—It was A-ya.
“No, it’s not just ‘hey’ …. I don’t really care about your bad tastes, but would you stop using people as your topics?”
“…. What’re you talking about?”
“…. Don’t act like you don’t know!”
Desperately trying to suppress my anger, I glared at A-ya.
“Look, don’t call smoke where there’s no fire. I only meant it as a little prank.”
“…. Why you …”
“If someone happened to see you right now, won’t they think you’re an impostor?”
“I’m serious, if you don’t stop now ….”
“—But, I think it’s wonderful that B-ko-chan has that dual nature.”
As I was about to grab A-ya by the collar, D-ne’s cheerful words came directed at me.
“Dual nature … You’re saying it like I have a split personality.”
“Well, to be honest, it’s at a level where it really seems you might?”
Despite the bluntness of her words, D-ne affirmed this with a carefree smile.
Completely out of steam by now, I merely returned to the seat I had been sitting in before.
“Pfft, as usual, B-ko has a soft spot for D-ne, huh?”
“Oh, shut up.”
….. In any case, we had gathered in the old building again today without any objective or motivation. However, recently we had discovered something, and our activities had suddenly become livelier.
—That discovery was “a diary from ten years ago.”
An exchange diary belonging to the students from ten years ago that had gathered “occult stories” in this old school building, just like us. Many of those stories were ones we had never heard before, and made us really excited.
And within those were mentions of the “Book of Demise” and “Bookmark of Demise,” urban legends that have been told in this school.
They had obtained these two items, and …… ——died.
“…. That’s why … Perhaps this has something to do with the “Bookmark of Demise", is what I’ve been thinking.”
A-ya, who was telling us about an unnatural phenomenon that had been occurring around him recently, suddenly said this.
“…. Anyway, the last attempt at ‘Kokkuri-san’ failed.”
“Failed ….?”
“We weren’t able to obtain either the “Book of Demise” nor the “Bookmark of Demise,” right?”
“… It’s true that we didn’t do it as it said in the rules … but …”
I …. No, everyone in this room could predict, and expect what his next words would be.
“…. Let’s do it one more time.”
*
In this way, we began “Kokkuri-san” for the sake of obtaining the “Bookmark of Demise,” just as it was written in the diary. I don’t think that the method differs too much from the usual Kokkuri-san. However, this time we made sure to take careful steps and perform it exactly as written in the diary.
“Next, everyone will ask each other questions in turn. To start off, someone try asking me something.”
“… Okay, was A-ya’s dinner last night made of meat?”
“…. What’s up with that?”
A-ya made an almost amazed face at my question.
“… It’s the only thing I could think of on the spot.”
“Ah, it’s started moving.”
“…… It says “yes” ….What did you eat?”
“It was hamburger steak …”
“So, it was right then … Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please return to the gate.”
Right now, I was being hit by a strange sensation in the back of my mouth.
And yet, the beat of my heart was conveying an excitement I had never felt before.
With my eyes open, I unblinkingly followed the movement of the ten-yen coin.
“Then, next is B-ko …. Does B-ko have a crush on anyone?”
All of a sudden, A-ya asked a completely nonsensical question.
“Wait! What kind of question is that!?”
“Look, B-ko-chan, it’s not good if you don’t calm down.”
“…. Ah, ahhh ….. geez …”
With no regard to my will, the ten-yen coin moved smoothly.
“So it’s ‘yes?” …… Huh …”
“A-ya! If you’re going to ask, why’re you reacting like that!?
“When I thought it over, I wasn’t actually that curious, that’s all …. Ah, Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please return to the gate.”
This guy was probably thinking about using this information for another rumor of his.
How totally rude ….
“….. !! N-next is D-ne’s turn. Here I go!”
“Go ahead.”
“Does D-ne have a crush on anyone!?”
When D-ne and I made eye contact at the same time, she asked this.
“Are you fine with it being such a boring question?”
Once again, the ten-yen coin moved straight to “yes.”
“Huh, so D-ne has someone that she likes, too?”
“Eh? That’s because I love B-ko.”
She said this, smiled brightly, and looked at me.
…. It’s no use. I couldn’t keep calm if D-ne was going to say something like that.
*
—Looking back on it now, we might have made a grave mistake.
I was so shocked at the time, and can only recall in bits and pieces now.
There had been a sudden intense noise.
The announcement that could be heard from the TV.
I felt a great chill pass through my spine, as if it had been replaced with a stick of ice.
My mouth tasted like I’d swallowed something that was too sweet, too spicy, and too salty, all at once.
Perhaps because my ears had been disoriented from the sudden deafening noise, it sounded too quiet because it was too loud, or was it too loud because it was too quiet—I wasn’t able to tell the difference. Despite that, for some reason, I could clearly distinguish the robotic sound of the announcer’s voice.
“——Due to a single traitor, a “fox”, the game has begun.”
Yes, we would become involved in the worst game …..
However, at that time, we had to yet to understand even 1% of what true fear was like.
“….. Wh-what was that ….. j-just now ….?”
“…… I don’t know.”
“…… “Fox”? Traitor …..?”
“…… I-it’s just some kind of bad joke, right …..?”
“……..”
Everyone was silent, and looking at each other.
In the dim classroom, all of us had pale faces.
A long period of time passed …… In truth, it was probably not even longer than a minute, but …. The silence dragged on. Someone spoke up, saying, “…. Anyway, let’s just go home for today …” and on their suggestion, we left the school.
The next thing I knew, I was at home.
Frankly, I couldn’t even remember how I’d gotten home.
That had all been a dream. A prank. A lie. A fake. A superstition.
I muttered these things like a chant.
When I wake up tomorrow, my usual, problem-free, everyday life would begin again.
Praying for this, I lay shivering in my bed, waiting for morning to come …..
However, speaking from the results, my prayer would not be fulfilled.
—The next day, my classmate had been cut into an upper body and lower body, and died.
—When the bodies had been found during the lunch break, a strange atmosphere soon fell over the school.
While the police were investigating on scene, the students were all made to wait in the classrooms. However, my classmates didn’t seem to grasp the reality of the situation, treating it like something shown on TV from somewhere else, and gave off a festive mood, just like the others and I would have if not for what happened yesterday.
In the middle of this festivity, I sat alone at my desk, staring at the wood grain and thinking it over.
There’s no mistake. There’s absolutely no mistaking it. It had to be.
This was the work of the “Bookmark of Demise.”
If someone other than us had died, it meant that someone had surely gotten their hands on a letter, and looked inside.
But that would mean that we were sure to be killed, as well.
In the same way? Or in an even more brutal way?
No, no, no, I’m scared I’m scared I’m so scared …..!
Eventually, other than the select group of students that were taken in for questioning, everyone else was ordered to go home. However, just like I had yesterday, I headed straight for the old building.
In the usual classroom, all the members from yesterday were already there.
“——Hey, who told him? ——Who’s the traitor!?”
I surprised even myself with how loud my voice was.
But I soon understood that shouting wouldn’t amount to anything.
…. In the end, we confirmed that we could do nothing about the situation, and decided to all go home early that day.
Unable to relax at all, D-ne and I went to a small city library a short distance away from the school …..
*
“….. B-ko-chan …..”
D-ne was looking at me in concern. Because it was a smaller library, with the added fact that it was past noon on a weekday, there was no one else here besides us.
There was one staff person at the counter, but because we were sitting at a table in the very back of the bookshelves, the two of us were completely alone.
“….. Are you okay?”
Putting her hand on the back of mine, D-ne asked me again.
I pulled my hand away slowly, and muttered a quiet, “Thanks, but I’m fine.”
“…..”
Even so, D-ne still looked worried, and continued to look at me.
“….. I’m sorry that I lost it.”
“….. It’s okay.”
“Somehow … seems like it’s not a dream, huh ….? It’d be nice if it were, but somehow, I still can’t believe it …..”
“….. Yeah.”
“I-I’ve been a little curious about …. Well, it’s more like … Look, we didn’t obtain the “Book” or the “Bookmark,” so ….”
“Yeah.”
“…. So … that’s why I think …. It won’t be like ten years ago, so ….”
“………”
“………”
“…. B-ko-cha——“
“Ahaha, sorry! I know that I’m a liar …. And it’s useless no matter what a fat liar like me says, but …. I didn’t betray anyone, I’m not a traitor, I——“
“B-ko-chan!”
“…… kh!”
I had been looking down the entire time, but when I lifted my face, I saw D-ne right in front of me.
Her face was very kind, and her expression looked so warm and gentle.
And then, she took hold of my hand again. This time, her grip was firmer than before.
“—I’ll protect you, B-ko. So …. Please don’t worry.”
—Protect. It was a word I didn’t understand very well, so to me, it sounded nothing more than a baseless, meaningless promise.
If I thought about it, D-ne probably felt the same way, but because I seemed so upset, she said this just to cheer me up.
I found myself calming down a little bit. Just a little bit.
“…. Thank you.”
“Mm-hm. Because .. I love B-ko-chan.”
She said this, and faced me with her usual smile.
“… I see. Thank you. I really like you too.”
All of a sudden, D-ne rose up from her chair with a clatter, and brought her face close to mine. And then—
“…. What I said before …. It’s not a lie.”
—Her lips pressed against mine.
I caught the scent of the shampoo that D-ne always used. Ahh, this had to be fragrant olive … was what … I thought ….
Part 3 of the Imposter Advisory chapter. Masterpost for the novel translation here.
(Just imagine that one part is in very large, bold font, and filling up two pages in a book, since there’s only so much I can do with Tumblr html.)
I had come back to my own room.
I collapsed on my bed as always, and stared up at the ceiling in a daze, remembering everything that happened today. There had just been so much, I felt like I’d had been surprises for a lifetime.
But right now, I felt strangely calm.
No, it was probably just because there were too many things I couldn’t find of a reason for, and my mind had given up on thinking altogether.
“……”
I lightly touched my lips.
I, who was such a shallow person, obsessed with building good relations and not having any enemies, had obviously never had a romantic relationship with anyone in particular.
And yet, although I wouldn’t brag about it …. I had just had my first kiss.
It had been stolen by a female friend.
I wasn’t upset by it, but then, was I happy about it? Even if you were to ask me that, I wouldn’t really know how to answer.
In any case, after kissing me, D-ne had said, “I’ll be going home now,” and left the library without me.
After sitting there in a daze for several minutes, I realized it would be scary to go home once it got dark, and soon walked home.
“Aaah, geez! I just don’t get it~!”
As my face reddened, and my feelings of fear came back along with other restless emotions, thinking gradually became a pain.
Anyway, I’d change out of my school clothes and take a bath to freshen up!
With that in mind, I began to undress. When I took off my blazer, I noticed D-ne’s remaining scent, and sprayed it with freshener several times to get rid of it. No matter who it was, I was the kind of person that didn’t like scents.
I walked over to my closet, and when I saw my reflection in the mirror, I realized for the first time that my favorite ribbon was missing.
….. Huh? Had I dropped it somewhere ……?
I had several ribbons just like that one, so it wasn’t that it bothered me that much, but I tried looking for it in my bag, anyway. Right at that moment, my cell phone vibrated.
“B-ko~ It was crazy today, huh~”
It was a mobile chat from a girl I got along with in class.
I sat down on my bed and began typing back on my phone.
“Yeah, it was~”
“You looked like you were really shocked, B-ko, so I was just wondering if you were okay~”
“Well, I was really startled at the time, but I’m fine now.”
“I see~ That’s good, then.”
“Sorry for worrying you”
“No, it’s okay~ You went off somewhere instead of going home, so I was a little worried”
“There was just something I was curious about~”
“Ah, okay. Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be alone so much right now. It’s scary, anyway”
“Yeah”
“Plus, B-ko stands out”
“Eh~ Come on, That’s not true”
“It so is~”
Before I could finish writing my reply to this silly banter, my classmate replied with something else, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw her words.
“—Like a while ago, what were you doing in front of the train station?”
“?”
“You were in front of the station ten minutes ago, weren’t you?”
The station was in the opposite direction of my house, and ten minutes ago, I had definitely been in my room already.
“Didn’t you mistake me for someone else?”
“Eh~ I thought it was B-ko, but was I wrong? She was wearing a ribbon, too”
“Yeah, I’ve been at home”
“I guess I did mistake you for someone else. But after something like that, I was worried”
“It’s okay. I think it was just another girl from our school”
“Okay~ Well, talk to you later, then”
“Okay—“
….. What did this mean?
Could it, for instance, be a rumor that A-ya had spread?
But was it really something that she’d go out of her way to confirm, especially today, under these circumstances?
Judging from her personality, I didn’t think she was the type to mess with people.
Had she heard A-ya’s rumor before, and just come to make sure after seeing a student that looked like me ….?
However, the words: “she was wearing a ribbon,” held my interest …..
Where in the world had the ribbon I’d been wearing today gone?
I picked up my bag again and searched its contents thoroughly.
If I could at least find the ribbon, I thought that I would be reassured a little.
If I didn’t, it would only leave me confused.
“…..?”
Inside of a pocket on the interior of my bag. Personally, I didn’t use that pocket much, so I was barely aware of it on a regular basis, but at the very least, there shouldn’t have been anything inside of it ……
——There, was a single letter.
I knew from my instincts.
This was “that letter.”
The “letter” that must not be delivered, which signaled of the Demise Game,
As the signal of the true start of the game, it was also a declaration of the end.
….. Written inside here was something that I had to do.
If I wasn’t able to carry out the demand, I would die.
“Split into an upper half and bottom half, it looks like he died in excruciating pain ….”
The rumor I heard after the lunch break echoed in my head.
The lost lower body, and the wandering upper body that was searching for it—it was a gruesome murder, like from an urban legend ….. No. I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m so scared. Just stop. If this is a nightmare, just let me wake up already …..!!
——Thud.
I was surprised by a sudden dull sound, and turned my head in that direction.
“—Eek ……!”
——On top of my studying desk was a “book” I had never seen before, and inside of it, a “bookmark”.
“Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!”
A scream that was like a whining child.
….. And then, despair.
I backed into a corner of my room, grasping my hair and face, and simply remained crouched in that position.
Several hours passed, and my parents came home.
My parents, who had seen the news and heard about what happened from their friends, were worried about me, and tried talking to me kindly.
However, I simply told them, “Just leave me alone for now,” and locked myself in my room.
*
School was closed for a week.
I avoided contact with my parents, and just sat hugging my knees in my room, and doing nothing else for the first and second day.
On the third day, I decided to get rid of the letter, book, and bookmark. I snuck out of my house at night and went to a nearby park, throwing all of them away in a secluded place. The scent of the flowers in the park was strong, and made me feel sick. I thought something might happen as soon as I got home, but nothing did, and morning came.
By the fourth day, my classmates seemed to already be going out and enjoying the week off from school, as if the incident had nothing to do with them. They invited me to go out as well, but I simply refused with, “Sorry.”
And then, the fifth day came.
Several invitation mails came from my classmates again today.
Among those, there were probably some friends that were genuinely worried, but I could only think of each and every one of them as heartless people.
It might be strange for me to say it, when I was someone so shallow and only interested in getting along with people, but someone had died. So how could they treat this situation so lightly? If I became like them, would I be able to take it easy, too?
“Something really crazy happened, huh? Are you okay?”
Would I send a mail like that, too?
I didn’t even have to ask myself. Of course I would send mails like that, and since I had all this free time, I would go out and have fun. Should I move on? What was I even saying? In other words, I was that kind of a person. Heartless.
Just as I was thinking about this, I received another mail from a classmate.
Wondering how many mails I’d received by now, I reached out to pick up my phone again, but stopped short.
“So you really did come~”
….. Once again, I could not believe my eyes.
An unpleasant sweat ran down the nape of my neck.
“What are you talking about?”
“Eh? You were at the mall earlier, weren’t you?”
“I wasn’t. Why’re you lying like that?”
“It’s not a lie! I’m sure that it was you, B-ko! Cut it out ……”
……..
“B-ko? Hey, what’s wrong? You’re acting kind of weird”
………………..
“—B-ko?”
I stopped replying to that girl’s messages.
The sixth day came.
Today, it had been raining since morning. After several days of this irregular routine in my dark room, I had lost sense of time.
What time was it right now?
Perhaps one day had already passed, and as if counting down, another morning had come.
In the end, I’d received many mails today as well, about how I’d been seen outside.
My imposter was walking around town …..?
Was this also because of the “Bookmark of Demise”?
Just what was this ……? What the hell is this!?!
——Pipipipipipipipi!
“……. ah!”
A sudden electronic sound rang out. It was the sound of an incoming call on my cell phone.
The call was, surprisingly …… from C-ta.
Although we had exchanged phone numbers, I had never received a call from C-ta before now, so I couldn’t help but be a little cautious.
“….. H-hello?”
“………………………………………. A-ya’s been killed.”
——Click. Beep ……. Beep …….
That was it.
In such a small voice that I couldn’t even be sure really belonged to C-ta or not, that was all he said.
“…… Eh?”
I answered with this, despite the fact that the other side of the line was already cut off.
…… What did he mean?
A-ya was …… killed ……?
He wasn’t dead, but killed ……?
I stared off vacantly into space without blinking.
The room became enveloped in silence.
And then, as if it to interrupt the silence once more, there was the sudden sound of noise.
Even though I hadn’t touched the TV or the remote, white noise started coming from it.
….. This was … the same as that day ……!
“…… Good morning. We bring you today’s Weather Report.”
The announcer’s monotone voice echoed around the small room.
The way the voice talked so indifferently sounded terribly inhumane.
“Today, a city-wide Imposter Advisory has been officially announced …… Please be careful.”
…… Imposter? Wasn’t that——
——Ding d-ong.
“…… ah!!”
My body stiffened at the sudden ringing bell.
——Ding d-ong.
Were my parents not home today ……?
The doorbell rang again.
I very cautiously moved closer to the entrance.
I didn’t want to hear the noise of the TV any more than I did, and even if it was just a delivery person, I wanted to talk to another person and be assured.
——Ding d-ong.
I approached the front door, and very slowly brought my eye close to the peephole.
….. Was my eye being reflected? For some reason, I couldn’t make out who was outside.
The scent of out-of-season flowers drifted in from outside.
“……?”
——Ker-chak!
——Ding dong ding dong.
Ker-chak!! Ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak!!
Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong!!
………… Ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak!!
“….. Eek!!”
The doorknob moved so violently it seemed likely to break.
I let out a loud shriek against my will, and fell back on my bottom.
Ker-chak ……
Hearing my voice, the doorknob stopped moving.
“…………. Why won’t you come out?”
Forcing my body to move, I bolted.
I returned to my room, curled up in my bed and under the blankets, and covered my ears.
There was still the television noise, and the distant, intense knocking sounds and sounds of the doorknob being turned, mixing in with the doorbell ringing. I didn’t know if the announcer’s voice was still speaking or not.
“Help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me!!”
I muttered this in a prayer.
I didn’t want to hear anything anymore; I didn’t want to see anything anymore—!
“Why won’t you come out? Hey? Why? Hey! Heeeeeey!!”
I heard the sound of something loud from far away, and my body stiffened even further.
“No no no no!! No stop it stop it!! Help me help me!!”
It was strange that in this kind of situation, that person’s face would suddenly drift into my thoughts.
…… That mean, sarcastic smile ……
“Help meee …………………………………. A-yaaa …..”
The sign of someone entering the room.
The sound of the TV being turned off.
The silence that followed.
——And then!
My covers were ripped off, and what stared at my face at point-blank were … those eyes.
This would be the second time we had made eye contact.
They moved away from me slightly, and I was able to see their entire figure as a happy smile spread on their face.
It was an appearance I was so used to seeing, I wasn’t even surprised.
——Without a doubt, the person there was ……
“…… I will protect you.”
Saying this in a very, very kind tone,
they raised the scissors they had up high.
Ahh, I get it now.
….. The culprit is …..
*
“xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”
——The TV that had fallen to the floor illuminated the wall of the room with strange pattens.
Mixed with loud white noise, the announcer’s voice could be heard from the TV.
“This is the Weather Report. Today, there will be a nationwide Imposter Advisory. Please be careful.
Furthermore, we will be announcing the victims thus far. The victims are the person who performed One-Man Hide and Seek, and the person who ignored the demands made. Tomorrow’s victims are ………….”
Part 4, final part of the Imposter Advisory chapter. Masterpost for the novel translation here.
—I am perfect.
“B-ko-chan, you’re so cute!”
“Right? And great style, too, like an idol.”
“Smart, and a great personality …. I really envy you~”
“Eh— …. Oh come on, that’s not true.”
“It totally is!”
“Good reflexes, too! It’s a shame you’re not into any club~”
“Hmm …. Compared to people that are in clubs though, it’s nothing.”
“Oh, stop being so modest. Plus, you’re really popular with the guys.”
“Isn’t she—? But it’s B-ko, so of course she is~”
“If I was a guy, I’d confess to you too!”
“Ahaha”
“So, so, do you have a crush on anyone, or someone you want to go out with?’
“Hmm~ …. I don’t really know about that~”
“Eh—That’s so boring~”
“But, you know, honestly, there probably isn’t any guy that’s worthy of dating a girl like B-ko.”
“You said it.”
“Anyway, if you find a crush or anything, make sure you tell us! You have to!”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
“It’s a promise~!”
“A promise!”
“Ah, oh no, class is about to start.”
—Yes, I am perfect.
A perfect …… ‘imposter.’
One of my classmates jogged up close to me.
“…… Ah, hey, B-ko.”
“What is it? Was there still something you needed?”
“…… Weeell, it’s not really that important, but ……”
“…… Hm?”
“Ah, yeah …… Um ….”
“?”
“………… B-ko, did you change your shampoo?”
—I am perfect.
“B-ko-chan, you’re so cute!”
“Right? And great style, too, like an idol.”
“Smart, and a great personality …. I really envy you~”
“Eh— …. Oh come on, that’s not true.”
“It totally is!”
“Good reflexes, too! It’s a shame you’re not into any club~”
“Hmm …. Compared to people that are in clubs though, it’s nothing.”
“Oh, stop being so modest. Plus, you’re really popular with the guys.”
“Isn’t she—? But it’s B-ko, so of course she is~”
“If I was a guy, I’d confess to you too!”
“Ahaha”
“So, so, do you have a crush on anyone, or someone you want to go out with?’
“Hmm~ …. I don’t really know about that~”
“Eh—That’s so boring~”
“But, you know, honestly, there probably isn’t any guy that’s worthy of dating a girl like B-ko.”
“You said it.”
“Anyway, if you find a crush or anything, make sure you tell us! You have to!”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
“It’s a promise~!”
“A promise!”
“Ah, oh no, class is about to start.”
—Yes, I am perfect.
A perfect ‘imposter.’
All people live their lives wearing different “masks.”
For example, when talking with classmates, when talking with teachers, when talking with family …..
Each and every one requires a different expression.
More than other people are, I am extremely skilled at creating perfect masks.
Come to think of when, when I was younger, being constantly transferred to different schools at my parents’ convenience may have also been one of the reason for this.
How to not make enemies …. It wouldn’t be too dark to call it that.
How many people could I get to like me? How could I lessen my number of enemies? … I was a child that spent a lot of time thinking about that kind of thing.
Summing it all up, there is the perfect me of now.
…. But, this is not “me.”
The one that everyone praises, envies, relies on, likes, and confesses to, is completely different person from the real me.
Cunning, and with emotions always out in the open.
That kind of person dwelled inside of me.
“No one sees the real me.”
Somewhere down the line, I became enveloped by a sense of isolation, as if trapped by the people that surrounded me.
I began to worry about the gap between the actual me, and the person everyone wanted me to be. After more than ten years of this, I’d become so accustomed to this way of getting by it in life that it became a part of me, and problem-free as it has always been, I began my high school life favorably.
—However, one day, something irregular happened.
A very small, very minor “rumor” spread throughout the whole class.
“It seems that B-ko used to be a gyaru when she was in middle school.”
Such silly gossip.
In reality, the students that had graduated from the same middle school as I had denied this immediately, but the speed in which this rumor had spread was abnormal.
I had never felt so much anger.
Don’t think that you can so easily destroy the invincible mask that I created.
Don’t you dare think you can destroy this “imposter,” that I’ve gone as far as sacrificing myself to create!
—I would find the culprit.
Acting like I had no interest in the rumor at all, I began to make my move to locate the source.
“That’s a weird story. But who did you hear it from?”
Everyone I asked gave me a vague answer.
Somehow or other. From a rumor. Those were the only answers I received.
Finding the culprit was more difficult than I had imagined, and without getting any results, several days passed.
However, one day, I passed by a student in the back of the school where the dumpsters were.
At first, I thought about going back to classroom right away because the stench of the trash was getting to me, but I immediately noticed that that student was giving off a certain atmosphere, as if he were trying not to stand out.
—I instinctively thought that he was the culprit.
“…. Hey, you, hold up for a minute.”
“Hm? What is it, B-ko-san?”
“….. Um …. This is …. our first time meeting, right?”
“Ahh, that’s right, now that I think about it. Since you’re so famous, it doesn’t really feel like this is our first time talking at all. Fufu …. I’m A-ya, nice to meet you.”
There’s no mistake. It was him.
I made no attempt to hide my suspicion.
“Why did you do it?’
“…. Hm? What do you mean?”
“…. I’m asking you, why did you spread that rumor? ….”
“…. Huh …..”
“—I won’t let you play innocent!”
A short silence.
Most likely due to my tone turning harsh, or rather, because my true nature was shown on my face.
He looked slightly surprised for a moment, but soon grinned again.
“…. Sorry. I apologize. But, you’re even more interesting than I thought you’d be.”
“Shut up. More importantly, tell me the reason why you did it.”
“…. Don’t have one.”
The added stench of the trash only further increased by growing irritation at his attitude that seemed to be ridiculing the world, and everyone in it, and my mood turned even harsher.
“It was just a bit of a survey.”
“…. Survey?”
“’Right. Of how a rumor would spread. The way your rumor spread was extraordinary.”
“ …. What?”
“When it comes to rumors, the content matters too, but what’s important is how you spread them.”
“?”
“Who you tell it to, the order you tell it, what kind of rumor you’re trying to spread—if you don’t consider all of this, the rumor won’t be convincing.”
“…. Convincing? No matter how far a rumor goes, isn’t it just a rumor?”
“In this world, there are only things that seem like the truth, and things that seem like lies.”
“…. What do you mean?”
“Well, long story short, this is something like the only hobby I have in my boring life.”
“Could you not use people for that tasteless hobby of yours?”
“Hmm …. I don’t know about that. Anyway, I’m more interested in how you knew that it was me.”
After thinking for a moment, I continued speaking.
“…… Because you weren’t just studying people’s reactions for no reason.”
“…. Haha! How interesting!”
Covering his face with one hand, as if he wasn’t able to bear it, he said this while laughing.
I felt like I had played the wrong hand by thinking it would be fine to show him my true personality.
“I wonder if it’s because we’re two of the same bunch …. Although we’re on completely opposite vectors.”
“….. What does that even mean?”
“We both live with awareness of peoples’ rumors. I try not to stand out, while you get along well with people …. Well, although that’s similar to how my childhood friend is, the level you’re at is something to be feared.”
“….. Could you not talk about people like they’re some kind of disease?”
“You’ve been checking the surroundings since earlier. If someone else comes by, surely you’ll go right back to being the usual B-ko-san?”
“……..”
“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. Well then, see ya.”
“…. Wait!”
—And this was how I met A-ya.
After this, he showed no sign of remorse for his actions, and instead continued to make up false stories about me.
Other than those, I also heard many rumors that seemed to be created by his hand.
All of them in the form of letters, so beautifully written that it was despicable, with the source of the rumor being unknown. And although all of them had occult-like elements in them, they were spread among the students as something credible.
As I continued to chase him down to question him, for some reason, I eventually came to participate in meetings in the old school building.
And from this, I realized something.
It would seem that I liked things that had to do with the “occult.”
Although I had never shown passion towards anything in my life, when I heard things about the occult, I would feel a tingling feeling of excitement in the depths of my heart.
When I had heard about how in the past, there was an incident at this school when students died an unnatural death, I got goosebumps from being both afraid and indiscreetly interested.
Well, in any case, this was how I was currently living my everyday life as a perfect “imposter,” and after school, as a member of a group that met to share “rumors.”
—It happened one day at lunch.
Whenever I felt that I needed a breather sometimes, I would go up to the roof and simply gaze at the sky.
Unfortunately, today the weather was overcast. There was an unpleasant odor in the air on cloudy days, so I didn't like them.
However, due to this, few people came up to the roof, so that was the one good thing about it.
Taking a brief rest on the peaceful, empty roof ….. had been my intention. However, recently, even that had been taken from me.
“B-ko-chan~”
“….. As I thought, you’re here again …..”
“Eh~ It’s just a coincidence~”
This smiling girl’s name was D-ne.
Unlike me, she was a short and delicate girl, with characteristic long, pretty black hair.
For some reason, whenever I decided to go up to the room, she would be there.
I felt scared because it was like she was reading my mind, but since it seemed that she cared about me, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to her.
By the way, she’s also one of the members of our after school group at the old school building, so she knew about my other side.
“But, y’know, I never get to talk to B-ko-chan like this, so I’m happy that we can when we’re here.”
“Why don’t you just talk to me?”
“…. That’s because, there’s always so many people around B-ko-chan ……”
“Hm~ ….. Well, you’ve got a point~ …..”
Although I wouldn’t call them my followers or anything, it was true that there was always someone with me.
Including the fact that D-ne was from a different class, she probably didn’t have many chances to talk to me.
However, I did notice that she seemed to admire me a lot.
“You shouldn’t worry about it so much, you know?”
“I know. But I like B-ko-chan, so I’m just happy that we’re able to talk.”
Saying this, she grinned again.
Her long hair swayed, and gave off the scent of shampoo.
I laughed awkwardly, and once more turned to stare up at the sky that seemed to signal rain.
“I heard that B-ko’s imposter appeared.”
From somewhere on the roof, we heard someone say this.
The spot that we were in was slightly secluded, and in the shadow of a smaller building, making it a blind spot for the people that were talking.
“What do you mean by imposter?”
“Like, while B-ko’s in her house, it’s going around places at night?”
“Eh? What? Like some kind of monster?”
“I dunno. But you know, B-ko’s a nice girl, so it feels like it’ll build up?”
“Build up? What will!?”
“Ahaha, that’s not it! I mean like, that “I want to go out~” feeling builds up.”
“I don’t get what you’re saying at all~”
“But like, I heard there’s people that really saw it~ ….”
—I had an intuitive feeling that this was A-ya’s rumor.
Know that it was about me was proof enough, but if it was combined with some kind of occult-like thing, then there was no mistaking it.
“How dare he …..”
“Ufufu ….. B-ko’s cute when she’s angry, too.”
“…. I’m going straight to the old building after school.”
“Understood.”
As the time signaled the end of the lunch break, the sky darkened once more, and the falling rain enveloped the school in noise.
*
—After school, I went with D-ne to the old school building right away.
Once we got to the second floor and opened the door of what had originally been the music room, we found that someone was already there.
“Oh? You seem awfully angry today.”
The one that was smiling like an idiot as usual.
This was A-ya’s childhood friend, C-ta.
“….. Can’t you do something about that childhood friend of yours?”
Putting down our bags, D-ne and I sat down in our usual seats.
“Ahh, that rumor, you mean? Isn’t it a masterpiece? As usual, it’s the best.”
“…. Why you ….”
Just as I started to draw closer to C-ta, we heard the sound of the door sliding open again.
“…. Hey.”
—It was A-ya.
“No, it’s not just ‘hey’ …. I don’t really care about your bad tastes, but would you stop using people as your topics?”
“…. What’re you talking about?”
“…. Don’t act like you don’t know!”
Desperately trying to suppress my anger, I glared at A-ya.
“Look, don’t call smoke where there’s no fire. I only meant it as a little prank.”
“…. Why you …”
“If someone happened to see you right now, won’t they think you’re an impostor?”
“I’m serious, if you don’t stop now ….”
“—But, I think it’s wonderful that B-ko-chan has that dual nature.”
As I was about to grab A-ya by the collar, D-ne’s cheerful words came directed at me.
“Dual nature … You’re saying it like I have a split personality.”
“Well, to be honest, it’s at a level where it really seems you might?”
Despite the bluntness of her words, D-ne affirmed this with a carefree smile.
Completely out of steam by now, I merely returned to the seat I had been sitting in before.
“Pfft, as usual, B-ko has a soft spot for D-ne, huh?”
“Oh, shut up.”
….. In any case, we had gathered in the old building again today without any objective or motivation. However, recently we had discovered something, and our activities had suddenly become livelier.
—That discovery was “a diary from ten years ago.”
An exchange diary belonging to the students from ten years ago that had gathered “occult stories” in this old school building, just like us. Many of those stories were ones we had never heard before, and made us really excited.
And within those were mentions of the “Book of Demise” and “Bookmark of Demise,” urban legends that have been told in this school.
They had obtained these two items, and …… ——died.
“…. That’s why … Perhaps this has something to do with the “Bookmark of Demise", is what I’ve been thinking.”
A-ya, who was telling us about an unnatural phenomenon that had been occurring around him recently, suddenly said this.
“…. Anyway, the last attempt at ‘Kokkuri-san’ failed.”
“Failed ….?”
“We weren’t able to obtain either the “Book of Demise” nor the “Bookmark of Demise,” right?”
“… It’s true that we didn’t do it as it said in the rules … but …”
I …. No, everyone in this room could predict, and expect what his next words would be.
“…. Let’s do it one more time.”
*
In this way, we began “Kokkuri-san” for the sake of obtaining the “Bookmark of Demise,” just as it was written in the diary. I don’t think that the method differs too much from the usual Kokkuri-san. However, this time we made sure to take careful steps and perform it exactly as written in the diary.
“Next, everyone will ask each other questions in turn. To start off, someone try asking me something.”
“… Okay, was A-ya’s dinner last night made of meat?”
“…. What’s up with that?”
A-ya made an almost amazed face at my question.
“… It’s the only thing I could think of on the spot.”
“Ah, it’s started moving.”
“…… It says “yes” ….What did you eat?”
“It was hamburger steak …”
“So, it was right then … Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please return to the gate.”
Right now, I was being hit by a strange sensation in the back of my mouth.
And yet, the beat of my heart was conveying an excitement I had never felt before.
With my eyes open, I unblinkingly followed the movement of the ten-yen coin.
“Then, next is B-ko …. Does B-ko have a crush on anyone?”
All of a sudden, A-ya asked a completely nonsensical question.
“Wait! What kind of question is that!?”
“Look, B-ko-chan, it’s not good if you don’t calm down.”
“…. Ah, ahhh ….. geez …”
With no regard to my will, the ten-yen coin moved smoothly.
“So it’s ‘yes?” …… Huh …”
“A-ya! If you’re going to ask, why’re you reacting like that!?
“When I thought it over, I wasn’t actually that curious, that’s all …. Ah, Kokkuri-san, Kokkuri-san, please return to the gate.”
This guy was probably thinking about using this information for another rumor of his.
How totally rude ….
“….. !! N-next is D-ne’s turn. Here I go!”
“Go ahead.”
“Does D-ne have a crush on anyone!?”
When D-ne and I made eye contact at the same time, she asked this.
“Are you fine with it being such a boring question?”
Once again, the ten-yen coin moved straight to “yes.”
“Huh, so D-ne has someone that she likes, too?”
“Eh? That’s because I love B-ko.”
She said this, smiled brightly, and looked at me.
…. It’s no use. I couldn’t keep calm if D-ne was going to say something like that.
*
—Looking back on it now, we might have made a grave mistake.
I was so shocked at the time, and can only recall in bits and pieces now.
There had been a sudden intense noise.
The announcement that could be heard from the TV.
I felt a great chill pass through my spine, as if it had been replaced with a stick of ice.
My mouth tasted like I’d swallowed something that was too sweet, too spicy, and too salty, all at once.
Perhaps because my ears had been disoriented from the sudden deafening noise, it sounded too quiet because it was too loud, or was it too loud because it was too quiet—I wasn’t able to tell the difference. Despite that, for some reason, I could clearly distinguish the robotic sound of the announcer’s voice.
“——Due to a single traitor, a “fox”, the game has begun.”
Yes, we would become involved in the worst game …..
However, at that time, we had to yet to understand even 1% of what true fear was like.
“….. Wh-what was that ….. j-just now ….?”
“…… I don’t know.”
“…… “Fox”? Traitor …..?”
“…… I-it’s just some kind of bad joke, right …..?”
“……..”
Everyone was silent, and looking at each other.
In the dim classroom, all of us had pale faces.
A long period of time passed …… In truth, it was probably not even longer than a minute, but …. The silence dragged on. Someone spoke up, saying, “…. Anyway, let’s just go home for today …” and on their suggestion, we left the school.
The next thing I knew, I was at home.
Frankly, I couldn’t even remember how I’d gotten home.
That had all been a dream. A prank. A lie. A fake. A superstition.
I muttered these things like a chant.
When I wake up tomorrow, my usual, problem-free, everyday life would begin again.
Praying for this, I lay shivering in my bed, waiting for morning to come …..
However, speaking from the results, my prayer would not be fulfilled.
—The next day, my classmate had been cut into an upper body and lower body, and died.
—When the bodies had been found during the lunch break, a strange atmosphere soon fell over the school.
While the police were investigating on scene, the students were all made to wait in the classrooms. However, my classmates didn’t seem to grasp the reality of the situation, treating it like something shown on TV from somewhere else, and gave off a festive mood, just like the others and I would have if not for what happened yesterday.
In the middle of this festivity, I sat alone at my desk, staring at the wood grain and thinking it over.
There’s no mistake. There’s absolutely no mistaking it. It had to be.
This was the work of the “Bookmark of Demise.”
If someone other than us had died, it meant that someone had surely gotten their hands on a letter, and looked inside.
But that would mean that we were sure to be killed, as well.
In the same way? Or in an even more brutal way?
No, no, no, I’m scared I’m scared I’m so scared …..!
Eventually, other than the select group of students that were taken in for questioning, everyone else was ordered to go home. However, just like I had yesterday, I headed straight for the old building.
In the usual classroom, all the members from yesterday were already there.
“——Hey, who told him? ——Who’s the traitor!?”
I surprised even myself with how loud my voice was.
But I soon understood that shouting wouldn’t amount to anything.
…. In the end, we confirmed that we could do nothing about the situation, and decided to all go home early that day.
Unable to relax at all, D-ne and I went to a small city library a short distance away from the school …..
*
“….. B-ko-chan …..”
D-ne was looking at me in concern. Because it was a smaller library, with the added fact that it was past noon on a weekday, there was no one else here besides us.
There was one staff person at the counter, but because we were sitting at a table in the very back of the bookshelves, the two of us were completely alone.
“….. Are you okay?”
Putting her hand on the back of mine, D-ne asked me again.
I pulled my hand away slowly, and muttered a quiet, “Thanks, but I’m fine.”
“…..”
Even so, D-ne still looked worried, and continued to look at me.
“….. I’m sorry that I lost it.”
“….. It’s okay.”
“Somehow … seems like it’s not a dream, huh ….? It’d be nice if it were, but somehow, I still can’t believe it …..”
“….. Yeah.”
“I-I’ve been a little curious about …. Well, it’s more like … Look, we didn’t obtain the “Book” or the “Bookmark,” so ….”
“Yeah.”
“…. So … that’s why I think …. It won’t be like ten years ago, so ….”
“………”
“………”
“…. B-ko-cha——“
“Ahaha, sorry! I know that I’m a liar …. And it’s useless no matter what a fat liar like me says, but …. I didn’t betray anyone, I’m not a traitor, I——“
“B-ko-chan!”
“…… kh!”
I had been looking down the entire time, but when I lifted my face, I saw D-ne right in front of me.
Her face was very kind, and her expression looked so warm and gentle.
And then, she took hold of my hand again. This time, her grip was firmer than before.
“—I’ll protect you, B-ko. So …. Please don’t worry.”
—Protect. It was a word I didn’t understand very well, so to me, it sounded nothing more than a baseless, meaningless promise.
If I thought about it, D-ne probably felt the same way, but because I seemed so upset, she said this just to cheer me up.
I found myself calming down a little bit. Just a little bit.
“…. Thank you.”
“Mm-hm. Because .. I love B-ko-chan.”
She said this, and faced me with her usual smile.
“… I see. Thank you. I really like you too.”
All of a sudden, D-ne rose up from her chair with a clatter, and brought her face close to mine. And then—
“…. What I said before …. It’s not a lie.”
—Her lips pressed against mine.
I caught the scent of the shampoo that D-ne always used. Ahh, this had to be fragrant olive … was what … I thought ….
Part 3 of the Imposter Advisory chapter. Masterpost for the novel translation here.
(Just imagine that one part is in very large, bold font, and filling up two pages in a book, since there’s only so much I can do with Tumblr html.)
I had come back to my own room.
I collapsed on my bed as always, and stared up at the ceiling in a daze, remembering everything that happened today. There had just been so much, I felt like I’d had been surprises for a lifetime.
But right now, I felt strangely calm.
No, it was probably just because there were too many things I couldn’t find of a reason for, and my mind had given up on thinking altogether.
“……”
I lightly touched my lips.
I, who was such a shallow person, obsessed with building good relations and not having any enemies, had obviously never had a romantic relationship with anyone in particular.
And yet, although I wouldn’t brag about it …. I had just had my first kiss.
It had been stolen by a female friend.
I wasn’t upset by it, but then, was I happy about it? Even if you were to ask me that, I wouldn’t really know how to answer.
In any case, after kissing me, D-ne had said, “I’ll be going home now,” and left the library without me.
After sitting there in a daze for several minutes, I realized it would be scary to go home once it got dark, and soon walked home.
“Aaah, geez! I just don’t get it~!”
As my face reddened, and my feelings of fear came back along with other restless emotions, thinking gradually became a pain.
Anyway, I’d change out of my school clothes and take a bath to freshen up!
With that in mind, I began to undress. When I took off my blazer, I noticed D-ne’s remaining scent, and sprayed it with freshener several times to get rid of it. No matter who it was, I was the kind of person that didn’t like scents.
I walked over to my closet, and when I saw my reflection in the mirror, I realized for the first time that my favorite ribbon was missing.
….. Huh? Had I dropped it somewhere ……?
I had several ribbons just like that one, so it wasn’t that it bothered me that much, but I tried looking for it in my bag, anyway. Right at that moment, my cell phone vibrated.
“B-ko~ It was crazy today, huh~”
It was a mobile chat from a girl I got along with in class.
I sat down on my bed and began typing back on my phone.
“Yeah, it was~”
“You looked like you were really shocked, B-ko, so I was just wondering if you were okay~”
“Well, I was really startled at the time, but I’m fine now.”
“I see~ That’s good, then.”
“Sorry for worrying you”
“No, it’s okay~ You went off somewhere instead of going home, so I was a little worried”
“There was just something I was curious about~”
“Ah, okay. Well, I don’t think it’s a good idea to be alone so much right now. It’s scary, anyway”
“Yeah”
“Plus, B-ko stands out”
“Eh~ Come on, That’s not true”
“It so is~”
Before I could finish writing my reply to this silly banter, my classmate replied with something else, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw her words.
“—Like a while ago, what were you doing in front of the train station?”
“?”
“You were in front of the station ten minutes ago, weren’t you?”
The station was in the opposite direction of my house, and ten minutes ago, I had definitely been in my room already.
“Didn’t you mistake me for someone else?”
“Eh~ I thought it was B-ko, but was I wrong? She was wearing a ribbon, too”
“Yeah, I’ve been at home”
“I guess I did mistake you for someone else. But after something like that, I was worried”
“It’s okay. I think it was just another girl from our school”
“Okay~ Well, talk to you later, then”
“Okay—“
….. What did this mean?
Could it, for instance, be a rumor that A-ya had spread?
But was it really something that she’d go out of her way to confirm, especially today, under these circumstances?
Judging from her personality, I didn’t think she was the type to mess with people.
Had she heard A-ya’s rumor before, and just come to make sure after seeing a student that looked like me ….?
However, the words: “she was wearing a ribbon,” held my interest …..
Where in the world had the ribbon I’d been wearing today gone?
I picked up my bag again and searched its contents thoroughly.
If I could at least find the ribbon, I thought that I would be reassured a little.
If I didn’t, it would only leave me confused.
“…..?”
Inside of a pocket on the interior of my bag. Personally, I didn’t use that pocket much, so I was barely aware of it on a regular basis, but at the very least, there shouldn’t have been anything inside of it ……
——There, was a single letter.
I knew from my instincts.
This was “that letter.”
The “letter” that must not be delivered, which signaled of the Demise Game,
As the signal of the true start of the game, it was also a declaration of the end.
….. Written inside here was something that I had to do.
If I wasn’t able to carry out the demand, I would die.
“Split into an upper half and bottom half, it looks like he died in excruciating pain ….”
The rumor I heard after the lunch break echoed in my head.
The lost lower body, and the wandering upper body that was searching for it—it was a gruesome murder, like from an urban legend ….. No. I’m scared. I’m scared. I’m so scared. Just stop. If this is a nightmare, just let me wake up already …..!!
——Thud.
I was surprised by a sudden dull sound, and turned my head in that direction.
“—Eek ……!”
——On top of my studying desk was a “book” I had never seen before, and inside of it, a “bookmark”.
“Noooooooooooooooooooooo!!”
A scream that was like a whining child.
….. And then, despair.
I backed into a corner of my room, grasping my hair and face, and simply remained crouched in that position.
Several hours passed, and my parents came home.
My parents, who had seen the news and heard about what happened from their friends, were worried about me, and tried talking to me kindly.
However, I simply told them, “Just leave me alone for now,” and locked myself in my room.
*
School was closed for a week.
I avoided contact with my parents, and just sat hugging my knees in my room, and doing nothing else for the first and second day.
On the third day, I decided to get rid of the letter, book, and bookmark. I snuck out of my house at night and went to a nearby park, throwing all of them away in a secluded place. The scent of the flowers in the park was strong, and made me feel sick. I thought something might happen as soon as I got home, but nothing did, and morning came.
By the fourth day, my classmates seemed to already be going out and enjoying the week off from school, as if the incident had nothing to do with them. They invited me to go out as well, but I simply refused with, “Sorry.”
And then, the fifth day came.
Several invitation mails came from my classmates again today.
Among those, there were probably some friends that were genuinely worried, but I could only think of each and every one of them as heartless people.
It might be strange for me to say it, when I was someone so shallow and only interested in getting along with people, but someone had died. So how could they treat this situation so lightly? If I became like them, would I be able to take it easy, too?
“Something really crazy happened, huh? Are you okay?”
Would I send a mail like that, too?
I didn’t even have to ask myself. Of course I would send mails like that, and since I had all this free time, I would go out and have fun. Should I move on? What was I even saying? In other words, I was that kind of a person. Heartless.
Just as I was thinking about this, I received another mail from a classmate.
Wondering how many mails I’d received by now, I reached out to pick up my phone again, but stopped short.
“So you really did come~”
….. Once again, I could not believe my eyes.
An unpleasant sweat ran down the nape of my neck.
“What are you talking about?”
“Eh? You were at the mall earlier, weren’t you?”
“I wasn’t. Why’re you lying like that?”
“It’s not a lie! I’m sure that it was you, B-ko! Cut it out ……”
……..
“B-ko? Hey, what’s wrong? You’re acting kind of weird”
………………..
“—B-ko?”
I stopped replying to that girl’s messages.
The sixth day came.
Today, it had been raining since morning. After several days of this irregular routine in my dark room, I had lost sense of time.
What time was it right now?
Perhaps one day had already passed, and as if counting down, another morning had come.
In the end, I’d received many mails today as well, about how I’d been seen outside.
My imposter was walking around town …..?
Was this also because of the “Bookmark of Demise”?
Just what was this ……? What the hell is this!?!
——Pipipipipipipipi!
“……. ah!”
A sudden electronic sound rang out. It was the sound of an incoming call on my cell phone.
The call was, surprisingly …… from C-ta.
Although we had exchanged phone numbers, I had never received a call from C-ta before now, so I couldn’t help but be a little cautious.
“….. H-hello?”
“………………………………………. A-ya’s been killed.”
——Click. Beep ……. Beep …….
That was it.
In such a small voice that I couldn’t even be sure really belonged to C-ta or not, that was all he said.
“…… Eh?”
I answered with this, despite the fact that the other side of the line was already cut off.
…… What did he mean?
A-ya was …… killed ……?
He wasn’t dead, but killed ……?
I stared off vacantly into space without blinking.
The room became enveloped in silence.
And then, as if it to interrupt the silence once more, there was the sudden sound of noise.
Even though I hadn’t touched the TV or the remote, white noise started coming from it.
….. This was … the same as that day ……!
“…… Good morning. We bring you today’s Weather Report.”
The announcer’s monotone voice echoed around the small room.
The way the voice talked so indifferently sounded terribly inhumane.
“Today, a city-wide Imposter Advisory has been officially announced …… Please be careful.”
…… Imposter? Wasn’t that——
——Ding d-ong.
“…… ah!!”
My body stiffened at the sudden ringing bell.
——Ding d-ong.
Were my parents not home today ……?
The doorbell rang again.
I very cautiously moved closer to the entrance.
I didn’t want to hear the noise of the TV any more than I did, and even if it was just a delivery person, I wanted to talk to another person and be assured.
——Ding d-ong.
I approached the front door, and very slowly brought my eye close to the peephole.
….. Was my eye being reflected? For some reason, I couldn’t make out who was outside.
The scent of out-of-season flowers drifted in from outside.
“……?”
——Ker-chak!
——Ding dong ding dong.
Ker-chak!! Ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak!!
Ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong ding dong!!
………… Ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak ker-chak!!
“….. Eek!!”
The doorknob moved so violently it seemed likely to break.
I let out a loud shriek against my will, and fell back on my bottom.
Ker-chak ……
Hearing my voice, the doorknob stopped moving.
“…………. Why won’t you come out?”
Forcing my body to move, I bolted.
I returned to my room, curled up in my bed and under the blankets, and covered my ears.
There was still the television noise, and the distant, intense knocking sounds and sounds of the doorknob being turned, mixing in with the doorbell ringing. I didn’t know if the announcer’s voice was still speaking or not.
“Help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me help me!!”
I muttered this in a prayer.
I didn’t want to hear anything anymore; I didn’t want to see anything anymore—!
“Why won’t you come out? Hey? Why? Hey! Heeeeeey!!”
I heard the sound of something loud from far away, and my body stiffened even further.
“No no no no!! No stop it stop it!! Help me help me!!”
It was strange that in this kind of situation, that person’s face would suddenly drift into my thoughts.
…… That mean, sarcastic smile ……
“Help meee …………………………………. A-yaaa …..”
The sign of someone entering the room.
The sound of the TV being turned off.
The silence that followed.
——And then!
My covers were ripped off, and what stared at my face at point-blank were … those eyes.
This would be the second time we had made eye contact.
They moved away from me slightly, and I was able to see their entire figure as a happy smile spread on their face.
It was an appearance I was so used to seeing, I wasn’t even surprised.
——Without a doubt, the person there was ……
“…… I will protect you.”
Saying this in a very, very kind tone,
they raised the scissors they had up high.
Ahh, I get it now.
….. The culprit is …..
*
“xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx”
——The TV that had fallen to the floor illuminated the wall of the room with strange pattens.
Mixed with loud white noise, the announcer’s voice could be heard from the TV.
“This is the Weather Report. Today, there will be a nationwide Imposter Advisory. Please be careful.
Furthermore, we will be announcing the victims thus far. The victims are the person who performed One-Man Hide and Seek, and the person who ignored the demands made. Tomorrow’s victims are ………….”
Part 4, final part of the Imposter Advisory chapter. Masterpost for the novel translation here.
—I am perfect.
“B-ko-chan, you’re so cute!”
“Right? And great style, too, like an idol.”
“Smart, and a great personality …. I really envy you~”
“Eh— …. Oh come on, that’s not true.”
“It totally is!”
“Good reflexes, too! It’s a shame you’re not into any club~”
“Hmm …. Compared to people that are in clubs though, it’s nothing.”
“Oh, stop being so modest. Plus, you’re really popular with the guys.”
“Isn’t she—? But it’s B-ko, so of course she is~”
“If I was a guy, I’d confess to you too!”
“Ahaha”
“So, so, do you have a crush on anyone, or someone you want to go out with?’
“Hmm~ …. I don’t really know about that~”
“Eh—That’s so boring~”
“But, you know, honestly, there probably isn’t any guy that’s worthy of dating a girl like B-ko.”
“You said it.”
“Anyway, if you find a crush or anything, make sure you tell us! You have to!”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
“It’s a promise~!”
“A promise!”
“Ah, oh no, class is about to start.”
—Yes, I am perfect.
A perfect …… ‘imposter.’
One of my classmates jogged up close to me.
“…… Ah, hey, B-ko.”
“What is it? Was there still something you needed?”
“…… Weeell, it’s not really that important, but ……”
“…… Hm?”
“Ah, yeah …… Um ….”
“?”
“………… B-ko, did you change your shampoo?”
