Chapter 124: A Certain and Uain Future

  The day, when Alex arrived at school again, he received an invitation from Rika Furude.

  “Teacher Alex, please wait after school today. I have something I o discuss with you.”

  “I uand.”

  After hearing Rika's request, Alex nodded. In fact, even without her saying it, Alex could already guess what she inteo do.

  Soon, the day passed again. When dusk arrived, Alex returo the . There, the other members of the Student Life Club were already waiting. Seeing Alex appear, they were momentarily stunned.

  “Teacher?”

  “Were you also called here by Rika?”

  “That’s right,” Alex replied to Mion's inquiry, then g everyone else.

  “You too?”

  “Yeah,” Keiichi Maebara nodded, looking puzzled.

  “I don’t know why, but Rika asked me to stay after school. She said she had something important to tell us.”

  “She also asked me t Shion along...”

  Mion, equally baffled, g her sister Shion, who seemed even more fused.

  Though the group was collectively bewildered, Alex didn’t expin much. He had a faint inkling that Rika nning to reveal everything, but he couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding. As a divination mage, Alex had an innate gift for sensing outes.

  Perhaps due to his naturally sharp intuition, Alex had often been able to sense whether something was good or bad before it happened. And now, what Rika was about to do gave Alex an uneasy feeling, as if something was amiss.

  “Click.”

  At that moment, the door opened again, and Rika entered with Satoko in tow.

  Seeing everyohered, a smile appeared on Rika's cute little face.

  “Mii-paa, it seems everyone is here.”

  “Rika, what’s going on? Why did you call us here?”

  With the main character now present, curiosity spread among the group. Rika stepped forward with Satoko, looking at everyone.

  “Actually... I have something very important to tell you all.”

  “Something important?”

  “Yes,” Rika nodded in respoo Keiichi's question.

  “It’s about Hinamizawa...”

  Rika then began to reveal everything she knew, including how the "Hinamizawa Syndrome" was a disease caused by a parasitic anism, and the truth behind the deaths attributed to curses. She expihat the Irie Institute was secretly researg and treating the disease.

  Furthermore, Rika revealed the institute’s hidden tingen: if the Queen Carrier were to die, the entire vilge would be destroyed.

  Upon hearing Rika’s expnation, the group was stuhe revetions were beyond anything they could have imagined.

  “Is... is this true, Rika?”

  After a long silence, Mioated before asking.

  “Why hasn’t the Sonozaki family heard anything about this?”

  “This is cssified information. It’s impossible for the Sonozaki family to know about it.”

  Rika shook her head. In truth, even her knowledge was limited.

  Shion, oher hand, frowned in thought, her expression pensive.

  Not everyone, however, was vinced by Rika’s at.

  “But... Rika, are you saying... that these parasites really do all this?”

  Keiichi looked at the girl in front of him, utterly perplexed.

  “It sounds like some kind of horror story.”

  “I’m serious!”

  Rika smmed her hand on the desk in frustration. She hadn’t expected that, after summoning the ce to tell them the truth, they would doubt her.

  “But...”

  Faced with Rika’s rea, the group was visibly uneasy. It wasn’t surprising—they were just ordinary teenagers aced to peaceful daily life.

  Hearing about a "Hinamizawa Syndrome" caused by parasitic anisms, and that they might all be ied, felt utterly absurd.

  “That’s enough for today,” Alex interjected, sensing the tension in the room.

  “Rika’s story is indeed surprising, but I trust she wouldn’t lie to scare us. Besides, April Fools' Day is long past. For now, since everything that o be said has been said, everyone should go home, rest, and think about it. We’ll discuss this again tomorrow. And one more thing...”

  Alex paused, looking at the group.

  “This is a serious matter. Regardless of whether Rika’s story is true, I hope none of you share it with anyone else. Uood?”

  Hearing Alex’s words, the group exged gnces before noddiantly.

  Giveemosphere, Alex decided to things up.

  “All right, it’s already after school. Let’s all head home.”

  After Alex issued his instrus, the others left the . Even Rika Furude appeared dejected and disheartened. Alex, however, uood her rea. He had initially believed that if Rika shared the truth, everyone would accept it.

  But upon further refle, Alex realized why this didn’t go as expected. In a 30-minute anime episode, there’s no time to showcase every rea iail, so characters just accepted things as they were expined. Reality, however, wasn’t an anime.

  “Sigh...”

  Returning to his room, Alex gazed out the window, pressing a hand against his forehead. A faint, stabbing pain surfaced, leaving him slightly unfortable.

  It’s happening again... Oh well, I’ll rest for now.

  With that thought, Alex closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.

  Meanwhile, the others who had left the school reacted in various ways. Rika, g that she felt unwell, left with Satoko. The remaining group, however, seemed at a loss for how to respond.

  “Could what Rika said... really be true?” Keiichi frowned, lost in thought, muttering to himself.

  “You don’t believe her, Kei-?”

  Hearing his murmuring, Mion g the boy beside her.

  “To be ho, I find it hard to believe too. Sure, the ‘curses’ might just be legends, but calling it a parasitic disease? It just seems toe.”

  “I believe Rika,” Rena said, a trasting opinion as soon as Mion finished.

  “Even though what she said sounds unbelievable, I just feel like she’s telling the truth. I don’t know why, but it feels like I’ve sensed something simir before...”

  “Me too,” Shion uedly chimed in, agreeing with Rena.

  “To be ho, I had a very strange dream retly... It left me feeling uneasy. Somehow, I feel like that dream is deeply ected to what Rika said.”

  “A dream?”

  “It’s just a dream,” Mion interjected with a ugh as the others looked on curiously.

  “Shion here had this crazy dream where she killed me and Satoko and the around apologizing to us. Holy, I think she took it way too seriously.”

  “Ugh, I was really disturbed by it!” Shion’s face reddened as Mion revealed her secret.

  “That dream was so creepy. I didn’t just kill you; I killed Satoko and the old hag too... and even took your fingernails—”

  “Stop! Just hearing about it makes my hands hurt again!”

  “But... if what Rika said is true, shouldn’t we firm it?” Keiichi suddenly cpped his hands as if he’d e up with a brilliant idea.

  “Rika mentiohat the Irie ic is a research facility, right? Why don’t we go check it out? If we find proof that it’s a research b, then we’ll know Rika was telling the truth!”

  “Wait, wait, Keiichi!”

  Seeing Keiichi ready to act, Rena quickly reached out and grabbed his arm.

  “Did you fet what the teacher said? If Rika’s story is true, won’t this alert the enemy?”

  “But... but we need proof!”

  “So... are you saying yoing to disobey the teacher’s instrus?”

  An eerie voice floated through the group, as if carried on a cold wind. Rena stood with her head bowed, staring at the ground as though she hadn’t been the oo speak.

  Sensing something off, Keiichi took a step back.

  “I-I didn’t say that, but...”

  “The teacher told us, didn’t he, Keiichi?”

  Rena lifted her head, her unfocused eyes b into the boy in front of her.

  “Don’t tell others, and don’t do anything unnecessary. Whether or not you believe Rika, you know the truth deep down. So why do you insist on doing these poihings? Why, Keiichi?”

  “The teacher didn’t say we couldn’t act! And Rika practically spelled it out for us... Whatever! If you’re not ing, I’ll go alone!”

  With those words, Keiichi turned a without hesitation. The others, watg him leave, seemed to lose their resolve. After a moment of silehe group dispersed.

  Only Rena remained, staring at the dire Keiichi had gone. After a brief pause, she quietly followed, moving like a ghost in the night.

  (End of Chapter)

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