"So it wasn't something big after all."
"So hungry..."
"How troublesome."
I'd wanted to ask our leader about how exactly I would go about starting this investigation, but we were all ushered out of the briefing room before I could do so.
What exactly does Yuri do inside that room when she's left alone?
The group had swiftly disbanded, and I was already heading down to the cafeteria to grab a drink while thinking about what to do.
This interest in legends was to me, quite surprising in light of the Front's committed goal to fight God.
Do we really have time to be playing around with this world's "features"? Wouldn't our powers be used better if Yuri were to focus the Front's assets on things like say... offense?
Not that I would condone an all-out war with the NPCs here or anything.
Well, I guess I'll have to take Yuri's word at it for now.
I guess I should get going on that secret mission, who knows what terrible things she'd do to me if she caught me slacking off.
But first, I have to quench my thirst.
There was a strangely long line in front of the vending machines, almost prompting me to switch to another brand.
Following the rules of this world, I could've butted in line waving my gun around threateningly at the NPCs, and they wouldn't have batted an eyelash as I snuck away with my drink.
But if I did that, I'd be no better than those other idiots in the Front.
Hinata's smiling face popped out of nowhere in my mind. Damn that guy!
After finally getting the drink, I decided to head for the rooftop.
And no, it's not like I wanted to prove Hinata's theory. And besides, it wasn't lunchtime anymore, so the chance of meeting 'girl in sky' = 0.
As I stepped briefly into the corridor while I ascended the stairs, I caught a glimpse of some of the people in the Front on either side of the corridor.
Talk to the arguing couple
Accost TK
Talk to Chri- Takeyama
Continue to rooftop
Genuflect
Those things popped into my head for no reason as I watched them loiter across the corridor. Hinata and that tomboyish girl who's always following him around were having their usual (physical) argument down that way, TK was leaning on the window and doing butterfly strokes for some reason, and I caught a glimpse of Takeyama walking into a classroom.
And what was with that last option?
I decided to pick the fourth option, as I think now's not the time to get involved with anyone.
"Stop bickering in the hallways!"
I stopped climbing as soon as I heard that. Curious, I descended to try and peek around the corner.
Someone was scolding the troublesome couple, though from this angle I couldn't see much.
As I wasn't in the mood for a scolding myself, I quickly turned back the way I came and bounded the staircase by twos.
When I reached the door, I opened it just a bit slightly to see if anyone else was there.
Satisfied to find no one, I opened it all the way to head out into the empty rooftop.
The outside was unbearably hot, especially out here in the wide-open rooftop. At least there was a breeze flowing, allowing me to enjoy the view of the blue sky.
I headed for the railing, drink can in hand.
"Ow!"
The railing was HOT! I almost dropped the can in pain. I was an idiot not to have thought about it sooner, but I guess that's what you get when hanging around idiots.
The lazy breeze was able to soothe my lingering pain enough for me to finally open the can I had brought. A short hiss heralded my thirst-quenching gulps as I drank it all in.
Damn, it wasn't enough. As I swilled the few remaining drops in the can, I thought of my remaining thirst, and decided that it probably wasn't going to be good if I went down now - especially if anyone caught me heading in from the rooftop.
They (whoever they might be) might just force me to attend class or anything else Yuri warned us from-
CLANG!
This time, I did drop the can in surprise from the sound of the door opening, and as I turned my head quickly, I saw that it was an NPC standing in the doorway, staring sternly at me.
The can made even more metallic noises as it was rolled about on the floor by the breeze, and I struggled to ignore the impulse to pick it up as I locked eyes with the new arrival.
It was an NPC no doubt, judging from the uniform, but there was something else that struck me. There was something attached to her right sleeve, and after a thought, I read the lettering on it as "Disciplinary Committee." So she's an NPC from the disciplinary committee.
Wait, this school has something like that? This world has an amazing attention to detail.
The other thing I noticed about the girl, was the way she was actually noticeable, standing out from all the other NPCs in their drab and generic appearances. Her brown hair was bundled up in twin ponytails that weren't symmetric at all, one was to the side and the other...slightly off to the side. She was also carrying a cane of sorts, which she was now tapping the end of against her right hand in a threatening way.
Oh crap. True, I might be able to fight my way through an NPC, but that was something I didn't want to do unless I was in the worst of circumstances.
But on the other hand, I didn't want to face the punishment that was certainly being implied by those angry eyes, belonging to a cane-toting girl that was now moving closer to me.
I decided to play along.
"How do you do? This is a lovely day we are having isn't it?" I tried to smile as best I could, leaning my poor soon-to-be-burnt arms on the railing.
"Oh yes, it is indeed a lovely day."
I started at her voice. It seemed to be the same one I'd heard from below. Did she see me climb up after all? As I thought that, I sidestepped slightly from the rail, inching closer to the girl.
"A lovely day to go out and enjoy the sunshine!"
"What lovely sunshine!"
Man, she's an honest-to-goodness NPC, with the right responses so tailored in!
Unfortunately, it was also a weapon-toting NPC, so I had no time to enjoy my thoughts.
"First thing in the morning, I woke up and saw what a beautiful day it would be."
"What a beautiful day!"
We were already circling around, keeping our distances, as I sidestepped more and more to the door.
"I thought to myself, 'The only way to make this day even more beautful is to buy myself a can of my favorite drink'."
"What a nice thought!"
"And then, when I came to school, the day grew even-"
"Hey."
I stopped. I was about halfway to the door, the same as she. She pointed her weapon (a parasol?) at me threateningly when she stopped me. "There will be no more side-tracking. No more games. This. Ends. Now."
What the heck was with that type of speech? That usually preceded a final epic battle between bitter rivals.
"Come to think of it, what did I do wrong, Miss Girl from the Disciplinary Committee?" I said, trying to buy time.
"Wrong?" she seemed to hesitate as she tilted her head thoughtfully, lowering the weapon a notch. The sight was almost cute were it not for the current situation. "You are in the rooftop, and therefore are violating a rule. Plus, it's ultra-dangerous here."
"Ultra-dangerous? You mean people might be prone to...leaps of fancy or something?" Kind of useless in this world, but there you go.
"Worse than that," the girl replied grimly. "You see, sometimes when you're all alone, you hear a girl's voice-"
"Huh? Are you quoting the school legend?" I cut in.
She looked back at me, surprised. "Yes."
"Cut that out," I said exasperatedly. "It might be interesting to hear, but it's not exactly the type of story anybody wants to hear."
"Oh, are you such a scaredy cat?" she suddenly teased, her once pensive face lighting up in a grin.
"Scared of what? That story? It's not even scary!" But what a scary shift in personality!
"But the voice..."
"...is creepy, yeah, but it's a story set in noon, a time that's not creepy at all! In fact, quite honestly, it's just weird!"
"That's true..."
"And then..."I tried to inject a bit of my rationality here. God (if he really does exist here) knows I get a lot of over-the -top and normally impossible things happening right here, but the notion of the legends here being real were very much questionable.
And it would also deviate from the rules, if what Yuri said was true. By that, I mean: there would be legends, but they couldn't really exist, much like in the real weapons factory hundreds of feet below notwithstanding.
"They're just stories, mere stories..."
The girl's face had turned pensive again, looking even more cuter than before. I decided that now was a good time to make a run for it, but before I could move one step, the girl then spoke worriedly, "Then where did all those people go?"
"Huh?"
"Because," she said, her stern face now scrunched up in worry. The weapon had already been lowered to the ground in thought. "people have been reported missing, and no one knows where they went."
They're NPCs, no one should care...right?
"And the people that went missing, they were last seen going to the rooftop, at noon!"
A stronge breeze flew, making our clothes rustle fiercely. The girl wasn't meeting my eyes anymore, her parasol hanging limply to the side.
I was slightly taken aback at this, and it was enough to make me lose any more thoughts of escaping. As I digested what the girl had said, I recalled what Yuri said about my mission.
Hoax or not, this was a lead, and if I was able to discover what the mystery behind the disappearing acts was, I'd be able to accomplish my secret mission.
This would be a great starting point for me, on this secret mission #1...
And the first act would have to be: playing along with the NPC girl and her...probably misinformed thoughts.
Straightening myself, I said to the NPC girl in a voice that oozed interest, "Could you tell me more about it, Girl from the Disciplinary Committee?"