Chapter 4: First Day of Academy (4)

I gulped down dry saliva with a gulp.

This situation is dangerous.

“Jowolmuilsin?”

I needed to say something in response, but I couldn’t remember what I was about to say.

And the longer I hesitated, the sharper the suspicious glares from that thing became—so sharp it felt like the corners of its eyes would tear all the way to its ears.

My answer was instinctive.

“…Uh, well, I just heard someone say the bread at the snack bar is really good. Since I’m new here as a teacher, I was wondering if you could recommend any tasty bread?”

“…”

An eternity of silence passed.

…Did I mess up?

“Madlen ish good.”

Fortunately, it seemed my lie worked.

She gave me a short answer before walking past me and disappearing.

At the same time, the countless things that had been watching me also turned their gazes away.

…I survived.

Only after putting enough distance between myself and those grotesque humans—no, those strange creatures mimicking humans—could I finally let out a sigh of relief.

“…Haa. What were those things just now?”

Grotesque figures scattered among the students.

There’s a concept called the “uncanny valley.”

The idea that the more something resembles a human—but not quite—the more unsettling it becomes.

Those grotesque students fit that description perfectly.

When I was young, there was a cartoon on TV about fake humans made of konjac infiltrating human society and replacing real people.

They looked perfectly normal at first glance—just like ordinary students—but there was something indescribably off about them.

Strangely, though, the other students didn’t seem to notice anything unusual about them.

No—actually, I hadn’t noticed either.

Just yesterday, I hadn’t even realized they existed.

…Come to think of it, what would’ve happened if I had given away that I noticed them?

I’d rather not imagine.

I shook my head and decided to head back to the faculty office first.

Once I returned to the safety of the faculty office, I calmly assessed the situation.

A time loop repeating the same day over and over, and grotesque humans hiding among the students.

Two elements with no clear connection.

Were they related? Or were they separate incidents?

And if something this bizarre was happening, there’s no way I wouldn’t remember the title.

“Is something wrong? You don’t look so good.”

When I returned to the faculty office, Lydia asked me with a worried expression.

Was it that obvious? Not good.

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just worried about whether I’ll do well here at the academy.”

“Don’t worry! When I first started teaching, I struggled a lot too, but somehow I managed to pull through.”

Lydia smiled brightly, encouraging me after my half-hearted excuse.

I had thought she seemed fragile, but maybe she was tougher than I expected.

“Heheheh. I never thought I’d hear such words from you, Lydia. How surprising. Wasn’t it just the other day you were sobbing facedown in the faculty office after messing up a lesson?”

“Mr. Freshian! P-Please don’t tease me!”

The one who interrupted our conversation was a middle-aged man in his mid-40s with a friendly, stout appearance.

“Ah, I’m Freshian, the grade-level supervisor.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Heheheh! No need to be so tense. Everyone gets nervous when they’re new to something. But more importantly, we’re truly grateful to have someone as talented as you joining us as a teacher, Mr. Allen. Don’t you agree, Ms. Lydia?”

Freshian smoothly inserted himself into our conversation with the natural charm of a middle-aged man.

“Yes, absolutely. Though it’s surprising to see even someone as amazing as you get nervous, Mr. Allen. Not that I’m mocking you or anything…”

“Haha, I know. You’re just being considerate.”

“Y-Yes…”

Lydia’s face turned bright red as she lowered her head.

The other teachers in the faculty office watched her with warm, affectionate smiles.

It was such a cozy, peaceful scene—as if everything I’d just experienced had been a delusion.

Ah.

Right.

I’d been under the mistaken assumption that I had to solve this abnormal situation alone.

Trying to handle everything by myself was nothing more than stubbornness—an attempt to keep the academy’s scenario within my control.

But since I’d failed to recall the title despite encountering these anomalies, there was no need to cling to that stubbornness.

The rational solution was to share what I’d experienced with everyone and work together to resolve it.

“Um, Ms. Lydia. Mr. Freshian. There’s something I’d like to discuss.”

“Heheheh! Of course! A newcomer should know when to rely on their seniors! Though I’m not sure if we can call you a newcomer, Mr. Allen—at least not in the world of education!”

“Yes! I’ll help however I can!”

Both responded enthusiastically, eager to assist.

Fortunately, the teachers at this academy all seemed like good people.

“Actually, it’s not directly related to my duties as a teacher. While I was exploring the academy to familiarize myself with the layout, I encountered a… rather unusual student. It might be hard to believe, but…”

I carefully explained only the part about the strange students, leaving out the time loop.

No matter how friendly the teachers were, talking about the same day repeating over and over wasn’t something I could casually bring up.

“Honestly, it might just be me overreacting, or maybe it’s some kind of strange prank going around among the students. But it’s been bothering me. Do you know anything about this?”

I downplayed the situation as much as possible.

If I investigated, the truth about those grotesque humans would come out eventually.

Right now, the last thing I needed was to be labeled as the weird one.

“By the way, Mr. Allen. Did you end up getting the madeleines from the snack bar?”

“No, I was too distracted to go. More importantly, what do you think about what I just told you—”

Had I made it sound too trivial?

Freshian didn’t seem to find anything odd about it—his question was completely off-topic—

Wait, did I mention going to the snack bar earlier?

In the eerie silence, I cautiously lifted my head to look at Freshian.

Our eyes met—his expression completely blank.

And it wasn’t just him.

The other teachers were also staring at me with the same lifeless expressions.

“I knew you noticed us!!!!!!”

Freshian screamed as he lunged at me.

One by one, the other teachers in the faculty office also began rushing toward me.

Damn it!

I jumped up from my seat and barely dodged their grasping hands.

“Mr. Freshian?! Mr. Allen?! What’s going—Kyaaaah!!“

Lydia, frozen in shock at the sudden attack, was quickly swallowed up by the fake teachers.

“Mr. Freshian! What is the meaning of this?!”

“What has Mr. Allen done to deserve this?!”

“The students are still in class!”

The other normal teachers, finally realizing something was wrong, tried to intervene—but the fakes, now revealing their true nature, indiscriminately attacked anyone in their way.

Blood splattered across the faculty office in an instant, and soon the room was filled with screams and monstrous howls.

Ironically, the only one who managed to escape the chaos was me—because I’d already known about the impostors.

As I fled the faculty office, I found the hallways already swarming with more of them, waiting for me.

The grotesque students, who had previously tried blending in, now openly chased after me.

But since there were still normal students in the halls, they couldn’t move too recklessly—giving me just enough time to dodge.

Damn it! Weren’t they supposed to be obvious from their weird behavior?!

I never thought they could blend in this perfectly.

“Kekekeke!! There he is!”

“Let’s eat Renma!!!”

“This is the broadcasting club. The time is now 62:542 in the morning.”

I ran desperately, the grotesque voices chasing me from behind.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d run this much since being reborn.

My lungs burned, my breath ragged.

How long had I been running?

Dodging voices behind me, changing direction whenever I saw one ahead, climbing stairs, darting through empty classrooms, descending again.

But by the time I came to my senses, I was surrounded.

The students who had acted as shields were either all dead or had fled.

“Kekekekeke!!!“

“Ding—dong—dang—dong—. This is the broadcasting club. All faculty members must now return to hell for dismissal.”

Left, right.

The horde of grotesque humans closed in from both ends of the hallway.

I tried running back upstairs, but more were waiting above.

Am I really going to die here?

Without even making it through my first day at the academy?

If I die here, what happens? Do I loop back to the beginning?

…Or do I just die?

I didn’t want to die, but no matter how I thought about it, there was no way out.

“Kekekekeke!!!“

“Ding—dong—dang—dong—.“

“Hahahahaha!!!“

The circle around me tightened.

They weren’t in a hurry—already treating me like captured prey, slowly closing the distance.

Then—

“Over here!!”

A woman’s voice called out from behind me.

Before I could respond, a hand grabbed the back of my neck and yanked me backward.

Caught off guard, I tumbled down the stairs without resistance.