We walked side by side, not saying anything, just moving through the hallway. I kept going over the list in my head, trying not to forget anything. I needed to find it—that thing. That file. That person's about. Whatever it was, I couldn't afford to be empty-handed without information about that person.
"Honestly, I couldn't believe it when I heard you wanted to go to the student council room."
"Why would you think that?"
"After what happened between you and the student council's bodyguard, I figured you'd never even say the words 'student council' again."
Student council bodyguard? Okay, that's interesting. I didn't know the student council had bodyguards.
"Um, was it really that bad? Sorry, but what exactly did I say back then?"
"Well, as far as I remember, you said you accidentally encountered him while he was attacking one of our students. Then he almost crushed your head with his hand. Thank God Natalia happened to be nearby and saved you."
"When did I tell you about that?"
"About a month ago."
Okay, that's important information. Damn… Is there really no way to get my school memories back?
"Haha, no wonder you thought that. By the way, who was the student he attacked?"
"Hmm, about that... I don't think you mentioned their name. You said you didn't know them. Wait—shouldn't you know more about this than me?"
"Um, well… I forgot that I ever talked about it. Did I mention what that person looked like?"
"I think all you said was that it was a girl."
"Oh, okay."
"Ah, I remember now. Didn't you also say that seeing her reminded you of Cornelia?"
Well, that's important. So, to summarize: I once encountered someone who resembled Cornelia while she was being chased by the student council's bodyguard, and I was almost killed—saved only by Natalia's timely arrival. Natalia just happened to be there? That's way too suspicious.
So I can assume the girl being chased was a collaborator of the traitors, or maybe even the mastermind of the incident itself. It's possible that the girl I met was Cornelia. But if that's true… what exactly happened?
"Oh right—where was Cornelia at that time?"
"Well, Cornelia wasn't at school because she was sick."
Okay, I think that was her. But still—why didn't I realize it? Was she in disguise?
Well, maybe. Given what Natalia did during the tourney, Cornelia being in disguise isn't far-fetched either.
"Hmm, now that you mention it, I just remembered that she was absent for quite a while back then. When she returned, I felt the need to check up on her—she only came back to school recently, so I wanted to make sure she was okay."
"Wow, I thought you only cared about the rules."
"Don't underestimate me, Sahabi. Rules are important, but my friends' health matters more."
A deep sense of regret welled up inside me—the regret of losing my school memories, the bonds with my friends. I'd lost something precious.
"..."
Before long, we arrived at a door sealed off with police tape.
"Okay, we're here."
"Um, why is this room sealed off?"
"After the recent incident, security decided this room might contain important evidence, so it's restricted for investigation purposes."
"Incident?"
"Yeah, the murder between student council members," Bahuwirya said solemnly.
So it's already begun. Alright, at least now I know where I stand.
"Are you okay?"
"Well, I'm fine, Sahabi. But thinking about it… it feels like I'm reading a horror fiction story. Honestly, I still can't believe it. I can't believe they could kill each other. They had so much dedication, trust, and strong bonds. That they would kill one another…" he said, clearly shaken.
"I'm sure there must be a reason behind it."
"Yeah, I believe something made them do it. Someone might have threatened them."
What Bahuwirya said isn't wrong—and it's likely true. And if that's the case, I can guess who had the guts and brains to threaten them.
"You seem really upset about this. Were you close to them?"
"Hmm, I wouldn't say we were that close, but I knew them well enough to know something's off about this incident."
"Alright, so can we go inside this room?"
"Yes, I'm part of the disciplinary committee and I happen to be entrusted with the key to this room."
"Good, let's go in."
We entered, and I started going through the student council's records. Despite rummaging through documents, I found nothing useful—just files about school events.
"Sahabi, can I ask what exactly you're looking for?"
"Um, well... I'm looking for records about the Naradi Yosef project."
"Naradi Yosef?!"
"Yeah. Why? Do you know something?"
"I don't know about the project itself, but I do know that Naradi Yosef was one of the survivors of the student council murder incident—along with the president."
"Oh, so someone survived? Where's the student council president now?"
"It's been reported that he committed suicide."
"Suicide?"
"Yeah… it's hard to believe, but I think someone killed him," Bahuwirya said seriously.
"Why are you so sure?"
"Usman Pradana—he was an amazing student council president. Even after losing his friends, he wasn't the kind of person to end his own life. In any situation, he'd always find a way out. The idea that he'd kill himself—it's impossible to imagine."
"Well, you might be right… but who would kill him?"
"I don't know. And the school seems intent on hiding the truth. Just like the incident with the student council bodyguard who disappeared."
"What do you mean?"
"The one who attacked you—the school publicly said he was expelled. But in truth, he vanished without a trace."
"Really? I didn't know that."
"Of course not. The school's trying to cover it up. I have to admit—I'm very frustrated with the school right now. They're trying to bury all the bad things that have happened. And they seem to be hiding something bigger," Bahuwirya said angrily.
"It must be tough for you—especially as part of the disciplinary committee."
"Yeah. It's my job to maintain order at school… but in the end, I've had to lie to everyone, even my friends, saying everything's fine."
My respect for Bahuwirya just went up.
Bahuwirya Uwais—a model student and reliable flag bearer. I didn't expect that behind his annoying sense of duty as a committee member, he actually cared deeply and worked hard not to cause panic among his friends. I never got to know him during the tournament, but now I see he's dependable and strong.
"Ah, sorry, Sahabi."
"Hm? Why are you apologizing?"
"What I told you is actually a secret… so now I've dragged you into danger too."
"Haha, believe it or not, if you hadn't told me, I'd be in even more danger. Have you been investigating all of this alone?"
"Yeah, more or less."
"So you're the only one in class who knows about this?"
"Hmm, aside from me, probably only Fitria—and she seems to know even more than I do."
"Well, as expected of her. By the way, why didn't you tell the others in class? Wouldn't it be better if we all worked together?"
"Yeah, I thought about that—but it's dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"I don't know why, but I feel like the mastermind behind all of this is one of the students."
Okay, Bahuwirya—you da MVP.
I didn't expect his intuition to be this good.
"Why do you think that? Don't you trust your classmates?"
"It's not that. I trust them. I'm just afraid they might get hurt. And somehow… I feel like the mastermind is really close to us. So I decided not to say anything."
Well, the mastermind really is in our class. If you blurt this out in front of her, I can already see you on the execution stage.
"Did I do the wrong thing, Sahabi? Should I tell the others?"
"No. So far, I think what you've done is right. Thank you for keeping everyone at ease, Bahuwirya. It must have been hard carrying this burden alone."
"Sahabi..."
Bahuwirya looked genuinely touched and relieved.
"But you're not alone now, okay? I'm here to help. Just like you, I care about our friends. I hope we can stop and catch the mastermind soon. So if you ever get new information and want to discuss it, talk to me."
"Yeah. From now on, we're investigation partners. I hope you'll give it your all, Sahabi!" he said firmly.
"Well, yeah."
Alright, looks like from now on, I can count on Bahuwirya for help. He's already aware of the school's twisted reality. I hope the others can join us soon. But I can't be careless—one wrong move and Cornelia could execute me.
"Sahabi, I think it's time we head back to class."
"Yeah, let's go."
We left the student council room and returned to class.
Well, I didn't find any written evidence, but what Bahuwirya told me was incredibly valuable.
In short, I'm now in the time just before the Delusional Parade of Starlight students—when public class students attacked all the special class students at school. According to the records, the result of that parade was the death of all special class students—except for Class 96, my class. After the parade, the public class students committed mass suicide, marking the start of the most horrifying incident ever recorded.
"..."
Alright, so I guess my mission now is to stop that? But how?
"Sahabi, stop!" said Bahuwirya sharply.
"Hm? What is it?"
I looked ahead, and… well, I knew him. Long dark blue hair with red eyes—no mistake about it.
"Naradi Yosef."
Damn. This is bad.