Chapter 768: Return [1]

"Haha."

A soft chuckle escaped my lips as I moved the recording back and watched the group that had entered the classroom.

’There are supposed to be four, but now there are five.’

I didn’t even know when the fifth had arrived. All of a sudden... he was just there.

It never clocked in until I counted them.

’Good thing I was prepared.’

I would’ve missed it otherwise.

My eyes narrowed slightly as I looked around. The fifth scout stood near the cupboard, holding his flashlight over a stack of exercise books. His uniform looked the same as the others’, and he moved aside when one of them approached, allowing the scout to check the shelves beneath him.

Neither seemed particularly bothered by the other.

I clicked my tongue.

"...You could at least introduce yourself."

I enlarged the feed without changing the angle.

There was nothing visibly wrong with his face, although that meant nothing. He could take on any appearance, and nobody would notice.

Even his movements looked natural as he closed an exercise book and returned it to the same place.

The scout beside him glanced towards his hands before continuing the search.

’You can’t tell there’s an extra person, am I right?’

I was quite intrigued by this.

Thinking about it, I also had trouble with this anomaly in this regard. It had some sort of ability that made one never notice their presence. And even if they did, they’d treat it as if it had been part of the group the entire time.

’Illusionist Decree?’

My eyes returned to the recording as I tried to replay the entire situation, but finding the exact moment wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.

Their lights kept passing across the windows, and several times one of the scouts blocked my view of another. The fifth figure was simply there by the time everyone settled into their positions.

"Hm. That’s annoying."

I stopped the replay before I lost track of what was happening now.

Knowing when he appeared wasn’t going to help much if he disappeared while I was busy looking for it.

And...

’Where is he? Hmm... Right, here.’

I was already starting to lose him. Just a small distraction was enough to make me forget.

Interesting.

On the larger screen, he moved towards the podium and looked at the register. He didn’t take a photograph or turn the pages, merely studying what was already open before glancing towards the back of the classroom.

Towards Seat 27.

My fingers stopped against the mouse.

’...So you were paying attention.’

Back when I was in the classroom. He had been there.

Watching.

I glanced towards the other scouts as one passed close enough to brush against the other’s shoulder.

Neither reacted, but I found myself watching both of them afterward.

Ho?

"...Can you move between people?"

I didn’t know whether that was possible, let alone how long it could stay inside someone. I paid close attention to both, and when I saw the other scout’s head twitch from time to time, I found myself smiling.

"So it can take over other scouts."

I looked at the room once more.

The fifth person was now gone.

There were only four of them now.

"Haha."

Before I knew it, I found myself laughing as the hair at the back of my neck rose.

"So that’s what your true ability is like."

The fifth person was only there to infiltrate. But in reality, it was only a diversion so that it could take over the body of the scout.

I hadn’t gone through the trouble of keeping the Gate open for nothing. If I wanted to, I could’ve probably left by now.

From the start...

This was my goal.

I wanted to catch this troublesome rat.

⎯We’ll continue down this side. Check the next room.

One of the scouts’ voices echoed from the speaker.

The ’anomaly’ moved with them, falling into place without anyone noticing a single thing. He acted and talked like their colleague without showing any strange signs. I’d have been fooled had I not been paying close attention.

My gaze followed him through the feeds.

It was probably searching for me.

With the creation of the Gate, it had lost track of me.

I still didn’t know why it was waiting so long to act, but I wasn’t planning on finding out.

"...I guess our roles are starting to swap."

It was my turn to spy on it.

The thought made my lips pull slightly, although I wasn’t stupid enough to assume that things were over.

I opened the layout in the developer system beside the feeds and selected a classroom farther along their route.

There wasn’t enough SP left to start buying anything new. I had already spent most of my SP, but that wasn’t what I needed at the moment.

The layout of the Gate was still before me, and I could alter that as I wished.

This was the perk of the Developer System.

My fingers moved across the keyboard while the scouts checked another room.

One stayed outside while the others searched, keeping the entrance visible throughout. The extra man waited near him, his attention moving between the window and the corridor without lingering anywhere long enough to look suspicious.

I left them alone.

There was no need for me to add any sort of horror sequence. I was already done with scaring people.

⎯This room is clear.

⎯This room is also clear. There’s no sign of the previous scouts or the Clean Up Crew.

⎯We’re heading deeper.

For several minutes, the only sounds coming through the speakers were their reports and the occasional creak of a floorboard. I waited with one finger above the keyboard, watching the distance between them and the ’anomaly’.

Whenever he stopped, someone else moved alongside him.

"...Would you mind giving me a little room?"

They obviously couldn’t hear me, but complaining helped while I waited for them to reach the next classroom.

The leader stopped from time to time to scout each room. The ’anomaly’ continued several paces behind, bringing his flashlight towards the next classroom window.

⎯Check inside. We’ll cover the corridor.

At the leader’s orders, the anomaly reached for the handle while the nearest scout moved to the next classroom.

"Ha."

The anomaly opened the door slowly, looking past the frame before entering the room.

Tak!

I didn’t wait a second more.

I pressed the key on my keyboard the moment he moved past the door, duplicating the room and separating it from the main branch of the Gate.

⎯Huh?

⎯...Where did he go?

The leader’s voice entered my ears through the speakers, noticing the sudden disappearance of their team member.

⎯What?

⎯He went in right ahead of me.

They checked the room from the doorway before entering together, their lights passing over the desks and the space behind the door. One moved towards the cupboard while another kept looking back into the corridor.

I watched a scout cross the same patch of floor where the anomaly stood in the other feed.

They weren’t seeing the same room anymore.

The leader raised his hand before anyone could continue farther.

⎯Stay together. Nobody goes through another door.

"...Good idea."

I moved their feed aside and enlarged the classroom containing the anomaly.

He had stopped near the second row, apparently waiting for the others to enter. His flashlight remained pointed towards an open book while his head turned slightly towards the doorway.

⎯It’s clear.

Nobody answered.

"Oh, it is."

Tak!

I pressed one of the keys on my keyboard.

CLANK!

The door to the room smacked closed. The anomaly blinked slowly before moving to the door as he pulled the handle, trying several times before looking towards the window beside it.

The glass showed an empty corridor.

For several seconds, he stayed there with his hand against the door. He didn’t call for the others again, and when he finally turned around, the small, ordinary movements I’d been watching had stopped.

His flashlight lowered towards the floor.

I leaned closer as his eyes moved across the classroom, passing over the desks without checking beneath them. Then his chin slowly lifted towards the corner from which I was watching.

His gaze settled directly against mine through the monitor.

I kept my hands on the keyboard while my lips curled.

"Stuck..."

I laughed.

"...That is what you are."