That day was still just an ordinary day, at least until I noticed the strange actions of my senior. Normally, Hoshino would still be asleep, but today she couldn't get any rest. She kept pacing back and forth, her mood anxious and unsettled.

When she suddenly left without any reason, we also felt that something was off, so we quickly followed her. What I saw next was the most haunting scene of my life.

Hoshino was standing there, frozen in shock before a lifeless body. And that person was not a stranger; in fact, we knew them very well: it was our Sensei.

'Hey Shiroko? Are you okay...?'

'Everyone... Shiroko has fainted...'

I couldn't keep my composure and fainted on the spot. Fortunately, Ayane noticed just in time and, along with two others, carried me back to school.

Before I completely lost consciousness, I still managed to see... everyone's tears, and it seemed like I was crying too... The strong individuals we used to be... now couldn't hold back their emotions...

The next day, or rather many days after the incident, we were all too traumatized to leave our homes. All I knew was confined to the messages on my phone.

That day, Hoshino had brought the body back to Schale, and they confirmed that it was indeed Sensei. However, revealing any further information to the public would be limited until the culprit was found.

In the following days, the first person who left their house, as I was aware, was Serika. But in reality, she only continued with her part-time job and didn't go to school. The others remained in the same state.

...

Eight days had passed. It seemed like I'm the only one still hiding at home. Messages of concern kept appearing, but they weren't enough to lift my spirits. There was one time when Nonomi came all the way to my door to comfort me, but I didn't let her in...

Ten days was the amount of time it took for us to be able to meet again in full, just like before. The difference now was that a gloomy atmosphere enveloped the entire classroom. Things only got worse as the news outlets continuously reported on the mysterious disappearance of our teacher.

'You should start working again, Hoshino,' the absolute silence was broken by Serika's somewhat stern voice.

'Huh ~ ? No way... I just want to sleep,' Hoshino replied with her usual weary tone.

'Then how is that any different from before? You—'

We pulled her away before Serika could say anything more.

She may seem fine, but our senior is still very upset. For the past ten days, she hasn't been able to sleep, probably only getting 1-2 hours of rest. It's best to let Hoshino have some peace," Ayane whispered.

'But it's not just her who's sad... That day... at that moment... I was also... '

Serika, overwhelmed with emotion, stopped speaking.

We turned our eyes back to Hoshino.

'I heard that when Hoshino was a member of the Abydos Student Council, she was very fond of the president at the time, someone named Yume. Yet that person lost her life, and tragically, it was Hoshino who first found her body. This time, too, it was Hoshino who discovered Sensei's body first. Experiencing something like that once is enough to completely change a person, and now she's had to go through it twice, losing someone she loved both times. It must be devastating,' Nonomi recalled.

From the other side, I overheard Hoshino's murmuring.

'Now I can't enjoy my sleep like before, and it's all because of you, Sensei...'

'The pleasant weather is perfect for sleeping... But now it's filled with memories of you...'

'While I'm awake because I can't sleep, maybe the drowsiness is mocking me [You couldn't protect anyone].'

'It feels like it's screaming right in my face...'

The silence continued to envelop the room for the rest of that day.

...

Fifteen, twenty days, then a month passed. Although we hadn't completely recovered, we managed to return to our daily lives. We encouraged each other to keep going with our unfinished work. The main reason was that the debt to Kaiser Corporation was still there, so we had to keep working to handle that debt, as a way of showing my gratitude to Sensei.

Just when I thought everything was returning to how it was before, and that I could continue with my school life, reality hit me like a cold splash of water.

Disaster struck unexpectedly, and we never imagined it could happen.

'Today, we are staying at school because Ayane said she needed help with some issues. Do you want to join in?' I asked Serika over the phone.

'I'll probably head home since I still have a few things to take care of...' Serika replied.

(To Mr. Shiba) 'Yes, sir...'

(To Shiroko) 'I'm done here, so I'll go home now. See you tomorrow.'

Feeling reassured, I hung up the phone, still unaware, and never able to believe that those would be the last words I would ever hear from her.

Right after I put the phone down, a terrifying explosion occurred, right near where she was working. Sensing something was wrong, I quickly ran to the scene. The place had now turned into a battlefield. And worse, what I feared most had happened: Serika was gone. The only thing left behind was her student ID card.

'Serika... where are you...'

...

In the days that followed, Serika neither came to school nor returned home. Her phone had completely lost signal, making it impossible for us to contact her or track her location. Despite days of searching throughout the district, I had to return empty-handed. All we could do was report her disappearance to the General Student Council, but knowing them, I wasn't very hopeful.

What's even more concerning is that darkness has once again enveloped us. Our senior is the most affected, as she's gradually reverting to her violent tendencies, constantly blaming herself and those around her. I've seen her attack the Helmet Gang several times, suspecting they were the ones who took Serika. They kept denying it, and to me, no matter how much they might hate us, they currently have no reason to do that, and besides, they're not smart enough to act so quickly.

In the end, Hoshino gave up, but it was only to shift her focus to our biggest enemy: Kaiser Private Military Company.

To be blunt, we could never defeat an organization with such a powerful, well-trained, and well-equipped army, but there was no way Hoshino would listen. Her mind is now solely consumed by thoughts of revenge, and sooner or later, she'll end up putting herself in danger.

And then, what was bound to happen finally happened. Hoshino disappeared, taking all her ammunition with her, leaving behind only a letter that read:

'If I don't come back, please take care of everyone for me.'

Ayane managed to track her location, and once again, I hurried there, but once again, it was too late.

Hoshino was lying in a corner, her body covered in wounds, blood still seeping from her injuries.

Seeing me, Hoshino struggled to open her eyes and look at me one last time.

'Shiroko... is that you...? Why... did you come here...? This place... is too dangerous...'

'Hoshino... why... did you act alone like this...?' I asked, unable to hold back my tears, knowing she didn't have much time left.

'I... I'm sorry... I couldn't... save Serika...'

'Was she... here?'

'I don't know... but... you should... run away...'

At that moment, Kaiser's soldiers surrounded us. Not wanting anyone else to get hurt, they allowed me to leave, but I had to leave Hoshino behind.

I couldn't bear the thought of abandoning my senior in the heart of enemy territory, but she wanted me to return safely, to continue her legacy.

In the end, a soldier had to knock me out and drag me away. Before I completely lost consciousness, I heard and saw Hoshino's final moments very clearly.

'In the end... I'm just... an useless person...'

She pointed her gun toward her body.

'So long... Yume-senpai...'

The halo above her head shattered.

...

'WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS FATE?!'

I screamed in despair as I woke up, my body still covered in sand.

At that very corner, there was my senior's lifeless body.

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!'

'THIS ISN'T REAL!!!...'

'THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!!!'

...

'This is just a dream... isn't it...?'

'Tell me this is just a dream, Hoshino...'

...

But this isn't a dream. This is the cruel reality I have to endure.

'Hoshino-senpai...'

'Let's go home...'

'Shall we...?'

'Let's go home...'

...

I carefully carried my senior's body to its final resting place.

'Welcome home... Hoshino...'

My beloved senior, the one brought me into this school, the one who was always sleeping, will never wake up again.

...

It's been a month, but there's still no news about Serika. We had to accept the bitter reality that she's gone too.

Though unspoken, everyone feels the weight on their shoulders. Ayane, unable to accept the truth, has fallen ill. Nonomi, once a gentle, easygoing, and sociable girl, is now unusually silent. I can't say I'm handling it any better, but Nonomi's behavior worries me. She started skipping school more frequently and for longer periods.

...

Fifteen days later, Ayane's condition worsened. Though she's managed to survive, with her health and our current financial situation, I don't know how much longer we can hold on.

Nonomi finally returned after three days of absence. But she only came to say goodbye to us and the school.

'Don't worry too much, Shiroko. Someone called me and said that deep in the desert, there's someone who can help us... Someone... like Sensei...'

I could no longer trust anyone's words. I swore I would never lose anyone else. But I no longer had the strength to stop her.

'It'll be fine. I'll stay in touch regularly. If I find anything new, I'll let you know.'

'Listen, Shiroko, I know you don't want me to leave, and I know you're thinking I'll never come back... Honestly, I'm worried about that too... but... we don't have any other choice... do we?'

Every word from Nonomi, though gentle, felt like knives stabbing into my soul... Because I knew I couldn't stop her.

And so... we said our goodbyes...

...

In the days that followed, Nonomi still kept in touch, but only through text messages, not calls. For me, that was enough, because, at the very least, I knew she was still alive, and it gave me a sliver of hope for the future, a faint hope in these dark days.

But my worst fear came true. From the fifth day onward, I completely lost contact with Nonomi—her phone had lost signal. According to her last message, she had to enter an area without reception to reach the designated location quickly, but that wasn't good news for me.

...

Ten, then fifteen days passed. My anxiety was reaching its limit when I received another message from Nonomi—the one I had been eagerly waiting for. She sent a location on the map, along with a message to come there.

I quickly went to the location, but I didn't find Nonomi. There was only her phone lying alone on the sand with another set of coordinates on it. When I reached the new location... I could no longer contain the pain inside.

In front of me were all of Nonomi's belongings: her student ID, the gold credit card she always carried, her favorite weapon, and... a letter. It said that Nonomi had unfortunately passed away on her journey, and the person couldn't tell me where her body was.

'Only send this to Ayane or Shiroko.'

'This person... knows me...'

But now, why does it matter...

I collapsed onto the sand, my throat choked with emotion, unable to speak. I just gathered all the items there and headed back.

...

Losing Nonomi probably pushed me into deep depression, and I no longer wanted to attend school. Ayane was in even worse shape. She grew weaker by the day, and I no longer had the money to keep her on life support.

I tried to spend all my time earning more money, but... no matter how much, it was never enough. The school debt, Ayane, everything felt like it was against me...

...

Another ten days passed. Ayane had lost her will to live. In my last visit, she made that clear.

'Shiroko, I don't want to live anymore. Please... turn off my life support... As long as you can keep living... No, you MUST keep living... Maybe transfer to a better school, or go far away, to a place where no one knows you...'

'No... You need to live... If I lose you too, I don't know what I'll do...'

'I feel so guilty just staying alive and being a burden to you, Shiroko. Besides, I don't want to live hooked up to these machines anymore. The doctor said I'll never recover... What's the point of this...'

I kept refusing and tried to comfort her.

But in the end, the situation forced me to agree. I turned off the life support. Her strength was fading fast. Yet she still used her last words to comfort me.

'It's okay... This isn't your fault...'

Ayane passed away not long after.

'It's not my fault... How can she be so positive...'

This is my fault... It's all my fault...

...

It's been 75 days in total. I didn't have the courage to leave everything behind. I kept trying to motivate myself, but those words turned into self-reproach. This was too much for me. I couldn't stop the tears from falling, tears of weakness from someone who had no strength left.

'Is it all my fault...? If back then... if I hadn't accepted this scarf... if back then... I had chosen death... maybe no one would've died... maybe things would've been better...'

...

Three days of wandering through the city left me starving, with wounds all over my body.

...

I collapsed once again in the desert, the place where they first found me and gave me a reason to keep living.

'Now... there's no one left to help me...'

I clung tightly to the last keepsakes I had from everyone. Just three months ago, everything was rosy, but now... no one could smile anymore.

I lay on the sand, looking at the happy faces of the group.

'This place... is where I belong...'

'Everyone... I'm sorry...'

...

'Shiroko... you've suffered too much...'

A strange voice echoed as she shot Shiroko multiple times, killing the poor girl.

...