Uesugi Tetsu looked at the high school students and recalled that they had been in the same kind of mood before successfully summoning Kukuri that day.
A little nervous, a little excited, but even more delighted to be out having fun with their friends.
Among Japanese high school students, courage tests and supernatural games were, apart from the few who were genuinely interested in the supernatural, really just an alternative kind of mixer.
On a dark, windy night, boys and girls walked together, then drew closer because of some nonexistent danger, increasing their affection for one another before becoming couples.
That was more or less how the routine went.
The boy called Miyamoto flexed his biceps and said disdainfully, "Aren't urban legends supposed to be real? Let's test that out!"
The female high school student edged closer to him and asked curiously, "By the way, are there any urban legends related to stations?"
"—Kisaragi Station."
It was not the broad-shouldered Miyamoto who answered, but the frail, bespectacled boy who was staring thoughtfully at Uesugi Tetsu.
He said calmly, "They say the train arriving later will lead to Everworld, and that its final destination is supposedly Kisaragi Station."
The female high school student covered her mouth. "Huh? Then wouldn't there be monsters on it?"
Miyamoto, standing beside her with his hands on his hips, said, "Monsters or ghosts, whatever! I'll punch them all into oblivion!"
"Hey, you students, don't talk about such frightening things late at night!" the middle-aged woman nearby finally snapped, frowning as she shouted at them.
Miyamoto froze, then threw his head back and laughed. "That's frightening? Auntie, are you going through menopause? Hahahaha!"
The few high school students around him burst out laughing, making the woman flush red. In the end, though, she still refrained from cursing