"Hm?"
The girl answered.
If the man's voice hadn't made her uncomfortable in any way, she would have hung up even though he'd called her by name.
The man's hesitation made her think that perhaps this stranger really did have something to ask her.
After all, this number had called her so many times.
Five times, to be exact.
She'd been asleep earlier, with her phone on silent on the bedside table, so she hadn't heard any of the calls.
Now that she was awake, she picked up her phone and saw all the missed calls.
It was rare for anyone to call her so many times.
Even if it was an unfamiliar number.
She wondered whether the number would keep calling if she didn't answer this time either.
She couldn't deny that she was a little curious.
Curious about what the call was about.
"It's like this..."
The girl's voice was clearly urging him to continue.
The Middle-aged Man composed himself and spoke slowly. "Do you remember the Tomb Ghost?"
"...Huh?"
The girl looked completely puzzled. "The Tomb Ghost?"
"What's that?"
The Middle-aged Man froze.
"Is that a person's name?"
The girl's voice continued. "Is that his real name?"
Did anyone really have a name like that?
A name with the word "ghost" in it?
Though she was confused, she still said, "Sorry."
"I don't know him."
"No, it's not a person."
The Middle-aged Man corrected her without thinking.
Student Xiao had said that the Tomb Ghost was a monster.
But she didn't know it...?
The Middle-aged Man's heart sank.
Had the girl simply forgotten the Tomb Ghost, or had she never known its name in the first place?
"...Not a person?"
The girl sounded even more surprised and bewildered. "Is it an animal, then?"
That was