"Oh my gosh, this cod is so delicious!"
Mori Nene gently cut off a small piece of cod with her fork. The golden skin was slightly crisp, and beneath it lay delicate, snow-white flesh.
She put it in her mouth, and her eyes instantly lit up.
"No way!"
After hearing the praise, the Karuizawa group eagerly joined the tasting queue.
"It's so tender! The fish is so firm! There's no fishy taste at all, just the fresh flavor of the fish, and it's seasoned just right!"
Matsushita Chiaki closed her eyes in contentment, as if she were completely immersed in the mellow flavor.
Nagami's cooking had earned the approval of Matsushita Chiaki, Class D's little rich girl.
"The onion salad is amazing too!"
Kushida picked up a small floret of broccoli with her chopsticks. A few droplets of water still clung to its green surface as she took a light bite.
"Oh! It preserves all the vegetables' natural sweetness. It's really crisp, and there aren't any unnecessary seasonings. The flavor is so natural!"
As she spoke, she hurriedly picked up a few slices of carrot and stuffed them into her mouth.
"Kagami, say ah~"
After the Michelin chef took his seat, Kushida immediately used her chopsticks to feed Nagami. It felt like she'd awakened to something new again today.
"I have to admit."
Horikita chewed thoughtfully after taking a bite.
"I used to have a lot of prejudice against Tokyo's host boys. Now I'll have to reconsider."
After hearing Horikita's remark, a # popped onto Nagami's forehead. Why did everyone keep picking on his host-boy nickname?
And who had even come up with that nickname in the first place? If he caught them, they'd be in for it.
He hadn't even dated anyone since coming to this school.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"
After night fell, the sound of an owl came from the distance.
The night grew darker, and the stars emerged in all their glory.
After enjoying their delicious meal, the students, exhausted from a long day, finally quieted down.
Everything around them was bathed in starlight, hazy and mysterious, as if the vast sea of stars had swallowed up all the clamor and commotion of the world.
Aside from the crackling of the bonfire, there was nothing but endless peace.
It was time for everyone's favorite part: ghost stories.
"Hey... Has anyone heard the story of the Seven-Day Haunting?"
"No, have you?"
A boy spoke in a low voice, keeping it soft to play along, as if afraid of disturbing whatever might be lurking in the darkness.
"Hey, boys. Don't scare us! The scenery looked so pretty during the day, but now it's dark and you're imagining ghost stories?"
Shinohara and another girl rolled their eyes at him, though as they spoke, they couldn't help edging closer to the fire.
"Kikyo, I know a Seven-Day Haunting story. Want to hear it?"
"Kagami, if you think I'm a cowardly girl, you're wrong."
Kushida lifted her chin and puffed out her chest, showing how dependable and brave she was.
So Nagami cleared his throat and began.
The story took place in Hokkaido. A group of university students had just graduated and gathered to climb a mountain, celebrating their graduation by setting off on a trip.
Nobody knew the mountain's name. The locals only knew it had been there for as long as anyone could remember, so they named it after its color: White Mountain.
On the first day of the climb, an accident occurred. Before heading up the mountain, L had accidentally touched a plaque dedicated to the mountain god, but hadn't told anyone.
After all, who still believed in ghosts and monsters in this modern age?
On the first day, everyone climbed as usual, and everything went smoothly. When they reached halfway up the mountain, they set up camp.
On the second day, the leader called roll and discovered that C had gone missing, taking some supplies along. Everyone was a little puzzled, and even the expensive satellite phone couldn't reach C.
L said that C usually kept to himself and probably didn't like the group, so he'd snuck off on his own.
Everyone was skeptical, but as time ticked by, all they could do was hope C was safe and continue their climb.
On the third day, the leader called roll again and discovered that someone else was missing: C's good friend. L said they might have gone looking for C.
With two people gone in just two days, even the most oblivious among them realized something was wrong. They prepared to head down the mountain and report it to the police, but then heavy snow began to fall. Fortunately, there was a shelter built by an earlier climber near the summit, where they could take refuge from the wind and snow.
On the fourth day, the group's central figure also went missing, without taking anything along. A heated argument broke out. Everyone accused one another, suspecting that there was a murderer in their group who had been secretly getting rid of people in the middle of the night.
To put an end to the argument, L confessed. It turned out that L had been cursed by the mountain god. While climbing, L had taken a photo with a phone and seen the mountain god secretly following behind through the phone's front-facing camera.
Growing more and more frightened as the night went on, L stuffed their clothes into C's sleeping bag, hoping to lure the mountain god. To L's surprise, it had worked.
L swore that they hadn't meant to hurt their classmates and had no idea what had happened to the other missing people. Once the blizzard stopped, L would go down and turn themself in.
The classmates were skeptical, but huddled together that night. L could only crouch in a corner, excluded from the group.
On the fifth day, the blizzard stopped, and everyone began heading down the mountain. Following the map, they wandered off to who knew where. L flashed a triumphant smile, but no one knew what had happened then.
On the sixth day, L headed down the mountain alone, carrying plenty of supplies.
On the seventh day, after reaching the foot of the mountain, L was shocked to spot C, the missing person, in another climbing group on the street!
The survivor, C, explained that the mountain god had taken them in the middle of the night. But halfway through, the mountain god realized something was wrong and had taken the wrong person, so it simply dropped C halfway down the mountain.
Fortunately, another climbing group had passed by and rescued C.
Only then did L confess that from the second day onward, the mountain god, furious after realizing it had been deceived, had demanded that L sacrifice everyone in the group to earn forgiveness. Otherwise, it would use its divine power to curse L for life.
Terrified by the mountain god's threat, L had tampered with the map while no one was paying attention, changing the route down the mountain to one that led to the mountain god's sacrificial site. L had sacrificed everyone to the mountain god.
Crying, L said it was all the mountain god's fault and that they were innocent.
C didn't believe L's explanation and picked up a phone to call the police.
The police immediately launched a search and rescue operation. White Mountain wasn't very large, and the rescue team searched every inch of it with a helicopter, but couldn't find the others' bodies—or even the shelter near the summit that L had mentioned.
Since no one could prove the mountain god existed, the police could only treat it as an accident due to insufficient evidence, and gave L a suspended sentence.
"Kikyo, do you think Class D will be one person short at roll call tomorrow morning?"
Nagami whispered into Kushida's ear in an especially sinister voice.
"Waaah! Waaah! Waaah! Kagami, you're the worst! The absolute worst! The worst!"
Frightened by the ghost story, Kushida flailed around, her words turning into a jumble as she repeated herself.
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