Every few years, Class 3-3 became a place where the dead returned to life, with someone who had once died appearing in the class as an "extra person."
Because the curse altered everyone's memories, no one could clearly remember who the "dead person" was. Even the dead person themselves did not know they were already dead.
And in the years when there was an extra person, if the class did not take action, everyone connected to Class 3-3 would constantly face the threat of death.
These deaths did not come from attacks by ghosts or monsters, but from accidents caused by a combination of seemingly low-probability events.
For example, you might hurry down the stairs and fall. The pointed umbrella in your hand could fly out, open at just the right moment, and have its tip pointed directly at your throat.
There were only two ways to stop this calamity of death.
The first was to find and kill the dead person.
As long as you could uncover an unreasonable contradiction in your own memories, confirm the dead person's true identity, and kill them with your own hands, that year's calamity would end.
The second method was to choose a "nonexistent person" from the class to offset the extra person.
As long as the entire class could spend the year pretending that person did not exist, the calamity of death would not descend.
The condition was that everyone in the class had to completely ignore that person for the entire year. Even looking at them one extra time could cause the calamity to reappear.
What was even more terrifying to think about was that this calamity, which could cause multiple casualties every few years, appeared in a specific class, yet no one had thought of abolishing that class or simply closing the school to stop the curse.
Was it the curse's existence that made everyone—including the school and even high-ranking government officials—overlook the matter? Or would doing so trigger even more unpredictable consequences, forcing those people to decide to sacrifice a group of students every few years?
No matter which possibility was true, this curse that summoned back the dead was not something ordinary people could stop. Even in the original story, the curse was never ended. They merely found the dead person's identity that year and killed them.
But there was no need for everyone to get nervous. After all, I had not even confirmed whether Misaki Mei existed. I only thought of her because of that eyepatch-wearing chuunibyou, and happened to pad out a diary entry with her story. Just treat it as a horror story.
And even if Misaki Mei really existed, that calamity would only affect the teachers, students, and families of Class 3-3. It would not affect any of you.
If there really were any thrill-seekers reading this diary who wanted to watch Final Destination up close, then when you transferred schools, I would suggest transferring into the class next door so you would not get caught up in it.
Shinomiya Kaguya Joins the Group Chat
At the Shinomiya Estate, Shinomiya Kaguya, who was using a smartphone for the first time in her life in order to join a LINE Group, was currently learning how to operate it under Hayasaka Ai's guidance.
Only after successfully joining the group chat called the Diary Enthusiasts Club and seeing several members seemingly discussing today's diary did she notice that today's entry had already been updated.
She first finished reading today's diary, forming a basic impression of the Evil Eye member in the group chat. Then, she silently turned her gaze to Misaki Mei, whose appearance somewhat resembled the Evil Eye's but whose experience was completely different.
"Just when I found information on Yotsuya Miko and had yet to verify it, another calamity that attracts the dead has appeared?"
Although You Know Who said that he had merely thought of Misaki Mei because of the Evil Eye and used the story of her experience to pad out a diary entry, telling the readers not to take it seriously.
Still, when Kaguya looked at the final sentence he had written in today's diary, it was as though he had already confirmed that the cursed class truly existed, making even her spine tingle.
Shinomiya Kaguya shook her head.
Considering the suspicious attitude of the local higher-ups mentioned in the diary, the investigation into Misaki Mei could be set aside for now. She should begin with Yotsuya Miko, who could see Vengeful Spirits and ghosts.
After finishing the diary, she opened the group chat and looked over the discussion among the female protagonists who, like her, possessed diaries.
After scrolling up, she saw that the group had initially expressed concern over Misaki Mei's story. Then the Evil Eye member had openly displayed the anime character image You Know Who had pasted into the diary and proudly declared that it was herself.
She had even directly treated Misaki Mei as one of her best friends, saying that she would find her and use her Evil Eye to break the curse there.
Then Fallen Saint Black Cat mercilessly mocked her in the group chat.
"The chuunibyou personally confirmed by You Know Who should wake up already. He already said your Evil Eye is just a colored contact lens, while Misaki Mei's is the real thing that can see death. With your brain, if you went there, you'd probably be the first person caught up in the calamity."
After that came the Evil Eye's chuunibyou remarks such as, "The Evil Eye is real, it just hasn't awakened yet," and, "Once I remove its seal, the first thing I'll do is suppress you, you shameless Black Cat."
That was until Black Cat suddenly said, "You didn't actually demonstrate Ripple Chi Kung in front of other people, did you?" which instantly silenced her.
Afterward, because of that matter, several more people in the group came out to express concern over the Evil Eye's situation.
Shinomiya Kaguya recognized Hoshino Ai and Kasumigaoka Utaha.
After all, this group had been created by those people whose identities had been exposed first.
When she learned about the Chat Group yesterday, Shinomiya Kaguya had even regretted not thinking of it herself.
After all, if even Kasumigaoka Utaha could see the Chat Group's future importance, it would be strange if she, the daughter of the Shinomiya Family, could not.
"Still, it isn't too late."
She was Shinomiya Kaguya. The Shinomiya conglomerate behind her was her greatest advantage compared to the other Diary holders.
She was confident she could gain sufficient influence in the Chat Group.
And now, the Evil Eye's situation was an opportunity.
With that thought, Shinomiya Kaguya spoke in the group chat.
Kaguya: "There's no need to worry too much. If the information you leak would put you in danger, the Diary will automatically consume Reading Points to warn you."
Kaguya: "As long as you've unlocked the Diary's first level of permissions, you all have this function."
Ai: "Huh? Danger warnings can be used like that? I never thought about it that way."
Ai: "@Kaguya, Kaguya-chan, you're a newcomer who just joined the group chat, right? I don't think I've seen you before!"
Kaguya: "I'm Shinomiya Kaguya. I originally wanted to join yesterday, but my previous phone could not install LINE, so I only joined today after buying a new phone."
Kaguya: "Ever since the day I unlocked the Diary's permissions, I have been testing how far the newly unlocked functions can go, so I may know a little more than the rest of you."
Kashiko Kasumi: "To research things to that extent, you must have spent quite a few Reading Points. But is it really okay to use your real name right away? We may all be protagonists of our own stories, but it's better to be cautious. After all, your story hasn't been exposed by You Know Who like ours has."
Kaguya: "I understand your concerns, Kashiko Kasumi, but this is my own decision. As the daughter of the Shinomiya Family, if I don't even dare take this level of risk, how will I fight for my position in the family in the future?"
Kaguya: "Besides, I believe there must be a reason we received these diaries. We may not be able to know that reason for now, but the truth will emerge sooner or later. So I think it is necessary for us to cooperate, provided that everyone's interests are protected."
Kashiko Kasumi: "The Shinomiya Family... Could it be the Shinomiya Family of the Shinomiya conglomerate?"
Kaguya: "That's right. Shinomiya Gan'an, the current head of the Shinomiya conglomerate, is my father."
Kaguya: "@Ai, this may sound a little narcissistic, but I believe I'm the 'Lady Kaguya' mentioned in You Know Who's diary on the second day. After all, the people around me have called me that since I was little."
Lady Kaguya's name had only appeared once in the Diary. In You Know Who's diary, he said that Lady Kaguya and Hoshino Ai were characters created by the same creator.
The early stages had been excellent, but the middle and later stages had inexplicably started playing at corporate warfare, causing the plot to go off the rails and end hastily.
That was You Know Who's evaluation of Lady Kaguya's work, carrying a strong sense of disappointment.
Looking at the timeline, Lady Kaguya, whose story had already ended, was the "senior" who had been created first.
Ai: "So you're Lady Kaguya, my senior! Then I'll call you Kaguya-senpai from now on!"
Kaguya: "Just call me Kaguya. I've watched your videos. You work very hard on stage."
Shinomiya Kaguya was not interested in idols or anything of the sort, but she knew how to speak in a way that would make Hoshino Ai happy.
With the Shinomiya conglomerate's influence, as well as the senior-junior relationship she had established with Hoshino Ai, the Chat Group's creator, Shinomiya Kaguya had initially secured her position.
But that was not enough.
Shinomiya Kaguya continued speaking in the group.
Kaguya: "Today, You Know Who wrote about Misaki Mei in his diary. If she really exists, along with Yotsuya Miko, then if they also obtained Diaries, they should have joined the Chat Group by now, right?"
Kashiko Kasumi: "Probably not. Everyone in the group has said at least a few words after joining. If Yotsuya Miko and Misaki Mei had joined, she probably wouldn't hide it from us, would she?"
Kashiko Kasumi: "We discussed this topic before. We thought that You Know Who might have mistaken someone else for her on the train that day, or that Yotsuya Miko never obtained a Diary."
Kaguya: "I have information on Yotsuya Miko in my hands right now. If she isn't in the group, I plan to call her and test the waters."
Shinomiya Kaguya's Party Invitation
The news Shinomiya Kaguya suddenly revealed immediately made the group lively.
Because Shinomiya Kaguya had revealed her background right from the start, no one in the group doubted what she said.
Hoshino Ai even specifically @mentioned everyone to confirm whether Yotsuya Miko had joined the group.
After waiting several minutes, more than half the group members had appeared to say something, but there was no message from Yotsuya Miko.
Kashiko Kasumi: "It seems she really hasn't joined the Chat Group. @Kaguya, have you thought about what you're going to say when you call?"
Kaguya: "I'll just ask her directly whether she obtained a Diary. If she doesn't have one, she won't react to what I say, and there'll be no need to keep testing her."
Even if Yotsuya Miko could see Vengeful Spirits, if she had not obtained the Diary, then the best choice was not to disturb her life and allow her to follow the original course of her story.
After explaining her plan in the group, Shinomiya Kaguya, watched by everyone, dialed the number.
On Yotsuya Miko's side, the new school term had just begun today, and she was not in a particularly good state of mind.
She had originally thought that strange things would disappear in a place like school. Who would have thought that not only did they not disappear, she had personally seen a lecherous four-armed monster latch onto her best friend.
It had taken her a long time to drive that monster away from her friend.
But she had at least safely made it through the first day of school.
Looking at the prayer beads she had bought from a nearby temple, which had not produced the slightest effect, Yotsuya Miko let out a helpless sigh.
She had spent so much of the allowance she painstakingly saved up, yet none of those things had worked at all. When would these days ever end?
Just then, her phone suddenly rang.
"At this hour, who would be calling me?" Yotsuya Miko picked up her phone in confusion.
It was an unknown number.
But because the caller ID showed that it was from Tokyo, she answered anyway.
"Hello, this is Yotsuya Miko."
A voice without much emotional fluctuation immediately came from the other end of the line.
"Are you a Diary holder?"
The moment she heard the voice on the other end, goosebumps rose all over Yotsuya Miko's body.
Out of the corner of her eye, she instinctively glanced at the black Diary on the floor, which she had only opened once and had never dared open again.
No matter what she did with it, the Diary would reappear beside her the next day.
"Ha... haha, I don't know what you're talking about. Did you call the wrong number?"
Trying her best to keep her tone normal, Yotsuya Miko spoke while trembling slightly, then immediately hung up.
What did they mean by Diary holder!?
Could this be some kind of strange ritual?
Yotsuya Miko could not help imagining a bloody ritual centered around an evil spirit sealed inside the Diary.
"So you're the final Diary holder. Finding you really took quite a lot of effort, but your luck ends here. Your blood will serve as nourishment to awaken the evil spirit."
After inexplicably imagining all that, Yotsuya Miko suddenly felt the urge to pee.
Then, like an ostrich, she buried her head deeply in her pillow, terrified that the person who had called her would call again.
I don't know anything. I don't know anything. Someone just dialed the wrong number. I don't know anything about any Diary.
Yotsuya Miko hypnotized herself in her heart.
Fortunately, several minutes passed without the phone ringing again.
After she had more or less hypnotized herself, Yotsuya Miko shakily picked up her phone and blocked the number.
Then she glanced at the Diary on the floor again and casually kicked it beneath the bed, somewhere she could not see it.
Only after doing all that and successfully deceiving herself did Yotsuya Miko relax slightly.
Today had been another safe day.
Anyway, she should go to the bathroom first.
Back to Shinomiya Kaguya's side.
Before you continue