———Lynda———

  <1: 02 pm>

  “...You did see that, right?” I don’t think that peculiar detail is hard to miss.

  “Y-Yeah?” Glery replied, still sounding rather unsure.

  I could’ve sworn whenever people got near this giant school that they ft out vanished! It’s very unsettling. Just what even happened?

  “Why has no one noticed it until now?” I can’t help but say. Just why isn’t this a talking point anywhere.

  “How should I know?” Glery doesn’t seem all that sure about anything.

  Now what the hell should we do? Should we try investigating it, or just ignore it? This seems plenty arming, and in all honesty seems like a good excuse to barge in… Right?

  “Think we can sneak in?” I asked, just wondering if she feels like tagging along.

  “H-Hey! Don’t you think that’s way too dangerous?” She vehemently refused. Guess we ain’t doing any of that, a shame.

  “Mhm?” While I was thinking about what to do next, a bck feather dropped down on my head. What the hell is this doing here? “Goddamn crows.”

  “Don’t you think we should get going?” Glery meanwhile seems pretty adamant on getting right on schedule. I don’t think we’re in a rush to do anything. Heck, there’s just not much else to do in general.

  “Can you two stop standing in the middle of the road?” Hm? Who the hell is approaching us now?

  Bck hair and eyes, white shirt, short orange jacket, blue pants and shoes, rge ears, dark brown monkey tail that is wrapped around her waist. This is the second monkey person I’ve seen so far, and looks less like a crook.

  …What was she saying again?

  “Lynda, maybe we should move.” Glery suddenly said before pointing at the ground, why?

  “You two should feel lucky there aren’t that many cars about.” The monkey girl remarked as we got off the streets. I didn’t even realize that. I could’ve sworn we were standing still for a while. “Anyway, what the hell were you doing standing there? It almost looks like you two were gonna go into that giant pace.”

  “I was thinking about it, but mainly a bit spooked out about one particur thing. Did you see people vanishing into thin air when they get close to that pce?” I really want to make sure I’m not crazy.

  “I didn’t pay any attention, so how would I know?” …Can you at least entertain it? “By the way, aren’t you two students that Jass had gone dungeoning with once?”

  “Jass? Wait, are you his cssmate?” I did remember someone who looks like her in the same css, but I don’t really wanna assume without even a little evidence.

  “Yeah?” She said, not seeing it as a big deal. “Name’s Jenn, what about you two?”

  “Lynda, and she’s Glery.” I introduced the two of us. “So is that all the girl from the ‘Ace Css’ has to say?”

  “...Were you expecting anything else?” She said, sounding rather puzzled.

  “If that’s all you have to say then get on your way already.” If that’s all she has to say then she should just leave.

  “Yo! What’s up you three amigos!” Ugh, that tone…

  “Hi Coach.” Jenn greeted upon seeing this weirdo walking up to us. “It’s quite rare to see you around.”

  “Is that right? What can I really say? I’m always so busy!” She said with a dumb-looking grin. “What about you? How are you doing?”

  “Doing fine enough. Still waiting to see what I am supposed to do next.” Jenn said while gncing at the giant castle-skyscraper.

  “Worried about that? I think you’ll be fine, I’m sure it’s gonna let people in any minute now!” She said, sounding quite sure of herself.

  “Wouldn’t that be something…” She muttered to herself.

  “What about you two? Wanna enroll?” Coach Wana then turned her attention to the two of us.

  “...Will that even be allowed?” Glery asked, clearly unsure of what this pce is even for, who can enter, all that. There is that ‘leaked’ diagram, but it doesn’t actually tell us that much in the end.

  “Of course! Why wouldn’t it be? It’s supposed to be a school, ain’t it?” She said with an exaggerated shrug. “Seriously, why do people think it won’t let students in if it’s a school? That makes no sense!”

  “I think the defense system has something to do with that…” Jenn remarked.

  “It’s for safety! You know schools get attacked all the time.” Coach Wana tried to justify. “It’s not like this pce is gonna have me around to protect it all the time.”

  …Should we even talk about that?

  “By the way, Coach. Do you not have anywhere else to teach then?” Jenn suddenly asked.

  “Oh? You’re concerned? Thanks for that, but I’m plenty fine.” Coach said with a few chuckles in-between, dismissing her concern as if it’s childish. “What have you all been doing while the world is going topsy turvy?”

  “Staying at home and pying games, reading stuff, that’s about it.” Jenn said. “Oh, and trying out magic, obviously. Who isn't at this point?”

  “...More than you think.” I said. Even online there are people bitching about magic even though it’s a universal thing.

  “Nice to see you so enthusiastic about it. It’d be a shame if you didn’t even try it once. Isn’t this a childhood dream for millions?” Coach said with a smile on her face. She’s not wrong, but people nowadays are a lot more cynical.

  “Can’t say it feels like I’m getting there though. Karra is way above our league. It’s kinda upsetting.” She muttered out loud.

  “Her? Yeah, she’s a fast learner alright. I have to say, she’s one crazy cookie to be able to figure all that out in a month!” Coach said. “For someone in this era, it’s certainly crazy.”

  “Era?” Jenn seems pretty focus on that wor-

  !?!?

  I just felt chills running down my spine. She held her sungsses, letting us see a bit of her eyes staring down at us for a moment.

  “...By the way, what were you doing before I chimed in anyway? Was it important?” She said as she put her sungsses back on. What the hell was that?

  “You’ve seen people mysteriously fading in and out, right? Near this pce?” I said while pointing at the mega school.

  “How should I know? I’m not employed here… yet.” She said while making another shrug. She seems pretty confident all things considered. It’s not like I don’t know she actually is a good athlete, but her behavior is really freaking confusing, so I can see whoever is in charge of that pce being apprehensive.

  Also, if you have to make something this grandiose, you’re probably someone who takes things way too seriously, this woman does not fit that bill, so I don’t really see her getting hired, even if she is good at her job.

  “By the way, why are you so focused on that point? Could just be some sort of illusion for all we know.” Jenn asked, clearly not finding this topic unsettling. Isn’t the fact that they put that on top of everything kinda overkill and suspicious? What else could they be hiding?

  “Doesn’t that also make the whole thing really suspicious? Why even bother going for an extra yer?” I asked, finding the whole thing more confusing by the minutes.

  “Chill your tinfoil theory there, kiddo.” Coach chimed in, clearly finding my concern childish. “Overthinking will get you nowhere. It’s just as simple as obfuscating who intends to enter the building and who were simply passing by. Remember, this pce is meant to be mysterious, of course that sort of spell is used. A giant wall can only obfuscate so much.”

  “...Why do you sound so intelligent all of a sudden?” Jenn remarked. Yeah, I noticed that, even her inflection started to shift by the end.

  “Aw man! Did I not sound that way before?” She quickly shifts back to her odd behavior the moment she’s called out. How long is this even gonna go for?

  ———Karra———

  <3: 41 pm>

  I still have to wonder who even fixed the park. It’s nice that they did it, but why? Was it actually Wiina? It feels like it’s Wiina.

  There’s barely anyone here, compared to usual. Looks like that fight I had with that guy really scared everyone off… Then again, there was another fight before then…

  Just me to my lonesome, it seems. Just enjoying nature to its fullest. She scolded me to get some fresh air so I’m doing that right now.

  “Yo. Karra.” Nevermind, I guess someone is here to bother me. Who is it?

  “Oh. Jass, what’s up?” It’s pretty rare for him to approach someone, always the quiet one in css.

  “Nothing much, to be honest…” He said, starting to sound a bit awkward already. He probably has something important to say if he actually tried to talk to anyone.

  “You can say whatever, you know?” I tell him, not wanting the guy to be so tense.

  “Uhh… Well…” He still has a pretty hard time trying to say something. Just gonna let him take his time. “...I know others in the css had been asking, but where have you been? They were starting to get concerned, you know?”

  “That? Well it’s nothing important I can tell you that. Not like I’m going to fight that guy for a while if I can help it.” It’d be nice if I can improve enough to beat that guy to a pulp in just one day, but reality doesn’t work that way unfortunately.

  “...No one really spotted you anywhere, and you rarely answer anyone’s ping.” He pointed out.

  “Come on, cut me some sck here. I’ve been preparing something is all. I’m busy alright?” I don’t want to be too direct about what I’m doing, I want it to be a secret for a while until I start streaming again.

  “...If you say so.” He said before awkwardly looking for a pce to sit, not too close or far from me. “...You think we would even be in the same school after this?”

  “Huh? Where did that come from?” I asked, wondering what’s so pressing about that.

  “It’s just something I’m thinking about. The school we’re in isn’t even around anymore.” He muttered, sounding slightly mencholic.

  “It’ll be fine… I think.” It’s just a hunch on my part, really. “Besides, even if we aren’t, it’s not like we’ll lose contact, right?”

  “...I’d hope not.” He said with a small chuckle. We’ve been friends for years now, a damn school being gone isn’t gonna change anything. “Say, what do you think about the world as it is right now?”

  “Huh? I guess it’s interesting, at least.” Quite a question he’s asking out of the blue. “It probably has a rge effect on the world as a whole, but who’s keeping track, let’s be real.”

  “...Didn’t you do streams talking about it?” He suddenly got sassy on me.

  “Hey!” No need to call me out like that. “Speaking of not being around. You haven’t said much either, you’re just as guilty as I am!”

  “At least for me it’s in character.” He said as if that’s an excuse. “...Also, were you pnning to do something? Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

  “Oh. It’s nothing like that. I’m just chilling.” Guess he might think I’m going to get some magic practice in, since this pce is free for me to experiment with how few people are around.

  …Wait. I just realized something. There’s some sort of mana covering his body right now, what is that about? It’s not like he’s casting a spell, as far as I can tell. It seems to mostly concentrate above his head and behind him.

  “Hey, Jass. I know what I’m going to do is a bit weird…” I said, and he tensed up once I began approaching him.

  *Grab*

  “...What the hell?” I tried to swing my hand above his head and instead I grabbed something fluffy? It has a nice feeling to it but that’s not the point.

  Jass suddenly took a few steps away from me and… Who? What?

  The person in front of me… Well, she has long bck hair, a rge pair of fennec fox ears, as well as a tail. I can’t quite tell why she suddenly appeared where Jass was. Was that Jass? Is she someone impersonating him? Whoever she is, I don’t really recognize her. It feels like I’ve seen her eyes somewhere before…

  *Leap*

  “W-Wait!” I shouted as the girl with a very visible blush on her face suddenly jumped away, right into the air and out of my field of view.

  …What was that? Who was that? I’m left with so many questions all of a sudden!