wdwwOran Knight is out (2/3 chapters for today)
Fourth of Seven Mysteries (2): Rantgate Surr’s Newspaper
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Out of the lost 12 volumes of files, only three were found in the room next to the library.
“Why are there only three volumes?” (Rick)
Rick-san, who found the files, crossed his arms and tilted his head as he stared at the files on the desk.
“Maybe they’re in another part of this room?” (Sonia)
Sonia, who had been searching the other room which was the science lab, suggested while glancing around this not-so-spacious room, but both Rick-san and Hana shook their heads.
“We’ve checked everywhere else as well. These three volumes are probably all there is, degozaru.” (Hana)
“Well, anyway, let’s take a look inside.” (Frank)
Frank said. He had already picked up the files before I could say anything, and we each took turns opening the three files.
The file that I, Sonia, and Heinz were looking at together compiled articles from the autumn of 11 years ago. The 12 volumes of files were divided into the four seasons for each year, meaning there were three years’ worth of files. The newspaper was basically published once a week. Extra editions were printed when there were special events. Compared to the very first article I saw from 13 years ago, the school newspaper a year and a half later was much more refined in both articles and composition, taking the form of a proper ‘newspaper’.
“Wow, this is interesting.” (Ratt)
Ratt-kun muttered unconsciously as he gazed at another file. The newspaper from over 10 years ago held fresh discoveries, and although we were supposed to be looking for articles about the Seven Mysteries, we kept getting sidetracked.
In the file we were looking at, there was an article titled “Autumn Harvest.” Apparently, the southwestern area, which is now the sports ground, used to be a field where students grew vegetables and fruits. The lively scenes of events in celebration of the autumn harvest were featured along with illustrations.
“This Surr… seems like a senior who made the newspaper.” (Sonia)
Sonia pointed to the editor’s name at the very end of the newspaper. It said, ‘Responsible Editor: Rantgate Surr’, followed by the names of the editorial assistants. Rantgate Surr-senpai’s name also appeared in the next article, but the editorial assistants were different people. It seemed that, basically, they wrote the articles alone and listed those who helped with illustrations or gathering information.
“I wonder what kind of senior they were.” (Lux)
I mused, imagining the senior from 10 years ago who probably wouldn’t meet, making the articles by themselves every week.
“Judging by the style of writing, she is probably a woman.” (Sonia)
Sonia added her thoughts to my musings. Indeed, the handwriting felt delicate, and although we couldn’t be certain, it seemed feminine.
“There’s a high possibility they were a noble.” (Heinz)
Heinz shared his opinion in response to Sonia’s words.
“Why do you think so?” (Lux)
“From the neatness of the handwriting and the choice of words used in the articles, she conveys a certain level of education. She seems like someone who had received a fair amount of education before entering the academy.” (Heinz)
Indeed, back when I was in the southern village, there were people in the village who taught us reading and writing, but if someone asked me if I could create this newspaper when I first entered the academy, I’d say it would have been impossible.
“And there’s one more thing. If they weren’t a student with some degree of influence, like a noble, I don’t think they’d be easily allowed to make a school newspaper.” (Heinz)
What Heinz said made sense. But if that’s the case, there was something that bothered me.
“If they were a noble, wouldn’t they have a middle name?” (Maria)
For example, Maria has “Bell,” and Lamie-senpai has “Via”. Nobles should have middle names indicating their house.
It was Maria, who was looking at the file over there, who answered this.
“It’s customary to introduce one’s house name in gatherings of nobles, but often they don’t mention it.” (Maria)
She explained that while within the academy, nobles often give their house names to avoid unnecessary friction among themselves. In places like the town, it was more common not to use their house name, as claiming to be a noble can attract unsavory types, like bandits during summer vacation.
“Wow, I didn’t know that.” (Lux)
I replied while continuing to read through the newspaper articles.
The newspaper I was looking at had a layout where the main article with a big headline took up half of the space, and the remaining half was filled with about three to four topics. I couldn’t say for sure, but I didn’t think any of the Seven Mysteries would be featured as the main article, so I focused on the smaller articles. Most of the topic articles were pleasant stories, such as about a stray cat on campus having kittens or a newlywed teacher. There was also a regular corner called ‘This Month’s Horoscope’.
As I was reading a love story about a teacher I didn’t know, I heard Maria’s voice.
“Oh, what’s this?” (Maria)
Everyone who had been looking at different files gathered around the file Maria was reading. The file Maria was looking at was from the summer of 11 years ago. In one section, there was an article titled ‘Summer Horror Specials’ with the note ‘4 Parts in Total’. This file contained newspapers from June and July, and the special feature articles were in the July issue.
“Huh? Isn’t there an August issue?” (Lux)
I wondered aloud.
“They probably don’t publish in August because of summer vacation.” (Heinz)
Heinz answered.
That made sense.
Anyway, the four articles were titled:
Part One: Terror! The Arm That Attacks in the Middle of the Night
Part Two: Horror! The White Shadow Standing on the Lake After the Rain
Part Three: Screams! The Student Buried in the Castle Wall
Part Four: Astonishment! The Underground Urban Legend of the Academy
We skimmed through each of the articles, but the first and third stories seemed to be simple scary tales. Then, we looked at the second article.
“This is about the artificial lake, isn’t it?” (Sonia)
Sonia said, and she was probably right. It seemed to be one of the Seven Mysteries about the artificial lake. A white shadow apparently appears there. However, the article didn’t go into much more detail. Instead, it mostly focused on warning people to stay away from the artificial lake on rainy days.
Finally, we reached the fourth article.
“This one does seem kind of like a part of the Seven Mysteries.” (Frank)
Frank said, sounding intrigued.
The article claimed that underneath the academy was an underground city built by the military, where people could supposedly live for over a year in case of an emergency. It was a completely absurd story. Still, amidst the other three being straightforward horror stories, this article stood out as something different.
“The Dancing Painting… isn’t here, degozaru.” (Hana)
Hana noted.
“For now, why don’t we look through the other newspapers as well?” (Rick)
Rick-san suggested, and with that, we returned to the task of skimming through the remaining articles.
In the end, we couldn’t find any significant information in the remaining articles. We took the files we found to the new library instead of the old school building’s library and asked them to be stored there. The librarian, who knew the situation, was happy to take care of them.
As for the Dancing Painting that we ultimately didn’t find, we would soon come face-to-face with it in an unexpected place.
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