Oran Knight is out (2/3 chapters for today)
Fifth of Seven Mysteries (1): Boy Who Disappeared from the Wall
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*Today’s Diary*
The fifth of the Seven Mysteries that Frank brought up was certainly a strange one.
It’s said that a former student suddenly disappeared at a corner of the wall that surrounds the academy. Frank heard this story from an older Engineer (Tech) who lives in the same dorm.
I found it rare that Frank was gathering information on the Seven Mysteries, but apparently, a group of Engineer (Tech) gathered and started a mysterious game where the winner was whoever could surprise or scare Frank, who is usually unshakable. This story came up in that context.
What are they even doing?
According to Frank, “Among the unimaginative stories that were just meant to scare, this one had a bit of potential”, though it’s unclear what position he was evaluating from.
When Frank asked the senior for more details, it turned out that the senior’s older brother had been a student at the time and that this incident was considered one of the Seven Mysteries back then.
By the way, the ‘Scare Frank’ contest apparently ended with no winner, and according to Frank, the second round is set to be held soon.
Well, setting that aside for now.
After I fully recovered, we decided to take on the fifth of the Seven Mysteries.
—
On a fine holiday, the members of Catrap, except for Lite and Lev, gathered at a corner of the academy’s southwest training area.
The training area includes the urban area where we had a duel with Lamie-senpai, the logistics training field for basic training like running, and at the southernmost point, there was a place called the sandbox. Though it was called a sandbox, this area had different types of soil gathered intentionally, ranging from fine sand to clay-like dirt.
The training conducted here mainly involved learning how to make sandbags and how to dig holes without using shovels. In short, it was a place for practicing base construction under various ground conditions.
Frankly, it was not a very interesting place. We rarely come here unless it was for a class. We were not at the age to play in the sandbox anymore. So, it was no surprise that besides us, there was practically no one around. Plus, we were in the far corner of the sandbox, so unless something extraordinary happened, there was no worry about being noticed.
“Did a boy really disappear in such a place?” (Ratt)
Ratt-kun asked suspiciously, tapping the wall with his hand.
“That’s what the story says.” (Frank)
Frank replied, also placing his hand on the wall.
The story Frank heard went like this.
One foggy early morning, a student saw Bodie walking toward the sandbox, looking like he was sleepwalking. The student found it strange that Bodie was heading in that direction and decided to follow him.
“Bodie is the student who disappeared. But even so, you have to wonder, what was the other guy doing out on such a foggy morning? Wandering around for no reason is scarier if you ask me.” (Frank)
Bodie, with an unsteady gait, kept walking deeper and deeper into the sandbox until he came to a stop in front of the wall. The student who had been following him, worried by Bodie’s odd behavior, tried to call out to him. However, when Bodie turned around in response to the call, the student screamed and fell down in shock. Bodie’s face was completely missing. It was as if the front half of his head had been cleanly sliced off.
Bodie with his face completely gone, stared at the fallen student for a moment, then lost interest, turned back toward the wall, and while the student could only scream silently, Bodie melted into the wall and disappeared. Since then, no one has seen Bodie again.
“There are a lot of things to nitpick in this story. If they wanted to scare me, they should’ve stuck with the faceless Bodie or his disappearance. They need to pick one direction.” (Frank)
Frank gave his overall review.
Honestly, I’m not sure anyone could surprise this guy. I can see why the Engineer (Tech) seniors would want to scare Frank somehow. While the story itself wasn’t all that thrilling, Frank was intrigued by the part where Bodie supposedly vanished into the wall.
“The previous mysteries, like the immovable statue and the dancing painting, were physical gimmicks, right? So, I thought maybe this one was too. I asked around and hit the jackpot. So, I figured maybe there’s a hidden passage in this wall where Bodie disappeared.” (Frank)
Under Frank’s theory, we started searching the wall, feeling around for anything unusual.
After a while…
“…There’s nothing here.” (Rick)
Rick-san said, marking the start of our break.
We spread out a sheet in the corner of the sandbox, and Ratt-kun prepared some sweets and tea from Holland-san’s shop. One of the main goals of today’s gathering was to showcase Holland-san’s recently popular sweets, which Ratt-kun highly recommends. For some of us, that might actually be the main event.
Since the day I was bedridden with a cold, the rain has stopped, and the intense summer sun has given way to an autumn that’s quickly settling in. It was a perfect season for relaxing outside like this.
“Oh, this is delicious.” (Maria)
Maria said quietly, almost unintentionally.
Following her lead, I grabbed one of Holland-san’s sweets and popped it into my mouth.
As I crunched through the thin sugar coating on the surface, a soft candy emerged, and inside that was something crispy and sweet, though I couldn’t quite tell what it was.
Yeah, it’s delicious.
Maria was born into a noble family and is familiar with the finest things.
So, if she says it’s good, then Ratt-kun’s prediction that Holland-san’s sweets will become a new town favorite might be right.
For a while, the conversation was lively, mostly revolving around Ratt-kun and Hana, discussing where Holland-san frequently sets up his mobile shop. Suddenly, I noticed that Heinz had been quiet, staring intently at the ground.
“What’s up, Heinz?” (Lux)
Without taking his eyes off the ground, he said.
“What if it’s not the wall, but the ground?” (Heinz)
“What do you mean?” (Lux)
“Well, remember the culvert we saw in the practical training area? The entrance was hidden in a spot we hadn’t noticed at all.” (Heinz)
Heinz was referring to the time we went to investigate the mystery of the artificial lake during the latter half of summer break. Sonia, who was also there, murmured.
“That’s right…” (Sonia)
“Yeah, there was something like that. It’s possible.” (Frank)
Frank agreed. Everyone who hadn’t been on the artificial lake exploration with us quickly understood, since we had told them about it before.
“Alright then, after the break, let’s investigate the ground and see if there’s a hidden door.” (Rick)
Rick-san concluded.
With that settled, we continued enjoying Holland-san’s sweets.
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