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"It's time for the hall to open. Good morning everyone."
I rushed out of the room as the broadcast sounded.
The hall is whiter than it was yesterday. The frost adhering to the floor and walls solidified like an ice cube, the building is gradually being eroded by frost, and everything is frozen. Even the air is frozen white and extraordinarily clear.
I went toward Kirigiri's room, just as Kirigiri came out of the room. The three-strand braid that's usually braided is now loose, and there is no hair ribbon, her face looks much better than yesterday.
"Thank goodness... you're fine." I hugged her tightly.
"Yui-onēsama too."
I put my hand on her forehead and checked her temperature. "The fever has gone down a lot."
"I'm sorry." Kirigiri frowned, biting her lip as if she felt remorse from the bottom of her heart. "I was negligent to collapse from fatigue. Without physical strength, you can't be a good detective, that's what I was taught..."
"You shouldn't push yourself too hard. You are a middle school student and your body is still growing."
"That can't be an excuse."
"Don't blame yourself. Instead of that, look at the ice pillar, it's already been cut down a lot."
The ice pillar in the center is the same as last night, except that it's covered in white by frost. The cut made by the chain saw stopped just before reaching the black box.
"The box is fine, and there were no intruders. As we thought, there is no third party, right?"
On the frosted floor there are no footprints of anyone but ours. There is no special change around the entrance of the underground passage, and the PET bottle placed on the trap door was not knocked over, it remains as it was.
"If that's the case, let's go check if the others are safe too." "Ah... yeah."
I really don't want to confirm.
I could feel the presence of death. Silence—
I expected a dead body on the other side of the closed door. That's because I've experienced the same silence too many times in 'Black Challenges' so far.
Once this door is opened, there is no turning back. "Kirigiri-chan..."
I said to her.
But she opened the door before turning back.
Kadomi is asleep under the blanket.
On his right shoulder, a protrusion can be seen. Like a small tombstone, it symbolizes his death. "Dead......"
I could only murmur in a low voice.
There is almost no bleeding, only the surrounding blanket is slightly dyed red, and only the tip of the knife is stuck in, the same as last time.
