Just as the Faceless gazed at Izumi Shirayuki, she seemed to sense something, lifting her head to look back.
The moment the Faceless saw Shirayuki looking its way, it turned and melded into the darkness of the night.
‘Could it be? Is this Faceless Man legend also involving Reincarnators?’
Surprise jolted through Shirayuki. She immediately gave chase in the direction the Faceless had fled, following it into a narrow alleyway in a matter of moments.
However, Shirayuki ultimately failed to catch up. Since this wasn’t some desolate, sparsely populated area, it wasn’t convenient for her to reveal any abilities that defied common sense.
Still, this brief encounter was more than enough for Tsukiyomi Ruri to see something.
‘Izumi Shirayuki… she really is a Reincarnator too.’
Ruri recalled her returning Faceless, turning it back into a Card, and rubbed her face with a helpless sigh.
A tiny Urban Legend Club—why was every single member a Reincarnator? Come to think of it, there were two other members who were always on leave and had never shown up. Could they be Reincarnators as well?
Now Ruri found everyone suspicious, suspecting them all of being Reincarnators.
‘Speaking of which, these Reincarnators are a bit too densely packed. When I was a Reincarnator myself, it was rare to run into others in Reality. Our total numbers were very limited. But now… could this be a coincidence?’
Ruri pondered with a puzzled mind, unable to figure out the reason.
Unable to make sense of it, she didn’t force herself to dwell on the question and turned back to return to the train station.
Before long, Shirayuki also returned.
Seeing Ruri, Shirayuki was filled with troubled thoughts.
‘I originally thought the Faceless Man legend wouldn’t involve Reincarnators, so the process of exploring the unknown would be fun. Uncovering results would satisfy my curiosity and give a great sense of accomplishment. But… if Reincarnators are involved, I can’t let the other members, who are still ordinary people, get involved in this.’
With this in mind, Shirayuki resolved to quickly wrap up the club’s investigation of the Faceless Man legend. But how exactly should she end it?
“Senpai, I’ve made some progress here,” Ruri called out, waving Shirayuki over.
“What kind of progress?” Shirayuki blinked, walking over to ask.
Ruri held up her smartphone. “I caught the Faceless Man on video just now.”
Caught the Faceless Man? Shirayuki was a bit taken aback. Could it be the one from earlier had been captured?
Harboring complicated feelings, Shirayuki took Ruri’s smartphone and viewed the video on it.
The video showed an alley where a group of thoroughly intoxicated yankees lay sprawled out, every single one of them wearing a Faceless mask.
Izumi Shirayuki: “…”
This was not what she had expected.
Standing beside her, Ruri offered her analysis. “Senpai, do you think this so-called Faceless Man legend could just be a group of drunks wearing Faceless masks, scaring people and giving birth to an urban legend?”
Shirayuki wanted to end the investigation quickly, and wasn’t Ruri thinking the exact same thing? After all, Shirayuki had promised her a trip to the hot springs once this was all over.
Ruri’s words sparked an idea in Shirayuki’s mind. Shifting all the blame for the Faceless Man legend onto the bunch of yankees in the video seemed like the perfect way to resolve her current worries.
So Shirayuki decisively declared, “It’s them! So that’s how the Faceless Man legend originated. Finally, it’s all cleared up… We won’t need to investigate the Faceless Man legend any further. Speaking of, do they look a little familiar?”
Because they were all wearing Faceless masks and she was viewing it on a video, Shirayuki didn’t immediately recognize the gang.
Ruri supplied the answer. “They’re the same yankees who started the Ghost Legend.”
Izumi Shirayuki: “…”
So both the Ghost Legend and the Faceless Man Legend were pinned on the same group of people?
Shirayuki felt a little guilty, but she had no other option at the moment. At least this time, even taking the fall, the yankees didn’t seem to have suffered any real loss.
“Case closed at last. It’s getting quite late, so let’s head back, Tsukiyomi-san,” Shirayuki said to Ruri.
Ruri naturally had no objections.
The two girls left the train station, walking unhurriedly along the street.
Ruri’s elaborate and ornate outfit continued to draw a great deal of attention, so much so that Shirayuki, who was merely wearing her school uniform beside her, also received her fair share of stares.
When they were halfway home, Ruri noticed a bit of commotion up ahead and looked over with curiosity.
There, she saw a familiar group of yankees staggering along. They were already dead drunk, the stench of alcohol wafting from them so strongly that all the passersby within range quickly veered away to avoid them.
Every single face in that group was still adorned with a Faceless mask, and they were horsing around with each other.
‘They actually kept the masks I put on them back then?’
For a moment, Ruri didn’t even know what to say.
Shirayuki looked over at the scene, then turned to Ruri and stated gravely, “Confirmed. The Faceless Man legend is definitely the work of those yankees.”
Ruri nodded her head emphatically. “Right. They’re the ones who did it.”
…
Upon arriving back home, Ruri entered the bedroom to find the ghost Leona having the time of her life playing with Koike Takuma’s smartphone.
“Leona, you’ll need to be careful when you go to school from now on,” Ruri said, walking over.
“What happened?” Leona asked, puzzled.
Ruri explained her discovery that Izumi Shirayuki was also a Reincarnator.
Leona was speechless after hearing this. “So you’re telling me your entire Urban Legend Club is made up of Reincarnators?”
Ruri didn’t bother to clarify the technicality that she herself wasn’t a Reincarnator, instead just saying, “There are two members in our club who’ve been on leave the whole time and never showed up. Maybe they aren’t Reincarnators?”
Regardless, Leona found the whole situation deeply frustrating. It meant it wouldn’t be convenient for her to stick close to Ruri at school anymore.
However…
“As long as I have a phone to play with, staying home alone is perfectly fine by me.” This once-so-refined ghost had, unbeknownst to anyone, transformed into an internet-addicted girl.
“If nothing goes wrong, your phone will arrive tomorrow. Once it does, throw away this guy’s phone,” Ruri said, checking the delivery tracking on her phone before speaking to Leona.
Leona’s excitement immediately spiked. Having her own phone was infinitely better than using someone else’s.
“Oh, right, Tsukiyomi, I found an app on this person’s phone called the Reincarnator Forum. Do you want to take a look?” Leona said, as if suddenly remembering something.
“Reincarnator Forum? Could it be related to Reincarnators? Let me see.” Curiosity piqued, Ruri leaned in closer.
Right then, before Ruri’s eyes, the phone screen went completely black.
“It’s out of battery?” Leona froze for a second, then urgently cried out, “Quick, go get your charging cable!”
