This time, Inoue Keiko finally understood the situation, and her body instantly froze.
She hadn’t seen what Tsukiyomi Ruri was holding, but feeling the cold sensation on her neck, she instinctively assumed it was a dagger. And even if the other party had no weapon, their ability to constantly stay behind her, preventing her from seeing them, represented a level of strength far beyond her reach.
Thus, Inoue Keiko immediately lost any will to resist. With a worried and fearful expression, she said, “L-Lord… what are your orders? I am just an ordinary Reincarnator.”
Normally, the Reincarnation Space forbade Reincarnators from revealing the world of Reincarnators to non-Reincarnators. But Inoue Keiko believed the person behind her was definitely a Reincarnator, so naturally, there was no need to be evasive.
Tsukiyomi Ruri lowered her voice. “I saw you come out of the school ahead. What were you doing there so late at night?”
Inoue Keiko, body rigid, honestly replied, “I went to train my ability.”
Train an ability?
Simple words, but they revealed complex information to Tsukiyomi Ruri.
Taking a deep breath, Tsukiyomi Ruri said in a deep voice, “What ability were you training?”
Inoue Keiko answered, “N-Grade Ability Card, [Updraft].”
“Oh. Take that card out and toss it on the ground. It’s mine now,” Tsukiyomi Ruri said without a trace of emotion.
Upon hearing this, Inoue Keiko’s eyes instantly welled up with tears. “L-Lord… I went through life-and-death situations in the Reincarnation Space just to get this one Ability Card as a reward. My situation is truly miserable…”
No sooner had she spoken than Inoue Keiko felt the “dagger” on her neck grow even colder, as if it were about to slide across her skin.
Terrified, Inoue Keiko didn’t dare say another word. A white card appeared in her hand, and she let it drop toward the ground.
Naturally, Tsukiyomi Ruri did not let the card hit the ground. Her hand darted out and snatched it, now held in her left hand.
The card’s back was pure white, while the front had a white base with an image of air currents rising. This was the N-Grade Ability Card [Updraft]. Tsukiyomi Ruri knew this type of card: it created an airflow that blew upwards. As for N-Grade Ability Cards, they were the lowest rank of cards available.
‘So the floating desks and chairs in the school were from training [Updraft]. That makes sense. It’s not suitable to train abilities during the day, and an empty school at night is a good choice… But why are there other Reincarnators here?!’
A hint of irritability rose in Tsukiyomi Ruri’s heart. If the Reincarnation Space was so peaceful, then her desperate attempts to escape it in her past life… did that make her seem like a fool?
Clutching the Ability Card, Tsukiyomi Ruri turned and left, vanishing completely into the vast darkness.
Sensing that Tsukiyomi Ruri had likely gone, Inoue Keiko touched her neck and let out a sigh of relief.
‘What level of Reincarnator was that just now? Definitely stronger than me, no doubt.’
Inoue Keiko thought to herself, not daring to stay outside any longer.
She started heading back home, but not even a minute later, she sensed a dark shadow flit past overhead. Puzzled, she looked up but failed to see the figure clearly before sensing it land behind her.
Inoue Keiko spun around, but the figure circled with her, ensuring she couldn’t see them.
“Speak. What’s your name?” came a deliberately altered voice. Inoue Keiko felt a sharp sensation on her neck once more.
She knew this wasn’t the same mysterious person from before, and that realization brought a sudden urge to cry.
Why was there another one?!
“Inoue… Inoue Keiko,” she stammered, terrified the person behind her would silence her permanently.
“Speak. Why did you come out of the school earlier? What did you do inside?” asked the figure behind her.
Beneath the bright moon, a head of silver-white hair seemed to shimmer with moonlight, and a pair of violet eyes glistened crystal clear.
It was Izumi Shirayuki!
Even Tsukiyomi Ruri hadn’t expected that the Urban Legend Club’s president, their third-year Senpai, was actually a Reincarnator.
Inoue Keiko honestly recounted the details of her ability training.
After hearing this, Izumi Shirayuki understood that the campus ghost stories were essentially caused by Inoue Keiko’s actions.
Understanding the whole story, Izumi Shirayuki lost interest in troubling her further. Without a word, she turned and left, disappearing into the vast night.
Sensing Izumi Shirayuki’s departure, Inoue Keiko breathed a sigh of relief.
She glanced left and right and hurried home. Running into two Reincarnators who could easily overpower her in one night made her heart pound so hard it wouldn’t slow down.
But just as Inoue Keiko rounded a corner ahead, she suddenly heard a sharp gust of wind beside her. Before she could react, a cold sensation touched her neck again.
Inoue Keiko: “…”
“Speak. Your name? Why are you out here so late at night?” an artificially altered voice asked.
Behind Inoue Keiko stood a girl with light-green hair tied in twin-tails. Her brown eyes were fixed on Inoue Keiko, a person she clearly found very suspicious.
From the voice, Inoue Keiko could tell this wasn’t one of the previous two. Which meant she had encountered a third Reincarnator she couldn’t possibly resist.
Feeling deeply wronged, Inoue Keiko sobbingly confessed everything.
Mizuhashi Yuzuki looked at her in confusion, wondering why she was already crying. She was a Reincarnator, after all—someone who had seen the storms and waves of the Reincarnation World. How could her heart be so fragile?
‘Reincarnators these days… so melodramatic.’
Sighing inwardly, Mizuhashi Yuzuki turned and vanished silently.
Sensing that Mizuhashi Yuzuki was likely gone, Inoue Keiko looked back, then covered her face and ran home. The night was too dangerous—she never wanted to go out again.
…
Back at home, Tsukiyomi Ruri stared at the N-Grade Ability Card [Updraft].
‘The Reincarnation Space is fine… Why?’
Tsukiyomi Ruri was troubled. She wanted to directly ask Inoue Keiko about it, but once questions involved the Reincarnation Space itself, it would attract the Space’s attention. Who knew what kind of trouble that might bring? So she couldn’t ask much. She decided to quietly observe Inoue Keiko to understand the situation.
‘Damn, I forgot to ask that girl’s name… Whatever. Her uniform was from our school. I’ll look for her at school tomorrow.’
The thought flashed through Tsukiyomi Ruri’s mind.
She looked at the Ability Card in her hand again. After a moment’s thought, she decided against testing it. She was afraid it might lift the entire house into the sky.
An N-Grade Card was the lowest rank, but it all depended on who used it. In her hands, even an N-Grade Card could overturn the heavens.
