"So, uhm… that senior was your friend, right?"
The blonde gyaru asked. Ryuga shot her friendly look then sipped his coffee and nodded.
"Yeah, she was. Any questions? Feel free to ask."
The gyaru exchanged a look with her friends, swallowed, and straightened. Her eyes sharpened; her posture tightened.
"I… uhm. I saw the video you guys took. Fujimoto-san showed it. In that footage everyone looked so stressed. So why do you still not believe in ghosts? You were in that video too… are you the same as them?"
Ryuga set his cup on the table and sighed. He stared up at the ceiling for a beat, then returned his gaze to the girls.
"Yeah. I think the same as them. In fact, I'm worse. My whole thing is rejecting superstitious crap. I get this urge to shatter anyone's belief in the supernatural when I see someone who believes in it."
"Then why were you all scared? You can't deny that people looked uneasy in that footage. The cuts were messy, but the fear was obvious."
The albino girl asked in a barely audible voice, as if mumbling to herself. If not for the fact she was staring Ryuga dead in the eye, he would have ignored her.
"Well, do you know what the most dangerous thing on the planet is?"
A puzzled look crossed the girl's face.
"Humans. Humans are the most dangerous thing on the planet. You shouldn't be more afraid of a made-up ghost than of people. People can actually hurt you."
He didn't elaborate, but the implication was clear enough.
Someone else had been in the mansion. A living person, flesh and blood, capable of doing harm.
The girls paled as they understood what he meant, and the danger their seniors had been in finally sank in.
"Doesn't that mean… we indirectly threw them into harm's way?"
The black-haired girl's eyes widened. She reflexively clutched the blonde girl's hand, her teary gaze filled with horror.
The blonde girl silently nodded, gently caressing her friend's back. Swallowing hard, she glanced at Ryuga.
Words wouldn't come. She didn't know what to say. Apologizing seemed like the obvious answer, but would it even make a difference?
The seniors had spent an entire night in an unknown place—all for a bet? A debate? To prove some point?
Even if it was their choice, it didn't change the fact that they had been the ones to instigate it.
"Calm down. Nothing happened, and we're all doing fine. No harm done, no harm taken. Don't overthink it."
Before they could sink deeper into guilt, Ryuga pulled them out of it with an easygoing tone.
Still, it didn't seem to make much difference.
'Hmm… they're good kids, after all. If they're feeling this guilty over something we did of our own will, they're genuinely good kids. I should do something about that guilt…'
"How about we forget all that and start over? I know your first meeting with my friends wasn't exactly the best, so let's start from scratch. Let's be friends.
"C'mon, basics first—tell me your name. By the way, I'm Ryuga… Kami Ryuga. You can just call me Ryuga if you want."
There was an effortless charm about the senior sitting across from them, casually sipping his coffee. With his middle-parted black hair and mesmerizing blue eyes, he was undeniably a looker.
But his chiseled face wasn't the reason for his charm. It was his ability to create warmth. Familiarity.
He had that kind of friendly vibe that stuck to him—the type of guy who'd genuinely listen to your problems and make you feel at home.
It made him feel reliable, and it made the girls feel at ease in his presence.
"Yeah, you're right about that. Uhm, I'm Okitsu Rion. I'm a first-year student, currently studying psychology as my main subject."
The blonde gyaru, Okitsu Rion, introduced herself first. Right after her, the black-haired girl spoke up.
"I-I am Kisaragi Tomoe. I'm also a first-year student. My subject is language, mainly English."
Lastly, the albino girl introduced herself. "I'm Abeno Saki, same as them. I'm a CS student."
"Oh, so you all are from different departments. How did you meet? Care to share, if you don't mind of course? My group's kind of similar to yours. I'm the isolated guy of the group who studies psychology, while most of my friends are CS or Bio students."
Rion's interest piqued at his words. The sense of familiarity she felt from him only grew stronger as he spoke.
"That's nice… also, did you say you study psychology? That's so nice! It's hard finding people who actually pursue it. If you don't mind, can you help me with my studies?"
"I don't see why not. But I'll be extremely blunt—I'm a slacker. So don't expect anything out of the box or mind-boggling. I'm just your average Joe."
"It'll still be better than studying alone. We're still new here, so we don't have many friends, and most people stay away from us. The day we had that fight only made it worse."
"Oh, you guys are being shadow-bullied… that's nice."
He squinted his eyes and nodded slowly. With the expression he made and the tone he used, it was hard not to laugh.
"Hahaha, what?! You sound way too happy listening to other people's misery."
He waved his hands in the air dismissively, as if batting away the very true accusation. He couldn't outright admit to it—that would be beneath him!
"Nah, don't worry about it. If you tag along with me for a day or two, you'll become as unhinged as I am. No doubt about it."
"I'm somehow second-guessing our friendship…" Tomoe mumbled.
"Heyyy, don't say that to my face! Wait until I'm gone! Hmph! And here I thought you were good kids. Tch, tch."
"This guy…"
Saki was baffled by how the fearful senior from before had turned into a grumbling baby. The contrast was almost dizzying.
She couldn't reconcile the man pouting and chatting so casually with them to the one who had earlier made her stomach twist in fear.
'One would need special skills to be like him… his other personality is REALLY different.'