Chapter 10

"I'm not sure, and even the hospital couldn't find the cause." Izawa Ayane shook her head, continuing along the other's line of thought, completely forgetting why she had come to find Niino Li.

Before asking Teacher Ozawa for the student list, the image of Niino Li she'd gathered from the Art Club was: an arrogant fellow who looked down on others and refused to mingle.

But after meeting him in person, she realized he was actually quite easy to get along with.

"What does the competition format look like?"

Niino Li watched Izawa Ayane stare blankly at the ceiling, three black lines appearing on his forehead as he kindly offered a reminder.

According to the calendar markings, the previous owner had worked part-time at a convenience store during his time away from the Art Club, only recently accidentally landing the final illustrations for Goodbye, Another World.

Without help from that teacher Ozawa, the previous owner likely wouldn't have been able to earn his living expenses in peace.

To keep the agreement valid, he had no choice but to accept this commission.

"Huh? Did I not say?" Izawa Ayane snapped back to attention, seeing Niino Li nod silently, she added haltingly, with gestures, an explanation of the competition.

Inter-school club competitions like this are common in Japanese high schools; they fully reflect the school's quality education standards, and winning can draw the school's attention and secure more activity funding.

The Art Club's competition isn't as complex as sports events—it's simply both teams creating artwork on-site based on a chosen theme, then submitting to judges for unified scoring.

The winner is determined by the total scores each team receives.

"Won't you be short-handed for a team competition?" Niino Li identified the key issue—could one person represent seven others?

Fortunately, the match is scheduled for a week after school starts—plenty of time for him to complete the task and level up his skills.

Level 3 skills scared even him.

"That's right, but this competition has a slight twist—Teacher Ozawa agreed to the opponent's request for an online match; no need to show up, just submit seven finished drawings on time."

As Izawa Ayane pictured this, she couldn't help imagining Teacher Ozawa's furious, terrifying face, and shivered.

Clearly they got scammed, right?!

Niino Li sighed helplessly—he didn't believe it was a coincidence that all Art Club members fell ill just as the competition format changed.

"Izawa-san, do you know the home addresses of the others? I'd like to visit them."

After agreeing to join the competition, Niino Li didn't forget Izawa Ayane's mention of the other members' strange behavior.

Right now, he desperately needed to trigger more tasks to test the system's functionality.

"I was planning to visit Mayi-chan right after my shift tomorrow evening—why don't we go together?" Izawa Ayane leaned forward over the low table, propping herself up with both hands, staring intently at him.

Indeed, Niino-kun was a good person, and very kind—not at all like the cold, heartless person others described.

That button edged closer to collapse again.

"Mm." Niino Li didn't look up this time, replying in a muffled voice.

After discussing the competition, he cautiously probed through Izawa Ayane for information about the previous owner's class.

Unfortunately, since the previous owner had spent so little time in the Art Club, and Izawa Ayane herself was a novice who barely passed after a month of intense study.

By the time Izawa Ayane eagerly joined, the Art Club was already circulating legends about "that man."

Standing on the one-meter-wide balcony, Niino Li felt no emotion inside, watching Izawa Ayane leave with a cheerful smile.

"For seven Art Club members to be so terrified they can't touch painting materials, it sounds more like some kind of psychological disorder."

Eating the onigiri he'd grabbed during morning exercise, Niino Li pondered this in his mind.

A strange, inexplicable unease.