Rooftop Shadow

Ah!

Are you alright, Sova?

I feel... a toe cramp...

We've run a long way. Why don't we take a break here?

Allow me to massage you.

Thank you.

How do you feel now?

... Thanks. I feel much better.

How nice...

Ahem, I remember that the Clubs' Building is not far from here. Why don't we go check it out?

Sure.

Here we are at the Clubs' Building.

What's this place?

It's where arts and crafts clubs carry out their activities. These clubs are very popular with the students, you know.

How about we go and see what the Arts Club has to present?

I'm more interested in the film the Head of our Go-Home Club is working on together with other clubs.

Then let's go have a look.

Oh no...

What are we going to do next? Modify the script?

Those are... Raeon from the Literature Club and Audrey from the Film Club.

It seems that the filming isn't going well.

...

Something wrong?

Awakener, why are you here?

Awakener is an instructor invited by Niz. She will make a fair judgment on the results of each club.

Something is bothering you and Raeon. What is it?

Okay... I'll tell you.

Audrey, the Head of the Film Club, is planning to shoot a short film. So she came to consult me.

After discussion, we decided to shoot a short film similar to a documentary, in which we would bring together the creepy things happening on campus with our daily life.

Simply put, it's a first-person-view thriller.

After that, we also had to consider the casting. We needed a protagonist who does not appear to be threatening and can evoke sympathy from the audience.

As far as I know, there is only one person in this school who meets the criteria.

And that is Deena, the Head of the Go-Home Club.

Hang on. Where's Deena? I didn't see her earlier.

... That's what is bothering us.

Deena passed out when filming. We took her to the infirmary, but she hasn't woken up so far.

What did the medics say?

They said she is just fine, though she may need some time to recover from the fright she suffered.

Since we couldn't be of any help in the infirmary, we went back to the classroom to discuss what to do next.

The filming went pretty well at the beginning, but now...

We'll be really rushed if we change the leading actress now, not to mention that many of the props we used for filming were disposable, and we don't have time to prepare new ones.

We have no choice other than to wait for Deena to wake up...

Even if Deena wakes up, she may not be able to continue filming.

According to our script, the protagonist ran to the rooftop because of something scary. When she arrived there, she encountered the last creepy thing.

Does Deena still have the courage to continue?

Sounds very complicated...

I'm a bit worried about Deena.

Should I go check on her?

And Raeon...

Leave it to me.

Would you go to the infirmary? I'll try to figure it out.

All right then.

Here we are at the infirmary.

How's Deena doing now?

I saw Nightingale taking care of her. She is the commissary in charge of hygiene in the same class as Nightingale.

Nightingale!

Sova? What are you doing here?

I and the Special Instructor Awakener are here to see Deena after hearing what has happened to her.

How's she doing now?

Not bad, but still unconscious. It's hard to tell when she will wake up.

I just wonder what frightened her...

I don't think that's the reason.

The doctor said the main reason Deena passed out was that her head hit something hard.

If she were frightened by something, where did the lump on her head come from?

Hit something hard?

Raeon and Audrey never mentioned it.

That's weird indeed. We've got to double-check with them.

Yes?

We're back, Raeon and Audrey.

How's Deena? Has she woken up?

About that...

Hang on. There's something wrong.

Akira's not here.

Akira said she needed to figure out something when we separated, but now...

After that, Akira went to the place where Deena passed out.

Haven't you been in touch?

That's not the point, Audrey.

The point is Sova doesn't seem to trust us.

What do you know?

Nightingale from the infirmary told me that Deena didn't pass out because of fright.

Not because of fright?

The real reason is that her head hit on something.

If there was an accident happening when filming, you couldn't have ignored it.

She was hit on the head... No wonder she said she felt dizzy at the time.

Don't you have anything to say to defend yourself?

We didn't go over the details amid the chaos at the time.

Are you trying to say you are part of the accident?

No, I mean I'd rather play the surveillance video than explain anything.

After all, the video doesn't lie.

This is the venue for shooting the last scene. Deena, do you remember all your lines?

I'll let the creativity flow.

Raeon would get mad at you if you do that again.

Just kidding. I have every line memorized.

You don't have to follow every word of the line.

All the necessary clues have been provided before. The last scene is all about creating a horrible vibe.

The lines are less important than how Deena expresses horror, panic, and despair in the doomed game.

Leave it to me!

Okay. Get ready for lighting.

It's true... all of it...

The eyes in the corridor, the female corpse in the studio... Waah... mama...

I want to leave this place... alive...

Wait. What's that?

No, I'm not acting. There is... Aaaaah!

There is a bruise on Deena's arm. I've got to treat it for her.

Audrey, hand me the medical kit.

... Waah... I see it...

Stop talking. I'll treat the bruise first.

Deena? Deena!

She passed out...

Hurry! Take Deena to the infirmary!

It does look like an accident.

Did Deena say ''a giant shadow'' before she passed out?

I told Akira when she asked.

I remember that Akira decided to investigate the rooftop after she heard about the shadow.

She should have just arrived at the rooftop. You may go double-check with her.

Okay. Thank you.

Sova, let's go to the rooftop.

...

Akira, what are you doing?

Waah!

Ah, it's you... You gave me a scare!

What are you doing with the handkerchief?

Hmm... I'm looking if there is anything suspicious on the ground.

By the way, I've got some intel from Raeon.

We've got something as well.

Since you've watched the video, the Bio-Chips we've got are basically the same.

The only thing you haven't mentioned is that Deena was supposed to encounter the Ghost Girl according to the script.

Ghost Girl?

Yes. Audrey said they got a projector to control where the Ghost Girl would appear.

Could the shadow Deena talked about... be the Ghost Girl?

Why don't we do a little experiment?

Yes?

She looks like an ordinary girl at first glance...

Deena wouldn't get startled by this.

Which means, she saw something else.

Dead end.

Do you remember where Deena was standing at the time?

Yes.

I see. How about we recreate what happened at the time?

It appeared!

What?

I see it!

What is it?

It's the shadow created by the projector.

The sakura petals stirred up by the wind cast a shadow when passing through the lens of the projector.

Sounds about right.

We spotted the petals because we turned on the projector beforehand.

But when filming, the projector was supposed to be turned on at the right moment. And at that very moment, there were petals passing by...

So we can reasonably presume that Deena spotted the shadow when the Ghost Girl appeared.

I think I know why Deena's head hit on something hard.

Deena was standing before the railing. If she fell backward because of something scary, she would definitely hit the railing.

And the bruise on her arm must be from that time as well.

Mystery solved.

Let's tidy up this place and then tell Raeon about it.

Sure.

Mystery... solved?

What are you hiding from us, Akira?

We're back.

Did you find anything on the rooftop?

I didn't expect the petals would...

But it explains everything.

We may well take it that way. I won't have time to attend to these details because I'll be pretty busy soon.

Busy?

Raeon decided to modify the script of the last scene by changing the ''Ghost Girl'' to ''A ghost seen but not captured by the female student with a camera.''

As Deena hasn't woken up, we have to use the previously-shot footage for editing.

Though we have come up with a solution, we still have to adjust the background music and the rhythm of the narration.

I see. Your problem's solved then.

I don't feel like I've been much help.

You are the instructor. We shouldn't have gotten you involved in the first place.

Besides, you figured out why Deena passed out, which lets us continue with the production of our film. That's a great help already.

I kinda look forward to your film.

Coming up next...

We'd better go back and report to Niz first.

About the basketball issue and Deena.

Okay.

... Shadow...

A giant... shadow... which is fluttering its wings...

... Hurry...

Run...