The Dark Room

“Munch, munch…”

The girl held a paper container drenched in sauce, using a toothpick to spear meatballs and shove them into her mouth one after another.

Despite being the ace of the track and field club, she ate with absolutely no self-restraint. Yet, the marvel lay in the fact that, despite such binge-eating, she possessed a well-proportioned and athletic physique.

Especially when she donned her sportswear on the track, her body—devoid of any flab or cumbersome muscle—was often more impressive than the records she broke.

“Want some, Vice President?”

The girl handed the paper container toward Lilo, who was following behind her.

“I’ve already had lunch,” Lilo politely declined.

Although he was skilled at rejecting others, his words were ultimately no match for primitive brute force.

He had originally tried to find an excuse to slip away using his nap as a pretext, but he had been caught in her strong grip and steered in the exact opposite direction of his intended destination.

Toward the building where the Student Council was located…

“That’s a real shame then. These are so good. I’ll treat you next time, okay?”

“I’ll have already eaten lunch next time, too.”

“What’s that supposed to be? Some kind of prophecy?”

“Yes.”

“Haha, Vice President, you really are eccentric. You’re just a human, why act like a prophet~”

This was the second time Lilo had hit a wall.

The first was because of that bizarre Club President senior; the second was this blunt, thick-lined athletic girl before him, who completely failed to hear the underlying rejection in his words.

An incomprehensible person…

Aside from the Student Council room itself, the building housed various other rooms of all sizes. Lilo, a newcomer, was not familiar with any of them.

“Where are we going?”

“Nair…”

?

The girl of the Minotaur race turned around and introduced herself to Lilo.

“My name is Nair. Vice President, you haven’t called me by my name once, have you? When we first met, you even addressed me as ‘It’s you.’ That’s very rude, you know?”

“…”

Lilo was speechless.

He truly hadn’t remembered her name. No, that wasn’t the point—had you ever actually told me your name before? Otherwise, how would I know it’s Nair?

Well…

Even if he knew it now, since they weren’t close, he’d probably forget it in a couple of days anyway.

“So, where are we going… Nair?”

Under Nair’s pouty and somewhat dissatisfied gaze, Lilo helplessly added her name to the end of his sentence.

“I told you already, I’m bringing the Vice President here to fulfill his duties.”

Duties…

Thinking back to what happened with the President a few days ago, she had also said that this would be his job from now on.

Being the Vice President was proving to be quite difficult.

“Follow me. We’re almost there.”

Following behind Nair, Lilo tried to distract himself from his growing irritation by watching her tail swaying behind her waist. He had to admit, it was somewhat interesting to look at.

“Nair…”

“Hmm?”

“In the eyes of the Student Council, what exactly is the Vice President?”

Since the path with President Livia had become rocky, Lilo could only pin his hopes on Nair, the Disciplinary Committee Chair, to see if she knew anything.

“Uh-huh~ even if you ask that, the Vice President is just the Vice President. A position below the President, but above me.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah, that’s about it…”

This was truly like playing a lute to a cow.

“I’m just asking, what exactly is the specific work of the Vice President…”

Lilo noticed then that, without realizing it, he had followed Nair below the ground level of the Student Council building.

The sunlight was replaced by artificial lighting. Although there were windows along the corridor, they had all been reinforced and welded shut with iron bars, turning the area into a completely sealed space.

‘There’s such a vast space underground…’

‘A shelter?’

Perhaps because few people ever came here, there was a damp, chilling sensation in the air.

“Ah, first time here?”

Nair seemed to sense Lilo’s wariness. She suddenly clutched her head and muttered to herself in frustration.

“Oh no, oh no! Am I really the first one to use this place? If Livia finds out, I’m totally dead!”

‘Is the President a murderer?’

Lilo couldn’t tell if it was a joke, but given Livia’s abnormality, it wasn’t impossible that she truly was a murderer hidden within the academy…

“Forget it, if I die, I die. After all, a promise is a promise!”

Adopting the mindset of a dead pig not fearing boiling water, Nair regained her spirit and picked up the gym bag she had just set on the floor. As she did, a very distinct clinking sound came from within.

…Metal?

Because Lilo had used similar bags before, he was exceptionally familiar with that sound.

Why would a member of the track and field club carry heavy metal tools in her gym bag? Wasn’t it a hassle to move them back and forth?

“Ah, right, Vice President.”

Nair hoisted the gym bag onto her shoulder, turned to Lilo, and made an apologetic gesture, laughing sheepishly.

“I thought the President had already brought you here, so…”

‘Make sure you don’t get scared away when the time comes.’

?

While Lilo was pondering the strangeness of those words, Nair had already stopped in front of a door.

No nameplate. No sign.

He hadn’t seen any other doors on the way down; it was as if there was only this one entrance behind the walls—or rather, the only exit.

“…”

Lilo’s intuition told him that the “world” behind that door was likely terrible. Once he stepped inside, he would probably drift further away from the “normalcy” he knew. But he did not intend to retreat.

It wasn’t that he longed for the unknown or for danger.

It was simply… it didn’t matter anymore.

Whether what awaited him behind the door was pain, torture, or anything else attempting to subvert his senses, he felt it didn’t matter.

He…

Would no longer be “moved.”

Click!

Nair slowly pushed the door open. A musty, decaying smell wafted out.

Whatever was piled inside had likely been sitting there for decades—no, perhaps centuries. It had probably existed since the very beginning of the Student Council.

Nair didn’t step inside, but instead signaled for Lilo to enter first.

‘To prevent me from running away?’

Lilo was actually relieved she hadn’t resorted to violence to shove him in.

It wouldn’t be good to break a bone; his legs were quite important for getting to school.

“…”

Lilo obediently stepped into the room. Just as the President had first described him—jumping into a fire despite knowing it was a pit—just how insane was he?

Instruments…

No, would “torture devices” be a more appropriate description?

Lilo had still underestimated the madness of the world behind the door.

The entire room was a massive execution ground, lined with countless terrifying devices designed to torture people into pain, madness, or even self-destruction.

It was…

The manifestation of ultimate human malice.

Tools forged by concentrating thousands of years of malice from both humans and demi-humans, designed to maximize suffering and make one wish for death.

It was no exaggeration to say they were a history of malice for both races.

That was why they took on such twisted and exaggerated forms.

“…This really is… quite a sight.”

Lilo actually found the presence of mind to remark.

To be honest, gathering all these “torture devices” must have been time-consuming and difficult; thus, he offered a sentence of praise.

“So, the duty I am to fulfill is…”

Lilo turned back to look at Nair.

Once again…

He witnessed a girl’s distortion. A distortion originating from another girl.

“Haa… haa~”

The ace of the track club, the famous athlete who had broken into national competitions multiple times, the Student Council’s Disciplinary Committee Chair—Nair, at this moment… her legs were trembling. She was trying her hardest to suppress the abnormal emotions surging within her.

Her cheeks were flushed, and her eyes were dazed as she stared into the room.

“Yeah, it really is… magnificent.”

As if she had some special complex for these tools meant to bring pain.

Nair was actually “admiring” them!

She slowly pulled a pair of bolt cutters and metal chains from her gym bag.

“Vice President~”

With a trembling voice completely different from before, she walked toward Lilo step by step.

“You asked me just now what the specific work of the Vice President is, right?”

“I actually… don’t know for sure, either. But…”

She stared straight at Lilo with eyes that held a half-smile, the crimson on her cheeks becoming more pronounced.

“Someone told me that this… is where you are supposed to ‘work’.”

Because here…

Is where every Vice President throughout history has “worked hard”!

Lilo looked at the approaching Nair expressionlessly.

He finally realized that the girl before him was likely a “monster” just like the President.

“Vice President… no, Lilo.”

Nair spoke one word at a time.

‘It’s time to fulfill… your duty.’