"What should we do next?"
After bickering with his younger sister for a little while and feeling that keeping it up was rather pointless, Hachiman asked Asakura, who was standing on the sidelines eating his melon.
"Find a place to sleep."
Asakura replied, his mouth full and his speech slightly slurred.
Although within this liminal space, a person's physical state did not seem to undergo any changes—and it seemed perfectly fine even without eating—it should logically be the same when it came to not sleeping.
Nevertheless, Asakura still intended to properly follow his regular routine. After all, regardless of the circumstances, keeping oneself in the best and most optimal state was never a mistake.
Hachiman was clearly not too satisfied with this response. Afterward, he repeatedly wore a look as though he wanted to speak but hesitated, yet in the end, he still said nothing at all.
"Then where are we going to sleep? If we just find a random person's house..." He glanced at the residential buildings not far off: "Wouldn't that count as illegal trespassing?"
"Don't worry, on the way over just now, I already found a suitable location. Follow me."
After tossing the watermelon rind into the pond, Asakura signaled to the Hikigaya siblings to keep up with him.
"Actually, I wanted to ask this just now..." Komachi walked alongside Hachiman, asking with a look of confusion: "Why does Asakura-nii look like he isn't worried in the slightest about being unable to get out?"
"Huh, did I not mention it before?"
Asakura blanked for a moment: "If I want to get out, I can leave at any given moment."
"Eh? You're lying, right?" Komachi covered her mouth, exclaiming in surprise: "You never mentioned that at all!"
"Then what did all the hardships we endured running around all afternoon count as..." Hachiman also grumbled under his breath on the side.
"Count as your..." Asakura stroked his chin and said: "...ability to endure hardships?"
"..."
The Hikigaya siblings stared at Asakura together with highly complex expressions.
It appeared that during this period of running all over the place inside this Weirdcore space, they had actually worried quite a bit about the possibility of being locked in here forever and being unable to leave. It was just that because both of them belonged to the type who were quite capable of keeping things to themselves, neither had openly displayed it too much.
"Then, could you let us... no, at least let Komachi leave this place first?"
Snapping back to his senses, Hachiman asked Asakura.
"What kind of foolish words are you spouting? If I am the only one who escapes, how will Komachi ever have the face to look at you again, Brother!"
With her hands on her hips, Komachi glared crossly at her older brother, speaking with dissatisfaction.
"I just think that we should at least let one person go back to report the news. Otherwise, if the two of us disappear for too long, the people outside might end up calling the police or something." Hachiman said stubbornly: "When the time comes, the police officers will waste their efforts for nothing and find absolutely nothing. It's better not to squander the taxpayers' money."
Seeing that his sister looked as though she still had something to say, he spoke up in a forceful tone: "Furthermore, if we both go missing, Mom and Dad will definitely be worried as well, right? If Komachi is fine, they can at least set aside about eighty percent of their anxiety."
"Does your existence only account for twenty percent in your parents' hearts?" Asakura looked at him with a gaze full of pity.
"Actually it's only ten percent. The other half is anxiety over how much money they'll have to spend organizing a search party." Hachiman answered in a completely deadpan manner.
"..."
Asakura covered his face: Doesn't that make it even more pitiful.
Komachi was also left wavering and uncertain by her older brother's words.
Seeing this, Asakura spoke up to explain: "If it's just a matter of waiting until I myself want to leave, then it is naturally very simple. But if I am to send you guys out, it will require taking a bit of a risk."
After all, if he wanted to leave, he could simply use the bonfire warp inside the Roundtable Hold to teleport out. But to make the Hikigaya siblings leave, he would absolutely have to resort to some forceful methods.
Upon hearing this, Hachiman couldn't help but grow worried: "Is it that when going out, we might fall victim to something like being spirited away?"
"No, it's that the output of force would be too massive. When sending you guys out, this space might end up being directly broken by me." Asakura spread his hands.
"..."
So you're actually that strong.
Hachiman was left completely speechless.
"Although I didn't state it directly, I trust you two have perceived to some extent that my purpose in coming over here is to investigate the situation of this space."
Asakura explained to the siblings: "Therefore, before the final results are determined, I want to preserve the stability of this space as much as possible."
"Is that so..." Hearing this, Hachiman merely nodded his head and fell silent, speaking no further.
"Oh? You're giving up just like that? I originally thought you would continue to pester me with words like at least sending Komachi out first."
Asakura was somewhat surprised.
"No matter what, Komachi and I are the party receiving your protection. Although being unable to leave immediately does indeed leave us somewhat anxious, standing from our position, we do not possess the right to complain to you."
Hachiman said with absolute clarity.
Komachi also nodded her head emphatically on the side.
This couldn't help but make Asakura feel a bit gratified. Compared to that Kasumigaoka person, this pair of siblings could be called exceptionally grounded in reality, making them far easier to look after.
While they were speaking, they had already arrived on a slope path in the mountains. At the end of the slope path, a fairly substantial building could be seen.
"Is that an abandoned school?" Komachi made a shielding gesture over her eyes to look into the distance.
"That should be correct." Asakura nodded.
"The place you said where we could sleep wouldn't happen to be..." Hachiman's face turned dark.
"It has vacant rooms, tables and chairs that can serve as temporary bedding, and if you don't mind, there are even things like curtains to spread out for a bed. Can this not be called a perfect overnight venue?"
Asakura said in a highly self-righteous manner.
"Leaving aside the fact that a school at night is the most popular venue for a test of courage." Hachiman complained: "An abandoned school means doubling that baseline factor entirely..."
"Don't worry, even if Hanako really does show up, I can still beat her to the point where she becomes a house-elf."
Asakura patted his chest, guaranteeing with total nonchalance.
"No-no-no, even if we know there are no ghosts... and no danger, what's scary is still going to be scary! Besides, what on earth is a house-elf? Is it a Pokémon?" Komachi grumbled in a low voice.
Originally, the young girl didn't seem to believe much in the existence of ghosts and monsters, but given that she was currently experiencing a "spiriting away trial card" firsthand, words like "ghosts and monsters do not exist in this world" could no longer escape her mouth.
That being said, the siblings still very much followed their hearts and came along with Asakura to the abandoned school.
Looking at the signboard outside the school, which was so mottled that even the school name could not be read clearly, Hachiman revealed a contemplative expression.
"Is something wrong?" Asakura, who was just about to enter, asked him.
"I just suddenly realized that up until now, I don't even seem to know what this village is called."
Hachiman pointed toward the signboard and said: "All the characters related to this town seem to become unidentifiable due to various reasons."
"Hmm, now that you mention it..."
Asakura stroked his chin, feeling as though there really was a bit of that sensation.
"But I did mention it at the very beginning, right? Weirdcore spaces are inherently related to the collective unconscious of humanity. Within the classification of 'Weirdcore,' there is actually another subcategory called 'Dreamcore,' which refers to a softer, nostalgic, dream-like sense of unreality—like childhood memories and distorted, gentle dreams."
Asakura said: "So this village isn't a specific location either; it might just be a place fictionalized by the lingering childhood memories of many people who grew up in the countryside, formed by a gathering of stereotypes."
Hachiman stopped speaking.
"If that were the case, wouldn't there bound to be certain 'unnatural' aspects?" Komachi argued instead.
"Like what?" Asakura asked.
"Well, even if you ask me that, it's hard for Komachi to explain the feeling in my heart clearly all at once," the girl said, her head nodding and swaying along with her constantly moving ahoge. "Let me organize my thoughts, and I'll explain it to you later, Asakura-nii."
"That's a truly ambiguous way of putting it."
"After all, we are still climbing a slope right now. My oxygen-deprived brain just can't function properly~"
Komachi muttered.
Asakura shook his head and took the lead in walking into the school building, which was shrouded in the night.
After crossing through a few classrooms that looked utterly messy, he decisively chose to set up their overnight lodging in a room that was presumably the principal's office, which was noticeably cleaner and more luxurious.
There was even an old sofa set in the room. Although it had almost entirely lost its elasticity, it was clearly an exceptionally good environment compared to the stiff desks and chairs.
Unfortunately, clean and luxurious were only terms used in a relative sense. The display cabinet in the principal's office seemed to have been violently forced open, and the cups and medals inside were scattered all over the floor. The consequence of not being properly preserved was that the surfaces of the cups and medals were entirely covered with patches of rust—clearly, these things couldn't possibly be pure gold.
"As expected, is it impossible to see the name of the school here either..."
Hachiman looked at those rust-stained medals and cups on the ground. Although he had long anticipated this, he still felt a bit of disappointment upon actually seeing it.
After all, things like medals usually feature the full name of the school. Setting private institutions aside for a moment, public schools are basically preceded by a geographical name; for instance, the full name of Sobu High is Chiba Prefectural Sobu High School.
Yet this abandoned school had very few school buildings, and the architectural style was just a common teaching block without any sense of design. At the same time, it lacked many functional facilities, looking just like an ordinary public high school in the countryside.
As long as one knew the school name, it was basically possible to determine exactly where this school was located.
Suddenly, Komachi, who was currently spreading out what looked like a tattered silk banner to overlay the sofa and increase its softness, said with a hint of confusion: "Is this place really an abandoned school?"
"No matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like it's currently in use, right?" Asakura, who was currently tearing down the curtains, said casually.
"But with normal schools, even if they are truly abandoned, shouldn't things like trophies be packed up and moved away together? Leaving them behind in the school is bound to be a bit strange no matter how you think about it, right?"
Komachi said.
"That's true when you put it that way..." Hachiman couldn't help but agree slightly upon hearing this.
"Like I said, it's just a stereotype generated by the collective unconscious. It's completely normal for a principal's office to have trophies and medals." Asakura, on the other hand, was rather dismissive.
"If it really were the collective unconscious, then shouldn't the building we see right now be more..." Komachi seemed to be searching her mind, trying hard to find an appropriate adjective: "...more bizarrely shaped?"
Asakura stopped the movements of his hands: "What do you mean?"
"The collective unconscious should be that kind of... sensation akin to a consensus of the subconscious, right? If it were formed from past memories of the countryside, then it would be very strange for the building to be so normal, because the architectural layout and architectural style of everyone's hometown are bound to be different."
Komachi stated: "When cognitions clash, shouldn't there definitely appear some sights that look very strange compared to reality? No matter how similar they are, there is bound to still be a distinction between dreams and reality!"
Her eyes were bright, and her judgment carried absolute confidence.
Asakura remained silent for a moment, then suddenly pointed out the window: "Do you think that thing over there satisfies the 'sight that looks very strange' you just mentioned?"
The young girl leaned toward the window with a look of confusion.
Looking outward from their current position, they could just happen to see the school's sports field.
Generally speaking, a school's sports field should be associated with words like "vacant." At most, it would just look a bit desolate and neglected due to weeds overrunning it from a lack of management.
However, this sports field was different. A chaotic mess of items was scattered across it; at first glance, it looked just like a festival venue that hadn't had time to be cleaned up after concluding.
No matter how one looked at it, it did not resemble what a school sports field ought to look like.
"Could it be a setting where 'the school festival has just ended'? After all, speaking of schools, an activity like a school festival—which is practically on the verge of becoming a cultural staple in anime—also fits the stereotype, doesn't it?"
Hachiman, who had huddled over at some unknown point, spoke up.
"Do people use diapers at a school festival?" Asakura asked.
"Huh?" Hachiman blanked.
Asakura pouted his lips. Hachiman looked over in that direction and, sure enough, spotted a disposable diaper.
In fact, it wasn't just a diaper; across the chaotic sports field, there were also many everyday household necessities that shouldn't appear at a school festival.
Rather than a school festival, it felt far more as though a homeless person had been living on the sports field for a period of time.
"It seems the situation is indeed somewhat different from what we discussed at the beginning."
Asakura rubbed his chin, speaking with deep meaning.
If it wasn't a space formed by the collective unconscious, then the existence of this Weirdcore space became highly food for thought.
"This means our standing here for such a long time can't be considered a waste after all, right?" Hachiman said, looking entirely devoid of any drive.
At this moment, presumably because it had been pulled by Asakura for too long, the heavily burdened curtain finally fell down with a snap, covering Komachi entirely. It caused the girl to let out erratic screams of "Ah-wa-wa" while swaying back and forth like a ghost.
"Honestly, what on earth are you doing..." Asakura let out a sigh, and together with Hachiman, removed the curtain blanketed over the girl from her body.
"Cough, cough..." The girl coughed continuously due to the dust and decaying odor on the curtain, while simultaneously speaking to Asakura and the other with an excited, flushed face: "I think I've found a clue!"