Chapter 03
“Good.”
“Excuse me?”
“The student is in trouble because they’re lost, and I just so happened to be in trouble because I didn’t have a student. Wouldn’t it be ideal if we helped each other out?”
Surely, he wasn’t saying I’d have to take some kind of lecture or whatever to get out of here?
“I appreciate the offer, Professor. But… there’s one small problem.”
“Hm?”
“Well… the thing is, I’m not actually a student here.”
Had I said too much? No, whether sooner or later, something like that was bound to come out anyway.
At any rate, this person—no, professor—seemed to want something from me, so I figured I’d just wait and see how things played out.
Surprisingly, his reaction was rather nonchalant.
“I’m sure we can figure something out. We could go to the administration office and… make a request, perhaps.”
“The administration office?”
There’s an administration office?
“Follow me.”
And with that, he turned and started walking. After standing there dazed for a moment, I quickly hurried after him. There was no telling what kind of trouble I’d run into if I got left alone in this insane hallway.
At the end of the corridor, we turned right, and a brass elevator door appeared before my eyes.
“I’m Maro,” the professor said abruptly, pressing the elevator call button.
“You didn’t seem to know my name.”
“Oh, I…”
I started to answer without thinking, then closed my mouth.
When someone tells you their name, it’s only common courtesy to give yours in return. But for some reason, I had a strong gut feeling that I absolutely should not say my name right now.
And premonitions of this sort usually turn out to be right.
When our eyes met, I curled the corners of my mouth into a smile. Hey, they say a smile is a universal language, right?
A faint smile also appeared on his face as he looked at me for a moment.
“Well, it’s not like there’s any other student here besides you, anyway.”
Finally, the elevator arrived.
The panel inside was crammed with round buttons, not a single one marked with a number.
Maro reached out with his long fingers and pressed one of the buttons. The doors closed, and the elevator began to move.
After what felt like the longest thirty seconds of my life, the doors opened.
It looked like the lobby of some large building, with dark ceramic tile floors and dim, indirect lighting that gave off a strangely fin-de-siècle atmosphere.
Directly ahead was a glass revolving door, and through it I could see outside, but it was pitch black, as if the sun had already set.
I glanced around, hoping to pick up some useful information.
Nearby, I spotted a bulletin board.
<Gwangryun Comprehensive University Student Union Building Public Bulletin Board>
Under the panel, a neatly printed sheet of paper was attached.
[Gwangryun Comprehensive University Survival Guidelines (20○○ Revised Edition, Internal Training Use)]
Gwangryun Comprehensive University is a Class 1 hazard zone, with extremely limited exploration frequency. The locations discovered within the premises to date are as follows:
Lecture Hall A
Lecture Hall B
Student Cafeteria
Student Union Building
Student Dormitory
Indoor Tennis Court
Personnel from affiliated organizations who have completed mandatory training may access Lecture Hall A, the Student Cafeteria, and the Student Dormitory.
Entry to Lecture Hall B and the Student Union Building is permitted only to authorized personnel under specific circumstances, and only for a limited time.
We urge you to minimize contact with entities residing in these locations.
Sufficient information has not been collected regarding the Indoor Tennis Court.
Entry to these locations is likewise permitted only to authorized personnel under specific circumstances, but no subsequent action guidelines exist.
Rescue teams from the organization conduct regular patrols of Gwangryun Comprehensive University.
However, if you become stranded in Lecture Hall B, the Indoor Tennis Court, or other undisclosed locations, you cannot expect to be rescued.
If you succeed in returning alive from a restricted area, a predetermined reward will be paid to you or your designated beneficiary.
However, under no circumstances does the organization recommend exploration of these locations.
There are no recorded cases of successful self-escape from these locations.
We emphasize once again: under all circumstances, prioritize your own survival above all else.
It was all information I already knew. Slightly different from the guidelines in my head, but this must be the revised version?
Scattered haphazardly below were various colored sticky notes.
I keep saying this, but PLEASE only post notes ON the bulletin board.
And NEVER, EVER, EVER use this to share survival tips.
Nobody cares how much amazing stuff you’ve figured out.
This is Gwangryun Comprehensive University.
There are things here that can read!
If you want to kill yourself in a way that matches your intelligence, I won’t stop you, but don’t interfere with the survey teams trying to survive, for crying out loud.
└So YOU’RE the one who took down my note?
“Not coming?”
“…I’m coming!”
I followed Maro up the stairs. The administration office was on the second floor.
‘It looks so ordinary…’
I’d never actually been to a university before, but I imagined a real administration office probably looked just like this.
Just as I raised my hand to knock, Maro grabbed the door handle and slid the door open with a clatter.
“Wh-Whoa?!”
A young man sitting alone at a steel desk, eating a sandwich, sprang to his feet.
I could see his face turn pale as he spotted Maro.
“Oh, sh—” the man muttered. Mayo squirted from the sandwich he’d been eating, staining his black tie.
“Hello, Taehyun.”
Maro greeted the man casually. The man called Taehyun’s eyes twitched.
“Hello… Professor. But… what brings you here? I thought it wasn’t your office hours…”
As the man asked hesitantly, Maro stepped aside. Taehyun’s eyes widened as he finally noticed me.
Looking down at me as I stood there blankly, Maro said,
“I just picked up a student.”
“Picked… up?”
“I told you last time. If there was even one student willing to listen, I could give lectures anytime.”
The man’s gaze darted between me and Maro. He still looked like he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“So, Professor, you’re saying you found this… ‘student’… at the research lab?”
“Yeah, they were wandering around the hallway.”
It was true, but it felt a little strange. ‘Picked up’ someone wandering the hallway—like I was some kind of puppy.
“Uh…”
The man pressed his hand to his forehead.
A moment of silence passed. As I was wondering whether I should say something, the man let out a barely audible sigh and gestured toward me.
“Come over here.”
It was a rather rude attitude, if you wanted to call it that. But this didn’t seem like the time to be picky about such things.
Given his reaction when he saw Maro, this guy was probably human. And a human stationed in a place like this was almost certainly an agent from the organization.
If I had to choose, it’d be wiser to rely on this guy than on Maro.
As I approached his desk, he tapped the notebook lying open on it with his finger.
Don’t lower your head, just read with your eyes.
I glanced down and read the memo. Meanwhile, the man pretended to rummage through the bookshelf looking for something.
This is Team Leader Kwon Taehyun of Rescue Team B. Are you currently experiencing damage or distortion to your ego, or any physical or mental threats to your well-being?
If so, give a small nod.
Damage to my ego? Threats to my existence?
I glanced sideways at Maro, still standing by the doorway watching me, and gave a slight shake of my head.
“Professor.”
Team Leader Kwon Taehyun called out to Maro after confirming my response.
“Would it be alright if I spoke with this student first? I’ll contact your office when we’re done.”
Maro’s head tilted to one side. He stared intently in our direction before opening his mouth.
“…What are you two going to talk about, just the two of you?”
Was it my imagination? When he asked, I thought I heard a low hiss. The sudden shift in atmosphere made me shiver.
“Is it something I shouldn’t hear?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“She’s my student.”
The question somehow sounded threatening.
I turned to look at Team Leader Kwon Taehyun. His face had turned ashen.
I gave a small, dry cough.
“I think it’s a bit premature to call me your student, Professor.”
At my words, Maro furrowed his brow slightly, and Team Leader Kwon Taehyun flinched and took a step back.
I continued,
“Just because you picked me up doesn’t mean I belong to you, Professor.”
After a brief silence, Maro asked again.
“…Doesn’t it?”
