But, well, no matter what happens, it's always the five of us, together. It feels right like this.

B-ka and I walked through the school building, and there we saw three people, already conveniently together. It was A-no, C-na, and D-suke. With that, the film club was all back together.

It started out as something I decided on a whim, something that I dragged everyone into just because it sounded like fun, but I'm really happy that we were able to do this together.

(artist: さいね)

D-suke and C-na openly admired the creations. As one would expect, seeing replicas of amazing quality that captured their traits so well in 3D brought them joy.

C-na, who had been silently observing our exchange up until that point, started listening attentively as soon as the topic "urban legend" was brought up.

[W-sensei] A-no, B-ka, C-na, D-suke. Where have you disappeared to...

However, D-suke showed no sign of returning either. It had already been 10 minutes since he left the room. At first, we'd just been chatting amongst ourselves like normal, but we started to realize that something really wasn't right.

What's reality, what's a dream, and what's fiction... That doesn't matter to me at all. The only thing that exists in my mind are those happy days. The alternate universe that should have come to fruition.

Hey, mother, even though I'm always alone, even I have many, many, many people who are dear to me.

Although I'd half-dragged them into it, once we'd settled the plot and how we were going to do it, everyone started to actively pitch in with their own ideas. They're a good bunch, really.

C-na: With that in mind, the school would be the ideal location for this, and I have come up with the concept of the Book of The End, in opposition to the Book of Demise—

The club I was part of—or, more accurately, pretty much forced people to join me in—was called the Film Club, and yesterday, on the first day of the school festival, we held a screening of a movie we made ourselves. It was a massive success.

E-ki: As the four are collecting urban legends, they stumble upon this book....! And then, just as the rumors said, all the urban legends they've collected until now start to become real....! A-no: ..... B-ka: ..... C-na: ..... D-suke: .....

We're gonna have to take responsibility for this. If that's what happens, I'll say that as the club president, and the director, it's all my fault. But, well, my clubmates are good guys, and Mr. W's nice too, so they might try to stand up for me. But I gotta protect everyone.

The old version was riddled with mistakes, we had trouble with some things, and we were so new to it all... But it was obviously fun to film with them, so there wasn't a single thing I had been unhappy with.

E-ki: T-This is pretty elaborate, huh~? C-na: Is it? As of yet, all they've done is instill the fear of being in the dark, so it feels like they're going a bit slow, doesn't it?

I approached their corpses one by one. I touched D-suke's face, and ran my fingers through his hair. I held A-no's shoulder, giving it a light shake. I brushed my hand against C-na's cheeks, and grasped her hand. I touched B-ka's leg and fingers.

(artist: 結城あみの)

B-ka, slightly pouting in response to my question, turned to leave the room. As he stepped out, I called after him: "Don't forget the password!"

(artist: 結城あみの)

C-na and D-suke continued to discuss hanging. Hearing two highschoolers chat about that was kinda freaky, honestly.

He's such a gentle soul. He was probably forcing himself to smile, but he really did look happy about it. Is he an angel!?

E-ki: You look really good! Have some more confidence! You're really cute! Right, D-suke? D-suke: Yep, looks good~ A-no: Urgh... This is embarrassing... You're not embarrassed, C-na? C-na: Not particularly...? This isn't something to be embarrassed over, is it? A-no: Grrr...!

"Someone has to..." "I'll go to the night duty room." As soon as I opened my mouth to speak, C-na cut in. She knew what I was thinking. But...

A-no: Yeah, I get that, but... We'll hold a movie screening next year too, right? The five of us. E-ki: Yeah! Of course! C-na: Until that time comes, I have much work to do in sharpening my editing skills. D-suke: Mm, yeah, I wanna get a better camera, too~

D-suke immediately got to setting up the equipment, and I went with him to check if everything was working. D-suke's going to be acting in the final scene too, so it's my job this time to film from the point of view of the audience.

[W-sensei] E-ki. Everyone... Even if it's a little, guide your teacher to the truth.

D-suke: How about you, E-ki? E-ki: Eh? Just doing some stuff... A-no: You're just fooling around, right. E-ki: Rude!! Of course I'm not!!

In C-na's seat, only the upper half of a body had been placed in the chair, pointing in my direction.

E-ki: He sure is taking a while, huh...? A-no: He is... Is he okay? C-na: I'm concerned; do you think one of the security guards may have found him? D-suke: Hm~ How 'bout I go looking? E-ki: Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks. How about you check the closest bathroom to here?

When I threw open the door cheerfully as usual, I found A-no sprawled across the desk looking worn-out, the complete opposite of me.

C-na: ...Candy-sculpting? Did you perhaps craft this? E-ki: Yeah! ...I mean, B-ka was the one who made them, but... D-suke: Whoaaaa, they're so good~!

If a bad end is what's going to happen... No, because a bad end is what's going to happen... Because that's right, isn't it? It's just a simple system of equations. If you want to improve a bad ending... make the moment before it happens full of happiness.

The one who called out my name while raising a hand in greeting was A-no. Her skin was a little tanned, and she wore gymnastic shorts underneath her skirt to make moving around easier. Her short, trimmed hair also gave off a lively and refreshing impression.

"...I-I'm personally... fine with it..." B-ka nervously agreed. "Hm~ Yeah, 'm fine with it, too~" D-suke didn't have a reason to refuse, so he just went along with it. Having gotten their approval, I turned to C-na. "I don't particularly mind helping out either?" "...God, you're so selfish!"