Second Life Ranker

Laplace said he was going to eat them all up, but it was the audience that ate his stage up. He continued to pose like he was competing in a bodybuilder competition. The muscles beneath his copper skin squirmed like keys on a piano.

Clap clap clap! The dolls and statues clapped wildly like they were fans who were meeting their favorite star. They weren't able to cheer because they lacked vocal cords, but some of them gestured as if they were shouting.

What was Sesha supposed to do with that attention-seeking pervert? She wanted to find a hole and hide. If someone else saw him…!

"…So-yeong?" At the sudden voice, Sesha straightened her back like a cat and turned around. Park Yoo-min was looking at the pervert bunny and ghosts with a mystified expression.

'O-Oh right…' Sesha had forgotten about it because of the pervert bunny, but Park Yoo-min was very fearless for a normal human being, and she was a very curious person. While Sesha had the upper hand over others, in front of Park Yoo-min, she was always the weaker one. She had been victim to Yoo-min's mischief too many times to count.

"That guy…!"

"I don't know him!"

"What? But your shadow—"

"Ha, hahaha. I-I-I d-don't know what you're t-talking about. Y-Y-You must be s-s-seeing things. Ha, ha, haha." Before Park Yoo-min could say anything, Sesha quickly cut her off. Then, she began to ramble like a mindless robot. She was incredulous at how bad her own acting was.

'I'm done for. My life is over because of that pervert bunny.' Sesha's heart sank as she saw Yoo-min's eyes narrow. Park Yoo-min's expression was full of interest and amusement, and it was when she was making faces like these that she was scariest. No matter what excuse Sesha made, it wouldn't work.

『Sob, sob.』The pervert bunny was fanning the blazing red flames on top of that. 『You're too cruel, hubby. You said you loved me, but you're tossing me aside because you're tired of having me around now?』

Laplace put his hands behind his head, showing off the clear lines of his abs while speaking utter nonsense. Listening to him attempt to speak in a high-pitched tone in that low and rough voice… Sesha felt like she was going to go mad. She yelled, "Shut the fuck up!"

『Sob sob. You're swearing at me now too? My girlish and delicate heart is hurt.』Laplace's words weren't convincing at all with the veins and muscles nearly popping through his skin.

"Shut up! Who are you calling girlish and delicate?! You look like you chew bones for fun! You don't even have a gender!"

『Oh my. This is what an appearance-based society has come to. This girlish heart is pained. I didn't raise you that way, hubby.』

"Ahhhhh! Stop calling me 'hubby!'" Sesha tore her hair out and shouted.

"W-What is that…?"

"Eeeek! G-Ghosts!"

"There are so many ghosts!"

"I-Isn't that a pervert?"

Shin Sung-chan and the staff members belatedly ran out into the hallway and turned surprised.

After a moment later, Shin Sung-chan gathered his bearings and quickly stepped forward. 'I have to save So-yeong!' His only thought was that these mysterious ghosts might try to harm Sesha. The bald foreigner with bunny ears looked especially dangerous.

Dash! Shin Sung-chan swallowed and moved in front of Sesha.

"…?"

"…?"

Sesha and Park Yoo-min tilted their heads in confusion.

"S-So-yeong! I-I-I'll block them off, s-s-so run away!" Shin Sung-chan shouted with a tense expression. Tremble, tremble. His legs wobbled as if he would topple over if left alone. But it was as if Sung-chan was filming some action movie on his own.

The problem was that Producer Kim and the other staff were busily recording everything on the cameras. "Quick, roll the cameras! Those things are definitely monsters! This is a rare moment when we can see the Idol fighting up close! We're going to get a bunch of good scenes!"

There was an apt word for situations like this: shitshow.

'I want to cry.' Sesha covered her face with her hands. She didn't think she could show her face in public anymore because of the embarrassment. That damned pervert bunny ruined her life. An "Idol" who raised a perverted creature… She had maintained her indifferent and cold attitude to keep away the people who tried to take advantage of her young age, but it seemed she'd have to change her plans.

Just then, Park Yoo-min, who had been looking at Sesha mischievously, started pushing the staff back. "Please step away, as it can be dangerous."

"Huh? Wait! But we need to film the monsters…!"

"Do you want to get hurt? There are even laws that civilians are forbidden from going near raids. You might be penalized for breaking the law… Is that okay?"

"T-That's…!"

"Hey! Shin Sung-chan! You come over here too!"

"But So-yeong is…!"

"A truckload of you couldn't protect So-yeong! You're just getting in the way, so get out of there! Or I'm really not gonna help you anymore!"

Shin Sung-chan hesitantly looked at Sesha and the statues. But when Park Yoo-min narrowed her eyes, he retreated. Realizing they might become injured by the monsters, the staff also began to move as Yoo-min ordered them to.

Park Yoo-min winked at Sesha.

'Y-Yoo-min…!" Sesha started to tear up because she was touched.

But Yoo-min suddenly began to mouth something. Ice cream. One month. Yoo-min wasn't doing this for free.

Sesha smiled bitterly. But to be honest, she could buy Yoo-min as much of anything she wanted until she became sick of it.

While the people began to return to the music room, Sesha whipped back to Laplace with a glowering expression. 'You're dead, pervert bunny.'

Swish! Sesha pulled out the weapon her father had gifted her some time ago. The bracelet she always wore on her right arm unraveled like silk and fell to the floor. It was a longsword that was two meters long.

This weapon was infamous for being uncontrollable due to its elasticity that made it hard to predict the trajectory. However, Sesha already learned the skills for this weapon from Ananta, and this longsword was made of the same material as her father's trademark, the Dragon Slayer, which was adept at reading its owner's intent.

That meant others could have trouble using this sword, but for Sesha, it was just an easily-commanded weapon. Today, she was going to dismember that perverted bunny with this sword. With blazing eyes, Sesha flourished the longsword in Laplace's direction. "Die!"

Swish. Kashing, kashing!

『Eeeeeeee!』A high-pitched scream echoed.

* * *

『Haa, haa, haa. Please continue to whip me like that. Please, please, please…!』

"Ahhhh! Go away! Go awaaaay!"

Unfortunately, no matter what Sesha did, it didn't affect Laplace. Rather, Laplace stuck to her, begging her to punish him more, so she struggled with getting him off of her.

The dolls and statues all ran away, scared. They escaped into their respective classrooms and peeked out with concern. It seemed they'd become friends with Laplace in that short while.

『Kyahaha! No need to be so scared! Our little miss Sesha is a great person!』

At that, the statues and dolls peeked out further, but they didn't dare approach.

"Haa, haa, haa…! Dammit!" Sesha gasped for breath and gritted her teeth furiously.

『Oh my, little miss. How are you so weak?』

Sesha wanted to slap Laplace properly on the face just once. Laplace winked at the steaming Sesha.

『Anyhow, please tell them, little miss. You don't have any plans of hurting them, right?』

Sesha frowned. She couldn't tell what Laplace was trying to do.

『Please, come this way everyone. She may look like this on the outside, but she's actually quite nice. She'll play with us.』

At the word 'play,' the statues and dolls brightened. Now, their entire faces were peeking out.

Sesha realized what Laplace was saying. 'They…just wanted to play?' Now that she thought about it, she didn't recall hearing of anyone who was ever hurt in the stories of the school's mystery. Usually, ghosts held grudges toward humans and tried to harm them. 'The statue of King Sejong seemed to be happy to see us at first, then it was upset when we were surprised…'

The statues and dolls appeared to be busy playing among themselves. The sounds of the piano weren't intended to scare people, but it was for the creatures to enjoy while having fun. Laplace was able to easily join them too.

Sesha could feel the statues and dolls looking expectantly at her. In particular, the dolls seemed to be looking at her with sparkling eyes, as if asking how she was going to play with them. With all the gazes on her, there was only one thing Sesha could do here. "…Haa." She had come here to solve a mystery… Sesha sighed.

* * *

'So these guys just wanted to play?'

『Huhuhu. Yes. I'm just playing along with them.』

'You seem to be enjoying yourself too much for that.'

『Goodness. You should do things properly if you're going to do them at all.』

'Geez! Whatever, shut up and clean up the mess you caused.'

『Huhuhu. Your friends are already all asleep. When they wake up, they'll forget everything that happened here, so don't worry.』

Sesha rubbed her throbbing temples. She felt like she aged ten years today because of that smarmy pervert bunny.

『You know you shouldn't talk about age in front of me, right?』

Sesha was so tired that she couldn't even muster the strength to tell Laplace to shut up.

Tap tap. Sesha turned around with agitation wondering who was trying to bother her this time.

The bear doll that was perched on her shoulder jumped in surprise and fell to the ground. Sesha frantically caught the bear. The bear doll smiled in gratitude and held something out. It was a yellow handkerchief.

"…For me?"

Nod nod. The bear doll nodded. It seemed like it was telling Sesha to wipe her sweat.

"Thank you."

Shake shake. The bear doll shook its head from side to side, saying it was fine, and hopped down to the ground.

Sesha felt strange wiping her sweat with the handkerchief the bear doll gave her, but still. 'They really are all nice.'

Laplace said they should "play together," but Sesha hadn't really done anything. She just let herself be pulled away by the dolls and moved her upper body awkward in front of the dancing statues. But the creatures still enjoyed it a lot.

With that, Sesha was able to realize they might seem like they were possessed by ghosts, but they were all very innocent and nice.

'And there's someone who's pulling the strings from behind.'

『It seems there's one very vengeful ghost at this school.』Laplace's voice was solemn unlike before.

"A ghost…?"

『Yes. According to our friends here, the ghost is a victim of bullying. The ghost was tormented by its classmates, and when it became severe, the few friends it had started to avoid it too… It has a grudge for not being able to play properly at school, so these children all became its friend.』

"…" Sesha pressed her lips together. This was something that shouldn't be glossed over.

『The problem is, although it has many friends now, it still suffers from the trauma from back then and doesn't come out easily. How about it? Will you meet with this ghost?』

Sesha immediately nodded.