The art room is located in the old school building, and we walk through the old school building, past the crossing corridor.
âWhat kind of relationship does senpai have with the president?â
âWhatâs wrong?â
âNo âŠI just thought you two had an odd relationship, youâve been together for over ten years now and nothing?â
âThereâs nothing âŠwrong with that, weâve been best friends for a long time.â
Natalie and I have been together for a long time.
But itâs not something that Shallot would imply.
âWell, âŠthatâs how it is.â
Shallot blurted out.
âWell, thatâs about it.â
I feel comfortable with Natalie and her distance.
As we walked along, we came near the art room.
Actually, Iâm a little bit bad with ghosts too.
I can never watch a horror movie alone.
I mean, I donât understand why people like to watch horror movies.
If you see something that is bad for your heart, itâll shorten your life.
I get scared at night and canât go to the bathroom.
But, but!
As a man, there are times when you just have to be cool.
Thatâs when a girl is relying on you!
You donât want to look uncool in front of your pretty junior, do you?
I walked slowly, trying not to make noise with my footsteps, and slowly opened the door.
We then walked in the art room and came to the painting she mentioned âThe Laughing Portrait.
âThatâs it.â
ââŠYes.â
The painting that is said to make you laugh is a portrait of an old man painted by some famous artist.
The figure in the portrait appears to be smiling from every angle.
âLooks fine to me. âŠâŠâ
At that time, the painting suddenly made a clattering sound and shook.
Then Shallot said, âKyaah,â and clung to my arm.
The feel of her breasts on my arm is âŠtoo big to tell myself not to think about it.
Keugh⊠this is the legendary twin mountains!
There are two summits as the name twin mountains suggests.
Yes, two⊠Itâs only good because there are two!
There is a splendid valley between the evenly separated twin mountains.
It welcomes me with an enveloping power that can swallow even the universe.
Iâm sure if I fell into that valley, I wouldnât be able to come back.
I mean, what can I say, âit is the best!
âOwen senpaiâŠâŠ? SorryâŠâŠ.â
And with a poof, she removed her hand and turned over in embarrassment.
ââŠSorry about that.â
My mind was completely tripping over other worlds.
I coughed deliberately and regained my composure.
I touched the painting on the wall.
Then I was able to rattle and shake it.
âApparently, youâre not stopping well enough.â
Just as I said that, a breeze blew through the door and brushed my cheek.
The painting was shaken by the wind, which made a rattling sound.
âWell, thatâs what the Seven Wonders are all about, isnât it?â
âYeah, I know.â
A painting swaying with the sound of the wind.
It sounded like a cataclysmic laugh âŠand probably the truth is something like that.
Once you figure it out, itâs like, what the heck, itâs anticlimactic.
âLetâs go.â
Then we tried to leave the art room.
At that moment, the wind blew once more.
When I turned around, my eyes fell on one of the paintings displayed in the art room.
It is not a laughing portrait.
The painting looks like Edvard Munchâs The Scream, a figure with a hand on its cheek screaming.
[Yumaâs cry], the description says.
Supposedly, the person shouting something is called Yuma.
I felt my gaze lock with Yumaâs for a moment.
I felt a chill run down my spine.
I quickly removed my gaze and left the art room.
Then I continued walking back to the student council room with Shallot.
But for some reason, that painting caught my attention.
Itâs kind of âŠlike this, itâs kind of hazy.
Iâll tell Shallot.
âIâve got some business to take care of, so go ahead of me.â I said and then went back to the art room.
And took a closer look at [Yumaâs Cry].
I thought he was screaming, but on closer inspection, it looks like his face is contorted and heâs asking for help.
Itâs not like the painting of the monster that used to be in Owenâs house.
This appears to be appealing to some kind of message.
I touched the painting gently, tracing the contours of his face.
âOwen-san.â
Suddenly, someone called out to me, and my shoulders shook with a twitch.
I turned around and there it was.
âKatharina-sensei!â
In the second year of senior high school, Katharina-san became the assistant homeroom teacher of Class A.
Katharina-san came to Sanzar Academy last year as an assistant homeroom teacher for Class A.
My tension was maxed out when Katharina-sensei came to see me.
No, itâs really great!
And the Sensei started calling me Owen-san.
Well, itâs natural because itâs not a tutor-student relationship like before.
âWhat are you doing here?â
âI was wondering about the Seven Wonders.â
Katharina-sensei put her hand over her mouth at my words.
âHmmmâŠseven wondersâŠthere were some in my day tooâŠbut âŠthere are always stories like that.â
âWhat kind of things did you find?â
âLike the secret underpass that leads to the âŠschoolhouse.â
âItâs a different Seven Wonders now!â
âBy the way, what do you think is the true identity of the secret underground passage?
Katharina-sensei asked me, and I thought about it for a minute.
âUmmm âŠ, I donât know.â
âItâs about the path Chris made when she tried to break into the school without permission, and itâs the one that became the Seven Wonders.â
âUnauthorized entry?â
âChris, who was a habitual tardy student, figured out a way to get into the school without the teachers noticing âŠso she dug a hole in the ground and tried to break into the school, which is a total âŠwaste of talent.â
Then Katharina-sensei laughed, and I followed suit.
âChris-senseiâŠ, I miss her.â
As soon as I graduated from the third year of middle school, Chris-san left the school.
And sheâs currently a member of the Order of the Magi.
In the event that youâre in the market for a brand new pair of shoes, then youâll want to look for a new pair.
Incidentally, Julian, who graduated from Central High School two years ago, is also a member of the Magicians.
It seems that itâs Katharina-sensei instead of Chris-sensei.
I was sad to say goodbye to Chris-sensei, and her words as we parted left a lasting impression on me.
âIâm asking you to take care of this school, if anything happens to it, Owen will protect it, and I can leave this school knowing that youâre here.â
I nodded at Chris-senseiâs words and promised.
The highest grade at Sanzar Academy.
And me, a two-time winner and two-time two-star at the Four Great Festivals.
She acts with the thought that if this school is in danger, I will protect it.
âBy the way, âŠwhy are you investigating the Seven Wonders?â
Katharina-sensei nods her head.
âLately, there have been a lot of consultations on the seven wonders in the reference box, and Iâve been asked to look into âŠthe seven wonders, which is fine if itâs just a rumor. âŠâŠâ
âHmmmâŠyouâre seriousâŠitâs true that the students have been getting excited about the Seven Wonders latelyâŠI donât think thereâs much dangerâŠbut if there is, you can talk to the teachers.â
âYes, of course.â
Katharina-sensei nodded in satisfaction at my reply.