Part 28: Super High-school Level Update #24

Time to start exploring.



The first thing to note about this floor is that it also has stairs to a floor above behind a shutter gate. This is a large building.



Let's get the classrooms done first, before we move on to the important rooms.

As you can see, this classroom is labeled "2-A". Japanese name their classes with a number, denoting the grade, and a latin letter, denoting the class in that grade. The two classrooms on the first floor were "1-A" and "1-B", which means this school follows Japanese tradition of having each grade on its own floor, and the students moving up in the building through the years.



Blackboard: The baby is asleep. Please be quiet...



He must have been talking about this floor when he mentioned a “brand new world”...



It appears we must investigate further...

Nothing else to see here. Let's move on to the next classroom, on the other side of the floor.







Blackboard: Reality is not everything!!

I wonder who is drawing all those blackboard graffiti. Anyway, there's nothing in here, and since the toilet looks exactly like the one on the first floor, let's travel all the way back to that thing that looks like a pool on the map.







Ah! Naegi! Listen, listen!!
There’s a pool inside. A pool. We have a pool here. A pool. A pool!
I... I understood the first time you said it...
That’s not all! There’s proper training equipment in the changing rooms! When Sakura-chan finds out, she’ll be so happy!!
I...is that so...?

Asahina-san looks... very excited.



She does seem excited, so let's see if she has anything else interesting to say.



There’s a pool beyond those changing rooms. It even looks well taken care of. It’s wide and the water is clean!
Aaa, I’ve grown beyond excited... my entire body is shaking!
No, I feel like I’m going to faint!!

Is it really... such a big deal...?

Nope, I think she's too excited to have any useful insights. Maybe Celes has some.



The second floor was opened up, our living space is now larger, and we have some training facilities and a pool...
Our living conditions just became much better, didn’t they.



If we’re going to get that kind of improvements, it isn’t so bad to have a school trial now and then.



Hee hee hee...

She's her usual creepy self. Chihiro is our last hope here.



Fujisaki-san, are you going to try the pool?



No...
I don’t want to... wear a swimsuit...

I guess that’s expected. She doesn’t look like the type who enjoys running around in swimwear...

But, you know? There’s some training equipment in the changing rooms over there.
I think I want to try them. Make my body a little stronger...
Get stronger? You? Somehow, I wasn’t expecting that...



But... I don’t quite have the courage to even go into the changing room...
You don’t even want to enter the changing room?
It’s not that I don’t want to... It’s just...



............

I can’t say I really understand... Is she afraid of changing rooms?
Being afraid of changing rooms... that doesn’t even make any sense...

Let's look at some of the things in this room before moving on.



On these shelves... there are all sorts of water-sports equipment...



Is that... a real gun?
This isn’t a battlefield. Why is there a gun here...?



Right. Let's go take a look at that pool.



There should be a changing room beyond this door.



Ah! To enter the changing room, you need to use your Electronic Student ID card!
...oh, is that how it works?





That’s how it works!!



Uwawa!!



To unlock the changing room’s door...
Just swipe your Electronic Student ID card in that card reader next to the door.



Keep in mind that to keep perfect security on these changing rooms...
Boys’ Electronic Student ID cards can only open the boys’ changing room... and girls’ Electronic Student ID cards can only open the girls’ changing room...
That’s how it is!



But can’t someone enter just after someone else opened the door with their own card?



If there are students who attempts such a filthy illicit sexual activity, I will punish them mercilessly!



Do you see that Gatling gun hanging from the ceiling?
That’s the punishment! Tatatatatatatatatatata!!



Hey, if you shoot that at us, someone is going to get hurt!!



No, I think they’ll probably die...



But what if someone borrows another student’s ID card?
If a boy borrows a girl’s card, he’ll be able to enter the girls’ changing room, won’t he?



Ha! I didn’t think of that...! To think such a cowardly, nasty, fiendish method exists!!
Hmmm... Well, about about this?
I will add a prohibition on lending Electronic Student ID Cards to other students to the school rules!!



That way, you won’t be able to pass your cards to anyone else!
My brain is made of %100 pure cotton... I’m a genius, aren’t I?!



I don’t think anyone would’ve lent their ID card to begin with, though.
If they’re put to bad use... it would just spell trouble to the lender...



But isn’t the security on the changing rooms awfully excessive?



Aren’t all high school students slaves to their hormones? It’s that time of life when carnal desires go out of control!
That’s why I must protect you all from such illicit activities!!



I wish you’d apply that to the dormitory area as well, though.
If something were to happen, that would be the place. We’re a group of boys and girls living under the same roof, after all...



...all I want is to keep a clean school image.
So I don’t really care what goes on in the dorms. Get your fetishes going, I don’t give a damn.



You’re the worst...



So I’ll keep that new rule as it is! Bye, then!!







Sigh... I was feeling so good until he showed up... Maybe I should go for a swim to get my spirits back up...?
Celes-chan, Fujisaki-chan, do you want to join me?



I... don’t like getting my head underwater...



I’m sorry... I’ll pass this time...



Why? When you’re feeling down swimming is the best!

I think that’s just you...

Now that the rules are clear, we can really go on and look what's beyond the changing room's door.



Yes, it's a changing room with training equipment, just like we've been told. There's nothing much we can actually look at here, except for that poster on the wall.



It’s a poster...
This is supposed to be a school... who put this here!?

On to the pool itself.



Yes, it's a pool. There's nothing much to look at here either, so now that we've confirmed it exists, we can exit and move on to the next big room on this floor.



The sign next to door reads "library", as everyone could tell from the icon on the map.



Oh, so that's where most of our other classmates went. Kirigiri usually has something insightful to say, so let's start with her.



This place... is dusty. And the lighting is dim...
It’s supposed to be a library... but the conditions aren’t favorable to reading at all.

She kept it short this time. Moving on...



I’m shocked!
...what of?





There are so many books lying around, but none of the manga I drew is in here!



I...isn’t that obvious? A library is no place for manga...



A...after all, doujinshi is nothing more than pornography drawn by amateurs...



You have no idea what you’re talking about...!



O...oh, I do...
There is no way anything someone with your face is drawing can be worth reading... Isn’t that so?



Is there any greater disgrace...? Judging the quality of the work by the looks of the author...!



Listen to me! Outward appearances are meaningless!
What you see before your eyes is nothing but the skin that wraps my true self!
My meaning and worth can be judged only by the contents of my work!



What a... worthless speech...



Hrm. I’ve gotten used to rebuttals. Don’t think you can decrease my HP with that level of psychological attack!

Those two... sure are scary.

Well, one of our authors is dissatisfied with the library, let's see what the other thinks.



Fukawa-san, aren’t you happy? There are so many books here...
N...not really... There aren’t many books here that I’m... interested in...



It’s true that there are many books, but the variety is unsatisfactory...
I can’t find any light novels or manga anywhere!

Light novels are the literary version of adolescent manga and anime. They are short to medium-length novels, usually serialized, accompanied by manga-style illustrations with subjects ranging from school comedies to light science fiction and fantasy.



What’s with the light novels and the manga... Those things have absolutely no redeeming values...



But, Fukawa Touko-dono, aren’t the romance novels you’re so good at really nothing more than light novels in disguise?



Don’t put my stories about romance and pure love together on the same level with such utter garbage...!
I wouldn’t even call them prose... they’re nothing more than a jumble of letters...
The world would be better if they all turned into ashes...



Oh, I see. You’re saying such things because you’re secretly mad about Boys Love, aren’t you?

I'm sure Boys Love needs no introduction, but for those not in the know, it's a genre produced and consumed by females featuring homosexual relationships between pretty male characters.



Boys Love... together with anime and manga and doujinshi...



They’re all filthy culture! The kind of culture you use and throw away, gone in 5 years!



Aa, I get sick just talking about it... I think I’m going to throw up...



Gugugu...! Don’t make fun of me...!

Those two... are the scariest thing I’ve seen here...



One more person to talk to.



This library... I find it very intriguing...
Intriguing...?



It’s nothing you’d be interested in.

Intriguing, huh? Let's see what Naegi thinks of the books here.



There are many books sitting on these shelves, but there’s something weird.
There’s also a large amount of dust on them...
It’s as if this library hasn’t been used in a long time.

But this is a top-class high school... I don’t get it.

The map shows a side room next to the library, and there is indeed a door here.



Behind this door...



...it’s a storage room. There’s nothing there but huge piles of books.
There’s nothing of interest there for someone like you.

Yeah, I think I’ll pass...

There are some more things of interest in here. First, on the desk in front of Kirigiri...



This is... a laptop computer...



It looks like an old model. And on top of that, there’s a lot of dust on it...



...it’s broken. It didn’t start up even when I plugged it in.
Oh... so it doesn’t work...

If we could use it, maybe we could have connected to the net and get some information about what’s going on...

But I guess it’s impossible if it’s broken...

Finally, on top of the book cabinet in the center of the room...



On top of a dusty cabinet... lies an envelope.

And on that envelope...



“Hope’s Peak Academy... Head Office”...?



There’s quite a lot of dust on it. It seems it has been here for a long time.
...let’s see what’s inside.
But... should we be looking at a private letter without asking...?



It would be worse leaving it here without reading it...
Y...yeah...

When I opened the envelope, I found one sheet of stationery paper.





"An announcement from Hope’s Peak Academy’s head office.
For many years here at Hope’s Peak Academy, we have given our undivided attention to advancing the state of humanity the world over.
During our long history, using government approved traditional educational facilities, we have sent many graduates into society, where many of them do great things in their respective fields.
However, we are sad to announce that the curtain is coming down on our glorious history.
It was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but it was one unavoidable in light of of a certain severe problem.
That said, this is not the end of Hope’s Peak Academy.
In the near future, as soon as the situation changes for the better, we hope to reinstate our educational facilities once more.
Finally, to each and every one of you who supported us and gave us your best for many years, we offer our deep and sincere appreciation.
Proper abolishment of this school will occur upon approval from the concerned government facilities."

What... the hell is this...?



I see... this is very interesting...



It appears that Hope’s Peak Academy... stopped serving as an educational facility some time in the past.
By the state of the dust on this envelope, it wasn’t even a short time ago....
If I have to judge... it was more than one year ago.
So... what you’re saying is that Hope’s Peak Academy closed down business that long ago?



It seems the mastermind took over the empty school building and set up the stage for this twisted scenario...
B...but... just a few days ago, when I came here...



It didn’t feel at all like the place was inactive!
And also, if Hope’s Peak Academy really closed down, wouldn’t that story be widely publicized?
Especially if this didn’t happen recently? You say it was over a year ago...?
When I searched the net, nothing like that ever came up...



...it could have been the doing of the mastermind. That way he could lure us all in here.
He’s someone who can build a courthouse and execution machines inside the school building. It seems there’s nothing that’s impossible for him...
Well, we have to accept that this letter is even real before we make those judgments...



...but if we assume the letter is real, it solves one mystery regarding this school.
That is, it’s the reason there’s no one here except us. It’s because the school ceased activities...



It’s a simple answer...
This bit is also interesting...



"It was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but it was one unavoidable in light of the emergence of a certain severe problem.
That said, this is not the end of Hope’s Peak Academy.
In the near future, as soon as the situation changes for the better, we hope to reinstate our educational facilities once more."

What’s that “severe problem” it's talking about...?
It seems to be the reason the school was closed down...
Is it related to this situation we found ourselves in...?



If it is related...
Then we found a very important clue... Regarding the culprit’s motivations, that is.
But at this point in time, we can’t be certain of anything...



The only one who knows is the mastermind himself.

The culprit’s motivation...
His motivation for locking us in here and making us do... such things...
If we figure that out, it might lead us to a way to escape...





...anyway, I think I went over everything of interest in the second floor...

Sadly, it seems there is no exit anywhere here either...
There’s nothing more to do but wait to hear how the others’ investigation went...

It’s time to return to the cafeteria...





Everyone! Thank you for your cooperation! How was it? Did anyone find something new!?



There is a library here!



There’s a pool here! A pool! And changing rooms complete with training equipment too!!



On the other hand, there is no way out...
Yeah... so it seems...



There is no need to be dejected. I have also made an important discovery...



We can now enter the storage room and the public bath here in the dormitory area!!
That storage room has a huge amount of food and living supplies in it!



That means we can fill our stomaches whenever we feel like it! Ha ha ha ha...!



We shouldn’t walk around during Night Time, though. Don’t forget that...



But... did you find anything concerning an exit?



Um, I...



Are there any tools in that storage room that can help us break out?



U...unfortunately... no...



So you were really getting excited over nothing...



We can’t get excited just because we have some new place we can go to...





We’ve been fucking locked up in here!! The only thing important is finding an exit!!



Well, we can’t help making a fuss over little things.
It’s all part of adaptation. Let’s learn to make the best out of our new conditions.



Stop staying retarded things...



Anyway, let’s continue investigating. If anyone finds something new, report to the rest of us as required...



So, are we done for today?
Ah... I guess we are...



It seems like the atmosphere turned heavy all of a sudden...
Our hopes have been betrayed... was this part of the culprit’s plan...?



...............



*ding-dong-ding-dong*







Eh... this is a school announcement. It is now 10pm.
“Night Time” begins now.
The cafeteria’s doors will be locked shortly. You are forbidden to enter it.



So it’s Night Time... We promised we wouldn’t go outside...

I guess there’s nothing to do but go to bed...



MONOBEAR THEATER



Can I ask you a question, Monobear-sensei?
I don’t like myself. I have no special skills that I’m confident at or excite me.
My grades are average. My athletic ability is not that good and not that bad.
If I take some entrance exams, I can probably get into a university. I can make new friends there and maybe find someone to love.
That’s exactly why I don’t like myself!
I just noticed it!
Isn’t my life just copy-and-paste?
I lack imagination, so isn’t it all just simple duplication!?
Hey, sensei... Don't you agree!?

It's survey time again! We have free activity coming up, so I need two characters for us to hang out with. Do you want to see more Sakura and Kirigiri? Someone new? It's up to you!