I planted a sacred tree in Tokyo.

Chapter 64 The Seven Mysteries of the School
"We're here,"

The black sedan stopped at the edge of Itabashi Ward; any further and it would be leaving Tokyo.

This ward is relatively unknown among Tokyo's 23 wards, and it's not even famous for the chaotic and impoverished Adachi Ward.

The origin of its name is generally believed to be that the wooden bridge across the Ishigami River on the Nakasendo Road was called 'Itabashi' (板桥), which was quite rare in the Heian period a thousand years ago, so it was adopted as a place name.

If there's anything special about Banqiao District, it's that it has many factories.

In the 1980s, a large number of workers lived there. Later, as the economy declined, the workers gradually left, and their children also left, leading to the abandonment of the factory school that had been built. The school in the twilight before us is a product of that era.

"Miss,"

A sign marking the land as 'private' has been put up at the school gate.

Upon seeing Hina Hongo alight from the car, two bodyguards in black suits immediately stepped forward and saluted.

"My classmates and I will go in and take a look. You guys stay here."

"Yes!" X2
Two men in black suits, who looked like 'professionals', nodded in response and stepped aside, standing like statues.

"Xiao Qiong, there are two more people over here."

Hina Hongo, who was leading the way, waved to them. The four of them passed through the school gate and were greeted by a teaching building in the style of the last century.

The square cement building has a huge clock face in the middle, which has been stopped for who knows how many years, forever fixed on the day the last group of students left.

In the playground in front of the teaching building, the grass stubbornly peeks out from the fine sand, in clumps here and there; in the center of the playground, the huge banyan tree, which is probably the 'founding tree', has its branches and leaves reaching towards the sky, like a huge canopy occupying a corner of the playground; however, there are no longer any students below it.

The golden sunset cast its light on the tall trees and sparse grass, evoking a faint sense of melancholy.

"How desolate,"

With one hand pressed to his chest, Qiu Riqiong evokes a poignant sense of melancholy and autumnal sadness.

"Yes, this place has been abandoned for more than ten years."

The four walked towards the playground, where a huge banyan tree, as large as a canopy, stood. Its trunk, which would take three people to encircle, was densely covered with names, blessings, and insults.

"Well, this place is quite a famous ghost story, isn't it?"

Pointing to the densely packed names on the tree trunk, Hina Hongo analyzed them with great interest.

"School Ghost Story: Six Years of Separation of Cherry Blossoms".

"Rumor has it that confessing your love under a cherry blossom tree at graduation has an 80% success rate!"

Don't be fooled by the seemingly high success rate; in fact, daring to confess your feelings already puts you ahead of countless others: most budding romances end without fruition because of hesitation.

"Sorry, this is a banyan tree."

Regarding Hina Hongo's romantic statement, Yu Akihi pointed out that it was incorrect.

"Secondly, those who carve their names here forget their vows even faster than these scratches."

Whether it's love or resentment, you'll forget it all after a few years away from school.

Quiet--

"Yu, you're right, but..."

Class representative Nao couldn't help but facepalm, even though she liked Yu-kun's personality.

"She has absolutely no charm,"

Autumn Sky speaks frankly, but for her:
"Love carved on a tree is nothing compared to love carved in the heart."

"Huh? Does Xiaoqiong have someone she likes too?"

"Let's go, Minister."

Without answering Hina Hongo's question, the twin-tailed girl turned and walked towards the school building first.

"Speaking of school ghost stories, it's impossible not to mention the 'half-bodied ghost in the corridor'."

Passing through the open doors of the teaching building and walking along the empty corridor, with only golden sunlight streaming in, Hina Hongo spoke again.

"Yes, I've heard of that too."

As a top student, Nao, the class president, is quite knowledgeable about ghost stories.

"Legend has it that he was a student who was run over by a tram, and only his upper body was left wandering in the school corridor."

"To catch up with his lower body, which had been caught in the tram, he could go at a speed of 70 miles per hour."

"and many more,"

Autumn Days raised her hand to interrupt.
"At 70 mph, it wouldn't even take a second to drive through this corridor, right?"

"In other words, when you see a 'half-bodied undead,' you've actually entered his firing range."

"It's just an urban legend."

In response to Akihi Yu's serious words, Class President Nao adjusted her glasses.

"And it's a legend from twenty or thirty years ago."

School ghost stories are no longer popular.

Ultimately, ghost stories are also a kind of 'warning': like a half-dead ghost, reminding students to stay away from trams passing by the station.

"There are also the classic 'automatic human model/skeleton' stories about the corridors."

After Hina Hongo introduced herself, Class President Nao took over the conversation.

Thirty years ago, the school still maintained the tradition of 'night patrols'.

Perhaps the patrolling security guards were mistaken, or perhaps teachers and students were moving biological equipment; in any case, as the 'night patrol' was replaced by cameras, this strange tale disappeared. "And then there's this place,"

The four walked around and looked around: in the empty classroom, the neatly arranged chairs were covered with a layer of dust.

The corridor ceiling was covered with cobwebs, and even the cobwebs themselves had turned into clumps of black matter hanging down due to the dust.

"Ta-da! The music room!"

Hina Hongo gestured with both hands to the room next to her, which was labeled "Music Room," and continued her introduction:
"The piano that plays automatically in the middle of the night and the Beethoven portrait with moving eyes are both strange tales that have happened here."

"Strange things happen in places without cameras."

Gently pushing open the door, patting off non-existent dust from her hands, Qiu Riyou glanced around but didn't see the piano: such an expensive toy wouldn't be left even if the school closed.

There was indeed a row of portraits of artists hanging on the wall; as long as the other person's gaze would turn to that point:
"It's a lenticular image,"

Class monitor Nao glanced up and made a judgment.

"This utilizes the difference in visual angle between the two eyes and the principle of optical refraction to make the objects in the painting appear to protrude from the picture, thus making them lifelike and vivid, giving people a strong visual impact."

"Then there are the additional 13 steps,"

Stepping out of the music room and ascending the corridor stairs, Qiu Riyou's gaze fell upon the wooden floor.

"This strange phenomenon is easy to explain: someone placed a wooden mat from the conference room in the hallway. Because of the poor lighting, it would make people mistakenly think that there was an extra step."

In the past, when schools held meetings, they would bring out a wooden mat with steps for the older generation of islanders who were quite short to stand on.

In short, no matter what kind of ghost story it is, it will all disappear when faced with a camera.

Originally a dark and terrifying 'campus ghost story',
With Akihi Yu and Nao, the class president, taking turns explaining, it turned into a boring "introduction to science".

"Finally—"

At the end of the teaching building, there is:
"Hanako in the Toilet"

……

Although it wasn't the same toilet, this scene reminded Akihi Yu of the beginning of her time travel: Sure enough, no matter how much technology develops, some things will never change: the only thing that remains unchanged is the ghost story of "Hanako in the Toilet," which has stood the test of time.

Because cameras won't be installed in toilets, bullying will never disappear.

"and many more,"

After taking a stroll around, Qiu Riyou raised her hand as she left the teaching building.

"Six-year-old cherry blossoms, half-dead ghost, automated human model, the gaze of the music room, 13 steps, Hanako."

"Aren't there usually seven ghost stories on campus?"

Before Hina Hongo and Nao could answer Akihisa's question, it was Akihisa Sora who spoke up to explain:
"The last one is the 'Ninnomiya Kinjiro statue' with glowing eyes."

Kinjiro Ninomiya was a thinker from the Edo period. Because of his poverty, he would go up the mountain to gather firewood while reading. This story was used as a sculpture and was once a landmark in front of most schools.

"Later, due to the widespread use of mobile phones, some parents believed that such statues would encourage students to play on their phones while walking, so they were removed."

Ah this,

Autumn Day was taken aback.
I never imagined that the 'parents' of an island nation could be so powerful.

"As expected, we didn't encounter anything extraordinary~~"

"Isn't this a matter of course?"

Yu couldn't help but retort to Hongo Hime's words.

"Let alone whether we can encounter extraordinary beings so easily, even if we do, we won't be able to deal with them!"

Of course, if Qiu Riyou had a moment of inspiration, she could have made the "Seven Ghost Stories of the School" dance in front of the four of them without any problem: so this "adventure" trip was destined to be nothing more than leisurely play.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Unlike the leisurely autumn days when one can enjoy a relaxed time,
In Nagata-cho, at the Prime Minister's official residence, a huge number of reporters have already gathered!
Within a few hours, news of the two battles in Shibuya and Minato districts spread throughout the entire planet: almost every country dispatched its designated news media to surround the prime minister's residence.

The group of reporters, with their mixed skin and eye colors, presented a diverse array of people, with the island nation's reporters all looking worried, as if they had lost their parents.

Meanwhile, the foreign journalists chatted and laughed amongst themselves, their excitement and joy evident: they had almost all heard that the American embassy had been bombed into ruins.

Especially the United News Agency of West Eight, whose dispatched reporters were overjoyed, their faces beaming as if they had won a billion dollars.

They are happy when island nations suffer. Although in the past two years, their president, at the request of the United States, has been 'forgiving history' and bowing to island nations, it is not hard to see from the rapidly declining approval ratings that the two countries are sworn enemies.

According to the West's 'tradition,' when that president steps down, that's when he'll spend the rest of his life in prison.

"Sir, I have a question!"

"What's the matter regarding the area below today?"

When the Chief Cabinet Secretary, dressed in a formal suit, appeared, the reporters immediately raised their arms!

"Please rest assured, we will give you a satisfactory answer."

"Hey, it will be announced, it will be announced."

Facing a barrage of cameras, the Chief Cabinet Secretary stepped onto the stage and began to speak.

"Today is a day of sorrow."

"Extraordinary battles have taken place at the American embassy in Shibuya Ward and Minato Ward."

Extraordinary? Combat?
"Legendary gods and monsters."

"They are real, and they will return soon!"

(End of this chapter)