Watching Rojin leave, Fukube scratched his head.
What a strange guy.
Polite, but with a clear sense of distance.
But he didn't think too deeply about it.
As vice-chairman, he met all sorts of weird people. Compared to them, Rojin was actually fairly normal.
"Anyway, anyway—"
He turned back and continued discussing various urban legends with Oreki.
Oreki, sharp-minded as always, seemed to sense something.
With his strong reasoning ability, he felt as though he'd caught a faint thread of something.
But he had no intention of following it.
If it doesn't need to be done, don't do it. If it must be done, do it as simply as possible.
That was his life motto.
Keep things simple. A textbook energy-saver.
Clearly, anything involving this unfamiliar Rojin fell into the "doesn't need to be done" category.
Oreki had no intention of wasting precious brain cells on this.
Returning to his seat, Rojin took out his phone and sent a message.
It was basically about the leaked information on AO-3008.
The special-operations unit would investigate from the outside, checking who had approached that street recently.
Rojin planned to visit the Occult Research Club later to see if he could find clues.
"Rojin, are you really that interested in urban legends?" Sakura asked with curiosity.
In Sakura's impression, Rojin was the type who cared about nothing except his part-time job.
Classmates, teachers' lectures, none of it mattered to him.
Only when his part-time job was mentioned would he show a bit of energy.
To Sakura, he must have found a well-paid job.
Something that let him be financially independent to a certain degree, able to buy what he wanted on his own.
You could tell from Rojin's usual behavior.
He wasn't extravagant, but also didn't hold back too much.
Although Sakura wanted to say that this kind of part-time job couldn't be done forever, and studying should still be his priority, she didn't say it in the end.
The two were friends, but not close enough to talk about such things.
It was better not to meddle in someone else's business.
Suppressing her own thoughts, Sakura looked curiously at Rojin.
"A bit, I guess."
Being very concerned about anomalous objects counted as being interested in urban legends, right?
After thinking for a moment, Rojin gave a definite answer.
He also had his own little plan.
If he established the persona of someone who was "enthusiastic about urban legends," it would be easier to hear information like that later.
After all, many rumors students circulated were actually about various contained anomalies.
Sometimes the research institute couldn't understand why these students were so well-informed.
In the end, they could only chalk it up to neon high schoolers.
"That's kind of surprising."
Sakura looked at Rojin with surprise.
He really didn't seem like the type.
"Why?"
"How should I put this…"
Sakura struggled to find the right words.
In her impression, people who were into urban legends were gloomy, isolated, and uncommunicative.
Dark, antisocial, with rooms full of posters and strange objects.
These stereotypes formed her impression of such people.
In truth, she had never actually met someone obsessed with urban legends.
Everything she knew came from the internet.
It was a bit biased, but nowadays most people's understanding of others came second-hand anyway.
You couldn't really blame Sakura for that.
"Maybe because your vibe doesn't match?"
After hesitating a moment, Sakura asked cautiously.
Aside from not being sociable, Rojin didn't match any part of the stereotype.
And Sakura felt that Rojin wasn't unable to get along with people; he just didn't see the point.
He'd rather nap on his desk than talk to classmates.
At least when he talked with Sakamoto or her, he seemed perfectly normal.
"Maybe I'm just mildly interested?"
Rojin roughly understood her thought process.
After all, the discrimination toward otaku in Japan was intense.
Once someone was discovered to be an otaku, they might even retreat to a bathroom stall to eat lunch.
Even if the bathroom was clean, it wasn't a place for meals.
Some companies even strictly forbade employees from eating lunch there.
"I see."
Nodding slightly, Sakura didn't continue the topic and instead began sharing what she knew about the Occult Research Club.
She knew a bit about that club.
"I remember they only have five people."
As a member of the student council, Sakura remembered most clubs, including that one-person Service Club.
No, rather, because a certain shameless teacher blatantly protected it and because of a certain person's personality, she remembered it too well.
And the Occult Research Club, which constantly hovered on the edge of being abolished, also left an impression.
"The club president is a third-year. Among the other four, two are first-year newbies and two are second-years."
"They call themselves a research club but mostly just play games."
"But their president really loves all things related to urban legends."
"The club basically exists because of him."
After recalling everything she could, Sakura realized she didn't have much useful information.
There were plenty of clubs like this in the school.
There was no way she could remember every detail.
She couldn't even remember the president's name anymore.
"Thanks."
Rojin said casually. He wasn't disappointed.
Two possibilities came to mind.
Someone in that club accidentally came into contact with an organization and got absorbed into it, learning about SCP-3008.
Or, second possibility, all of them were members of some organization.
But that was unlikely.
He would check after school and look into it.
He wasn't worried someone would cause trouble in the meantime.
As always: trust the Agency.
A normal person trying to stir up chaos under the Humanity Protection Agency's nose was as difficult as making a Weeping Angel give up on neck meat.
There were always small organizations trying to challenge the Agency.
Many people wanted to cause trouble.
But the Agency remained king of the shadows.
Those who challenged it were long gone.
And the troublemakers?
They were probably reincarnated by now.