An Encouragement of Learning ~Cherry Blossoms~/Story

## Introduction

 Sorry for making you wait - the white book you found was also found in a certain other location, so I had it sent here.
I'd like you to delve into this book and conduct a formal investigation on it. 待たせたな、君も探していた白い本が、とある場所で見つかったからこちらに届けてもらった
この本に潜書して正式に調査をしてもらいたい。人員の選定は任せる

 According to the report we received from you, we gathered that the white book from last time was originally one you read and left on the bookshelf. お前から受けた報告書によると、前回の白い本は元々お前が読んで本棚に置いていたものだそうだな

 I've also been an alchemist for quite some time, but I've never heard of a case like this.
Anything is fine, we need some information. 俺もアルケミストをやって長いが、このような例は聞いたことが無い
何でもいい、情報がほしいな

 Is what we say, but interfering with the world of the book is something we nyaturally must avoid. とは言うが、本の世界に干渉することは本来避けなければならニャイ

 Moreover, I believe you've understood this quite well by now, but the world of the book is not reality.
...Even if you meet people in the book who you know, don't forget that they're illusions that the book is showing you. それに、重々わかっていると思うが、本の世界は現実ではないからな
……中で出会う人がいたとしても、それは本が見せる幻だってこと、忘れないでくれよ

 And that's how it is. I heard the Taints here aren't very dangerous, but please exercise the utmeowst caution. ということだ。ここの侵蝕者は危険性も低いと聞いたが、重々気をつけてくれ

## Shelf 1

### School Entrance Ceremony Ch 1 - Shimazaki Touson & Tayama Katai & Kunikida Doppo

 Here it is, the Imperial Academyt! やってきたぜ、帝國学園！

 This looks nothing like the worlds we usually delve in. いつも潜書する世界とは全く似ていないね

 It seems unexpectedly normal. And here I thought we were gonna get caught up in some exam bloodbath or something...... 思っていたよりも普通だな。血で血を洗う試験とやらを受けさせられるかと思ったが……

 I can see lots of people from afar, and the cherry blossoms are in bloom too; is this the entrance ceremony? 遠くにたくさんの人影が見えるぞ、桜も咲いてるし、入学式か？

 No one is present in the classrooms, so that sounds plausible. 教室には誰もいないし、そうなのかも

 I see. But the enemies seem to be... Ah, Katai, behind you, behind you! そうだな。だが敵の気配は……あ、花袋、後ろ後ろ

 What are you on about, Dop---
 Uwaaaaah! The Taints are here! なんだよ独……
うわああああっ！　 侵蝕者！

 Oh, Mister Taint, I have something I'd like to ask you... あ、侵蝕者さん、聞きたいことがあるんですけど……

 Come along now, we ain't got time for interviews right now! はいはい、今は取材している場合じゃねえよ！

### School Entrance Ceremony Ch 2 - Tayama Katai & Kunikida Doppo

 Kunikida-sensei, did any good inspiration hit you? 国木田先生、いい刺激になってるか？

 Thanks to this. There were some ridiculous stories, too. おかげさまで。とんだ物語もあったもんだよ

 For real, man - we're practically characters in an adventure novel. ホントだよな、オレ達は冒険小説の登場人物かっての

 Haha, one of those stories about ordinary students you could find anywhere fighting off strange creatures, yeah? はは、どこにでもいる普通の学生が何故か変な生物と戦うことになる話、ってか

 Yeah, exactly. I'll be the protagonist, and you'll be my rival from the next class, Doppo. そうそう。主人公はオレで、独歩は隣の組にいるライバルな

 What are you even saying, the one you'd normally think of as most worthy of the Naturalist writer is me, myself, and I!
I'm the obvious pick for the protagonist, yeah? 何言ってるんだ、自然主義作家たるもの常に主人公は己自身だぜ？
俺が主人公に決まってるだろ？

 Is that how it is... Time for a protagonist showdown then. そうくるか……これは主人公対決待ったなしだな

 Oh, are you actually planning to win against me in a battle of words? You're still a hundred years too early for that! お、ひょっとして口喧嘩で俺に勝つつもりか？　百年早いぞ？

 S-shut up... う、うるせーよ……

### School Entrance Ceremony Ch 3 - Shimazaki Touson & Kunikida Doppo

 The cherry blossoms are in bloom huh, Kunikida. 桜が咲いているね、国木田

 This school entrance ceremony stuff really brings back old memories. 入学式とか、昔を思い出しちゃうな

 Now that you mention it, you were a teacher back then, too. そういえば、君も昔は教師だったよね

 That was a real long time ago... Hey. So this means we're studious youth here, right? うんと昔……な。それがここでは俺達は若き学びの徒、というわけだ

 That's kinda nice... It's easier to do interviews like this than if we were a teacher...
We probably won't stand out if we just pretend to be students, right? いいことじゃないかな……教師でいるよりは取材しやすいし……
学生のフリをしていれば目立たないじゃない

 I see... Immersive data collection or whatever - I've always wanted to try this. なるほど……潜入取材って奴だな、一度やってみたかったんだよ、これ

 Oh, I see... We can't reveal our true identities, right... そうか……僕たちの正体がバレたらいけないんだね……

 Alrighty, let's expose the shady things of this school. Shimazaki, better put your back into this! よし、学園の闇を暴いてやろうぜ。島崎、気を引き締めてかかろうか！

 Got it, Kunikida... わかったよ、国木田……

## Shelf 2

### After School - Tayama Katai & Shimazaki Touson

 Looks like you're enjoying yourself, Touson. 楽しそうだな、藤村

 Indeed... It's been a while since I could gather such interesting materials. そうだね……久しぶりに面白い取材ができそうだから

 Now that I'm a student, guess I should try penning something. 今度オレも学生になりきって何か書いてみるかな

 You probably shouldn't try something you're not used to. 慣れないことはしないほうがいいと思うけど

 Ooh, you said it this time! I'm a pro at looking at myself objectively!
Oh my goodness, my self reflection from after I've become a student will elicit the sympathy of youngsters the world over! お、言いやがったな！　自分を客観視することにかけてオレはプロだぞ！
どうするよ、学生になりきったオレの自己反省が世の若者の共感の嵐を呼んだら！

 That in itself sounds like it'd be interesting, I wanna see. それはそれで面白い事になりそうだね、見てみたいよ

 I know, right? You should write something too. だろ？　藤村もなんか書けばいいんだよ

 If I do write, it'll turn into some lengthy work again...... 僕が書くとまた長ーい作品になるよ……

 True that. Well, if you go through with it, let me have a read. だろうなあ。ま、できたら読んでやるよ

 Okay, I'm looking forward to your youth novel, too. わかったよ、僕も花袋の青春小説、楽しみにしてる

## Kunikida's Report

### Kunikida's Report I - Kunikida Doppo & Ozaki Kouyou?

 Huh, sure seems like I stumbled into some weird place...
Those hordes of Taints all just disappeared since a little while back...... あれ、変なところに来ちまったようだな……
さっきまでいっぱいいた侵蝕者もいなくなっちまったし……

*\*appears\**

*What are you doing over there!* そこで何をしておる！

 Geh, Kouyou...? げっ、紅葉……？

*Don't leave off the "sensei", you brat! The entrance ceremony is about to start!* 先生をつけろ小童(こわっぱ）！　すぐに入学式が始まるぞ！

 (Why is he getting mad at me all of a sudden?) （なんで俺はいきなり怒られてるんだ？）

 Oh no, I was just thinking about something... いや、考え事があってですね……

*Don't lie to me, you delinquent student!* 嘘をつくなよ、不良生徒め！

 Huh, wonder why some innocent self-reflection would get me in such trouble? むっ、なんで一人で思案してるだけで怒られなきゃいけないんですかねえ

*What are you saying? At this time, if a student is all by themself in a place where they have no business, it's obvious they're up to something, yes?* 何を言うか。今の時分、用もないところで生徒が一人でおると疑いをかけられるのは当然だろう

 Huh? What do you mean, up to something? は？　疑いってどういうことだよ

*Hmph, obviously starting a ghost riot.* ふん、幽霊の騒動に決まっておろうが

 (Ghosts...? What in the world is he talking about?) (幽霊……？　一体何のことだ？)

### Kunikida's Report II - Kunikida Doppo & Ozaki Kouyou?

 What are you trying to say, with all this ghosts, up to something, riot, business? 幽霊だの、疑いだの物騒な言葉ばかり、一体何が言いたいんだよ

*It's the "ghosts" starting trouble with the students. When a student is wandering aimlessly by themselves, it's quite natural to suspect it's related.* 生徒を騒がす「幽霊」だ。生徒が一人でふらふらしておると関係があると疑われても仕方ない

 I can't just let that go. Even though I have died once, it's mortifying to be called a monster. I don't know anything about this. 聞き捨てならないな。一度死んでるとはいえ、お化け呼ばわりされるのは心外だ。俺は何も知らないよ

*Well, I don't know about that. Your dodginess level is through the roof, investigating a deserted hallway.* どうだかな。誰もいない廊下を調べていた、怪しさ満点だったぞ

 ...I will admit that is suspicious. However, I really don't know anything about this. Don't suspect someone without any proof. ……確かに怪しいのはわかる。が、俺は本当に何も知らないんだ。証拠もなしに人を疑うなよ

*There's no proof of your innocence, either, but anyway, it's been dangerous lately. You had better refrain from doing something like this in the future, understand?* 潔白の証拠もないのだがな、まあいい、最近は物騒だ。今後はそのような行動は慎めよ、わかったか

 ...Understood. ……わかったよ

*Your name?* お前、名前は

 ...It's Kunikida Doppo. ……国木田独歩だ

*A second year, then. I'll make sure to remember, since I have to guide the new entering students. Hurry and go as to not become any more suspicious.* 二年の生徒だな。覚えておくぞ、我は新入生の引率をせねばならん。これ以上怪しまれる前に早く行け

 Yeah, yeah, then I'll be off. はいはい、失礼しますよ

*\*leaves\**

 What's up with him?
...And on top of that, what are those ghosts he's talking about? In the first place, who in the world was that, anyway...? なんなんだよアイツ
……それにしても、アイツの言っていた幽霊って？ というかそもそもアイツは誰なんだ……？

### Kunikida's Report III - Kunikida Doppo & Kouda Rohan?

 Oh man, thanks to a certain someone's scolding, I'm in a crappy mood. Don't people know that novelists can't stand getting talked down to? やれやれ、いきなり怒られるし、気分が悪いな。小説家は怒られることには腹持ちならないってのに

*Oi, are you a new student? Why are you playing hooky during the entrance ceremony?* おい、新入生か？ 入学式をサボって何をしているんだ

 Not this again! Who the hell is it this time!? Wait, you're... またか！ 今度は誰だよ！ って、アンタ……

*Seriously, first playing truant, now you're being rude too.
That's not how you refer to your elders. What an astonishingly improper student.* 全く、サボりに加えてアンタとはなんだ
目上の人間に対して言うことじゃないぞ。とんだ不良生徒だな

 (Have I just gotten myself lost in a strange world?
...... Maybe I should play along here.) （これはいよいよ、変な世界に迷いこんじまってるのか？
……ここは話を合わせたほうがいいか）

 I'm sorry, I was just about to head over there. すみません、今向かおうとしていたところです

*The ceremony's just started, so hurry up while the white ghosts aren't here yet.* もう始まっているが、早く行け。白い幽霊が出ないうちにな

 Again with the ghosts... What in the world are they? また幽霊……一体その幽霊ってなんなんですか

*What, you're loitering around all by yourself without even knowing about that?* なんだ、そんなことも知らないで一人でうろついていたのか

 Yes, I'm sorry. はあ、すみません

*I personally can't see them, but the ghosts seem to appear within school grounds. Apparently they're pale and have an eerie air to them.* 俺には見えないのだが、校内で現れるらしい。白く欠けた、おどろおどろしい奴らだそうだ

 (Wait, could he possibly be talking about the Taints......?) （それって、まさか、侵蝕者のことか……）

### Kunikida's Report IV - Kunikida Doppo & Kouda Rohan?

 About the Ta--- ghosts. Do you know when they started to appear? しん……幽霊って、いつから出るようになったんですか

*I don't know. But for some months now, it seems they've started to hang around the school.
Seriously, they're a terrible nuisance.* わからん。ただここ数ヶ月、学園は奴らに振り回されっぱなしだ
全く迷惑も甚だしい

 I wonder, what in the world are they? 一体何者なんですかね？

*I don't know that either - while they don't do any harm, if they're around it won't be good for the students' mental health.
Someone really should do something so that the students can go about their school life with some peace of mind.* それもわからん、害がないとはいえ、そんなものがそこら中に現れては精神衛生上よくないからな
生徒が安心して学園生活を送れるように、誰かがなんとかしなければな

 If even you teachers can't see them, what can we do? 先生は見えないのに、どうやって？

*Exactly - that's why the school has set up a reward system for students to exterminate the ghosts.
The principal should be talking about that in the ceremony as we speak.* それだ、学校が生徒に対して幽霊退治に報奨制度を設けた
今頃、入学式で校長のその話がされているところだろう

 What? Why is exorcism being left to the students? は？　なんで生徒が幽霊退治するんですか？

*It's a part of the school's self-governance system. We are of the mindset that the people here can deal with the problems that have arisen here themselves.* 学園自治の一環だ。ここで起こったことは、ここの人間で解決しなきゃいけない、という精神だな

 (Is self-governance supposed to be like that......?) （学園の自治ってそういうことか……？）

*Well then, we spent a lot of time talking... The ceremony should be nearly over by now, so head over there quickly.* さて、長々と話し込んでしまったな……もう入学式も終わりそうだが、早く向かえ

 Yessir. わかりました

*\*leaves\**

 ...He's a surprisingly kind person. I learned a lot from him.
And to think the Taints are the white ghosts... This is quite a scoop! ……意外と親切な奴だったな。色々教えてくれたし
そしてあの侵蝕者どもが白い幽霊……こいつはスクープだ！

## Tayama's Report

### Tayama's Report I - Tayama Katai & Kouda Rohan?

 Wow, the crowds of people, the scent of blackboards, this is pretty realistic!
Strange to think that "ghosts" might come out in this kinda place. へえー、この人がいっぱいいる感じ、黒板の匂い、なかなかリアリティがあるじゃねーか
こんな所に「幽霊」とやらが出るなんてな

*\*appears\**

*You there, the bell's about to ring; get to your class quickly!* おい、もうすぐ予鈴だぞ、早く教室に入れ

 Uwah! Rohan... -sensei...?
I heard it from the reports, but is this for real? うわ！　露伴……先生……？
報告には聞いてたけど、マジか

*Tayama, are you still investigating into the ghosts?* 田山、また幽霊について調べているな

 Eh... By ghosts, do you mean the Taints?
Ah, yes. After all... How should I say this... It's my job. えっ……幽霊って、侵蝕者のこと？
あ、はい。一応……なんというか……それが仕事なんで

*Your job... huh. It's nice you're active in the Newspaper Club, but don't go overboard.* 仕事……な。新聞部で活躍するのもいいがな、程々にしろよ

 About the Tai--- ghosts, what do you think, Rohan-sensei? 露伴先生はし……幽霊についてどう思います？

*Those nefarious fellows will only appear before the students, so the teachers are all thrown for a loop.
I'd sure like to give them a good beating.* あの不届き者な、何故か生徒の前にしか現れないから教師たちも困っている
俺が成敗してやりたいのだがな

 So you've never seen one, Sensei... Don't worry, if anything happens I'll wipe them all out! 先生は見たことないんですか……大丈夫ですよ、何かあればオレが退治しますって

*You fool, worry about your own grades, instead. You'll flunk out of your grade if you don't pass the next test.* 馬鹿者、お前は自分の成績を心配しろ。次の試験で赤点とったら落第だぞ

 Eh... Why are you telling me about such a devastating reality only now?! えっ……なんでそんな衝撃的事実を今オレに言うんですか！

*It's because you're so obsessed with those ghosts. Now, time to start the morning assembly!* 幽霊のことばかり気にしているからだ。さあ、朝礼を始めるぞ！

### Tayama's Report II - Tayama Katai & Kunikida Doppo? & Shimazaki Touson?

 Sigh, that was a shock, getting announced to that I'll be flunking for something I don't remember doing. はー、びっくりした。いきなり身に覚えがないことで落第宣言されるんだもんな

*\*appears\**

*What's wrong, Katai?* どうしたんだ花袋？

*\*appears\**

*Our next class is upstairs.* 次の教室は上だよ

 Uwah!
Hey, what... You guys look just like Doppo and Touson... This feels weird. うわっ！
って、へぇ……お前ら、独歩と藤村にそっくりだ……なんだか変な気分だな

*Hm? What are you talking about...* ？　何言ってんだ……

*Maybe he discovered the world's most beautiful girl when he came to school and it threw him into a state of confusion.* 学校に来る時に絶世の美少女でも見つけちゃって、少し混乱しているのかもしれない

 The world's most beautiful girl, huh... Ah, that's right!
If we're talking gorgeous girls, they say in school these days that you may collide with a mysterious girl holding toast in her mouth when you turn a corner!
If that girl's actually a transfer student, maybe love will begin from there! 絶世の美少女か……あ、そうそう！
絶世の美少女といえば、今の時代、登校時に曲がり角でパンを咥えた謎の美少女とぶつかるんだってな！
実はその美少女が転校生で、そこから恋が始まるんだろ？

*Ha...
Puhah, what are you even saying so confidently? There's no way something like that'll happen!
You wouldn't even see that kind of development in a springtime of youth novel!* く……
ぶはっ、自信満々に何言ってるんだよ！　そんなことありえるわけないだろ！
青春小説でも見ないぞ、そんな展開

*Hey, where did you hear that from?* ねえ、どこでそんなこと聞いてきたの？

 Ugh... Why! Even I thought I couldn't acknowledge such a fantastic story, as a naturalist!
But, this is a world in a book, and I'm inside of it... So that totally should have happened!!! うっ……なんでだよ！　オレだってそんな奇想天外なストーリー、自然主義として認めねえって思ったよ！
でも、ここは本の世界で、オレはここにいるんだから……そんなことが起きたっていいだろ！！！

*...I have no clue what you're talking about, but how disappointing.* ……言ってることがよくわからないけど、残念だったね

*They say that "the entertainment value of a written story will never compare to a story that exposes its true self", right?
Such a desire for free expression is what drives you to pick up the pen, after all. Well then, I'll leave you to entertain this idiot. I'm in a hurry, so I'll be going on ahead.* 「作られた物語の面白さは、自分を率直にさらけ出した物語には及ばない」
って言うだろ、花袋？　その無念な気持ちはペンにぶつけるんだな
さて、阿呆の相手は任せたよ。俺は急ぐから先に行くぜ

### Tayama's Report III - Tayama Katai & Shimazaki Touson?

 Oof, my dream of beautiful girls has fallen apart... うう、オレの美少女の夢は潰えた……

*Cheer up. You can just make a new list of pretty girls again... It'll be a hit.* 元気出して。また新しい美少女目録を作るからさ……みんなにも大好評だよきっと

 What is that even... What is the me in this world even making... I'm so jealous... なんだよそれ……この世界のオレは何を作ってるんだ……羨ましいぞ……

*Katai, you really are acting weird today.* やっぱり今日の花袋はちょっと変だね

 Sigh, let's get back on track... Touson, tell me about the ghosts; you must know about them, right? はあ、気を取り直して……藤村、幽霊のことを教えてくれよ、それは知ってるだろ？

*Why, are you trying to write a new reportage?
And what do you mean, know about them, anyway, we gathered so much data on them together!* どうしたの、新しいルポタージュでも書くつもり？
知っているも何も、一緒に何から何まで取材したじゃない

 ...Is that so? Then, let me change the question. What do you think their true identity would be? ……そうだったかな。じゃあ質問を変えるよ、あいつらの正体って何だと思う？

*Well, we still don't have enough data to make a judgment on that.
I still want to interview the ghosts in person...* うーん、それを考えるにはまだ取材が足りないよ
やっぱり幽霊に直撃インタビューをしたいよね……

 Even if we can lure them in, it isn't like we can communicate via words... anyway. つっても、意思疎通はできない……もんな

*Yeah. But we can sense some sort of intention from them. Are they really unable to speak with words...?
Don't you think so, Katai? Like, during the interview.* うん。でも何かの意思を感じるんだよね。言葉、本当に話すことができないのかな……？
花袋はそう思わない？　取材していてさ

 ...True that. I can tell, too. Feels like they have some kind of goal. ……確かにな。オレも感じるよ。あいつらには何か目的がある気がする

*Maybe they have harbor some kind of lingering regrets from this world. It's a mystery whether they're even real ghosts to begin with.* 一体この世に何の未練があるんだろうね。そもそも本当に幽霊なのかも謎だけど

 As expected of Touson. You're sharp, even here... さすが藤村、こっちでも鋭いな……

### Tayama's Report IV - Tayama Katai & Kunikida Doppo?

 Jeez, what's up with this world!
...Oh, it's Doppo. Yo! やれやれ、この世界は一体どうなってるんだよ
……あ、独歩だ。おーい！

*...Katai, huh? I was thinking up ideas for a new short story we can publish in the newspaper.* ……花袋か。今、新聞に載せる新しい小説のことを考えていたんだよ

 ...So you write here, too. What are you planning to write? ……こっちでも書いてるんだな、何を書くつもりなんだ？

*I was thinking of writing about our day-to-day life at this academy, but it's not going well.
It's pretty difficult, writing about the obvious.* 今の学園の日常を書こうと思うんだけど、うまくいかないんだよ
アタリマエのことを書くって、難しいな

 It sounds fine to me, just take inspiration from the things around you, that's what writing "naturally" is all about. いいじゃないか、身の回りのことを題材にする、それが物書きとしての「自然」ってもんだろ

*That's what they say, but ya never know if it'll turn out funny, right?* とは言うけどさ、そんなの書いてウケるかってのもわかんない、だろ？

 It's fine, it's fine! Even if not now, there will come a day when the stuff we've written will be acknowledged. 大丈夫だって。今はそうでなくとも、いつかは自分たちの書いたものが認められる日が来るよ

*You seem awfully sure about that.* やけに自信満々だな

 Hey hey, just believe me. まあまあ、オレを信じとけって

*You're not just saying random advice to shut me up, right?
More importantly, I was going to ask you about what I should do for my new work.* 面倒くさいからってアドバイスが適当すぎるんじゃないか？
それよりも俺は次の新作のことが聞きたいんだが

 Haha. Ok, then what about this kind of story?
In reality, those ghosts are bad guys out to destroy the worlds of books, and we're battling to protect the novels we wrote. はは。じゃあ、こんな話はどうだ？
実はあの幽霊は本の世界を壊す悪者で、オレ達の書いた小説を守るために戦うって話

*What the heck, it's completely unrealistic!* なんだそれ、全くリアリティがないっての

 For real. But it's fine to have this kind of story too, right? 本当だよな。でも、こんな話もあってもいいだろ？

## Shimazaki's Report

### Shimazaki's Report I - Shimazaki Touson & Kunikida Doppo? & Tayama Katai?

 Hm, did I land myself in some weird place? あれ、なんか変な所に出てきた？

*\*appears\**

*Shimazaki, morning.* 島崎、おはよう

*\*appears\**

*Why do you keep looking around like that?* なにキョロキョロしてるんだ？

 ...You two, why are you both dressed like that? ……二人共、なんでそんな格好を？

*What's with you? School's starting, so of course we gotta be in uniform.* どうしたんだ？　これから学校なんだから制服を着るのは当たり前だろ

*Doppo, leave him be; it must be his interview thing anyway.* 独歩ほっとけ、どうせ何かの取材なんだろ

 (...I guess it's better to play along.) （……ここは話を合わせたほうがいいのかな）

 ...Oh yeah, isn't there anything that might turn out to be a great scoop? ……そうだ、なんかスクープになりそうなものはない？

*Unfortunately, not today.
Moreover, if there was anything, I'd get my hands on it first, which leaves no scoop for you, no?* 残念ながら、今日はないな
それにスクープがあれば俺が先に取材するから、スクープにはならないぜ？

*Haha, there's that too.
But I'd like you two, as the aces of our Newspaper Club, to stop competing against each other, or it'll be real awkward for me as your leader.* はは、そりゃそうだな
だけど新聞部のトップ記者二人が争うのはやめてくれよなー、困るのは部長のオレだから

 (So we're part of the Newspaper Club in this world.) （この世界の僕達は新聞部なんだ）

*Oh yeah, I found some pretty girls that are Katai's type yesterday, so I'll get on with my interviews!* そうだ、昨日、花袋好みの美少女を見かけたから取材してきてやるよ

*I'm counting on you! Every student is looking forward to the completion of our list of the academy's prettiest girls!
It'll earn us some pocket money, too.* よろしく頼むぜ！　学園の美少女目録の完成を全校生徒が待ち望んでるからな！
オレ達もそれを売って小遣い稼ぎだ

 ...A list of pretty girls. That's indeed a Katai-like idea. ……美少女目録。花袋らしい発想だね

### Shimazaki's Report II - Shimazaki Touson & Kunikida Doppo? & Tayama Katai?

*Touson, it'll be our next class soon.
Or, are you going to ditch Kouyou-sensei's lessons again?* 藤村、もう次の授業が始まるぞ
それとも紅葉先生の授業、またサボるつもりか？

*Katai, I'd better not take Kouyou-sensei's class.
How about you, Touson?* 花袋、紅葉先生の授業なんか受けないほうがいいぜ
藤村はどうする？

 Uuhm... What to do. Whatever gets me more interesting information, I guess. えーっと……どうしよう、面白い取材をさせてくれる方かな

*What are you saying? Kouyou-sensei's lessons are real interesting!* なんだよそれ、紅葉先生の授業、面白いぞ

*Hell if they are! It'd be way more interesting to take a short stroll over there. Let's get going, Shimazaki!* んなわけないだろ。ちょっとそこら辺散歩したほうが、面白いに決まってる。行くぞ島崎！

 Then let's do that. I have lots of stuff to ask you. じゃあそうするよ。色々と聞きたいことがあるんだ

*Ah, is that so. Well lonely old me'll go to class all by myself, then.* あーそうかい。じゃあオレは一人寂しく授業に出ることにするよ

*How diligent of you; don't tell me you're planning to become Kouyou-sensei's disciple?* 花袋は真面目だなあ、まさか紅葉先生に弟子入りするつもりか？

*Hey, it's nothing like that! There's no way I could become his disciple anyway.* ちょっ、そんなんじゃねえよ！　あの人の弟子なんてなれるわけ無いだろ

 (Hmm, this place's Katai is earnest, too.) （ふうん、こっちの花袋も真面目なんだね）

*Goodness, Kouyou believers are real scary. I'm worried; what if Katai starts talking like a grampa, too...* やれやれ、紅葉信奉者は怖いな。俺は花袋の言葉遣いが古臭くなってしまわないか心配だよ……

*Say whatever you like! I'm leaving!* 勝手に言ってやがれ！　オレはもう行くからな！

### Shimazaki's Report III - Shimazaki Touson & Kunikida Doppo? & Cat?

 Kunikida, I want to ask you something...
About the school's ghosts you mentioned before, and stuff about yourself... 国木田、ちょっと質問したいんだけど……
さっき言っていた学校の幽霊のことと、君自身のことについて……

*Okay okay I got it, but later. We're skipping class and all, so let's just relax.* おーおーわかってるよ、後でな。せっかくのサボタージュだ、少しゆっくりしようぜ

 ...Got it. ……わかったよ

*Haah, this is so nice. Hey look, cherry blossoms are blooming.* はーあ、落ち着くな。ほら見てみろ、桜が咲いてる

 Looks like they're all falling. もう散りそうだよ

*I told you, even if the cherry blossoms fall, what comes after is lush leaves. I'm looking forward to it!* だからさ、桜が散っても、その次は青々とした葉をつける。楽しみだよ

 That's Kunikida for you. You're exactly the same, even here. さすが国木田だね。こっちでも全然変わらないな

*People can tell how beauitful cherry blossoms in full bloom are, and yet they don't notice the beauty in summer woods......* 人々は咲き誇る桜を美しいと感じるものの、夏の林の美しさには気づかない……

*\*appears\**

*What are you two doing in a place like this?* お前たち、こんなところで何をしている

*Oh shit, here comes the vice principal. We gotta run!* げ、やばい、教頭だ。逃げろ！

*\*runs away\**

 Ah, wait up, Kunikida... あ、ちょっとまってよ国木田……

*So the one who ran away just now was Kunikida, huh? I'll give him an hour of scolding later.* さっき逃げていったのは国木田か。あとで小一時間かけて説教だな

 (Oops... My bad, Kunikida of this world.) （しまった……ごめんよ、こっちの国木田）

### Shimazaki's Report IV - Shimazaki Touson & Cat? & Chief Librarian?

 (So Cat is the Vice Principal...?) （ネコが教頭……？）

*Playing hooky huh, this delinquent. You must be Shimazaki Touson.
The youth these days don't even care to strive for knowledge...* サボタージュか、この不良生徒め。お前は、島崎藤村だな
全く、最近の若者は勉学にも励まず……

*...Oh, I was led by the spring mood to come here for a break, and it looks like someone is already here.* ……おや、春の陽気に釣られて休みに来てみれば、先客がいたようだな

*...You too, Principal?* ……校長、お前もか

 Principal? You mean Chief Librarian? 校長先生？　館長が？

*Hahaha, seems like even I can't avoid getting scolded.* はっはっは、これは俺も説教を喰らわないといけなさそうだな

*Hahaha
... Nyas if. Why don't you keep in mind your behavior sets an example for the students?* はっはっは
……ではニャイのだが。生徒の手本になるような行動を心がけてもらえニャイだろうか

 Uuhm, Principal... I have a question to ask, about the ghosts. ええっと、校長先生……幽霊について一つ質問したいです

*The ghosts... Oh well, if it's only one question. No more than one.* 幽霊か……仕方ない、一つだけだぞ。それ以上は駄目だ

 Why do the white ghosts appear? どうして白い幽霊は現れるんですか？

*We're uncertain of the cause. Even though they're harmless, we should probably do something about it...
As of now, we're having the students exterminate them.* 原因はわからない。無害とは言え、俺達がなんとかするべきなんだがな……
生徒に退治してもらっているのが現状だ

 Is it true that nothing strange has occurred? 本当に何か変わったことは起きないんですか？

*Thankfully so.
But we are aware it has caused anxiety among the students. The ghosts are appearing more often too.* 幸いにもな
ただ、生徒たちが不安がっていることはこちらも知っている。幽霊の出現頻度も増えているな

*Alright, question time is over. You, go back to your class too.* さて、質問は終わりだ。君も授業に戻りなさい

 Understood... わかりました……

*\*leaves\**

*\*leaves\**

 (There are no occurrences of tainting or anything like that, which means they aren't Taints...? Hmm, what does this mean...?) （侵蝕が起こったりもしないってことは、侵蝕者じゃないってこと……？　うーん、どういうことだろう……？）

## School Entrance Ceremony Passages

*The following recollections were added to the story with rerun of the event in 2018!*

### School Entrance Ceremony Passage 1 - Tokuda Shuusei? & Tayama Katai? & Kunikida Doppo?

*Terror! A white ghost creeps up upon Imperial Academy!* 恐怖！　帝國学園に忍び寄る白い幽霊

*Eyewitnesses of occurrences on deserted stairways and within empty classrooms, and eyewitness accounts of occurrences by several people...
The teaching staff are also aware of the issue, but racking their brains for how to take action due to the fact that there have not been any victims.* 誰もいない怪談や教室で目撃されること、また複数人での目撃情報も存在する
教諭たちも問題を認識しているが特に被害はないため、対応に苦慮しているとのこと

*It can be seen that the true identity of these ghostly phenomena will take yet more time to uncover...* 正体不明の心霊現象、解明されるにはまだ時間がかかるとみられる……

*...Is this for real?* …………これ、本当なの？

*Of course, dude! I gathered this information with my own two hands!* ったりまえだろ！　オレたちがこの足で集めてきたんだぜ

*Thanks to that, the popularity of Imperial Academy newspaper's latest issue is on the rise!* おかげさまで帝國学園新聞最新号の評判は上々だ

*Hmmm, well that's sure someting.
Makes me feel like I'd prefer not to deal with crippling fear of the unknown, though.* ふーん、それはすごいね
僕としてはあまり不安を煽り立てないでほしいって思っちゃうんだけど

*What are you saying, this is written properly based on cold, hard facts. Plus, everyone's got a right to know the truth, ya know!* 何いってんだよ、ちゃんとした事実に基づいて書いてるんだからな。それにみんな真実を知る権利があるんだぜ

*Right now I'm crunching the data on the locations of appearances and eyewitness attributes. Maybe we'll figure something out from it.* 今、出現地点と目撃者の属性傾向をデータ化しているところだよ。ここから何か分かるかも

*Huh... You guys are going at it more legitimately than I would have imagined.* へぇ……意外と本格的に調べているんだね

*Hah, this is the bread and butter of getting a good scoop.* はっ、スクープを狙うものとして当然だよ

### School Entrance Ceremony Passage 2 - Kunikida Doppo? & Shimazaki Touson? & Tokuda Shuusei?

*Even so, what the heck was that ghost?* それにしてもさあ、あの幽霊の正体ってなんなんだろうな

*Hmm, maybe the grudge of students who failed an exam...?* うーん、落第した学生たちの怨念とか……？

*Oh, so a vengeful spirit! To think that the resentment for teachers could transform into such a thing...!* お、生霊か！　先生たちへの恨みつらみがあんな変な形になって出てきてるんだな……！

*If that were the case, the ghost's true form would be Katai.* それが本当なら、幽霊の正体は花袋になってしまうんじゃない？

*Hey, shut it Shuusei! I haven't failed yet!* ちょっ、うるせーよ秋声！　まだオレは落第してねーし！

*If it's as you say, Katai's vengeful spirit during exams would be really annoying.* もしそうなら、試験の時期は花袋の生霊で大変なことになりそうだな

*Hey, not you too!* おい、独歩まで！

*Hey Katai, how does it feel to always barely scrape by the failing mark...?* ねえ花袋、試験はいつも赤点ギリギリで切り抜けてきてるけど、どんな気持ちなの……？

*Shut it! It feels like I'm gonna die!* うるせー！　いつも死にそうな気持ちだよ！

*Hahaha, so to prevent Katai from getting distracted by collecting materials and failing his classes, we better hurry and find this ghost!* はははっ、徹底取材のせいで花袋が落第しないためにも、早いとこ正体をつかみたいところだな！

### School Entrance Ceremony Passage 3 - Aka & Ao & Tokuda Shuusei

 Ah, supplementary data... Rather, thank you for doing the followup investigation. We've ascertained several more things from this. あ、追加取材……もとい、追加調査ありがとうございます。またいろんなことが判明しましたね

 The "white ghosts" this time were also Taints, right? 今回も出てきた「白い幽霊」って、侵蝕者のことだろ？

 It's quite different from the other books in that the characters acknowledge the existence of the Taints. 登場人物が侵蝕者の存在を認識しているなんて、他の本では見られなかった現象です

 How weird, in the last one the characters were even aware that you guys were from some alternate world and were testing your chops. 変だなあ、前回も登場人物がアンタたちのことを異世界人って認識して腕試しをしていたように見えたし……

 It's a possibility that the characters in this white book are aware that foreign beings exist from outside of the book's world.
Not sure what this implies... but anyway, we'll need to carefully monitor the developments from now on. もしかしたら、この白い本の登場人物は本の世界の外の異物を認識することができるのかもしれませんね
それが何を意味するのかはわかりませんが……とにかく、今後の展開を注視していく必要がありますね

\*appears\*

 What even in the world is this book. My own doppelganger came out, even... 本当になんなんだよ、この本は。僕のニセモノまで出てくるし……

 Oh, welcome back. You even started school at an academy. お、おかえり。アンタもついに学園に入学したな

 Depends on the book too, but the personalities of the fakes seem to be based on the team investigating.
I expect that those who are friendly with the investigators would become the characters of the books. 本にもよりますが、ニセモノの性格は調査員達のその人に対するイメージがベースになっているようです
おそらく、調査員たちに親しい人物がこの白い本の登場人物になっているんですね

 In other words... For those guys, they think of you as those people! ということは……あいつらにとってアンタはあんな人間だと思われてるってことだな！

 ...Hearing that, I feel kinda complicated, you know. ……それを言われるとちょっと複雑な気分なんだけど

 Haha, it's all good, to me they didn't seem too different from the real thing, anyway! ははっ、いいじゃん、俺としても本人とはそんなに違わないと思ったぜ？

………………………

 (...Does that mean people see me as such a disagreeable person...?) （……僕はあんなに嫌味なやつって思われてるってこと……？）