The Simulacrum

The cultural festival of Blue Cherry High, held just before the Christmas holiday break, was always a time of chaotic energy. The usually orderly school grounds would transform into a bustling marketplace of ideas, attractions, and student enterprise. The air was thick with the competing aromas of various street foods and the constant hum of excited chatter. Each classroom was repurposed into a themed cafe or interactive exhibit, and the hallways were choked with navigating streams of students, proud parents, and curious locals.

Yet, amidst this vibrant, almost overwhelming display of adolescent enthusiasm, a certain couple was having a rather strained conversation.

"I'm just saying, this is lame," Joshua Bernstein spoke in a hushed tone as they waded through the thickest part of the crowd near the gymnasium. "This is supposed to be our anniversary, not..."

His complaints were cut short by a group of first-year students thundering by, carrying props over their heads, and by the time he rejoined with his companions, his girlfriend was already in the middle of a response.

"... speaking, our first anniversary is gonna be on Thursday. You know? Because the festival is held on a different day every year?" Angeline Dionne told him with her finger wagging.

"That's not the point!" he argued back with a huff. "It's still supposed to be an important date, and instead we're babysitting him."

He gestured to their left, where a familiar blonde young man was in the process of handing over a single stalk of red rose to a third-year girl from the student council.

Angeline blinked at the display and said, "He's just happy to socialize, I think," but then she walked over and unceremoniously pulled Hareng Ninurta away, with the words, "Stop fooling around!"

"Ah! Goodbye, fair maiden of distant shores! I wish you fare well!" the incognito Abyssal bid the flustered girl farewell with a gallant wave, and then Angeline dragged him along.

"See? This is exactly what I'm talking about," Joshua grumbled with his arms crossed, then addressed Hareng with a stern, "If you don't behave yourself, we're cutting the tour short."

"Eh?" Hareng let out a perplexed sound, then he tilted his head. "But I'm having fun. Isn't that the whole point of this charming little festival? Cultural exchange is such a wondrous thing."

"Come on, Josh. Don't be so hard on him,"Angeline insisted and tapped her boyfriend on the back. "Harry's just excited because this is his first cultural festival."

"And also the first break I've got from official duties in months!" the blonde Abyssal proclaimed with a happy-go-lucky grin, and Joshua let out a shallow groan in return.

"Well, good for you."

"Come on, grumpy squirrel! Don't be like that!" Angie poked her boyfriend's side, then whispered, "We'll just have to look after him until the evening, and then we're gonna go to our spot from last year, watch the fireworks, and cuddle."

"Yeah, but..."

Joshua was unable to come up with a proper rebuttal, because they had already reached the street food stalls set up inside the school's spacious main atrium. The noise level here was several notches higher, a wall of sound composed of sizzling oil from the stalls, shouted orders over the din, and the tinny rhythm of a pop song blasting from the direction of the gymnasium. The air was thick with competing smells; everything from simple fried dumplings to more ambitious noodle dishes.

"Wow!" Hareng exclaimed as he craned his neck to take in the sights.

"Look, Josh! They've got homemade calzones over there!" Angeline called out with a wide smile. "Don't go anywhere! I need to try that before they sell out!"

With that, the Celestial girl weaved through the crowd and disappeared behind a particularly large group of students huddled around a brightly coloured stand.

And then there were two.

"Seriously, mate. You're ruining my date," Joshua griped, and after glancing around, the blonde Abyssal let his mask slip for a moment and glared back at him.

"Well, excuse me! Do you have any idea how boring it is to be cooped up in that underground base of yours? I'm supposed to be an envoy, not a hermit! This is my first break in three months. You can have dates with your girl any time you want."

"Still missing the point," Joshua continued to complain with a sigh, and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, I'm just saying. It's our..."

"Your anniversary, sure, sure. I get it," Hareng cut him off, then let out a soft huff and said, "Okay, let's compromise. Recommend me some food and then lead me to a place with lots of pretty girls, and then I'll stay out of your hair for the rest of the day. Deal?"

"A place with lots of pretty girls?" Joshua repeated, a slow, mischievous grin spreading across his face. "I know just the spot."

"You do?" Hareng asked back, a bit too eager for his own good.

"Sure, buddy, sure. Now, let's go and try to find something fitting your palate."

With that, the two ventured into the crowd, and soon came out on the other side carrying two small, square paper plates holding cut sausages doused in a red sauce.

"Wow! This is amazing!" Hareng exclaimed, back to his cheerful, goofy self after taking a bite. "It's so spicy! What is it?"

"Currywurst," Joshua responded laconically and poked a slice of his own with a small, wooden toothpick. "It's a German thing."

"Really? They brought it all the way over here?"

"No, that's not how it works," he tried to explain, but then he got interrupted when Angeline also made her way out of the crowd, holding a paper cone with a half-eaten calzone sticking out of it.

"Boo, you guys! You left me behind!"

"No, we didn't," Joshua argued back, but then decided against pursuing the argument any further, and instead turned towards Hareng and asked, "So, you like it?"

"It is incredible! I've never tasted anything like it!" the blonde Abyssal claimed, and then took another bite with relish.

"Yeah, we noticed that food in the Abyss was a bit behind the times," Angeline noted with a thoughtful chew. But then her eyes opened wide, and she pointed a finger at her boyfriend. "A-ha!"

He blurted out a confused,"What?" at which she flashed a grin and pointed even harder.

"We should totally open a restaurant in the Abyss! We should call it 'The Herald's Table'!"

Joshua considered it between bites, but then shook his head.

"Nah. By the time we finish college and get on with the whole Celestial and Abyssal business, the novelty will have worn off."

"That's why we gotta do it now, while the iron's still hot! Let's tell Leo about the idea ASAP!"

"Ease up, silly-goose," the boy said as he poked his girlfriend's forehead. "One thing at a time. We're supposed to enjoy the cultural festival today."

"Mou..." She let out a frustrated sound, then turned her attention to Hareng. "What do you think, Harry? The idea is brilliant, right?"

"I'm afraid my expertise in the culinary arts is limited," he answered, then added, "But the name has a nice ring to it."

"You see? Harry gets it."

Joshua rolled his eyes and returned to his food, and the three of them quickly devoured their snacks while still standing near the food stalls. After they finished, they disposed of their plates in a nearby bin and then had to decide on what to do next.

"So, where to now?" Angeline asked, her gaze sweeping across the bustling atrium.

"There's the concert in the gym, but I don't think it's gonna be that good."

"Yeah, we kinda set the bar waaay too high last year, didn't we?" Angeline said while rubbing her nose, making the Abyssal noble scion look at them with mild confusion.

Ignoring him, Joshua posited, "Speaking of which, how about we show this guy our own attraction?"

"Right!"

"Oh? Is that the place?" Hareng muttered, his mouth smiling but his eyes saying, 'Remember our deal.'

Joshua shook his head.

"No, but we'll get there. Patience."

It was then, just as the three of them were about to head upstairs, when they were stopped in their tracks by someone suddenly tugging on Angeline's sleeve.

"Hm? Ah, hi!"

"Hi!" the little girl standing next to her returned her enthusiastic greeting with a smile of her own. Her bright red hair was tied up in voluptuous twin tails, and she wore a simple red-and-white polka-dot dress with plain white leggings. She looked up at the Celestial girl and asked, "Have you seen my Papa?"

"Aw, she must've gotten lost," Angeline cooed and knelt down to talk to the little girl. "What's your name, sweetie?"

"Pud— No, wait. It's Purin!"

"Did you get separated from your parents?" Joshua asked next, stepping closer with a concerned frown.

"No, just my Papa. Purin's been looking for him aaall day long!"

"What's his name, my cute little maiden?" Hareng asked next, only to get elbowed in the side by Joshua.

"Dude. Don't make moves on kids!"

"I'm not! You know I can't help it! It's biological," the blonde Abyssal hissed back and tried to elbow him in return.

Meanwhile, the little girl put a finger on her lips and pondered.

"Umm... Purin isn't supposed to say Papa's name, because Purin is un-der... cooover? Yes! Undercover!" she claimed with a vigorous nod.

"That... doesn't help," Angeline mumbled. "What does he look like?"

"Purin's Papa is the biggest and the strongest in the whole universe!"

"That… still doesn't help much, but…"

~~~

"I swear, she's here, somewhere," I said as I craned my neck in the crowd. "I think she's doing it unconsciously."

"You still haven't explained what 'being narrated' feels like," Judy commented on the side, and I could only grumble in a low voice in return.

"It's because I can't. It's complicated, okay?"

Meanwhile, Elly asked, "If she's around, should we go to the faculty office and ask them to use the loudspeaker? We could say she's a missing child."

"She technically is one," Judy pointed out, while I could only…

~~~

"Ah! Purin can hear Papa!"

"Wait! Where are you...?"

To Angeline's shock, the little girl suddenly turned on her heel and dived into the crowd. She tried to follow her with her eyes, but it was as if she had just vanished into thin air.

"Wow. Hey, Josh? Were we this slippery when we were kids?"

It was only at this point that Joshua and Hareng stopped their quiet tussle, and her boyfriend let out an uncertain grunt.

"Dunno. I do remember you getting lost in the amusement park once. You were more of a crybaby than this kid, though."

"That wasn't what I asked! Opening up old wounds like that!" Angeline sulked for a moment, but then she sucked in a deep breath and grabbed the two's arms. "Whatever, let's not get hung up on the past! To the haunted classroom!"

With that, she dragged the two young men towards the back stairs, only to find themselves stopped again by some familiar faces.

"Like, hi, guys!"

Sahi, the rejuvenated arch-mage, and Pascal, Lord Amadeus Endymonion's protege, greeted them at the foot of the stairs. The brown girl was grinning ear to ear and holding what looked like a police baton, while the young man had a clipboard in his hand and a weary expression on his face.

Angie greeted them back with a lively, "Hi!" followed by a nosy, "Are you guys on a date?"

"Totally!"/"No."

The two replied in unison, and while Sahi continued to giggle, Pascal let out a soft groan and explained, "The student council is taking the safety of the event very seriously, and we're here to stop people from going upstairs and getting into an accident."

"Like, who even came up with the idea of making the entire floor into a haunted house? It's totally wicked!" Sahi added with a grin.

"I think it was Elly," Josh noted absently, while Pascal shook his head and gestured towards the stairs.

"We're here to make sure people only go through the approved entrance and don't cause any mischief. Please be mindful."

"Oh, please. It's our class's attraction. I'm sure you can let us through, right?" Angeline bargained, but the young man held his ground.

"I'm sorry, but that would set a bad example," he responded, only to get nudged by Sahi.

"Like, lighten up, Paz! They can totally go."

"You're also setting a bad example," the bespectacled young man complained, but upon further prodding, he finally let out a sigh and said, "Fine, go ahead. But be mindful that there might already be guests in there."

"We will, we will," Angeline said with a cheerful wave and then dragged the two young men upstairs. As soon as they reached the upper floor, it was as if they stepped into a brand new world. The walls were draped in black sheets, and the lights were dimmed, only to be intermittently punctuated by strobes of coloured light. A thin layer of artificial fog clung to the floor, swirling around their ankles, and the faint, eerie melody of a music box could be heard, mingled with the occasional blood-curdling scream from one of the classrooms.

"Wow... Leo and the girls really didn't spare any expenses," Josh commented while trying to navigate the corridor. "Okay, so guests should be coming from that way, meaning we should be heading that way." He pointed down the hallway, and the trio started walking.

The air itself seemed to thicken as they moved deeper into the school's transformed floor. It wasn't just the artificial fog, which clung to their legs like cold, damp ghost-hair, but a palpable pressure, a change in the quality of the silence between the canned sound effects. The cheerful cacophony from the atrium below faded into a distant, muffled thrum, replaced by the deliberate, rhythmic *tap... tap... tap...* of a single, unseen footstep somewhere ahead. The music box melody, once faint, now grew insistent, its tinny notes warped and off-key, like a corrupted music file playing underwater. Every fourth note was jarringly flat, a dissonance that grated on the nerves.

"Whoa," Angeline whispered, her earlier exuberance replaced by a genuine, wide-eyed fascination. She pointed to the wall on their left. "Hey? Do you think Leo actually put enchanted stuff in these?" She was referring to a series of portrait frames hanging on the black drapes, their eyes seemingly following their every move, their painted pupils sliding with an oily, unnatural smoothness.

"Probably," Joshua murmured, his own senses on high alert. Even though he knew it was all a construction, a stage set by friends, the craftsmanship was unnervingly good. "He's never been one for half-measures."

"True, true," Angeline nodded along, and it was only at this point that they realized that Hareng had been oddly silent.

"Is everything all right, mate?" Joshua asked, turning to the blonde Abyssal, and he exhaled a sigh that sounded almost wistful in response.

"Yes, just... I was suddenly feeling nostalgic. The west wing of my grandfather's mansion was just like this. The servants used to tell me it was haunted to keep me from sneaking into the library at night." He gave them a sad, nostalgic smile that didn't quite fit with his usual happy-go-lucky persona.

"Right..." Angeline mumbled, not quite sure how to react, and then cleared her throat. "Well, our classroom is just over there, so we should—"

"Halt!"

"Kyaah!"/"Whoa!"

The childhood friends let out a yelp in unison as a ghastly white figure jumped out into the corridor right in front of them. Even Hareng was taken aback, and it took the three of them several seconds to recognise the person in front of them.

"Ah, it's just Benny!" Angeline let out a relieved breath and patted her chest. "For a moment I thought you were a real ghost!"

Benjamin let out a harrumph and stood with arms crossed, his eyes glaring at the trio from under his mop of white hair.

"Silence! I'm in the process of tracking down my prey! Don't interfere!"

Joshua echoed the word,"Prey?" with a critically raised brow.

"Indeed," Benjamin affirmed with a decisive nod. "Just because she caught me with my guard lowered the last time, she has been ignoring all manners of decorum and openly infiltrated this area to taunt me. I will not stand for such blatant mockery!"

"Excuse me, charming youngster, but I'm afraid I don't follow," Hareng cut in with a perplexed expression, only for the white-haired boy to level a glare at him that could have curdled milk.

"I said, I'm hunting the pest. What is it so hard to understand?" He made a vague gesture towards the spooky hallways and added, "She must be hiding somewhere around here."

"She?" Joshua noted, causing Benjamin to grimace.

"Yes. It's a she. She pretends to be harmless, with her primitive vocal patterns and childish demeanor, but only a fool would get fooled by such superficial details."

"Uh-huh..." Joshua nodded, pretending he understood, though it was clear he didn't.

"Pray tell, what exactly does your quarry look like?" Hareng asked next, earning another scoff from Benjamin.

"She appears as a human child of young age, with red pigmented hair follicles, and insists on calling herself by her own name instead of practicing proper pronoun utilization."

"Hm? Ah, Benny?" Hearing Angeline call his name as such made the boy glare at her next, but then his expression changed when she said, "Do you mean Purin? We just ran into her in the atrium."

Benjamin's eyes opened wide, then he yelled, "Why didn't you tell me sooner!?" and then he sprinted off in the opposite direction, his small form quickly disappearing into the spooky, fog-filled hallway.

It was only a few seconds after he was gone that Josh asked, "Wait. How did he even get in here? Didn't Pascal say the student council has guards at all the entrances?"

"Who knows? Who cares?" Angeline grabbed Joshua's arm with a shrug. "Let's go and see if there's anything spooky that way!"

"With all due respect, my fair Celestial maiden," Hareng chimed in, putting on his most charming smile, "Your companion promised me that he would show me to a place of great beauty and wonder. And this... this is not it."

"Oh, fine," Joshua muttered, followed by an even quieter, "Drama queen," before he gently turned Angeline around and pointed at the far end of the hallway. "Going that way should let us get to the other wing of the building through the fire door. Lili's class should have a maid café in their classroom somewhere around there."

"Ah, right. They were doing that again, huh?"

Joshua shrugged, then said, "Well, it was a smash hit last year. Not that surprising that they’re going for a repeat performance. And..." He glanced at Hareng, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "...I'm sure Hareng here will like the place."

"Excuse me, but what exactly is a 'maid café'?" the Abyssal asked, and Joshuahad to think for a moment on how to explain it to him.

"Think of it as a restaurant where pretty girls dressed like french maids are servicing you, calling you 'master' and the like."

"Huh?" Hareng let out a perplexed sound, then a wide grin spread on his face as he said, "Now this is more like it! Let's go!"

"Mou! But I wanted to see the rest of the haunted house!" Angeline pouted, so Joshua lightly tapped on her back and leaned closer to whisper into her ear.

"We can come back later and do it properly. Let's let this guy get what he thinks he wants."

That was a very peculiar way to phrase it, yet Angeline didn't pick up on it and instead gave in with a nod. "Okay, fine. But just a quick look, alright?"

"Fine."

And with that, the trio set off towards the end of the hallway. Ducking behind the hanging drapes, they opened the fire doors to the other side. While these were supposedly used to block the spread of fire, they were usually left open during school hours. Beyond them was a short, empty corridor connecting the two wings, and unlike the dimly lit, foggy hallway they just left behind, this one was perfectly normal, with bright fluorescent lights overhead.

"Excuse me?"

They were startled by a familiar voice, and they found themselves under the scrutiny of Amelia Rhearn, standing at the other side of the door. This year, she has officially joined the student council, and just like with the stairs, she was standing guard in front of the back entrance of the haunted house.

"Oh, hi, Ammy! We're just passing through!" Angeline tried to play it off with a carefree wave, but their friend continued to frown at them, only to then become troubled when the Abyssal in their company stepped forward.

"Ah! To meet you under such unexpected circumstances, my fair maiden! Is this what they call fate?!"

He stepped forward and tried to grab Amelia's hand, no doubt as part of some elaborate courtship ritual he had in mind, but before he could even get close, his hand was slapped away by another blonde young man.

"Hands off!" Michael Khurshid barked as he positioned himself in front of Amelia, shielding her, then glanced back over his shoulder to ask, "Are you okay, sunshine?"

"Yes, of course, but..."

"Oh, please, friend. Don't be so dramatic!" Hareng exclaimed with a barely contained huff.

"I'm not your friend, pal."

"Well, in that case, what makes you think I'm your pal, buddy?"

"I'm not your—"

However, before the two of them could descend into a strange skit, Angeline and Joshua grabbed Hareng's arms on each side and began dragging him away.

"Don't mind us, just passing through!" the Celestial girl echoed her previous excuse, while her boyfriend repeatedly nodded along.

"Exactly, exactly! Just ignore us and have a nice day, you two!"

Just like that, they pulled the flustered Abyssal noble down the corridor and through the next set of doors.

"What a rude fellow!" Hareng huffed and puffed as soon as they let go of him, and he straightened his sleeves with a scowl.

"What did you expect? You were hitting on her girlfriend," Joshua shot back without missing a beat.

"That's still no excuse to be rude," the Abyssal insisted, but after a few more groans and growls, he eventually let out a sigh and said, "So? Where is this restaurant of maidens?"

Angie ventured, "It should be this way," and pointed down the new hallway.

Unlike the previous wing, which had been completely taken over by the haunted house, this one retained more of its original school character. The classrooms were decorated, but not to the same extent, with various open doors revealing everything from a fortune reading booth to a simple photo gallery of the school's sports teams. The cacophony from the festival downstairs was slightly more audible here, a muffled backdrop to their journey.

At last, they arrived at a familiar classroom, with a long queue snaking from the door. The sign above it, written in elegant, looping cursive letters with little pink hearts dotting the 'i's, read "Starlight Serenade Maid Café." A soft, filtered light emanated from within, and the air was thick with the sweet, cloying scent of vanilla and sugar. The soundscape shifted again, this time to high-pitched, saccharine giggles and the clinking of porcelain.

Two girls in frilly, black-and-white maid uniforms, complete with cat ears, stood at the head of the line, welcoming new guests with a rehearsed, "Welcome, Master!" They were completely immersed in their roles, and it was only when they noticed the trio that their smiles faltered, replaced by genuine surprise.

"A-Awawa! What are you guys doing here?" the redhead on the left asked, her 'maid' persona dropping instantly.

"Penny. Stay in character," the silver-haired girl on the right whispered over, then flashed a winning smile at their guests. "Welcome, Masters. Would you like to be shown to your table?"

"Is this all right?" Penelope Dunning hissed by her side. "Aren't the other guests going to get angry if we give them preferential treatment?"

"Ah, don't worry. They have reservations."

"R-Really?"

Neige Liliam Inanna-Dunning's response was so self-assured that even her sister couldn't bring herself to argue. Instead, Penelope put on a strained smile and bowed, then led the three of them inside.

"It's... pretty packed," Angeline noted as she looked around, only for her eyes to open wide and raise a hand over her head. "Ah! Grandma! Hi!"

A few eyes glanced at her, but most quickly lost interest. On the other hand, the three ladies sitting at the far end of the classroom-turned-maid-café seemed rather amused. Fidele Bashmu Shamash, matriarch of House Shamash, sat casually, yet her every movement was oozing elegance, and she smiled at the youth. Opposite to her, an older woman, her white hair done up into a tidy bun and eyes sharp as ever, squinted at them even as she was taking a sip from her cup. Tsarah Calypso, better known as the Esteemed Matron of House Inanna, looked at least twenty years younger than the last time they'd seen her, a testament to how she had overcome the grief that aged her so much over the past decade.

However, it wasn't either of these women who made the young Abyssal noble turn deathly pale. It was the third person at the table, another familiar face in the form of the wife of Lord Moindre Masu Ninhursag, head of House Ninhursag. Since she was here, it could only mean one thing for him.

"Oh, no!"

He tried to back out of the café, but it was too late.

Before he could get anywhere, a new voice joined the fray as a pink blur dashed across the room and caught him in a hug.

"Hareng! You came!"

Charmant Mqtu Ninhursag, the only daughter of House Ninhursag, and Hareng Ninurta's fiancée (as well as cousin, twice removed), beamed at the young man. Her bright pink hair was tied up into pigtails, and she was wearing the same french maid uniform as the Dunning sisters.

"H-Hello?"

"Come! I had a table reserved just for us!" the girl exclaimed, full of vigour and youthful enthusiasm, and before Hareng could protest, she dragged him over to a small, round table near the window, completely ignoring the stunned look on his face.

It was only when he noticed the knowing glance shared between Joshua and Neige that he tried to get up, yelling, "You knew! Traitor! Backstabber! Sly tergiversator!"

"Please, quiet down, Master," the pink girl chided him before pushing him back into his chair. "You're disturbing the other guests. So? What can I get you, hubby? I-I mean, Master?"

She punctuated that with a coy wink, making the Abyssal scion freeze up, buying Joshua enough time to pull Angeline out of the establishment.

"There you go. That should keep him occupied," he said with a grin, then gave a thumbs up to Neige at the door, who returned the gesture with a knowing smile.

"I dunno. It feels a little mean. And I didn't get to say hi to grandma properly," the Celestial girl fumed, but her mood turned around when Joshua linked arms with her and pulled her along.

"Don't mind that. Cultural festivals are for couples, right? Let's go and watch the bonfire."

"Aw, fine," she cooed and rested her head against his shoulder, only to then pause and look up again. "You know that you'll have to take Deus around, too, right?"

"Of course I do. How could I forget?"

Just like that, the two of them headed downstairs and passed through the atrium again. Lost in their own little world, they completely missed the odd group of a young man carrying a happy-go-lucky little girl on his shoulders, flanked by two girls, each holding one hand of a sulking white-haired boy.

But that's a story for another time.

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