Isekai'd Into The Wrong World-Chapter 102: Ch - Behind You

The hair on Ryan’s arms stood up.

"Behind... me?"

Ryan turned around slowly.

Behind him was...

No one. There wasn’t anyone there.

He frowned and turned back. "Elly, there’s no one—"

She was gone too.

The space where she’d been standing—which had once been bright and filled with life... was now—rain.

"Elly?" Ryan looked around. He even checked if she was hiding behind Eleanor. "Where’d you go?"

He glanced down at his wrist.

The bracelet’s engravings had dimmed. The yellow writing that had glowed so brightly before was now barely visible—faint lines etched into black iron, lifeless.

"What’s wrong?" Eleanor stepped closer, concern crossing her face. "What happened?"

"Elly’s gone," Ryan said. "She just... vanished."

"Let me check." Eleanor’s fingers wrapped around the bracelet.

Several seconds passed.

"I don’t see her either," Eleanor said quietly. She let go. "The bracelet—it’s not working anymore?"

Ryan stared at the dull metal. "It was glowing before. Bright and hot. Now it’s..."

"Dark," Eleanor finished.

Jared looked between them. "So the ghost disappeared. And the mystical bracelet has coincidentally stopped glowing at the exact same time?"

"Elly, not ’the ghost,’" Ryan muttered.

"Sure, ’Elly.’"

"It wasn’t working before today, was it?" Eleanor said. "What did you do to activate it in the first place?"

"I didn’t do anything... after the trial, I went over to my bag and it was glowing..."

He trailed off, eyes distant.

"What if it needs death to activate?" Ryan asked.

"A death?" Eleanor’s voice cracked. "Someone died!? And you didn’t care to mention that?"

She jabbed Ryan in the chest.

"Ow—sorry," Ryan said quickly. "Yes, one of theirs died. James Blackwood. His father’s over there..." he pointed.

Eleanor pulled back slightly, processing. "So the bracelet activated right after?"

"Right after," Ryan confirmed.

"So it probably requires..." She looked at the dim bracelet. "Fresh death."

They stood in silence for a long moment. Eleanor’s cloak had slipped from her shoulders, leaving her a victim to the elements. She didn’t bother pulling it back up.

Ryan thought about James Blackwood’s ghost.

Should I tell them about the mystery knight?

No. Not with James and Jeremy unconscious. Jared doesn’t need another thing to worry about.

Finally, Jared spoke.

"So. To summarise." He counted on his fingers. "There’s a ghost child who appeared and disappeared. A magic bracelet that only works when someone dies. And we’re all standing in the rain covered in mud while my brother is unconscious over there."

Jared pointed back to the stands.

"I’m going back to my brother now. Are you weirdos coming with?"

Ryan exhaled. "Yeah. Let’s go."

They walked back toward the covered stands.

James and Jeremy still lay on stretchers beneath the wooden overhang. Both unconscious. Both breathing.

A healer looked up at Jared as they approached. "Your brother is stable. Concussed with a couple burns. He will wake in a few hours, they both should."

Jared knelt beside James immediately.

Ryan crouched near Jeremy. His chest rose and fell steadily.

"The other student that fought with you, he said he was going to a place of worship," the healer added. "Kept talking about omens."

Ryan felt a presence far behind him, he glanced over his shoulder. Principal Helena sat on a bench, watching him.

Eleanor touched his shoulder, taking his attention away from Helena. "Let’s go. I want breakfast, I bet you do too."

Ryan nodded.

—————

Thirty minutes later, after Ryan had dropped his bag off at the dormitory, they pushed open the doors to the main dining hall.

The room was filled to the brim as it always was.

Students filled nearly every table, and yet, barely any of them spoke above a hushed whisper.

Then Ryan stepped inside.

But even those stopped once Ryan entered.

The silence didn’t happen immediately, it rippled outward.

One table noticed him. Then another. Then another.

Within seconds, the hall had turned so quiet you would be able to hear a mouse squeak.

Hundreds of eyes turned toward the entrance.

Toward Ryan.

Eleanor and Jared stepped in behind him, equally uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

Then the whispers restarted.

"It’s them."

"The accusers."

"He was in the Trial."

"So was he."

"The statue—"

The whispers grew louder. Spreading like wildfire.

Ryan’s face burned. He wanted to turn around and leave.

But Eleanor gently pushed him forward. "Keep walking. Let’s just get our food and sit down."

They moved through the hall.

Every step felt like walking through water. Eyes followed them. Conversations paused as they came close, then resumed in hushed tones the moment they had passed.

Ryan grabbed a tray. He filled it with bread, soup, and something that might have been meat. He wasn’t paying attention.

After a lot of searching they finally found a mostly empty table, and sat down.

The hall’s volume gradually returned to normal. But Ryan could still feel the stares, the eyes glued to his back.

"...broken statue..."

"...gods intervened..."

"...James Blackwood..."

"...divine sign..."

Jared ate in silence.

Eleanor leaned closer to Ryan. "It seems like you and Jared are the talk of the town now." She said teasingly.

"I don’t want to be," Ryan said.

"Too late."

A group of students at the next table over were talking loudly enough for Ryan to overhear.

"—obviously the gods were vindicating Navius Rellick," one said. "That’s why the statue fell. Why would the Gods interrupt the trial if Navius was guilty? To stop the accusers from delivering justice? That doesn’t make sense!"

These don’t sound like the Gods Eleanor told me about. They wouldn’t care about justice.

It had to have been a normal earthquake... it had to have been...

"Or maybe it was a warning," another countered. "Maybe the gods were angry at both sides."

"I heard that Navius killed someone. Maybe that’s why the omen happened."

"No, I heard the one of the accuser’s team killed someone."

Ryan’s hand tightened around his spoon.

They don’t even know what happened. And they’re already making up stories.

Another table engaged in a different conversation:

"My cousin said the statue of Jupiter just... exploded."

"That’s not what happened. It just fell over."

"Well I heard it was Minerva, and that means—"

"It was Jupiter’s statue, you blithering idiot! Everyone knows that. I was there, I felt the ground tremble, I saw the statue!"

Ryan pushed his soup around his bowl.

By tomorrow, there’d be a thousand different versions of what happened.

————

Ten minutes of awkward, rushed eating later, Ryan, Eleanor, and Jared emerged from the dining hall’s large doors. The torrential rain had finally stopped outside, leaving the stone courtyards slick and glistening.

Ryan exhaled, running a hand through his damp hair. "I just want a normal day for once," he muttered.

"Too late for that," Eleanor said.

Jared kept his gaze low, scanning the area. "Yeah, seems like the whole school’s buzzing about the Trial."

"With what happened with the statue, I imagine the whole city is buzzing about the—"

A sharp voice called out.

"Ryan Ray!"

Ryan turned to see an Instructor striding toward them, cloak flapping in the breeze. The older man’s face was pale, eyes sharp, and his tone left no room for argument.

"Ryan Ray, the Principal requires your presence in her office immediately," the instructor said, voice clipped. "Right now."

Ryan frowned. "Now? What for?"

"Principal Helena will have your answers," the instructor replied. His glare flicked to Eleanor and Jared.

Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. "We’re going too."

He shook his head, his expression firm. "Absolutely not. This is a matter for Ryan alone."

"It’s fine guys, I’ll see you later," Ryan muttered reluctantly. He followed the instructor across the courtyard, the muddy stones squelching beneath their boots.

The main building loomed ahead, its towering spire piercing the low clouds.

Ryan climbed the familiar steps, each step echoing.

What does she want now?

The heavy oak door to the Principal’s office was ajar. Ryan pushed it open cautiously.

Inside, the air was thick. Principal Helena stood by her desk, arms crossed as she glared at Field Marshal Gregory, who leaned against the edge of a side table, his expression equally defiant. Papers were scattered across the floor and desk, as was the norm in Helena’s room.

"You can’t just do something so egregious!" Gregory’s voice was sharp. "This was not your decision to make!"

Helena’s voice was icy. "Not my decision? If I hadn’t done what I did s—"

Helena finally noticed Ryan. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her tone shifted, though still she couldn’t shake off her agitation. "Ryan, come in. And don’t forget to close the door behind you... and Instructor Larkin, thank you for bringing Ryan here, you may go now.

The instructor nodded, and went on his way back down the winding staircase.

Ryan stepped in carefully, closing the heavy door with a soft thud. He glanced at Gregory, who didn’t move, still muttering under his breath.

"Why am I here?" Ryan asked.

Helena opened her mouth to respond.

"You’re here," Gregory cut her off, "because this stubborn old hag casted the tremor that interrupted your Trial."