“Arsian.”

Just as it seemed like he was about to get hit, a quiet voice called out to him.

“Aren’t you thirsty?”

“.......”

“Want some coffee?”

At the sight of Camilla pouring coffee she had brought directly from the café into a cup and holding it out, Arsian stopped dead in his tracks on his way toward the club president.

“...Yeah.”

He swept his gaze once around the room, a faint irritation mixed into his eyes, then let out a short sigh and took the coffee from Camilla.

THUD—!

After taking a few swallows, Arsian set the cup down with an audible smack and started walking toward the club president again.

“W-wait, I—!”

At that, the club president tensed up all over again. Watching Arsian come right up to him, he instinctively threw both arms over his face.

“Do I just need to put fog magic on this part?”

“...Huh?”

“What about over there?”

“Uh, uh?”

“I asked if that part doesn’t need any.”

“I-it would be nice if you did it...?”

As if he had never been giving ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) off that murderous atmosphere at all, Arsian silently cast magic over the places the club president pointed out, and the man’s face went blank all over again.

“Hey.”

“Y-yeah?”

“From now on, talk one at a time. Do I have two bodies?”

At those words, everyone nearby nodded so hard it looked like their heads were about to fall off.

Only then did Arsian relax that irritated expression and start casting magic quickly again.

Our Arsian has gotten so much gentler.

Camilla wore a mildly pleased expression as she casually entertained a thought that would have made everyone else there recoil in horror if they had heard it.

Then, seeing that all the snacks she had brought from the café were gone, she slowly rose from her seat.

Since she did not really have any specific role in the festival preparations, it had naturally become her job to handle snacks for the people doing the actual work.

“We’re out of snacks. I’ll go bring some mor—”

“No!”

“We don’t need any snacks!”

“I-I’m full!”

What is wrong with them?

Camilla, who had been about to leave her seat, stopped short as everyone shouted over one another before she had even finished speaking.

These were the same people who usually went feral for snacks.

Please don’t leave us alone here with that man!

If it hadn’t been for you earlier, we’d all be dead!

Don’t go!

Those silent, desperate eyes fixed on her.

“.......”

Faced with that burning gaze, Camilla let out an awkward smile and had no choice but to quietly sit back down.

*****

“Wow! Just looking at the outside of the building gives me chills, doesn’t it?”

“It really does.”

Laila and Elisha kept shivering and exclaiming in admiration at the exterior of the haunted house they had decorated.

Camilla, staring at the two of them like they were ridiculous, slowly shook her head.

“You helped decorate it, so why are you suddenly scared now?”

It was not as if they were seeing it for the first time. Weren’t you two the ones who painted all that black on the outside? You worked pretty hard at it too.

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Juella also let out a disbelieving laugh.

“It’s way too scary now that the lights are in place!”

“Exactly! It feels like a ghost could jump out at any second!”

“It’s a haunted house.”

What kind of obvious nonsense was that?

“Well, they did decorate it pretty well.”

Just from the outside, you could tell exactly what kind of place it was supposed to be.

They said the imperial family had put a lot of money into this event, and it definitely showed.

They had rented out an entire building inside the academy that was not used much. That was where they had set up the haunted house. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Apparently it used to be a club activities building, but after a new club building had been constructed near the main hall, this place was now being used as a storage building.

“It really looks like a building that’s been abandoned for ages.”

Elisha pressed both hands to her cheeks and shivered all over again, her face full of fear, excitement, and curiosity all mixed together.

“But Elisha.”

“Yes?”

“Didn’t you say you were going to play a ghost this time?”

It was not exactly a proper stage, but she had said she wanted to play a ghost and scare people.

Just a little while ago, she had been squealing happily over what kind of makeup would be best for startling people. So why was she standing here looking completely normal?

“I gave up.”

“Why?”

At Camilla’s question, Elisha’s shoulders drooped and she lowered her head.

“Because it was too scary.”

“...What?”

What was that supposed to mean? She gave up because it was scary?

“They said I’d have to hide alone in the room all the way at the end of the building and jump out to scare people.”

“So?”

“It’s too scary.”

“What?”

“Think about it. I’d have to stay all alone in that dark, gloomy room.”

“.......”

“So I gave up.”

She liked the idea of playing a ghost, but she would have had to remain alone in a dark, empty space, waiting for other people to come in. There was no way she could do that.

The instant she saw that dark room, she had understood immediately.

She was extremely weak when it came to this kind of horror.

Camilla’s expression turned strange.

Elisha...

Do you know this? For a while, you once lived in the same room as the very kind of ghost you’re so terrified of and disgusted by.

You even went up on stage with one.

Thinking of Elisha, who had once brought a secondhand vanity into the house and then had her throat squeezed by the ghost of an actress bound to it, Camilla shook her head.

“If you’re this scared, why did you want to come here in the first place?”

Elisha and Laila both did not seem to actually like this sort of thing, so she could not understand why they had insisted on coming here.

“But I was curious.”

“I wanted to see what the thing we all prepared together actually looked like.”

...Then stop shaking.

Watching the two of them tremble nonstop with their hands clasped tightly together, Camilla let out another short sigh.

“Sister.”

At that moment, a hand lightly tugged at her clothes.

When Camilla lowered her gaze, she found Rio looking up at her with eyes full of curiosity.

She had not particularly wanted to come to the haunted house—

no, she had not even planned to come to the year-end academy festival at all.

And yet the reason she had still made time to attend was because of Rio.

Can’t I go see the festival too?

Of course you can. Why wouldn’t you?

Was there really anyone in the world who could say no to that shining-eyed attack while those little hands were clasped together so tightly as they looked up at you?

“Sena, if you’re scared, should I hold your hand?”

Rio, who had been bouncing in place with excitement, suddenly seemed to think of it and spoke to Sena, who was standing quietly beside them.

“.......”

Sena, who had come all the way here led by Rio’s hand, gave a small shake of her head. As always, her gaze drifted toward Camilla by habit.

“Hm?”

But the moment Camilla actually looked at her, Sena hurriedly turned her head away as if she had never been staring at all.

Camilla watched her with a strange look for a moment, then lowered her head at the feel of Rio tugging on her clothes again.

“But, sister.”

“Yeah?”

“What is a haunted house?”

“.......”

“Why are those sisters so scared?”

“Umm... well...”

Was it really okay to take this innocent child, who knew absolutely nothing, into that place?

A long sigh slipped out of her again.

*****

“KYAAAAAAH!”

“AAAHHHH!”

“Hey, you two over there! Stop screaming alre—”

“KYAAAAAAAH!”

“KYAH! KYAAH!”

“...Forget it.”

“Brother Petro! Over there, over there! Go beat it up!”

“That’s one of our club members in costume. How am I supposed to beat them up?”

“I don’t care! Hit it! Hit it! Aaaah! It’s coming this way!”

“Elisha, could you please get off me first? I can’t move—”

“KYAAAAAAH!”

“Laila, can you stop hitting me?”

“S-sorry... Kyaaaah!”

“Ah!”

“Ah! I-I’m sorry, Lady Juella!”

“Why are you swinging your fists because you’re scared? If you’re going to punch someone, punch that ghost instead.”

“Hic... I’m sorry......”

“Brother! Hit it, hit it! I said hit that ghost!”

“I’m telling you to let go of me first.”

Was this what people meant by complete chaos?

Exploring the haunted house itself was very simple.

You went in holding a sheet of paper handed out at the entrance, found all 10 stamps hidden in each class area, stamped them all, and then came back out to the entrance.

The people who got all the stamps and came back out in the shortest time received a small prize too.

The first group to throw down the challenge and enter the haunted house was Laila, Elisha, Petro, and Juella.

Since only 4 people could go in at once, Camilla and Arsian, who had come along as the children’s guardians, were naturally assigned to the next group.

But...

“KYAAAAAAAH! Hit it! Hit it! It’s coming this way!”

“Elisha, do you want this brother of yours to beat someone up and get thrown in prison?”

“What do we do? What do we do? KYAAAAAAH!”

“It hurts, Laila. I said it hurts.”

“Hic, I’m sorry. I’m just too scared......”

“You’re scarier than the ghost.”

What were they supposed to do with those two?

At the sound of Elisha and Laila’s shrieks tearing all the way out of the haunted house and reaching outside, everyone waiting for their turn to go in flinched.

Meanwhile, the club president, who was watching everything from the entrance, wore an extremely satisfied expression.

“Camilla!”

“Sister!”

About 30 minutes later, the 4 finally emerged outside again, all with haggard faces.