Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 99

Wow-

I could hear the voices of people chattering away. I looked around.

The sky had become completely dark before I knew it.

The bench at the back door of the kitchen was still there. When I turned my head, the street between the alleys was full of people who had come out to enjoy the eve of the festival.

I had returned to reality.

“Chairman, what happens if the King’s seal is released?”

“If the King’s seal is released, the boundary between the ‘other world’ and reality will disappear. It means it will become a world of evil spirits. And......”

“You will never see me again.”

What will happen to this island if the boundary between the ‘other world’ and reality disappears?

Will the entire island become a ghost story?

I thought of the ‘other world’ I had visited a little while ago. Even though it was the same place, the village in the ‘other world’ was desolate.

And the ‘other world’ was full of guys.

‘It shouldn’t be like that.’

At that moment, the candle in my hand rustled and turned to ash.

Then a cross tattoo was engraved on my arm and then erased.

Reck.

My nose started bleeding. I took out a handkerchief and was covering my nose, when Leonard, who had opened the back door of the kitchen, came out and looked at me in shock.

He was in a terrible state because he had rolled around in a pool of blood in the ‘other world’.

“Damn it, Melody! What’s going on!? Are you okay?”

He wasn’t hurt. He was able to safely find the medium and return thanks to the help of a male student who was trapped in the ‘other world’.

Mrs. Lewis, who had come out of the back door of the kitchen after hearing Leonard’s voice, also panicked.

“Oh my God! Mr. Hastings! What’s going on? I, I should call the police... No, I should go to the hospital first....”

“I’m really fine and I’m not hurt at all. First, I want to wash up. Can I use the bathtub?”

“Are you really fine?”

“Yes. I’m really fine. Really.”

Mrs. Lewis looked suspicious and checked my wounds before letting me go.

“Then, come in first.”

The second floor of the cafe was Mrs. Lewis’s house.

Thanks to that, I was able to go up to the second floor, use her bathroom, wash up, and borrow some clothes.

When I came down to the cafe hall, Mrs. Lewis and Leonard looked at me with worried faces.

“Are you sure I don’t have to go to the hospital?”

“Are you really okay?”

Mrs. Lewis and Leonard asked me.

“I’m fine. As you can see, I’m not hurt anywhere.”

When I said this while waving my hands, looking quite refreshed, Mrs. Lewis and Leonard finally looked relieved.

My nose was bleeding, but it had stopped.

Above all, the blood was the price of exorcising evil spirits, so it wasn’t a problem that could be solved by going to the hospital.

In fact, a detailed health checkup said that there was nothing wrong with my body.

“How on earth did you get so bloody and stay there... Mr. Hastings, if you were scared, should I call the police instead?”

“No. It was paint. I went out to take a break and bumped into people preparing for the festival...”

I made an excuse. After all, ghosts and ‘the other world’ were stories that would be hard for an ordinary person to believe.

Mrs. Lewis tilted her head.

“It wasn’t the smell of paint.”

“Oh. I saw that red paint too. They were drawing on a banner.”

At that moment, Leonard, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, added his words. He had helped me.

Mrs. Lewis made a dubious expression, but eventually left because she was distracted by the influx of customers.

I thanked Leonard with my eyes and was able to escape Mrs. Lewis’ barrage of questions.

‘I should share what happened today with Senior Noah and Raven.’

I heard that the student council has been very busy since the eve of the festival. So I don’t know if I can meet them.

It was almost time for the leadership meeting, so I finished up the cafe work with Leonard and left. Then, as we walked to the town square, he asked me.

“Do you think that has something to do with ghost stories?” ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

I nodded in agreement.

“You act like you don’t believe in ghost stories or ghosts, so I thought you wouldn’t be interested, but I’m surprised you’re asking me that.”

Leonard scratched the back of his head and avoided eye contact, as if he was embarrassed.

“No, well... I was like that at first too. I’ve been through things like the courage test incident and the library and all that, but if you ask where ghosts are in the world, isn’t that even more ridiculous?”

That was true. It was even stranger to ask where ghosts are after going through all that.

So I briefly explained to Leonard what I’d experienced in the interim.

“He’s got brown hair and dark blue eyes. He looks like a kid I know.”

Leonard scratched the bridge of his nose and muttered.

“Who do you know?”

“Matthew Lennox. There’s this weird kid in the second-year S class. He was a member of the leadership club until last year. He didn’t make it this year because his grades dropped.”

“That guy....”

“No. He’s doing well in school. He’s never gone missing or anything. You probably saw him on the student bulletin board often. He lives in front of the club.”

Leonard laughed as he talked about Matthew Lennox. He also added that he was a pretty funny guy.

“Then who is it?”

I tilted my head.

“Or maybe he’s a student who went missing a long time ago. I’ll check it out.”

A student who went missing a long time ago. That could have been possible. I’ve heard that ghosts don’t know they’re dead and continue to wander around the same place.

But even so, the boy was perfectly aware of how he was there.

“I’m sorry that something like that happened while I was away. I sent you to rest.”

Leonard seemed to blame himself for causing me to suffer because of him.

It was a little strange for someone who seemed far from words like self-reproach.

“No. It was my carelessness. I didn’t pick up the candles.”

We were almost at the meeting place for the leadership. I could see the leadership members gathered in the center of the square.

And that was the moment. Suddenly, all the streetlights in the town went out.

People became quiet as if they had been waiting without panicking.

It seemed that I was the only one who didn’t know what was going on. I looked around in confusion, and Leonard whispered to me.

“The eve of the festival must be starting.”

When I said the eve of the festival, I was sure that Leonard was talking about the event he had mentioned earlier, where candles were lit and the dead were led to the ‘next world.’

Just then, I saw people in pure white robes walking toward the market alley in the town, holding lit candles in their hands.

Seeing that, I remembered the spirits passing by with unlit candles right before they went to the ‘next world.’

They said that the candles were blessed, so if they were lit, the dead would run away. So they lured them with the candle light and led them to the ‘next world.’

The fact that the dead were holding unlit candles and marching in procession might have been because they were preparing to be led to the ‘other world’.

Of course, this is my unfounded speculation and delusion.

“I thought it was on the day of the event.”

“The day of the event is a real festival. Everyone is busy playing. There are a lot of things to do and eat. Oh. Mrs. Louise told me to rest tomorrow. You should just enjoy the festival. By the way, the most popular place is the House of the Dead.”

House of the Dead?

I looked back at Leonard with a puzzled face.

“That’s the most popular. Have you been to the amusement park in the capital? Think of it as similar to the haunted house there.”

“I haven’t been to the amusement park. I’ve never been to the capital either. At least from what I remember.”

“......You can think of it as a ghost experience program. There’s also a play based on the history of St. Gloria Private School. There’s also a night market, so there’ll be a lot to see and eat.”

Why did my heart race when I heard that story?

If it weren’t for the ‘other world’ and the evil spirits, I could have really enjoyed the festival.

I felt a little sad.

More than anything, I was more worried than excited about the festival. I guess I was worried about the male student trapped in the ‘other world.’

“You’re here.”

At that moment, Diana Senior approached us.

The members of the leadership team were gathered in the center of the square, and when Leonard and I stopped walking, they seemed to have come looking for us because they couldn’t wait.

“We have to discipline the students starting today. We have to keep a close eye on the kids who look like our school students so they don’t go astray.”

Diana Senior nodded at us.

“We have to split up into teams and move. We’re going to select teams, so come quickly.”

Leonard and I turned our bodies to follow our senior. But then, we heard a voice grabbing our ankles.

“Who is this? The leader?”

It was Liam, the student council senior. Behind him, Henry and Noah were also visible.

“It’s Noah! This is perfect timing.”

As I was just happy to see Noah, Diana, who was standing next to me, twitched her eyebrows.

I could feel her expression as if she was looking down on the student council, especially Liam.

Wow. I would feel hurt if I received that kind of gaze, but Liam just smiled and said without any concern.

“Hello, Queen.”

What’s with that sly remark? Diana was {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} even more senior than Liam.

At that moment, my eyes met Noah’s. He was standing still, watching me and Leonard.

“What the heck. Why is the president glaring at us like that? My face is going to get pierced.”

Leonard touched his cheek with a bewildered expression.