Chapter 52

"Eh? No room?"

That was my line when I joined the princes and Magilka in the hallway.

"It seems that the old school building, which we students were supposed to be able to use, has been off-limits for a long time."

"Old school building? I didn't even know such a place existed."

I looked around the scenery visible from the hallway, trying to spot the old school building, but it seemed that it couldn't be seen from here. The new school building spread out in all directions from the clock tower, which was at the center of the main street from the school gate. Surrounding it were multi-purpose facilities, an arena, a training ground, a laboratory, a field, and more. It seemed that the old school building was hidden somewhere among these.

"Is the old school building off-limits because it's dilapidated or something?"

"No, it's not that, but... well..."

When the prince asked, Magilka gave a hesitant answer, and I had a bad feeling, thinking maybe I should just give up.

"They say it's haunted."

"What's haunted?"

I couldn't help but ask Magilka, who was speaking solemnly.

"It's a ghost."

Magilka's words made the prince and Zahha gulp, and Safina and Tütte, pale with fear, clung to me. As for me, my eyes sparkled with excitement.

"No way, really! I want to see it a bit."

"\"Eeeeh!\""

My enthusiastic words made everyone around me gasp in surprise.

"Huh? Miss Mary, are you okay with this kind of thing?"

Magilka, who had assumed I was the type to be scared, looked surprised and I nodded with a bright smile.

"Well, it's a ghost, right? I've never met one before, and I really want to see one."

I said to her, excited. After all, it's a ghost, a ghost. In my previous world, it was a mysterious and uncertain presence that only special people could see, but in this fantasy world, it would be a type of undead monster that anyone could see and defeat. Yes, like animals or other creatures, it would be a monster that existed as a matter of course, so there was no need to fear its existence.

"Still, it's odd to ban the use of the old school building just because it's haunted."

The prince, who had been surprised by my high spirits, returned to his normal self and continued the conversation.

"Indeed, that's true. The ghosts should be exorcised by the teachers."

There is apparently something called sacred magic in this world, so it wouldn't be strange for veteran magic teachers to exorcise the ghosts, but as the prince pointed out, it was odd that they were banned from entering and left as is. I agreed with the prince's words.

"What do we do? Should we go take a look?"

Zahha, with a somewhat curious look, suggested, and I nodded in agreement, my excitement rising. Of course, Safina and Tütte, pale with fear, clung to me and shook their heads vigorously.

"Hmm, if we don't resolve the old school building issue, we won't be able to secure an empty room, so maybe we should go take a look."

The prince, who had been watching us with a smile, then became serious and agreed with us. Thus, surrounded by the two who were against it, I set off for the old school building.

We arrived at the old school building, which was quite far from the school building we usually used and had no people around. The two-story brick building, which looked modern, was visible on a slightly elevated slope. The surroundings were unexpectedly open, and trees were planted around it, creating a quiet and pleasant place, isolated from the noisy school.

(Perfect, I really want to relax here.)

In stark contrast to my expectant gaze, Safina and Tütte looked as if they were seeing something terrifying, the prince and Magilka were a bit tense, and Zahha, surprised by the unexpectedly large and spacious building, exclaimed, "Oh!"

We stopped in front of the large wooden double doors set in the center of the building and looked around the school building once again. It didn't look like an abandoned building; it seemed to be clean and well-maintained, which somehow ruined the horror atmosphere. Of course, we were visiting in the evening, which added to the eerie feeling.

"Let's go back, Miss Mary."

Safina, who had grabbed my clothes tightly, looked around nervously and said.

"Hey? It's open."

Zahha, who had opened the door, cruelly ignored her suggestion.

"That's strange. The management is sloppy despite the no-entry rule. What is the headmaster thinking?"

Magilka, who followed Zahha, approached the door and felt a sense of unease at the lack of any measures.

"Maybe the ghost story is a lie?"

Zahha, who had lost his excitement, tried to close the door, which was slightly ajar.

"Ah!"

Then, Tütte, who had been standing at the back, let out a scream that made us all turn to look at her.

"What's wrong, Tütte?"

"I, I just saw a figure there..."

Tütte pointed to a corner of the building, which we couldn't see clearly from our position but was visible from where she had been standing.

"Let's go back, Miss Mary."

"Let's go, ghosts, ghosts♪"

My words overlapped with Safina's, and I took her arm, which she was reluctant to let go, and had Zahha open the door, then entered the building.

Inside, it was dim and silent, creating a horror atmosphere that made me a bit tense. I placed my hand on the legendary sword (laughs) I had brought for self-defense.

The central entrance was a spacious, open space with a two-story atrium, and the polished stone floor stretched out in a cross shape, reflecting the evening sun. The ceiling was high, as we could see from the outside, and a large skylight in the central entrance let in light, making this area bright even without any lights.

"It's quite spacious, and there seem to be a fair number of rooms."

I walked towards the center, looking around, and Safina and Tütte followed closely behind.

"Where is the room Tütte saw?"

"Are we really going, Miss?"

"Since we've come this far, I really want to see the ghost, which is an undead monster. Besides, if something happens, we can defeat it with this many people, right?"

I stepped forward to encourage the frightened Tütte and said casually, turning back, but everyone was speechless at my words.

"Miss Mary, ghosts and undead monsters are different. The undead you're talking about are things with physical forms, like skeletons and zombies. Ghosts, which have no physical form, do not exist as monsters. And I think we probably can't even touch or defeat them with our current abilities."

The prince, with a very apologetic look, made me realize that I had mistakenly thought ghosts were the same as undead monsters in RPGs, which could be seen, touched, and defeated like other monsters. In other words, ghosts were still mysterious beings in this world, and worse, they were a kind of existence that could be seen and harmed by anyone, unlike in my previous world.

(No wonder everyone is scared! I'm getting scared too.)

As I started to tremble, it was already too late, and everyone's speechless faces turned pale. I noticed that their gazes were directed further down the hallway behind us. I turned around cautiously and saw a vaguely white figure at the end of the hallway, where the light didn't reach and it was dim. The area around it felt chilly and frozen.

(Ghosts come out even in the evening in this world! No, if it's not a monster, what is it? It's too scary, too scary!)

The figure kept appearing and disappearing, steadily approaching us, and I, in a panic, pulled out the legendary sword (laughs) from my waist and got ready.

"Come at me, you monster!"

"But, Miss, it's not a monster! Let's run."

Tütte, seeing me stop, pulled me from behind, but honestly, my legs were frozen and I couldn't move.

"Everyone, close your eyes!"

Then, someone ran up from behind us, stood in front of the ghost, and raised a staff.

"Light!"

In response to her powerful words, a light from the tip of the staff shone, and the ghost, which seemed to dislike it, turned and fled. After a moment of shock, the woman turned to us, lifted the hood that covered her face, and smiled.

"Is everyone okay?"

"Ku, Class Master."

Seeing her smile, Magilka said, and I understood that this was the class master of Alerios.

Thank you for reading this far.