Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: The Unseen (4)
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But even the seniors from Class Two were mere supporting actors compared to the recognition of the man who had just joined the line.
A handsome man, dressed in ready-made clothes with his hair neatly swept back, was leisurely looking up at the sky.
It was Arduino Fermi of Class One.
As the pinnacle of the magic academy, Class One, made an appearance, the atmosphere grew solemn. Seriel, also realizing the gravity of the situation, whispered.
“I can understand us being here, but isn't it weird for not only Class Two but even Fermi to show up?”
“They didn't come for Shirone. Do you see what the graduating class students who just arrived have in common?”
“Hmm, I don't know. That they’re hard to get along with?”
“Exactly. They must be from research societies that operate in the shadows. Like the Black Magicians. Of course, they're on a completely different level.”
“Oh, right. I heard the society Shirone joined is pretty infamous too. But Fermi is a real surprise. I get the others, but isn't he popular? He's even kind.”
“That's what makes him more unsettling. It always feels like he's plotting something. Anyway, let's just ignore them. Among the graduating class, there’s no such thing as seniority.”
The 30 students of the graduating class were all competitors. Every year, 10 students graduate, and their class is determined by their scores on the final exam. Therefore, the current Class One students were those who had failed to place in the top 10 in last year's graduation exam.
The reason they couldn't be dismissed as mere failures was that they were at the top of the pyramid. In any competition, the skill gap narrows at the higher levels. For Class One, the difference in ability was almost nonexistent. One's condition on the day, the presence or absence of a strategy, focus, and choices would determine graduation or failure.
None of the students could ignore Fermi. Rather, they were surprised that the one currently leading the magic academy had come to a Class Five presentation.
News of Fermi's appearance spread quickly by word of mouth, and by the time the presentation was about to begin, the line snaked on and on, long enough to fill the hall more than once.
When the entrance finally opened, students poured in. The front rows were for the teachers, and the students filled the seats in the order they arrived. Amy, who had come early to wait, sat next to Seriel in a spot close to the stage.
“What on earth are they planning to show to cause such a fuss?”
No matter how she thought about it, this level of turnout was strange. It was extremely rare for a Class One student to attend an advanced class presentation. This was no ordinary presentation. In the tense atmosphere, Amy waited for Shirone to appear. The lights in the hall went out.
***
A single beam of light descended into the darkness. A spotlight swept across the stage before settling on a boy standing in the center.
“Good evening, everyone. Thank you for coming to the Paranormal Research Society's presentation. I am Nade, the president of the society. Today, we wish to introduce you to the subject of the human soul. We will now begin the presentation.”
A round of applause erupted. The spotlight went out, and after about three seconds, the stage brightened as if at dawn, revealing the gloomy scenery of a mountain in the background.
“The students have prepared quite a lot.”
Alpheas said with a satisfied expression. Normally, presentations were evaluated by the teachers, but this time, Alpheas was making a special appearance to observe Shirone's progress.
Shina, on the other hand, was still unimpressed. Replacing the physical set with an electric screen was a brilliant idea, but if the content was weak, it would be a failing grade for a research presentation, no matter how impressive the technology.
Nade, having moved to the side of the stage, began to narrate.
“520 years ago, before Alpheas Magic Academy was founded, this place was a small village of slash-and-burn farmers. It was a time when people who had lost their country in wars of conquest wandered the land. Today, we will tell you the story of a woman who fled the ravages of war and came to this farming village.”
The stage went dark, and when the lights came up, Iruki, dressed as a soldier, appeared on stage, limping.
“Groooan! So hungry... So hungry…”
Laughter erupted from various parts of the audience.
“Haha! What is that?”
“‘Groooan’? Is this some kind of play?”
Whenever Iruki had no lines, Nade filled in the gaps with his narration.
The gist of it was this.
It wasn't just civilians who were displaced by the wars of conquest; soldiers were too.
But they were not among the living.
They were hungry ghosts, their bodies stolen by evil spirits, who had wandered the world until the scent of living flesh drew them to the farming village.
After showing off the ghoulishness of the hungry ghost, Iruki disappeared backstage, and Nade, now dressed as the male protagonist, appeared.
“Oh, my love, Olina! Why must someone of your noble blood suffer in these mountains? If I could, I would sell my very soul to restore your former glory. It pains me that I cannot.”
His vocal delivery and acting were quite decent. But the students who had come expecting a presentation were bewildered as it turned into a full-blown play. Moreover, when Shirone, dressed as a woman, ran onto the stage from the opposite side, the audience was absolutely stunned.
“Noah! Noah!”
Wahahahahaha!
Without exception, the students burst out laughing. With a cascade of blond hair falling to his waist, Shirone really looked like a girl. His waist was cinched to emphasize his figure, and whatever he had stuffed in his clothes even gave him a chest.
“A-Amy.”
A bewildered Seriel turned to Amy. As expected, she was watching the play with a wry smile.
Since Nade, the narrator, was now acting, the two characters conveyed the situation through dialogue.
It was a simple plot.
Noah and Olina, children of noble families, had promised their futures to each other, but war shattered their houses, and they ended up in the farming village, trying to continue their love.
“I missed you, Olina. My love. My everything. I love you.”
“I love you too, Noah.”
Shirone and Nade looked at each other and embraced. Anyone could guess what would happen next.
The highlight of the play: the lovers' kiss.
Among the many spectators, the most excited was, by far, Seriel.
“A-are they really going to do it? Huh? For real? Oh my gosh.”
Amy also felt an unprecedented tension and swallowed hard. It seemed unlikely they would actually kiss, being two guys, but in a play, you never knew.
As the audience's tension mounted, Shirone closed his eyes, and Nade slowly leaned in.
“Kraaaaaaaaaaah!”
From behind Nade, Iruki suddenly appeared and bit his neck. A piercing scream blared from the sound system, and startled audience members shrieked.
No one had expected Iruki to appear. It would be impossible to stage such a scene with just the set. Shirone had written the script with this in mind. He figured he could surprise people using an invisibility cloak. As the tension heightened, the audience gradually became immersed in the play.
After taking down Nade, Iruki pretended to devour his flesh. The sounds of crunching bones, chewing flesh, screams, and shrieks mixed together from the sound system.
“No! Noah! Noah!”
When the flesh-eating soldier vanished, Olina clutched the dead Noah and screamed in despair. The story hurtled toward tragedy, and the half-mad Olina spewed curses before taking her own life with the dagger she carried. At the sight of the man and woman dead beside each other, the students fell into a solemn silence.
The stage went dark, and Nade reappeared, back in his role as narrator. Just as everyone was waiting for his narration, Olina suddenly stood up and burst into crazed laughter.
“Kekekekeke! I won't forgive you. I'll kill you all.”
Before the audience could calm their startled hearts, Olina began killing people indiscriminately. Then, with a piercing scream, she disappeared offstage, bringing the story to a close.
Nade walked to the center and continued his explanation.
“We unearthed this story six months ago. It was thanks to an old diary we found while researching the history of the magic academy.”
Nade held up a notebook. A 520-year-old notebook, worn from being buried in the earth. But in truth, it had been hastily made a few days ago.
“Our members, who have a keen interest in paranormal science, immediately began an investigation. And we came to realize a shocking secret that no one knew. The fact that the vengeful spirits from that time are still wandering this academy.”
Dong. Dong. Dong.
A bell began to toll from backstage. The students listened to the familiar sound. It was the bell that signaled midnight.
“Every night at midnight, the hungry ghosts roam. This is undeniable proof of the existence of souls.”
The students furrowed their brows. In all their years at the academy, they had never seen so much as a suspicious person, let alone a ghost.
“You have probably never seen a ghost. Neither had we. According to paranormal science, souls can only be seen by those who believe. This is because your spiritual frequency must be aligned. This is precisely why we decided to hold this presentation. Now that you know the history of these vengeful spirits, your frequencies have been properly tuned. From tonight, when the midnight bell tolls, you will be able to witness the ghosts that wander the netherworld.”
Nade finished with a wink.
“If you're lucky, that is. This concludes our presentation.”
Nade bowed and disappeared backstage, and a dead silence fell over the hall. There wasn't even a single clap; the atmosphere was just awkward.
The students shuddered with a sense of betrayal and emptiness. They called it a research presentation, and all they did was put on a classic play.
“What was that? Was it just a prank? I thought they were going to show us something amazing.”
“We were fools for getting our hopes up. Honestly, how can you prove ghosts exist? We were totally tricked. Ugh, what a waste of time.”
“It's just Class Five level, after all. There was so much talk about Shirone and Iruki, but there was no substance to it. Hey, let's go. We just wasted our time.”
Grumbling voices could be heard from the students here and there. As students who studied even during their free time, they were furious about the time wasted on such a childish presentation.
As students began to file out, Mark and Maria came down against the flow to greet Amy and Seriel.
“Hello, seniors. Have you been well?”
“Yeah, it's been a while.”
“Seniors, what did you think of the presentation?”
It seemed Mark was just as bewildered. Especially for him, who knew of Shirone's genius, it was even harder to accept today's presentation.
But Amy didn't have much to say either. There was nothing to defend, no excuse to sugarcoat it. What they saw was all there was, and the presentation was over.
But Seriel was still on Shirone's side.
“They must have had something else prepared, but something went wrong. Maybe they ran out of time. That's probably it. Right, Amy?”
“In any case, the fact is that it was a failure. I should have guessed when I heard he was hanging out with weirdos. Let's go too.”
As Amy got up to leave first, Seriel pouted.
“How can she be so indifferent to her boyfriend?”
“Haha! That's part of her charm, isn't it? Maybe the person who's most upset right now is Amy herself.”
Hearing Mark's words, Seriel's disappointment faded.
Even after the students had left the lecture hall, the teachers remained in their seats. To be honest, they didn't even have a clue what to write on the evaluation sheets.
‘What were they thinking, doing something like this? It would have been better to do nothing at all.’
The shock Shina felt was particularly immense. To hold such a prank-like presentation with none other than the Headmaster watching. Her head throbbed as she wondered how to smooth over this incident.