Chapter 112
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 112
Chapter Title: The Archmage of the Basement (2)
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“We're breaking free from the academy to research every ghost story in the Belhart Empire! Everyone did their homework, right?!”
Sylvia's words made me let out an involuntary “Eh?” like an idiot.
“We were supposed to look into that?”
“You weren't here last time, so it's natural you wouldn't know. You're exempt, Lunaris.”
So that meant I could just listen to ghost stories and doze off today?
This... actually sounded pretty good.
At that moment, Thomas, who had been huddled in the corner, timidly raised his hand.
“Um... President Sylvia. I did some research and gathered a bunch of materials...”
A huge stack of papers was clutched in the vice president's arms.
It looked thick enough to be an entire book at a glance.
Just publishing that as a ghost story anthology might cover the club budget.
“Thomas, you'll present last.”
“Huh?”
“No, actually, don't present. Summarize that into a single sheet of paper. We'd be up all night reading it.”
“That's too harsh, President...!”
Sylvia casually ignored the teary-eyed Thomas and pointed at Claire.
“Claire! You kick things off.”
“Ah, yes! This is a story passed down in my territory...”
Claire's prepared ghost story was the kind of bland tale you'd expect in any rural village.
The sort a grandma might start with “Long ago, back when dragons sipped whiskey—”
But then.
“The woman, with trembling hands... opens the door to the dilapidated shed...!”
“Waaah! And a ghost jumps out!!”
Sylvia threw in realistic reactions midway, turning it into quite the thrilling yarn.
“Eek! Uwaaaah!”
And Thomas's reactions were spot-on delicious.
“Kyaaah!”
...Wait a second.
“Claire, why the hell are you screaming?”
I stared at her in bewilderment.
“You're the one telling the story.”
“B-But... President Sylvia keeps yelling at weird timings...!”
Claire, pale-faced, clutched her chest and panted.
Sylvia was doubled over laughing, pounding the table, while Thomas crawled back up from the floor.
These people were something else.
Then, I felt a poke at my side.
Turning, I saw Princess Celestina whispering in my ear.
“Luna, is now the time to scream?”
“...Pardon?”
“I'm not great with this stuff... I thought maybe it's polite to scream along when everyone else does.”
Unlike the two super scaredy-cats, her face showed zero surprise.
I couldn't help but snicker at the sight.
“No need to force it. See? I'm just sitting here quietly.”
“Oh, really? Good thing. I was worried I was being oblivious.”
Princess Celestina visibly relaxed and picked up her teacup again.
She actually had some guts, surprisingly. Didn't look the type, though.
Of course ghosts wouldn't faze her.
She grew up in a brutal palace where blood siblings plot each other's demise.
No reason to fear a ghost tied up in some village shed.
“Whew~ That was fun, Claire! Let's do a field trip to your territory sometime!”
Once Claire's story ended, Sylvia clapped in satisfaction.
“Alright, next up...”
“Ah, I'll go this time.”
Princess Celestina subtly raised her hand.
Sylvia's eyes sparkled again at the sight.
“Ooh... A ghost story from the princess! Can't wait. What's it about?”
The princess set down her teacup and slowly scanned the room with her mysterious violet eyes.
Then she began in a low voice.
“Has anyone here heard of the witch?”
*
They say nothing calms a crying child like a threat(?).
“If you're bad, that fat guy in red won't bring presents.”
“The tiger will stop spinning yarn and eat you.”
“Or a wyvern swoops down and snatches you with its talons.”
The repertoire varies by era and region.
In the Belhart Imperial Family, it was witches.
“This is a story about my little sister.”
“Your little sister... the Second Princess?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Princess Celestina nodded at Sylvia's question.
“Oh right! Come to think of it, hasn't the Second Princess been absent from high society for about three years now?”
Claire's eyes widened as something clicked.
The Second Princess in the original story was just a shut-in type, barely mentioned...
“Yes. Up until that incident, she was brighter than anyone in the world...”
But three years ago, suddenly.
She holed up in her room and refused to come out, or so the princess's tale began.
“When maids tried talking to her, she'd huddle under the covers, trembling and repeating the same words. 'The witch is coming to kill me. The witch is waiting outside my door...'
The room fell deathly silent.
“At first, everyone laughed it off. 'What are you, a kid? Still believing fairy tales about witches snatching you at night?' But then...”
One by one, people entering and leaving the Second Princess's palace at night began vanishing.
The princess's voice grew eerily somber.
“No bodies, no bloodstains... just gone, like they'd never existed.”
“...!”
“When things got serious, imperial knights stormed her palace and tore it apart, but they found no signs of intrusion or black magic residue.”
Then came tales of brave knights exploring the Second Princess's palace at night.
Honestly, the content was nothing special.
Your standard ghost story about the Second Princess being possessed by a ghost—no, a witch.
But hearing that ordinary tale in the princess's voice made it gripping.
Her voice was perfect for ghost stories—pitiful yet chilling, like something might leap out any second.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who thought so.
Claire was shivering but hadn't screamed once, fully engrossed.
Even the rowdy Sylvia had forgotten to react, eyes wide and sparkling.
“...In the end, they never found the cause. Once the sun set, access to my little sister's palace was strictly forbidden, and the incident was closed.”
“R-Right! The witch is a being from the founding of Belhart itself!”
No sooner had Princess Celestina finished than Thomas chimed in excitedly.
The guy who'd been cowering under scary stories and Sylvia's vibe was fully hyped now.
No wonder it was so quiet.
I figured this scaredy senior would've screamed at least once during the princess's story.
Turns out he was just that into it—not passed out from fear.
“Look at this, everyone!”
Thomas spread out some of his researched materials on the table.
“According to the founding legend, the first emperor slew the last queen of an ancient kingdom that nearly destroyed the continent, then built the empire's foundation on her ruins! That last queen was called the 'Witch of Gluttony'!”
Witch of Gluttony.
A very familiar name.
“Speaking of which, they say this was her staff.”
I held up Arke and thrust it forward. Thomas's eyes nearly bulged out.
“Whoa... whooooaaa...!!”
Enthralled, the senior stood and approached me.
“H-Historic artifact... haa, haaa... L-Lunaris junior, c-can I hold it for a sec...?”
“Hm, better just look. Touch it wrong and it'll suck all your mana, turning you into a mummy.”
“Eek!”
Thomas yelped and backpedaled in horror.
The listening princess's eyes also went wide.
“I didn't know you had the original. Tradition is to bestow replicas of Arke on great mages.”
“Yeah, they said it's not a gift but an indefinite loan. Somehow it got stuck with me—kind of a hassle.”
This mana-guzzling headache. I want to return it, but it keeps clinging to me.
As I grumbled, Thomas cleared his throat awkwardly and changed the subject.
“Conveniently, our academy has some records on witches too.”
“Elterion Academy?”
“Yes. Legend says the site where the academy's largest building, Elterion Hall, stands is where the Witch of Jealousy was defeated.”
In short, the academy was built to seal the witch.
“And one more! It's relatively recent—well, 100 years ago, but still—a record of the Witch of Greed being a student here before expulsion for black magic research.”
“What?! Why are you only mentioning that bombshell now?!”
Sylvia slammed the table and yelled.
Thomas muttered aggrievedly.
“I was gonna say... but President, you...”
“Shut it! Anyway, goal change! Let's investigate the Witch of Greed first!”
Sylvia shot to her feet and declared.
“For one hour, scour the old library books here and all of Thomas's materials for clues. Then decide where to explore today.”
At Sylvia's command, we dove into the research.
Claire examined Thomas's materials, the princess headed to the shelves.
I yawned hugely and stretched toward a corner shelf.
Skimming titles casually, I suddenly noticed Princess Celestina selecting books beside me.
After a moment's hesitation, I tapped her shoulder.
“Princess.”
“Yes, Luna? Something wrong?”
“About that story earlier.”
I lowered my voice to a whisper.
“The Second Princess being possessed by a witch—is that true?”
It felt too real for a mere ghost story.
Her attitude had stuck with me oddly.
At my question, Princess Celestina closed her book and met my eyes.
She let out a meaningful chuckle.
“You know, Luna?”
“...?”
“To avoid becoming a witch in the palace, you have to become one like my eldest sister.”
A real witch who could casually off blood kin without batting an eye.
I stared silently, and she pressed a finger to her lips.
“That's why I came to Elterion Academy.”
“...”
“I didn't want to become a witch.”
Whether by force or choice.
She said it so nonchalantly, surprisingly. It didn't faze her at all.