Chapter 17
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Mage of the Ghost Story Club (2)
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Our Ghost Story Club set out ambitiously for some exploration.
But a sudden scream echoing through the air stopped us dead in our tracks right at the door.
Thomas, the sub-vice president, had gone pale as a ghost himself, looking like he might faint any second.
Claire's face was fine, but the way she was clinging to me like a vice told a different story—hers was way worse.
"Ugh... it's so stuffy..."
"S-sorry!"
Claire flinched and quickly loosened her grip.
-Whoooosh
"Kyaaak!"
...Only to slap right back onto my side at the sound of the wind, refusing to let go.
"W-who screamed? Is there someone else here besides us?"
"A g-ghost... Senior Veronica's scream..."
Thomas's teeth were chattering so hard they clacked together.
"S-see? We should head back, right?"
"We can't turn back after coming this far! This is our chance to see a real ghost!"
The only one brimming with energy here was President Sylvia.
Her sparkling eyes were pure madness.
I had no idea who might end up dating her, but they'd have a rough time ahead.
She might let you win during the day, but at night? You'd have to beat her somehow, and she only got stronger after dark. This wouldn't be easy.
"Alright, let's go in!"
Sylvia grabbed the doorknob and yanked with all her might.
-Clunk, clunk.
It didn't seem locked, but the door wouldn't budge.
The hinges must have rusted from years of neglect, warping them out of shape.
"This thing... why won't it open?"
"Hold on, let me try."
I needed to check this place out quick and get back to bed—no way was I wasting time here.
I pried Claire off me and stepped forward.
Standing at the door, I pressed my palm against it.
Some basic magic should do the trick...
...Way more than enough, actually. I'd overdone it.
The entire door ripped clean off, rolling across the floor amid an awkward silence.
The screams and wind had stopped too—the ghost was probably watching from somewhere, hiccuping in shock.
"Whoa... as expected of a grand mage. Totally tough."
"Wha—? It opened, didn't it? Mission accomplished, right?"
*
We proceeded slowly down the dark corridor.
Dust piled thick on the floor stung my nose.
It felt like a sneeze was coming, so I rubbed my face with the back of my hand for no reason.
Beyond the lantern's faint glow, faded portraits hung on the walls, catching my eye.
People who'd attended the academy long ago, maybe.
I couldn't tell if it was my imagination, but their eyes seemed to glare right at us.
In this atmosphere, we would've run into the ghost no matter what time we came.
"Ugh... I'm already scared..."
As we climbed the stairs, Claire whispered in my ear.
The eerie vibe had crushed her completely—she was genuinely terrified.
She'd been all fearless tomboy when we left the clubroom.
Where'd that girl go? And why was some scaredy-cat hanging off my back?
"Weren't you feeling all adventurous earlier?"
"Th-that was before...! I didn't know it'd be this creepy!"
With that, Claire hugged me tight again.
Hold on... that's my chest... Even if my body's not picky about where things go, that's sensitive... Eek!
Grab my arm or waist if you're gonna hold on...!
Just then, Sylvia, leading the way, turned back to look at us.
"This is the third floor."
...Huh? Already the third floor?
In the original story, Kyle got hounded by other ghosts just getting up here.
"This is where Senior Veronica was last spotted,"
Sylvia raised the lantern, pointing down the hall.
At the dim edge of the light, shrouded in darkness, stood a door.
Veronica's old room from when she was alive.
The corridor was dead silent, like a graveyard.
We four headed slowly toward the room.
Walking without a word made every little noise around us hit harder.
Gulps from our throats echoed loud enough to hear.
Suddenly, Sylvia stopped.
We froze in place behind her.
"P-president... why'd you stop...?"
"Y-you're not pranking us, right...? I-I'm not falling for it... Not after last year..."
The moment we held our breath, scanning around—
-Thud!!
Somewhere in the darkness.
A heavy thud, like something dropping.
"Eek!"
Claire jolted and squeezed me harder.
Thomas collapsed right there, mumbling with a lost-the-world look on his face.
"D-did you hear that...?"
"Sounded like it came from the end of the hall?"
Sylvia raised the trembling lantern high.
The flickering light strained to push back the shadows at the corridor's end.
We stared intently at where the light reached.
For a split second.
A faint shadow rippled through the dusty air beyond.
It zipped by fast, but...
It was unmistakably human-shaped.
"Did you see it?!"
Sylvia said, swallowing her excitement.
"Something just passed by there. Right?"
"Y-yeah... I saw it too... Wait, President? Where are you going?!"
"We're already here~ Might as well check inside the room."
One person determined to see it through to the end.
Two who wanted to bolt since earlier.
One starting to get sleepy and not caring anymore.
By majority rule, we should head back.
But this was a barbaric medieval fantasy world, so we had no choice but to go along with the president's stubbornness.
Plus, she had the lantern hostage. We'd just wander lost in the dark without it.
Sure, we could light up with magic, but...
Thomas couldn't cast a proper spell to save his life, Claire was mentally and physically drained,
And if I lit the place up, this building would go up like tinder.
So, dragging our feet, we reached the end of the hall and the door to that room.
For some reason, the door was slightly ajar.
Had it always been like that?
Or... had someone gone in?
Sylvia pushed the door with a trembling, excited hand.
-Creak.
The rusted hinges let out an ominous screech.
Moonlight faintly seeped into the room, revealing old furniture: a bed, mirror, desk—all untouched.
The air felt strangely chilly.
"President... can we go now? Nothing here's, right?"
Thomas said in a terrified voice.
Claire just nodded frantically, too scared to speak.
But Sylvia had already strode inside.
"Come in too. The air's super chilly—feels amazing!"
Even in the dark, her flushed face was obvious.
One more push, and she'd be in ecstasy.
"Heh heh, heh huhu... Room preserved well, sudden temp drop, humanoid silhouette... All signs point to a spiritual entity..."
Sylvia set the lantern on the desk, pulled out a notebook and fountain pen, and started jotting notes.
This woman was the real deal. She was loving every second.
I shook my head watching her.
Brave? Fearless? Or maybe possessed already.
"P-president... we really gotta go now..."
The moment Thomas mustered his final courage—
A strange presence stirred from the corner behind us.
Cold sweat dripped down my forehead.
I whipped around instinctively.
...Nothing.
Just an empty corner, swallowed in darkness.
I swear something was there...
Then Claire let out a low gasp.
"Huh?!"
Her gaze fixed on the mirror in the corner.
I glanced over too, caught off guard.
On the cracked full-length mirror's surface, five figures faintly reflected.
Not four—five.
"Doesn't it look like... there's one extra?"
A pale, blurry girl.
From beyond the mirror, in the darkness, quietly watching us.
Her eyes and nose hidden by long hanging hair.
But her mouth stretched wide below.
In that instant.
Claire's and my breaths stopped.
"Kyaaak!"
Claire screamed, yanking my clothes wildly.
"Uwaaaak!!"
Thomas shrieked too.
The silhouette in the mirror vanished simultaneously.
As if it had never been there.
"Wait! Calm down!"
Sylvia was the only one holding it together, barely.
But even her voice shook. She'd seen it too.
"Senior Veronica, is that you? You there?"
Sylvia stepped boldly to the mirror, addressing it cautiously.
Her voice cracked, but her eyes gleamed with fanatic certainty.
"If you're there, show yourself. Let's talk."
But the mirror silently reflected only us—no change.
Sylvia's shoulders slumped.
Big expectations, bigger disappointment?
Or the fear hitting her late?
"Kyaaak! G-get away!"
Claire's shrill scream rang out from behind me again.
A stack of books in the corner had toppled, scattering at her feet.
"W-we really gotta go now!!"
Thomas wailed from the floor, crawling backward after bumping into furniture.
"G-ghosts... there really were ghosts... sob..."
His tear-streaked face was ghostly pale.
Claire just hid behind me, trembling.
Her grip on my clothes shook violently.
...Almost there.
"There really was one! Come out, Senior Veronica! Quick! Haa... haah...!"
Just gotta handle this hardcore ghost otaku.
Telekinesis Magic
Books and furniture levitating. Poltergeist phenomenon induced.
-BAM!!
A door slammed much closer this time.
Like someone deliberately trying to scare us with the racket.
At the same time, books in the room.
Furniture.
Floated up lightly.
"Kyaaaak!!"
Claire bolted screaming from the room.
"R-run awaaay!!"
"Poltergeist activity! There really is a gho— Wait! Where are you dragging me?!"
Thomas, true to his sub-vp role, grabbed Sylvia and fled in a panic.
Leaving me alone in the room.
Or more precisely.
"...You're a real prankster, you know."
Me and the ghost, just the two of us.
"Using advanced magic like Telekinesis just to scare the kids? That's overkill."
"But if I hadn't, someone else might've left, but President Sylvia would've camped out here forever."
"Fair point."
Her chuckling voice sounded more resigned than spooky.
"So why'd you stay behind instead of going with your friends?"
"Oh, I've got some unfinished business."
"Unfinished business? What, you gonna help me pass on or something?"
"Nah, nothing like that..."
I picked up the abandoned lantern from the desk and sighed.
"Just here for a pre-ride safety check on the attraction."
"...???"