Escape from the Ghost Story Hotel

Lydia's words were obviously hinting at the next ghost story—no fool could miss it. And I wasn't a fool.

That very night after hearing her, I immediately summoned Elaine and Rone to attempt conquering the ghost mansion. But the place we sneaked into showed no signs of revealing its true nature yet, as if saying it wasn't time. It was just an ordinary building. Like it was telling us to wait for the camp day.

In the end, my group and I gave up on tackling the ghost story until camp and instead made a few preparations at the mansion before heading back.

Time flew by like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, and before I knew it, camp morning had dawned.

Arriving at the location Lydia had told me about, the first thing I saw was a massive mansion. It was old and enormous enough to understand why rumors of it being a ghost mansion had spread. My suspicions were confirmed—good lord, this was prime real estate for a ghost story. It would've been more surprising if one didn't emerge here.

"...Miss Lydia. Mind if I ask one thing?"

"What are you curious about?"

"Why here? There must've been plenty of other spots perfect for camp... Hell, even renting academy facilities would've been fine."

"W-well, actually, I originally planned to rent something safe inside the academy. But after hearing what you said, Mr. Allen, I changed my mind."

"...My words?"

No. What the hell does that mean?

"I overheard you in the staff room talking about starting a club a while back."

"I know. It wasn't something I was hiding from others."

"Hearing your perspective on ghost stories gave me a real revelation. I never imagined interpreting them that way—bringing them into the realms of logic and literature. If only I'd seen ghost stories like that when I was young..."

"When you were young?"

"Ah, no, that's not the point. Anyway, thanks to what you said, I realized that for Class A students, ghost stories aren't some unknown ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠terror to fear. I wanted to help them overcome that fear!"

To sum up Lydia's explanation... All this mess was my fault? My heart was crumbling. The disaster I'd invited upon myself was already sapping my motivation.

"More importantly, Mr. Allen, have you gathered club members yet?"

"No, taking it slow. No rush."

In truth, I hadn't even tried recruiting anyone. No point drawing half-hearted interest from people who wouldn't join anyway—it'd just backfire on me. So I was being extra cautious even about invitations.

"Then hopefully today's courage test will help you find students suited for the Paranormal Investigation Club."

"Were you looking out for me?"

"Ahaha. I'm your mentor, after all. Gotta help when you need it."

Lydia gave an awkward smile as she looked at me.

...Fine. Whatever. Camp was already set in stone; no turning back now. Time to rally a bit.

"Alright, Miss Lydia. What can I do to help?"

Soon, students began arriving one by one for camp. It was local assembly, but since the mansion was on the same island, the distance wasn't far—and participation was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠surprisingly high.

Elaine and Rone were there, of course. Among the others who stood out: Muchia Leoporte, who got swept up innocently in the academy attack incident and branded an international terrorist, and the marquess's lady known as the "Red Ruby."

The fraud saint and Renia's second prince skipped out.

It was camp, but they were all still freshmen early in the semester, so the vibe was more relaxed than intense—like a university freshmen MT, awkward at first but gradually warming up with chit-chat.

If not for the courage test tonight, it'd be a wholesome, heartwarming scene. At least in this atmosphere, nothing should happen until the test.

"The interior's cleaner than expected. For an abandoned mansion, it's surprisingly well-maintained, isn't it?"

"Of course. Even if we're overcoming fear of ghost stories, we can't have students staying in a filthy, dangerous place. It's not in use now, but they clean and maintain it regularly."

"They keep cleaning and maintaining it...? Who?"

"Ah, the mansion's former owner told me. He's the one who let us rent it for the night."

"Still tending to a building no longer in use. Must have a special attachment to the place."

"He really does. It used to be a hotel back in the day. When I said I'd bring students for camp, he was overjoyed—tears in his eyes about finally having guests again."

"Hm... So it was originally a hotel."

A hotel. Then this ghost story must be...

"Ohohoho!! I have the honor of thanking everyone gathered here today to make me shine!!"

"No, I mean, this camp isn't specifically for you, Miss Rozalia!!"

That was when it happened.

"Ohoho! Miss Aurora, are you perhaps not too bright? The point isn't who this is for. What truly matters is who shines brightest here!! And that is none other than Rozalia Soline!! So as the brightest, don't I deserve thanks?"

"Wh-who are you calling not bright?! You're the one with the lowest grades in Class A!!"

"Oh dear, Miss Aurora. I'm fine! Because I'm beautiful!!! If you're beautiful enough, you don't need brains!!!!"

"S-so you're admitting you're not bright."

...No sooner had I thought that than a commotion erupted among the gathered students.

The culprits were two familiar faces.

Rozalia Soline, marquess's lady, the student dubbed high society's Red Ruby. Back when I still suspected this world was a romance fantasy, I wondered if she was a key character. Turned out irrelevant.

The one clashing with her was Aurora Victoria, countess's lady—neatly tied golden hair, glasses, the model student type from gift class who always showed perfect conduct.

From what I saw, Rozalia had come in first with a gaggle of her followers, causing a ruckus. The class rep—Aurora, who actually was the current rep—tried to rein her in, sparking the argument.

"Hmph. Ignore her, Lady Rozalia. She's jealous of your beauty for sure."

"Jealousy from such a plain girl is just pathetic."

"We have no complaints, so why's she yelling alone? What a nasty personality. Don't let it hurt you, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Lady Rozalia."

"When did I say I was jealous?!"

Her followers piled on, basically a verbal dogpile. But Aurora, who wouldn't back down where most would crumble, was impressive too. It almost made Rozalia's side look like the villainess ladies.

Fiery red hair that seemed ready to ignite, stunning looks, haughty attitude, loads of sycophants—textbook romance fantasy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠villainess.

Guess I had to mediate.

"I heard the story. Everyone, knock it off."

"Ah, Mr. Allen."

"First, Miss Aurora. I'll explain to Miss Rozalia, so please step back."

"...Understood. Sorry for the commotion."

"No, it's fine. Lively's good to see. And Miss Rozalia—Miss Aurora has a point. This camp is for all of Class A, not just you. Mingling to bond is okay, but if it bothers others, that's a problem."

"But my friends all agreed with me!! Logically, no one else is bothered!!!"

"...Miss Rozalia. Just because your friends agree doesn't mean everyone does."

"Gasp!!!!! You're right!!!"

Rozalia gasped in shock, thanked me profusely, and vanished.

...Huh? That's it? Done?

Ridiculous, but if it's over, great for me.

After that, a short but peaceful camp schedule unfolded until the courage test.

The academy students were mostly from local elites, but not all. Some got in purely on talent without backing; others were upper crust in small nations that paled next to big ones.

The academy touted equality in learning, but invisible class barriers lingered among students. Not just class—grades and gift possession created subtle tensions too.

But crammed into this rundown hotel, prepping meals and group activities regardless of status, those walls were thinning, however awkwardly.

Upper-class kids grumbled at cooking—unfamiliar territory—but lower nobles and commoners helped, and by mealtime, group vibes had softened nicely.

Better unity than I expected. Or maybe not—only students open to bonding showed up, so good vibes were natural.

Lydia's judgment was spot-on. Holding camp in a ghost story hotel irked me, but as a teacher guiding students, she was a model educator.

Of course, not everyone broke down barriers. Rozalia and Aurora were prime examples.

"Hold on!! Why are you adding something not in the recipe to the soup!?"

"Ohohoho! Touched? No need to hold back. It's my personal stash, but sharing to bond isn't a waste!! Feel free to thank me!!"

"Who puts mint choco cookies in it!!"

They bickered over trivialities constantly; mediating fell to me.

One thing I learned: Rozalia seemed like a villainess leading minions into chaos, but she was just a bubbly, overconfident airhead. Her blind followers made her look bad.

Problem lay with her friends. And clashes with Aurora weren't true malice—just clashing personalities.

Guess I'd need a fix for these two soon. Teacher duty to smooth student relations.

But not now. Priority was the courage test in this ghost mansion—and exorcising whatever ghost story it held.

Teacher or not, ghosts came first.

Dinner passed, and the courage test loomed.

"Teacher. All set?"

Students buzzed with excitement over the test. Elaine slipped over amid the chaos.

"Of course. Already rigged the teams—no worries. Prep's perfect. For teams and 'that side.'"

Plan was simple: Test in pairs. I abuse teacher authority to put Elaine and Rone in first team. As supervisor, I join the instant they enter. Solve ghost story before second team starts. Flawless—no casualties.

Then Lydia spotted me with Elaine and approached.

"Ah, Mr. Allen. About the courage test teams. Changed from pairs to groups of four."

Failed.

Elaine's glare stung.

"What?! No such thing before!"

"More participants than expected. Pairs would've dragged past time limit. Bigger groups speed it up."

"B-but we planned pairs, so stick to it? Four's too many—defeats the purpose..."

"Pairs would halve time per group. And more people means less fear, right? Goal's overcoming fear!"

"Th-that's true, but..."

"Or everyone together? Whole camp tours mansion—easier to conquer fear."

"Just do fours."

Plan derailed from the start. Elaine's glare burned.

Unexpected snag: more participants meant groups of four.

But that wasn't all.

"Ohohoho! My luck's great! First team—exploring the unknown mansion before anyone. What fortune for this lady! Thanks to my luck!"

"Ugh. Can't you be quiet? Ruining the spooky vibe already."

"My presence banishes fear! Did I give you courage just by existing, Miss Aurora!? Thrilled you forgot fear thanks to me! Ohohoho!"

"Ughhh... Won't reason."

The added first-team members: Aurora and Rozalia.

Now Rone's glare joined in.

"Alright. First team, go!"

...This night's gonna drag. I could feel it.