The Living Exhibits
After leaving the natural history exhibition area of the fair, we headed toward the art exhibition zone. The history of humanity and natural history sections hadn't been stiff or formal, but the art zone was on another level entirely—far brighter and more dazzling. From the entrance onward, vibrant paintings and sculptures captured the eye, soft music filled the air, and fair staff were stationed everywhere. The previous areas had been impressive in their grand, majestic scale, but this one dazzled with opulence and extravagance. It was a complete 180 from the creepy vibe of the guillotine in the human history section just moments ago. At least here, my ghost-story-soaked brain can take a break from all the ominous imaginings.
Rozalia's face lit up with delight.
"As expected, the art exhibition is the best! Look over there, Teacher! That decorative piece—isn't it just gorgeous?"
She pointed at an intricate metal artwork embedded with sparkling gems, her eyes shining.
Rone and Elaine also looked around in wonder. Rone, in particular, had her eyes wide as saucers before the vivid colors of paintings she'd never seen before.
We strolled slowly, admiring paintings, sculptures, and crafts from various eras and styles. Rozalia went without saying, but even Elaine and Rone seemed utterly captivated by the art zone's charm. Unfortunately, it wasn't my cup of tea. I preferred peering at ancient relics or dinosaur fossils.
Spotting my lack of enthusiasm, Rozalia tugged lightly at my arm.
"Teacher, come this way! It's jeweled armor!"
In the spot she indicated stood a gleaming suit of armor displayed inside a transparent glass case. Unlike standard armor, its black metal base was adorned with meticulously embedded rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and all manner of gems, flaunting sheer extravagance. It was certainly flashy to look at... but did something like that have any practical use in battle? March into war wearing that, and you'd be a perfect arrow magnet. If Zhuge Liang saw it, he'd have farmed at least 100,000 more arrows at Red Cliffs.
"Heh heh. Enough of that. Rozalia Soline. Allen Jest is hopeless when it comes to art, after all. True art reveals its value only to those who are worthy, does it not?"
A slimy, irritating voice cut between me and my group. Turning my head, I saw two familiar faces: Elduin and Muchia Leoporte from the A-Class I oversaw.
Elduin stood with his head held high as always, shooting me a contemptuous glare, while Muchia beside him avoided my eyes and gave an awkward smile.
"Elduin, Muchia. Fancy meeting you here."
At my words, Elduin flashed a subtly smug smile.
Hah. Damn it, running into them here of all places. I'd gone out of my way to avoid them even inside the academy.
I switched from my relaxed demeanor with the club kids to the kind, polite teacher face I used in public and greeted them.
"Not Elduin—Second Prince Elduin, surely. Have you forgotten your own royal name from your kingdom?"
"I could ask you the same. I'm here as a teacher at Everlight Academy. Shouldn't you show proper respect to your elder?"
"...Hmph. You just can't resist getting the last word, can you? That's why you've fallen out of favor with the kingdom's nobles."
"But in the end, even those esteemed nobles came begging for my help, didn't they? Don't forget—if I hadn't mediated that communist revolution in Renia Kingdom, it might be Renia Republic by now."
"...."
"...."
This is exactly why I didn't want to run into him.
Elduin was a student in my A-Class, but he was also the second prince of Renia Kingdom—my homeland. And he'd despised me ever since I ran my trading company there.
I can't figure out why he hates me so much. Sure, to bolster my company's position, I staged that communist revolution farce, then 'resolved' it to redistribute some royal and noble wealth and power. But no way did they catch on.
If I admitted right here that the whole communist revolution and resolution in Renia was my setup, he'd probably yank that jeweled sword from the armor's hand and try to kill me.
After a brief staring contest that yielded him no ground, Elduin ignored me and turned to Rozalia.
"Such ornamental pieces should be appreciated for their aesthetic value and craftsmanship, not practicality. You have fine taste, Rozalia Soline."
"O-Of course. That's precisely what I've been focusing on, my lord."
Caught off-guard by the sudden attention, Rozalia nodded hurriedly.
Muchia bowed politely to Rone and Elaine as well.
Come to think of it, it's been a while for Muchia too. He got swept up in Rone's Recognition Craving Monster ghost story before—turned criminal, even terror boss. Now he's just living a normal school life, I guess.Good that he's peaceful, but he could pick better friends.
"What makes this painting special, in your view, Rone?"
Finishing his explanation of the jeweled armor to Rozalia, Elduin turned to Rone with a question. His expression maintained its dignity, but it carried a softness absent when dealing with me.
For all his airs, Elduin projects this gentle, kind image publicly—except with me. So fake. So annoying.
"Uh, huh? Th-This painting? W-Well... um...."
Rone's eyes widened at the abrupt question, her words stumbling.
Yeah, figured. She wasn't really appreciating the art—she was just pretending to look at it because Elduin and I were chatting and leaving the others out, making it awkward.
"Uh.... It feels so lifelike, like the painting could come alive any second?"
"Hahaha. Excellent aesthetic sense. Indeed, the unique coloring technique makes it incredibly realistic and vibrant. Surely the work of a renowned master."
Before long, Elduin had smoothly inserted himself into our group, rattling off critiques like a curator. Whatever his beef with me, Elaine, Rone, and Rozalia were standout students in our year—he probably wanted to build rapport.
"And this sculpture—doesn't it brim with life, as if it might spring into motion at any moment?"
"Um.... Yes. It does."
"What about this portrait? It's so lifelike, it feels like the subject is watching us!"
"Ah, yes...."
But our students' reactions were lukewarm at best. Only Rozalia had cared about the art zone to begin with, and even she was mostly here for the shiny jewels—not the history or philosophy behind them.
Elduin's aesthetic flex was just a grand swing and a miss. Boasting his 'keen eye' with nothing but variations of 'it looks alive'?
He used to talk a better game back in Renia Kingdom.
"...Huh? Hold on."
I grabbed Elduin's shoulder as he yammered on to the club members.
"What is this? Suddenly laying hands on my royal person. Teacher or not, how dare you touch a prince's sacred body...."
"What did you just say?"
"Wh-What do you mean?"
"Your exact words just now."
"Wh-What words are you asking about?"
A ominous thought flashed through my mind. I dropped the polite act and glared at him accusingly.
"What did you say about those artworks just now?"
"Oh. That? I said they were full of life.... Hah! Are you trying to mock my aesthetic judgment for repeating myself? Ridiculous. Truly, every one of those pieces...."
"I know. Setting aside your personality, I acknowledge your skills."
"What...?"
Elduin's assessments were spot-on, no doubt. Every artwork he'd seen brimmed with uncanny vitality. Even to me, they all looked ready to leap off their pedestals and move.
Ah. The guillotine in the human history section. The dinosaur fossils in natural history. Every exhibit we'd passed. They all radiated that eerie sense of imminent motion.
BAM!
Too late. A thunderous boom shook the entire art exhibition hall. Glass display cases shattered with a crash, and chandeliers swung precariously from the ceiling. Screams erupted.
"Wh-What's happening?"
Elduin stammered in panic.
But there was no answer—only another deafening roar.
RUMBLE!
Back in human history, that guillotine had given me chills—like it would animate and strangle everyone in the hall. In natural history, Elaine and Rozalia had said the dinosaur fossils looked ready to devour visitors. And here, Elduin had called the artworks alive.
So, among these three, who spoke the truth?
BAM!
KABOOM!
The answer: all of them.
"Impossible! The artworks are alive?! No, that's not it! What's alive is.... the fair itself!"
With Elduin's scream as BGM, I watched every exhibited item in the fair levitate and spring to horrifying life of its own.
Listening to the screams and terror around me like it was someone else's problem, a ghost story rule popped into my head. Ghost stories grow stronger the more they're known, right?
And how many people had come to tour this fair?
In the distance, I saw folks from human history clawing at ropes tightening around their necks, floating into the air. In natural history, fantastical beasts, platypuses, and dinosaur fossils rampaged, devouring people indiscriminately.
Haha. Wrong answer.
And so, we were all massacred.