Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 100

I had to tell Senior Noah about my experience with the "Otherworld."

I also had to mention the male student with brown hair and blue eyes.

It seemed better to call Noah separately rather than just dropping hints.

"Stay away from the Student Council."

Until Diana Senior said those words, I had definitely planned to approach Noah.

"Don't try to act like you know anything to the disciplinary committee. Don't even think about talking to them."

Diana Senior blocked my and Leonard's path, saying this.

Liam Senior shrugged his shoulders.

"As the queen commands."

He then backed off, making a greasy remark as he went. The other Student Council members, seeming to have little interest, also turned away easily.

Only Noah Senior stared at me and Leonard for a brief moment.

"What's this? Do you have something to say?"

Noah Senior smiled at Diana Senior's sharp question.

"Senior Lovett, you owe me something, don't you?"

At that, Diana Senior's face stiffened, and she silently closed her mouth.

It was an amazing sight.

"I'd like to have a quick word with Melody, just the two of us. Privately."

"...I'll let it go this time. You owe me from the courage test incident."

It was hard to believe Diana Senior, who seemed like she would never back down, gave way so easily.

"Just the two of you. Privately." Even though she said something like that, Diana Senior folded. Thinking back on it, I couldn’t help but admire her.

I had heard that during the courage test, Noah Senior, Eastern, and Raven had been a big help.

That's how the person responsible, Diana, managed to avoid punishment.

Of course, I was the one who received the punishment.

"Talk to each other. I'll give you ten minutes. Ramsport, come with me. Follow me."

"I don't want to, Senior Lovett."

"Oh? You don't want to? Really?"

Diana Senior turned to Leonard and asked again, glaring at him.

Ugh. Leonard shuddered under her gaze.

"Senior Lovett has a long grudge, so I guess I'll go. But I'll be watching, {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} so give me a signal if there's a problem."

Leonard whispered to me as he glanced at Noah Senior.

It was strange. Noah Senior hadn't really done anything special, so why was Leonard so cautious about her?

I was confused but soon shifted my focus back to Noah Senior.

Just then, a procession holding candles passed by us.

Whoosh—

The wind that blew from somewhere made my hair flutter. I instinctively knew something was trying to hide from the candle flames.

Screee—

Actually, it was because I had seen ghosts frantically running away, which led me to that conclusion.

"Did you two say you work together at the café?"

"Yes? Who... Ah, Leonard? Yes. We’re actually getting along now. I’ve been getting a lot of help from him."

"Help, huh."

Noah Senior muttered as he caught the tail end of my words. I had no idea why he was acting like that.

He stared at me with a completely unreadable expression.

In the end, I was the one who brought up the main topic.

"Senior, I just came back from the 'Otherworld.'"

"...What?"

He asked in surprise. I then explained what had happened.

"The candle was the medium. As soon as I picked up the candle that a student dropped, I got trapped in the 'Otherworld,' where I was saved by a male student who had likely been stuck there for a long time."

When I described the male student’s features, Noah Senior remained silent.

Then, he asked me one question:

"Did you have another nosebleed? Anywhere else? Are you hurt? Shouldn't you go to the hospital?"

Is that really the most important thing?

"Yes, I did have a nosebleed. But I think you can tell that going to the hospital doesn’t mean much anymore."

"...For now, you should take it easy, Melody. Stay away from ghost stories as much as possible, and take care of your health."

"The evil spirits don’t trigger ghost stories while monitoring my health. It's better to stay on edge every moment."

That seemed to make sense, so Noah Senior kept quiet.

More importantly, he used to focus more on solving the ghost stories than worrying about my health, so why the sudden change?

"And I’m really fine. I’m still taking my medicine regularly."

"What kind of medicine?"

"Painkillers, iron supplements, stomach medicine, that sort of thing."

Noah Senior looked at me with a lost expression.

"That’s not a solution."

"The solution isn’t in my health, it’s in the ghost stories."

Once again, Noah Senior couldn’t reply.

It seemed like my defensive stance was unusually high today. Every time I spoke, Noah Senior was left speechless.

Well, anyway, it didn’t matter much if there was nothing wrong with me, even if I went to the hospital.

Noticing that further conversation would be fruitless, Noah Senior changed the topic.

"Right. The male student is important. The student with brown hair and blue eyes, the only one who comes to mind is Matthew Lennox."

Matthew Lennox’s name came up again.

"But that guy, I saw him lingering in front of the student bulletin board today, so it’s probably not him. It’s likely a student who attended this school a long time ago."

If that’s the case, it would be even harder to find. Only the teachers would remember anything from the past.

"I'll have to check with Father Cesario as well. I’ll get information from the other teachers too. I’ll handle that, you just enjoy the festival."

It seemed that Noah Senior had decided to gather information from the teachers.

I wondered why he was suddenly so considerate.

I tilted my head and asked,

"Senior, have you developed some kind of romantic feelings for me?"

Even I knew that was a ridiculous question.

As expected, Noah Senior scrunched his face in disbelief and looked at me as if I was speaking nonsense.

Well, no need to deny it so vehemently with that expression.

"It’s not like that. I’m just concerned. Don’t misunderstand."

Since he said that, I decided not to think about it anymore.

"And don’t stick too close to Ramsport."

"Huh? Why? Is it related to the ghost stories? No, wait, is it related to the headmaster?"

Noah Senior stroked his chin thoughtfully before answering.

"I just don’t like pianists."

What a strange comment to take so seriously.

It seemed like Noah Senior just didn’t like Leonard.

"President! There seems to be a problem at the House of the Dead! We need to check it out."

Just then, the Student Council members called for Noah Senior. He quietly looked at me for a moment before reluctantly turning away.

I watched him leave, feeling confused.

I couldn’t figure out why he was acting this way today.

After finishing my conversation with Noah Senior, I headed back to where the disciplinary committee members had gathered.

The moment I saw Leonard, I asked him,

"Hey, have you done something wrong to Noah Senior?"

"I haven’t done anything. I’ve barely even spoken to the President. Why? Does he dislike me?"

Leonard asked with an amused expression.

"No, it’s not that he dislikes you..."

He didn’t say he disliked me, but he did say he didn’t like me much.

At that moment, Western Senior’s voice rang out.

"Hey. You all know that outsiders are coming to the island tomorrow, right? Stay sharp. Today’s just a rehearsal."

The outsiders were clearly the parents coming for the 100th anniversary event.

I heard that both the Pope and the Crown Prince of the Brendan Kingdom would be attending.

Diana Senior handed out the village map to the disciplinary committee members.

The map divided the village into sections.

"From now on, we’ll pair up and patrol each section of the village."

"Aren’t the village guards supposed to do that?"

At Kira’s question, Western Senior replied calmly, without any change in tone.

"Yes, that’s true, the police handle it. But they patrol the whole village. They can’t monitor the students' behavior, making sure they follow school rules. That’s our job."

The members were paired up in twos, and the teams were decided by drawing lots.

I ended up being paired with Leonard.

I thought Noah Senior wouldn’t like this, but honestly, I didn’t think it was something I should worry about.

"We’re in sectors 4 and 5."

Leonard looked at the village map and said. Sectors 4 and 5 were located on the eastern side of the village.

Sector 4 had the House of the Dead, along with bars and inns.

Sector 5 had a small church, a cemetery, and the Gloria History Museum.

‘Didn’t they just say something happened at the House of the Dead?’

I recalled that Noah Senior had rushed off when the Student Council members called for him.

‘Maybe I should stop by while patrolling.’

If something had happened, I would definitely be needed.

Noah Senior can’t see them without Kkamang, after all.

Though, I didn’t think the ghosts would make a scene with Noah Senior around.

"Melody, what are you thinking?"

At that moment, Leonard, who was patrolling with me, asked. I looked around while checking the lantern in my hand before answering.

"I was thinking this patrol won’t be easy."

"Why?"

"I have a feeling ghost stories might break out. That’s just my gut feeling."

I looked around as I answered.

The closer we got to sector 4, the more eerie the atmosphere became.

Fortunately, sector 4 was filled with inns and bars, so it was bustling with people.

At the end, I saw the House of the Dead experience building. Students were bustling around outside, so something must have happened.

"Doctor! Someone, call the doctor!"

The voices of students rushing out from the building sounded urgent.

And there, ghosts were gathered in a corner, moving nervously with worried faces.

"What’s going on?"

Leonard, too, seemed puzzled and approached. We soon found Noah Senior, unconscious and collapsed on the ground.