Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 105

"But this feels like it's actually happening..."

As Melody spoke, nestled in Noah's arms, he chuckled.

With every rise and fall of his chest, my body moved along with it.

"That's only possible because it's you, Melody. Did you forget your nature? You see ghosts and even interact with them as easily as you breathe."

That’s right. I could touch them, and especially the ghosts, I interacted with them often.

Now, some of the ghosts I had become familiar with would sometimes come to play rock-paper-scissors with me, tapping me with their soft hands. I’d always make the right choice to win and then flick their foreheads, which always made them happy.

"You've been bleeding again. You haven't wiped it all off."

Noticing the red marks, Noah sighed and took a handkerchief from his pocket, gently wiping my nose.

I always felt embarrassed at these moments, as if I were a child.

"If anything feels off, let me know, Melody."

"I don’t think talking about it will fix anything. You wanted me to destroy them, didn’t you?"

"I wanted you to destroy them, yes. But I didn’t want you to be destroyed. Don’t overdo it."

Noah’s voice sounded kind, but was it really? He was warm, yet always strict when it came to work, and cold when necessary.

I raised my head slightly, trying to read his true meaning.

As I lowered my head again, our eyes met. Our lips were so close, I could almost feel ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) them touch.

Even if I stared at his face, I still couldn’t figure out what he was thinking.

Noah lowered his gaze to my lips, then gently traced the corner of my mouth with his long finger.

"You’ve got blood here too."

His finger continued to move along my lips and the corner of my mouth.

For some reason, the warehouse suddenly felt warm.

Creak, creak—

Of course, the sensation quickly vanished when I heard a noise from the door of the warehouse.

Peeking through a small gap in the door, I saw a female student repeatedly tilting her body to one side as she wandered the second floor.

The heat that had risen earlier quickly faded.

We held our breath.

Meow.

At that moment, Kkamang, who had been wandering around the second floor, meowed as it looked at the figure.

The figure froze.

With a creak, it turned toward Kkamang.

"Don’t, Kkamang...!"

I was about to rush out and open the warehouse door to rescue Kkamang.

But when Kkamang, seemingly irritated, slapped the figure’s leg with its paw, the figure backed away, avoiding Kkamang.

The ghosts never seemed to care whether Kkamang was around or not. Now that I thought about it, from Chesswind Village to here, they had always ignored it.

Even when Kkamang was walking around, the ghosts never paid attention to it.

I watched the scene, dumbfounded. Kkamang was indeed no ordinary creature.

Fortunately, the figure that had been creaking around the second floor descended the stairs to the first floor.

As soon as it disappeared, I exhaled the breath I had been holding. Then, I asked all the questions that had been on my mind.

"Noah-senpai, couldn’t you have possessed Kkamang?"

"More precisely, I borrowed its eyes. Since it doesn't have a body, it couldn't use the ability."

"I heard this happened after meeting the head of the academic department. What did you talk about? How did you end up in a disembodied state?"

"..."

"Noah-senpai?"

"The head of the academic department was the first to investigate the House of the Dead. Nothing happened to him. He told me there was no danger, so I was asked to investigate the mist. While I was checking, I lost consciousness."

"Was the mist the problem?"

"That's my guess."

"I heard that you gave Erika the lantern from Sister Gloria. You knew I was coming to save you, and you asked her, right?"

"I never made such a request."

Noah-senpai replied firmly. I was a little taken aback and couldn’t speak as I stared at him.

"Are you sure Erika said that?"

I nodded vigorously, and Noah-senpai fell into thought with a serious expression.

"I’ll have to meet her when we go back."

"Should we suspect Erika?"

"We’ll have to wait and see."

Noah-senpai was cold as usual. Since Erika was the first friend I made, I didn’t want to suspect her.

As I pondered Erika with a heavy heart, Noah-senpai tilted his head and spoke.

"Whoever it was, someone deliberately spread the mist, making me this way and dragging you into this ghost story. It seems like the head of the academic department is the one to suspect."

"Why’s that? Because the head of the academic department was the first to investigate the House of the Dead? Or because he made you investigate it?"

"The head of the academic department said something suspicious before he left after inspecting the House of the Dead. He said it would be good to use it as a test site."

"What does that mean? A teacher came to investigate and said something like that?"

Is he out of his mind? Most importantly, the House of the Dead didn’t look at all like a proper test site, whether you viewed it from the front, back, or rolled around it.

It was so absurd that even a passing dog would laugh at it.

Noah-senpai didn’t answer. Even when I asked, he remained silent.

A test site? Who would they be testing? I couldn’t get a sense of what the purpose of such an experiment could be.

Whatever the case, it seemed certain that someone had tried to tie Noah-senpai and me together.

"Anyway, after stumbling through the mist, I lost all memory. When I woke up, I was here."

"In this warehouse?"

Noah-senpai nodded.

"Why didn’t you come outside? You should’ve helped me."

"Sorry, but I just regained my senses not long ago. And you always do well without help."

"You're so lacking in humanity."

"Why does it have to end that way?"

Ignoring Noah-senpai's retort, I fell into thought.

The rule to go down to the first floor after discovering the red door was clearly a trap. If the timing had been slightly off, I might not have met Noah-senpai.

"Let’s talk about how we’re getting out. This ghost story is like a game of hide-and-seek. There are many evil spirits, and many mediums we need to find."

I explained what had happened in a calmer voice than before.

Only then did Noah-senpai nod, understanding everything.

"Normally, there’s only one medium in a ghost story, but this one is unusual."

"Could it be because there are so many evil spirits involved in this hide-and-seek? When working together, the freeloaders usually get beaten up. The risks are something each of us has to handle."

"...The top scorer on the transfer exam really does have a different way of expressing things."

Noah-senpai, who was also a top student, said that.

"But those 'things' seemed to be afraid of you at first. How did you become a victim of this ghost story?"

"Right now, I’m in a disembodied state. What they’re afraid of is probably my vessel. And I think the disembodied state came from the mist..."

Noah-senpai trailed off. It was clear that the head of the academic department had done something to the House of the Dead.

After thinking about the head of the academic department for a while, a loud noise from the first floor snapped me back to reality.

It was the sound of evil spirits still searching for me.

For now, I decided to put that issue aside and focus on finding a way to solve the current situation.

"You’re not human right now. If we destroy the dolls like the humans do, can we return to reality? I found the medium and destroyed the evil spirits."

"Not human? That’s a bit off. Could you be more precise? I’m a disembodied soul, you know?"

"Stop pretending to be fragile, Noah-senpai."

"Did it show? You’re too tense. The spirits are still on the first floor."

Noah-senpai smiled faintly and looked outside through the ventilation shaft.

Just as he said, I felt my tension ease a little. My pounding heart relaxed, and I felt a sense of calm return.

Having Noah-senpai next to me seemed to provide significant psychological stability.

When you’re too tense, things tend to go wrong. It’s as if things just won’t work out.

Fortunately, with my mind at ease, I could now think more objectively about the situation.

"I’ve always been different from ordinary people. Maybe that’s why this is happening. If I find the medium, I should be able to return."

"Any evidence for that?"

"No. Just a feeling."

Noah-senpai’s final words reminded me of something he had said back in 903. To follow my gut.

At that moment, I felt the presence of someone coming up the stairs to the second floor.

A man, looking confused, wearing a blindfold, appeared on the stairs.

It was none other than Father Miella, who, it seemed, had no idea he was caught up in the ghost story.

"Huh? Why is Father Miella here...?"