Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 17

The translucent ghosts were wearing white cloths, with only their eyes, nose, and mouth visible, making it impossible to see their expressions.

Haah—

Haaah—

Moreover, they made sounds that resembled a sigh, a mix of air and sound as they floated around.

'How could ghosts be so cute? This makes no sense.'

It seems like I’ve been experiencing too many strange things lately. I silently stared at the white things floating in front of me.

Leonard stared at me seriously, then finally spoke.

"We should hurry to the nurse’s office. Maybe it’s because you hit your head? You seem a bit... off."

"Off? That’s rude. I’m better at studying than you."

"I know that."

He grabbed my head and inspected it, then quickly started walking me toward the nurse’s office.

I was dragged along by the wrist, obediently following him to the nurse’s office.

Leonard placed me in front of the nurse, explaining everything in detail as though he were a guardian bringing in a child.

"He bumped into a male student’s head in our class, and the nosebleed hasn’t stopped. Afterward, it seems like something’s not quite right with her. No brain injury, right?"

Saying "something’s not quite right" was rather rude.

"Hmm. Aside from the nosebleed, there doesn’t seem to be anything else wrong," the nurse observed as she checked me over briefly.

"That can’t be right. Something’s definitely wrong," Leonard said seriously, resting his chin on his hand as he examined my face.

At that moment, I made a firm decision.

From now on, I shouldn’t speak up about seeing strange things.

If I were to get labeled as a strange student, it would be much harder to achieve my goal.

"You should go back now," the nurse said, dismissing us with a wave of her hand.

We obediently returned to the classroom.

I received another apology from my desk mate, Dante Abe Wellington, and quietly resumed class.

Fortunately, nothing unusual happened after that.

However, it was a bit concerning that the ghosts were not only floating around the hallway but also entered the classroom.

'Why are there such things in the school?'

Had they always been here, and I just didn’t notice them before?

If I follow the Student Council President’s words from last year, it seems the most likely possibility.

'Does that mean I’ll have to live with ghosts now?'

Could this be the price I have to pay for going back to the past to save Raven?

If this is the cost, then it doesn’t seem too bad.

The floating ghosts didn’t seem to care about the people around them. They didn’t appear harmful either.

Anyway, that’s how the first day of class ended.

It was as if the nosebleed had marked the beginning, because after that, I started seeing more ghosts wandering the school.

It was astonishing how many ghosts there were.

Thankfully, since it was the first day of school, there were only morning classes.

So, as I walked back to the dormitory, marveling at the cute and strange ghosts, I ran into Erica.

However, her school uniform was in disarray. It looked like she had fallen or something.

"Erica, what happened to your uniform?"

"Ah... I just tripped."

Erica awkwardly smiled, fidgeting with her fingers and pulling the crumpled fabric of her uniform with the tips of her fingers.

She seemed so awkward that it made me suspicious. Had something happened?

As I wondered, the passing ghosts stopped and stared at us, leaning in curiously.

I couldn’t tell if they understood human speech or were just reacting to my voice.

In any case, the way they hovered around us like curious puppies was actually kind «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» of cute.

While we were waiting for the elevator in the girls’ dormitory lobby, someone called out to Erica.

"Oh my, Lady Queensbury. Long time no see."

A girl in the same uniform as ours greeted Erica. She was a fellow student, probably around the same age.

It seemed like nobles always made sure to use formal titles even when talking to each other at school.

'Nobles have such a tiring life. Amazing.'

The girl who greeted Erica had curly red hair and a glamorous appearance.

One of the other girls in her group sneered at Erica.

"Long time no see, Lady Crow."

"Hey, Hayden, that’s too much. No matter what, she’s the heir to the prestigious Queensbury family. How can you call her Lady Crow?"

I had thought Erica was from a great family, but I didn’t expect her to be the heir to an Earl’s family.

"Being an heir doesn’t mean anything. She’s a weirdo. She’s unpleasant and gloomy."

"It’s creepy that she’s still attending school after what she did to Lady Eiros last semester."

I was caught off guard by their conversation and glanced at Erica.

However, Erica stood there, arms crossed, listening to them without a change in expression.

Looking back, Erica wasn’t the type to be bullied. If she’d chosen to shut people out, she wouldn’t have been the one to endure harassment.

At that moment, my eyes met with the red-haired girl’s. I checked her name tag on her school uniform.

Sally N. Sutherland.

"Oh my, who’s this commoner? Did you run out of friends and start carrying a maid around now?"

She scanned me from head to toe with a laugh.

I found her gaze rather interesting. Erica probably didn’t know I was once a maid, but it seemed like this sharp-eyed girl had figured it out.

Being a maid was true, so it wasn’t really a blow to my pride.

Sutherland's gaze looked down at me as though she was looking down on me.

"Is your ear closed, Lady?"

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Lady? I had never heard such a polite title directed at a woman.

I smiled.

"That can’t be right. My ears are open. It’s impossible to close them. Can you open and close your ears, Lady? How impressive."

Logically, it’s impossible to open and close your ears, but since Sutherland brought it up, I responded in kind.

After dealing with the people of Chesswind Village, I wasn’t afraid of a playful remark from a girl my age.

So, if Sutherland had intended to pick a fight, she had chosen the wrong person to mess with.

After hearing my response, Sutherland’s expression changed.

Hmph.

I heard someone holding their breath beside me.