“Wait here for a moment.”
When compared to the number of students, the academy’s grounds were incredibly spacious, so rather than simply conducting activities in one classroom, each class was assigned an area to prepare as they saw fit.
Thus, as I was heading toward the place where our class was located, Anne stopped me not too far from our destination.
Caught off guard by Anne’s halt, I stood there blankly watching as she dashed ahead.
From a distance, I saw Anne waving her arms and grabbing someone, speaking animatedly to them. But since it was from afar, I couldn’t hear what she was saying.
Squinting to focus my gaze, I realized the person Anne had grabbed was Lena, the class president.
It seemed like that area up ahead was our class’s designated space.
The reason she had left me behind to run off was probably related to some kind of surprise.
The two of them spoke for what felt like a long time before nodding at each other. Then Anne came toward me, while Lena disappeared into the tent where the other classmates were gathered.
“Did you wait long?”
“No, but was it really necessary for you to run ahead just to chat? We were practically right there anyway.”
“Haha. That’s true, but I thought Selian and Yuli might not be around. If they weren’t, I figured we’d come back later.”
You’re right. In the first place, we had decided to wander around with Anne today, but one of the reasons we made the trip here was to see the class event and, while we were here, check on Selian and Yuli as well.
“So are they here?”
“Yes! And it just happens to be their turn to take responsibility!”
Whatever this “responsibility” was, it sounded like we had arrived at the right time.
If they weren’t here, I might’ve had to turn around and retrace my steps all the way here.
“Come on!”
We arrived at our class’s tent, where Lena greeted us after having already spoken with Anne.
“You saw the opening ceremony, right? It looked like you’d practiced a lot.”
The opening ceremony had taken place at an ungodly hour, so plenty of people might have skipped it altogether, but the class president is always diligent, and she must have gotten up early to watch.
“Well…the whole class put in the effort, so out of conscience, I thought someone should at least walk out there and recite a line or two.”
“That’s what you’d say when no one’s around. Ugh, I would have definitely tripped and fallen!”
Lena’s words reminded me of how tense Mariel had been just before the opening ceremony.
Hmm…if I hadn’t helped calm her down, maybe I would’ve had the chance to see Mariel trip and fall. Now that would’ve been entertaining.
“Hehe. So, did you come to check out what my students prepared?”
“That’s true, but what exactly did you guys prepare that you had to set up a tent that not even a single ray of light can penetrate?”
“Uhuuu…”
Instead of answering my question, Lena silently pointed upward with her finger.
I followed her gesture and noticed a sign hanging from the top of the tent.
‘Haunted House’
A rather plain name with absolutely no embellishment.
“A haunted house…does that even attract customers?”
Certainly, during the festival period, the academy allowed civilians to enter, so there would definitely be visitors interested in checking out a haunted house. There might even be more than expected.
However, the reason why we were the only class at the academy to choose this theme was that most academy students aren’t scared of ghosts.
While they might tremble at the sight of a powerful ghost, this fear stems from the ghost’s power rather than the ghost itself.
Students from the Department of Knights can slice through ghosts, while those from the Department of Theology act as natural ghost exterminators, purging them completely.
By the time you reach the level of a Department of Magic student, a ghost would consider itself lucky not to be trapped in a flask for experimentation.
And the Department of Administration students…well, they’d probably just keep crunching numbers on their calculators or something.
Of course, exceptions like Yuli and Linne do exist, but they’re exceedingly rare.
In any case, due to these reasons, students from all departments except Administration typically don’t fear ghosts unless they’re especially frightened like Yuli.
Since the haunted house is meant to entertain the students, it’s not the most popular choice, even if it attracts a fair number of civilians.
“That’s all thanks to market research! Did you know? Thirty percent of the visitors to our haunted house are students.”
On paper, thirty percent might seem low, but considering how many more civilians there are compared to the academy students, it was a significant ratio.
“Huh? Is that possible? Did you maybe catch some ogres or something?”
Of course, this was nonsensical, but if we were talking strictly about ratios, even believing thirty percent of academy students is pushing it.
“Huh huh. Surprisingly, among those who visit the haunted house, more students come for reasons other than seeking genuine fear.”
“Other reasons?”
“Experiencing things firsthand is always best, so wouldn’t you like to go in with Anne? It also happens to be Selian and Yuli’s turn.”
With that, Lena practically pushed Anne and me into the haunted house.
As expected, upon entering, we were welcomed by the dim darkness.
When a person’s vision, one of the main senses we rely on, is obstructed, it naturally makes them feel uneasy, but that did not apply to me, a former assassin.
In fact, this darkness was quite familiar to me.
Step…
How long had Anne and I been walking along the prepared path? Although I felt we had covered quite a distance, not a single ghost had appeared yet.
“Uh? We should have already reached the exit by now…”
It seemed like an unexpected situation, as even Anne, who had been on high alert while walking, tilted her head curiously in confusion.
For reasons we didn’t understand, we continued walking side by side for some time. Finally, the ghost we’d been waiting for showed up.
“Anne? I heard you were coming with Alicia, but why are you here alone… Kyaa?!”
Instead of trying to scare us, the friend dressed as a ghost naturally walked up and greeted Anne.
During this greeting, she then noticed me and let out a little shriek.
“But, I only sensed Anne! When did you get here?”
The girl dressed as a ghost was genuinely startled, her voice trembling.
Ah… Upon reflection, walking through the darkness had caused me to instinctively suppress my presence.
I had been trying so hard to break the habits of an assassin, yet this darkness had triggered those instincts automatically.
Thus, the hidden classmates had only sensed Anne’s presence. And since they knew Anne was involved in setting up the haunted house, they had probably assumed she was passing through on some other errand.
So, it was natural that there was no reason to jump out and scare us.
“Ahahaha…”
There was no way I could explain to them that I had unintentionally hidden my presence due to being a former assassin, so I could only nervously scratch my head and give a sheepish smile.
“Well, shall we try again?”
Eventually, after the friend dressed as a ghost returned to her post, I firmly took Anne’s hand this time and started walking at a normal pace.
Sure enough, the footsteps clearly echoed as two pairs of shoes making sound.
After walking for some time in the darkness, even Anne, who had seemed confident at first, started to grow uneasy and gripped my hand tighter than before.
The tension was evident in her stiffened movements, and I could even hear her gulping beside me.
Apparently, Anne is someone who’s afraid of the dark.
Wait… didn’t she seem fine when we went to the old teacher’s office last time?
– Ghrrrr…
Suddenly, a male student dressed as a zombie jumped out from nowhere.
The quality of his costume and performance were excellent, but for me, this wasn’t enough to invoke any sense of fear.
“Kyaaah!”
Anne, however, found it terrifying. Letting out a surprisingly cute scream I’d never heard before, she immediately latched onto me.
She hugged me so tightly that I heard a faint crack in my ribs, but let’s trust in my sturdy body.
Once his act was done, the male student returned to his original position, but Anne continued to cling to my waist.
“Alright, the zombie is gone, so let’s move on.”
While trying to persuade her and loosen her grip, she simply refused to respond, choosing instead to pull me forward still tightly clutching my waist as we continued to walk.
It seemed like she had no intention of letting go, so I eventually gave in and half-forced myself to move forward with her.
“Phew. We finally made it.”
After several instances of classmate ghosts jumping out, surprising Anne, and her continuously clinging to my waist, we finally caught sight of what looked to be the exit.
“Though, we didn’t end up meeting Selian and Yuli.”
It appeared that since I had suppressed my presence earlier, my friends didn’t notice me, and we missed the chance to encounter Selian and Yuli in their ghost costumes.
Thinking this, I took a step toward the exit.
“Waah!”
Suddenly, two figures rushed toward me and startled me, grabbing me by the shoulders.
– Hehehehe…
On top of that, Linne, a real ghost, unexpectedly floated down from the ceiling, emitting a hair-raising laugh.
Of course, no matter how they tried, they couldn’t scare me.
That is, until…
“Hyaak?!”
Without intending to, I let out an involuntary shriek.
It wasn’t fear or surprise but the result of Selian’s hand brushing against my chest as she tried to startle me.
But when Selian and Yuli heard my shriek, they presumed they had succeeded and became even more enthusiastic in their antics.
“Alright, stop it… Hyah?!”
Even though I wanted to tell them they were already exposed and I wasn’t scared at all, I couldn’t stop their hands from brushing across various sensitive areas of my body.
Meanwhile, Anne showed no sign of releasing me, still clinging tightly around my waist.
“Linne, stop watching and help… Huh?!”
Instead of participating, the real ghost Linne floated nearby, munching on popcorn and watching the spectacle with mild amusement.
“Haaah!”
Encouraged by my repeated involuntary cries, Selian and Yuli’s hands became even more active.
In the process, their vigorous movements occasionally slipped under my shirt, touching my sensitive skin directly.
The more I shrieked, the more their hands moved, and the more they moved, the louder and more frequent my shrieks became.
Truly, a nightmare come to life.
“Wait, not the— Gyaah?!”
By the time we finally exited, I had been held captive and tormented by Selian and Yuli for much longer than the time it had taken to walk through the haunted house.
Truly, it was a haunted house…
