Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 12

Her expression was cold and emotionless, with straight black hair and a neatly trimmed fringe.

She was an overall cool, aloof-looking beauty.

“It’s not like commoners can just become nobles because times have changed. Nowadays, commoners don't know their place.”

“What? How did you know I’m a commoner?”

“I’m a commoner scent detector.”

“Nobles sure know how to detect strange things.”

At ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) my response, my roommate looked at me with a dumbfounded expression.

“...Don’t unpack your things until the semester starts. A half-baked commoner won’t last long here anyway.”

I had no idea what she was talking about.

When I tilted my head in confusion, she sighed and spoke with an exasperated look.

“Wanna bet? A week after the semester starts, you’ll be handing in your resignation.”

She mocked me with her sharp words. But that didn’t faze me.

If I were to meet Raven sooner than expected, there was indeed a chance I could leave the school within a week.

‘Is this how all nobles are?’

Leonard didn’t seem like that.

I didn’t care and extended my hand to my roommate for a handshake.

“Sure. Let’s bet.”

It wouldn’t matter if I took Raven and left, but I decided to humor her and go along with it.

“What?”

At my answer, my roommate looked at me as though I was some strange person. It seemed she didn’t expect me to give a positive response.

Naturally, she didn’t accept my handshake offer. She ignored my willingness to bet.

She returned to reading her book.

At that moment, the cat that had been hiding behind my bag poked its head out.

Meow.

Hearing the meow, my roommate suddenly snapped her head up.

And I saw it. Her sparkling eyes.

As she looked at the cat with excitement, when our eyes met, she quickly averted her gaze.

She hurriedly picked up her book and pretended to read again, though she had already seen everything.

I stared at her for a moment, then noticed the empty bed, desk, and wardrobe and proceeded to unpack my things.

Afterwards, I sat the cat on the desk and pondered.

“What should I name you?”

Meow.

The cat just stared at me vacantly.

It was an unusually gentle cat.

Although this cat had yellow eyes, unlike the blue-eyed one from Chesswind Village, it seemed to appear whenever I was in danger.

While I was deep in thought, a disturbing sound came from nearby.

“...Elizabeth.”

What was that sound?

“Please, name it Elizabeth. It’s such a cute name, and so elegant.”

Only then did I realize that my roommate was muttering in a voice barely audible, almost like a mosquito.

She was still sitting on the couch, reading her book with her usual emotionless face.

I tilted my head for a moment, then, realizing that she was talking to me, I responded.

“Elizabeth is a bit too old-fashioned...”

“Old-fashioned? How can you say that? Elizabeth is such a beautiful name! Hmph.”

She accidentally raised her voice in surprise, and my roommate froze.

Her face turned as red as a tomato. It probably wasn’t even as red as an apple.

She immediately cleared her throat awkwardly and avoided eye contact, trying to save face even though everything had already been heard.

I shrugged and said,

“Since it’s a black cat, I think 'Kkamang' would be perfect.”

“No! How could you give such an uncultured name to such a cute creature?”

With an overly excited look on her face, my roommate threw the book down and stormed out.

She approached me with quick steps, pointing at Kkamang, who was sitting calmly on the desk.

“Look at how elegant it is. Elizabeth is perfect!”

While saying that, she subtly stroked the cat with impressive skill.

The cat, seeming content with her touch, purred happily. It was a cat without much principle.

After a moment, it seemed that Kkamang would indeed be the perfect name for this cat.

Now, my roommate, who was openly petting Kkamang, suddenly said something unexpected.

“Bringing a cat as a pet was a good move.”

“Why a cat?”

“Why? There’s that old superstition. Cats can see ghosts and chase them away. With the way the school’s atmosphere is these days, having a cat around might make things feel a bit more secure.”

“Why is the school atmosphere unsettling?”

She paused for a moment, then stood up and walked over to her desk, opening a drawer.

She rummaged through it for a while before pulling out a thick, large scrapbook.

Erika Lyn Queensberry.

I briefly glanced at the name written on the scrapbook. So, her name was Erika.

Erika placed the scrapbook on my desk and flipped through it.

It was filled with various clippings, but many of them seemed to be about unsettling events.

The majority of the clippings were from the school bulletin board.

“Look at this. Oh, of course, it’s a secret that I took these memos from the bulletin board, okay?”

I nodded in acknowledgment and read the memo she pointed to.

Saint Gloria Private School Student Bulletin Board

June 8, 902 - Bulletin Board

I had a strange experience today. Hey guys, don’t use the girls' dormitory elevator after 9 PM. I’m warning you.

⌎ Wasn’t the curfew at 9 PM? Just follow the rules.

⌎ Why are people who don’t follow the rules spreading strange rumors like this?

This was from two months ago, on June 8th.

I suddenly became curious and asked Erika about it.

“Why did you scrapbook this?”

Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.

Erika looked uncomfortable and avoided eye contact. She remained silent.

But after a while, seeing that I was waiting for an answer, she finally confessed.

“Actually... I’m a bit of a ghost story enthusiast...”

She glanced away shyly.

“So, you didn’t experience the elevator ghost story yourself, right?”

I called her Erika, not Queensberry, and she didn’t seem to mind.

She seemed like a tough, cold person at first, but it looked like she was a bit of a softie underneath.

“Yeah. But there were quite a few witnesses among the students on our floor. No one really believes it, though.”

As expected, not everyone can see ghosts.

‘Even at a school famous for being under the Celestial Church, strange things happen like this.’

Saint Gloria Private School was established by the Celestial Church.

And Gloria Island, where the school is located, is considered the heart of the papal history.

A hundred years ago, the Vatican declared war on evil spirits, and a nun from the Vatican sealed all the evil spirits before becoming a martyr.

The name of the island, "Gloria," was also named after her.

They say the school was founded to suppress the evil energy of that place.

At the time, it was completely natural for people around the world to believe in evil spirits and follow religion.

However, nowadays, people don't believe in evil spirits anymore.

The current era is the golden age.

Jobs have increased, life has become more convenient, and people now have more leisure time. Naturally, fewer people blindly follow religion or supernatural beliefs.

People treat things like ghost stories as mere rumors, just as the memo on the bulletin board suggests.

‘But the things I’ve experienced are not just ghost stories. They are real.’

I remembered how difficult it was to escape from Chesswind Village. That wasn’t a dream.