Editor : Amethyst00



Clack! Clack! Clack!

An armored knight dashed forward at full speed.

"Hey! I told you to stop! Why you're not stopping?!"

Leo shouted as he ran after the knight.

Chelsea followed him, her face full of disbelief.

Just a moment ago, she had been frozen in panic from fear. But now? Not even a trace of it remained.

Because Leo was there?

'Well, that's part of it.'

But more than that, the absurdity of the situation had completely wiped away her fear.

The knight in armor, whom she had thought to be a ghost, started fleeing the moment he locked eyes with Leo.

Leo, in turn, chased after the knight.

The situation had completely reversed from what it had been moments before.

'So in front of Leo, there really is no such thing as ghosts.'

Come to think of it, for Leo—someone who had experienced death—the dead probably weren't all that scary.

Meanwhile…

Leo rapidly closed the distance between him and the fleeing knight.

Just as he was about to grab the knight—

Whoosh!

"……!"

The knight leapt straight into the wall of the hallway.

Leo froze in place as he watched the knight vanish through the wall.

"Whoa?!"

Chelsea, caught in her thoughts, lost her balance and nearly fell over.

Leo caught her.

"Thanks, Leo oppa."

Chelsea, now in Leo's arms, expressed her gratitude.

But Leo didn't answer. Holding her, he silently stared at the wall.

Chelsea looked up at him and asked,

"Leo oppa… you're not thinking of smashing that wall, are you?"

"Think I could break through and chase it?"

"Even if you're the student council president, that's serious trouble! Professor Harrid won't let it go!"

Damaging school property was a far more serious offense than most rule violations.

As Chelsea panicked, Leo chuckled.

"Just kidding."

'Didn't sound like a joke…'

Chelsea stepped out of his arms and stood with her hands on her hips.

"Anyway, what was that thing?"

"A lingering spirit."

"A lingering spirit?"

Chelsea's eyes widened.

"Do lingering spirits usually go around threatening people? And if it was one, why did it run away?"

Leo scratched his head as he looked at the puzzled Chelsea.

"Pretty sure I summoned it."

"Huh? You did?"

Chelsea tilted her head in confusion.

"I used spirit evoking. But it didn't go the way I intended."

Leo explained what had happened the night before.

After hearing the full story, Chelsea looked shocked.

"I don't know much about spirit evoking, but… if the summoning fails, can a random spirit really show up?"

"It's the power of Lysinas."

"Oh…"

Chelsea nodded, seemingly understanding.

"Then maybe the summoned spirit isn't the only one. That armored knight might not be the only one around."

The power of the Great Hero was immense.

So it was hard to predict the consequences of such uncontrolled power.

As Leo spoke, Chelsea crossed her arms and frowned thoughtfully.

"So far, no one else has reported seeing—"

Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeech—!

A high-pitched scream echoed from further down the hallway.

Leo and Chelsea turned to each other in alarm.

They knew that voice.

"Eliana."

"That's definitely Eliana."

bl

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAAAAAAT?!"

"Why are you asking me?!"

Eliana, clutching a butterfly net, ran at breakneck speed.

As someone specializing in speed, she was incredibly fast.

Clinging to her hair was none other than Kiran.

"Hey! You're heavy! Let go already!"

"How heavy could I even be?!"

Eliana tried to shake off Kiran, who was dangling from her hair.

"Ah! What do you think you're doing?!"

"Hey! Be the bait!"

Without hesitation, she tried to hurl him down the hallway.

Kiran, in desperation, clung tightly to her fingers.

"Let go! At least one of us has to live!"

Eliana frantically shook her hand to fling him off.

Chomp!

"Aaagh! Did you just BITE me?! You really think I can't bite back?!"

Just as Eliana tried to retaliate—

"Why are you running away?"

A voice from behind stopped them cold.

Even Eliana, who had trained in magic.

Even Kiran, one of the three mythical beasts.

Neither of them could grasp what they were looking at.

Only one thought filled their minds—"Ghost."

There was no aura. No magical power. No spiritual power.

If it were an illusion conjured by magic, or a spirit summoned through necromancy, there should be a sense of contract binding it.

But they felt absolutely nothing.

'Kyle… Kyle… Kyle, please save this little lamb in danger! Kyle! Kyle!'

The sudden appearance of a red-cloaked figure froze Eliana in place, as she desperately prayed to the deity of her club—Kyle.

At that moment—

"Hey… how do I look? Am I pretty? Or ugly?"

The red-cloaked girl asked.

Blood dripped from the edge of her cloak—sticky and red.

It was clear what had dyed her cloak.

And then…

Screeeeam!

Aaaargh!

The magic swordswoman and the fairy silently screamed at the sight of a decapitated mage nearby—cleanly sliced.

There was no head on the mage's body.

So they couldn't possibly answer whether the red-cloaked girl was pretty or not.

But they knew they couldn't say that to her face.

Otherwise, she'd surely slice them up with the scythe in her hands.

"Y-Yes! You're beautiful! Very beautiful!"

"Y-Yeah! Prettiest human I've ever seen!"

Eliana gave her two thumbs up, and Kiran quickly agreed.

"Really?! I'm pretty?!"

The red-cloaked girl beamed with joy.

'Oh? Could this actually work as an exorcism?!'

Eliana was amazed.

Then—

Whoosh—

"…Why are you lifting that?"

"I'll make you pretty too."

With a cheerful voice, she raised her scythe.

Eliana and Kiran froze.

Moments later—

Screeeeeeeeeeeam!

Aaaaaaaaah!

They both shrieked and ran.

"Kyahahahahahahaha!"

The red cloak cackled like a witch as she swung her scythe and gave chase.

Then—

"C-Class President!"

"LEOOOOOO!"

Eliana barreled into Leo, who appeared at the end of the hallway.

Grab—!

"A ghost! A headless ghost!"

Eliana clung to Leo, babbling incoherently.

Leo gently patted her head as he looked at the red cloak.

The moment his red eyes locked onto her, the red cloak froze.

And then—

Slip—!

"She vanished! Again?!"

Chelsea gasped as she watched the red cloak phase through the floor and disappear.

"Uwaaaaaaaah! Class presideeeent! I was so scared!"

"Leoooooo!"

Eliana collapsed to the floor, sobbing, clutching Leo's pants.

Leo sighed as he comforted her.

"They keep running when they see me."

"They?"

Eliana, a bit calmer now, sniffled and tilted her head. Chelsea chimed in.

"You heard the rumors about the armored ghost, right?"

"Yeah. You two saw it?"

"Yeah. But the moment it saw Leo oppa, it ran away."

Eliana's eyes sparkled as she looked up at Leo.

"As expected of the Demon King!"

Eliana stood up.

"Let's sell charms made from class president's hair! Anti-ghost charms! They'll be a hit!"

Chelsea let out a deep sigh.

"That's not a ghost."

"Huh? If not a ghost, then what?"

"A lingering spirit."

"Spirit?"

Eliana blinked.

After hearing the explanation, she scowled.

"So all this commotion… is the class president's fault?"

"It's not his fault."

"What do you mean not his fault?! He summoned evil spirits!"

"I said spirits, not evil ones."

"And spirits attack students now?"

Eliana pointed out.

Chelsea hesitated.

"Well, the summon was unstable. So attacking random people might be on me."

"See?! It is the president's fault!"

Eliana grinned victoriously while Chelsea pouted.

"Sorry for the trouble."

"Oh ho! If 'sorry' was enough, we wouldn't need laws! You owe us compensation!"

"Compensation?"

"Yeah! You know, something nice—like a merit stamp?"

Eliana still got teased in knight class for getting a demerit stamp before.

So her desire for reward stamps was stronger than most.

Leo smiled slightly.

"Just you know, the student council president does nighttime patrols too. He has the same authority as dorm professors."

Eliana went silent, then forced a smile.

"Ehe~ this Eliana was just joking, teehee."

"Can I hit her?"

Chelsea asked seriously.

Eliana, now serious, said, "Anyway, you're going after the spirits, right? I'll help."

She puffed her chest with a grin.

"Class 5 honor students, unite! We'll solve this ghost crisis in a flash!"

"Leo oppa, let's ditch her."

"I agree. She tried to sacrifice me earlier."

Kiran, now perched on Chelsea's head, pouted.

"Don't be like that. Eliana will be useful in a chase."

"See?! Class president is so kind!"

Eliana tried to hug Leo, but Chelsea shoved her face away.

"Back off."

After the chaos settled, Chelsea frowned.

"Strange. The night-duty professor isn't here yet. This commotion should've brought someone."

"It's Professor Mel. I gave her a heads-up."

"Oh."

Chelsea nodded.

"Figures. With your rank, even the Dragon Queen cuts you slack."

"Call her that and you'll get scolded."

"She's not listening though."

Chelsea looked at Eliana in disbelief.

"She's probably listening."

"Wha—?!"

Eliana slapped her hands over her mouth.

"Chelsea. You said the graduation portraits were staring at you, right?"

"Yeah."

"Let's go check it out."

bl

Click— clack—

Late at night.

Chloe walked through the library.

'More screaming, huh.'

She tilted her head, hearing distant cries.

Sneaking out during curfew just to scream like that?

No fear at all.

She shook her head and arrived at a certain section of the library.

The reason she came despite curfew was simple:

She'd discovered a secret within the dormitory.

The library was frequently visited by students.

But none were as passionate about knowledge as Chloe.

Not just magic books—she enjoyed reading all kinds.

Because she loved discovering new knowledge.

Tonight was no different.

She was picking out books, and—

'Who'd have thought the secret key would be inside a book.'

She stood before the bookshelf where she found it earlier.

She pulled out the book and flipped through it.

Flutter—

Around the middle, a page with a small keyhole illustration appeared.

Chloe took the small key from her pocket and held it to the keyhole.

Then—

Click!

The key slid into the book's lock.

Clack!

As she turned it, a door appeared before her with a mechanical sound.

Chloe looked around, then stepped inside.

Moments later…

She opened her eyes wide at what she saw.

Beyond the door was a small room. In the center stood a desk and two chairs.

On top of the desk—

"A chessboard?"