Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 77

Even Leonard, who had never believed in ghosts, changed after the courage test incident.

He had abandoned the fixed belief that "such things can never happen."

I wandered around the library looking for a lantern. If it was a lantern, the flame wouldn’t extinguish so easily even if the wind blew.

Haa—

At that moment, a ghost, which had been hiding beneath a bookshelf and huddled up, slowly crawled out.

Hee-hee-hee—

It was a ghost with droopy eyes that I had seen before.

The other ghosts had already fled, scared of the evil spirits and Noah-sunbae. But this one seemed to have stayed nearby, hiding.

"Have you ever seen a lantern? I need fire."

At my question, the ghost trembled in fear while looking at Noah-sunbae and flapped its soft, weak hands as if trying to say something.

Hee-hee-hee...

Of course, communication was still impossible.

In the end, it gave up trying to talk and seemed to lead me, as if asking me to follow it.

Even though it trembled at the sight of Noah-sunbae, it led me onward.

I followed the ghost to the farthest corner of the library, where an old drawer was placed.

It seemed like the ghost was hinting at me to open it.

I opened the drawers one by one.

In the second drawer, I found a lantern.

Huh? This is...

Noah-sunbae narrowed his eyes and trailed off, as if trying to remember something.

"What's wrong? Do you know this item?"

It’s Sister Gloria’s lantern.

"...What? How do you know that?"

It’s written on the bottom of the lantern. Look.

The lantern had been laid horizontally in the drawer.

Following Noah-sunbae’s words, I looked at the bottom of the lantern.

There, the name Sister Gloria was written.

"Does this have any special meaning?"

For now, the situation is urgent, so it's better to think about that later.

That’s true. I nodded and, using the matches I had brought, set a candle in the lantern and lit it before picking it up.

When I returned to the central reading area, I found myself facing a bewildering situation.

"What the...?"

Students were gathered in the central reading area, and in front of them, a woman with seaweed-like hair was crouched on the floor like a spider, threatening the students.

In special situations when ghost stories occur, even ordinary people can see the ghosts. It seemed like this was one of those times.

"Hel—help!"

One of the students spotted me and shouted.

At that moment, the seaweed-haired ghost abruptly turned to look at me. Our eyes met, her red eyes glowing with malice.

Though I was tense, I gripped the lantern tighter and stepped forward.

Whoosh—

Once again, wind blew from somewhere.

But the flame in the lantern I held didn’t go out. The faces of the students watching me were filled with hope.

The seaweed-haired ghost hesitated, seeming a bit flustered.

Now’s the time.

I was going to use the light to drive it away and evacuate the students.

Just as I took a step forward to carry out my plan, I heard voices from behind me.

"Melody! The back door is open! Eastern is holding the door!"

"Everyone, run for the back door!"

I heard Leonard’s and Raven’s voices from behind me.

The seaweed-haired ghost sharply turned her head and glared at Leonard and Raven.

Her red eyes gleamed with hatred as she started running toward them.

Oh no! Raven...!

Meow.

At that moment, Noah-sunbae, who had been quietly held in my arms, moved faster than I did.

Kyaaah—!

Noah-sunbae stood in front of Leonard and Raven, raising his back and bristling his tail, showing his teeth.

The seaweed-haired ghost staggered back, seemingly in shock.

I couldn’t tell if she was scared of Noah-sunbae or just afraid of the cat.

It’s probably the former.

Even the ghosts feared Noah-sunbae.

"Everyone, move!"

I decided to take the students and lead them to safety with the lantern in hand.

Now that I had found the medium, I just needed to take the students outside.

"Th-thank you. Sniff."

"We’re alive, thanks to you."

The students, as I led them, expressed their gratitude, and I patted their shoulders encouragingly as I moved along with Leonard and Raven.

At that moment, I saw the back door on the second floor was open.

Eastern was guarding the door, ensuring it didn’t open or close by itself.

That’s Eastern for you!

I nodded at him and hurriedly ushered the students outside.

Now, once I went out with the lantern, the ghost story would surely come to an end.

"Sis! Hurry up and come out!"

At the very last moment, just when Raven had exited and I was about to step out while holding Noah-sunbae in my arms, I heard a faint voice pleading for help.

"What's wrong, sis?"

Raven, looking confused, urged me to hurry.

I stopped right in front of the door, turning toward the direction of the voice.

I then saw a student, trapped under a fallen bookshelf at a distance.

The bookshelf didn’t seem too heavy, but the student seemed to have twisted their ankle when it fell, now holding their ankle and crying in pain.

I gauged the distance between me and them, then asked Noah-sunbae.

"If that thing shows up again, would you be able to drive it away?"

No, that’s not possible. That would be a temporary fix, not a solution. Even if it retreats now, it will return again because it hasn’t been sealed or destroyed.

Noah-sunbae answered firmly, then paused for a moment before suggesting an alternative.

I can act as a shield to prevent it from getting too close. But since I’m a small cat, I won’t be able to block it for long.

I nodded in understanding and tightened my grip on the lantern.

At the far end of the hallway, I spotted the seaweed-haired ghost again. It was slowly approaching the student trapped beneath the fallen bookshelf.

I calculated the distance again.

Once I helped the student out and supported them to the door, I would have enough time to get there before the ghost could.

The path was blocked by bookshelves, so there were fewer obstacles for me.

"That’ll be enough, Noah-sunbae. Please guard the door so the ghost can’t get close. I’ll bring the student."

"Wait, Melody! What are you doing?! Where are you going?!"

I heard Raven’s voice, almost screaming, from behind the open door.

I turned back and smiled at him.

"Wait, I’ll be right back."

"Melody!! No!! Sis!!"

Without another word, I dashed forward. When the seaweed-haired ghost saw me running, she quickly started moving toward me.