Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories-Chapter 9

When I lifted my head, our eyes met. A gray-haired boy smiled gently and held out his hand.

"Hi. I’m Leonard Norton Ramsport. Second son of House Ramsport."

I looked like a total disaster—bad enough to make people whisper—and yet he offered his hand to me like it was nothing.

Either way, Leonard seemed like a genuinely kind person. I smiled back as warmly as I could.

"Nice to meet you. I’m Melody Hastings."

"Hastings? That sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before...?"

If he was a current student, he might ask about Raven. But if he was a transfer student like me, there’s no way he’d know him.

Just then, the teacher began handing out test papers, cutting our conversation short.

Before Leonard could say anything else, the exam began.

Physics, chemistry, biology—followed by math, history, literature, and religion. The tests continued one after another.

Now that I’m taking it myself, I get it. There are way too many subjects on this exam.

I moved my hand quickly, solving problems without pause. Luckily, nothing stumped me.

Well, it’s not like I’m stupid or anything.

The person who’d prepared Raven to get into Saint Gloria Private School... was me.

Back then, when I helped him study, I studied just as hard alongside him.

I’ve got this. I’m confident.

Raven once said he wished I had enrolled instead of him. He had looked so sorry—and grateful—when he said it.

But even Raven changed once he started attending the school. He knew I was waiting desperately for any kind of letter from him, and he still never sent a single one.

What on earth changed him?

"How’d you do on the exam?"

As soon as it ended, the noble boy Leonard turned to me again.

"Pretty well. What about you?"

I gave a polite answer as I stood up.

After returning the fountain pen we were issued, I looked around for the cat. Leonard kept following behind me.

"Wait, did you just say ‘pretty well’?"

It felt like a mountain had been lifted off my chest, and I walked with a light step.

"Yeah. It was easy."

"Easy?"

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Leonard’s tone made me uneasy. Why did he say it like that?

"...Is that bad?"

"The transfer exam for Saint Gloria is world-famous for how hard it is. It’s said to be even tougher than the regular entrance exam. And today’s test? Probably the hardest it’s ever been."

Oh.

I let out a sigh of relief and asked him:

"How would you know that?"

"I’ve solved every single past transfer exam question. All of them."

At that level ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) of obsession, shouldn’t he have just enrolled years ago?

I tried to ignore Leonard trailing behind me as I returned to the registration desk.

But the cat I left earlier was nowhere in sight.

"Where’s the cat?"

The staff member looked flustered, fumbling for words.

"Ah... sorry. It wandered off somewhere. It moved so naturally I thought it was a stray."

"I registered it as a companion animal and left it in your care."

"Oh my god! I can’t believe I messed this up! I’ll report this to the headmaster and send guards to search the entire campus. I’ll put out a notice to the village and the student body to find the black cat—"

"It’s fine. Really. It was a stray."

I cut her off before things could spiral out of control.

I didn’t actually believe that talking cat was normal. Just like it appeared out of nowhere, I figured it disappeared the same way.

Something told me it would show up again—suddenly, somewhere, somehow.

It was a weirdly strong gut feeling.

Leonard, who had followed me to the desk, chimed in.

"That wasn’t a stray. Shouldn’t that staff member be punished? We need to find the cat!"

"It was a stray. No need to look."

"Have you even asked the cat? Maybe it’s out there frantically searching for you."

I froze mid-step.

How did he know?

Surprised, I turned and asked him.

"You know it talks?"

"...Don’t take a joke seriously. That’s embarrassing."

It wasn’t a joke to me. But I held my tongue, feeling awkward.

Why does he keep following me?

The attention was a bit much. But I wasn’t cold-hearted enough to harshly push away someone in the same situation.

In the end, I passed by him without a word and stepped out of the exam building.

First things first—I need to look into Raven.

For students who came all the way to this remote island for the transfer exam, the school provided free lodging.

Seventy percent of Gloria Island belonged to the school. The remaining thirty percent was a village.

The structure was simple: starting from the lone harbor, the village passed through a steep hill that led directly to the school’s front gate.

I walked down the hill, heading toward the lodging provided by the school.

"Hey, Hastings! Wait for me!"

Leonard was still following me.

In front of the lodging facility, a few students were checking IDs.

They wore armbands on their right sleeves with the word Disciplinary Committee printed on them.

"Ah, crap."

Leonard, who’d run to catch up to me, muttered under his breath when he saw them.

One of the Disciplinary Committee members spotted Leonard and pulled a face.

"Ramsport? Don’t tell me you took the exam again?"

Apparently, the Disciplinary Committee member recognized him.

“It’s dedication, I’ll give you that. You might be the only lunatic in the school’s history who took the transfer exam just to see where he ranked.”

...What? Hold on.

“Wait. Student?”

I cut into their conversation to ask. The Disciplinary Committee member glanced between me and Leonard, looking a bit flustered.

“What? You didn’t know? He’s a second-year student here. He’s on the Disciplinary Committee.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you or anything.”

Leonard scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he apologized.

Apparently, Leonard had been secretly taking the transfer exams every year to measure his own ability, even tricking the teachers to do it.

I instinctively took a few steps back from him. He suddenly felt distant.

The Disciplinary Committee student who had spoken to Leonard introduced himself as Maddox Parker, a third-year.

His face was covered in bruises and cuts, like he’d just been in a fight.

“The results’ll be posted tomorrow. Once they’re out, you’ll be assigned a dorm right away, so be ready.”

Maddox spoke kindly as he handed me a flyer with the time and place of the results announcement.

“Just ignore that shameless jerk. Everyone calls him Leonard the Mongrel ‘cause his personality’s trash.”

“And you’re a brawler, right? I don’t think anyone expects model behavior from you either.”

“You trying to mouth off to an upperclassman? Can’t you tell I’m holding back right now?”

Maddox’s expression twisted into something menacing as he glared at Leonard—completely unlike the way he’d been speaking to me.

Leonard, of course, didn’t flinch.

Disciplinary Committee, huh? If they’re supposed to guide the students, they’re doing a terrible job of looking like role models.

“But there’s something I’m actually curious about.”

The truth was, I had no real intention of transferring into this school.

I had something else I was after.

“If you’re a student here, do you know Raven Hastings? He should still be a first-year, right?”

Raven had died during the summer break of second year.

Since I’d gone back one year, he should now be a new student, finishing his first semester.

At my question, both Leonard and Maddox stopped bickering and looked at me.

“Who?”

“Raven Hastings. He’s sweet and a little naive, not the type to stand out—but he’s so good-looking you wouldn’t forget his face if you saw it.”

At my description, both Leonard and Maddox grimaced like they’d just tasted something rotten.

“Ohhh. That’s where I heard the name Hastings...”

Leonard trailed off before finishing his thought.

“You’re Thatcrazyven’s sister.”

Thatcrazy—what? Did he just call him a lunatic?!