Just after sunset, in front of the headmaster's office…

Tisha and Cycelia approach the central door leading to the office proper from the girls' dormitory side.

「…You didn't have to come with me, Tisha.」

「I know. I just feel like it.」

As Cycelia looks at her over her shoulder, Tisha shrugs. Cycelia lets out a small, resigned sigh, then knocks on the door.

Knock knock!

She knocks twice on the door with the back of her hand as she balls it up into a loose fist.

「…Enter!」

The headmaster's muffled voice calls out through the door. The two look at each other, and go in.

「Ah. What can I do for you, Ms. R- Lia?」

Corvus greets Cycelia as she peeks her face in, and quickly corrects himself just in time when he sees Tisha behind her.

「Nothing. I just came here to deliver this…」

She replies, holding the blank envelope up in her fingers as Tisha trails behind her.

「This is?…」

The headmaster asks as he begins to shut the thick tome on the desk in front of him. He places a slip of paper on his current page to act as a bookmark, then slides it aside to make space.

「A letter from demonology professor.」

「Ah. Professor Arkeis… So he finally replied.」

He says with a light smile and takes the letter from her hand, breathing heavily with labored breaths as if he was running just now.

「Well, while you're here… How goes your term? No problem with the exams I hope… Tisha?」

Corvus adds, as he pulls the letter out of the envelope and begins reading through it. Tisha visibly cringes and looks away.

「Not this time, headmaster…」

Tisha mumbles out in response.

「I see… I see…」

He nods, and focuses on the letter.

「We're mostly fine…」

Cycelia replies, shrugging her shoulders.

「I see- Ahhhhh… Vindict…」

He continues nodding, before he lets out a frustrated grumble and places his hand on his wrinkled face.

「…Huh?」

Cycelia utters out, tilting her head. Tisha furrows her brows, glancing at the two with a confused look on her face.

「Ah- No, I didn't mean you, Ms. Lia, I meant Str- Er… Er… Um…」

The headmaster's eyes snap open, and his face gains an awkward grin as he attempts to stammer out an explanation. His eyes drift to Tisha as he sets the letter down and fumbles for words.

「Uh… Nice weather today, isn't it?-」

He nonchalantly asks, spreading his hands.

BOOM!

The crack of thunder rumbles the Academy's walls, cutting his last word off. Outside the window behind Corvus, a bolt of lightning on the sky briefly illuminates the dim room. Torrential rain begins splashing against the glass in a steady drumbeat-like rhythm. Visibly cringing and poorly veiling his internal pain, Corvus lets out a defeated sigh as he stares at the two.

「…Are you feeling alright, headmaster?」

Tisha hesitantly asks, and the narrow-eyed gaze beneath his bushy furrowed brows turns to her.

「…I am feeling a little under the weather, so please don't mind me if I say some nonsense.」

The headmaster replies with a forced, awkward smile.

「Is that all?…」

He asks, looking at the two. They nod back, and turn to the door.

「Ah! Before you leave, Ms… Lia.」

Corvus abruptly exclaims with his hand raised at them, pausing himself to ensure that he's not saying the wrong thing again. The girls look over his shoulder at him, halfway to the exit.

「…When you see Straf, please tell him that I'd like to see him tomorrow at around noon.」

「I will… Is he in trouble?」

Cycelia nods, and hesitantly asks.

「No. No, no such thing. I simply have something to discuss with him.」

Corvus quickly shakes his head, and explains, briefly flipping his hands up before brushing his beard with one of them. Cycelia nods, and they finally make their way to the door. They bow gently, then leave. The headmaster is left alone, his heavy breathing barely audible over the sound of rain splashing on the window behind him. He reaches for the tome and slides it in front of himself again, opening it at his ad-hoc bookmark…

…

Moments later, in Cycelia's room…

Crrrrrr-rrrreaaaaak…

Cycelia returns to her room, and finds Straf lying on the bed appearing deep in thought. She sits down on her own bed, and slips her boots off.

「…Are you feeling alright, Straf?」

She asks, and lets out a long sigh with a troubled face.

「Yeah. Why?」

He turns his bored face to her, pulling his eyes away from the dark ceiling.

「…I'm just asking. Neela looked pretty sickly all day.」

Cycelia says, lowering her head as she hugs her knees on the bed.

「I'm fine, Lia. In fact, I made a lot of progress today. Hup!」

Straf replies, and with a throw of his arms forward, he jumps up to sitting. He shuffles over to the edge of his bed, and sits across from Cycelia.

「Really? Because it feels like our search is stuck in the mud…」

Her eyes briefly light up, before becoming gloomy once again. She lowers her head, and hides most of her face behind her knees.

「Well, not mine… But, uh… I don't think you'll like what I have to tell you.」

Straf says, and spreads his hands with a tight-lipped grimace on his face.

「W… What? What is it?」

「I need to go on a ghost hunt, Lia.」

He nonchalantly replies with an amused smirk, leaning forward with one of his his elbows on his knee.

「B- But you said ghosts don't exist?」

「Yeah. And even now, I maintain this well-informed opinion… However!…」

「However?…」

Cycelia hesitantly asks, staring at Straf with big eyes as he extends his index finger.

「…Before admitting that I may have a problem, I'd rather blame everything on an unlikely paranormal event. It'll turn out I was right from the start, anyhow, because I'm always right about everything.」

He replies, and shrugs his hands.

「…Huh?」

Cycelia blinks in confusion, tilting her head.

「It's fine if you don't understand, Lia. It's just a man thing. Go on and lock the door, I'll be back tomorrow.」

Straf says, and stands up. He places his hands in his pockets, and turns for the door.

「Huh? Tomorrow!? Where are you going!?」

Cycelia jumps up in her bed, peeking into the narrow entry corridor as Straf stands in front of the door. He stops, idly looking at one of the upper hinges while he thinks.

「…I'm going ghost-hunting. Don't tell pants-shitter. Seriously.」

Straf replies over his shoulder with his mouth lightly scrunched.

「Wait, I'll come with you!-」

「No, you rest for tomorrow classes. I'll probably be blindly wandering around the halls anyway.」

She reaches for her boot, but Straf halts her by extending his palm towards her. She slowly, reluctantly sets the boot back down as her face gains a troubled frown.

「…The headmaster said he wants to see you tomorrow around afternoon.」「Ahh for fuck's sake…」

With her shoulders slumped, Cycelia says while looking at the floor between the beds. Straf sighs, and rubs his face with his palm.

「…Right. I think you should keep the light on, Lia. Sleep well, and don't worry about anything.」

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

He replies with a soft voice, and pushes the door handle down.

「Huh? Why?」

She peeks her confused face out past the wall to look at him.

「…Just a hunch. See you tomorrow.」

Crrrr-rrrrreaaaaak… Thud.

Cycelia lets out a large, sad sigh, and turns her gloomy eyes to the oil lamp's steady flame…

…

Around midnight, outside the Academy…

Straf walks on stone path outside the main building. Branching in a web-like network, the paths lead practically everywhere around the interior perimeter. The trees have already lost most if not all of their leaves, which are now scattered along the grass. Perhaps someone was meant to rake them, but it's likely the workers were not up to the task. A crescent moon high above shines faint blue light inside the walls, making everything except the darkest crevices bright enough to see. The ominous presence continues lingering, although much fainter than before.

As he passes by a fountain, Straf adjusts his deerstalker with his free hand, holding his pipe's head with the other. He looks up at one of the windows above. A shadowy shape seems to slip away the second he turns his eyes to it, causing him to squint and look closer. Nothing appears out of place on a closer look. Straf continues circling around the main building, and takes a roundabout path to the auxiliary building.

Unlike the main building, the other buildings' entrance doors are much more mundane, and much less grand. Straf walks in through the ordinary door, much like many others, and looks around the dimly lit, empty, silent hallway. He pulls the headmaster's map out of his [Portable Storage], and gives it a quick read before throwing it back in. He takes a turn, and continues, ignoring the feeling that someone is watching him from the other way.

His footsteps echo, and he continues walking down the dark hallway while the presence seems to draw closer. As he takes another step, he abruptly stops in his tracks. Faint footsteps continue for a second longer. He turns around, and there is nothing behind him, except the stretch of the hallway that he has already crossed. Straf pretends to draw a puff of smoke from his unlit pipe for a moment, then continues.

He comes across a wooden stairway leading to a floor above, and begins climbing it.

Crrreak. Crrrrrreak. Crrreak. Crreak. Crreak.

While unnoticeable through the sounds of life during daylight hours, the stairs creak noisily with each step Straf takes. He glances over his shoulder at the bottom where he feels like someone is standing. There is nothing there, but his own shadow from the magic lamp hovering in the landing between the floors. Straf shrugs, and continues climbing upward. On top of the stairs, he takes a turn, and continues to stroll unfazed through the dark hallway. He locates the door he was looking for, and the purple vortex appears right next to him.

He pulls out a thick metal key, and attempts to slip it into the lock. It doesn't fit. He throws it back in, and tries another. It doesn't fit. This continues for quite some time, and while he is fiddling with the lock, he notices a faded, dusty carving on the doorframe. Straf momentarily suspends his effort to open the door, and straightens out. He draws a breath in through his pipe while trying to make sense of what the carved-out drawing represents. He brushes some of the dust and mold off with his hand in an effort to make it clearer, but it barely helps.

Despite the weathering caused by time and elements to the wood, Straf parses some of it. A heart with three crudely drawn smiling faces, above them, three letters. Straf squints heavily attempting to read them, but the wood warped and cracked so much at this point, that an L could have been an E, D could have been a B, or they could be completely different letters. Only one letter stands out as one that cannot possibly be mistaken with any other. Above the smiley face that appears to be stylized as a female with much longer hair of notches, a V is carved far too wide and deep for it to be anything else.

「Elementary… I thought this might have been a fucking clue.」

Straf lets out a disappointed sigh, and continues fiddling with the door. Finally, he finds the key that fits, and unlocks it.

Cla-clack… Crrrrreak…

He pushes the door open, and casually walks in. The dark room, so to say, appears more like a broom closet converted into a meeting space. A small, rotting table in the center is surrounded by four chairs. Three teacups appear to once have been filled with varying levels of liquid, likely tea, but now nothing but green mold remains. The room almost appears frozen in time, as if someone was about to return to it soon enough, but the signs of weathering and mold tell a different tale. The presence behind Straf almost grows tangible. He rubs his chin, and shrugs.

CRACK!

A loud noise from behind him causes Straf to snap his attention to its source. There is nothing in the doorway, but as he takes a closer look, he realizes the doorframe has been split by a powerful blow, almost like a heavy whip or a sword smashing into it. Drawing a breath through his pipe, he approaches closer, and investigates.

He quickly realizes that the gash is right where the heart carving is. Specifically, a diagonal blow has sundered one of the smileys and initials, leaving the other two intact, aside from the heart itself now being damaged.

「Well, thanks for letting me know it is a clue, at least…」

Straf rolls his eyes and exits, lazily throwing the door shut.

「…You don't understand!…」

A muffled, tearful female voice cries out from within the room. Straf slowly turns back around, and looks at the not-quite-shut door.

「…Yeah. Frankly, I don't know what the fuck is going on anymore. What is your problem? Are you the one trying to kill everyone, or is it the misunderstood helpful spirit cliche?」

With his mouth heavily scrunched to the side, Straf replies towards the voice.

「Look at me, talking to a fucking ghost…」

He quietly adds, grumbling and shaking his head with a tight-lipped grimace.

「…I'm going to teach you a lesson!…」

An angry man shouts from behind Straf, sounding far too distant for it to physically make sense in the rather narrow hallway. He turns around, and a blob of darkness is about to envelop him. An orb of magic light appears above Straf. The darkness is now encompassing.

「Okay, that's not good-」

Straf quickly utters out, and the magic orb disappears into the darkness around him as well…

…

Outside the gate, Straf approaches the Academy of Magic, indistinctly chattering with someone he knows, about something he can't quite hear. In the classroom, a beautiful emerald-eyed girl beams a happy smile at him, before turning her head the other way to someone else. Great envy stirs within him.

「『Windbolt』!」

Straf exclaims, pointing his palm at someone, of whose face he cannot bother to remember. Before he can cast his own spell, the blurry space hits his opponent in the chest, knocking him back and rolling him along the grass. Angry jeers and curses surround Straf, amusing him to the point of uncontrollable chuckling. Placing his hands in his pockets, he turns around. The hateful crowd of spectators slowly begins to disperse, glaring at him as they leave.

「Hey, if you're weak, you shouldn't be talking shit!」

Straf exclaims with his arms spread, though something is off. In the dispersing crowd, he recognizes two people that remain still. Disapproving emerald eyes stare at him from a distance. With her arms crossed, a beautiful chestnut-haired girl pouts at him. Burning hatred stirs in his heart, when she diverts her gem-like eyes to look at the face of the man behind her.

「■■■■■■■■, you really need to stop being mean to people. I like you, but I don't like that you're making the whole school have a grudge against you.」

The beautiful green-eyed girl says, and takes a sip of her tea. Filled with a smug sense of superiority, Straf remains silent, and also takes a sip from his cup.

「…Stop him from being mean, and he'll just be a golem. His whole personality is based around being a combative prick, Ṿ̶̧̢̭̖̺̮͕͙̝̟̘͙͖͖͓̀͒̕͝͝î̴͉̾̂̌͒ċ̶̨̭̜̳̲͖̩̺̜̹̮͇̬͔̠́̀͗̍̌̾͑̈́̈̓̏̕̕͘͜͝͝t̴̛͚͎̫̳̰̪̤͑̒͑̉̀͂̎̂̎̎͋̔̕̕̚͘ǒ̵̡̢̺̻̫̙͖̞̹̣̼̤̬̩̟͒̃͛̈̆̈́͊̄̈́͜͝͝r̶͕̓͐͌̒̊̀̑́̚ǐ̷̲͋͑̉ą̵̬̖͈̪̞̫̖̞͖̜̞͆̒̌͂̊̄̽̏̃̒͜.」

The man sitting beside Straf scoffs, and takes a sip as well.

「Hey! Just because he is mean, that doesn't mean I'm allowing you to be mean too!」

She slaps the table, and leans over it with an angry pout.

「I don't really mind. He lashes out because he knows he can't keep up with me.」

Straf smirks, and glares at the man sitting beside him. He reciprocates, glaring back. An uneasy silence begins while the girl fumes at them both.

「Say, Ṿ̶̧̢̭̖̺̮͕͙̝̟̘͙͖͖͓̀͒̕͝͝î̴͉̾̂̌͒ċ̶̨̭̜̳̲͖̩̺̜̹̮͇̬͔̠́̀͗̍̌̾͑̈́̈̓̏̕̕͘͜͝͝t̴̛͚͎̫̳̰̪̤͑̒͑̉̀͂̎̂̎̎͋̔̕̕̚͘ǒ̵̡̢̺̻̫̙͖̞̹̣̼̤̬̩̟͒̃͛̈̆̈́͊̄̈́͜͝͝r̶͕̓͐͌̒̊̀̑́̚ǐ̷̲͋͑̉ą̵̬̖͈̪̞̫̖̞͖̜̞͆̒̌͂̊̄̽̏̃̒͜, you said you like me… Do you like me the most?」

Straf asks with a smug smirk, lowering the teacup to its saucer. He side-glances at the man beside him with a knowing look, while the man can barely veil his anger.

「That's…」

Troubled, she furrows her brows. The girl fidgets with her blazer's button idly, lowering her gaze while the two stare at her.

「It's a pretty simple question.」

The man remarks, looking at her with a serious face. She looks at them both, and turns her eyes to the closed doorway.

「…I… I just like you both. Equally… Do I really have to pick a favorite? I think it'd hurt either of you.」

She says after a moment of silent thought.

「■■■■■■■■, wait! I didn't mean it like that!」

Straf feels the girl grab his arm and use her entire weight to feebly try and stop him from storming away down the hallway. Furious, he turns around.

Slap!

He smacks her across her rosy cheek with his palm, and she crumbles backwards. Instant regret fills Straf to the brim as he looks at her emerald eyes fill with tears.

「■■■■■■■■, you don't understand! It's not like that!」

She desperately cries out. Straf can hear the crowd's hateful mumbling behind him.

「You fucker!… I'm going to teach you a lesson!」

The cursed bastard shouts at Straf, at the same time as his fist painfully impacts Straf's face. His mouth is filled with the taste of iron by the time two older men pull him off Straf, still flailing his fists.

「『Manashield』!」「『Manashield』!」

Straf and his opponent exclaim. He points his palm at his opponent, and begins casting a flurry of spells he can't remember the incantations of. Suddenly, he feels sick. His legs become like straw. His opponent must have used a trick to gain an upper hand. Straf's barrier cracks, and disappears. Something impacts his chest, and sends him flying across the hallway.

A bitter feeling fills Straf, almost bringing him to the verge of tears. He knows they both agreed to this, but he did not expect to lose for the first time now, of all times. His opponent approaches him, glaring at him with a hateful gaze, standing over him with his fists clenched.

「Well… Tsk… Guess even a mangy, loser dog like you has his days… For fuck's sake…」

Straf says, grinning, but he knows his facade is cracking just like his voice. The man continues glaring at him with hateful eyes. He comes closer, and begins searching through Straf's uniform pockets.

「…What the fuck are you doing? You think I brought gold to a duel?-」

Thwack!

「Agh!」

「Shut the fuck up.」

The man growls out, after punching him in the face. He pulls the thick metal key out of Straf's pocket, and looks at the door beside them.

Cla-clack…

He approaches it, slips it into the lock, and unlocks it.

「…What? You can forget about that fucking room. I don't feel like doing anything with it now-」

Straf explains, almost amused by the man's idiocy, when he suddenly grabs him by his blazer and starts pulling him towards the open door.

「…What the fuck are you doing? Hey.」

Audibly concerned, Straf asks, before a forceful throw sends the ground flying from underneath him. Straf plummets, hitting his back on the steps of the stairs, tumbling down to the dirt in agony.

「Gakh!… Fuck!…」

Straf attempts to writhe in pain, but can no longer feel his legs, nor is strong enough to move even an arm due to mana exhaustion. The man continues glaring at him. He grabs him once more time, and flings him into the darkest corner of the room. He then rips his sleeve up, tearing it away.

「You think I'm going to forgive you this, you fucker?… What is Ṿ̶̧̢̭̖̺̮͕͙̝̟̘͙͖͖͓̀͒̕͝͝î̴͉̾̂̌͒ċ̶̨̭̜̳̲͖̩̺̜̹̮͇̬͔̠́̀͗̍̌̾͑̈́̈̓̏̕̕͘͜͝͝t̴̛͚͎̫̳̰̪̤͑̒͑̉̀͂̎̂̎̎͋̔̕̕̚͘ǒ̵̡̢̺̻̫̙͖̞̹̣̼̤̬̩̟͒̃͛̈̆̈́͊̄̈́͜͝͝r̶͕̓͐͌̒̊̀̑́̚ǐ̷̲͋͑̉ą̵̬̖͈̪̞̫̖̞͖̜̞͆̒̌͂̊̄̽̏̃̒͜ going to s-? Mpf!」

Straf asks, grunting through the agonizing pain. The man stuffs the torn rags into Straf's mouth, and stomps his head a few times.

「No one's going to find out.」

The man remarks, and leaves for the stairs, climbing up. The rag is suffocating, and Straf can't even yell for him to come back. The door creaks above the stairs, cutting away the only source of light.

Cla-clack.

It locks. A sense of impeding doom washes over Straf…

…

With a grunt, Straf opens his eyes. With a groan, he sits up on the hard rock floor, and looks around. He's still by the partially open broom closet-like room, though the sun appears to be rising on the horizon. He picks his deerstalker and pipe off the floor, briefly wiping its neck with his blazer, and throws both into his [Portable Storage].

「Man…」

Straf groans, stretching, turning his torso left and right.

「…Sudden flashback monsters are my least favorite.」

He sighs out, and shuffles for the main Academy building in a fatigued step…