Chapter 381

Usina wrapped her arms around herself, trembling as she spoke.

“I-I saw Doldoli when I was a freshman… It was really scary.”

Sion’s face also turned pale.

“Th-Then does that mean they weren’t playing a prank in Ciotric Hall back then…?”

Roan clicked his tongue and spoke.

“What is to be done if the Saintesses who must lead the Empire are like this?”

The two of them, perhaps quite hurt, protested immediately.

“I’m not the Holy Emperor yet!”

“I’m not a Saintess yet!”

“Yes, yes. Good for you.”

Roan, thinking that there would be no end to it if he discussed ghost stories with the two of them anyway, spoke to Luca.

“Just as you said, there is a ghost inside this bead. It was an evil spirit that had tormented people, including students, in the basement for a long time. Just like what your friend, Senior Usina, went through.”

“…”

Luca listened quietly, but her eyes trembled slightly.

“I hope you don’t end up like that either, but if you stay here too long, you might also become an evil spirit like this. Surely you don’t want that kind of end?”

Luca hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

“That’s… not it.”

“Then that makes things easy. I will send you back to where you belong.”

“Th-Then, by any chance!”

“What is it?”

“Will I… also be trapped in a bead like that?”

“…”

Roan glared at Luca with a look that asked how on earth she had processed his words.

Luca apologized.

“S-Sorry. Somehow, I felt like you would be capable of that.”

“Just where did you listen when I said I would send you back to where you belong?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

In any case, Luca nodded as if she was slightly relieved only then.

Roan looked at Usina and Sion, who were still shivering, and spoke.

“Are you not coming?”

“Well…”

“It’s just that the bead is a bit scary…”

“Exactly! What if it suddenly breaks free?!”

Roan nodded, as if he had no particular intention of persuading them.

“Then stay here. However…”

“However, what?”

Roan tapped the monocle on one of his eyes and spoke.

“Do you know why these glasses that show ghosts are in the library’s equipment storehouse?”

“…No?”

“It means there are that many ghosts in the library.”

“!!!!!!!”

The Saintess and the Saintess candidate hugged each other tightly, looking as if they were on the verge of fainting.

“Isn’t it said that the places with the most ghosts are the holy knight order, schools, and libraries? And here is the evidence.”

“Me?”

Roan spoke, gesturing toward Luca with his chin.

Although it was originally the military, schools, and hospitals, there were indeed quite a few ghosts in the Elront Grand Library.

It wasn’t really because people were dying left and right…

In any case, when Roan tried to leave with Luca without any lingering attachments, Usina and Sion only then scrambled up and followed him.

“W-Wait for me!”

“Wait for us!”

* * *

For a grudge resolution, it was natural that one had to know what kind of grudge the soul held.

However, souls rarely knew why they were wandering this place.

In fact, this could be called a systematic element to maintain the proper difficulty of the quest.

Of course, once the secret was uncovered, it could be utilized in the next playthrough or with other characters, so it was not a major obstacle.

If so, where must they go for Luca’s grudge resolution?

“Here.”

Roan brought Usina, Sion, and Luca to the Az-359 corridor on the third floor.

He then requested them to bring a few books.

“Here it is, Roan.”

“I found it too.”

“Me too.”

Since it was not a difficult task, the three quickly brought the books.

Soon, five books were gathered.

‘The History of Downward Curves and Representative Canvases Utilizing Them’

‘On the Unique Sculptural Culture of the Lebon Region’

‘A Study of Cardinal Densrop’s Painting Style’

‘The Miraculous Holy Painting Created by Ten Thousand Brushstrokes’

‘Observation of Regional Differences in Murals Popular in the World’

Roan inserted these five books into the empty bookshelf.

It was the ‘Long Live Harden’ password that he had used before.

Rumbleeee—

Just like last time, a dark stairway revealed itself on one wall of the corridor.

“””???”””

The three girls watching the scene were dumbfounded.

Not to mention Sion, Usina who was in the graduating class, and even Luca who had lived like a bound spirit in the library, none of them knew anything about this passage.

“Roan, how on earth do you know such things?”

As Usina asked, Roan replied nonchalantly.

“If you travel around diligently, you can find them.”

Usina grumbled at the insincere answer.

“I’ve been wandering around for four years…”

Next was Sion.

“But Roan, the regulations say not to enter places like stairs without permission.”

“It’s fine here. The other stairs are security devices to prevent entry here. …And haven’t you been entering them diligently with me until now?”

“Th-That is true.”

Since Roan spoke so confidently and naturally, the listener had no choice but to trust him.

The party began to descend the stairs, with Roan in the lead, followed by Usina, Sion, and Luca in that order.

The girls admired the glow stones that lit up according to their positions.

Before long, they faced the magnificent feast that appeared first.

At a glance, there was no way a feast would be prepared in such a secret place, so it was a trap, but Roan spoke just in case.

“If you touch that food, you’ll be sent straight to the principal’s office, so leave it alone.”

“Gasp! Th-That’s what it was?!”

“…”

Roan let out a sigh as he saw Usina, who was about to pick up a fork and knife.

If he hadn’t spoken, one person would have vanished into thin air.

‘How on earth did she survive until her fourth year.’

The more he thought about it, the more amazing it was.

And Sion, who was quietly backing away behind her.

She was also on the verge of rushing in, although there was a difference in timing.

Usina pointed at the note placed on the table and spoke.

“The Principal says to eat as much as we want?”

“Do you trust the Principal?”

Usina shook her head in disbelief and spoke.

“Geez, it really is a school where you can never let your guard down~ Even after attending for four years, something else comes up.”

Although that was true, wasn’t this a too easy trap?

Just then, Luca, who had only been watching quietly, spoke cautiously.

“Excuse me… isn’t this a trap no matter who looks at it?”

“W-What?!”

Usina was deeply shocked by the betrayal of Luca whom she had trusted.

Roan lamented.

‘To think the only one I can connect with in this world is a ghost!’

In any case, since they had fortunately prevented anyone from touching the feast, it was on to the next room.

There, a large collection of rare ancient books that were hard to even see outside was gathered.

Of course, touching them would immediately summon Moley and send one to the principal’s office.

“Sion, we must just pass by here too, so do not touch anything.”

“Ah… is that so?”

Sure enough, Sion, who was just about to pull out a book, flinched.

How was it that whenever he took his eyes off them even for a moment, something was on the verge of happening!

Roan fully realized if this was how it felt to leave a child near the water.

On the other hand, Usina teased Sion with a relaxed smile.

“Hey, this is obviously a trap, Sion~ How do you plan to survive in this harsh world being that naive?”

“I’m sorry… I just did it because it’s a book I’ve never seen before.”

Sion slumped her shoulders and apologized.

Roan, like the pot calling the kettle black, spoke to Usina.

“Peeking at books is better than getting caught trying to steal and eat food.”

“S-Stealing food! The Principal prepared it for us to eat!”

“Right, right, although it was a trap.”

“Hmph…”

Looking at that scene, Luca’s expression turned complicated.

‘Is it right to trust these people and entrust them with resolving my grudge?’

A lineup that didn’t look very reliable even in the eyes of a ghost who knew nothing!

But before long, Luca was able to realize one important fact.

‘Ah, originally, I just had to follow that person named Roan well, right?’

In the first place, the other two didn’t hold a particularly important weight.

In any case, after passing the bookstore, a shabby warehouse filled with cleaning tools appeared.

Usina asked with a look that suggested she had attained enlightenment.

“Roan, we naturally shouldn’t touch these either, right?”

“No, it’s fine to touch these.”

Usina glared at Roan for a moment.

Whether she did or not, Roan wiped Serena’s statue with a rag and kissed the top of her foot, just as he had done before.

“Roan, that’s dirty!”

“Right, you shouldn’t put your mouth on just anything so carelessly!”

Usina and Sion were shocked to see that and tried to stop him.

However.

Clack-clack-clack—

As the goddess statue’s head immediately spun around and a secret mechanism was revealed, they were lost for words.

“Let the most noble divinity reside in the dirtiest place.”

“Huh…? What?”

“It is a passage that anyone in the Empire’s leadership should know.”

Of course, Usina and Sion also knew the passage itself.

But even if they knew it in their heads, it was hard to actually think of kissing a statue wiped with a dirty rag.

…In the first place, a secret mechanism had to be hidden in such a place.

In any case, when Roan pressed a brick, the space beyond was revealed once again with a heavy sound.

Usina and Sion were startled at the same time.

Dark mana, so sinister that it was hard to believe it had been perfectly hidden behind a single wall, poured outside.

“W-What is beyond this?”

“Bl-Black magic…?!”

Roan thought that the two of them were reacting too sensitively.

Of course, to Roan who was a black mage, this level of dark mana was nothing.

…In fact, the dark mana inside Roan was several times thicker and stronger than this.

Usina and Sion looked at the perfectly fine Roan and asked doubtfully.

“Roan, are you really fine?”

“Even though the dark mana is this strong…”

Only then did Roan think, ‘Oops.’

‘I’ve been living a bit too comfortably lately, so I’ve slackened!’

Did he let his guard down because he had successfully passed the crisis of Lucia?

Roan frowned and let out a groan.

“Ugh… It is indeed a bit severe.”

Although he thought it was a quite satisfactory performance, Usina and Sion were not simple enough to be fooled by a subtly slow reaction.

‘He’s fine.’

‘He is indeed fine.’

But though the dark mana felt strong, there was no particularly dangerous energy.

The three people and one ghost entered the secret study of the Elront Grand Library.

“Are these all… black magic books?”

Sion looked around with wide eyes, as if she had never imagined such a place existed in the school.

“Yes, it’s mainly a place to store confiscated items.”

“Ah…”

“How fascinating.”

“As expected, since you receive Professor Kaina’s favor.”

“…Who receives Professor Kaina’s favor.”

“What? Roan, that rumor is widespread even among the fourth years~”

‘Who on earth started that?’

It was indeed typical of Acherandir, which was overflowing with false rumors.

Should he be glad that he had a plausible excuse for knowing about this place?

Although the atmosphere softened slightly, Usina and Sion only observed, not touching anything carelessly.

“But does Luca have something to do with a place like this?”

Usina asked.

Roan nodded.

“I came because there is. If you ask her directly, you’ll know.”

“Huh?”

Usina and Sion turned to Luca at the same time.

Luca, who had kept a stiff expression and hadn’t said a single word since entering this place, spoke in a low voice.

“Actually… I’m a black mage.”

“?!?!?!!!?!?!!”

Naturally, Usina, who had been getting along with her like a friend until now, was shocked out of wits.

Sion was the same.

The reason they were surprised was not without cause.

“No way!”

“I can’t feel any dark mana at all!”

There was not the slightest dark mana that should normally be felt from a black mage coming from Luca.

‘There is one more person like that, though…’

Was it just that it couldn’t be felt?

A person who felt like holy power existed!

Roan felt slightly pricked, but thought it best to just remain quiet.