Chapter 19: School Ghost Story
We are holding something like a magic flashlight, and the three of us are walking around the dark school grounds. I feel a little lonely walking in silence, so I try to talk to Jun.
“They open it all day and it’s okay to collect it… I wonder if that’s really enough to maintain the greenhouse environment? Won’t it mean that all the plants will be taken away?”
“It’s a facility open to students of agriculture and botany, so if it’s for research, they won’t just collect it, they’ll put effort into cultivating it, and even if they collect it for financial gain, they’ll be tracked down, so most students don’t want to drop out of the school they went to so much trouble to get into.”
I see, it depends on the students’ good sense. Also, to enter this school, you need to study a lot for the entrance exam. I myself had an excellent tutor, Secreta-san, and spent most of my day studying, and I’ve been doing that for a year. Even if there are differences in individual ability, it requires a lot of effort. It’s not worth wasting that effort on something like a plant.
“Besides, there are a lot of students majoring in agriculture or botany who are stuck there to do research on cultivation. It’s hard for outsiders to come and do whatever they want.”
Jun, who is majoring in pharmacology, seems to be getting the benefits.
“Hey… I’ve heard some strange rumors about that.”
Neese, who had been silent and had an anxious look on her face until now, speaks up.
“Rumors?”
I was alone and ignorant of rumors until I got to know the two of them, so I asked Neese.
“Once upon a time, on a tropical summer night, a certain student was doing research on plant growth in that greenhouse, but she was locked in the greenhouse as a form of harassment, and she kept screaming all night long, ‘Let me out! Help me!’ But no one came to her aid, and she was finally found dead from heat stroke in the morning… Since then, a female student has been seen calling for help and banging on the glass in the greenhouse at night…”
It seems like a typical school ghost story, but there are many things to point out.
“If the greenhouse was made of glass windows, why didn’t she smash them out?”
“Oh, that’s because glass is expensive and they can’t pay for it, and if even one piece breaks, the greenhouse loses its effectiveness and the research results are ruined, so she didn’t break it.”
Jun answers my question.
“But the school has holy magic classes, so someone just needs to exorcise it, right?”
This world has magic, and spirits and fairies like Leaf really exist. Unlike the world where spirits like Reiko from her previous life cannot be seen and psychics are rare, here psychic-like abilities are systematized as techniques in the form of holy magic, so why are things like schoolgirl ghosts scary?
“Not everyone takes holy magic classes and can use it, so maybe it’s a bit of a hassle if someone who can’t use holy magic encounters one?”
Jun’s way of saying it sounds like she’s meeting a troublesome person, not like she’s encountering something mysterious.
“That’s right… physical attacks don’t work on them… they go right through your body, after all…”
I don’t think it’s right to be scared just because Neese’s punches don’t work.
It seems like people in this world are more scared of spirits than they are of unknown, mysterious things, like encountering a vermin…I’m not really getting it.
“Well, it’s not something you encounter that often, so I don’t think it’s scary, Neese. Look, I can see it.”
Jun pointed out as we rounded the corner of the school building. There was a greenhouse the size of a gymnasium, completely made of glass, and the inside was lit up, perhaps using magical lights, and it gave a sense of security, as if we had found the light of a convenience store on a late-night street.
“It’s true that there’s light, so maybe it’s not that scary…”
Neese’s eyebrows widen a little.
“Besides, there are lots of people there, so it’s okay.”
Eh? People?
“You’re right… there are lots of people… Ah! But Jun! Over there!! Look over there!!”
Neese shouted, pointing to a corner of the greenhouse.
“That girl over there is looking at us and knocking on the glass window!! Maybe that girl is a ghost…”
I can definitely see the figure of a girl tapping on the glass where Neese is pointing. However, I can’t see the many figures that Jun and Neese were talking about, all I can see is the figure of a girl tapping on the glass.
Shivers…
At that moment, a fierce chill runs down my spine.
“HYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
A tremendous scream echoes from behind me.
“Ehh!? Rachel-sa…ma! Wait, what is this!!”
A small ball of light flies towards Jun and Neese, who turn back to me. It’s Leaf.
“Hey!! Leaf!! What’s wrong!! In front of other people!!”
“Something came out! Something came out!!!”
Leaf screams and hides behind Jun and Neese.
“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiih!!!!”
Then, this time from the greenhouse, a scream like a death throes echoes.
“What!? What now! What’s that voice!?”
Jun turns back to the greenhouse.
“The figures… the numerous human figures inside are all gone…”
Neese, trembling with fear at the disappearance of the figures and at Leaf’s presence, clings to Jun.
The two of them said they saw many figures inside the greenhouse, and then Neese said that the figures disappeared. However, I didn’t see any figures, and from start to finish, all I could see was the figure of a girl tapping on the glass.
The girl also crumbles to the ground, like a puppet whose strings have been cut.
As soon as I see this, I run to the greenhouse.
“Wait, Rachel-sama!! What do we do with this fairy!”
Jun chases after me as I run off, holding Leaf in her arms.
“Wait! Don’t leave me behind!”
Neese chases after Jun, crying as she clings to him.
I reach the greenhouse, open the door, and immediately run over to the girl who has collapsed.
“Hey!! Are you okay!? Are you okay!?”
I pick up the girl with blue pigtails, who is wearing work clothes instead of a uniform, and call out to her.
“Uhh…”
The girl in work clothes lets out a cry in response to my voice.
“Hey! Can you hear me? I’m okay now!”
I call out to her again, and the girl in work clothes begins to open her eyes slightly.
“Don’t worry, everything’s okay now, there’s nothing here.”
I smile and speak to her gently to reassure her. The girl then clung to me, sobbing like a child.
“Ahh! It was scary! It was so scary! So many strange things came out and I couldn’t get out, it was really scary.”
I patted her on the back to comfort her.
Just then, Jun and Neese, who had been chasing after me, came up to me late.
“… Uh, so this girl is a normal human being…”
Jun spoke, looking down at the girl in work clothes with a slightly stiff face.
“So that means… Those shadows I saw at first were ghosts? Aaaaah!”
Neese screamed as she realized what had happened.
And so we experienced the legendary ghost story.
