Surviving in a School of Ghost Stories

Chapter 31

 

Father Cesario.

It’s a name I’ve heard from Erica before. The very person she mentioned, the student council advisor and Father Miela’s nemesis.

The student council president, that is, senior Noah, said that and slowly closed his eyes. His whole body was burning hot.

Could he have sepsis from the wound?

I became urgent and supported senior Noah as I stood up.

Caw— Caw—

I could see trees standing tall amidst the ruined graveyard.

Carrying senior Noah on my back, I walked and walked through the dark forest.

I looked up at the sky. The clouds were clearing up.

I think I missed class. Is that okay? Absent on the second day of admission.

But with the student council president here, it should work out somehow.

I don’t plan to be diligent in school life anyway. Still, I should be careful enough not to get expelled.

Scrape— Scrape—

Senior Noah’s feet were dragging on the ground, but there was nothing I could do. This was my best effort.

I gritted my teeth. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. I was also worried that moving him like this might worsen his wound and make a mess.

Look. He’s asleep.

He’s asleep.

Move before he wakes up.

Now’s your chance. He’s asleep.

I heard voices whispering from somewhere. I looked around, startled.

Whoosh—

Only the sound of dense bushes swaying in the wind could be heard.

What was that? Did I mishear?

I stood still, listening for sounds. But I heard nothing more.

Finally, I decided to hurry on. There was no time to waste with senior Noah severely injured.

Fortunately, the small chapel he mentioned soon came into view.

A little distance from the chapel, a tall wall along with a huge old castle also appeared.

 

“Be careful of doors and mirrors. If a door somewhere is open, you should always close it. Miss Hastings, you need to be especially careful.”

 

I had come from Chesswind Village to Saint Gloria Private School in one breath by opening a door.

But this time, it seems I came out to a cabin outside the school by opening the main door of the hospital inside Saint Gloria Private School.

I resolved to be extremely thorough with door security from now on.

I stood in front of the chapel.

In fact, I was still confused about whether I might be dreaming. Can I, in my current state, distinguish what’s real and what’s fake?

Am I going crazy after hearing the news of Raven’s death? This might actually be the most plausible explanation.

I caught my breath while supporting senior Noah in front of the small chapel.

The chapel was very quiet.

At the entrance, there was a statue of Sister Gloria with prayer candles lit in front of it.

Despite being in a remote location, it seems there are devotees who visit here as well.

Since the main school students used the chapel inside the school, these were probably villagers.

I took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a moment, the door opened.

The first thing I noticed was the messy brown hair, like that of a beast.

Maybe thirty-five years old?

The red eyes of the priest wearing a black cassock felt somewhat eerie.

“I’m here to see Father Cesario.”

The priest furrowed his brow as he looked at me and the student council president on my back.

“I’ve been waiting. It’s more serious than expected.”

He was waiting?

As I was puzzled, a cat walked out from under the priest’s feet. It looked like Blackie, but now its eyes were yellow instead of blue.

Meow.

Blackie meowed as if pleased. It looked like a very ordinary cat.

It makes sense that it would be an ordinary cat now since senior Noah doesn’t need to borrow Blackie’s body at the moment.

It seems that when senior Noah borrows Blackie’s body, its eyes turn blue.

After briefly sending a welcoming glance towards Blackie, I asked the priest again.

“Are you Father Cesario?”

“Hmm.”

“Senior Noah said if I came here and found Father Cesario, he would help.”

The priest scrutinized my face with narrowed eyes. Does he not believe me?

I sighed and added,

“What? Do you think I’m trying to harm or kidnap this person?”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“Your eyes spoke first.”

“Reading eyes, that’s an interesting talent.”

“If we keep talking, this person might die. Can you please find Father Cesario for us?”

“I am Cesario.”

I wasn’t surprised. I had expected this from his nitpicking.

Father Cesario strode over and lifted senior Noah from my back.

“Follow me. Close the door behind you.”

Father Cesario carried the senior through the main chapel to the prayer room.

Holding the lantern the priest gave me, I scanned the dark corridor frequently.

Seeing me do this, the priest smiled and said,

“There are none of those here. Don’t worry.”

By ‘those’, the priest clearly meant evil spirits. He seemed to have immediately noticed what I was afraid of and worried about.

The priest eventually led us to a small prayer room.

“It’s better to talk in the prayer room. It’s safe here.”

I set the lantern down inside the prayer room.

Watching me, the priest said,

“I was unsure after hearing from Noah, but you really are a seer. Well, thanks to you, the Chesswind ghost story is over. It seems they all wanted to protect you. Anyway, you’ve been through a lot, so take a breather now.”

“Protect me? From what?”

“From the evil spirits in this school.”

The priest answered as he unfolded a cot in the prayer room. He laid senior Noah on it and rummaged through some medicines.

‘Why is it so cold?’

I shivered, feeling a chill. It felt like cold air was constantly leaking in from somewhere.

‘Is it the ceiling?’

I looked up at the ceiling. There was stained glass, but one piece was missing.

“Ah, a piece of glass fell out. I forgot to put it back. Sorry about that. If you’re cold, cover yourself with this.”

Father Cesario handed me a blanket and lit a fire.

I don’t understand why it’s so cold even though it’s late summer.

I wrapped myself in the blanket and used matches on the side table to light the candles placed in the prayer room.

“Father, what does it mean to have ‘seeing eyes’? Eyes that see ghosts?”

“That’s right. People with eyes that see ghosts are rare. Even Noah can’t see them with his naked eye, but you see them effortlessly as if it’s normal, don’t you? Such people are rare unless they’re clergy.”

I never expected to hear about ghosts from a priest’s mouth.

I’ve been experiencing strange things since coming back to the past, but this reality is still unwelcome.

I just wanted to save Raven, who would have thought I’d get tangled up with ghosts?

“Thanks to you, the ghost story of the Forgotten Ones’ Cemetery is over. It seems you were their medium? As I said before, it looks like they desperately wanted to protect you, Melody. This is the first time I’ve seen a case like this.”

I couldn’t say anything in response to the priest’s words.

The people of Chesswind Village weren’t human, but they genuinely cared for me.

When escaping from the ghost story, I was terrified, but during our time together, I truly liked them too.

So in the end, my final emotion towards them was sympathy.

‘May they rest in peace.’

I sincerely hope so.

🐈‍⬛

Thank you for reading! ♡