Chapter 45

Elena immediately turned toward Felix with a smile.

“See? I told you it was going to be a courage test.”

He turned his head away without a word.

“Recently, there have been rumors about ghosts appearing in the academy library. I’m sure you’ve all heard of them.”

“Yes!”

“We’ve heard about it!”

The current club members responded mischievously, while the new members answered somewhat nervously.

Some of the younger students, in particular, were trembling.

“In an age of alchemy and magic, where could ghosts possibly exist? Does it make any sense for such rumors to come from Verka Academy, a place meant to nurture intellectuals?”

“That’s right.”

“And so, to prove that ghosts don’t exist, we need your help!”

The method was simple: the freshmen of each club would form groups of two or three and retrieve a designated book from the library.

It sounded straightforward, but it certainly wouldn’t be easy.

“Since it’s a courage test, there’ll probably be students dressed as ghosts scattered around.” 

Felix remarked nonchalantly. Elena agreed.

If it was a courage test, ghost costumes were a given.

“Th-that’s true.” 

She replied, her voice trembling involuntarily. It couldn’t be helped—Elena wasn’t particularly brave.

She didn’t necessarily believe in ghosts, but being startled by people in costumes was a different matter.

It would probably be scary.

As she clenched her hands tightly, Cedric asked teasingly, 

“What’s wrong, Elena? Are you scared?”

It wasn’t Elena who answered, but Felix.

“Oh, she’s hated scary things since she was little. She couldn’t sleep alone on stormy nights.”

“Hey, that was ages ago…!”

“Isn’t it still true now?”

Elena couldn’t argue. She did dislike stormy nights.

However, there was one thing Felix didn’t know. The reason she hated stormy nights wasn’t because of the flashes of lightning in the night sky or the thunder that echoed across the world.

It was because the weather on the day her mother was taken from her was exactly the same.

But this was a secret she kept even from Felix, her oldest friend, and Alice, her closest friend.

“You two seem to know each other really well.”

Thomas broke the silence with a curious tone, his expression unreadable. Both Elena and Felix frowned simultaneously.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Don’t say something so gross.”

Their strong reactions made Thomas burst into laughter.

“Aren’t you two childhood friends?”

“Childhood friends, my foot.”

“Just because you’ve known someone for a long time doesn’t mean you know them well.”

Felix and Elena replied almost in unison. Elena felt a twinge of betrayal.

‘Childhood friends, my foot’? Didn’t he call me a childhood friend when talking to Cedric before?

What had changed his mind in the meantime?

While Elena was dumbfounded, a club organizer approached them and made an announcement.

“You’re from the invention club, right? Since you’re a new club, all members must participate.”

“Yes, we understand.”

“There are five of you, so split into groups of two and three.”

Oliver glanced around nervously before sticking close to Thomas.

“I’ll go with Senior Thomas.”

“Oh, I’m all for going with Oliver!”

If Oliver joined their group, Cedric was likely to go with them too.

That would leave Elena alone with Felix, which she didn’t want.

Oddly enough, she also didn’t want Felix to go with Cedric and leave her alone. It would be too awkward.

Elena looked at Cedric with pleading eyes.

“Cedric, who are you going with?”

“Hmm…”

He moved closer to Elena and Felix.

“The three of us can go together.”

It was the outcome Elena had hoped for. Fortunately, Felix didn’t object.

“Alright, since the teams are decided, I’ll hand out the slips. Each slip has the title of the book your group needs to find. Oh, and don’t open the slip until you’re inside.”

The organizer handed one slip to Thomas and another to Felix.

Elena was tempted to sneak a peek, but the organizer’s repeated warnings made it impossible to ask.

One by one, the students headed to the library. Since the invention club was new, they were unfortunately last in line.

The five of them sat in a corner of the athletic field, watching the other students enter and return from the library.

It was quite entertaining. Some returned triumphantly with books, while others burst into tears.

Some even failed their missions entirely, running away in a panic. Those who failed were made to jump into the academy’s pond.

“That’s awful. Jumping into the pond in this weather?”

It was April, a season where the weather was gradually warming, but the nights were still chilly.

“That’s why we have to succeed. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure we find the book.”

“Thanks, Cedric. I’m counting on you.”

As they chatted, their turn finally arrived. By then, the night had grown darker, making the atmosphere even more eerie.

Oliver and Thomas went first.

When the two returned much later, their expressions were completely different. Thomas, who had skipped off excitedly, was now pale and being practically dragged back by Oliver.

“Ugh, it’s a ghost, a ghost.”

Thomas looked like he was about to throw up.

In contrast, Oliver seemed thrilled, like a child with a new toy.

“I had fun! I almost kicked one of the students dressed as a ghost out of surprise, but luckily, I didn’t.”

“Th-that’s good.”

Finally, it was Elena, Felix, and Cedric’s turn. Clinging to Felix’s arm, Elena walked toward the library.

The organizer standing at the entrance told them, 

“You can open your slip here.”

Felix unfolded the slip he had kept in his pocket. The three of them read the words written on it together—and froze.

“The Secrets of…”

Elena unconsciously muttered the title before stopping herself in shock.

“What? The Secrets of a Saint’s Private Life?”

Her face burned. Standing to her left, Cedric cleared his throat, his face slightly flushed.

Felix, too, frowned slightly, looking a bit taken aback.

Elena let out an awkward laugh. It was an obviously forced laugh, but no one pointed it out—not even Felix.

Only the organizer, watching their reactions, stifled a laugh. His face turned red for a different reason than theirs.

His behavior revealed the truth.

“They must have deliberately chosen embarrassing books for us to find.”

When Elena glared at him, the organizer composed himself and urged them on.

“Come on now, you’d better get going before it gets too late.”

Felix crumpled the slip and stuffed it into his pocket before entering first.

“Let’s go, Elena.”

Cedric gently took her wrist and led the way. Elena glanced down at his hand for a moment before quietly following.

The library was darker than usual, so they had to use flashlights to navigate.

As Felix walked ahead, scanning the shelves, he grumbled, 

“Where on earth are we supposed to find that… book? Does such a book even exist in our academy?”

“If they told us to find it, it must exist. Surely they wouldn’t make us search for something that isn’t there. They probably placed it there on purpose.”

Still, as Felix had pointed out, it was hard to know where to start. The library was organized first by subject and then alphabetically by title.

The problem was, they didn’t know the book’s subject.

“Is it under Humanities?”

“Oh, that sounds plausible.”

“Let’s start with Humanities, then.”

They headed to the Humanities section to search for the awkwardly titled book. But it wasn’t there.

“Where should we try next?”

“Let’s split up. If we stick together, we might not find it in time.”

Elena darted her eyes nervously.

“Do we really have to split up?”

“There’s no other choice. You want to get out of here as soon as possible, don’t you?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“Don’t worry, Elena. If someone tries to scare you, just use the self-defense moves I taught you.”

“Really? What if I hurt them?”

“If they get hurt, they get hurt. It’s their fault for trying to scare you.”

Cedric spoke with uncharacteristic firmness. It wasn’t particularly funny, but Elena couldn’t help laughing.

Her laughter echoed in the quiet library.

After a good laugh, her fear subsided somewhat.

“Alright. After all, they’re just people. It’s not scary. Let’s split up and search.”

They decided to divide the floors among themselves.

Cedric took the first floor, Felix the second, and Elena headed to the third.

‘Where should I go?’

Elena pondered for a moment before deciding to start with the nearest section. It was the literature section.

“The Rabbit Who Found the Sacred Relic, Saint Esna’s Festival Gift, The Saint’s….”

She diligently searched, shining her flashlight over the shelves. Just then, she felt a presence behind her. Before she could react, someone whispered in her ear.

“Did you come alone? Should I help you?”

When she turned around slightly, she was met with a pair of glowing red eyes. As their gazes met, the person grinned, revealing blackened teeth.

“How do you like my face? Isn’t it pretty?”