“...A ghost?”
Leaving Professor Ran, who had narrowed her eyes and fallen into thought, behind, I saw Professor Jan slightly part her lips and ask back, as if the claim that I had met a ghost was absurd.
“According to Student Jin Prah, all of you met a ghost who introduced himself as Jude?”
“Yes, and we followed that ghost, as if bewitched, when he led us to a hidden room in Academia.”
“...”
As if I were an innocent victim, I scattered a pleading look toward the professors, starting with Professor Jan, begging them to believe me.
Then I felt a weak tug on my sleeve from beneath the table, and when I turned my head, Isil was looking at me with eyes that asked if this was really all right.
She couldn’t ask aloud, but her gaze clearly meant, It’s true we met Jude, but wasn’t following him entirely our own choice?
I firmly nodded at the worried Isil as if to reassure her.
It’s fine, Isil. Lies are originally made by mixing in just a little bit on top of the truth.
It was true that we met Jude.
And it was true that we followed him into a hidden space.
In between, Jude hadn’t particularly brainwashed or hypnotized us into forcibly following him, but what did that matter?
The cause and the result were the same.
While I was thinking that and looking around at the professors, hiding my confident expression, words suddenly slipped out of Professor Jan’s mouth.
“...I cannot believe Student Jin Prah’s words.”
“...Why not?”
Did she figure it out? That we’d followed Jude simply out of curiosity?
“Academia undergoes a purification once every year. This year’s purification was completed one month before you all arrived as well.”
“That... what do you mean by purification?”
“Ah. First-years wouldn’t know yet. Mm, to put it simply, it is a process led by the Church to purify things like ghosts and evil spirits. It is the natural order for the dead to return to God, but there remain throughout the Empire those who, because of dreams they could not fulfill in life, grudges, or matters of love and obsession, remain as ghosts even after death. Forcibly returning such beings to God’s embrace is what we call purification.”
“Ah... so you’re saying that since the purification had already been completed, you cannot believe that we met a ghost?”
“That’s right. In particular, this year’s purification was conducted under the lead of a veteran in that field. I doubt that someone who has exorcised countless ghosts would miss one.”
“...No, Professor Jan. It is possible.”
“Yes?”
Professor Ran, who had remained silent until now, denied Professor Jan’s assumption and looked at me.
“Students, the ghost you met introduced himself as your senior, did he not?”
“Mm, that’s right.”
“...Yes.”
“Huh? He did.”
When all of us nodded in affirmation at Professor Ran’s question, she let out a faint sigh and wore an expression that said she had expected as much.
“Phew... This year’s first-years are extraordinary as well. Though the seeds of aether sensitivity have not fully sprouted yet, you have already encountered a mystic disaster.”
“...A mystic disaster? Professor Ran?”
“Professor Jan, what these students encountered was not a ‘ghost.’ It was a ‘phenomenon.’ Therefore, no matter how much purification is done, that existence cannot be erased.”
“Yes?”
“To put it simply, these students experienced a story that contains aether.”
Professor Jan cleared her throat to explain for a moment, drawing the attention of those around her.
“Professor Jian, since you are an authority on relics, you should understand what I am trying to say. There are relics that produce a similar effect, are there not? For instance, one that causes the person who touches the relic to be drawn into its story.”
“That is correct! There do exist several powerful relics with effects that match what Professor Ran is explaining now.”
“Mm. Then, Professor Jian, please explain my words in a way that those less familiar with the field can understand more easily.”
“Understood!”
Professor Ran took her gaze off Professor Jian and spoke to us.
“From the moment you entered Academia’s main gate, you were likely already caught up in a mystic disaster.”
“What exactly is a mystic disaster?”
At Hwa Ryeong’s question, Professor Ran thought for a moment before opening her mouth.
“To put it simply, shall we call it a phenomenon in which one is forcibly made to participate in a powerful story? Professor Jian?”
“Yes! In other words, by analogy, one could say that the students here were forcibly made to participate in a play! A mystic disaster is a phenomenon in which a story that resonates with aether takes concrete form.”
Perhaps feeling that the previous explanation was insufficient, Professor Jian stroked his mustache once and began to explain slowly.
“The point is that you may think you met the ghost Jude, but the truth is that you came into contact with the story in which the ghost Jude appears. That is why no matter how much purification is performed, the ghost Jude does not disappear! That existence is a character appearing in the mystic disaster, so unless the mystic disaster is resolved, even if he is killed, he will come back to life again and again!”
At Professor Jian’s explanation, Isil wrapped her arms around her head and muttered.
“...My head hurts.”
“Ah, as expected, without knowledge of mysticism, it would be difficult to understand even after hearing the explanation. I understand!”
“...If I’ve understood correctly.”
Step.
At that moment, Professor Osil, who had been standing by the wall, approached the large round table where we were seated without hiding his tired expression.
“Can we think of it as the students here having been forced to participate in an extremely realistic play?”
“Oh! That is correct, Professor Osil! Of course, a mystic disaster is a phenomenon far more realistic than a play! If you die within the story of a mystic disaster, you die for real!”
As if pleased that his explanation had been understood, Professor Jian smiled, and Professor Jan, seated beside him, nodded as well and said,
“...In other words, the ghost Jude is merely a character appearing in that play, not a ghost that exists in reality.”
“That is correct. That is why the students emerged from a wall where there was no space at all! And that is why no matter how much the professors searched, they could not find you!”
“...Wait. We definitely fell through a hole in the floor when the ghost Jude raised the handle and came out into the auditorium. Then does that hole not actually exist?”
“Until the mystic disaster is resolved, it would be a hole that actually exists! If the mystic disaster is resolved, it will disappear like a mirage!”
Uh... so if I compared Professor Jian’s words to knowledge from my previous life, a mystic disaster was like an instance dungeon that appeared in the field?
When you wander around the field, a dungeon appears, and when a character enters that dungeon and clears it, the dungeon disappears and spits out rewards, so isn’t it roughly similar?
No, more importantly, stories could resonate with aether too?
“Then how can that mystic disaster be resolved? Do we just grab the mystic disaster and smash it?”
Hwa Ryeong clenched her fist tightly and asked with an expression that said she would go smash it right away if only they gave the order.
At that, Professor Ran shook her head as if telling her to calm down and opened her mouth toward Hwa Ryeong.
“A mystic disaster cannot be eliminated by force... Of course, there are exceptional people, but they do not apply to the current situation, so let us move on. The most certain and safest way to resolve a mystic disaster is to see the story through to its conclusion.”
“...The story’s conclusion?”
“Yes. The only character you met was the ghost Jude, correct?”
“Yes. Other than that existence, no other figures appeared.”
“Then the story related to that ghost Jude must be brought to an end in some way. Whether by helping that existence pass on within the mystic disaster, or by doing something that satisfies that existence.”
In other words, to clear the dungeon called a mystic disaster, complete the quest, huh.
Since the mystic disaster itself cannot be physically removed from the outside, she’s saying we have to experience the mystic disaster and clear it.
It was interesting, almost like the gates that appear in hunter novels.
“...Do we absolutely have to do something that satisfies him?”
“That is the best option for resolving the mystic disaster you are currently experiencing! Of course, if that existence were not a ghost but a living person, there would be various methods, but a ghost is already a dead being! The methods available to us are quite limited!”
“...Ghosts are pitiful beings bound to a single event from their lives. Granting what the ghost wants will likely give you a much higher chance of resolving it in many ways.”
Clap!
Once the professors finished speaking, Professor Ran clapped her hands and refreshed the atmosphere.
“Very well. I will acknowledge that what you experienced was an unavoidable incident.”
“Oh.”
“However, it is still true that you were late to the entrance ceremony under any circumstances. Many students already witnessed that situation. So if we let this pass as if nothing happened, there will be many students who feel our professors’ instructions are unfair during their future life at Academia.”
“Ah... pardon?”
When I asked back with an expression of disbelief at Professor Ran’s follow-up, every professor nodded along with her words.
“Therefore, I will offer a compromise. Student Jin Prah, Student Hwa Ryeong, and Student Isil.”
“Yes.”
“Only the three of you will begin your ‘midterm exam’ separately, starting now. If you resolve this mystic disaster before the final exam, I will, at my discretion, grant you full marks for your midterm.”
Professor Ran looked at Professor Jugin with eyes that asked, That is all right, yes?
“I have no objection. Their fundamentals are already solid, so they would have received full marks on the Combat Department’s midterm, which only checks physical stamina, anyway.”
“Good. Then, as there are no objections, we will conclude this year’s first student interrogation.”
Bang, bang, bang.
The discussion ended along with a sound in my mind that felt as if Professor Ran would have struck a gavel if she had been holding one.
...No, what about our opinions?