Not the Villainess, but the Maid

Chapter 33: This Isn't a Pajama Party. It's a Training Camp. (2)

Coral began her story while holding a lamp in her hands.

"This is a story passed down within this academy…"

It is said that there once stood a nameless statue of a girl in the backyard of the Magic Academy.

The statue, neglected for years without proper care, became the subject of rumors among the students.

"There was a rumor that if you visited the statue in the dead of night, you could hear it crying."

At that, Ruby asked back, seemingly puzzled.

"Crying?"

"Yes. Many students claimed to have heard the statue sobbing."

Nicknamed the "Weeping Statue," it became a popular destination for students testing their courage.

However, as the rumors faded and the statue was increasingly overgrown, the story shifted.

A rare typhoon struck the academy, and a lightning bolt shattered the face of the statue.

"Since the statue lost its face, it hasn't made a sound even once."

Gradually, the statue faded from the students' memories, only surviving through fragmented stories.

Coral’s tale of the Weeping Statue ended there.

‘Was there really a statue like that in the backyard?’

Now that I thought about it, I might have seen something like it in passing…

Her story raised one question in my mind.

"Coral. You said the face of the statue was destroyed, right?"

"Yeah. It got hit by lightning, and that part was blown away."

"If the sound came from a ghost in the statue, wouldn’t it still be able to cry even without a face?"

A ghost making noises wouldn’t necessarily need a mouth. That was my innocent reasoning.

"Now that you mention it, you’re right. Hold on, let me ask."

‘Ask? Ask who…?’

Coral briefly turned her head and whispered something.

"Who were you talking to just now, Coral?"

"The one in question is here with us. So, I asked them."

"I-I see…"

After exchanging words with the unseen presence for a while, Coral finally spoke.

"I found out, Amber."

"What did the ghost say?"

"They just got tired of scaring students. It has nothing to do with the statue being broken."

The truth was unexpectedly mundane.

Still, I never imagined I’d hear an explanation directly from a ghost.

I shivered, instinctively moving closer to Ruby.

The thought that a ghost was actually here listening to us made my skin crawl.

Ruby, who had been silently listening to the whole story, shook her head calmly.

"I don’t believe in ghosts. Those are just fabrications made up by people."

That seemed like a typical response, but I couldn’t help but ask while looking at Ruby's pajamas.

"Then what about that 'Sasquatch' you mentioned earlier, miss? Isn’t that also a fabrication?"

"Sasquatch is a monster. That’s different from ghosts. It’s real."

"…"

I wanted to argue but decided not to engage in such a pointless debate with her.

That was when it happened.

—Whoosh.

The flame inside the lantern placed in the center of the blanket suddenly went out.

There hadn’t been any wind, and the lantern, filled with oil, extinguished on its own.

‘Could it be that the ghost is reacting to our conversation…?’

Was it expressing indignation after someone denied its existence?

Unlike me, who was startled, Ruby calmly picked up the lantern and relit it.

"This lantern’s useless."

As she casually relit it, the wall lamps in the library started acting up.

—Flicker, flicker.

The lights illuminating the library began to blink erratically before all going out at once.

"…!"

Eventually, even the lantern in the middle went out completely, making it obvious that something serious was happening.

With only darkness surrounding us, Coral seemed to sense the situation and spoke with a troubled expression.

"It seems the ghost is really upset with you, Ruby. If you don’t apologize soon…”

Despite her suggestion, Ruby nonchalantly picked up the lantern again.

"These things are all coincidences. There’s no such thing as ghosts."

With a snap of her fingers, the lantern lit up again with a clear flame.

"See? Now we can see clearly."

Whoosh.

The lantern's light went out again, as if waiting for the right moment.

"…"

Sweat formed on my forehead.

It seemed like we had really provoked the ghost.

I looked at Ruby with an uneasy expression and spoke.

"Just in case, why don’t you say a quick apology, miss…?"

"I told you, Amber. There’s no such thing as ghosts. This is just an extremely rare natural phenomenon."

I’d never heard of a natural phenomenon where 12 lanterns went out simultaneously.

Ruby stubbornly relit the lantern every time it went out.

"Maybe the lantern’s just old?"

At this point, it looked like Ruby and the ghost were competing over the lantern.

As soon as the light went out, she lit it again.

And as it went out again, she relit it.

The competition escalated to the point where the library began to shake, causing books to fall from the shelves.

—Thud thud.

"Miss, I don’t think this is okay anymore…!"

"It’s fine. It’s just a simple earthquake."

Since when did earthquakes become a simple matter?

To make things worse, a strange sobbing sound started to echo around us.

"Sniff… sniff…"

It was a sound unmistakably human, resonating clearly throughout the building.

I clung to Coral in shock and yelled at Ruby.

"It’s a real ghost! The Weeping Girl!"

"It’s just the wind."

"What kind of wind sounds like that?!"

The sobbing grew louder and louder until it was the only thing we could hear.

"Sniff… sob…!"

—Swish.

"…Huh?"

Just when I thought we were doomed, the shaking suddenly stopped as if it had all been a lie.

The extinguished lanterns lit up one by one, and the fallen books returned to their places.

Ruby turned to us with a calm face and said.

"See? I told you. It’s all just coincidence. There are no such things as ghosts."

Her indifference was almost awe-inspiring.

"…"

I turned to Coral, whose face seemed uneasy, and asked.

"What’s wrong? Why did the ghost stop?"

"…It’s trembling."

"Trembling? The ghost is?"

"Yeah. It said it’s never encountered someone this scary before…"

With that, Ruby had proven in spectacular fashion that no ghost could overcome her.

Though she’d probably never realize it since she didn’t believe in ghosts in the first place.

Once the commotion finally settled down, I tried to lighten the mood.

"Why don’t we take a break from the scary stories and have some tea and snacks? It feels like the atmosphere could use some cheering up."

Coral nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I think that’s a good idea."

Ruby seemed a little disappointed, but I insisted we stop, fearing she might anger another ghost.

I gently placed a tray of tea and snacks in front of them.

Knowing full well how my cookies turned out today, I had brought the leftovers of the ones Diana had made last time.

Though it stung a bit, Diana’s cookies were definitely better than mine in texture and aroma.

As we chatted over the snacks, I brought up an idea.

"Sleeping now feels a bit boring. How about we play a game?"

Ruby blinked at the mention of a game and asked.

"A game?"

When I used to share a room with others at camps, what did we play again…

"For example… truth or dare?"

Both of them looked at me with curious eyes.

"Truth or dare… I’ve never heard of that. How do you play it?"

I guess there wasn’t such a game in this world.

"It’s simple. We take turns asking each other questions. The person asked has to answer truthfully without lying."

After hearing the explanation, Ruby seemed unimpressed.

"That’s strange. Why would that be hard? It’s just answering honestly."

Unlike Ruby, Coral seemed quite excited.

“This sounds fun! Let’s do it right away.”

I stopped her as she was about to start on her own.

“Wait a moment. It won’t be as fun if we just play it like that. Let’s set a penalty.”

Thinking about what would make a good penalty, I stood up from my seat.

‘Ah, I forgot I had these.’

I spotted my failed cookies piled high on the tea cabinet, unsure of how to get rid of them, and placed them all on a plate.

“Every time someone can’t answer a question, they’ll have to eat one of these.”

It felt a little sad to use my creations as punishment, but at least they’d have a purpose this way.

“Shall I start, then?”

“...Okay.”

I thought it would be better to start with a relatively mild question.

“I’ll ask the miss first. Ruby, what are you most afraid of?”

I wasn’t sure if there was anything Ruby feared, so I decided to ask.

After pondering for a moment, she gave an unexpected answer.

“…Family.”

‘Family…?’

I tilted my head at her surprising response.

Someone who wasn’t scared of ghosts or monsters was afraid of family?

Ruby didn’t elaborate further and quickly shifted the topic.

“Can I ask now?”

“…Ah, yes. It’s your turn.”

“I’ll ask Coral. What’s the most memorable book you’ve read?”

It was a pretty safe question.

Coral answered without much hesitation.

“For me, it’s The Red Fox and the Blue Peacock. I liked how it captured the complex emotional dynamics between the characters.”

“Hmm, I see.”

The questions so far didn’t feel much like a traditional game of truth or dare.

Back in my world, it was considered a spicy and daring game, but since we avoided asking risky questions, it proceeded without any major issues.

“Now it’s my turn to ask.”

Finally, it was Coral’s turn, and she pointed at Ruby.

“I’ll ask Ruby.”

“Okay. Go ahead.”

“Um… Ruby…”

Coral hesitated, her gaze flickering as she fidgeted with her hands, before softly asking.

“…Have you ever had romantic feelings for someone of the same sex?”

Her question was followed by a long, heavy silence.