The Conjurer of the Academy

Chapter 56

【Like the towering Babel Tower, let us grow endlessly but remain humble, keeping in mind the ideals of the Babel Festival. Now, everyone, be careful and stay safe so no one gets hurt.】

The principal’s address echoed from the monitor. On the first day of the festival, the opening ceremony was simplified due to class preparations and crowd control for external visitors.

“Hey, move that over here.”

It was the same for Class 1-B.

“Where should I move it?”

“Towards the back door!”

Carrying the prop I was handed, I headed towards the back door. The entire class, including myself, felt busy and bustling.

The window was open, allowing light to stream in, but once the event started, the entire classroom would be shrouded in darkness.

That’s because we covered the walls and props with black paper. Inside, it would be hard to see anything except the guide lights on the floor.

Above the panel labeled ‘1-B’ was the sign “Haunted House,” and the entire classroom exterior was coated with black paint and blood-like stains.

At the front door, a student dressed as an egg ghost stood prepared to greet the visitors, holding a sign that read “Entrance Fee: 3,000￦.”

‘This outfit is so cumbersome with its long hemline.’

The long white gown I wore dragged on the floor, making it easy to trip if I wasn’t careful.

【Now, let’s begin the festival.】

With the announcement marking the start of the festival, the broadcast ended. I placed the prop down and looked out the back window towards the school grounds.

‘The crowd’s insane.’

The school grounds were packed with peddlers and external visitors, leaving no room to step. Amidst the hustle, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face in my peripheral vision.

‘It’s chaotic from the very first day.’

Among the peddlers, I could see Seo Geum-bi and several members of the Disciplinary Committee. Judging by the documents they were holding, they seemed to be checking the permits of the peddlers.

Normally, I would be there with them, but…

“Everyone, in 10 minutes, Class 1-B’s Haunted House event will begin!”

I had my hands full here, so I couldn’t spare any attention for that side.

[Order Score: 970]

Because of the incident that day, maintaining a perfect score was out of the question. But there was no need to worry; as long as I kept the score above 800, I could secure the highest rewards.

[Accumulated Popularity: 0]

And now commenced the fierce three-day competition for popularity, starting today.

“Everyone, move to your positions!”

The students dressed as ghosts moved one by one to their designated spots.

The haunted house wasn’t an event option in the original game. Therefore, the only way to increase popularity here was to put in the best effort possible.

‘Alright, let’s give it our all.’

Determined to be the best maiden ghost, I quickly moved to my assigned position.

* * *

The setup of the haunted house is surprisingly straightforward. An usher collects the admission fee from visitors and guides them through the front door. They follow the floor-mounted, arrow-shaped guide lights and exit through the back door.

A maximum of two teams can enter at staggered intervals, and if anyone really needs to exit midway…

“Give me back my leg, my leg!”

“Aaaaah!”

“It’s, it’s a ghost!”

My turn was almost at the end.

Hiding inside a well-shaped prop, I could hear the screams, presumably from two female students, near the front door.

“I want to leave…”

“If you wish to exit halfway, please come this way.”

Right after someone declared they wanted to leave, a staff member guided them out.

This was the general flow of how the haunted house operated.

[Accumulated Popularity: 108]

We achieved an accumulated popularity score of 108 in just an hour. Considering the maximum score is 1,000, this was an impressive result.

“Aaaaah!”

“P-please save me!”

Surprisingly, few teams made it to the later stages. Either the makeup at the front was that intense, or everyone was putting their heart and soul into their roles, causing many teams to exit midway.

‘At this rate, we might reach our goal in just one day.’

If we hit our targeted score, I might be able to focus on Disciplinary Committee duties for the rest of the festival.

[Heh, what’s so scary about this? If we’re talking about fright, I’m five thousand times scarier than this.]

Yomi grumbled. Apparently, Yomi couldn’t stand people screaming at something as simple as makeup.

“Who would be scared of you in that form?”

[This is because I temporarily lost my spiritual power! In my true form, I am—]

“We’re not strangers. You don’t need to explain.”

[You impudent brat!]

Yomi stomped her front paws.

As I watched that trivial scene, I heard the voices of a new couple approaching from the front.

“Give me back my leg, my leg!”

“Why would I have your leg? Did you leave it with me?”

“You shouldn’t talk to your friend like that!”

They seemed like a really troublesome pair. I decided to scare them just enough.

“Maiden ghost in Sector 7, please be on standby. They will arrive in one minute.”

The voice of the monitoring staff came through the earphones in my ear.

“Shh.”

I placed my index finger against my lips towards Yomi. It was almost my turn to act. I adjusted the position of the wig on my head and crouched down inside the well.

Click.

I pressed the button installed inside the well, releasing a large amount of smoke through the gaps.

‘All set.’

From the outside, it would look like fog was emanating from the well.

“This place is too scary… Can’t we just leave?”

“You’re such a big guy; why are you so scared?”

Their voices drew closer.

‘Wait a minute, that voice is…’

Just then, the sensor on the floor lit up. Designed to activate upon sensing pressure, the sensor illuminated to indicate that the targets had reached the designated area to be scared.

Whoosh

A large amount of smoke billowed out as I made my entrance.

“I can’t die alone…”

Reciting my scripted line, I peeked out from the well, only to lock eyes with a familiar face.

“Seol Ha-baek?”

A girl with red hair and sharp eyes. Instead of being frightened by the ghost, she looked like she could scare away the ghost herself…

“Pfft! Hey, Han Yu-seong. Come look at this. Seol Ha-baek is cross-dressing!”

I twisted my lips at Shin Seo-ha, who started insulting me like a senior in the military as soon as we met.

“Damn it.”

* * *

“Puhahaha, cross-dressing, seriously? I’m dying here, my stomach!”

Once it was time for the shift change, the first to greet me was Shin Seo-ha, laughing hysterically.

“Don’t be so harsh. It actually suits you well!”

“Stop it. That’s even more insulting.”

Standing next to her was Han Yu-seong. As much as I wanted to knock them both over, I decided to hold back since I’d undoubtedly lose.

“What brings you here?”

“Why do you think? We were curious about what your class was doing, so we came to check it out.”

“Thanks for the laugh.”

Shin Seo-ha wiped the tears from her eyes with her index finger.

“Is that so…”

I was already wondering what to do with my free time, but I’ve just made up my mind.

‘I’ll make sure to return the favor.’

I decided to invest my spare time in humiliating these two.

“When is your turn for your class event?”

“Uh…”

At my question, the laughter disappeared from Shin Seo-ha’s face.

“Oh, about that. We actually need to head in now—”

“Wait a second!”

Shin Seo-ha clamped her hand over Han Yu-seong’s mouth. Clearly flustered, her ears turned bright red.

“You wouldn’t actually come to our class, would you?”

“You came to mine, so why can’t I go to yours?”

“When are you coming?”

“I was just about to go now.”

Shin Seo-ha crossed her arms and waved her hands dismissively.

“Haha! I’m in the slot after the next, so if you want revenge, come then—”

“That’s strange. Seo-ha, aren’t we in the same slot?”

Shin Seo-ha shot a sharp glare at Han Yu-seong.

“You clueless idiot!”

“Ouch! I just thought you got the schedule mixed up…”

Han Yu-seong pouted after getting hit.

“Anyway, we’ll be going now, Ha-baek.”

“Seol Ha-baek, if you come, I’ll kill you!”

Han Yu-seong grabbed the scruff of Shin Seo-ha’s neck as she stormed off back to their class.

‘By the way, senior is late.’

Seo Geum-bi, who had promised to come, was nowhere to be seen, and only unwanted visitors were showing up.

“Maybe she’s really busy.”

Seo Geum-bi had mentioned that she would be free in the morning after checking the peddlers’ permits on the first day. But now, as lunchtime approached, she still hadn’t appeared.

‘Things don’t always go as planned.’

There must be a reason why Seo Geum-bi was running late. Not thinking much of it, I headed toward Class 1-A.

* * *

“Let’s see.”

I entered the class to the sound of a bell tinkling. Unlike the haunted house, the exterior was decorated simply in a café style, while the interior followed a medieval Gothic theme.

“Welcome—oh, it’s you, Ha-baek!”

The first to greet me was Han Yu-seong. Although the maid outfit was close to the original design with minimal exposure, it was still a combination that invoked discomfort.

No wonder there were fewer customers here than at the haunted house.

“Why don’t you just wear a suit instead of dressing up as a maid…”

“That would ruin the theme!”

Han Yu-seong nodded, apparently satisfied with his explanation.

“Are you my assigned maid?”

In a traditional maid café setup, each customer or team of customers is assigned a maid to take their order and guide their experience. This is how a typical maid café operates.

“No, I’m in charge of guiding. Your maid is…”

Han Yu-seong rolled his eyes, looking around.

In fact, assigning maids to each team is actually the role of the guide. Scanning the hall briefly, Han Yu-seong pointed out with his index finger.

“Seo-ha, you have a customer.”

Dressed as a maid, Shin Seo-ha frowned deeply. Her demeanor wasn’t remotely hospitable; she seemed entirely intent on driving me away.

“Ahem-ahem.”

I cleared my throat and raised my voice slightly.

“Is this how you welcome guests here? Maybe I should ask to see the manager?”

“Uh.”

Shin Seo-ha flinched, her shoulders twitching.

“Fine, follow me.”

I didn’t expect her to use honorifics with me, but I was satisfied with her more subdued attitude and sat at the table she led me to.

“What’s your order?”

“What’s the recommended menu here?”

“Don’t you have eyes, or don’t you have hands? There’s a menu right next to you, so look for yourself—”

“The service here is…”

“Got it, got it!”

Shin Seo-ha stomped her feet impatiently.

There was a certain pleasure in watching Shin Seo-ha turn bright red.

“The A Set with omelet rice and fries is recommended.”

“That sounds good. Any other recommendations?”

“The B Lunch Set comes with fried rice and a drink.”

“Looks delicious.”

The menu was of surprisingly high quality.

Class 1-A seemed to take their event quite seriously, even the menu reflected their dedication.

“So, what’s your order?”

I looked up at Shin Seo-ha with a smile.

“I’ll order later.”

Grit

The sound of teeth grinding was probably just my imagination.

“Then, I’ll be back later.”

Shin Seo-ha ground her teeth and stepped back. This is karma, you brat. I hope you learned something from today.

‘What should I try?’

I wondered what the food I had only seen in the game would taste like. Ideally, I would love to try everything from the first page to the last, but my stomach wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“I’ll order in a bit.”

They say revenge is best served cold. I decided to enjoy this leisure a bit longer.