Outside the Class 2-3 classroom, Eriri was happily sharing an orange with Wakaba Hiiro, a pleasant smile on her face.
She knew perfectly well what had happened inside the haunted house just now—after all, that eerie abandoned castle scene had been her own special arrangement.
Besides the castle, she had prepared dozens of other terrifying or gory scenarios. Which scene each group encountered was purely a matter of luck. If they were lucky, they might stumble into something not too scary. If unlucky… well, they'd just have to fend for themselves.
One thing was certain—no one inside would face any real danger. Eriri wasn't a demon; she just wanted to have some fun watching people's reactions, not take lives. No matter how scared they got, no one would end up with heart failure or mental breakdowns.
The malicious spirits Ami and Reiko had run into were genuine specters Eriri had let loose in the haunted house. These real ones didn't roam constantly, only appearing at the right moment to give people who had just escaped one scare an entirely new shock.
Only visitors could see them—those playing ghosts inside, like Mirei Shinohara, were completely unaware.
Unaware too was Wakaba, who hadn't tried to peek into the haunted house with her power. Watching people run out in a panic was enough for her.
…
Near the exit, two boys dressed as monsters huddled together, whispering.
"This batch looks like two girls. But why are their cries so miserable? They've only just gone in!"
"Maybe they scare easy. All the more fun for us!"
"Yeah, true!"
They grinned and waited to greet their unlucky prey.
The haunted house scenes existed in a separate space, disconnected from outside time. So although Ami and Reiko had been in that castle over ten minutes, to the outside world they'd only just stepped inside.
Because of space limits, only five students in total were playing ghosts today. Mirei's position was closest to the entrance, so she'd be the first to scare visitors.
Hearing the two girls' sobs and frantic footsteps approaching, Mirei readied herself. She planned to greet them in a way that would make them wet themselves. A wicked grin spread over her makeup-twisted face.
But before she could move, two blurred figures streaked past her at lightning speed, giving her no chance to react.
"…"
She stared after their rapidly retreating backs, her mouth slightly open, eyes full of confusion.
"This isn't right… they just ran past me before I even came out…" Mirei Shinohara muttered in frustration. But the next second, she froze.
Because she saw, right behind the two fleeing girls, a ghostly figure shrouded in black mist.
Thinking she was imagining things, Mirei quickly shut her eyes and rubbed them gently. When she opened them again, the eerie apparition had vanished.
"Was I really just seeing things…?" she murmured, confused.
She didn't dwell on it for long. Better to focus on preparing for the next group than to think about weird illusions. This time she wouldn't be caught off guard.
…
Nearly a minute of running left Ami and Reiko unsure of how many turns they'd taken. Along the way, they'd seen plenty of creepy setups and even actors leaping out to scare them.
But with a malicious spirit chasing them, their judgment had all but collapsed. Every sudden jump-scare felt like a real ghost to them now.
Stopping wasn't an option. They just wanted to find the exit and escape this cursed haunted house.
A single classroom may not be huge, but once divided into twisting, narrow hallways, the path became surprisingly long. Add in the simple maze design, and finding the way out quickly became a matter of luck.
And so, exactly one minute later, Ami and Reiko found themselves back at Mirei's position.
This time, having learned from her earlier mistake, Mirei stepped out of hiding just seconds before they arrived, ready to spring her scare.
But before she could make a move, she froze again—staring wide-eyed at the space right behind them, her face twisting in horror.
"What the hell is that?!"
She was looking at the same black-mist-shrouded figure she had glimpsed earlier—only now from the front. The terrifying sight seared into her mind, making her blood run cold.
Hearing Mirei's words, Ami and Reiko immediately realized she was just another student playing a ghost. As they passed, Ami grabbed the stunned Mirei by the arm.
"Run!!!"
With a shout, Ami pulled her forward, turning the fleeing duo into a trio.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Mirei demanded between breaths as they ran.
"How should I know?! This is your class's haunted house! Why is there something like that here?!" Ami shouted back, nearly breaking down.
Even though she knew logically it had nothing to do with Class 2-3, in her panic she couldn't help but feel a flash of resentment toward them—Eriri excluded.
"How would I know?! You think we brought it here?! I've never seen anything like that until you two showed up!" Mirei retorted, her voice equally frayed.
Before they could argue further, Reiko's sudden shout cut through the air.
"Enough arguing—this isn't the time. Let's think about how to get out of here alive. What kind of haunted house is this? We've been running around forever without finding the exit."
Mirei and Ami both grit their teeth at Reiko's words, dropping the argument immediately.
Their voices were loud enough to carry through the whole classroom, so the other four students playing ghosts heard them clearly. All four wore baffled expressions—what on earth were they talking about? They recognized Mirei's voice instantly, but couldn't understand why she, one of the ghost actors, was mixed in with the visitors and shouting such strange things.
Whatever the others thought, Mirei, Ami, and Reiko didn't stop running.
Ami was quietly relieved the monster hadn't caught up to them, but she couldn't shake her confusion. By all logic, both the faceless woman and the monster should have had no trouble overtaking a few high school girls—especially since the faceless one had even shown the ability to teleport. Now, though, it felt more like they were being toyed with.
Still, she wasn't about to stop to test that theory. She had no intention of gambling her life.
Suddenly, a thought struck her. She turned urgently to Mirei.
"You know the haunted house layout, right? Take us to the exit!"
Mirei nodded quickly. "Yeah—follow me!"
Without another word, she led Ami and Reiko through twists and turns, reaching the haunted house exit within moments. Overjoyed, the three didn't hesitate to bolt through.
Along the way, they ran into other classmates playing ghosts. Mirei even tried to get them to escape together, but the others, unable to see the monster chasing them, thought they were joking and refused to follow.
Mirei was the first to burst out of the classroom. Spotting Eriri nearby, she ran straight toward her.
"Eriri! We have to run! There's a ghost in the classroom!"
But Eriri, unimpressed by Mirei's ghost makeup, simply reached out and pressed a slender finger to her forehead to stop her.
"A ghost? Where? Mirei, are you hallucinating?" Eriri asked with an amused look, clearly pleased with how her little arrangement was playing out.
Mirei grew frantic at Eriri's disbelief. "Eriri, you have to believe me! This isn't a hallucination. There's really a ghost—and the two people who came out with me can prove it!"
"Who?"
"Them… huh?"
Turning to point behind her, Mirei found no sign of Ami or Reiko.
The moment they'd stepped outside, Ami and Reiko had checked to see if the monster was still following them. Finding it gone, they both breathed sighs of relief, the tension finally easing.
They didn't linger. After a quick glance at Eriri, they slipped away from Class 2-3 entirely—just like the first boy who had fled earlier.
Part of it was the psychological shadow left by that classroom. The other part… they realized their underwear was completely soaked, and their immediate priority was to deal with that.
Nearby, Wakaba Hiiro, who had just looked away from the trio and back to her book, found her interest piqued again at Mirei's words. Whether it was the earlier boy or these three now, they all looked like people who had just been through genuine terror. And a person's spirit didn't lie.
She began to suspect Mirei might be telling the truth. So she sent her spiritual sense sweeping into the classroom to check for this so-called ghost.
But after one sweep, she withdrew it in disappointment—she found nothing but four classmates. No humans, no spirits.
So it seemed Mirei really was hallucinating, just as Eriri had said.
"See? I told you before—try to scare people, and you'll just end up scaring yourself. Looks like I was right." Eriri smirked.
Mirei, seeing Eriri's utter lack of belief, slumped down beside her dramatically, dropping to the floor without caring about her image, her expression one of utter defeat.
—
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