Ch. 32 Last Carnival
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 32 – Last Carnival
Last Carnival
The second-floor clubroom at the far end of the top floor was quiet.
All the windows were covered with curtains, making it seem from the outside as if no one was inside.
But within the room, three club members had already gathered.
It was a slightly smaller group than I had imagined, but I was still surprised that something was actually happening here.
When we knocked and entered, we saw a few dimly lit candles and three members sitting around them.
One was a male student with a studious vibe, wearing glasses. Another was a sociable-looking girl with a slightly altered uniform.
And the last one was a student with an androgynous appearance, who seemed to be the mastermind behind all this.
As I expected, the androgynous student was the club president.
Not only were they the first to welcome us, but the other two students didn’t stand out in any particular way.
They were the textbook definition of a model student and a social butterfly.
I couldn’t fathom why such ordinary people would join such an abnormal club.
But that wasn’t my concern right now.
The important thing was—I couldn’t handle this atmosphere.
From the moment I stepped in, I was so nervous that I pulled my hood up and kept my head down.
I didn’t have the courage to open my eyes and adjust to the heavy mood.
The clubroom was silent.
But that only made it more suffocating.
The air felt thick and oppressive, and every sound seemed muffled.
In that hellish atmosphere, I could only catch fragments of conversation.
“I’m Hongryeon, a vampire hunter. I’ve been doing this for about ten years now.”
“Then… what about the kid next to you? Your sibling? They don’t look old enough to be in this school yet.”
“Uh, well… They’re a junior interested in the occult! Yeah, my sibling! Is that okay?”
The conversation was absurd enough to make my head spin.
But somehow, it felt natural coming from Hongryeon.
Then, someone else cut in.
“Hah.”
The scoff came from the girl sitting across from us.
She smirked and said to Hongryeon,
“So, I was wondering why you’ve been absent lately. Turns out I was worrying for nothing.”
“Eh, you were waiting for me?”
Hongryeon spoke politely even to a girl who seemed to be her classmate.
The girl only grew more irritated by the formal tone and replied with thinly veiled disdain.
“You’re always desperate to stand out. No way you’d miss a secret gathering like this. What, another chance to show off?”
“Well, I only found out about this recently. Took me a while to spot the poster…”
“And what’s with this ‘vampire hunter’ act? Aren’t you tired of forcing that weird persona?”
Every word dripped with venom. These weren’t words you’d use against someone you had neutral feelings toward.
Clearly, Hongryeon had a bad reputation, even if she wasn’t aware of it.
Honestly, Hongryeon wasn’t the type to hide things well or act convincingly.
For a high schooler, her personality was twisted in a slightly strange way.
The girl seemed to have been observing Hongryeon for a while.
Meanwhile, the club president silently watched them with calm eyes.
“…And this kid you brought along—your ‘sibling’? You’re an only child. Who are you trying to fool?”
I lifted my head slightly.
The girl, who seemed well-versed in social politics, glared at me with the typical sharp expression of a teenage girl.
I’d seen that look many times before.
“Look at that shiny hair. I thought it was just bleached, but you even went as far as wearing a wig? If you wanted attention so badly, why not go on TV instead of wagging your tail around here, junior?”
If I detached myself from emotions and analyzed her words, it was clear she just didn’t like me.
Sure, my white hair and red eyes stood out, but normal people wouldn’t react this harshly.
In other words—
“She’s throwing a tantrum because she can’t stand anything different.”
It was the mentality of rejecting what didn’t fit in.
The collective instinct to exclude anything unusual or outstanding.
A form of group violence that I despised more than anything.
I rolled my eyes.
This was just childish emotional bickering.
The best response was no response at all.
Luckily, before the girl could escalate things further, the president intervened.
“If you keep disrupting the meeting like this, the one who’ll be kicked out isn’t Hongryeon or the mascot junior—it’ll be you, Yuri. I suggest you stop while you’re ahead.”
“Tch. I was just trying to teach some manners to a clueless junior, but whatever.”
Hongryeon was still grinning.
As for me—I honestly didn’t care.
This was what I’d been doing my whole life, anyway.
Just because I gained power didn’t mean I suddenly developed a matching personality.
Human relationships only brought unwanted trouble.
Especially with so-called “normal” people.
I closed my eyes.
I’d just watch how things unfolded.
AlucardLovesFish
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