Chapter 28: Intermission – Creating A Club?

In this way, the third ghost story encountered at the academy had been successfully exorcised.

Finally feeling relieved, I let the tension drain from my body as I checked the message floating before my eyes.

By the way, was there no keepsake this time?

I had expected as much, but it seemed keepsakes weren’t always guaranteed drops.

Well, even if something like the eyeball candy— made from real human eyes— had appeared, like when we defeated Uncle Brandon, it would’ve just been troublesome.

Seeing my reaction, Elaine also seemed to realize that the ghost story incident had been completely resolved and flashed a bright smile.

“That expression just now— it’s really over, right? That’s what it means, isn’t it?”

“Honestly, you’re quick to catch on.”

“B-but, Mr. Allen. Who’s that girl next to you? Why is she here? Is she involved somehow?”

That’s when it happened.

Rone, still kneeling awkwardly, cautiously asked the question while glancing between us.

“Ah, right. Let me introduce her. This is Elaine Astria. She’s in the same A-Class as you and takes the Fundamentals of Giftedness lecture. As you guessed, she’s someone who’s noticed the supernatural phenomena happening within the academy. And she’s also the first member of the club I’m trying to form.”

“Hello, Rone Justia. As Mr. Allen explained, I’m the first member of his club. My name is Elaine Astria.”

Elaine, for some reason, seemed oddly proud, carrying herself with confidence.

What’s this? Is she trying to act like the senior here or something?

“S-so you were the first member… I wasn’t the first after all.”

“Oh my. I’m sorry. Were you expecting to be?”

“It’s not exactly that, but…”

Rone, still a bit reserved, seemed awkward about the whole thing.

Well, they’ll be spending the next three years together, so it’d be good if they got along early.

Eh, it’ll work out somehow.

“Now that we’ve all introduced ourselves, let’s get to the main point. I’ll explain why I decided to form this club, as well as the club’s true hidden purpose beyond its surface-level activities.”

At my words, Rone— who had been strangely cowed by Elaine— immediately perked up with a look of intense curiosity.

.

.

.

I explained to Rone the existence of urban legends lurking behind everyday life, as well as the Outer God sealed beneath the academy.

“In short, humanity has less than three years left. And to prevent that destruction, we must continue to exorcise the urban legends while finding a way to either reseal or permanently destroy the Outer God imprisoned beneath the academy.”

“…Is that true!?”

Rone raised her voice, unable to hide her shock.

Was she scared?

“It’s too late to be afraid now. Once you’ve been caught up in the regression, you can’t just pretend none of this happened…”

“That’s not it! I can’t believe I was possessed by an urban legend and didn’t even notice! Aah! To think something like that was happening at the academy without me knowing… If only I had known… What a waste.”

Of course, that’s how she’d react.

I wondered if she might be too frightened and try to run, but as expected, Rone radiated more excitement and anticipation than fear.

She wasn’t going to back down.

The reason I chose Rone as a member of the club wasn’t just to exorcise the urban legend born from her— it was also because her adventurous personality seemed like a perfect fit for the club I was trying to create.

No matter how skilled someone is, what truly matters is their mental fortitude.

Fighting urban legends while risking your life to prevent the end of the world isn’t something just anyone can do. Her desire to stand out and be recognized would serve as strong motivation.

“Well, no need to regret it too much. Soon enough, you’ll be begging them to just leave you alone out of sheer exhaustion.”

“Oooh. Allen, you sound like a real expert on urban legends. And you’ve only been at the academy for two days.”

“…”

It really is exhausting.

Had it really only been two days? After everything I’d been through…

At least during the academy’s attack, I lasted unusually long— but even that was reset due to the regression.

Once again, I sighed, thinking that I needed to find a way to update the save point in the Sealed Room as soon as possible.

“But Allen, you feel… different from before?”

“Huh? Well, obviously. After three years of dealing with urban legends, you’ll face life-or-death situations over and over— and actually die more than once. You think I’d have the energy to keep up a friendly mask every single time?”

“Eh? W-Wait, so it was all an act? Everything you’ve shown me until now was just…”

Rone looked stunned, as if she’d been hit harder by this than by the revelation about the Outer God.

“Let’s not dwell on trivial things. First, we need to organize what we have to do. The first priority is…”

.

.

.

A lecture I’ve repeated countless times.

By now, it’s so familiar that I can predict the students’ reactions without even looking.

After finishing the first lecture— one I’ve gone through so many times— I brought two students with me to the faculty office.

“You want to start a club?”

“Yes. It seems there isn’t a club at the academy that aligns with what I have in mind. I’d like to establish a new one myself and serve as the faculty advisor.”

At my words, I could feel the gazes of the teachers in the faculty room— including Lydia and Fresian— shifting toward me.

The first thing we needed to do—

Was to establish a club.

Hearing my proposal, the homeroom teacher, Professor Fresian, smirked with an amused expression.

“Hmm. Starting a club, huh? Wonderful. To have such a passionate new teacher at Everlight Academy— what a fine addition to our staff.”

For some reason, it felt like déjà vu.

Probably just my imagination.

“Mind if I ask what kind of club you’re planning to start?”

“I’m thinking of naming it the ‘Mystery Resolution Club.’”

“‘Mystery Resolution Club’? Now that’s an interesting name. Hearing it makes me even more curious—what exactly would this club do?”

“When people hear ‘mystery,’ most dismiss it as immature, irrational stories that only students would enjoy— and in many cases, they’re right. But despite that, students still get genuinely scared and frightened by them.”

“It’s true that every year, students cause trouble with pointless mystery trends— like séances or courage tests. But hearing this makes me think a ‘Mystery Resolution Club’ is exactly the kind of club we shouldn’t allow.”

Of course, that’s the expected reaction.

A shady-sounding club like the Mystery Resolution Club would naturally raise eyebrows.

“On the contrary. While mysteries are fictional, their origins often stem from psychological or sociological reasons, each with its own logic. For example, have you heard of the urban legend about a ghost appearing in a specific stall in the academy’s restroom?”

“…That’s a fairly well-known one.”

The kind of urban legend where a ghost supposedly haunts a particular restroom stall.

It’s a tale that existed not only in Korea and Japan in my past life but also in this world, Hiphnia.

And in fact, the legend of “Uncle Brandon” was nothing more than a mix of the “Red Mask” and “Red Paper, Blue Paper” urban legends.

Was this really a coincidence?

No.

“It’s set in the confined space of the academy— specifically, a dark, isolated restroom. Why is that?

The academy is a place of daily life for students, but it’s also where negative experiences like competition, discipline, violence, and bullying occur.

And the restroom, with its enclosed, quiet, and chilly atmosphere, is the perfect place for the academy’s negative imagery to concentrate.

Restrooms are personal spaces, but they’re also isolating— easy places to feel anxiety and fear.

That’s why, traditionally, restrooms are breeding grounds for urban legends.

For the same reason, hospital-related urban legends exist— because hospitals, while places of healing, also carry the negative imagery of disease and even death.

As such, every ghost story has its own logical origin and inherent reasoning.

The Ghost Story Resolution Club I aim to establish will collect and research these ghost stories and mysteries, with the primary goal of understanding them logically and treating them not as objects of fear but as subjects of humanities research.

Additionally, under the pretext of “resolving ghost stories,” we plan to conduct psychological counseling in parallel, offering support to students within the academy who are psychologically unsettled by the circulating rumors, helping to alleviate their fears.”

I moistened my lips once and then explained the fake club activities I had prepared in advance to Professor Fresian.

“Wow, without even moistening your lips…”

“Um… Miss Elaine, do ghost stories actually exist?”

“Shh. Be quiet. The professor is in the middle of pulling off a scam right now.”

From beside me, Elaine seemed to be whispering shamelessly about me, but I ignored her.

“Hoh. Listening to Professor Allen, the activities do sound so interesting that even I might unintentionally want to submit an application. The theme seems engaging enough to attract students, and the activities themselves are unique and meaningful. I’m already looking forward to seeing what kind of club activities will take place.”

Fortunately, it seemed my persuasion had worked— Professor Fresian appeared positive about approving the club’s establishment.

Lydia, who was standing next to me, also seemed impressed, her eyes wide with admiration.

“Then, have you decided where the club activities will take place? If I recall correctly, there’s an unused club room on the 4th floor…”

“Actually, I’ve already picked out a room I’d like to use as the club room. I had my eye on the storage room at the end of the 5th-floor hallway. May we use it?”

“Ah, that room? Of course, you may. Right now, it’s unused and serving as a storage room, but originally, it was a club room for another group. Since it was a club room to begin with, there’s no issue with repurposing it as one again.”

Things were going smoothly.

Persuading them to allow the club’s creation was one thing, but I had half-expected them to refuse the storage room, claiming it was already in use.

Unexpectedly, they seemed willing to hand it over without issue.

“Ah, but there is one problem.”

“One problem?”

Of course.

Was there some issue we’d have to resolve?

“It’s just that the room has been used as storage for quite a while now. You’ll have to clean it yourselves— is that alright?”

Ah, if that’s all.

I thought it was something serious.

“That’s fine. We’ll take care of the cleaning ourselves.”

“Fufufu. It’s wonderful to see such enthusiasm.”

“So, does that mean the club is officially approved?”

“No. Unfortunately, the club cannot be established yet.”

“…What? Just a moment ago, you made it sound like it would be approved…”

“Fufufu! No need to panic. It’s not that there’s any issue with the club activities themselves preventing approval.”

“Then why?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Professor Allen? How many students have you gathered as club members so far?”

“Miss Elaine Astria and Miss Rone Justia— two members.”

“Fufufu. They’re such promising students. But at Everlight Academy, a minimum of four students is required to establish a club. Please return after recruiting two more members, alright?”

Ah…

Who would’ve thought the club couldn’t be established due to insufficient numbers?

A new objective.

It seems we’ll have to revise our first course of action.

For now, let’s focus on recruiting more members to establish the club.