"Hey, have you all heard the latest rumor going around the school?" Gold Ship lowered her voice, trying to create a mysterious and enigmatic atmosphere, but her expression completely ruined the effect.
"Where do you even get all these rumors from?" Mejiro McQueen slowly wiped a drop of cold sweat from her forehead. As everyone knew, fifty percent of the school's rumors originated from Gold Ship.
Oh, and the other fifty percent came from Agnes Digital.
"Probably just some ordinary things that got exaggerated beyond recognition, right? Just spooky tales that only the school newspaper would be interested in publishing," Vodka waved her hand dismissively.
"How can you say that!" Gold Ship slammed her Rubik's cube on the table. "I swear on my honor, this time the information is absolutely genuine, no deception involved!"
"But you've sworn on your honor more than once before," Daiwa Scarlet said with a troubled expression, surprisingly finding common ground with Vodka for once.
"So, are you going to listen or not?"
Mejiro McQueen glanced at Daiwa Scarlet, who looked at Vodka, who then turned to Gold Ship. The group huddled closer together.
"Tell us, tell us!"
"Have you heard..." Gold Ship began with a serious face, everyone crowding around, "...that there's a ghost in our school..."
"Wait, isn't that a really old rumor?" Mejiro McQueen raised her hand.
As everyone knew, Manhattan Cafe was said to have a ghost following her that nobody else could see.
Manhattan Cafe didn't seem particularly bothered by it, which always left those who talked to her feeling a bit spooked.
But... how to put it... that girl could be pretty eccentric sometimes, so who knew if it was real or not...
"Not that one," Gold Ship waved her hand. "Since when has my intel been that outdated?"
"This appeared just recently! There have been multiple witnesses! They're calling it the [Wandering Ghost Princess] rumor!"
The lights in the training room were off, and Gold Ship had drawn the curtains beforehand, leaving the room dimly lit. Combined with Gold Ship's dead serious expression, it actually created a somewhat chilling atmosphere.
Mejiro McQueen couldn't help but swallow hard, her ears drooping flat against her head.
"According to students who haven't been feeling well and were resting in the dorm recently... in the current Ritto Dormitory... a white ghost has been wandering around..."
"Let's temporarily call this eyewitness Student G..."
"Wait a minute, aren't you talking about yourself?" Daiwa Scarlet raised her hand. "You skipped the trainer's elective class yesterday."
"When the trainer realized an Uma Musume from his own team had skipped his class, his face twisted with anger."
"Shut up, it was just one elective class! Gold Ship-sama was on her way to Mars at that time - how could she turn back just for something like a class? And stop interrupting!"
Gold Ship cleared her throat before continuing.
"At that time, Student G was standing in the dorm hallway... leisurely enjoying the afternoon sun. Ah, it was so warm and cozy that I ended up taking a nap."
You said it yourself... That's definitely you...
Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka closed their eyes, gritting their teeth.
And you skipped class because you were taking a nap? You're too free-spirited, Gold Ship!
"Then, when Student G wanted to return to her room, she saw it... that faint, shadowy figure..."
"Shadowy figure of what?" Mejiro McQueen was the only one listening seriously, actually becoming frightened.
"It was a white figure... completely devoid of any other color... not something you could achieve just by draping a bedsheet..." Gold Ship pulled out a flashlight and shone it under her face, creating stark contrasts of light and shadow. "So Student G was absolutely certain it wasn't just some student playing pranks..."
"That white figure swayed unsteadily as it moved slowly through the stairwell... Student G thought her eyes were playing tricks on her, so she quietly followed..."
"Even though it was a warm afternoon, for a ghost to appear in the dorm hallway during daytime was just too brazen..."
"So Student G followed the white ghost, step by step up the stairs... step by step..."
"Step by step... step by step..."
"Clip-clop... clip-clop..."
Gold Ship's speaking pace quickened.
"Higher and higher, higher and higher... to the very top floors..."
"Hardly anyone lives up there anymore... except for senior students and the dorm manager. Normally, nobody visits those high floors..."
Daiwa Scarlet glanced at Gold Ship. Was this girl actually telling a real ghost story?
And it sounded... quite believable. After all, if she were making it up, why wouldn't Gold Ship choose the classic midnight time slot for her tale?
Moreover, Gold Ship had indeed been missing yesterday afternoon... While Gold Ship disappearing was common, openly skipping class was rare. Would Gold Ship really skip class just to add credibility to a ghost story? Daiwa Scarlet felt even Gold Ship wouldn't go that far.
Thinking this, even Daiwa Scarlet began to feel a chill around her.
Mejiro McQueen raised her hands to cover her ears, her face pale.
"Finally... the white ghost stopped on one floor. Student G watched as the ghost stepped onto that level with stiff movements..."
"Then, it stopped in front of the first room."
Gold Ship's face twisted into a grimace: "And then... Student G heard a clatter-clatter sound at the dorm room door... The ghost was picking the lock!"
"After what felt like forever... the sounds at the first room finally stopped. Just when Student G thought it was all over, the ghost stood before the second room... and then, immediately after..."
"Clatter... clatter..."
Gold Ship's sound effects hammered at the hearts of everyone present.
"That ghost was trying... to break into every single door!"
"Just like that... Student G watched it pass by door after door, until it finally stopped before one particular door..."
"And then... clatter-clatter..."
At that moment, Gold Ship turned off her flashlight, plunging the training room into darkness.
"The door... opened."
"The ghost stepped through that doorway... and the moment it entered... it looked back at Student G..."
"That was a face completely devoid of color, with only those black, hollow eyes like black holes, staring right at her!"
"Eeeeeek—!"Mejiro McQueen covered her head and screamed.
"What are you all doing?" Tokai Teio, who had just entered the training room, turned on the lights. "I brought a guest."
"Eeeeeek—!"This time even Daiwa Scarlet and Vodka screamed.
The three of them pointed at Platinum, who stood behind Tokai Teio, shouting in unison.
"The white ghost! The white ghost has come for us!"
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T/N: HI3 Fanfic Up!
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T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 3 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.