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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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Chapter 178
…Dream Haven.
As soon as Luke stepped off the resort’s dock, he could see someone waiting for him.
Short, sharp blue hair, slender figure.
She, who hid her sharp gaze beneath rimmed glasses, yawned boredly before spotting Luke and clapping her hands.
“Aooh-!”
The nearby Rune Wolf howled loudly as if welcoming him.
“Welcome.”
“…Hello, Principal.”
Yussi’s eyes swept up and down Luke once.
Clothes covered in dust, with bandages peeking through the tears and crevices.
She made a simple observation.
“Reminds me of the Hero.”
“…Huh?”
“He used to come back every end of vacation all bloodied.”
Comparing him to the Hero was Luke’s favorite compliment.
Because he wanted to be like him more than anyone else.
Seeing Luke’s somewhat embarrassed face, Yussi chuckled lightly.
“You’re still far off.”
“I know.”
“You’re good at answering. Now, let’s go. To where your friends are. I didn’t say you’re coming just because you asked.”
“But…”
Luke hesitated, looking down at his attire.
It was a gesture indicating his reluctance to face his friends covered in blood.
But Yussi just grinned mischievously and grabbed his wrist, dragging him onto the carriage.
It was she who came up with a very entertaining plan during the moment of boredom when she was taking care of the kids.
“I prefer it this way.”
“Huh?”
“There’s something called T.P.O (TIME, PLACE, OCCASION), you know?”
And with that –
Along with an incomprehensible sound, the carriage departed.
To the theme park located at the center of Dream Haven.
To the Haunted House.
.
.
.
In front of the main gate of the Haunted House.
Sweat dripped down Cuculli’s pale cheeks.
Her eyes were wide with anxiety.
Leciel noticed it.
“What’s up, nervous?”
“Nervous? Ha! Me, the descendant of dragons, nervous? It’s not nervousness, it’s vigilance… a kind of reconnaissance! Have you been skipping classes all this time? Reconnaissance is the most important thing!”
Her trembling eyes, like aspen leaves, quickly gained persuasion.
Leciel snorted.
“You lack courage too. Don’t overreact in the middle. It’s against the rules.”
“Huh, you!”
The resort provides quality alcohol and snacks to those who complete the Haunted House as a regular event.
That’s why the extreme kids decided to challenge the Haunted House…
“Scared?”
This magic word attracted many participants.
Leciel, Ban, Gerald, Cuculli, Karen, Evergreen, and Nyhill were the members.
The kids were determined to ride the prize.
…Until they saw the exterior of the Haunted House.
-Woooooooo
Evergreen said with tears in her eyes as she heard the eerie cries.
“Why does Glendor have to be so elaborate?”
“Because they are overflowing with money…”
“By the way, why does it look more like a clinic than a house?”
Everyone turned to face Ban’s observation.
“…Indeed.”
In one word, it was a dark and gloomy tuberculosis hospital.
Peeling paint, moldy walls, broken windows.
It was bigger than they had imagined.
“Well, the experience time is at least one hour.”
But in this vast space, there was only one magical lamp installed at the entrance.
And even that was adorned with eerie dolls hanging around.
And below that…
“Hehehe, the victims have arrived.”
A staff member disguised as a ghost smiled eerily at them.
“Eek!”
Cuculli clung to Leciel’s back like a cicada.
“…What are you doing already?”
“I, I’m weak against those kinds of things!”
Although they were those who dealt with monsters as if they were nothing… targets that couldn’t be affected by physical force were always terrifying.
“Hehe, cowardly child. Very cute.”
Gerald seized the opportunity to tease.
“I, I, I…”
But Cuculli, instead of confidently retorting as usual, just stuttered and mumbled.
The rest sighed as if they had made a promise.
‘Can we complete it…?’
Nyhill seemed to be the only one looking remarkably calm in this corner that looked incredibly peaceful.
The ace was brought by Cuculli, who was considering things carefully.
As expected, she was calmly observing the atmosphere of the hospital.
“Even if we look like ghosts, we’re all theme park staff, so please refrain from any attacks. If you proceed too quickly, you might meet other guests who entered ahead of you. In that case, please wait a moment before proceeding. Oh, but….”
When the employee hesitated, Cuculli asked back as if she were having a fit.
“B-but what about it!”
“Some staff members occasionally claim to have seen real ghosts, it’s just nonsense rumors. You don’t have to worry about it at all.”
The staff continued, trying to reassure everyone.
But Cuculli’s and everyone else’s pupils trembled.
“Is, is this all a set that’s already been made? But why are there ghosts here? Why!”
Cuculli exclaimed in panic.
“Ah, I didn’t mention it. This place was temporarily set up as a clinic when demons invaded here in the past~”
The staff explained with a creepy smile, adding to the atmosphere.
The kids were speechless.
Only Gerald seemed self-assured.
“Look at their faces, they thought the worst had already happened.”
Karen, who had been silently observing, suddenly screamed out.
“Eek! It’s a ghost!”
“Aaaah! Help! Ban!”
“…”
The room fell silent.
“Nice acting scared. Was it fun?”
The staff finished the explanation with a creepy smile.
“By the way, we never send anyone alone into our Haunted House. We always send teams of at least 4 people, so if you see anyone walking alone, never! never! talk to them.”
“…Why, why?”
“Because they’re not people.”
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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“Uh….”
“Well then, shall we enter!”
The staff finally prompted, and the kids hesitantly took steps forward.
* * *
Luke was left alone in an eerie room.
“…What’s this?”
He muttered to himself, but Yussi, who had left for no reason, did not return.
She had pushed him into the strange and gloomy building’s back door, saying that if he waited here, his friends would come.
That was about 5 minutes ago.
“Oh, the timing is perfect.”
With those words, Yussi disappeared.
…5 minutes.
It wasn’t a particularly long time, but it was boring to wait in an empty room.
Luke began to stretch his stiff body, which had been crumpled up on the cruise ship and carriage.
“Ugh….”
It felt refreshing.
A soft groan escaped him involuntarily.
Just as he was stretching his bunched up shoulders and trapezius muscles, there was a knock at the door.
“…Cuculli?”
Luke looked up suddenly at Cuculli, who had appeared out of nowhere.
Although she was an annoying chatterbox, he felt quite glad to see her after a long time.
But for some reason, Cuculli, with a bluish face, just took a step back.
“What’s….”
“Lu-Luke?”
“…?”
“I’m sorry for everything! Spare me! I won’t tease Evergreen anymore! Well, I can’t help it now, but… Anyway, I’ll become a new person!”
Luke’s dark eyes narrowed.
What kind of mischief was she up to this time?
Realizing the folly of responding to Cuculli’s nonsense, Luke just stared at her…
“H-hihihihik! I-I-I said I’m sorry!”
Cuculli’s face had turned pallid enough to be called deathly.
“Cuculli, why are you screaming alone like that?”
“Wasn’t the last room earlier?”
“What else could there be?”
“Kukuku, now I’m not scared of anything.”
That’s when the faces of everyone appeared one by one behind her. But they all showed the same reaction.
“Uh, wha-whaaat!?”
“Waaah, it’s a ghost!”
“Luke died during vacation!”
…At that point, Luke realized that something was indeed odd.
And finally.
“Ah.”
Evergreen, who was at the back of the group, poked her head out with a puzzled expression.
Luke forgot all about the commotion just now.
‘It’s Evergreen.’
A bright smile spread over the boy’s face.
Of course, Evergreen’s feelings, who suddenly saw the white teeth of something lurking in the darkness, were not taken into consideration.
“Evergreen, I came as promised….”
“Kyaah!”
Puck!
The fundamental of an archer is strength.
With a powerful force, the archer’s fist struck Luke’s solar plexus.
“!”
The scattered Luke was mobbed by the kids.
Evergreen asked cautiously,
“…Isn’t it a ghost?”
“Cough, no.”
The surroundings became noisy all at once.
“What, is it really Luke? When did you come?”
“What are you doing here, did you get a job at the theme park?”
“What’s this, is it really Luke? When did you come?”
“Aaah, I’m really sorry, Luke. Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“Blood is coming out of his mouth.”
“He’s really going to become a ghost.”
As Luke rolled on the ground, he chuckled.
It made him realize once again how much he missed this kind of silly conversation.
“…Welcome back, Luke. Everyone was waiting for you.”
Luke stood up, holding Ban’s outstretched hand.
It felt like he had returned to where he belonged.
And that was an emotion Luke had never felt before in his life.
* * *
In front of the hole leading to the heart of Great Forest and the residence of Laplace, an unexpected disturbance was unfolding in a place that had maintained its unchanged tranquility for centuries.
“Today, we must get an answer. If you can’t give an answer, then let me go in there directly.”
As soon as the angry voice ceased, there was a clang.
A strange metallic sound echoed through the Immortal’s Realm, startling some of the fairy folk.
“Oh my, look at that human man. What is he up to?”
“He may have a handsome face, but his actions are exceedingly ruthless.”
“Don’t you know that no matter how much you scare me, you can’t enter Laplace’s place?”
Their aggressive stance and piercing comments drove the young fairies to whimper in fear.
But Kasim paid them no mind.
Normally, he would have trembled and apologized, saying, “Oh dear, I apologize for startling the beautiful ladies.” while sheathing his sword, but now he couldn’t care less about their circumstances.
Standing one step behind him, Noubelmag was the same.
“…Is this really the right thing to do?”
“What else can we do? We have to do something.”
Trembling, Pia held the flask upside down, while Noubelmag scanned the fairies with a displeased look.
A situation that required immediate action.
It was then, suddenly, that Muriel appeared.
“Even if you’re invited guests, you mustn’t cause a disturbance in the Master’s abode.”
“Am I causing a disturbance?”
Kasim growled angrily.
“It’s been two weeks already. Two weeks without any word!”
His bloodshot eyes alternated between Muriel, standing before him, and the firmly shut petal-shaped door.
…It had been two weeks since the Hero disappeared.
He had entered the world tree to hear Laplace’s prophecy, and hadn’t returned since.
“It’s strange. He wouldn’t leave us waiting without any communication.”
“…He must be aware that we’re waiting for him. Even with the start of the semester approaching.”
“I don’t think the Leader would have been mistreated by the old prophet. There must be something going on. Let’s be patient and wait a little longer.”
The group anxiously waited, but after the initial few days passed quietly in their lodgings, unable to bear the situation any longer, Kasim finally took action.
‘Breaking through force is… .’
Kasim, holding his sword, stared straight ahead.
He has become so strong that it is impolite to compare him to when he left Rosenstark.
The sparring sessions that were reminiscent of real battles and the ‘tasks’ he completed in the Immortals Realm made him that way.
With no armed personnel in sight now, it didn’t seem entirely impossible to break through to Laplace’s abode.
But…
‘If I go alone, who will be responsible for the safety of the group if the fairy folk turn hostile and threaten or detain them?’
With only two non-combatants, there was no way to prevent the fairy folk from turning their eyes on the group.
In the end, Kasim had no choice but to lower his sword in frustration.
‘…What on earth are you doing, Professor?’
The group stood in silence for a while before returning to their lodging.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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