Fantasy Assassin in a modern world

176 Seven School Mysteries part “The Seven School Mysteries, for some reason many schools have these so-called seven mysteries, no matter which school in our country even those in the rural areas have a supposed seven mysteries,” Ichika explained to the others.

“That’s interesting, so are the seven mysteries of each school the same?” Ha-Eun nibbled on some chips as she asked her question.

“Some schools have similar mysteries as most of them allegedly originated from the same source, but nowadays other schools have only one mystery that’s similar and all the other mysteries are different.”

“The same source? Do you know where all of this originated?” Michael curiously asked Ichika who as usual was showing a kind smile as she answered.

“Truth be told I only did a quick study about the occult yesterday, and the information I currently have is rather limited. I only know that these seven mysteries started as early as the 1860s but I don’t know which school all of this originated from.”

“The seven mysteries an urban legend related to schools, this feels like some kind of long-term ritual one of those sorcerers would concoct.” Loki who was listening at the side whispered to himself.

When Loki thought of this he suddenly remembered the Alchemist he fought before, that person was able to not only use mana but actually understand how to create potions using mana. In this world that was technologically more advanced and with little mana going around this was already impressive enough.

‘Is this world hiding even more secrets? How deep does the hole in this world go?’

...

.....

While Loki was deep in thought the conversation regarding the seven school mysteries continued.

“So, in the end, what are the seven school mysteries in this school?” Oliver who was already very excited couldn’t wait to hear about the seven school mysteries. When Ichika saw the excited Oliver who was like a little child made Ichicka giggle.

“The most famous school mystery that almost all schools have is the thirteen step.”

“The thirteen step?” Michael who wasn’t particularly in the know of such things asked.

“Yes, supposedly the stairs going to the roof of the school building are only twelve steps, but if you walk up the stairs at night, there will be thirteen steps. Once you reach the thirteen step you would be transported into another world.”

When the others heard this there wasn’t much reaction as this was indeed a normal story in most schools, even Oliver knew of this as when he was a child he always tried to find the thirteen steps trying to see if he could really go to another world. In fact, he would always check on the thirteen steps every time he changes schools.

On the other hand, Loki’s reaction was different from the others. Was it really possible to go to another world using this method?

‘If this is true would I risk doing it, to go back to a world where my sister is no more?’

“I know some of you have already tried this, and obviously you have failed since you’re still here with us, but what if the result changes if we do it together? So let’s investigate this mystery as a group.”

“Her Excellency is right, the results really might change if we do it as a group instead of individually.”

...

“The next mystery is the one where you could hear someone crying in the 2nd-floor washroom of the general studies building during lunchtime or sometimes in the afternoon during club time.”

“That’s interesting, has someone checked this out before?”

“There was a rumor that someone did try to look inside the cubicle but what he saw was supposedly a crying monster. Some rumors say if you look at the stall where you hear the crying you would only see your worst fears. Because of these rumors, no one uses the washroom on the second floor anymore.”

“A monster, your worst fear? Has there been no one else that dared to look into it?”

“We did send some students from the martial arts course to see the truth about the rumors since the problem with not using the washroom came about, but they found nothing even after waiting in the washroom for an entire day. Even after confirming this, no one wanted to use the washroom on the second floor.” Erika who was usually quietly standing behind Ichika spoke.

...

“The next mystery is the Dancing Shadow. A lot of custodians have reported seeing a shadowy figure dancing around the school grounds at around ten p.m in the evening. At first, the custodians were frightened by the figure thinking it was some sort of intruder, and reported it. So the higher-ups in the school at that time investigated the event and found nothing. In the end, the investigation ended without anything being figured out. Seeing as the Shadowy figure does not do anything except dance the school board is no longer bothered by it. Even the custodians treat the Dancing Shadow as a form of entrainment.”

“Really such a weird thing is happening in this school, and the school board just tosses it to the side, that’s strange.” Tsukasa gave out his opinion on the matter.

“Strange indeed, but that’s why we’re going to investigate it as the occult club,” Ha-Eun answered happily.

“This was not how I imagine this club to be.” Michael sighed at the side.

‘Don’t worry Michael, maybe these supernatural events might unexpectedly help enlighten you.’ The Spirit spoke encouragingly in Michael’s mind.

...

“The next mystery is the bloody cherry blossom. Supposedly on random days, you would see blood on the cherry blossom tree located at the back of the Martial Arts Course Building.”

...

“The next mystery the students dub as the lonely piano. Every night after most students have already left the school and only a few remain to clean their clubrooms or do some extra work before leaving, they would hear the sound of the piano playing. The music played is not of any known music and it changes every week, the students that heard the music of the lonely piano say that it made them feel sad, ethereal, and lonely. Some students tried looking for the source of the music, but the piano in the music room and the auditorium which are the only two pianos in the school were unmanned and the music kept on playing.”

...

“The next mystery is the floating orb in the hallway. This mystery occurs here in the old school building. An unknown student long ago claimed to have seen a white orb floating around the school hallway at night. The student tried to follow it but then he reached an area of the school building that was entirely dark, he could not see a single thing, not even the orb. Scared the student tried to go back the way he came, but no matter how long he walked he could not find the exit. It was at that moment when his fear was at its peak he heard a voice whispering in his ears. Can you play with me? The voice asked, after hearing that voice the student was so frightened he fainted. When the student woke up it was already the next day.”

Ichika told the story in a way that made it feel even more disturbing. Even the jolly Ha-Eun was frowning now.

“Whoah, that’s the creepiest of all the mysteries so far.”

...

“Actually four of the seven mysteries have changed over the years, the original seven mysteries were not like this. I already asked some of the teachers that have been working here for a long time and know about this stuff, every three years or so the mysteries change, except for three of the seven mysteries that have never changed since the beginning.”

Ichika suddenly spoke in a rather serious tone which made the atmosphere in the room change.

“Three mysteries that have never changed even with all the others have... So which ones are those?” Michael who was starting to be curious about the seven mysteries asked.

“Obviously the thirteen steps have never changed as it is the most famous mystery that almost all schools have. The other one is the floating orb in the hallway. The name of the student that reported it can no longer be traced as it has been so long, all I can say is that the rumor of the floating orb started a decade after the school was built which was in the early nineteen hundreds.”

As he was listening to Ichika’s explanation Michael noticed something and suddenly asked a question.

“Wait I almost forgot Ichika-san you haven’t told us about the seventh mystery?”

“The seventh mystery is the most mysterious of them all and no matter the school all of them have the same seventh mystery. The seventh mystery is the idea of the seventh mystery itself.”

“Huh?” Everyone looked at Ichika confused.

“Actually since the beginning, there has never been a seventh mystery all the rumors even back then counted up to six, but the students back then and even now believe that it has always been seven. There are some rumors that the seventh mystery can only be understood if you find the truth of the first six mysteries.”