---

“Ah. I’ve got work to attend to tonight, so don’t worry about me and just go to bed first.”

It’s been a while since I got a proper job. In fact, lately, every time Frecia called me, I just ended up chatting or munching on snacks without actually doing the work she was paying me for.

There were still magic experiments going on, but those had become less frequent and were things I didn’t necessarily need to do.

Of course, from my perspective, having less work while still getting paid regularly was a nice deal. However, it was true that my extra allowances had definitely diminished, which was a bit disappointing.

Unintentionally, I mentioned in passing that it felt like my workload had reduced lately. But attentive Frecia didn’t let my words slide and brought me a big task instead.

“Do I need to hide this from the dorm supervisor? Should I just say I’m feeling sick and going to bed early?”

Since I was in a dormitory, I couldn’t escape the evening roll call. On the first day, I learned this the hard way when I left my spot, only to be scolded the next day by the dorm supervisor.

Lucky for me, I avoided any penalties since I had a valid excuse for being absent that day.

“It’s nothing special. I’m just going to work with the boss. She said she’d take care of the supervisor.”

It would be like when I inspected the barriers before.

“…Wasn’t that the time you went out at night and collapsed?”

“Haha…”

Suddenly, Selian poked at my injured side. It was true that it had been risky, so I couldn’t say much, but I still wanted to come up with an excuse.

“Still, this time it’s not really a dangerous job! So you don’t have to worry.”

“Then was the barrier inspection dangerous? Anyway, El is too carefree. Just like the secret escort for the Saint that you went on with Selian.”

…And now Yuli joined in after Selian.

Just a while ago, they were on my side, and then as Selian brought up past events, their stance switched completely.

They were actually pressuring me more than Selian was.

“I absolutely won’t allow it!”

“No way can you go!”

If I had parents, I bet it would feel something like this. When a young child says they want to travel or something, the clueless parents would roll up their sleeves to stop them.

By the way, I already told Frecia I was going. How could I convince these two?

Of course, if I told Frecia now that I couldn’t go, she would likely understand, but I was sure she would have a sulky face. I would bet my entire fortune on that.

While I was stuck between Selian and Yuli pressuring me, Anne, who was lying on the bed, casually chimed in.

“Can’t we just go together?”

*

“So, can my friends go too? I’ll accept just the stipend for myself…”

I figured Anne’s suggestion was the most reasonable way to not disappoint Frecia while convincing Selian and Yuli, so I went straight to find Frecia.

Since it was still evening, she was dozing on the sofa, and I gently woke her up to ask.

“Hmm? Hmm…”

…It was obvious that she had no clue what I was saying and just replied because I spoke. While it made me happy to be trusted like that, I was still worried she might get taken advantage of like this.

Anyway, I got the permission. Surely she won’t change her mind later, right?

Fearing she might backtrack, I quickly laid Frecia back down and helped her get comfortable by petting her head.

Within a minute of petting her head, Frecia let out soft snores as she fell back asleep.

After confirming she was asleep, I quietly returned to inform my friends, and Selian and Yuli reluctantly gave their permission.

…Isn’t my position a bit odd?

*

“I… allowed it…?”

“Yes. I came to find you earlier; don’t you remember?”

“I think I do…”

As we all arrived at Frecia’s room in Magic Building 707, Frecia looked quite surprised.

Meanwhile, Anne was curiously touching and poking at Gomtaengi and Tokki.

“…If I said that, I can’t do anything about it.”

I was worried she might say she didn’t remember or couldn’t take us, but in the end, Frecia granted permission for all of us to go together.

“Well then, shall we go?”

“Ah, yes. Anne! Stop bothering Gomtaengi and Tokki, let’s go!”

Following Frecia’s words, I called to Anne, who was distracted, but she showed no signs of letting go of Tokki.

“Eh? I want to play with them a bit more!”

“If that’s the case, you can stay here. El is going!”

Saying that, I grabbed Frecia’s hand, and with Selian and Yuli, we all headed out the door when there was a loud thump, and Anne hurriedly followed us.

Amidst that, I caught a glimpse of Tokki being tossed around in the air through the closing door… let’s pretend we didn’t see that.

Sorry, Tokki.

“So, where are we going today?”

It was unclear if the question was directed at me or Frecia, but as her assistant, I spoke first.

“We’re going to the Old School. You know where that is?”

“The Old School? Isn’t that the place no one uses?”

Just like Yuli said, nobody uses the Old School anymore.

It had been long designated as a restricted area; it was common for new students to have never set foot in it until graduation, and even postgraduate teaching assistants hardly ever ventured inside.

“The academy grounds are rich with mana, but because no one touches it, negative energy concentrates in the Old School, attracting evil spirits. Though, of course, they aren’t real ghosts; they are essentially just energy masses.”

“Then why don’t we just demolish the Old School completely?”

“They leave it because they use it for research in the Magic Department. Of course, we manage it periodically.”

“…But aren’t evil spirits dangerous?”

“Hmm… They’re not strong enough to be considered monsters, so they won’t be dangerous. Right, boss?”

“Yeah. They have no physical strength and no ability to influence minds. If you’re scared, you can go back.”

“Come on, it’s not scary at all. Isn’t that right, Yuli?”

“Y-yeah!”

Was Yuli reacting the way she was because she thought I was ignoring her? She answered overly enthusiastically.

“Hehe. I wonder what ghosts will look like?”

Meanwhile, Anne was grinning with delight.

“Oh! So this is the Old School.”

Later, I noticed the Old School was tucked away in a corner, perhaps due to the academy grounds having expanded over time.

Being an old building, the timber structure of the Old School radiated a spooky atmosphere, possibly indicating the lack of human interaction.

I had only heard stories about this place, so it was my first time visiting, and while I marveled at it, Frecia was busy unlocking the entrance with the key she had brought.

“Okay, let’s go in!”

“Wow!”

As soon as the door opened, Anne dashed in first.

Although Anne’s enthusiasm dimmed the mood a little, we were indeed here on a work task, not just to have fun.

Following Anne, Yuli, Selian, Frecia, and I all entered the Old School.

Creeeak, bang!

As we all stepped inside the Old School, the door behind us slammed shut with an unsettling sound.

That must be the work of the evil spirits residing in the Old School.

Of course, even so, these spirits lacked any real power, with their only limit being the ability to close the door like that.

So none of us, including Selian, Frecia, or Anne, reacted too strongly, but…

Suddenly,

Yuli tugged on my sleeve and stepped closer to me.

“Yuli, you…?”

“N-nothing! It’s just… I almost fell, so I grabbed on!”

Without saying much, Yuli independently offered an excuse as she slowly, very slowly let go of her grip on my sleeve. Despite that, her body still stayed close.

“Wah!”

“Eek!”

As Anne sneaked back to poke Yuli’s back, Yuli let out a loud scream.

Yuli’s arms clung tightly to one of mine, trembling close to me. Her eyes darted around uneasily, and I thought I saw a slight sheen of tears forming.

“I-I’m sorry, Yuli. I didn’t think you’d get that scared…”

Anne, having startled Yuli, floundered apologetically upon seeing her fear.

However, while Anne was confessing and apologizing, Yuli still held onto my arm with a worried look on her face.

“…Do you want to go back?”

Panic, panic, panic!

Since we had a few more hours ahead of us, I asked Yuli if she wanted to go back first out of concern but she shook her head vigorously.

“I can’t… go back alone…”

Right, given that the Old School is tucked away, we had passed through many forest-like paths to get here. There’s no way the frightened Yuli could return alone right now.