The ghost uproar is a bizarre incident occurring at Zilnius Academy.

There are various speculations and rumors, but the main content boils down to two points:

One, the ghost turns other students into ghosts.
Two, the ghost consumes students.

“—So, does that mean it eats them and turns them into ghosts?”
“It’s not like the ghost practices cannibalism. It’s just that two contradictory rumors are coexisting simultaneously.”

While walking through Zilnius Academy’s school building at night, Kanon-chan replied to my question.

The clock had already passed midnight, marking the time when the ghost was rumored to appear.

The normally bright white corridors and large windows felt slightly ominous when seen in the darkness.

…If I were a mysterious beauty in a place like this, it would feel like infiltrating an experimental facility.
Alright, let’s take a stroll later!

『This is getting exciting. Isn’t this exactly the kind of time when you should’ve brought a gaming gas mask?』

You’ve got a point there.
If you’re at Zilnius Academy, you might as well be a cyber-mysterious beauty.
Tight suits and stylish ninja action would’ve been great too.

『I prefer the gothic, clunky attire of Sorciera, though.』

As always, we were in top form.
Even if a ghost appeared, we’d beat it to a pulp!
And if I lost, I’d just call Mizuhi-senpai!

『Are you just a disposable sidekick character?』

Well, I do have a track record of being a stepping stone in the past.
Leave the disposable role to me!

“Uh, um, so, how far are we going?”

Toa-chan asked nervously.
She might not be fond of ghosts; her hands were already tightly gripping her massive cannon.

I’d always wondered, but isn’t Toa-chan surprisingly strong to carry that ridiculously huge cannon around?

『The concept of Sorciera being princess-carried by Toa-chan!?』

There it was again—a weird signal received.

“Ah, this time, we’re heading to the third building of Zilnius Academy up ahead. That’s where the majority of ghost sightings have been reported.”

Kanon-chan answered cheerfully, her eyes sparkling.

…Hmm, maybe it’s just my imagination.
No matter how you look at her, Kanon-chan is a beautiful girl.

『Could it be the thing where Kūna Kanon’s glow as a beautiful girl has disappeared?』

We recalled how Kanon-chan had seemed strange during the day.
On the surface, she seemed fine, but for a brief moment, the glow of her beauty had vanished.

『Honestly, I’d like you to explain what this “glow of beauty” thing is. From the way you talk, it sounds like you can genuinely observe it.』

I can.
Even now, I can clearly see the glow of beauty radiating from Toa-chan and Kanon-chan.

The light shining like stars within their chests was unmistakable to me.

『Hmm, are you perceiving a certain level of magic power with your eyes? No, the precision seems too abnormal for that. Something more fundamental—』

Hey, stop analyzing my body on your own.
If I can see the glow of beauty, isn’t that enough?

『It’s not enough at all.』

The Starreader’s Staff could be strict at times.

“Now then, we’re approaching the area where ghosts have been sighted in the third building…”

Kanon-chan looked around curiously.
Toa-chan was sticking close behind me.
Please, no accidental misfires in this state. Pain isn’t fun, even for a mysterious beauty.

“Do you think they’re here? Should we start wrapping this up now?”
“No, Toa-chan, don’t! …Seriously.”

The confident Toa-chan from earlier in the day was gone, replaced by someone jittery and terrified.

Darn it, if I were a mysterious beauty in this situation, I could calmly cultivate some yuri vibes.
But alas, I’m just an ordinary high school boy. I can’t do anything cool.

As the three of us walked, Toa-chan suddenly let out a scream.

“Eek, there, there they are?! You said they wouldn’t show up!”

No one said that.
And where, exactly?

“…There.”

Following the direction Toa-chan pointed, I saw several students staggering around.
All of them moved like ghosts, without a single word, only the sound of their shuffling footsteps echoing in the silence.

“Are those the ghosts? …They just look like ordinary students to me, though.”
“Even so, something’s clearly off about them. Stay cautious—”
“Hey, ghosts! Over here!”
“—Wait, what?!”

Kanon-chan dashed toward them, and I hurried to follow but nearly tripped.

Looking down, I saw Toa-chan gripping the hem of my shirt tightly while clutching her massive cannon like a body pillow, shaking her head.

“G-ghosts!? N-no way…!”
“Why were you so confident earlier if you’re this scared??”

Tears filled Toa-chan’s eyes as she muttered, “Because I heard there wouldn’t be any ghosts…”

Who told you that? Sounds like you picked up something convenient to believe.

“Toa-chan, I get that you’re scared, but we can’t just leave Kanon-san to go alone!”

Kanon-chan continued walking ahead, now only about ten meters from the ghosts.

“Let’s do our best, okay?”
“Y-yeah… You’re right. If it comes down to it, well…”

I had no idea what she meant by “if it comes down to it,” and I didn’t want to ask. Together, we hurried to catch up with Kanon-chan.

“Kanon-san, are you okay?”
“Hm? Oh, I’m fine, totally fine.”

Kanon-chan turned around and flashed a peace sign before looking back at the ghost-like students.
I also focused on them and braced myself.

All the students had lifeless expressions, but in their hands were weapons summoned from dive gear.

It seemed there was no avoiding a fight.

“I’ll back you up.”
“Eh, no need.”

Kanon tilted her head, as if I had said something strange.

“I can handle this much on my own. Besides, you two need to be witnesses to my work. Here, take this video camera and start filming.”

Saying that, Kanon-chan tossed the video camera to me. I hastily caught it and turned it on.

“Fi-Filming!?”
“Yep, yep. Normally, I’d have Miyume-chan handle both filming and resolving the incidents, but then the student council came at me with, ‘So, what exactly are you doing while just taking the budget? Don’t tell me you’re just making toys, right?’ Apparently, I can’t graduate just with my fun inventions. Life is tough, huh?”

Kanon-chan said, “Right, right,” to the ghost, then smiled brightly, even though no one agreed with her.

“And yet, at first, you tried to send only us to the scene…?”

“That’s called putting the right person in the right place. Well, I only came because Luka sent me a rather firm warning message.”

Kanon-chan shrugged her shoulders.

While she was distracted, a student began charging straight at her.

In their hand was a glowing sword, likely a powerful weapon enhanced with magic to increase its sharpness.

“Kanon-san!”
“It’s fine.”

The sword rushed toward Kanon-chan with incredible speed.

But it stopped abruptly. The blade and its tip were enveloped by countless fluttering objects.

Those objects, stopping the blade mid-strike, were something we knew well.

“Butterflies…?”

Was it my voice or Toa-chan’s?

Countless purple butterflies danced joyously through the midnight school building.

They seemed to gather as if drawn to the flower named Kūna Kanon.

“――‘Divided Death Must Die.’ That’s the name of these little ones. Now, make sure you’re filming properly, okay? If you miss anything, I won’t forgive you. Seriously, though—it’ll mess up my research funding.”

Perhaps Kanon-chan was born without the ability to feel tension.

Even though she was facing deranged explorers, she smiled selfishly, unconcerned about the danger.

“Alright, swallow them up.”

The command was concise, but the butterflies understood her intent perfectly.

Without disrupting their flight, the butterflies gathered into a massive wave and surged toward the students.

The corridor filled entirely with butterflies, leaving no room for evasion. They engulfed the students completely.

Joyously, without even a hint of tension, it was all over in an instant.

Without moving from her spot, Kanon-chan had defeated the students with a single strike.

“Alright, victory over the ghosts! Did you get that on film? Hey, did you?”
“Ah, yes. It’s all perfectly recorded.”
“Yay, yay! Luka, are you watching? By the time you see this, I’ll have received mountains of funding. And with that funding, Miyume-chan and I will be going on food tours.”
“Isn’t that why they’re hesitant to approve your budget?”
“I can’t hear you~”

If she says she can’t hear, I guess there’s no helping it!

“Well then, let’s go uncover the ghost’s true identity!”

With that, Kanon-chan approached the students buried under the butterflies.

At this point, the ghost didn’t even matter anymore.

Actually, isn’t this kind of anticlimactic?

Is this really a ghost?

“Come on, you two, hurry up! Oh, Kei-kun, keep the camera rolling.”
“Ah, right. Toa-chan, let’s go—huh?”

I turned to Toa-chan, only to raise my voice in shock.

Toa-chan, who had been silent since midway through, was now leaning on her heavy cannon, unconscious.

“T-Toa-chan…”

『Next time, let’s visit a haunted house together~＾＾』

At that moment, I finally understood why Toa-chan rarely ventured out at night at Fectom Academy.