"Ugh... that was a cemetery?"

  "Well... it seems so..."

  "But what's wrong? Did ghosts follow us all the way here?"

  "Um... I think they're gathering nearby. Rumi, we o be extra careful tonight. Don't do anything risky. Of course, I'll stop any ghosts that e, but... still, just in case."

  "Yes..."

  Rumi forced an awkward smile.

  Damn park... or rather cemetery ghosts - who khey'd chase us all the way here.

  "But Rumi, were you... okay there?"

  Mr. Fellman wrinkled his nose as he stumbled over his words.

  "Well... nothing too serious happehough I almost couldn't get out of there."

  "Ah... I guess you really are immuo curses."

  "But Mr. Fellman, do you know what happe that cemetery?"

  "Uh... no. I don't really know. Hehe. I just heard something bad happehere..."

  "..."

  The way everyone gave such vague answers ractically advertising that something truly awful had happe the cemetery.

  But it didn't seem like she'd be hearing that story today.

  "I see... Well, I'll head upstairs now. Thanks for dinner."

  "Ah, alright."

  Rumi quickly got up and gathered her shopping bags. As she was about to climb the stairs to her sed-floor room, Mrs. Fellman's ghost's voice called from below.

  "Rumi, if anything happens, call either of us."

  "Okay!"

  On her sed-floor room, Rumi first checked the list of school supplies.

  'Saint angelicus' School of Exorcism Admission Requirements:

  Personal Scripture6 Y-shaped crosses. 2 nterns with Y-shaped crosses.Emergency possession medium (a personal item purified with prayer and holy water.)10 bottles of holy water.Two sets of sacred gray raincoats.One Grade 2 sacred relic.Medial ingredients ste kit with 24+ partments.*Sacred swords will be provided in the sed year curriculum, so please DO N one.

  Protective curse potion...'The list went on.

  Rumi felt she had gathered most of the supplies she could buy.

  The only thing missing was a Grade 2 sacred relic.

  Sacred relics were objects imbued with beneficial spirits or energy that could ward off curses and evil spirits.

  Which meant sacred relics were pletely unnecessary for Rumi, who was naturally immuo curses.

  Still, Rumi wao try making a sacred relic herself.

  She could have asked for Mr. Fellman's help to make a Grade 2 relic, but Rumi knew powerful spirit summoning and sealing ritual that Bertin had taught her.

  By practig spirit summoning ritual to call forth a beneficial spirit and sealing ritual to bind it to an object, she could create a sacred relic.

  In other words, it ossible for her to make one herself.

  Rumi carefully closed the door and windows, then sprinkled dusty water around the room to create a barrier.

  She pced a round chair in the ter of the barrier and put a mirror and dle on top.

  Bertin had definitely done some other preparations when teag the ritual... but Rumi didn't care to remember such minor details.

  Rumi lit the dle with a match.

  Then, looking at the dlelight reflected in the mirror, she alternately recited two scripture passages she had memorized.

  "Kill. Kill, for here are the weak ohey are my enemies.

  Gouge out their eyes, tear off their limbs, kill both mother and child until their bloodline ends.

  Let hatred drive them mad until they lose themselves sughtering their enemies..."

  "Do not gaze at yourself ier. For you outside always longs for you within, and thus shall fall into the depths..."

  Rumi repeated the two passages several times.

  "Ughk!"

  Rumi started to retch.

  She had expected this rea sihese scripture passages always made her feel sick.

  'Tremble tremble tremble'

  And ihe mirran to shake.

  Sensing her ce, Rumi csped her hands together aed the final scripture passage.

  "You are cursed to live even ih, so live on even as a parasite of the dead..."

  Finally, Rumi blew out the dle.

  But even after the dle went out, its light briefly remained reflected in the mirror.

  Then the smoke from the extinguished dle was suddenly sucked into the mirror.

  Rumi held her breath and stared ily at the mirror.

  She thought she caught a glimpse of an old woman's fa the refle.

  "Huh? Grandmother?"

  Rumi moved bad forth around the mirror, trying to find the angle where the ghost was visible.

  "Excuse me, who are you?"

  "I am not yrandmother."

  Just then, a very elderly woman's voice came from the mirror.

  And in the mirror, Rumi could see an elderly ghost behind her.

  "Who... who said you were my grandmother?"

  Rumi checked the mirror where the old woman was and turned around just in case.

  However, the ghost must have been sealed in the mirror, as it wasn't visible in the room itself.

  Rumi stared curiously at the old woman's ghost in the mirror as she spoke to it.

  "So... what kind of ghost are you? Are you a beneficial spirit?"

  "No, I am a very wicked evil spirit."

  "What? Then how did you get into this house?"

  "Obviously because you summoned me. I easily entered using your powerful dark magic."

  "...?"

  "I was trying to make a sacred relic. If you're not a beneficial spirit, would you please leave?"

  "Hehehe, such rudeness - it really must be you. The one who couldn't be possessed at the cemetery."

  "Ugh... were you one of the ohat tried to possess me back then?"

  "No, I don't do such amateur possessions."

  "...Then are you here to try to possess me now?"

  "No, you're impossible to possess. I merely wao firm who you were."

  "Why? Why do you o firm who I am?"

  The old ghost made an inscrutable expression and stalled for time.

  "I am a prophet's spirit. I have e because I have a prophecy to deliver to you."

  "Uh... But you just said I summoned you."

  "I was simply the fastest to enter when you did that ritual."

  Suddenly the old ghost moved closer to the mirror from within.

  And as she approached, her face filled the entire mirror.

  "Pce your hand on the mirror for a moment."

  "What... what are you going to do?"

  "..."

  Despite her misgivings, Rumi felt pressured by the ghost's silend pced her hand on the mirror.

  The ghost came even closer and pressed her cheek against Rumi's fingers oher side of the mirror.

  Rumi could feel the mirror being instantly cold.

  "Ugh..."

  "Mmm, I read it, I read. Your...!!"

  The old ghost paused briefly before speaking again.

  "How terrible, absolutely terrible."

  "What's terrible?"

  "Your fate..."

  "What a terrible fate."

  "What?"

  "You’ve met with the most terrible fate."

  "No... what terrible fate? Grandmother!"

  "Your friend gave you a mission, didn't she? To uhe secrets of Saint angelicus' School of Exorcism a the witches."

  "How... how do you know that?!"

  Rumi burst out angrily.

  "But I'll tell you the oute in advance. Whether you kill the witches or not, you will face the most painful and terrible immortality of any living being could face."

  "...!"

  Even Rumi, who siders herself very calm, was too shocked by the sudden curse to speak.

  "What... what kind of curse is that all of a sudden!"

  "Oh terrible fate! Terrible fate!"

  The old ghost ignored Rumi and tinued shouting.

  "Anyway, it was nice meeting you. I only came to deliver this message. Wheeheeheehee."

  "No, what is this... Grandmother, you're seriously the worst kind of evil spirit! You came all the way from that cemetery just to say this?"

  "Heehee, pirl!"

  At that moment, as the old ghost started to smile, the mirror frame suddenly began to shake violently.

  Rumi ducked her head in surprise and tried to dodge.

  'CRASH!'

  The mirror suddenly exploded intments.

  Rumi shook off the mirror shards that had fallen on her head and looked up again.

  "What the! Until the very end..."

  Just then, Mrs. Fellman's ghost's voice came from outside the door.

  "Rumi, is everything alright?"

  "Ah! It's nothing. I just broke something. Nothing serious."

  Rumi tried to aal, not wanting to get lectured by Mrs. Fellman, but her heart ounding.

  This was the most unpleasant experience she'd had in her life.

  To think some old hag evil spirit would say such things and just leave.

  "Ugh...!"

  Rumi grumbled as she gathered the mirrments with her foot.

  At this point, it was suspicious how every ritual Bertin had taught her only led to crazy is.

  Rumi calmed herself down and ed up the mirror shards. Then she sprinkled holy water and salt water around the house.

  When it was time for bed, Rumi y on her bed, notig there were unusually many ghosts gathered outside the window today.

  If all those out there had e from that cursed cemetery, this might have bee day for a normal person.

  To think that the shadow ghost she'd chased had led her into such a severely cursed pce...

  But right now, more annoying than anything was the old grandmhost still peering in from a er of the window.

  She woke up from sleep with a particurly nasty feeling, without having any dreams.

  The old ghost's face reflexively came to mind as soon as she woke up.

  But perhaps because the sun , all the ghosts that had crowded outside the window seemed to have disappeared.

  "..."

  Today was finally the day she would enter Saint angelicus' School of Exorcism.

  School started at noon, when the sun was highest.

  There was also a bus that went earlier at 9 AM, but Rumi couldn't miss this st ce to sleep in.

  As Rumi rolled around in bed as long as possible, she suddenly thought of Bertin.

  "Ahem, I would have liked to uhe secrets of Saint angelicus' School together with you myself... but you must discover the secrets in my pd save this world."

  Rumi remembered Bertin's arrogant face, maintaining a smile even as she was being ed by the Blue Witch.

  "Damn that Bertin..."

  But then, she remembered how yesterday's evil grandmhost had known about Bertin's st words.

  "Damn..."

  Rumi got up in a very bad mood and headed to the kit.

  Mr. Fellman had already left for work, and only Mrs. Fellman remained.

  Despite being a ghost, she looked much more tired than usual.

  "Rumi... were you really okay st night?"

  "Yes... Did something happen st night? You look tired..."

  "Oh, I spent all night chasing away ghosts. I'm so tired I feel like I might bee an evil spirit."

  "Ah... I see."

  Rumi awkwardly moved to the electrige aed up leftover stew, dipping bread in it for lunch.

  Throughout the meal, Mrs. Fellman floated around listlessly, which was ing, but Rumi didn't try to start a versation.

  After finishing lunch, Rumi gathered her school supplies and stood at the front door.

  Before heading to school, she said goodbye to Mrs. Fellman.

  "I'm going to school now."

  At Rumi's final farewell, Mrs. Fellmao the door in an instant.

  "ht... see you ter."

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "Rumi, try not to cause too much trouble."

  "Yes! But how could I possibly cause trouble? Take care."

  Rumi closed the door and walked out the gate.

  She could strangely feel the Mrs. Fellman's gaze from behind, but Rumi kept walking forward.

  Thick fog hung over the residential area despite it being noon.

  With thunder clouds rumbling too, it was terrible weather for the first day of school.

  Anyway, Rumi headed to the school bus stop.

  The bus stop she quickly reached hadn't left the residential area, so it looked pretty much the same as around Mr. Fellman's house.

  Though it definitely looked creepier than usual, perhaps because of the fog.

  The bus stop sign was old and the surroundings were so desote it looked like an abandoned neighborhood.

  Although it felt slightly uling, Rumi zoned out while waiting for the bus.

  After waiting for some time, a surprisingly normal-looking yellow school bus rolled up from the distance.

  The bus that finally arrived stopped in front of Rumi.

  'Screech... k'

  The bus door opened, revealing an expressionless driver staring straight ahead.

  "..."

  Rumi gave the bus driver a quice-over and was about to step onto the bus.

  'Thump'

  But at that moment, a hand suddenly appeared and blocked Rumi's forehead as she tried to board.

  "You must not get on."