46. Ghost Busters!

As the two descended into the basement, they were greeted by a dimly lit hallway and a distinct musty smell in the air.

"This place has quite peculiar atmosphere," Randy said with a wry smile.

"This is my first time too," Liz replied, slightly hesitant. 

The pair wandered through the dark basement, guided only by the sign displayed above the doors, as they searched for the Magical Beast Research Club.

"Ah, here it is," Liz finally said, stopping in front of a sign midway down the hallway.

"There are a lot of empty classrooms here," Randy said

"The basement isn't exactly popular," Liz replied with a wry smile as she knocked on the door to the Magical Beast Research Club. The sound of her knock echoed through the quiet hallway.

…But nothing happened. Neither the door nor the room in front of them showed any signs of life.

"Hmm? Are they out?" Liz wondered aloud.

"No, I can feel someone's presence inside. Let me try," Randy offered.

This time, Randy knocked harder on the door. The sound reverberated louder through the hallway, and then—

"Huh?"

Just as Randy turned to the side, noticing something, the door to the neighboring classroom creaked open. Startled by the unexpected movement, Liz let out a small yelp, grabbing onto Randy's sleeve and hiding behind him.

"So that's where the presence was coming from—the next room," Randy said. It seemed that whoever Randy had sensed was standing right by the wall in the neighboring room.

"Um… that room is empty today," came a timid voice.

The speaker was a petite girl with soft, fluffy brown hair and slightly teary eyes. She looked at Liz, who was still hiding behind Randy, prompting him to glance over his shoulder at her.

"Well, guess we'll have to come back later," Randy said, his tone resigned.

Realizing how she must look, Liz cleared her throat and stepped out from behind Randy. "Yes, I suppose so," she said.

"Oh? Aren't you Lady Elizabeth?" the girl asked, her eyes widening with excitement as she recognized Liz.

"Yes, I am Elizabeth, but…" Liz tilted her head in confusion before taking a closer look at the girl. 

"Wait, could you be Lady Annabelle?" she asked, her expression softening into a smile.

"You remember me?" Annabelle said, her face lighting up.

"Of course I do."

It seemed the two were acquaintances, though Randy was still trying to piece the situation together. 

Judging from their familiarity, he guessed Annabelle might be someone from the lacrosse club. But that classroom definitely was not lacrosse room.

Noticing Randy's confusion, Liz turned back to him and explained, "She is the fiancée of Lord Chris Rowe."

　Liz was once the fiancée of Crown Prince Edgar, and Annabelle, the fiancée of the Minister of Justice's son Chris, had apparently met each other several times outside the academy.

These meetings happened when they accompanied their fiancés to royal family's events and parties. However, Liz was now no longer engaged to Edgar.

"I can't imagine Lady Elizabeth would do something like that…" Annabelle murmured, looking downcast.

"It's all in the past now," Liz reassured her with a kind smile.

"Although that incident was shocking, I've been blessed with wonderful experiences since then."

Her radiant smile seemed almost heavenly, Annabelle thought she was seeing halo around Liz, "I'm glad to hear that."

"By the way, Lady Annabelle, what are you doing here?" Liz asked.

"M-me? Well…"

Annabelle hesitated, her voice trailing off as she glanced back at the door.

"I… I'm part of the Occult Research Club."

"Occult…"

"Occult?"

Liz turned pale in an instant, while Randy, intrigued, wondered if such a thing even exist in this world.

"L-Lord Randolph…" Liz stammered, trying to dissuade him.

"Lady Annabelle, could you tell me more about this occult club of yours?" Randy asked eagerly, completely ignoring Liz's hesitation.

Annabelle, startled by Randy's enthusiasm, stepped back slightly but couldn't hide the delight sparkling in her eyes.

"Y-you're interested?"

"Absolutely," Randy nodded enthusiastically.

Behind him, Liz, still pale, tugged at his sleeve in an attempt to pull him away, but Randy paid her no mind.

"If you're interested, would you like to visit our clubroom?" Annabelle asked.

Randy nodded eagerly, and despite Liz pulling with all her might, she couldn't rival Randy's muscular build. Reluctantly, poor Liz was dragged along as the trio entered the Occult Research Club's room.

Surprisingly, the clubroom was neat and tidy. The soft glow of magical lamps illuminated a large table surrounded by several chairs in the center. Shelves lined the walls, but there was nothing chaotic about the room.

Randy had imagined a room filled with scattered papers and strange equipments, so he couldn't help but blurt out, "It's surprisingly clean."

Of course, his comment earned him an elbow to the side from Liz, but Annabelle didn't seem to mind. She continued to enthusiastically explain the activities of the Occult Research Club.

The Royal Academy's Occult Research Club was a organization with a surprisingly long history. In a world where magic exists, and ghosts are said to roam, one might wonder what role the occult even plays. And the research was surprisingly deep

The most obvious choice of their research was ghost

When we hear the word "Ghost", we tend to think of it as the spirit of the deceased. But there were also Ghost that recognized as magical beasts, and it was not clear if they were deceased person or not. This was something they researched.

Specifically, they capture ghosts and conduct various experiments to try to restore their memories of life.

"But the ghosts can't always withstand the experiments," unlike her nervous self, Annabelle now spoke excitedly.

Randy and Liz, listening her, were thoroughly horrified.

　The image of the petite girl before them capturing ghosts and subjecting them to torture- well, experiment- you'll understand how Randy and Liz feels.

"That's why I'd like to capture a Wraith next. Their spiritual structure is far sturdier," Annabelle explained.

Unlike ordinary ghosts, Wraiths were significantly stronger. It seemed unlikely that this fragile-looking girl could capture one alive.

"Wait… you can actually capture ghosts?" Randy asked, skeptical.

"Yes, we have tools for that," Annabelle replied, rummaging through a small shelf at the back of the room.

When she pulled out the item, Randy immediately yelled, "No way!" and clutched his head in disbelief.

Startled by his sudden outburst, both Liz and Annabelle flinched. To Randy, however, the shape of the tool was nothing but familiar..

(What were the developers thinking?!)

If this were indeed a world based on a game, the creator-developer would have some serious explaining to do.

(Ghostbust—no, it's a vacuum!)

The device resembled a transparent container with straps, much like a backpack. It had an accordion-like tube extending from it, ending in what looked suspiciously like a vacuum nozzle. If someone added a green cape in a haunted mansion, it would be a perfect match.

"Lord Randolph, are you all right?" Liz asked, her tone formal as she tried to mask her concern.

"No, it's nothing," Randy replied, though he continued to stare at the ghost-catching tool.

(Okay, maybe it doesn't suck them up directly. It might use beams instead…)

Though still problematic, Randy clung to this faint hope as he cautiously asked Annabelle, "So, how exactly do you use this?"

"Oh, this uses light-infused magic stones as its power source. It emits a special beam that captures ghosts," Annabelle explained. She turned it on, and the device emitted a faint humming noise before thin, glowing threads of light extended from the nozzle.

"You first weaken the ghost using holy water, then use these light beams to capture it and seal it inside the container at the back. It's a unique magical tool developed collaboratively by our club and the Magic Tool Research Society. There's only one like it in the world!" Annabelle puffed out her chest.

Randy couldn't help but chuckle wryly as he listened.

(It's like a Ghostbuster vacuum combined with a Pokémon feature… and that beam looks way too much like something from Star Wars.)

He had a lot of questions, but Randy decided it was best not to dwell on it. 

Before Annabelle could dive deeper into the device's specifications, he changed the subject.

"I understand how you capture ghosts. Do you do anything else in your club?" he asked, shifting the conversation.

Annabelle, unexpectedly pleased by the new topic, lit up. "Oh yes! We also study ancient history, and more recently, we've been investigating the Seven Mysteries of the Academy…"

"The Seven Mysteries?" Randy echoed, tilting his head.

Just then, the grandfather clock in the corner struck loudly, making Liz jump. 

"Oh, it's already this late?" Annabelle said, glancing at the clock with disappointment.

"I'm sorry, I'd love to keep chatting, but I really must be going now."

"No problem. Thank you for sharing such fascinating stories," Randy said.

"Please feel free to visit again! I'm usually here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays," Annabelle offered with a bow.

"We will. Next time, please tell us more about the Seven Mysteries," Randy replied as he and Liz bowed and left the room.

The hallway was now darker as evening approached, it was filled with the sounds of students upstairs rushing to pack up and leave.

"We didn't get any hints on Magical Beast Research Club in the end…" Liz remarked.

"But it was fun. Plus, you've decided to rejoin lacrosse club," Randy replied cheerfully.

"I-I never said I would!" Liz protested.

"And we'll explore those Seven Mysteries."

"That's not decided either! And what happened with the camera project?"

Their lively banter echoed through the hallway as they made their way home.

Little did they know, this chance encounter would lead to the completion of the camera, and eventually, the unraveling of Chris's sinister plans.

——

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