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𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟔𝟏
̇ȧ̇𝔴ė̇ḃ̇𝕤𝚝𝕠𝘳ɪė̇𝘴.𝔠ᴏ𝙢
Cheonghwa Academy’s festival, what is its meaning?
There are many plausible opinions about it.
Some say it’s to commemorate the former elder Cheong-il, the founder of the academy.
Or maybe it’s to show off the academy’s prestige and demonstrate its safety measures by holding a large-scale festival.
Or perhaps it’s to intentionally create an opportunity to arrest any suspicious individuals with malicious intent.
However, the real meaning of the festival wasn’t any of those. As someone who has played all the exorcism series, I know the truth.
「𝘽𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙞𝙡 𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩.」
No joke, that’s really all there is to it.
「𝙒𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙖𝙡?」
As a result, Cheonghwa Academy’s festival has no symbolic meaning, no tradition, and no history.
That’s why it was even more complicated.
“Do you understand? Everyone? Since the graduating class, the third years, are short on members, the second years will inevitably have to take the lead. I expect to see a great performance that won’t shame the academy’s name.”
With only two weeks left until the festival, the academy students, as well as the teachers, are all in a state of considerable excitement.
Even those who are usually known for their calm personalities are already planning their schedules for the festival day.
What’s the point of tarnishing the name of the founder, Cheong-il?
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙞𝙡, 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚.」
But it can’t be helped. To modern exorcists, Cheong-il is an absolute being.
It’s easier to think of him as a hero from an old folktale.
「. . .𝙄𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙣𝙤 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩.」
I glanced out the window at the sky, thinking of Cheong-il, who is now in a deep sleep somewhere in the Rift.
「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩-𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚. . . . . . .」
To be exact, Cheong-il is a character who first reveals his true form in the third installment of the exorcism series.
I remember that the players were quite surprised and excited about his appearance, as he was known to be dead.
I was lost in thought, reminiscing about the past, when a sudden thought came to mind.
「𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮, 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙄 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤?」
It was impossible for me right now because of my lack of skill, but I thought it might be possible to use my knowledge of the original work to summon Cheong-il from the Rift at a later point when I’ve grown stronger.
Of course, doing so would mess up the story after the first installment. I had to protect more than just the current timeline, so it was hard to see it as a good idea.
「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧. . . . . . .」
You never know.
If I ever find myself in a really bad situation because of the Hell difficulty, I might need the help of the man known as the Cheong family’s greatest genius.
I chuckled at the absurd thought and got up from my seat after class.
Praying that the day would come when I wouldn’t have to make such a choice before I saw the ending of the story.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
̇ȧ̇𝔴𝙚ḃ̇𝕤𝚝𝕠𝘳ɪė̇𝘴.𝔠ᴏ𝙢
“So, after deliberation among the faculty, our Class 2-A will be in charge of showing around the prospective students.”
This was what the homeroom teacher, Baek Ji-eun, told us about 12 days before the festival.
“A tour? I heard that the third years did it last year. . . . . . .”
“It just happened to turn out that way. Maybe they were conscious of the fact that this year’s second years have a lot of stars.”
Baek Ji-eun finished speaking and glanced at the students.
Indeed, there were many students in this class who had made a name for themselves in their local areas, such as Sophia, Hwang Ji-hak, Shin So-ra, and Cheong Haram.
Perhaps they would be objects of admiration for the middle school kids?
「𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙤𝙙𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙔𝙤𝙤 𝙃𝙖-𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙞𝙙𝙙𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚.」
It wasn’t a crucial part of the story, but it definitely happened. In the original work, too, those middle school students were probably being guided around by Class 2-A.
“Therefore, we will now assign roles and select groups.”
I let out a small sigh at Baek Ji-eun’s words.
I’ve been so focused on pursuing my own goals that I’ve been avoiding most of my classmates.
That’s why I didn’t really enjoy these kinds of group activities.
“Hwang Ji-hak, Shin So-ra, Sophia. You’re Group 1.”
“Yes~”
Starting with Sophia’s cheerful response, the names of various students were called out, and soon it was my turn.
“Adrian, Cheong Haram, and Han Kang-yoon. You’re Group 5.”
At those words, Adrian, who was nearby, raised his hand slightly in greeting, while Cheong Haram turned her head away, looking displeased.
Even though the trauma of Phantom Nightmare must have subsided by now, it seemed she still had a hard time dealing with me.
“The tour is scheduled for the last day of the festival week. I’ll send the relevant materials to your personal terminals, so be sure to check them.”
I turned my head sharply and stared at Baek Ji-eun at those words. The last day. I definitely didn’t mishear.
“To put it simply, you just have to guide the students around a designated course without overlapping with each other. It shouldn’t be too difficult, right?”
Baek Ji-eun began to give additional instructions, but I couldn’t hear them properly.
That one sentence she said earlier kept swirling around in my head.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙧, 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠?」
In fact, the date itself didn’t really matter. However, the last day of the festival was different.
That was the day when Yoo Hye-jin, the vice president, would be inaugurated as the new headmaster of the academy, and at the same time, she would be attacked by enemies who had been targeting her.
「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚.」
The situation had changed again. In that case, I couldn’t ignore the variables that came with it.
If any of the prospective students who came for the tour got caught up in the incident, it would definitely be a headache.
“Anyway, that’s all for today. Group members, be sure to coordinate with each other before the day.”
And so, another day passed.