scary monsters ~screaming halloween~. 1-6 "tears of joy!!"

[mandytl]

Location: Ramshackle Dorm

Silver: Thank you for waiting. Please wait a moment while they put the finishing touches on their costumes.

Sebek: Hah, hah hah! So you've arrived, human rabble.

How thoughtful of you to come of your own accord in order to glorify Diasomnia’s Halloween set-up, under Malleus-sama’s direct command!

Epel: You're always so... energetic, Sebek-kun.

Vil: I suppose Malleus hasn’t seen the wisdom in teaching this cucumber some manners yet.

Silver: Sorry. He seems to be in a better mood than usual around Halloween.

Sebek: This isn’t about my mood. I’m merely speaking the truth!

You'll know well where you stand come Malleus-sama and Lilia-sama's entrance!

Malleus: Don't trouble them so, Sebek. It’s exceedingly difficult to formulate a response when being told the obvious.

Sebek: As you wish, Young Master. Are you finished with your costume?

… ahem. Feast your eyes, gentlemen!

On Malleus-sama’s, the head of Diasomnia, very own—…

HALLOWEEN COSTUME!!

Malleus: Our theme this year is the lóng, or the Chinese dragon.

Lilia: What do you think? It looks quite good on us, don’t you agree?

Malleus: Given that Diasomnia dressed up in more traditional ghost costumes last year…

I proposed that we try something a little different since this would be our first time on the Management Committee.

My intention was to do something unexpected for Halloween and have our costumes be colorful and eye-catching.

Sebek: Oh, absolutely! Without a doubt!! It suits you exceedingly so!

Ah, to have the Young Master design something after you...—the lóng are surely crying tears of joy right now!!

Epel: Not as hard as you are…

Malleus: Thank you, Sebek.

Ah, yes. I have to thank Schoenheit for the advice he gave us on our costumes.

Vil: At first I told him it felt pointless, what with Malleus already being a dragon himself, but…

He then spent a whole hour stressing that “lóng are utterly, completely different from a dragon”. I’d had enough.

Malleus: The lóng are creatures that live to the east, and though they do share certain aesthetic values with dragons when it comes to the horns and tail…

Dragons are a completely different species, made evident by the presence of wings in their skeletal structure.

First of all, if we were to use a more restrictive classification system for lóng, not only would they not be fey, but—

Vil: I know, all right? I’ve heard more than enough already!

Lilia: You’ll have to forgive our Malleus. He tends to get totally immersed in things.

Kalim: That total mouthful sounded like it came straight from Idia.

Idia: That’s what you consider unique about me? That rapid otaku-style speech?

Kalim: Huh? Why not? I think being able to talk about what makes you happy is great!

Idia: Your complete lack of malice is what hurts the most…

Jack: … your costumes look cool and all, but is it okay to ditch the ghost theme?

We’re dressing up like ghosts to scare other ghosts, right?

Malleus: What do you mean? These are clearly our lóng ghost costumes.

Jack: Huh?

Crowley: When I initially started this stamp rally thing I planned to have everyone be bedsheet ghosts, but…

Things got flashier and more flamboyant by the year after some students started to nitpick at their costumes, and now everyone says, “then we’re doing it, too!” in order to compete.

Now it's not strange at all to see these “ghosts of monsters” costumes.

Vil: What’s crucial is that we meet our guests’ expectations by ensuring this long-standing tradition of a show goes on.

A little friendly competition among the student body helps us look better for Halloween Week.

Azul: To cut to the chase, we flaunt for bragging rights.

Jack: Now I understand. That sounds, uh… very typical of this school.

Silver: My old ma...—Lilia-senpai—made the decorations around Ramshackle Dorm in the likeness of a country he visited long ago.

Lilia: Indeed. I’ve travelled to plenty of other realms…

But so many legends revolving around the lóng were handed down in the land of the east!

They say the creatures served as the guardian spirits of families.

I recalled such tales when Malleus stated he wished for our costumes to be lóng-themed!

Epel: A bright red lóng looks so fancy and cool!!

Lilia: Kufufu. Doesn’t it? Doesn’t it?

We’re using magic to make the lanterns, the clouds, and even the lóng itself levitate. The fire is set to light with magical energy as well.

It looks even cooler and more like the real deal when it’s swaying back-and-forth, yes?

Vil: Which means… —well, you’ve got quite a few lanterns there, don’t you?

To keep those constantly lit while also maintaining that swinging contraption… The other dorms can’t emulate the energy needed to accomplish that, frankly.

It’s the sort of Halloween setup you’d expect from a dorm like Diasomnia with an overabundance of students that excel in their magic.

Crowley: Absorbing an extensive amount of information while performing expert-level magical techniques—

It’s certainly a Halloween worthy of Diasomnia that can be seen as a model example of our prestigious magical training school!

Let’s proceed then, shall we?

Next, we have… —the botanical garden everyone from Heartslabyul chose is close by.