“My mansion has become haunted by a ghost. I would like to request the assistance of an Adventurer. Client: Francoise.”
“Wh-what? A ghost?”
The request form that Roel picked up clearly stated the need for ghost extermination. We had fought Ghost-type Monsters in the Abyss Cave before, but some of them were incredibly troublesome, as attacks with swords had no effect whatsoever. But is a ghost considered a monster?
“Hmm, this might be impossible. I can’t use any magic effective against Ghost-type Monsters yet.”
“I can use attack magic!”
“Really?”
Roel looked at the request form and then back at me with an expression of surprise. Now that I think about it, I hadn’t mentioned it. Although, I can’t use much. I can’t handle all attributes, and my limit is at most intermediate-level magic. Plus, I can’t use any support or healing magic at all.
“Well then, maybe we should take this job. It seems we’re close to ranking up to C-Rank.”
“Is that so?”
“Apparently, each request has points, and when you accumulate enough, you rank up. The specifics about how many points each request gives and how many you need to rank up are kept secret. The guild staff told me just earlier that we’re almost at C-Rank.”
“I see, then we have to do our best with this one.”
We decided to accept the request. However, there was someone else who had already taken it on.
“This person took it on first, but they said they felt uneasy doing it alone and would prefer to team up with a fighter or someone else.”
“Thank you… thank you… thank you…”
[Truppo, Level: 13, Class: Magician, Rank: C]
The person introduced by the bespectacled individual was that somewhat intimidating figure we had encountered during the rescue mission in the Strange Plains. He wore a pointed hat, and his face was completely covered by a scarf. His body was cloaked in a mantle and robe, making it hard to determine his age. He seemed to be grateful, so he probably wasn’t a bad person, but he was still scary.
We quickly made our way to the mansion where Francoise was waiting. The large building, which was our first time seeing, raised questions rather than awe—what on earth could one do with such a vast space? It was big enough to hold dozens of rooms, enough for Roel and me to live in.
After crossing the gate and knocking on the door, a landlady appeared from inside. She wore a painfully gaudy dress adorned with a golden necklace, golden bracelets, and rings, decorated with scattered jewels, and she fanned herself with a flamboyant red fan.
I wasn’t well-versed in fashion, but I thought her sense of style was rather lacking.
“You must be the Adventurers who accepted the request. Please, come in.”
The proud landlady brusquely ushered us into the mansion. The high ceiling stretched up to the second floor, adorned with a chandelier that hung down. Odd stone statues, jars, and flowers were arranged in the corners of the grand hall. We sank into a plush sofa to hear the details of the job.
“Get rid of it quickly, will you? I need you to start right away.”
“Where is this ghost?”
“I don’t know.”
“Excuse me?”
Roel tried to get more information, but the landlady’s responses were utterly unhelpful. At that moment, the chandelier suddenly shook as if being violently swayed from side to side.
“W-whoa!”
Roel clung to me. Truppo silently stared at the chandelier.
“See? That proves it’s here. You can take care of it, right?”
The landlady was also visibly shaken. However, the crucial Ghost-type Monster was nowhere to be seen.
“This is… not a monster… it’s a Vengeful Spirit…”
Truppo muttered quietly. What does it mean that it’s not a monster but a Vengeful Spirit? Just then, the glass of a nearby cupboard began to rattle.
“R-Rua-chan…”
Roel, who was pressed against me, looked like she was about to cry.
“What on earth is going on?!”
The landlady shouted hysterically into the empty space.
“W-w-well, when did this start happening?”
Roel, still clinging to me, managed to ask calmly. The landlady turned to us, glaring with an excited expression.
“Why does that matter? Just do what you’re told.”
“But we have no clues…”
“Be quiet! It was just recently. If you can’t handle it, I’ll ask someone else.”
Overwhelmed by her vague explanations, Roel remained glued to my side, while Truppo remained completely still.
“Tonight… the Vengeful Spirit is active… at night… perhaps…”
“W-wait, stay overnight?!”
Roel stuttered as she looked at Truppo beside her. If it was invisible, there was no way to exterminate it. I wasn’t sure if nightfall would solve the problem, but given the current situation, I decided to go along with the idea. Roel insisted on sharing a room with me, but Truppo silently entered the adjacent room.
The room had two beds, and a painting depicting some scenery hung on the wall. It was even larger than the room we lived in. It seemed the landlady would prepare dinner for us. After taking a moment to breathe, I sat on the bed, and Roel clung to me again.
“Rua-chan, if I need to go to the bathroom, let’s go together, okay?”
“Sure, but I might be fast asleep.”
“Don’t say that!”
When I teased her with a smile, she got mad. Just as we were having that exchange, there was a knock on the door.
“Just a moment…”
As soon as I opened the door, Truppo slipped in silently. His lack of presence was far scarier than any ghost.
“I have… some thoughts… to discuss…”
Truppo sat down on a chair and continued.
“Madam… with such a large mansion… no servants… living alone…?”
“Y-yeah, that is strange. I wonder if she’s not married.”
Roel glanced around the room. There were many other rooms, but what were they all for? I hadn’t noticed before, but it seemed rather dusty. Hadn’t it been cleaned?
Knock, knock, knock.
It seemed someone else was coming. Was it the landlady? But it was still too early for dinner.
“Y-yes?”
Roel responded to the door, but there was no reply. When she opened the door, no one was there.
“Th-this mansion is definitely strange!”
With that, Roel jumped onto me. I didn’t mind, but for now, there was nothing I could do.
“There are… multiple… presences…”
Truppo began to speak again. His fragmented speech made it hard to understand. I felt bad for Roel, but I had a feeling that staying here would solve nothing, so I suggested we explore the mansion.
“What do you want to do, Roel?”
She remained silent for a while, looking like the world had ended, but perhaps she thought it was better than being alone, as she decided to follow me.
The hallway outside our room stretched left and right, with rooms similar to ours on either side. The second floor had only those rooms, while the bathroom and kitchen were all on the first floor. I tried to open each room’s door one by one, but they were all locked.
When we descended the stairs and returned to the living room where we had spoken to the landlady, a child-sized shadow flitted past the corner leading to the bathroom, making a pattering sound.
“Was that the landlady’s child? So she wasn’t living alone after all.”
“Rua-chan, don’t say scary things…”
Even though she clung to me, there was nothing I could do. Pulling Roel along, we turned the corner, only to find a door leading to a changing area with no signs of anyone.
The changing area was about the same size as the room we lived in. What could such a large space be used for? That was all I could think.
“There’s nothing here. Not even in the bathroom.”
“Th-that’s enough, right?”
If this was going to scare her so much, perhaps we should have turned down the request. But it was Roel who chose it. Still, I had no idea what to do at this point. I had vaguely thought a Ghost-type Monster had appeared, but the situation was far too different.
Could we, being D-Rank Adventurers, really resolve such an unclear incident? The request form didn’t specify a rank, so perhaps it was suitable for us, but if the opponent didn’t show up, there was nothing we could do.
“This request seems more complicated than I thought.”
“Well, you know, I didn’t pay much attention at the time, but the date on the request form was from a year ago.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means that no one has taken it on or been able to solve it for a year…”
“Is that so? If it’s that difficult, they should have asked an A-Rank Adventurer to handle it.”
Roel replied that there was no specific rank mentioned. Sometimes the client specifies the rank, and other times it’s determined by the Guild’s discretion. I wondered if the landlady had specified it or if it was the Guild.
As I glanced around, I noticed another door. The restroom was over there, so what could this door be? I tried to open it, but the knob wouldn’t turn. Was it rusted? I gathered my strength and gave it a good twist.
With a loud clunk, the doorknob came off, and the door itself fell apart.
“Oh…”
“Rua-chan…”
I might have just broken it—no, I definitely broke it. Roel, who had been scared just a moment ago, now wore an exasperated expression.
“It must have been locked.”
Ignoring Roel’s murmurs, I looked down the staircase that continued beyond the door. In stark contrast to the earlier Western-style architecture, the concrete steps led into the darkness.
“Is this… a storage room, maybe?”
Roel, who had been sticking close to me, tried to pull me back with a worried expression. But my curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to descend the stairs. One step at a time, I ventured into the pitch-blackness.
At the end of the concrete corridor, I found another door. Unlike before, it wasn’t locked, but it was stubborn and refused to budge easily.
“Lua-chan, let’s not do this… We might get in trouble for going in without permission,” Roel urged.
“But what if there’s a ghost here?” I replied, excitement bubbling within me.
“What do you think it’s doing?”
Looking up, I saw the landlady standing at the top of the stairs. Her expression was more akin to that of a demon than a woman as she glared down at us.
Monster Compendium
[Mysterious Monster HP: 445]
A creature of unknown origin that suddenly appeared in the town where Lua and her friends live. It is larger than an adult male, terrifyingly agile, and possesses the strength to wipe out a seasoned adventurer party in an instant.