“Hey! Let me out of here!”
The ghost in the Hand Mirror pleaded with me.
But… even if she said that, I didn’t know what to do.
“H-How…?”
“I-I don’t know either…”
“You don’t know?!”
But, what should I do about this ghost?
She’s, so to speak, someone who was haunting the house I bought.
In other words… a pretty bothersome existence.
She messed up the furniture too…
Is it really okay to let someone like that out?
“Alright, I have a condition for exchange.”
“Huh…?”
“I’ll let you out of here and let you live in this castle. In exchange, you’ll clean up the furniture and do the daily chores!”
“Hmph! As if I’d listen to what a human says!”
“Alright, then I won’t let you out!”
“Eeeh……!”
“Of course not…!”
“Ugh…”
In the first place… isn’t she just a ghost now, but was originally human?
Or rather, why was she in a place like this?
And why did she call out to me…?
“Hey, Dorothy, was it…? Um, if you don’t mind, I’d like you to tell me about yourself.”
“Eh…? I-Is that okay…?”
“Yeah, please tell me.”
“Then…”
And so Dorothy began to speak.
About why she died and came to reside here.
“So that’s what happened… Such a thing…”
According to Dorothy’s story, she was originally a princess here.
However, 500 years ago, her family was killed by the Demon Lord Army that suddenly appeared from the Demon Realm…
It seems the heroes of that time somehow managed to drive back the Demon Lord Army, but…
The remaining her, it’s said, took her own life…
“That… must have been painful…”
“Eh…? For my sake… are you crying…?”
Before I knew it, I was shedding tears onto the Hand Mirror.
Because, she’s been here all alone ever since…
“Crying for me… thank you…”
“No, it’s fine… I understand how you feel. I’ve had my share of painful experiences too.”
As I gently touched the Hand Mirror and caressed her cheek—
Dorothy’s face, which had been full of caution, contorted.
“Waaaaah! Actually, I… I was so lonely…! That’s why I called out to you here…!”
“So that’s how it was…”
Dorothy in the mirror seemed somewhat satisfied.
I see… She’s going to pass on…
For some reason, I thought that.
“Well then… I’ll be going now…”
“I see… I’m glad I got to meet you at the end.”
“Hey, your name… can you tell me?”
“Yeah, it’s Loin. Loin Canberras.”
Somehow, I feel refreshed too.
—Shuuuun!
Dorothy in the Hand Mirror smiled contentedly and then vanished.
She… is no longer there…
I don’t know why, but anyway, I’m glad I could help her pass on…
Thinking that, I turned around.
However, standing there was…
“D-Dorothy!?”
“Oh, um…?”
Wh-Why is she, who just passed on, here?
Moreover, she’s not in a ghostly form like before; she even has proper legs.
“Ah, ahaha… It seems, somehow, I couldn’t pass on…”
“Or rather… you’ve been revived, haven’t you…”
No way… Is this, the power of this Hand Mirror…?
It’s a Rare Drop item, so I thought it would have some effect, but…
“A-Anyway… um… please take care of me from now on…?”
Dorothy gave me a shy smile.
From the way she spoke, it seemed she had no intention of leaving.
Well, since she was originally the princess here, she might have the right to.
“Haaah… I don’t mind you living here, but… before that, clean up the furniture from earlier!!”
“Fueeeeen!”
And so, I ended up with a mysterious item and a mysterious freeloader.
Well, she says she’ll stay in the house while we’re away, so that’s helpful.
◇
“And so… this is Dorothy-chan! Hahahaha!”
Dorothy greeted Salina-san and Claris as if she owned the place.
The two, with sleepy eyes, looked at me with exasperation.
“Hey… Right after buying a new house, bringing in a new girl, what’s with that…? I’m starting to worry about you, Loin-san… Are you planning to keep increasing your wives until the castle can’t fit them anymore?”
“No no no! It’s not me, it’s not me! She just started living here on her own!”
I desperately tried to explain to Salina-san, but she wouldn’t believe me.
I have to somehow prove that she’s a ghost…!
“Because… you know? Dorothy-chan has legs and doesn’t look like a ghost,”
said Claris.
However, I actually saw it!
Her floating…!
“Weren’t you just dreaming…?”
“N-No way…!”
That’s it!
If I use this Hand Mirror, I might be able to prove something.
If they see Dorothy inside the Hand Mirror like before, they’ll have no choice but to believe.
But… how…?
To heck with it!
I took a chance and held the Hand Mirror towards Dorothy.
“Dorothy! Return to the Hand Mirror…!”
“Eh…?”
—Shuuuun!
Then, Dorothy really was sucked into the Hand Mirror.
“Wh-What’s happening…?”
“W-Well…? What really is happening…!?”
We couldn’t believe the sight before our eyes.
Somehow… I feel like I’ve heard a fairy tale like this before.
“Hey! Let me out of here!”
Dorothy was rampaging in the mirror again.
“Ah, my bad, my bad… Hup!”
Then, this time, Dorothy materialized easily.
It seems this is… the effect of this Hand Mirror.
“Phew… Don’t ever trap me in the mirror again! It was lonely and scary!”
Dorothy pleaded, her eyes slightly teary.
Indeed, for Dorothy, who had endured so many years alone, it was a cruel thing.
To wait for someone all over again, she couldn’t bear that…
“Dorothy… you’re not alone anymore. We are… family!”
“Loin…”
We all gathered around the dining table.
And we became good friends.
Dorothy is doing all the housework.
Apparently, like a ghost, she can move things with psychokinesis.
Another strange thing is that Dorothy cannot leave this castle.
As expected, even though she’s materialized by the mirror’s effect, she’s essentially a spirit bound to this place.
“Loin… thank you.”
“Yeah, thank you too.”
Dorothy, having gained a family for the first time in hundreds of years, looks truly happy.
Because she’s waiting for me at home like that, I can return with peace of mind—!