Chapter 666

Bear-san Goes to a Haunted House

Having been entrusted with the keys to the haunted house, I left the Adventurers’ Guild and headed for the haunted house.

My steps were heavy.

I didn’t want to go there.

I wanted to go home, cover myself with a futon, and sleep with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear in my arms.

After doing nothing for a while, it was a mistake to look for work at the Adventurers’ Guild.

Maybe the thought of seriously trying to work every once in a while in itself was actually a mistake.

I think G.o.d must have punished me for trying to work diligently.

‘You should not work. A life as a recluse would suit you better.’ I could almost hear him saying something like that.

Maybe I should just pretend that I went to the haunted house and report falsely that the ghosts didn’t exist.

As I was walking along thinking about those things, someone spoke to me.

“Hmm… Pretending to be going… Are you going somewhere?” (Noa)

“…Noa?!” (Yuna)

It was Noa who spoke to me.

“Why is Noa here?” (Yuna)

“I’m going for a walk and shopping. It is also a learning experience to see how the Father governs the city. Father always said that it is important to see things with your own eyes because there are things you can’t understand just by looking at numbers on paper.” (Noa)

Perhaps he was saying this to himself about what happened at the orphanage.

“So, Yuna-san, are you going to pretend to go somewhere?” (Noa)

“How do you know what I was thinking in my mind?” (Yuna)

“You were saying it out loud.” (Noa)

Apparently, I was thinking my thoughts out loud.

“I kind of didn’t want to go someplace, but I had to.” (Yuna)

“So you’re going to pretend that you went there. By the way, where were you planning to go?” (Noa)

I told Noa about the request I had accepted at the Adventurers’ Guild.

“A ghost? I’d like to see one.” (Noa)

Noa said with a sparkle in her eyes.

Here, I found a horror lover.

I was at odds with her.

“It’s ghosts. Aren’t you scared?” (Yuna)

“A little. But even if I am scared, I would like to see it because I have never seen one before. If I could talk to the ghost, and it wants my help, I’d like to help it.” (Noa)

Ugh, what a sweet girl.

Or perhaps, ghosts over here (in this world) were not that scary? But both the Guild Master and Rurina-san were scared and didn’t want to go to the haunted house to check out the situation.

“I have heard that ghosts appear when there are still some unresolved feelings. If you get rid of those unresolved feelings, I’m sure the ghosts will disappear.” (Noa)

“As for me, I just don’t want to see them, no matter if they are bad ghosts or good ghosts.” (Yuna)

If only it was a ghost of a pretty girl like in comic books and novels. I would not want to see a ghost who was killed and had a messed up face, or a knight with a grudge, or a young lady with a grudge. I believe such ghosts would not be able to communicate. Unresolved feelings were like that.

My body trembled.

“Hmm, even Yuna-san has something she was afraid of.” (Noa)

“There are many things I’m afraid of. I don’t like ghosts, and I don’t like bugs either.” (Yuna)

“Yuna-san is just a normal girl, huh?” (Noa)

“Well, I am a normal girl.” (Yuna)

“Okay, I’ll go with you. Count me in as well.” (Noa)

Noa chuckled at my “normal girl” comment.

“Noa? There might be ghosts there.” (Yuna)

“Or it could be someone’s magic, right?” (Noa)

“But there’s still a good chance that there really is a ghost.” (Yuna)

If anything, I think the possibility was higher.

After all, this was another world. It would not be surprising if there were ghosts here.

“In that case, we can run away.” (Noa)

Unable to refuse Noa’s suggestion, I headed for the haunted mansion with her.

Because I was afraid of being alone, I had no choice. I needed someone to talk to. If something happened, I could take Noa with me and run away as fast as I could.

“This is the place.” (Yuna)

In front of us stood a magnificent mansion.

It was not as grand as Cliff’s house, but it was grand enough.

“Are you sure you want to go?” (Yuna)

“Of course I am, I’ve come this far.” (Noa)

I finally gave up trying to make her leave.

I opened the gate, and we entered the grounds.

The garden was covered with weeds, indicating that it had not been tended for a long time.

Maybe a sickly young lady who lived in this house had pa.s.sed away.

It could also be the ghost of a beautiful, sickly girl who was suffering and asking for “help”.

If someone granted her request to see the outside world before she died, or to touch a Bear just once, she would be granted peace and happiness.

“Yuna-san, we are going in?” (Noa)

Noa tugged on my hand as I was escaping reality with my weird fantasies.

“Wait a minute, I’ll take safety precautions.” (Yuna)

“Safety precautions?” (Noa)

I let go of Noa’s hand and held out the Bear Puppets in front of me, summoning Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

“Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear~~” (Noa)

Noa happily hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, the same as she did when she met them the other day.

I checked with Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to make sure they were okay.

“Swaying Bear, Hugging Bear, are you okay with ghosts?” (Yuna)

“”Kuh~n”””

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear shook their heads to the side while squealing in a frightened tone.

“Are you afraid?” (Yuna)

“”Kuh~n.””

They looked a little scared.

“Even though you are Bears?” (Yuna)

“”Kuh~n.””

They made a face saying that being bears had nothing to do with it.

“They say bears are like their owners, and I guess it’s true. But if something happens, I’ll protect you, don’t worry.” (Noa)

Saying this, Noa hugged Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear.

“No, it will be us who will protect you.” (Yuna)

I asked Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear to run away with us immediately if anything happened.

We walked through the courtyard to the magnificent front door. Then we inserted the key and turned it. And with a click, the key unlocked the door. I slowly opened the door.

I was told that the house had been abandoned, but the inside was cleaner than I had expected.

And just to make sure, I used my detection skill.

The ghost might be a monster.

But there was no reaction from monsters or even people in my detection range.

The guess about people hiding and using wind magic to startle workers also disappeared.

“So, where is the ghost?” (Noa)

Well, I was told that the supposed ghosts were in the mansion, but I wasn’t told which rooms they appear in. I wondered if they appear regardless of the room.

“I don’t know, so let’s just walk around.” (Yuna)

“Yes!” (Noa)

Why did she reply so happily?

“Also, don’t leave without permission, and Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, if Noa tries to go anywhere on her own, stop her.” (Yuna)

“”Kuun.””

“I won’t go anywhere on my own.” (Noa)

But children had a habit of wandering off when they found something they were interested in.

“What is that?” (Noa)

Noa ran out of the room just as I was saying that.

I followed Noa and saw a picture on the wall. It was a picture of a fat man.

I wondered who he was. I couldn’t help but feel the urge to punch him.

“I’ve seen this man several times in our house before.” (Noa)

Well, he was a person who lived in a big house like this, so it was not surprising if he was related to Cliff.

“But I haven’t seen him recently.” (Noa)

So it might be the ghost of this person.

My sickly beautiful girl setting was falling apart.

No, this did not prove that my setting was off yet. He might have a pretty girl as his daughter.

It could be a case of a dragonfly giving birth to a hawk.

Then I inspected the rooms with Noa, but nothing ghostly appeared.

“Maybe they are not coming out because they are afraid of the bears?” (Yuna)

“”Kuun.””

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear looked happy and proud. Probably because they thought that ghosts were afraid of them.

“Then, if you return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear, it might come out, right?” (Noa)

“”Kuh~n.””

Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear squealed sadly.

“I won’t return them. If there are no signs of ghosts at this point, I’ll just report that there aren’t any.” (Yuna)

If I report that I have thoroughly checked the house and no ghosts have appeared, my work was considered done.

The guild should have no reason to complain as long as I have technically inspected the property.

“Besides, for Noa’s safety, I’m not going to return Swaying Bear and Hugging Bear. If I have to make them return, I’m going to ask Noa to leave.” (Yuna)

“Umm, I understand.” (Noa)

After checking the first floor, we went upstairs to continue our investigation.

“But I really don’t see anything. Should we come here at night? I’ve heard that ghosts appear at night.” (Noa)

“They might not come out at night either.” (Yuna)

“But…” (Noa)

“Other people have been witnessing the events during the day, so I don’t think it will matter if we search during the day.” (Yuna)

It wasn’t a big mansion like in some Western-style mansion, but I still didn’t want to come here at night. There might be zombies. Going to a haunted place at night would be foolish.

“Swaying Bear, let’s go into this room.” (Noa)

Noa entered the room with Swaying Bear. I followed along with Hugging Bear, and we entered the room.

[Can you hear me?]

Hm?

I thought I heard something.

[Please, help me.]

I think I heard something again.

“Noa, do you hear something?” (Yuna)

“…? I don’t hear anything, but…maybe you did hear something!” (Noa)

“No, I didn’t hear anything.” (Yuna)

Shaking my head, I denied it.

It must be my imagination.

Yes, I didn’t hear it.

I told myself.

[Can you hear my voice?]

“I can’t hear you.” (Yuna)

By mistake, I answered.

[You can hear me?]

Not good.

“Noa, there doesn’t seem to be anything going on, so let’s go home.” (Yuna)

I faked as if I was talking to Noa, not the owner of the voice I could hear.

“We haven’t looked in all the rooms yet.” (Noa)

“Well, we’ve seen this much, that should be more than enough.” (Yuna)

I didn’t see anything anywhere.

I did hear a voice.

Likewise, I tried again to use my detection skill. Someone might have entered the house while we were exploring it.

But I didn’t detect anything other than us inside the mansion.

“Yuna-san, the curtains are shaking!” (Noa)

I looked in the direction Noa pointed and saw the curtains shaking. The window was supposed to be closed.

“Could it be the ghost?” (Noa)

It did not respond to my detection skills, but I could hear voices, and the curtains shook even though the windows were not open.

Was it a ghost?

I looked at those curtains and saw something glowing.

“A light?” (Yuna)

Could it be a Hitodama?

(T/N: You can read about Hitodama here.)

“Yuna-san, what light are you talking about?” (Noa)

“Noa, can’t you see it, that light?” (Yuna)

A bluish-white light floated near the curtains.

It was not a light created by magic.

I might be able to create something similar, but it was not the time to think about that.

“Noa, we’re leaving the room!” (Yuna)

“Yes.” (Noa)

Noa, who saw my expression, answered immediately without even asking.

As we were about to leave the room, the door closed by itself.

The light was moving in front of the door.

[Wait, don’t go. Please, listen to me.]

This was bad. We might as well escape, even if we had to break the walls and windows with magic.

If they complained, I could pay for it later.

Right now, our priority should be to get out of this house and secure our safety.

When I was about to use magic, the light became brighter, and the human soul changed into human form.

There, I saw the existence of a fairy for the first time since I came to this world.

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