Chapter 74 Ghost Identity
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Leaving Lewya, the three of us were walking down the dimly lit corridor again.
Most of the buildings in this world do not have any kind of nighttime lighting, since people in this world basically stop working after the sun goes down completely, but this time I really wished they did.
And it was even more so when there was a ghostly presence roaming around.
”Hey Gaadhir, you really saw the green-haired girl, didn’t you?”
”Hey, you don’t think I’m lying, do you?”
”I don’t suspect you’re lying, but I do suspect your fear is making you see things.”
”Wh-Who’s scared!? I’m not scared of a child’s ghost!!”
”How can you say such a thing with that face?”
”That guy… ghost or whatnot, it’s just a manifestation of my determination not to allow anyone to threaten the settlements.”
Well, that’s one way of putting it.
But, well, he’s actually doing his best to guard the place, which is very encouraging… yes, encouraging… to me as an employer.
”But what exactly is a ghost?”
”Is that a philosophical question? Master Neil?”
”No, I’m simply asking if the ghosts that are making a fuss now are really ghosts.”
Judging from the circumstantial evidence alone, the theory that the ghost was an illusion created by fear is more likely, as Narsht-san said, since the spirit was undetectable, but I still had a feeling that there was something there.
”Well, if there is something other than a ghost, it must be a monster, right?”
”Well, that would be the case, wouldn’t it?”
However, if it is a monster that could fool the spirit’s watchful eyes, it would be a very troublesome existence.
Monsters like Gipner, who are skilled in special abilities, tend to avoid direct combat.
And if their special ability is specialized in making themselves invisible, it would be impossible to engage them in a direct battle.
The only saving grace is that they can be seen from time to time and no direct damage has been done yet, but this situation cannot and will not continue forever.
As I was once again looking for the ghost, I saw a green-haired girl out of the corner of my eye, at the end of the side corridor that I was about to pass by.
”There she is! Over here!”
”What, Master Neil!?”
I immediately ran out, determined not to let her escape, and the two men who were slow to react came after me.
I come to the corner of the corridor where I saw the green-haired girl, but sure enough, she is no longer there, and I join the two who have caught up with me.
”No, she’s gone!”
”Haa, haa… did you see it too, Master Neil?”
”Yes, I did, but is Narsht-san okay?”
”‘m a little out of shape. I’m out of breath just running this distance…”
”If you’re so lazy, I’ll make you join the guys and practice with them―”
”Gaadhir-san?”
Gaadhir-san suddenly froze, and I reflexively turned my head in the direction Gaadhir-san was looking, only to see a green-haired girl with half of her body sticking out of the closed door.
As I wonder if she is a ghost that can pass through an object, the girl seems to notice our presence and turns her head toward us.
”Booo!”
”Woah! Hey, Gaadhir! Are you okay!?”
Gaadhir-san’s face turned pale and he almost fainted, but I didn’t have time to pay attention to him.
Because the girl slipped out of the closed door and stared at my face.
I was like a frog stared at by a snake in front of a supernatural being, and the girl was slowly approaching me.
Reflexively, I put my hand on the hilt of the sword hanging from my waist, but it would be meaningless to draw the sword against an insubstantial opponent.
D*mn, I regretted that I should have learned at least one of the spells to get rid of the spirit.
Now, the girl’s spirit slowly opens her mouth.
’…Neil, sama’
”What!?”
The word that comes out of her mouth is unexpectedly my name, and I am confused by this unexpected situation.
Does this girl know who I am? But I have no idea, and I don’t know any ghosts.
’Neil-sama.’
The girl calls my name again, as if to confirm it, and reaches out her hand to my face in fear.
”Master Neil, get away from her!”
”No, wait!”
Narsht-san is behind me, telling me to get away from the ghost, but I don’t think she is trying to harm me, so I decide to let her do what she wants for now, to find out what she wants.
The girl’s hand tried to touch my cheek, but of course her fingertips slipped through my cheek.
But she still tried to touch my face with both hands, as if she wanted to check my face, but then she gave up and looked at her hands which were slipping through no matter how she tried to touch them, and she looked frustrated.
Seeing her like that, my fear of the unidentified entity diminished, and I decided to ask the girl’s spirit a question.
”Hey, are you a ghost?
’…?’
The girl tilts her head curiously at the question.
I wonder if this means that she doesn’t know, or if it is a common pattern that the ghost herself doesn’t know she is dead.
”Well, then, how did you know my name?”
’???’
This question is not good either, or perhaps, is there a possibility that she doesn’t understand my words?
From the girl’s reaction, it seems that she doesn’t understand what I’m saying, rather than that she doesn’t understand the question.
When she called my name, she spoke fluently, byt it seemed that she was not accustomed to speaking.
’――’
”Eh, what?”
The girl suddenly said something to me, but I couldn’t help but reply in a way I wasn’t used to hearing.
’――’
No, no, I don’t understand at all.
The ghost girl, perhaps realizing that I couldn’t understand her, looked clearly disappointed and turned around to go somewhere.
”Oh, wait a minute!”
I call out to her, but I guess she doesn’t understand my words, because she takes a glance at me and starts to go forward again.
As I was thinking that I can’t grab her hand and hold her back if she is not really there, Narsht-san, who was watching from the back, suddenly said to me a question.
”Master Neil, the words that girl used, don’t they sound somewhat similar to the words of congratulation that Master Neil offers at the altar in the farmland?”
”Heh?”
When he said the words of congratulation offered at the altar in the farmland, he was talking about the language of spirits.
I have some knowledge of the language of spirits, and it’s not impossible that I can’t understand it at all, but… no, wait!
The girl said my name earlier, but she didn’t pronounce it fluently.
In the same way, if I’m using my own language, and if the girl’s pronunciation is fluent―the dots are quickly connected, and before I can even think about it, I utter her name.
”Wait! Spirit of the Wind (Ruu Arast)”
’!’
As soon as I shout this, the girl looks back at me with great energy, and I am convinced.
I was right, the reason why the spirit did not report to me was not because it could not be found, but because it was a spirit, a being that could not have been there in the first place.
And with the wind spirit who started voluntarily acting to protect the settlement and me for some unknown purpose, and the green-haired girl with wind-like attributes calling my name, the answer should be obvious now.
As if to confirm my thoughts, the warm wind that caressed my cheek at that time caressed my cheek again.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.