Chapter 170
Chapter 170
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 170
Chapter Title: Ghost City (5)
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-Creak.
Not a breath of wind stirred, yet the mansion's door swung open on its own.
I froze in place, peering into the darkness beyond. The interior seemed swallowed by pitch blackness, but as I stared longer, I could make out faint outlines within.
Furniture and decorations charred by fire, yet still recognizable in their former opulence. A portrait hung crookedly on the wall, depicting what looked like a married couple—their faces obscured by soot as well.
“……”
I stood at the threshold, debating whether to call out for Ayla.
In horror movies, the moment someone steps into a place like this and calls out, “Anyone there?” all the ghosts or demons lurking inside wake up.
I wasn’t about to follow that cliché.
I grabbed the door and held it wide open, then bound the handle securely to the outer pillar with vines. No way was I letting this door slam shut on its own in some “tragic accident” with not even a breeze blowing.
You know how it goes in those films—doors always slam shut at the worst times, and they never open again. Every time that happened, I’d curse the protagonist. You idiot, you should’ve secured the damn door! You fool, why’d you close the window?!
‘Let’s prevent that nonsense from the start.’
I double-checked, then triple-checked that the vines held firm before stepping inside.
-Creak……
-Creaaaak, creaaaak, creaaaak……
The wooden floor groaned loudly under my every step.
“……”
The mansion felt far larger from the inside than it had appeared outside. Almost like spatial expansion magic had been cast on it. The sense of space was unnaturally distorted.
That wasn’t the only odd thing.
‘From outside, it looked like a massive fire had ravaged the place……’
Exactly.
The exterior showed clear signs of a devastating blaze—charred pillars, crumbled bricks, all telling the tale of its fury. But the interior……
‘Just soot marks everywhere.’
Even the wallpaper patterns were discernible. The outside was nearly burned to the ground, yet the inside remained mostly intact?
‘This really might be a haunted house.’
I examined the crooked picture frame more closely. The faces were blackened beyond recognition, but below the shoulders, the damage was lighter.
‘A mage couple, maybe……’
The man and woman in the portrait wore thick rings on their ring fingers, besides their wedding bands—each emblazoned with a pentagram at the center. The symbol of Kerayon, god of magic and knowledge. From what I knew, those were graduation rings given only to mages who completed Solen’s Academy. Proof of their status, like a badge.
If the mansion’s owners were mages, then the fire here might not have been a ordinary one. Less likely from cooking mishaps or a hearth gone wrong. More likely tied to ‘magic.’
‘Magic-related stuff is always a headache.’
Maybe I should’ve brought Legion along. I hadn’t wanted to wake the peacefully sleeping guy, but now I regretted leaving him behind.
-Creak……
I moved cautiously. I hadn’t come to investigate the mansion thoroughly—just to find Ayla and get out fast.
-Whistle.
I let out a soft whistle to call her. It echoed faintly inside, but no patter of her light footsteps followed.
-Whiiistle.
I whistled again.
-Thud thud thud!
Footsteps pounded down the stairs from the second floor. I’d been glancing toward the kitchen but turned toward the stairs at the sound. As I rounded the corner,
-Fwooooosh!!!!
Something huge, pale, and indeterminate lunged from above, barreling straight at me. A bone-chilling cold wrapped around me instantly. I reflexively raised my arms to block, but my body stiffened, and I tumbled backward.
-Thud!
Pain exploded in the back of my skull, stealing even my groan.
-Woof! Woof woof!
Ayla’s belated barks rang out. Spotting me on the ground, she circled in panic before grabbing my nape like a mother cat with her kitten and started dragging me out of the mansion.
“Ugh, urgh……”
As she hauled me away, I strained my blurring vision to spot ‘it.’ But the last thing I saw before my eyes closed was that portrait of the couple.
-Whine, grr……!
Leaving Ayla’s desperate whimpers behind, I blacked out.
* * *
“Master! Are you awake?!”
I opened my eyes to see Elle’s face hovering upside down. Ayla’s round nose was sniffing busily back and forth too. My cheek was soaked from how much she’d licked me. Ugh, dizzy. I raised a hand to signal I was fine, then pressed my forehead.
“The innkeeper heard scratching at the door, went out, and found you collapsed,” Elle said.
Looks like Ayla had dragged me all the way back to the inn. Great, now the owner knew I’d gone out.
“What happened? Where’d you go?”
“That mansion, huh.”
Lloyd chimed in bluntly. I nodded.
“You knew, Lloyd?”
“Saw you leave in the middle of the night. Didn’t want to interfere, so I didn’t follow.”
“Good lord. You should’ve followed!”
“Enough, enough, Elle. I’m not a child.”
“But you collapsed!”
Heh. To prove I was perfectly fine, I sat up. Ayla braced my back from behind, making it easier. I drank the water Elle offered, cleared my throat, and explained calmly.
“I saw Ayla slip out at night. Something felt off. You know she doesn’t wander off on her own.”
“……Yeah.”
“Thought it was strange. Maybe she’d noticed something before us. So I followed quietly.”
-Whine……
Ayla flattened her ears, looking guilty as she burrowed into my lap. I stroked her head reassuringly and continued.
“She headed straight to that mansion, like she was drawn there.”
“……”
“Lloyd, remember? The door was shut when we left.”
“Yeah.”
“But when I got there, it was open—like it was waiting for me.”
“……”
“No coincidence.”
I slowly recounted entering the mansion, what I’d seen inside, and the final attack by that unknown entity. Then I looked at them steadily.
“The interior’s intact. Barely an exaggeration to say it’s just soot. I could even make out the wallpaper patterns.”
“Mages, huh……”
“Probably not a simple fire.”
Then Elle spoke up.
“What about the thing that attacked you, Master?”
“Hmm, not sure yet…… Could be a magical trap, summoned creature, or even a golem.”
I’d never heard of a translucent golem, but with mages involved, better keep possibilities open. I rubbed my still-throbbing head and activated [Wound Healing]. The swelling eased gradually.
“Then, right now……”
“Elle. I want to tear that place apart too, but technically, it’s private property.”
Lloyd nodded silently.
“We barge in, who knows what trouble. Better if no one knows I even went there.”
“What about the man we saw the night before……”
“We heard screams, went to the mansion, saw it through the gate.”
“Got it.”
With our stories aligned, we headed downstairs for breakfast. The innkeeper bustled about, preparing food for these rare guests. We took the larger, comfier of the two tables.
“Oh, you’re all up!”
The hooded innkeeper greeted us, ladle in hand. Elle leaned in and whispered.
“Master, I forgot to mention—Ayla…… kinda shredded the door?”
I glanced where she nodded. The door was in tatters. Oh, damn.
“So I told the innkeeper you’d compensate when you woke up……”
“……Right, of course. Good job, Elle.”
Damn. It was already falling apart…… Not much, but still a waste. But Ayla did it to save me, so…… No helping it. I chugged water to soothe my gut.
Breakfast was simple: grilled sausages, eggs, bean and oatmeal soup, rye bread. The innkeeper’s cooking wasn’t great. Oh well. I made a hot dog of sorts with rye bread, egg, and sausage, then casually asked the innkeeper tidying the kitchen.
“By the way, what happened at that mansion?”
“Huh? Th-the mansion?”
“Yeah. The one visible from the village entrance. Looked like a huge fire……”
“Oh, uh, y-yes…… It was a big blaze.”
“How’d it start?”
Her eyes darted wildly. She hesitated, fumbling for words, before blurting out just before awkwardness set in.
“The Dawsons……”
Dawson. The couple’s surname, probably. I chewed my sausage, staring at her.
“They got divine punishment.”
……Huh?