Chapter 85
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Two Ghosts
Time passed, and the red sunset faded as the night sky turned deep blue.
The first step in the plan was to wander the mansion searching for traces of the ghost. Once they had a rough idea of its location, Enoch would use his mind's eye to communicate with Idalian.
There were two main hurdles. One was pinpointing Idalian's position, and the other was, naturally, establishing smooth communication.
"Shall we take a look around?"
They had to find a ghost that even Enoch couldn't sense. The moment the group seriously opened the door and stepped out,
Grab!
"T-Take me with you."
"You said you weren't coming."
"...On second thought, being alone seems scarier."
Tsukiyo, clutching at Enoch's clothes, trailed after them like a shadow.
"Enoch, last time you said you definitely heard footsteps, right?"
"Yeah. If it hadn't been for that, it would've been tough to find her."
"Maybe there'll be a hint like that this time too."
Ziegfried's demeanor was unusually solemn, unlike his usual self. But Enoch shook his head at his words.
"I'm not so sure. That footstep sound is the most puzzling part. She didn't seem strong enough to make noises like that."
If she had the power to make sounds in the first place, wouldn't she have tried communicating somehow by now?
And that was when it happened.
Clack—
The clear sound of footsteps echoed. Everyone's heads turned toward the source.
"...What the hell is that?"
Unable to shake off the eerie feeling, Enoch headed toward the sound anyway.
Clack—
Even as they moved, the footsteps continued at regular intervals, as if guiding them not to lose track.
In the chilling atmosphere, they held their breath and moved mechanically.
That was around when the strange noise started.
"Hic..."
Ziegfried, body rigid, rolled only his eyes toward Enoch.
"...Did you hear that? A sobbing sound. No way..."
"No. It's Choco."
Turning his gaze, sure enough, Tsukiyo was pale-faced and sniffling, just as Enoch said.
"...Thought my heart was gonna drop out."
Grumbling, Ziegfried started walking again.
In the end, Tsukiyo ended up piggybacked on Enoch, and following the periodic footsteps down the corridor, they arrived at the source.
[Nothing out of the ordinary.]
"Idalian's no demon. Wouldn't it be weirder if something *was* wrong?"
[Now that you mention it, yeah.]
While Eri nodded in agreement, Enoch focused his mind on his eyes.
Seeing ghosts consumed a tremendous amount of mental energy. The strain on his eyes was another issue.
The time he could see ghosts was limited, and even then, they appeared as blurry shapes, making it slow to read lip movements.
'Might need to study lip-reading.'
As the rings around his eyes overheated and began peering into the spirit realm, a faint woman's figure materialized before him.
Seeing her again after the portrait, he was certain. This was definitely Idalian.
So why couldn't she pass on to the afterlife and was stuck in the mortal realm?
Was she murdered, harboring resentment? Or lingering attachment? What could be attachment strong enough for that?
Pushing aside the complicated thoughts, he met Idalian's gaze.
- Nice
He focused on her lips to read them.
- to
She seemed aware, moving her lips slowly.
- meet
Nice..., to meet
- you
Nice to meet you? No way—they didn't have time to waste on greetings.
"Ah, yeah. So, what do you want to say? Time's short."
Idalian's faint expression twisted slightly. Probably a hint of sadness.
- My
His eyes were starting to ache. Peering into the spirit realm was taxing even for Enoch now at grandmaster level.
Sensing it, Idalian sped up her lip movements a bit.
- son
My son. Followed by one short word.
[Ziegfried]
He couldn't hear a voice, yet a warm tone seemed to brush his ear.
As Enoch dazedly touched his ear, Ziegfried, who had been holding his breath, shot him an intense look.
"What? Tell me."
"I-It's over?"
"Yeah. Can't keep the mind's eye up any longer."
Any longer and his eyes might shatter. Enoch pressed firmly on his eyelids.
"Mom's here..."
Ziegfried was still confused. Part of him wondered if this was all a play staged behind his back.
A ghost? Why would *his* mom be one?
Yet somehow, the empty space before him felt filled, and from his blank mind, he pulled out the words he'd repeated endlessly.
"...I missed you, Mom."
At those words, everyone except Ziegfried vanished from the corridor.
Unaware, Ziegfried alone poured out the words weighing on his heart into the short night.
With no reply, yet without a trace of loneliness.
*
"What the...?"
Without realizing it, the space around him had changed. He'd been in the corridor moments ago, but now he stood in his own room.
"Eek..."
With a deflating whimper, Tsukiyo fainted, and Eri stared gravely at the door.
[Ziegfried's gone.]
"Hmm..."
What was that? Spatial teleportation so advanced he hadn't noticed?
Enoch touched the door with a curious expression.
If such an entity was watching him now, could he resist? If not fight back, could he escape? Even so, with Tsukiyo, they shouldn't lose helplessly, right?
Anyway, first priority: wake Tsukiyo.
Pat pat—
Tapping her soft cheek, she jolted awake with a spasm.
"Kyaaah!?"
"Get a grip."
"W-What, what was that!? Th-There was definitely a ghost...!"
She scanned around wildly, as if she'd seen something, staying on high alert.
"Eri, did you see anything?"
[No...]
Only Tsukiyo saw it? Then why hadn't he?
Exhausted from the mind's eye? Gap in skill with Tsukiyo? Or did she have something special?
"Oh, right. Choco, didn't you say you saw a ghost as a kid?"
"Y-Yeah."
"'Cause you're a cat?"
You know, the saying that cats see ghosts.
He asked seriously, and Tsukiyo perked up her cat ears.
"That's nonsense! No one in my clan could see ghosts!"
"You might be special."
"I-I only saw one once as a kid!"
Like a broken toy, she stiffened and yowled. After a moment's thought, Enoch slipped his hands under her armpits and hoisted her up.
"Nya?"
"Ghost detector."
"......"
Ah, fainted again.
*
Enoch cautiously stepped back into the corridor and retraced their earlier path.
Straight, then left, straight again, then two rights.
He reached the spot where he'd seen Idalian, but nothing was there.
"No, this isn't it."
Enoch's eyes glowed faintly purple. Deploying his mind's eye to a tolerable degree, he sensed intent.
'Barrier? Or illusion?'
He patted the shoulder of Tsukiyo, who was glancing around nervously.
"Eep!"
"...It's me."
"W-What is it?"
She was the expert in this area, so he asked, but she shook her head.
"I-I don't know. No traces of illusion."
"Hmm."
What to do? Pondering, Enoch exhaled shortly through his nose.
"Then let's just rest in the room."
[What about Ziegfried?]
"He'll be fine."
No negative emotions in the faint mind he glimpsed with the mind's eye. His own senses agreed, so he was almost certain.
And he had a hunch who was behind it.
"There's another ghost besides Idalian."
Remember, Jatun said something about a ghost from around two thousand years ago at first. Maybe this one was it?
"The footsteps were probably this ghost too, so not a bad one."
"G-Good ghosts are only the ones that've passed on."
"That's narrow-minded, Choco. That's speciesism."
He could hear the details from Ziegfried tomorrow.
Yawning lightly, Enoch returned to his room and flopped onto the bed.
Expensive beds really did feel nice.
*
In the faint dawn light, Enoch woke to a small presence and squinted toward the door.
"Oh, did I wake you?"
"Yeah."
Enoch sat up groggily. Ziegfried, opening the door carefully, had red, puffy eyes.
"Everything okay?"
"Huh? Yeah, nothing much. Thanks for giving me space. I think I said some embarrassing stuff after."
He hadn't exactly given space... but good was good.
Enoch nodded vaguely, and Ziegfried asked,
"By the way... I forgot to ask earlier—what did Mom say?"
"Nice to meet you."
"And?"
"My son, Ziegfried."
Ziegfried rested his chin on his hand and fell silent.
After a few minutes, he looked up, nose twitching.
"Why say that? If she had strong enough attachment to not pass on, she'd have plenty else to say."
"Who knows."
Maybe as a ghost, her mind wasn't clear.
Enoch rubbed his eyes blankly and lay back down.
"Go rest. You must be tired."
"...Thanks."
Creak—the door closed slowly.
"Really... thank you...."