CH 179

T/N: リング or ringu, a ring, or any kind of loop like a ring or earring. Like the moonlight reflecting on a well.

“…”

I awaken from my slumber.

When I slowly open my eyes, the room is in total darkness. I cannot even see the ceiling. Morning still seems far away.

Feeling a weight on my stomach and I stretch out my right hand out of the sheets.

While stroking the fluffy fur, I looked at the entrance of the room—

“… Uh!”

In the jet-black darkness. A translucent, pale, white body floats there.

White skin. Long hair. A woman in a dress-like maid outfit.

She was standing there, swaying and swaying, as if her very existence itself was blurring.

The moment I saw her, I knew. I knew it was not of this world.

It was something different from the ghosts I had seen in the dungeons of Elem. It too had a human form, but it was more inorganic… exactly like a monster. This one, however, is human-shaped…

The first time I saw it, I thought it was a ghost, but it was not, and I was not sure why I couldn’t look away from it in the silent darkness.

For a moment, I was reminded of a glimpse of it. It was a scene from a horror movie that I saw as a child and was traumatized by.

The main character is standing still when he encounters a ghost, and then he hears a noise from a different direction. And the next moment, from behind–

I can no longer look away or even move.

Sweat drips down my forehead.

How many seconds, minutes, and hours have passed? I don’t know anymore. The only thing that calms my mind now is the touch of Shion’s hair on my right hand.

I wonder if the fur on my right hand is really Shion. Earlier it was too dark to see. I just felt a weight on my stomach and thought it was Shion. I did not confirm that it was Shion. I haven’t confirmed it. Maybe it’s that creature’s hair—

—I have to make sure.

At the moment I thought this, my gaze almost swam to my stomach, and I hurriedly pulled myself back to focus.

No, my thoughts are running in the wrong direction from fear. Be calm. I’m going to see what’s going on… There’s magic for times like these!

I finally remembered the existence of the Purification spell I used on the undead in the dungeons of Elem. So, I pointed my right hand towards it while lying down.

“To the impure, may your soul rest in peace…”

I carefully chanted the words one by one, as if to make sure they were correct.

I kneaded the magic power and sent it into my right hand. Only then did I finally see the creature’s “eyes”.

That creature—her eyes were unexpectedly clear and sad… she was looking at me begging. I felt sorry and I hesitated to activate the magic.

Purification worked on ghosts in the dungeons of Elem. If I apply purification, I would be able to make her disappear. But is that really the right thing to do? Is it right? Well, the questions came up in my mind and echoed over and over.

In the meantime, with sad eyes, she floated toward the door and disappeared outside.

Suddenly, I divided my attention to the desk, and I thought I saw a ring placed there, shining suspiciously.

A moment later, I got up and confirmed with my hand that the thing on my stomach was Shion.

For some reason, the fear I had felt earlier was almost gone now. Was it because I saw those eyes of hers?

But maybe because I was completely awake, I couldn’t sleep. While I was wrapped up in the sheets with Shion in my arms, I noticed that the sunlight was shining through the window.

“Well… now.”

I got out of the sheets and put Shion beside me. Then I look at the thing on the desk.

“This is…”

A golden ring. The thing that I picked up last night in the courtyard.

I have never experienced anything supernatural in this room before. The only thing that is different is the presence of this ring.

“No way, it’s not a cursed ring, right? It’s not, I hope.”

I don’t want that to be the case, so I say it out loud on purpose.

Is it the typical trope where it can’t be removed because you’re cursed if you equip it? And will the decrease in my satiety double? Well, I didn’t equip it in the first place, right? Does it mean that there is such a powerful effect without even having to equip it?

No, please really don’t do that… I really don’t need those things, you know.

Hmmm, I was going to leave this ring with Mimi-san, but is that really what I want to do? Won’t something bad happen to Mimi-san? I think I’ll just put it back where I found it secretly and act like I don’t know what it is… Fortunately, no one should know that I picked up this ring.

Should I purify it for the time being…

“To the impure, may your soul rest in peace, [Purification].”

I purified it for now, but I don’t see any change in the ring. I don’t know if the purification magic has any effect on the curse.

After much hesitation, I decided to leave the ring with Mimi-san and went to the office on the first floor.

“Mimi-san? She left early in the morning. I heard she had a meeting about the golden dragon and would be back late. If you need something, I can help you instead.”

“Oh no. I’ll come back later.” (Mimi-san’s Assistant)

Somehow, I felt that it would be better not to let too many people touch this ring, so I declined.

“By the way, I wonder… if there are any stories about ghosts appearing in the Clan House?”

“Huh? A ghost? …I don’t know…” (Mimi-san’s Assistant)

“I see… Then, are there any employees who died here?”

“This is a building with a very long history…” (Mimi-san’s Assistant)

The young clerk answered in a slightly puzzled manner.

…In the first place, how are ghosts treated in this world? I confirmed that wraiths and ghosts that are undead monsters exist, but are there also stories of ghosts that haunt people after they die?

I was curious, so I left the office and headed for the library.

In the library, I picked up the Monster Book and took a seat by the window. I skimmed through the section on undead monsters and scrutinized the information on the undead monsters I found from one end to the other.

“So, that’s all there is.”

Now that I think about it, the materials at the Adventurers’ Guild in Elem were only about the monsters that appeared in the dungeons of Elem, not about the monsters themselves.

According to the illustrated book, ghost-type disembodied monsters may be more likely to occur when a creature has left some kind of strong feelings behind during its life. It would be difficult to determine this because it is difficult to investigate this area even if one wanted to. It is also said that when a famous Mage becomes undead, some of his memories from before his death may remain. Powerful monsters such as a Lich are said to have almost all of their memories before their death.