Chapter 29: Ghost
It’s been about two days since we started our journey to find Onyx-san.
It was in the afternoon, Dorami and I were walking along a path in the forest.
Dorami was using a wooden stick as a cane as she walked beside me. Even though she was out of breath, she never stopped moving.
“Are you sure you don’t want to take a break?” (Jade)
“I-it’s okay… After all, if we’re slow, we’ll need to sleep outdoors. Dorami wants to sleep in a fluffy bed again today…! How far is the next town?” (Dorami)
“If we don’t take any detours, about 3 hours.” (Jade)
“Just in time for dinner! Eating meat when you’re exhausted is definitely the best…” (Dorami)
Looks like she wanted to eat meat today.
She’s doing her best to walk by herself so I should find a shop that serves delicious meat for her.
“In order to eat dinner, we need to do our best to defeat the monster.” (Jade)
When we left, we also received a quest from the guild.
The request was to subdue the ghost hidden in this forest.
Until we beat it, we can’t leave the forest.
“Dorami will help too! With this ‘Dorami Sword’, that monster will go down in one hit!” (Dorami)
Dorami swung a wooden stick around.
She picked it up and liked the length and thickness, and after thinking about it, she then dubbed it the ‘Dorami Sword’.
“That’s encouraging, but just leave the fighting to me. You just need to cheer for me from the back.” (Jade)
“Dorami will cheer with her loudest voice! So, what kind of monster are we going to face this time?” (Dorami)
“A ghost.” (Jade)
“A ghost?! We’re going to fight a ghost?!” (Dorami)
Dorami’s face turned pale.
It was an unexpected reaction.
“You’re not good with ghosts, huh? I didn’t think you’d be afraid since you lived in an abandoned mountain.” (Jade)
“Just because Dorami lived there doesn’t mean she wasn’t scared. To make sure no ghosts came in, Dorami always closed the door when she slept.” (Dorami)
The hut was more likely to have ghosts than anywhere else, so camping outside probably would’ve been better…
Anyway, I can’t just leave her scared.
I have to clear up the misunderstanding.
“Ghosts aren’t the kind of monsters you’re imagining, Dorami.” (Jade)
“What kind of monsters are they then?” (Dorami)
“If I were to describe it, it would be ‘a monster with no substance’.” (Jade)
“That sounds kind of ghost-like…” (Dorami)
“When I say no substance, I don’t mean that they don’t have a physical body. I mean that they can shapeshift.” (Jade)
“Shapeshifting doesn’t sound ghost-like…” (Dorami)
The ghostliness faded, and Dorami seemed somewhat relieved.
Color returned to her pale face, and she regained some vitality.
“What do ghosts shapeshift into?” (Dorami)
“They read your inner thoughts and transform into the creature you fear the most. Their strength also changes accordingly.” (Jade)
“Dorami is afraid of ants! Dorami is afraid of ants! Dorami is afraid of ants!” (Dorami)
Dorami began chanting to herself to prepare herself if a ghost appears.
“They read your mind, so just telling yourself won’t be effective.” (Jade)
“That’s troubling… It’d be helpful if Garnet was here with us….” (Dorami)
“If Garnet-san was here, the ghost would probably just turn into a spider.” (Jade)
“If it’s just an insect, Dorami can kill it easily. If Dorami knew it’d be like this, she would’ve lived a life where she was afraid of ants.” (Dorami)
“That sounds inconvenient…” (Jade)
It’s not worth having to spend your life terrified by ants if you just want an easy victory against some ghosts.
“Anyway, don’t be so scared. No matter what it transforms into, I’ll defeat it.” (Jade)
“Dorami knows that you’re strong. If it’s a monster that even you fear, then there’s no way it isn’t strong… What are you afraid of, Jade?” (Dorami)
“If it was a long time ago, it’d be a basilisk.” (Jade)
“Is it something else now?” (Dorami)
“Yeah, I’m not scared of it anymore cause I already beat it.” (Jade)
At that time, I was just a novice, but now I’m already a full-fledged adventurer.
The poison of the basilisk wouldn’t be able to do anything against my strengthened body.
I’m also confident that I can defeat any monster that comes my way.
Though, there is just one problem. We don’t really know what the ghost looks like right now. If possible, I want to leave the forest by the end of the day, but I don’t really know where it is or what it looks like, so it will take some time.
Buooooooon…! Buoooooooooon…!
“Hiii?! W-what was that sound?!” (Dorami)
“Wind… If it was, that’d be strange. I don’t think anyone was blowing a horn so… snoring, maybe?” (Jade)
“I-if it’s that loud, then it’s definitely from a gigantic monster! …Let’s walk quietly so that it doesn’t wake up.” (Dorami)
Dorami crouched and slowly shuffled her feet.
“No, let’s go check it out.” (Jade)
“W-why?! It’s better if we just focus on the ghost!” (Dorami)
“Because the one snoring might’ve been the ghost.” (Jade)
A ghost can even transform into a monster that big.
We don’t have any other clues, so it’s worth checking it out.
“D-Dorami understands. Right now, she is holding the Dorami Sword…! With this, she can fight against any monster!” (Dorami)
Dorami looked at her partner who had only been in her possession for half a day.
We deviated from the path and walked into the dense trees.
In the dark, I was being careful so that my feet wouldn’t get caught in the roots that protruded from the trees like veins as we slowly headed towards the source of the snoring—
We arrived at an open area.
There was a monster with black scales, sharp claws, and fangs. It was just sleeping there, snoring.
It was a black dragon.
“I-it looks insanely strong…” (Dorami)
“A black dragon is very strong, though this isn’t a real one, it’s just a ghost.” (Jade)
“How can you tell?” (Dorami)
“Because this isn’t a black dragon’s habitat.” (Jade)
Black dragons are proud creatures that look down on other races.
Because of that, they won’t allow any other race to look down on them, so their habitats are typically on top of a mountain.
“Of course, there’s also the possibility that it’s just an oddball.” (Dorami)
If it’s actually the ghost, it wouldn’t suddenly attack us.
Ghosts are cautious and transform into things that their enemies fear before engaging them.
“Dorami, wait here for a bit.” (Jade)
“Y-yeah. Dorami will cheer you on from here.” (Dorami)
After receiving Dorami’s encouragement, I walked up to the black dragon.
Just then, it opened its eyes.
It gently raised its head and stared at me with its fangs baring menacingly.
I stared at the dragon as Dorami cheered for me.
And then, the dragon was suddenly enveloped in light.
The black dragon—the ghost transformed into the creature that I feared the most.
