CH 84

According to Tat and Rams, they saw something like a haze in the stable. Tat seemed to think it was a ghost. Seeing how frightened he was, he might not be good with that kind of thing.

Souya got up from his spot to go check on the stable.

“…… Souya, you look a little pale. Do you want me to go?”

“Don’t worry about it, Merylou-kun. But dealing with spirits is not easy, so it would be nice if you two were mistaken. If it really is a ghost …… we’ll think about it then and there.”

Souya shrugged his shoulders, smiling slightly at Merylou. 

(If you want to wipe out a spirit from the world, you can do it with magic …… But it’s not very pleasant to do so without letting them go to heaven.)

In order to make a ghost become a rest in peace, it was necessary to use the sacred art of salvation as exercised by the priest. The ghost boy Mia had met in the Thrail Forest had completed her chant after a long prayer, but if it was a hostile ghost such as an evil spirit, she would not get such a leeway. They might have to resort to rough methods of destroying the spirit.

However, the fact that the two of them were able to come back here without being harmed in any way suggests that the possibility of an evil spirit is extremely low. In the meantime, Souya thought that he should take a look at the stable and make a decision.

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Outside the lodge, it was still raining heavily.

The roof was protruding, so fortunately it didn’t pour down on their heads, but the strong wind made the mist-like droplets dampen the cloak they wore.

Souya walked along the wall of the lodge, along the roof, until he reached the stable next to it, and opened the half-open door.　

Inside the stable, the packhorse Anastasia was lying on the straw in the stable, asleep. On the floor, there was a lantern still lit, and dishes that had probably been used for dinner. Both were probably the personal belongings of either Tat or Rams.

“–Be the light in the darkness. [Lighting].”

Souya conjured up a magical light from the palm of his hand and levitated it to a height of about three meters.

He slowly looked around the brightly lit stable, but could not make out the haze that Rams had described.

(…… There’s nothing here. Is it possible that they’re both mistaken?)

But it is too early to assume that there is nothing wrong. I decided to postpone my report to everyone and check on the stable for a while longer.

Souya took off his cloak, sat down, took out the hand mirror from the dimension box, and checked his own expression.

The expression reflected in the hand mirror, as Mia and Merylou had pointed out earlier at the lodge, certainly did not look good.

Some of the contents of the tales of the six heroes borrowed from Aisha were emotionally painful, but since he hadn’t revealed himself as Rei, it was better for his mental health not to worry about it. 

What I’m worried about is the disappearance of the golden hero Ares and the white saint Fiine. There is some uneasiness in my heart, but there is nothing I can do about it right now. Souya felt frustrated and let out a deep sigh.

(The only ones whose whereabouts are known are Rosalind and Ranak …… I wonder if they have any clues to the disappearance of the hero and the saint?)

Rosalind the Rose and Ranak the Ashen.

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I’m one of the six heroes and an old friend of twenty years, and I’m slowly developing a desire to see them both. If it is possible to do so, I’d also like to see the Black Vlad whose whereabouts are unknown. He may be devastated by the disappearance of the white saint, which was the support of his heart.

While Souya was pondering for a while, he heard a knock at the stable door.

“…… Souya-san. It’s Mia.”

“I’m here. It’s probably pouring outside. You should get in quickly.”

As the door opened, Mia appeared, wearing a cloak, with the sound of heavy rain behind her.

Her long blond hair was swept by the strong wind blowing in from outside, and the lightning behind her illuminated it beautifully.

Mia hurriedly closed the stable door and hand-combed her hair, which was disheveled by the rain mist and strong wind.

“…… Souya-san, did you see any ghosts?”

“No. I did a quick check of the stable, but didn’t find anything. But I think it’s best to keep an eye on it for a while longer …… Why did you come here, Mia-kun?”

“Merylou-san said I should keep watch over the stable …… Are you feeling all right?”

Mia sat down and placed her cleric’s staff beside her and took off her cloak, looking around for anything unusual. From what he had just heard, it seemed that Merylou was worried about Souya and had instructed her to accompany him in the stable. One of the reasons why he wasn’t feeling well was because of his own black history, and if anything, he would have preferred to be on guard duty alone, but now that she had taken the trouble to come, he couldn’t force her to leave.

“I’m feeling fine …… It’s just that reading the Tales of the Six Heroes made me remember the old days. I was feeling a little sentimental. I can’t go back to when I was young, and there’s nothing I can do about it now.”

Souya told Mia with a wry smile on his face.

What came to mind was regret for youthful indiscretions. Mia, who didn’t know what was going on, might have taken this to mean something different, but that was fine with me.

“I think Souya-san is quite young. Sometimes you can be very mean too.”

“…… Sorry about that. It’s just a bit of mischief, nothing personal.”

“I know that …… What was Souya-san like when he was younger?”

Souya’s expression froze at Mia’s abrupt question.

Of course, she has no malice or ill will. The fact that he was being hurt by her unintended ways is all his fault.

The Silver Rei. The vision of the abominable past flickered, and Souya unconsciously suppressed his face with his left hand.

“…… Souya-san?”

Mia, who was suspicious of Souya’s condition, supported Souya with both hands as his expression tightened.

“You’ve been a little strange since you were over there ……  I’m sure you’re not injured …… I think you should get some rest.”

Mia was sitting upright, trying to get Souya to lie on her lap.

(……Wait a minute.)

If it had been the normal Souya who could afford it, he might have immediately refused it with pretension.

However, beginning with the Bronze Demon encounter in the late evening, the contents of the Tales of the Six Heroes, including the black history, and the disappearance of an old friend that he wanted to rely on, he must have been mentally exhausted. And then there are the gaps and the distractions. 

“…… You can stay like this for a while. Aren’t you tired?”

A pleasant feeling. By the time he realized it, Souya was lying on Mia’s lap. Unable to resist, Souya stopped thinking.

“…… No. Maybe I’m just tired.”

There was the loud sound of a bolt of lightning striking.

From the next lodge, Aisha’s scream and Merylou’s mischievous laughter.

As he listened to the roaring thunder, Souya vaguely remembered the time when he and Mia had reached Ilstadt.

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