CH 318

“Ash, wait!”

“Kuoon ……”

Aina, chasing hard, finally catches up with Ash and picks him up. The little tiger tumbles down, and Ash flails about in Aina’s hands. Basleigh picks up the little snow tiger from behind and holds Aina.

“Fuh, I’ve finally caught up with you. Even though I’m tired from work, I can’t seem to close the gap …… I wonder what kind of training you do ……”

“I’m always competing with Tilia-chan and the others!”

“Well, since you’re Lars-kun’s sister, I won’t be surprised now, though? Now that we have that out of the way, what to do now.”

Aina smiled with Ash in her hand, and Basleigh looked up at the building in front of her. It was the theater, and it was the site where Lars and the others were currently working. Aina asks while being held by Basleigh.

“Where are we, Basleigh-sensei?”

“This is the theater where Lars-kun is. I think we can go inside if we come this far, but unfortunately, there is no way to get in. Ash would have stopped here after he escaped. If he hadn’t, someone would have picked him up and he would have been a warm fur tomorrow morning ……”

“No! I hate you, Basleigh-sensei!”

“Fugyaa!?”

Aina slapped Basleigh’s face and hugged Ash tightly.

“Ash, you can’t see Lars-niichan because he’s inside. Let’s go home?”

“Kuoon ……”

Ash was disappointed that he couldn’t see Lars after coming so far. Then, the little snow tiger at his feet turned his head in the wrong direction and squealed.

“Nyaa.”

“Hmm? …… Someone’s coming, isn’t it?”

Basleigh lowered Aina and Ash down and stood protectively, her eyes narrowed as she stared at the approaching figures. I don’t think there are any criminals in this town, but just in case there are, I’m ready to escape at any time.

It was cloudy, but not completely dark, she could make out the figure as it approached, and Basleigh opened his mouth.

“Oh, it’s Kleinert-san.”

“Hmm? Oh, if it isn’t Basleigh-sama. What are you doing here at this hour? Oh, I see! Lars-dono is conducting an investigation right now, so you came to check on him. That girl is?”

“That’s right! Well, I was at a loss as to how to get us in. This is Lars-kun’s sister, Aina-chan, who came to visit the capital.”

Basleigh took a moment to think and opened her mouth to say that she had come to visit Lars. Aina also raises her hand behind Basleigh’s back.

“Good evening, I am Aina Irving! This little kid has come out because he wants to see Lars-niichan.”

“Kuon.”

“Ohhhh …… isn’t that a baby deadly bear? This is bad without the Tamer. Let’s go to Lars-dono.”

“Yay! Good for you, Ash.”

“Kuoon♪.”

“Please take care of us then. Did you go somewhere, Kleinert-san?”

I called out to the back of Kleinert as he walked out to lead the way to the back of the theater, and he responded without looking back.

“Well, I was at my father’s place at Lars-kun’s request. To know if there’s a ghost appearing here or not before.”

“Hoho~, I’d like to know more about it.”

“Let’s go!”

“Kuoon.”

“Yes, yes, I just hope Lars-kun doesn’t get mad ……”

Aina pulled her along, and Basleigh narrowed her eyes and let out a sigh as she followed her.

◆ 　 ◇ 　 ◆

“…… Hmm, there’s no response here. There’s a faint sense of it, but not enough to form a shape.”

“I wonder what it was that Milfy saw.”

“I’ve been researching for a while now, and I’ve found out that the conditions under which a spirit can appear depend on the circumstances, so when this girl, Milfy-chan, saw it, it might have been ‘something’? It might be better to visit her a few times. If it’s too late and it doesn’t show up …… that kind of thing also happens.”

“R-Really? I thought the later it was, the easier it would be ……”

Makina, who’s been relieved that nothing happened, hears what Urka said, quickly hides behind me, looks around, and says 

Urka says that when people gather together, the spirits think they are alive and join the crowd. He said that this can happen especially in the heat of a theater like this. That’s why the spirits were still taking shape at the time when Milfy saw them, that’s what he wanted to say.

“Do you want to wait a little longer?”

“No, let’s go to next one. I want to take a look around. It’s going to be a long day, so we’ll just have a look around today.”

Urka seemed to be thinking that it would take several days. I’m a little embarrassed that I thought it would be over by the end of the day.

“Then, to the main hall–“

“Wait a minute …… There!”

The moment I opened my mouth, Fath-san threw a pebble she was holding onto the stage. But the pebble fell to the stage with a dry thud.

“By the way, can’t Sarge detect ghosts?”

“Haha, I guess it just goes to show that we can’t live alone.”

While smiling at the fact that Sarge has become even more human since he started spending time with us, his words pierce my heart just a little bit. It’s more of a lesson than a pain, though.

“Do you want to look into it some more, Fath-san?”

“No, I think we should go ahead as Urka suggested. We have time …… I’d like to go to the dressing room after, if you don’t mind?”

“What? Yes, I’ll ask Kleinert-san to show us the way when he gets back. Then we’ll go downstairs to the main hall.”

“Uhhh …… I don’t want it to appear …… but if don’t appear, it won’t end ……”

“Come on, come on, Makina, let’s go.”

I dragged Makina out of the middle hall. I took one last look back into the middle hall.

“As I thought, there’s no one, huh.”

I turned on my heel and closed the heavy door of the middle hall, as there was still no sound.

“……”

The next stop was the main hall. This hall is very spacious and is mainly used for plays and stage performances. Just like I said, this is a place where people gather, and it could be the real deal.

“[Spiritual art]”

“Fumu ……?”

When Urka used [Spiritual Arts], Fath-san raised her voice suspiciously right after. If you look closely, you can see a shadow of a person on the stage. Then Urka spoke up.

“La-Lars! On the stage!”

“It’s here!”

“U-Uhhh ……! I’ll do my best!”

I let the Light Up rise high as Makina and I run out onto the stage. The hall is made up of stairs, and the stage is below the door. As I ran down the stairs, I could see people walking on the stage.

“Okay, here’s one for now ……!”

I go up on stage and turn up the lights to see the ghost. And there was–

“Uwahh, I-It’s so bright! I’m going to be purified!? Oh, Lars-kun, so you’re here!”

“Ba-Basleigh-sensei!?”

–Basleigh-sensei, who was supposed to be at work, was there for some reason, and I slumped down on the stage, head sliding ……　

I have time, but no ideas …… (meaningful)

Thank you for reading!

[Afterword Theater]

‘Well, that’s how it is, it’s my turn.’

“Gununu …… It’s always you!”

Don’t fight ……

‘So, where am I?’

“The afterlife!”

‘When did I die!?’