"Angelica, do you have a minute?" (Keisuke)
I raised my voice rather loudly since there was some distance between us.
"What is it!?" (Angelica)
Just like me, Angelica raised her voice slightly louder as well.
Oops, our voices might be heard by our neighbor —I just realized and reflected on it.
(It seems I"m still half-asleep. It"s going to cause various problems if I do not wake up soon.)
There"s a grumpy grandpa living next door. Though he"s old, his hearing seems like it hasn"t declined. If I set the volume of the television too loud, he"ll protest by hitting the wall.
I washed my hands, dried them with a towel, went back to the living room, and sat down next to Angelica.
Because our neighbor was a noise-sensitive one, I lowered my voice and went back to the topic.
"If you can use your Sensing skill, there"s something I"d like to ask." (Keisuke)
"Did you shave your beard? Such a waste, it was ticklish and fun." (Angelica)
Are you listening to me?
Why do you know how it feels?
Did you touch it while I was sleeping?
While feeling all kinds of uneasiness and doubt, I proceeded the talk.
"It"s going to be close to a week or so, there"s talk about a ghost sighting in the neighborhood. So, I"m wondering if you could check it for me." (Keisuke)
The ghost of a girl dressed in white had appeared —that was the hottest topic in the neighborhood.
Regardless of the New Year or coming-of-age ceremony, the appearance of the residents who bloomed over the seasonal ghost story, gave me unpleasant feelings.
"This world….. is this a world where spiritual bodies walk around? If so, from tonight onwards, I demand to sleep on the same bed and to have you escort me when I"d like to go to the toilet. Though I am a shrine maiden, I have zero resistance toward those kinds of things." (Angelica)
"Please be at ease. No ghosts or spirits exist in this world. This is a dimension that doesn"t even have magic." (Keisuke)
"…..it"s such a lonesome world." (Angelica)
"Instead, mechanical engineering is developed. Your favorite bidet is an example." (Keisuke)
"I-It"s not I like it….. But, I don"t dislike it either….." (Angelica)
Angelica was fidgeting while rubbing her thighs together. She seemed to be remembering the incident from before.
"But if there are no ghosts in this world, why would you bother investigating it?" (Angelica)
"There"s the possibility that it was a mistake. It"s just to be safe, a precaution." (Keisuke)
I have to say, I don"t really think there"s any kind of ghost. That must be a mistake about something, and I just want to raise my level of conviction.
I do not believe in unfounded superst.i.tions or the occult. Because of that, when I saw Angelica for the first time yesterday, "Oh, this is it!" —I thought that this was definitely the true ident.i.ty of the ghost.
She arrived in j.a.pan some days ago and has been hiding somewhere in the apartment building. Then, she found a chance and trespa.s.sed into my room.
Indeed, I saw that she had some kind of mysterious aura sometimes. Combined with her fluttering fantasy costume, it wouldn"t be strange if she was mistaken to be a foreigner ghost.
(Yeah, case closed!)
Then again, after I put my feelings into this deduction, it was shot down magnificently.
Angelica told me that she arrived to j.a.pan just before I got home. In other words, it has been ten hours or so since she came to j.a.pan. It was impossible for her to be mistaken as a ghost that started appearing since a week ago.
"So, would you help me? I"ll prepare a reward later." (Keisuke)
"……….a date?" (Angelica)
"It"s clothes!" (Keisuke)
I have to prepare female clothing and underwear for her anyway, so whatever her answer later, those are the items I intended to buy no matter what.
But I used it as negotiation material. I guess that"s how adults are.
"Okay, I don"t mind….. However, there"s one thing I"d like to ask first." (Angelica)
"What is that?" (Keisuke)
"Don"t you think Angelica is too long?" (Angelica)
She raised her index finger, "This is the most important part!" —and made that kind of face.
Her cheeks turned a bit red, so I wondered if she was excited about something. She has a good complexion even without make up.
"…..were you being called something else?" (Keisuke)
"Before I came here, I was called Angie or Angel." (Angelica)
"Then, Angel." (Keisuke)
"You didn"t hesitate at all, did you?" (Angelica)
I mean, Angie reminds me of a certain Hollywood actress with a strong image that"s totally different from hers.
"Then, I request that as well. Please call me properly as your guardian. Stop calling me Hero-sama." (Keisuke)"
"But that"s disrespectful. Because to me, Hero-sama is a hero." (Angelica)
"I don"t like it that much, that hero stuff." (Keisuke)
Because it reminds me of all the bad things.
"…..got it. Then, Father." (Angelica)
"Good girl, Angel!" (Keisuke)
Since the naming problem was solved, we proceeded to the main subject.
【 Party Member Sacred Shrine Maiden Angelica activates the Sensing skill. 】
【 While using the skill, MP will be consumed by 2 every second.】
I look up to Angelica after skimming through the window of text that came into sight.
The shrine maiden with blond hair walked quietly with her eyes closed. She went back and forth through the room, touched the wall, and focused her ears. I think she kept doing so for two or three minutes, but it was such an interesting scene.
That girl, she had her eyes closed while making a serious face. Moreover, I could feel a sacredness coming out from her figure.
That was a huge discovery.
While I was fascinated by her, she suddenly stopped in front of me, sat down, and opened her eyes.
Her emerald green eyes framed by long eyelashes, were staring straight into mine. She looked inorganic somewhere, as if she were a doll.
"………. Father?" (Angelica)
"Oh, sorry. How was it?" (Keisuke)
She called in a businesslike tone while I was lost in thought. Her expression returned from that of a doll to a human being
Numerous beads of sweat were hovering on her forehead.
What the h.e.l.l did you find in this short time? I thought.
Angelica answered my question while rubbing her arms.
"Things that are not human; they swarmed. I also felt strong malice….. If we do not do something soon, someone will die in the near future." (Angelica)
Proofreader : Meihua
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