Finally, I was able to take complete possession of the manor during the day.
As for the ghosts?
Aqua and Kazuma are gonna live here temporarily, after their nighttime quest to the cemeteries.
I'd rather stay temporarily with them in this huge house than pay them to purify the place.
A cheapskate move?
Yes and no.
I wanna keep Aqua around since I haven't learned her healing magic yet.
As for the Eris saved thanks to not paying, that's a bonus.
Of course, it's not to take advantage of anything else from the naive goddess... obviously.
"Still, having a house gives you a unique feeling."
An emotion I potentially would've never felt on Earth.
Knock knock
"Uh... R-Renji, there's weird stuff in my room..."
I see... sigh, the ghosts went into action much earlier than expected.
Twilight had barely passed.
"Come in, but you might have to spend the night here."
"H-how come?"
Megumin entered my room wearing pajamas... ordinary ones, but it accentuated an innocent aura around her.
Something dangerous, in my opinion... but I know how to control myself.
At least, normally.
"Aqua's supposed to take care of that, but she's currently at the slum cemetery for a quest with Kazuma."
That's not a lie.
Currently, there's only me and Megumin in this huge mansion.
Wait a minute... something could happen, right?
Sure, I've only known Megumin for a few days, but that shouldn't stop me from trying.
The more I think about it, the more feasible I find it.
"By 'that,' what do you mean?"
Megumin shot a suspicious glance at me, but I stayed in poker face mode.
"You remember the rumor about the ghosts in this residence?"
The little Crimson Demon nodded mechanically at me, while trying her best to hide her growing fear.
But without success.
"According to my information, they're true to some extent."
This manor is indeed haunted by "a ghost," but sometimes other spirits, less friendly ones, get in.
That's why I need Aqua to exorcise this place and set up a barrier after cleaning the location.
As for the little girl's spirit, Anna? I agree with Aqua in the original story.
It would be... extreme to exorcise her.
"What do you mean, they're true!!"
Megumin immediately grabbed me by the collar and started shaking me like I owed her money.
A comical situation, but I had to stop her.
Otherwise, I risked throwing up my dinner.
"Like I'm telling you, they're true," I affirmed, based on my knowledge of this universe.
"But don't panic, Aqua's an expert in this field. She'll be here by midnight... or 1 or 2 AM?"
Faced with my words and my calm attitude, Megumin finally regained her composure.
But she still seemed slightly uncomfortable looking toward the door behind her.
At this rate, I'm definitely gonna waste my time and energy with her.
If I can't eat her, then I might as well rest.
So I ended up getting up and heading toward my bed without continuing the discussion.
Tomorrow, I have a lot to do.
I also need to ask Kazuma if they caught Wiz in "suspicious" activity at the cemetery.
"Where are you going?! Don't leave me!"
Finally, we ended up in the same bed.
Unlike the other times we'd shared the same sheets, Megumin clung desperately to me because of this ghost story.
This situation led to a strange silence between us, slowly replaced by the sounds of our breathing in the room.
I could clearly feel Megumin's breath tickling my neck, since we were way too close.
I hesitated for a moment to look down at her, because of the abnormal atmosphere building... between the two of us.
But this was temporary.
I finally gathered my courage and looked toward her.
My action led to an event I don't think I could ever forget in this life.
The meeting between my eyes and Megumin's, at almost zero distance.
Her red eyes stared at me with an intensity I'd never seen or felt in all my lives.
During the beginning of this exchange, the Crimson Demon's scarlet eyes trembled slightly.
Yet she didn't look away.
There was in them a particular softness and attractiveness that I hadn't noticed until now.
At that moment, I understood.
If I don't eat this girl now, I'd be a disgrace to all Japanese transmigrators.
I don't wanna miss an opportunity like Kazuma did with Darkness in the bathroom.
That's out of the question.
That's why I decided to take the initiative.
I grabbed Megumin by the chin, while my face slowly approached hers.
An action undertaken by instinct, subtly guided by the atmosphere.
During this physical contact, Megumin trembled slightly... but didn't push me away.
She even blushed more and gently closed her eyes.
Everything was perfect.
I'm gonna lose the virginity of my new body right here... no, we're gonna lose our virginities!
Kiss.
The kiss between me and Megumin was neither wild nor French, because the idea itself had strangely escaped me.
I was too absorbed by the warmth of her body pressed against mine and by the softness of her lips.
But my happiness was short-lived.
The window was brutally opened.
"K-Kazu... damn it."
No, it wasn't my irresponsible Japanese compatriot.
It was several ghosts possessing dolls.
"T... that's them!"
Megumin threw herself even more into my arms, after pointing at the supernatural dolls.
You're probably wondering: what did I do?
"Haste... Blessing..."
A strategic retreat...
I currently have no concrete way to beat these ghosts without blowing up my house or damaging it.
My personal money is currently very limited.
As for using buff-type magic?
It's simply too ineffective against so many small scattered opponents.
That's how I ended up running all over the manor, carrying Megumin like a princess.
Fortunately, Aqua and Kazuma arrived before midnight.
...
"F... frankly... *throat* you guys sure took your time," I said while having tea.
Currently, I'm in the manor's reception room with Kazuma and Aqua.
(Image)
As for Megumin?
She's having trouble making eye contact with me right now.
Did I rush things in our relationship?
Possibly...
But I don't regret my action.
I want to specify that I'd keep my words in front of the multiverse FBI.
Anyway, I'm a shota and everything's legal according to Axel's law.
"Haha, sorry Renji-san, but we had a setback."
Kazuma's words immediately interested me.
So I immediately started pressing them for more information.
"A setback? Did you have a bad encounter at the cemetery?"
"Yeah, there's a damn lich..."
The moment Aqua mentioned part of the story, Kazuma immediately stopped her from continuing.
He literally blocked Aqua's mouth.
He seems really worried about Wiz.
But I'm sure he wouldn't have shown as much concern for Sylvia...
Neither would I.
"Haha, don't listen to this idiot, Renji-san. There were just a lot of undead," Kazuma declared while laughing nervously.
I shot a clearly skeptical glance at him without adding anything more.
The atmosphere became extremely awkward between us, but he didn't give in.
Of course, neither did I.
I'm sure he thinks he's protecting a friend from the demon side against a potentially dangerous adventurer.
Actually? He's not wrong in a way.
"Let me go, stupid hikikomori! You're not gonna choose that damn Lich over Renji!"
Kazuma turned extremely pale after Aqua's words, and he slowly turned his gaze toward me.
What was my reaction to this traitor?
Just a "polite" smile on my face.
But I decided to punish this traitor later.
Now that I think about it, why am I already hesitating to eat Aqua?
"An undead? You gonna explain, Aqua?"
For now, I need to deal with Wiz.