OHNIR – Chapter 64
Chapter 64: Seeing a Ghost
Kelusta was silent for a long time.
Until… her desolate and pessimistic thoughts were interrupted by the System’s sudden, humble request.
“If you have nothing else to say… temporary host, may I continue?” the System asked tentatively. “Being forced to get stuck halfway through announcing a mission is a very uncomfortable thing for a system…”
“Oh—my apologies, Old Sy, please continue.” Kelusta snapped back to her senses, stuck out her tongue, and, knowing she was in the wrong, made a zipping motion across her lips.
After receiving the command, the System was finally able to resume the interrupted announcement process. While continuing to read the data, it recited it to Kelusta:
“—System display shows the Stage Five mission reward is 【Clara's Journal】.”
Upon hearing this name, Kelusta’s eyes widened. A look of surprise and joy, mixed with a hint of hesitation, appeared in them. Her lips remained pressed together, and she didn’t speak for a long time.
“…I’m finished, temporary host,” the System said, relieved. “You can speak freely now—however, judging by your expression, is there something you want to ask me?”
“‘Clara's Journal’?” Kelusta asked immediately after getting the System’s approval. “Is it the Clara I’m thinking of?”
“I believe so.” The System brought up the mission interface, displaying it on a virtual, translucent screen in front of Kelusta so she could clearly see the Nobili script shown on it. “Across the entire continent, from past to present, there has probably only ever been one Clara.”
There has always been an unwritten rule on the Nobili continent: when naming a newborn, one must avoid the names of the gods to show respect for the fallen age of deities. And surprisingly, both humans and demons have silently and consistently adhered to this rule from ancient times to the present day.
Therefore, this mission’s reward… had to be the journal of the Goddess of Light.
After receiving confirmation, Kelusta’s expression changed slightly.
From the name of the reward, she immediately realized something.
“It seems the spell needed for the Gathering Magic Circle must be in this journal.” The brown-haired girl’s fingers unconsciously tapped the crook of her knee where she sat cross-legged. Her gaze was distant, but her tone was completely certain. “It’s not like they’d reward me with a collection of the Light Goddess’s personal letters for no reason, right?… I’m not exactly her fervent follower.”
“You’re right, the spell is very likely within it,” the System said calmly. “Even in the worst-case scenario—if the spell isn’t in the journal, it will surely reveal enough clues for you to follow the trail and find a safe way to extract the Holy Force Source without harming Seaside Town.”
Because this was the only reward not yet issued that had a clear, direct connection to the gods in Kelusta’s possession.
“Alright, I hope fate is kind to me.”
The pretty little face that had been worried about the mission instantly regained its radiance. Kelusta blinked, her gaze softening as she looked at Gloria, and she silently prayed to the System: “I really hope that when she opens her eyes, I’ll hear an affection prompt: ‘Ding, Gloria’s affection +20.’”
“…It seems you’re really tired, temporary host,” the System said sarcastically. “The bed is right over there. If you squeeze in, there should be enough room for you to lie down—go on and sleep. You can have anything you want in your dreams, after all.”
“…” Kelusta’s good mood was utterly ruined. She rolled her eyes unceremoniously and complained languidly, “You’re so annoying.”
However, she was indeed tempted by the System’s suggestion.
The brown-haired girl looked left and right like a thief with a guilty conscience, lifted her feet, and finally brought herself to stand up from the chair she was sitting on. She tiptoed, step by step, closer to Gloria.
When she was right in front of her, she lowered her head, her big, brilliant golden eyes carefully studying the other’s sleeping face.
Flawless white skin, hair and eyelashes as dazzling as diamonds, rosy lips, a slender neck, and a proper, elegant sleeping posture with her hands folded over her chest…
A beautiful person is just as beautiful even when they’re asleep.
The corners of Kelusta’s lips curved up. Her eyes darted around, and she furtively reached out to lift a corner of the blanket.
She pressed one knee onto the edge of the bed, her other foot already half-off the floor. Just as she was about to succeed in her ascent and share a bed with Gloria once more—
However, before she could sneak herself onto the bed, a faint, strange sound came from behind her. It was like the dripping of rainwater, or the soft “swish” of ripples on a lake.
Kelusta froze and whipped her head around.
She discovered that the unusual sound was coming from the direction of her wardrobe.
“…”
Kelusta shivered and scooted a little closer to Gloria, her eyes fixed on the wardrobe. She asked the System blankly, “Old Sy… can you scan for me? Is there something in the wardrobe?”
The System was silent for a moment. “Scan complete. There’s nothing there… Don’t be afraid, temporary host. Did you perhaps hang up wet clothes last night when you were sleepy?”
“How could they not dry after a whole night!” Kelusta retorted, trembling. “Besides, if the scan didn’t pick up anything… isn’t that even scarier?”
System: “…”
That makes sense.
So it also said, trembling, “Th-then why don’t you try opening the door?”
Kelusta said flatly, “No way! I told you last time when you showed me that horror movie, as long as the protagonist doesn’t court death and suppresses their curiosity, the ghost can’t get them—”
“But you’re a noble mage of this world!” the System said urgently. “And if all else fails, you still have Gloria! Since Light Magic can purify Dark Magic, it should be effective against ghosts and monsters, right?”
“…” Out of blind faith in Gloria, Kelusta asked tentatively, “Well, should I give it a try?”
Even if my protagonist’s halo isn’t enough… if I add a villain’s halo, at the very least I should be able to escape successfully, right?
It seems human curiosity will always outweigh fear… The System thought, I should make a note of this.
Kelusta swallowed, stood up, and took tiny, shuffling steps toward the wardrobe.
The short distance of a few steps took her nearly a minute to cross. The dripping sound from the wardrobe grew more urgent, as if a corpse were hanging high inside, being continuously disemboweled by someone. Blood flowed down its ankles, dripping one drop after another onto the bottom of the wardrobe, making a rapid “pat-pat” sound…
Kelusta’s heart pounded, her mind filled with the horror movie the System had shown her. She didn’t dare to breathe, cautiously hooking the wardrobe handle with her little finger. Her other hand was raised high, ready to conjure magic and blast whatever strange thing was inside the moment things went south.
“I’m opening it now,” she said solemnly to the System.
“Go ahead,” the System replied nervously.
“Ah, right, if I happen to die a heroic death in a moment, can I request a restore point or something from headquarters?” Kelusta asked, holding the handle and negotiating good-naturedly with the System. “The great art of Save/Load is so good, don’t you think?”
“…” the System said speechlessly. “Let’s talk about it after you’ve died your heroic death.”
After saying that, it calmly began to play a requiem in Kelusta’s mind, making her dizzy. While exclaiming “cultural outreach,” she yanked open the wardrobe door—
Inside the wardrobe, just as the System had said, there was nothing but clothes.
But the dripping sound didn’t stop when she opened the door… Kelusta and the System simultaneously followed the sound with their eyes and discovered it was coming from the pocket of the dress Gloria had changed out of.
She blinked, frowned, and with a heart full of apprehension, reached into the dress’s pocket. Without any effort, she pulled out—
A mirror.
Kelusta: “…”
System: “…”
That’s it? That’s it? That’s it?
Following Gloria’s instructions, Wend didn’t dare to delay for a second, riding home at lightning speed.
Upon arriving at the ducal manor, he ordered a carriage prepared while personally storming the residence of the ducal family’s exclusive physician, Mr. Dite. He unceremoniously grabbed the young, baby-faced doctor by the collar of his pajamas and dragged him from a deep sleep.
“Oh! Light Goddess preserve me—” The sensation of being suddenly suspended in mid-air jolted Dite from his dream, and he grabbed Wend’s sleeve.
However, once the handsome and boyish physician was fully awake, the moment his eyes met the duke’s son’s face, he resignedly relaxed his tense body.
He let out a breath, yawned, and asked languidly, as if he had no bones, “What is it, my lord? I thought you knew that my nightlife is quite busy… Alright, alright, stop glaring at me. It’s not even dark yet. Why did you wake me up so rudely—”
“It is naturally a major affair, sir,” Wend interrupted coldly. “You have five minutes. Get yourself ready and come with me immediately.”
Seeing his icy expression and serious tone, even the usually flippant Dite couldn’t help but shut his mouth. The baby-faced physician frowned, and the lingering hint of flirtatiousness at the corners of his eyes immediately vanished. He nodded at Wend, and as soon as the latter left the room, he began to quickly get himself ready.
In less than three minutes, a properly dressed Dite stood before Wend, carrying a fully stocked medical kit. The speed at which he dressed suggested he was an old hand at getting in and out of clothes, a stark contrast to his innocent, baby-faced appearance.
At the same time, a servant came to report that the carriage was ready. Wend nodded slightly and walked briskly toward the courtyard, taking the lead. Dite followed close behind with his medical kit, his steps hurried and his brow tightly furrowed.
For Master Wend to be this anxious… could something have happened to Lady Gloria?
This was not good.
“Time is short, sir. Since you can’t ride, I had no choice but to have a carriage prepared,” Wend said, taking a moment to glance back at the daydreaming Dite as he stepped out of the courtyard and approached the black carriage. “It will be a bit bumpy later, so you’d best take some medicine beforehand. If you vomit in the carriage like last time… then I’m afraid you probably won’t be receiving a single coin of this month’s salary.”
Dite: “…”
He sighed and grunted as he heaved the enormous medical kit up the steps, following Wend into the carriage.
Although Wend urged the driver to hurry, jostling Dite so much he felt like he would vomit up his stomach, they were still very late.
As the carriage was about to reach the Academy, Wend took the Magic Mirror from his pocket, muttered a tongue-twisting incantation, and tried to contact Gloria to ask about Kelusta’s current condition.
However, this time, the call went unanswered for a long while.
Wend grew increasingly nervous, beginning to suspect that the Fake Illness Potion had caused an irreversible problem. Frowning, he quickened the pace of his communication requests while silently considering countermeasures for various scenarios.
Fake Illness Potion… Antipyretic Potion…
According to some unconfirmed rumors, the royal family had developed a homologous dark potion from the Antipyretic Potion a few years ago. It could cause a persistent high fever, leading to dementia… But this dark potion was never entered into the Potion Conference records, so Wend had no way of knowing if it was true.
If that was unfortunately the case, he could only hope the Antipyretic Potion he had prepared earlier would have some effect, enough for Kelusta to hold on until the physician arrived.
Just as he was filled with anxiety, he suddenly heard the soft “swish” that signaled the mirror connection had been established. Wend quickly looked down at the Magic Mirror in his hand, only to see the brown-haired girl, who was supposed to be lying in bed on the verge of death, curiously poking the mirror’s surface with her fingernail, tapping it again and again at the silver-haired boy on the other side.
Wend, who had spent the entire journey worrying that his sister would go mad if Kelusta died: “…”
Kelusta, who was having fun playing when a large face suddenly appeared on the mirror’s surface: “Aiya!”
Dite stared blankly at the duke’s son, whose face had suddenly darkened, his mind full of sleepiness and question marks, wondering what on earth was going on now.
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