by Geli Cake
"...?"
There was no time to think, What on earth is this? Someone's lips suddenly pressed against mine.
Lena's lips were cold, inhumanly so, and his tongue darted out, licking the corner of my mouth like a cat. A sweet, sugary scent emanated from between his lips, as if he had just eaten something sweet.
"What was that?"
"...Huh?"
"Why did I do that?"
"...?"
Even if you ask me, how would I know?
I couldn't understand why he was more flustered than I was, even though he was the one who kissed me without warning. I saw a field of lavender swaying in his wavering eyes.
[Hostility Removal Time has been updated.]
[Main Quest: The Ghost's Identity has been completed.]
[You can view the 'Ghost's Memories' by consuming 10 Quest Points.]
"...?!"
Before I could retort with, "But you just said you couldn't go out," my mind was in complete chaos.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
「Captain, how are you doing? I'm not doing well. I had my first kiss stolen by some guy today.」
'I have no one to talk to.'
There's no way I can send this. The other party isn't even human. I crumpled up the letter I had written to vent my frustration and slammed my forehead against the desk.
[Consuming 10 Quest Points to view the 'Ghost's Memories'.]
The memories continued from the wedding scene.
The groans of people, lifeless bodies, and crimson blood flowing like a river.
'Christine!'
The surviving monsters despaired.
The pure white wedding dress was stained crimson, its original color unrecognizable. Odin, dressed in fine clothes, held the bride and screamed, and Snow, with a distraught expression, was also visible, standing nearby.
'Haylan, my baby.'
The shaky voice belonged to Christine and Haylan's mother. I could see a small hand twitching in her arms. Haylan's figure was hidden, and all I could see was his trembling hand, but I knew he was crying.
'It's not your fault. Don't apologize.'
She pulled her already deceased husband's hand and placed Haylan's hand on top of it, squeezing them together with her last bit of strength.
'I wanted to protect you until the very end.'
'Mother.'
'…My baby, …do you know? If an earnest wish… reaches the Goddess…'
She couldn't finish her sentence and breathed her last.
[An ancient forgotten magic seems to be activating…]
[Memory viewing reward granted! You can now detect ancient magic!]
[The name 'Mansion Ghost' has been changed to 'A Protective Heart'.]
The ghost in the hallway wasn't a previous owner of this house, nor was it human. Someone's lingering, earnest wish had gathered mana and created a wraith.
It wasn't a ghost, but a heart.
[Remaining Hostility Removal Time: 16 hours 8 minutes…]
'This crazy game.'
More than anything, I was convinced that this game's genre had changed from horror to erotic. Otherwise, there's no way the method to avoid the ghost would be kissing Lena…
I should have known when he kept reading those strange novels. I'm being punished for disrupting the community atmosphere by playing a dating sim in a horror game…
So the quest completion condition was physical contact.
'If a kiss lasts for a day, what about something more intense?'
Thinking that far, I banged my head against the desk. Just the thought of it made my brain melt.
'Why did he do that? He said he didn't even like me…'
The bigger problem was why I didn't dislike kissing him. Did I actually like him?
'That's not it.'
I had never thought of Lena as anything more than a character or a function. That's why I was so flustered when he suddenly asked me to try loving him. I considered countless possibilities before finally deciding to ask him directly.
Excuse me, do you like me?
Do you even know what loving someone means?
"...."
I couldn't rule out the possibility that he didn't know. While he was quick-witted, he was surprisingly bad when it came to understanding emotions.
'What if he says yes?'
What would I do then? I'm not going to reciprocate. I was lost in thought with a serious expression when a knock interrupted my contemplation.
It was morning. I realized the sun was already high in the sky and opened the door.
'Is it Haylan?'
Up until now, I was usually the one who went to get Haylan, but these days, he sometimes came to wake me up. So I naturally assumed Haylan had come to tell me it was time to eat.
"Guest, I think you should come see this."
But it was Yur standing at the door. She asked for my help, her face unable to hide her concern.
"What's wrong?"
"I went up to the young master's room this morning after he called for me, but he told me to go back, saying he accidentally pulled the cord."
He must have woken up quite early today. But what was the problem?
"He called for me again about 10 minutes later. But he didn't even answer when I called from outside… So, did something happen yesterday when you went out?"
"Yesterday?"
"This has never happened before…"
Yur trailed off, her face etched with worry.
"I'll go check on him."
"Would you mind?"
Yur left me in charge of Haylan and went downstairs to help prepare for breakfast.
'Something happened yesterday?'
I shook my head, picturing Haylan enjoying the festival. Nothing had happened, right? We did meet a woman named Snow at the temple, but that wasn't a big deal. If anything, I was the one who was surprised. Haylan and that woman already knew each other.
Lost in thought, I arrived at Haylan's door before I knew it. I raised my hand and knocked, and I heard a rustling sound from inside.
"...."
Before I could even greet him, the door clicked open. And Haylan, wrapped tightly in a blanket, peeked out. He seemed flustered, and his face was strangely red as he looked at me.
"Haylan, your height…?"
Haylan had grown noticeably taller overnight. He was about six years old when I first saw him, and until yesterday, he looked around seven. Now, was he… nine? Ten?
He looked more like a young boy than a child. I figured the clothes I had just bought him would be too small now.
"Come in quickly."
"...?"
I was pulled inside by Haylan, who grabbed my hand, and stepped into his room for the first time.
The view from outside was only a small part of it. Several display cases lined one wall of the slightly dim room, and inside, I saw items I wouldn't even find in most antique shops.
Not only that, but all sorts of valuables were gathered here. If I wanted to steal something, all I had to do was rob Haylan's room. A vast collection of jewels, music boxes, and unidentified devices were piled together. But the strange thing was that despite the sheer number of items, the room didn't look dirty or messy at all.
Seeing that, I recalled a line from
'The Young Master is a collector.'
I remembered it being Mrs. Meilin's line. And the player's death that followed that line was something about cornea collection… Anyway, I remembered it because of its creepy name.
Haylan, seeing me preoccupied with looking around the room, asked urgently,
"You know how to use the cleansing spell, right?"
Why was he asking that? Of course I did. I had even used it recently.
'Why is he acting like this?'
Haylan seemed unusually flustered, clutching the blanket wrapped around his head even tighter. I looked at him curiously and noticed another blanket lying on the floor next to the bed.
Now that I looked closely, what Haylan was wearing was a bedsheet, and the one on the floor seemed to be his actual blanket. I realized that was what he wanted me to clean.
'Did he wet the bed or something?'
But if that were the case, the bedsheet wouldn't be clean. And if he had spilled something, there would be no reason to send Yur away twice. Thinking that far, I muttered, half-jokingly,
"Did you have a dirty dream or something?"
I didn't mean to tease him, but I heard Haylan gasp. He was so transparent. Seeing his face turn completely red like a tomato, I thought that perhaps he and I were experiencing different seasons.
"…Yes, I had a dream!"
Haylan, blushing furiously, practically squeezed the words out. So that's why he had discarded the bedding. It must have been incredibly embarrassing for him.
If I laughed now, Haylan would definitely hate me, so I managed my expression with effort and cast the cleansing spell on the blanket on the floor. When I said, "I'm done," Haylan, who had been watching anxiously, picked up the blanket and examined it carefully.
"You still need to wash it. I just cleaned the surface."
"...Thank you."
His embarrassed attempt to avoid my gaze was so cute that I scooped him up, blanket and all. My smiling face was reflected in his wide eyes.