NOVEL NEXT C37
C37: The Haunted Castle (end)
Kagehiko Kurono was humming a tune as he cleaned the Sablona Castle in a good mood. The castle, once ruled by the undead, was now devoid of any hint of evil, enveloped in a dusty smell and the scent of the sun shining through the windows.
“Ta-ra-ra, second-rank magic [cleaning].”
When Kagehiko activated his magic, the dust and cobwebs on the ceiling, which had accumulated for years without human intervention, disappeared all together.
“What I needed was my own home! From now on, I’m going to be the king of my own castle!”
With Luria’s ascension, all of the undead that had been haunting Sablona Castle disappeared. All that was left was an uninhabited castle. It was a perfect hiding spot that was rarely entered by people. Since this is a good opportunity, Kagehiko decides to make the castle his own and turn it into a hideout for the thief Shadow.
“Oh, my God! What do you mean, your own home? We’ve been through so much!”
Sana, who was cleaning the castle with me, shook her hair, which was tied up on both sides, and shouted in protest.
“The Sablona family is gone, but this is still the territory of the Slayer Kingdom! Do you know how much time and effort it took to manipulate the information to keep people out of this place!”
“It’s a small price to pay for all this, right?”
If they heard that the undead had disappeared from Sablona Castle, the Slayer Royal Family might tear down the castle and reclaim their territory. Therefore, I asked Sana and the other agents of the Dark Guild to manipulate the information that an even more dangerous undead had appeared in the castle.
Thanks to them, the adventurers have been lured away, and now all that is left is for Kagehiko to set up wards and defense mechanisms such as illusions and golems, and the impregnable hideout will be complete.
“Luria has given me permission to live in this castle. I’ll take full advantage of it.”
“Damn it! You’re so careless!”
“Now, now, if you have time to talk, go and get your stuff. It’s stolen art, so be careful with it.”
“Okay, okay, okay.”
“Where are you taking this? Brother?”
“Oh, it’s a painting. It’s going to the bedroom………”
With a snap, Kagehiko’s movements stopped. Sana also froze like a statue with her mouth gaping open.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“………No, Luria. Why are you here?”
There she was, Luria, the ghost girl, who was supposed to have ascended to heaven.
“This is my castle. Of course I’m here!”
“That’s true, but………”
“I thought you went to heaven.”
Sana murmured in a trembling voice. Come to think of it, this is the first time Sana has ever met Luria. Her twin tails are quivering, and the little agent of the Dark Guild has teary eyes.
“It’s terrible. I flew all the way up to the sky, but they wouldn’t let me in the gates of heaven.”
After listening to her story, it seems that Luria has been denied entry from heaven. The reason for this was her actions in this life. She had turned a wandering soul into an undead one, killed an adventurer who had entered the castle, and turned the adventurer’s soul into an undead one.
For these crimes, she was sentenced to hell by the gatekeepers of heaven.
“No, well, sure………”
“That’s true, isn’t it?”
“I’m afraid to go to hell alone, and I have to come back to the castle!“
“What a pity about……….”
Kagehiko, half in dismay, half in sympathy, offers words of comfort to Luria. However, Luria doesn’t look depressed, but rather embraces Kagehiko with high spirits.
“Because I had no choice, Luria decided to wait for her brother to die!”
“What?”
“I heard from my sister! Big brother is a thief, isn’t he? If that’s the case, I’ll wait for you to die, and then we’ll go to hell together! I won’t be afraid if it’s the two of us!”
Seeing the big smile on Luria’s face, Kagehiko’s shoulders slumped.ria says with a proud smile while Kagehiko looks uncomfortable.
“Er……….”
“Heh, we’ll be together until then!”
It seemed that the home he had longed for, which he had taken the trouble to acquire, would come with a roommate.