Let’s play together at the haunted mansion

whale fight breaks shrimp’s back

Episode 12

Earlier, when I said,

“If I had known the broker is a priest, I wouldn’t have made the request,”

I wasn’t entirely sure that was true. As I mentioned, the vicious criminals hiding in this city have all been trying to escape, which had significantly increased the demand for brokers.

Huh? What about the honor of my current parents?

That was fine without it. My official parents were a count and a countess. They can lose their honor. My biological mother wasn’t officially recognized, so she was safe.

Anyway, the broker named Jacob in front of me was one I managed to find thanks to Philip. Honestly, if I had missed him, I would have been at a loss for how to get outside.

As Jacob rubbed his fingers together, I pulled out five gold coins from my pocket and handed them to him.

“This is the advance payment. I’ll give you the rest once we’re outside.”

“Alright. The contract is established. We’ll escape tomorrow night. Just come to the square where we met by tomorrow evening.”
“……Okay.”

Jacob’s eyes lit up as if he had just seen the five gold coins, and he began to walk back toward the temple with a grin.

Did he just have gold coin-shaped eyes? Did I see that wrong?

Anyway, I waited until Jacob disappeared from sight and then cautiously began to distance myself from the temple.

‘Normally, discreetly, and greatly. I don’t know. Anyway, let’s get away quickly.’

Why did that broker insist on talking so close to the temple…?

Having completed my meeting with the hybrid of a ‘novice priest broker,’ I returned to the back alleys of the slums. The time I had arranged to meet the broker again was tomorrow evening, so I would likely be going outside around tomorrow night or early morning.

“I have some time left.”

The sun was still in the sky, meaning it was still human time. Once night fell, it would be my ghostly time, but right now, the priests and paladins were roaming around with their eyes wide open, making things a bit ambiguous.

‘I don’t know if they’ll come to the slums or not…’

Historically, whether in the Middle Ages or the Renaissance, slums were treated as almost abandoned areas. This has always been the case throughout history. They were just regarded as trash bins existing in the corners of society.

Even if the religions of this world are said to be incorruptible (only for formal priests), I can’t be sure they would search through the world’s recognized trash bins. Given that I’ve previously hidden in the slums to avoid priests a few times, I was even more cautious.

If I hadn’t found a broker, I would have just tried to wait it out in the slums. However, since this world is fantasy, there are strange elements of fantasy correction. For example, even though it’s a medieval fantasy, there are decent sewage systems in place.

‘Honestly, that was a bit shocking.’

In rural villages, they still draw water from wells, but in larger towns, they’ve all installed well pumps for use.

Anyway, this made it hard to be certain that priests wouldn’t thoroughly search the slums. Because the slums are such trash heaps, criminals and monsters can hide well, and both priests and nobles are aware of this.

But perhaps they just don’t want to poke around in the trash. Unless truly vicious criminals or monstrous beings are hiding in the slums, they wouldn’t bother searching for them.

We wouldn’t go poking around in a trash bin just because it has some mold, would we? Mold can be thrown out whenever the trash is empty. But if a master of trash’ were to take residence in that bin, it would immediately lead to war. That’s how it is.

The problem is that this time, I had a feeling the priests would invade the slums.

No matter how upright the priests are, they wouldn’t interfere in a place where inspections are taking place. No, to be precise, even if they wanted to interfere, it’s more likely that the rulers wouldn’t allow it.

Well… I would feel quite annoyed too if fanatical devotees of a god were telling me what to do as their ruler.

‘But this time, they did allow it?’

That means that something has happened in the city that requires cooperation with that annoying sect.

Have I become that famous?

‘No way?’

I might be somewhat beautiful (?), elegant (?), and wise (?), but I’ve never killed anyone. There are plenty of witnesses but no casualties, so compared to other vicious monsters or criminals, I’m a relatively harmless ghost. Especially compared to that necromancer from before…

Earlier, Jacob said, “A monster has appeared in this city.” I suppose I do fall under the category of monster, but I didn’t think it would warrant such a massive crackdown.

In other words, the main target of the sect is not me.

“I have some time left… Are we opening the marketplace tonight too?”

Isn’t that a bit dangerous?

At my words, Philip immediately showed reluctance.

Well, looking at the situation, something is coming, and if I set up a horror house in this situation, a passing masked knight… no, a paladin and priest might shout, “Whoa! A monster!” and turn me into a ghost.

Even though I’m only moving through the alleys of the slums, I’ve already seen priests and paladins pass by three times.

“Yikes!”

Step, step…

As soon as I hurriedly hid behind the wall, a nun in a white habit passed by. Despite being puffy, her outfit had side slits and a revealing neckline, making it look somewhat provocative… She was a slender nun with a remarkable figure, reminiscent of something out of an animation. However, blood was dripping from the mace she held in her right hand, still fresh and not yet dried.

… Isn’t this true horror? What kind of horror have I been experiencing until now? A mere performance?

I maintained the skill “Stealthy Ghost” to evade the priest’s monster detection and waited for the nun to pass before cautiously emerging from behind the wall.

Really… This is bad for the heart. Not that I have one. Why? Because I’m a ghost!

‘What should I do…?’

If I cause some trouble tonight, it would mean some nice extra income, which is good. The more money and spiritual power, the better.

But then the priests might catch my scent and come after me. Right now, it’s still daytime, so priests are roaming the slums, but when night falls, they might withdraw from the slums… But if I’m trying to gather spiritual power to survive and my life is at risk, that’s counterproductive.

If it were a normal day, I wouldn’t underestimate even a little danger and would quietly let tonight pass. After all, my life is important.