Let’s play together at the haunted mansion

Reincarnation cannot be delayed. It must not be!

Episode  2

“Ugh!”

Thud!

I successfully moved the last person, who was foaming at the mouth, under the tree.

That made four of them.

“Ugh… they’re heavy.”

Seeing my shoulders creak, I thought I might need to take care of that soon.

Looking up at the sky, it had shifted from black to a dark blue. It seemed like dawn was approaching.

“I need to get out of here quickly.”

Before returning to the mansion, I took one last look at the four unconscious men and women.

Their faces were pale, and some had even wet themselves in fear. Even considering that, it felt rewarding to have them faint so dramatically.

“Thanks for the meal, big brothers and sisters.”

Although a few were startled enough to wet themselves, it had been a satisfying feast after a long time.

I entered the mansion with a villainous smile. Then I released my possession.

Swoosh!

The doll I had been inhabiting shrank back to its original small form and fell to the floor, while I returned to my ghostly state and shouted.

– Assemble!

Wooooo…

Woooo…

Three ghosts emerged with eerie wails.

Among the ghosts lined up in front of me, the grandfather butler ghost on the far right saluted sharply.

– You have arrived, Miss.

– Sebastian. Is everything ready for the move?

– Everything is complete.

As expected of our mansion’s chief butler. He prepared everything without needing any specific orders!

Next to Sebastian, a beautiful maid opened her mouth.

The restoration of the mansion is finally complete.
Good job, Miria.
Thank you.

This means that the restoration of the belongings that were scattered and broken by the four men and women who entered the mansion is finished.

It was an unavoidable sacrifice to lure them in and build up the story, but thinking about all the things they broke makes me want to cry. If it weren’t for the urgency of the situation, I would have cried my heart out.

It was deplorable.

There are no significant threats in the vicinity, miss.
Thanks for the survey, Philip.
No problem.

A male ghost wearing leather armor and a hat reminiscent of Robin Hood playfully tipped his hat as he greeted me. The dogbane he was chewing on swayed.

I’ve always been curious about how that dogbane stays in his mouth even as a ghost. I thought about asking, but there were more important matters at hand, so I put it off as usual.

Once again, I possessed the doll. Then a small wooden puppet grew and transformed into a human shape.

“Alright. Let’s move out.”
– Yes!
I’ll rely on you.
– Understood.

We hurriedly left the mansion and placed a hand on it. Then, I sent a small amount of my magical energy into the mansion.

Kuguguguung!!

In an instant, the mansion shrank to the size of a school backpack. Every time I see it like this, it reminds me of a dollhouse.

I grabbed the handle that appeared on top of the mansion and lifted it.

“Shall we set off?”

Before the four people who are currently unconscious wake up and before the villagers come looking for them, we quickly disappear into the forest.

* * *

To explain why I’m living like this, I need to go back to the past. Originally, I was a 28-year-old man in Korea, just getting older without a job.

I was cut off at the resume level for employment, and even when I made it to interviews, I never got accepted… I was a typical young man who failed at getting a job.

I went to an ordinary university, and as for certifications, these days, not getting one is abnormal, so perhaps it was a predetermined outcome.

I couldn’t land a job in a large corporation, let alone a medium-sized one, so I even tried applying to small businesses. However, failing to get hired even in small businesses taught me why people avoid them.

In the end, I spent long days filling my career with part-time jobs and getting certifications.

Then one day, as I was heading out for work after hearing my mother’s usual nagging, I was hit on the head by a flowerpot that fell from the sky and died.

You should never place flower pots on apartment balconies. One wrong move and someone could be gone in an instant.

When I regained consciousness, I found myself reincarnated in another world. I was born as the second daughter of a count’s family in a fantasy world.

My name is Charlotte Tricia. Although I was the second daughter, I was the illegitimate child of a maid, so I was bullied by the countess and mistreated by the servants. As a result, even at the age of 18, I only grew to be about 15 or 16 years old. So I was around 140 to 150 cm tall, give or take. Of course, I didn’t measure myself, so I can only estimate that.

Isn’t 15 to 16 years old not that tall? That’s based on modern Earth standards.

Anyway, that’s how it was!

However, starting from around 17, I was probably well fed because someone was trying to marry me off, but since my growth plates had already closed, I didn’t grow taller; I just gained some weight and developed breasts.

Is this what they call a loli with big breasts?!

The problem arose when, at the age of 18, I was sold to a wealthy old merchant… no, when my marriage date was set. A rebellion broke out in the country.

It was a rather sudden development, but since it happened, there was nothing I could do about it.

To summarize the events, the second prince of the country rebelled, claiming the king was unworthy and that he would save the people.

Anyway, he said a lot of things, but from my perspective, he just wanted to become king. I overheard the servants talking, and it seemed the king was doing an average job.

Well, it was a story that had nothing to do with me.

The problem was that the rebel army had to pass through the mansion where I was staying to march toward the capital. At that time, the count’s family, including me, was on vacation at a villa.

For some reason, whether it was under the pretext of punishing corrupt nobles or for another reason, the rebel army suddenly attacked the villa. The people in the villa, including me, couldn’t escape the sudden assault and were all killed.

Yes, all were killed. Ah, some women might have been captured or raped. Of course, I wouldn’t know since I was stabbed and died immediately.

The moment I regained my past-life memories was just before that. As I was about to die, memories flooded back to me unexpectedly.

Anyway, when my memories settled and I regained my senses, I found myself as a ghost.

At first, I was bewildered.

My body was female, I was a ghost, and I thought,

“I reincarnated only to end up in a gender swap?”

I rolled around in frustration, thinking it was unfair that I died before enjoying a fantasy life as a noble. I regretted not stabbing the count and the countess, whom I had never called father or mother, while I could.

In my previous life, I was an ordinary guy, but in this world, I was a beautiful loli with big breasts?! I was self-indulgent, and when I shouted at my status screen, I ended up sulking in a corner.

… Thinking back, I surprisingly adapted well to ghost life.

However, there were some problems with being a ghost.

The first was that I couldn’t leave the mansion.

For some reason, perhaps because I had become a sort of spirit tied to the place, I couldn’t go outside. Whenever I tried to leave the mansion, it felt like I hit an invisible wall, as if something was blocking me.

… Surprisingly, it hurt like I hit a wall. Ghosts can feel pain. I didn’t have a nosebleed, though.

The second issue was that a lot of time had passed.

While I was dead, a significant amount of time had passed, and the mansion had truly become a place that could be called a haunted house.

Of course, I didn’t have any issues living as a ghost, but it didn’t look good. I was a ghost, yet I worried that ghosts would appear every night. I was often startled by the slightest noise.

Thinking back, it was quite an embarrassing dark history.

The third problem was the troublesome housemates.

In this mansion, there were other ghosts besides me. Yes, several servants had died with me and the ghost of the count, as well as the ghost of the countess.

But…

I will kill him—that hateful bastard! I will kill him!
I resent him… I resent him.
– Hehehehehehe!!

Can you see it? Since the moment I regained my senses, it has been like this.

I tried talking to them a few times, but they didn’t react at all, as if they couldn’t see me. I cautiously guess that their resentment was so strong that even after becoming ghosts, they were consumed by it and became vengeful spirits. I’m not sure, though.

As for me? I think I was fortunate enough to regain my past life memories just before becoming a vengeful spirit, so I became a somewhat sane ghost. I roughly speculated that.

Or maybe I just didn’t have enough self-esteem in this life to become a vengeful spirit…

Thinking about it makes me sad.

Anyway, while I was living with these problematic housemates, one day, three knights in shiny armor entered the dilapidated mansion.

In fact, after regaining my past life memories and mixing them with my current life memories, it was the first time I saw living people, and I was very glad. If I hadn’t noticed the holy symbols engraved on their armor, I might have rushed over and shouted, “Nice to meet you!”

I mentioned it before, right? This is a fantasy world.

“In the name of the gods, I shall purify the evil spirits!”
– Kya!!

“Innocent souls tormented by evil spirits! Be gone!”

I resent… I resent!!