NOVEL NEXT Chapter 376
Naturally occurring Undead Monsters are much weaker than the typical Undead Monsters people think of, and the naturally spawned Undead in Iceland are even weaker than that.
Even a starving farmer can catch three of them at once. It’s only natural that they would be dangerous if they come in a pack, but if there are enough, any monster or beast becomes a threat.
“But ghosts and wraiths are said to be rare.”
Not just rare, but very rare.
Elder Iona said it was thanks to the blessings of Skadi, the Winter Mistress, that they existed at all.
It’s similar to how a child who didn’t eat properly in their youth grows up with a weak body.
[Oh my gosh, last year was different in some way, but this year is even worse. In a good way. How can this aroma be so appealing?]
But right in front of me, there’s something that looks like a ghost? A wraith? Whatever it is, it clearly looks like an Undead monster.
It’s a translucent gray, with features that are both strange yet familiar.
“Robin. There’s a monster.”
Alicia poked me in the side and whispered in a tiny voice. Her gaze was fixed on the ghost.
“Do you know what kind of monster it is?”
“First… it looks like an Undead.”
“Not a skeleton or a corpse, and it doesn’t even smell awful.”
“It must be a ghost or a wraith…?”
Robin wasn’t sure. But for an Undead with such a clear presence, there could only be one—
[What are they doing, like observing foxes? Let’s take a good look at our grandchildren’s faces.]
Robin froze at the translucent face that had suddenly appeared in front of him. The ghost was curiously examining him.
[Oh my gosh, even a god can’t do thievery. He looks just like my husband when he was young. Especially those stubborn wrinkles here.]
Husband? Wait, hold on. Grandchild? At that moment, Alicia, who was alternating glances between the ghost and the statue, spoke up uncertainly.
“Robin, Robin. The ghost looks just like our grandmother’s statue.”
“What? What are you talking about?”
“Just look for yourself.”
There was no need to move. Thanks to its translucence, the statue in the background was clearly visible. The face of the translucent spirit looked just like the statue illuminated by the magical light.
Wait, hold on. Something seems off.
“How could someone who passed away a long time ago…”
[How could that old man not pass away before his granddaughter?]
With her arms crossed, Rosetta’s booming voice echoed from beneath her exact replica statue.
“Oh, I think Alicia knows what grandmother is talking about.”
Alicia agreed, “Really. Grandfather loved Alicia so much he tried to stop her from making friends.”
[Hmm, but how old is that friend?]
“Henry is only three years old!”
[Three years old, Alicia? Was that baby a boy?]
“Yup? Yup! Henry is a prince!”
[…Ha, what a foolish child.]
As if he had predicted this, Robin instinctively asked, “Grandmother. Why was grandfather like that?”
[That old man would always shout for his daughter and then changed it to his granddaughter. He said every man approaching either daughter or granddaughter was a wolf. What a persistent old fool.]
All the irritation overflowing could not conceal the affection in Rosetta’s face.
Robin sensed it. The ghost in front of him was Rosetta Felwinter.
Their deceased grandmother.
[Anyway, how could that old man not show his face at all?]
“Umm… Grandfather was just there last week.”
[…Here, in Winterhome?]
“Yes. In Winterhome.”
[…Please tell me the details of the incident.]
Hearing tales of her husband’s antics through her lovely granddaughter, Robin supplemented the parts that might cause trouble.
[…My word, that old man would even be restless around helpless babies!…]
“Alicia was still able to enjoy grandfather’s present… Oh, the present! Barbecue!”
[Present?]
“Grandmother! The barbecue gets cold and loses its taste! We have to eat it quickly!”
Rosetta, receiving the plate Alicia handed over, stared at the barbecue before raising her head.
The scene she had only ever dreamed of during her life had now appeared through her two grandchildren who spoke to her for the first time.
Even in everyday clothes, they held the quality and elegance befitting of a Duke’s Family.
Their hair was not dry, a clear sign they had been well-fed and well-rested.
However, there was one thing to point out.
[As much as this old lady would love to feel the same, I don’t think I can eat it without a body.]
“Huh?”
Look, Rosetta stuck her arm into the statue. When her translucent arm popped out on the other side, Alicia gasped.
“You can’t eat!? No way!?”
“This pig is shocked that much… No, more than that.”
Robin pushed confused Alicia aside.
“Grandmother. Have you been waiting here in the tomb for grandfather all this time?”
[Usually, I wait at Elysium, at the threshold of the underworld.]
“So just on Memorial Day?”
[It’s thanks to the unnamed traveler who granted the humble servant’s request and bestowed divine favor that I can return briefly on Memorial Day.]
How devout must she have been in life.
[Though, aside from when I get to survey Winterhome, I’m typically just here in the tomb.]
“Eh, that sounds really boring…”
[Imagine how shocked everyone would be if a deceased person suddenly came back as a ghost after their funeral.]
After that comment, Robin could only nod along with Alicia.
[And if people started talking about purging, how much bigger would things get?]
“The entire castle would be thrown into chaos, I suppose.”
[Still, I wasn’t as bored as you said, granddaughter.]
Rosetta said she had been looking around the castle, appearing and disappearing in front of the siblings. She had to be a bit careful to avoid people with good sensory perceptions.
“Oh, so that’s it.”
Suddenly, Alicia clapped her hands as if she had figured out a secret.
“Grandmother, you couldn’t resist the smell of the barbecue!”
[Hmm, hmm. No, kids. Listen carefully to me.]
Rosetta, still holding the warm barbecue plate and savoring the aroma, appeared to have cleared her throat and quickly made an excuse.
[With such a sacred aroma wafting for days on end, can’t you honestly say it’s too much?]
“Yeah… That’s right. I feel like even Alicia would run out in anger…”
[At first, I secretly savored the aroma, but as the days passed, the scent became impossible to resist.]
“The scent of oil and juicy meat.”
[Yes. Just like our adorable granddaughter said. But if I revealed myself just to get a closer whiff, I would risk being caught…]
Robin continued Rosetta’s words.
“So you thought about getting closer to take a whiff, and when the smell became strong enough, you hid as soon as we came?”
[Hmm, hmm.]
A familiar feeling washed over Robin. Yes, he realized the source of this déjà vu. It felt like a mix of Alicia and the charming William split in half.
[So that’s why, you children should have this to eat.]
Barbecue floated over from the plate. The siblings reflexively took a bite of the barbecue that came closer.
[Things have certainly improved since before, but it still pains this old lady to see you looking so skinny.]
“Grandmother is right. Scrawny Robin needs to eat more.”
“You need to eat less. You pig.”
[Wha? Pig!?]
Rosetta was poking Alicia’s face while kneading her arms.
[The youngest is this skinny!]
“Grandmother wouldn’t say that if she saw how much food he eats every day.”
[I’ve seen it. You could probably eat more.]
“Ha, this makes no sense.”
[But I’m more worried about our third child.]
Rosetta had set her sights on a new target. Her translucent arms began kneading Robin’s cheeks and arms.
[Good heavens, to be this skinny! I can feel the bones! You’re as skinny as could be, just like during his reign! If only I had a body—]
“I eat three meals a day along with snacks and late-night snacks!”
[It seems you don’t eat until full.]
“That’s… true.”
When the stomach is full, sleepiness takes over.
While sleeping after meals feels good, it makes it difficult to focus on my studies and readings.
For Robin, who had spent more than half his life lying in bed, he craved to cram in as much diverse knowledge as possible to satisfy his curiosity.
Of course, sometimes he couldn’t help but gorge himself, like at the barbecue party on this Memorial Day, but generally, Robin’s stomach was never truly full.
At most, it might be about 80%.
Considering the snacks, the amount of main meals was even less.
[Oh my gosh, you’re intentionally not eating!]
Rosetta was aghast at something that would have been unthinkable in life.
[…Now I understand a bit of why that old man handed the dukedom over to Alfred. Richard’s reign could hardly be called remarkable… though I had quite a hand in that too.]
“Iona looked quite distressed too…”
[It was quite severe.]
With her chin resting on her hand, Rosetta sighed.
[Honestly, I never thought Alfred would achieve his dream.]
“Your father’s dream?”
[A dream to ensure no one in Iceland goes hungry. A dream to make oats something other than livestock feed.]
“Oats…”
What would happen if she found out that those oats were now just a way to manage the diet of their gluttonous eldest son, Godwin?
Suddenly, Robin met Alicia’s eyes. The siblings shared a rare moment of understanding. They agreed this was something that shouldn’t be said to Rosetta. They both nodded.
“The only person in the castle who eats oats is my older brother.”
“Right, that… Wait! Why would you say that!”
“Did I ask you to say that?”
“I didn’t mean to say it!”
“But Alicia thinks telling lies is bad.”
Could it be that the ogre stuffed with nothing but food could truly not understand even a little white lie? Of course he wouldn’t!
[…My family’s firstborn… eats oats?]
The shock seemed to resonate with Rosetta. Her already translucent spirit grew even fainter, as if she were about to dissolve away.
“Grandmother! You didn’t see him back then, but brother was overweight!”
[What do you mean by that? Being heavier is better!]
“He orders bigger clothes every day, and he even sits down on the horse, struggling to get off!”
[…But oats!!!!]
“Father agrees too!”
[Buying oats for the precious firstborn!?]
Rosetta’s outrage went on for a while. As poltergeist-like phenomena began to arise mid-rant, Alicia seemed to think this was a bad idea and joined Robin in protesting.
Thanks to that, Rosetta finally regained some semblance of rationality.
Robin let out a small sigh of relief.
“But Grandmother, does that mean you can only smell things as a ghost?”
[Would you at least call me a spirit instead?]
“So, it’s kinda the same thing?”
[Hmm… Yes.]
“Then—”
With the glimmer of a solution in Alicia’s eyes, Robin finally put his head in his hands.