Rain walked away and Uchi was left alone.

　There's nothing special to do, just float in the air fluffily.
　I'm a ghost, so I don't have to sleep.
　I don't even need to eat.

　Or rather, I can't eat.

　I've been a ghost for 30 years.
　I don't feel sorry for not being able to sleep and eat now, but....

It's a b*tc* to deal with at times like this.

　There's Kanade, and Tania, and Sora, and Luna, and Nina.
　And then there's Rain.
　When everyone is here, I feel a kind of loneliness because I'm the only one awake.
　It's a difficult thing to do, really.

　It's too late to remember the loneliness of being alone.

　But.......this, in this way, I felt like it wasn't bad.
　It's lonely to be alone.
　By nature, it's a normal thing.
　And yet, until now, I thought it was nothing...
　I was numb to the feeling of being lonely and lonely.

　Think of it as being normalized by being with everyone else.

　Well, it's a complicated feeling.

'Stop. There's no point in thinking about something dark. Think of something more upbeat.

　Shake your head and change your mind.

　Brighter and brighter.....

　After all, it's the fact that we met each other, isn't it?
　They didn't reject us, they accepted us.
　Even though my family is not like this, they accepted us as friends.

　Kanade's not too happy with us, but...
　Well, I know you're afraid of ghosts, so I can't blame you.
　Still, you're trying your best to be friendly, and I'm glad you're trying to be friendly.

"...Rain.....

　He said the name with a pout.

　My new master.
　Our new master.

　The one who took my home alone in the dark and brought me out into the warmth.
　And not only that....
　He was the one who settled our fate in the past.

I can't thank him enough, even if I were grateful.

　I'd like to return the favor.
　I don't like the idea of being stuck in a constant state of giving.
　I want a win-win relationship.

　But what can we do?
　Housework and cooking?
　I can use my magic to move things around, it's that simple.
　Since I'm a former maid, I've been beaten to the punch.

　However, is that enough?

　Rain is an adventurer.
　You'll have many opportunities to fight.
　And if that happens, it would be nice if we could fight, too.......

I'm a bit of a kindergartner when it comes to that sort of thing.

　Unlike everyone else, we're just human.
　To be precise, we're human ghosts.
　We don't have much power, and we don't have any special abilities.
　We will never be useful in battle.
　That's what's so frustrating about it.

I wish I could do something, but........well, do ghosts ever grow up?　Can you learn new skills?

　If you're a senior ghost, you might be able to understand the story...
　Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who does.
　I've been on my own for so long........

Well, I don't think Lane would mind that much.

　If Uchi says he wants to be useful in the fight, he'll tell you that you don't have to do it.
　That's Rain's true intentions, and I'm sure he'd never think of us as useless.

　But we can't just sit on our laurels.
　We want to be useful in some way, too.
　I want to be of help to Rayne.

...Isn't it normal to want to be useful to the man you are interested in?

　Yeah.
　We're curious about Rain.
　I don't know if you like her or not, but I'm not sure that part of her yet, but....
　But I'm sure you're curious about it.

　We've only just met....
　仕方ないやん？
　ずっと一人だったところを助けてくれて……
　ウチを仲間と、家族と言ってくれて……
　おまけに、過去の因縁に決着をつけさせてくれた。

　これで気にならない方がおかしい。

「とはいえ、ライバルも多いけどなぁ」

　カナデにタニア。
　ソラとルナ。
　ニーナ……は対象に含めていいものか？

　とにかく。

　ライバルになりそうな子がたくさんで、苦戦は必須。
　このまま進んで良いものか迷ってしまう。

「って、変な方向に考えがそれてきたな」

　あれこれ考えたせいで、ちょっと思考回路がオーバーヒート気味や。
　幽霊だけど、知恵熱が出てしまいそう。

　あかんあかん。
　ちょっと落ち着こう。

「ふぅ……」

　肩の力を抜いて脱力する。
　ふわふわと宙を漂う。

　……少し落ち着いてきたような気がした。
　頭がクリアーになっていく。

「……力になりたいというか、恩を返したいんやな。ウチは」

　レインは、そんなことは気にしてない、って言うやろうけど……
　やっぱり、それで納得はできない。
　何かしらウチも力になりたい。

「さて、どうしたもんかな？」

　ウチはふわふわと浮かびながら、今後のことを考えるのだった。