What is it?　That sound?

　Clarice says, holding her head in her hands.
　The sound that rang through the mansion was a strange sound that seemed to come from the depths of the earth.

　I picked up the treasure sword tetracord that was nearby.
　I don't know what the sound was, but I'm sure something unusual is going on.

　Princess Filia was craning her neck curiously, and Saint Sophia had an uneasy look on her face.
　I thought about it and muttered to myself.

''There must be something wrong with this kind of noise.

Is it a ghost place?

　Saint Sophia heard my words, and her face turned blue.
　Sheesh.
　This mansion was a ghost property, so I could get it for a cheap price.
　But I was going to keep it a secret because I didn't want Sophia and the others to feel uneasy.

　I had no choice but to change the subject after explaining the circumstances.

'The sound seems to be coming from the basement. I'll go check it out.

Well, I'm coming with you.

　Filia said.
　Filia had a look of curiosity on her face.

　The curious Filia had been confined to the Imperial Palace for a long time, and she would be interested in anything from the outside world.

　Especially if something like this bizarre happens, even more so.

　But I didn't want to take Filia with me because there might be something dangerous going on.
　I didn't want to put her in any kind of danger.

　I said, and she shook her head.

'I'm glad you're worried about me, but I'm fine. I think it's more dangerous for me to stay here away from Solon, and I think it's more dangerous to stay here.

But.....

And Solon will take care of me.

　Right? Filia looked up at me.
　I thought for a moment and nodded.

　It's true that leaving Filia in this room is unsettling, since we don't know what will happen.
　Normally, one could leave the matter of Filia in the hands of Saint Sophia.

　But the most important thing is that Sophia herself was trembling.

'Yes, Solon-kun. I'll follow you.

Well, are you scared?

I'm not afraid of you.

Really?

I'm scared.

　Sophia gave a small nod.
　As the strongest adventurer in the Empire, Sophia had many little weaknesses.
　One of them was that she was not very good at ghosts and psychic phenomena.

　It's a strange thing to be afraid of ghosts when you can defeat the most fearsome demons, but that's Saphira's nature, so there's no way around it.

　In the end, the four of us descended the stairs of the mansion and headed down to the basement.
　The spiral staircase was dimly lit and gave off an eerie atmosphere.

　Squeezing, Sophia hugged my right arm.
　She wrapped her arms around me and I felt a soft, squishy feeling as my arms came to rest on her chest.

　I blushed and hurriedly said to Sophia.

'Sophia?　Will you let me go?

I'm sorry.

　Even as she said that, Sophia didn't lose her posture with her arms around me.
　She must be really scared, but I wish she would think about how her actions would be seen.

　Filia puffed out her cheeks and moved closer to me.

'Only Sofia-san is unfair. I want to spoil Solon too.'

　With that, Filia took my left arm and twined her own arm around it, just like Saint Sophia did.
　Then Filia giggled, as if amused.

'Flowers in your hands, I suppose. 'Solon,'

　Indeed, Sophia is to my right and Filia is to my left.
　And they're both close to me.

　I can smell the sweet scent of both girls and I'm giddy.
　I can't wait for both Filia and Sophia to get away from me.

　Clarice says happily from behind me.

'Master Solon. Do you want me to hug you from behind?

...because you can't walk.

Hmm, that's too bad. Well, I guess I'll just have to wait until another time.

　I wonder when we'll have a chance to do this again.
　While I was thinking about that, I came to the basement.

　It was an empty, drab storage room, with a gray floor and red brick walls, but the only sound was a strange noise that was louder.
　But the only strange sound was louder.

　We stopped in the middle of the room.

　After a while, red letters began to appear on the walls.
　Blood letters.

　The words were "My grudge, how should I let it go?".

　Almost at the same time, Sophia fell backwards in a huff.
　She fainted from fear.

　I panicked, but Clarice held her up and took care of her.

　On the other hand, Filia, the Princess, looked unconcerned.

''It's like how she's a ghost, isn't it?''

Yeah. It feels contrived. ...Filia-sama, please stand back.

I'd like to keep my arms around Solon a little longer, no?

'Excuse me, but I need to use the treasure sword.

　I can't even serve the sword with Filia holding me.
　Filia says ruefully.

'Will you put your arms around me some other time?　Promise me, and I'll let you go.

...I understand. If you wish, Lady Filia.

You don't sound very enthusiastic. Does Solon not want to put his arm around me?

'It's nice to be relied upon, but I'm embarrassed,'

　I blurted out, and Filia rolled her eyes and then smiled happily.

'Yeah. I'll let you go. I'll let you go, and we can do it again another time. Promise?

　I nodded and drew my treasure sword, Tetracord, and released it.

　I flashed my sword and sent a wave of magical energy spreading from one end of the crypt to the other.
　As I did so, I heard what sounded like a muffled scream and it manifested itself.

'See what the ghosts are,'

　I murmured.

　The owner of the strange sounds in the basement made his body invisible. It seemed to make itself invisible.
　But he couldn't maintain that state under my attack, exposing his murky, translucent, blubbery, ugly body.

　That six-legged deformity was a demon race.
　It was an enemy of humanity that should normally be deep within the ruins.