It is said that the fort was once inhabited by a lord. It is said that the lord was a serious man who was trusted by His Majesty the Emperor at that time, loved by the people, and was famous for his generous policies and good governance.
　However, one day, this lord's character changed completely. His beloved wife died. From then on, the lord shut himself up in his castle, and before long, incidents began to occur in his estate. One by one, the people of the fief began to go missing. One of them saw a village girl being abducted by the lord. They all went to the castle to find out what happened.
　However, there is no gatekeeper to guard the castle gate. On the contrary, the castle was empty of servants, knights and squires. When the lords began to be suspicious, what they saw in the dungeons were piles and piles and piles of discarded bodies. The lord had been researching the secret method of reviving his beloved wife, "Resurrecting the Dead". The people inside the castle were sacrificed as a test case, and when that was exhausted, he kidnapped the appropriate lords to continue his research.
　They fled for their lives and complained about it to the imperial capital. The emperor immediately sent his soldiers to capture the lord and he was easily captured. He was easily captured and executed on the spot.
　But this was not the end of the story. Soon, new lords were appointed to the castle, but the first died of illness, the second died from falling off his horse while on a long ride, the third was stabbed by his wife, and so on and so forth. Rumors began to circulate that it was the curse of the previous lord, out of nowhere. The fourth new lord didn't want to live in the castle, so the castle was eventually abandoned and abandoned.
　Naturally, the surrounding villages became deserted and inhospitable. The castle became a magnet for thieves and brigands. But none of them were able to continue living here. The captured thieves all said, "There are ghosts in that castle.

There is a ghost living in that castle.



"So that's the castle.
They say it's about a hundred years old.

　A cursed castle......... It's a common story, and if I had come here in the middle of the night, I might have been scared, but it's not as scary as it sounds in the daytime. The sky is clear and blue, not a cloud in sight. It was refreshing.
　The ones who came were the usual guild members and the new addition, Lou, along with the trio of Amber, Coral, and Black Day summoned beasts. I can't help but cross my arms as I look at the old castle that stands eerily in front of us. There's definitely an atmosphere that something is about to come out, right?

''You have the Emperor's permission to do this, right?
Yes. You can tear it down, rebuild it, or do whatever you want.

　Good. Then feel free to take the whole castle. It's a bit bigger than the castle the Workshop designed, so I don't think we'll be short on materials. Well, if we don't have enough, we'll buy the missing materials then.

Well, shall we unroll the Gate and transfer the entire castle to Brunhild?
"...wait. I think it's best to check out the interior of the castle first. It's possible that there are bandits, hexenbiests, and undead people living in the castle.
And the ghosts.

　Else mixes Linse's advice back with a laugh. Apparently she doesn't believe the stories about ghosts. of, but her face seems to be pulled back instead.
　It's true that it's troublesome to have extra people inside. Maybe I should explore the castle just to make sure.
　Passing through the castle gates, we enter the castle and arrive at the entrance hall. In the dim light, spider webs and dusty furnishings could be seen faintly.

Then let's split up into two or three groups and take a quick look around. If you have any problems, you can contact me through Amber, Coral and the others. Yumina and Lou, Amber, Linse and Yae, Coral and Kuroshio, and Else will go around with me.
Oh, that's great. Well, I guess we'll circle around from there, then!

　Flabbergasted, Else walked to the back of the room with a stutter. However, she immediately stopped in a flash and turned around to look at me.

''Look, look! Let's go, Winter Night!

　Linse chuckles at that. Apparently, her twin sister can see everything. She runs over to Else at a small run and walks out beside her. Everyone also scattered into the castle, each of them.
　Looking out the window, it seems that the clouds have appeared. It was sunny earlier.

''So, I guess Else-san doesn't like ghosts?''
What? What, what are you talking about? Yup, no ghosts, no ghosts...!
Oh, there's a white shadow behind you...
Kyaaaaaaaahhhh!

　Screaming, Else hugs me. Oooh, ouch! It hurts more than it feels good! I thought this was called a bearhug!

Sorry, it's a curtain.
...the curtains?

　The tattered, yellowed curtains sway in the gaping wind in front of Else as she turns around. Seeing that, Else poof, she lets go of my arm and releases me.
　Oooh.........I thought my spine would break.......

'Ka, the curtains........'

　Else pats her chest in relief.

'I knew you weren't very good at this,'
Uh.....

　He turns around to look at me with a bright red face. With his mouth crunching, he's apparently looking for an excuse.

''........everyone has one or two things that scare them, don't they?
Well, yeah. I didn't expect it.
I'm not good with people I can't hit...

　Else turns away with a muffled look. Her face is still red. The reason why she is not good at it is very typical of her.
　I hold Else's hand.

"Heeee...!
Well, there's no need to hide it so much. If you're scared, I'll just hold your hand like this.
"...Yeah ...

　A small nod from Else. While holding hands, looking for any sign of the area, I peeked in one room at a time to make sure no one was there. This castle is pretty big, after all. It's full of dust and cobwebs. If there are so much dust and cobwebs here, I doubt there's anyone or anything here. Just as I started to think about this, something moved in the corner of the room.

''Hee!''

　Else hugs me in my arms. Two soft things squeezed into my arms. Good job!
　The rat that had created such a fleeting happiness disappeared from the room in a choppy manner.

'A rat.....
You don't mind rats, do you?

　Normally, I thought girls would be afraid of rats and cockroaches, but the girls in this world are generally tough. Maybe that's the least of their worries.

'Let's go upstairs.

　I climbed the stairs and saw a large portrait hanging on the landing, a young woman in her twenties, dressed in a light green dress, sitting in a chair, smiling. Could this be the murder lord's wife by any chance? A mass murderer who tried to bring her back to life... Well, she's definitely pretty. And very big.

What are you looking at?
'What? No, nothing!

　Else gives me a zit-eyed stare and I look away. It's not as bad as the quirky Yumina and Roo, but does she care that she's slightly smaller than her sister? You don't have to worry about it. From the way you felt earlier, I can assure you that it's enough, right?
　I took Else's hand as if to escape and headed upstairs. When I looked out from the corridor on the second floor, the sky was getting more and more cloudy. It had been sunny earlier.

《Ember, Coral, Black Day. How's it going over there? Did you notice anything unusual?
No, Lord. This is nothing.
There's nothing here either.
It was just a couple of rats. Boring.

　Apparently, there's nothing going on over there either. There are six people going around the room this much, if there were bandits or something, they would be running away or attacking us. And from what I've seen so far, it doesn't look like anyone has been in and out of the room for a long time. At any rate, the hallway is covered in dust. We have left our footprints in the hallway. Whether it's an animal or a person, if something was there, it would have left a mark.

Was it a hoax after all?
Yeah, well, you know, there can't be ghosts, right?
No? Wraiths, which are said to be living spirits, phantoms, which are said to be phantoms, and specters, which are said to be evil spirits, are probably the things that are commonly referred to as ghosts, and yesterday Linse...


　Else, who covers her ears and tries not to listen to my words. A child.
　I've been told that the spiritual monsters such as wraiths and phantoms are recognized in this world, but it's not proven that they are created from dead people. Zombies, ghouls, and those kinds of undetectable things have been proven. Hm?
　Wow, it's finally starting to rain. When I looked outside, I saw that it was starting to rain. I wonder if this place doesn't have a leak. No, since it's been a hundred years, it probably does.
　I proceeded with Else, who clung more tightly to my arm than before, through the castle, which was dimmed beyond comparison with when we entered it.
　Eventually, at a dead end, a large double-opened door appears. Is this the lord's room?
　I turn the dusty knob and open the door with a squeaking, giggling sound.
　It's a fairly large room with a high ceiling. Perhaps there used to be an opulent chandelier hanging in the past, but now it has fallen off and is scattered in pieces on the floor. I wonder if the hardware has rusted. Next to the partially collapsed fireplace was what looked like a chest box, with a row of old vases on top of it. There was a rusted armor in the corner of the room, creating an indescribable atmosphere.

''It's kind of a yucky atmosphere...''

　Fearfully, Else hugs me. Even though I'm scared, it's kind of bold....
　There was another portrait on the wall of the room. This time it's a burly man with a bearded face, dressed in what looks like a military uniform. And next to him was a plain-looking woman wearing a plain dress and quietly following him. Is this the murder lord of the example? No, it's not. This castle has changed owners three times since then. Maybe this is the third and final lord.
　Suddenly, I felt a strange feeling.
　........Huh? Isn't it funny? If this wife is the wife of the third lord it's not big.

''........What's wrong?''
'No, that's not the guy in the portrait on the dance floor earlier, is it?
Speaking of which...

　When I turned my gaze to look closely at the portrait again, the door that should have been open, bang! And it closed vigorously.

'Heeeeeeeeeeeee!

　Squeezing, Else clings to me and hugs me. Ouch, ouch, ouch! You're not using "boost", are you!

The wind must have closed it...?
The wind?

　It's such a raggedy place, there's a draft, and there could be a hole in the wall somewhere. Hmm?
　If you listen carefully, you can hear something clattering. Is it a rat again?
　No, is that sound a vase? The vase is shaking in increments. It's not like an earthquake or anything, the vase is shaking on its own.
　Eventually the vase shot out with great force and came towards us.

''d*mn!''

　As he avoided it while holding Else, the vase hit the wall and shattered as it was. Is that it! The classic ghost thing, the poltergeist thing!
　The vase flies again in the same way. This time I shot it down with a Brunhild. Then the pens and scissors on the desk and the books on the bookshelf flew towards me one after another. I shoot them all down and cut them off. Unfortunately, Else is useless in this situation. Eventually, when I thought the poltergeist phenomenon had subsided, the rusty armor in the corner of the room drew its sword and began to move.

''Oi oi........''

　At some point, a lightning bolt flashed and a loud thunderclap roared, mixing with the torrential rain falling outside the window.