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“Fufu. After everything, being with Vier is the most comfortable after all.”
“Yups! Vier is the speediest! I’m not losing to some lizard!”

During the journey, I had the opportunity to hold the reins of the Salamander, but despite its overwhelming speed as a mount, it was no match for Vier, the Sirius. Worse was the emu, which was simply an animal that runs clumsily on the ground.

With that in mind, we, who could make full use of overwhelming mobility, advanced ahead to the destination villa while ensuring there were no obstacles along the way. Once we confirmed this, we quickly turned back to inform Bruno and the others who were following us.

Nevertheless…

The weather has been fine since morning, making it a perfect day for outings. Although we’re here for work, this area is lush and cool, resembling a refreshing summer resort. It feels as if we’re on a picnic, and my spirits are lifted.

I squinted my eyes and looked up at the clear sky from Vier’s back.

Ah, it feels like today is going to be the perfect day!

♦♢♦

“““NOOOO—!! GH-GH-GHOOOOOOSTTT?!?!?”””

The moment they saw my face, the three children screamed and bolted out of the room like scared rabbits. One of them even fell over right there and started foaming at the mouth.

We visited the local adventurer’s guild to inquire about the details of the incident. When they called in the boys who were involved in the incident —the ones who trespassed into the mansion as part of a test of courage— their reaction upon seeing me was just as startling. I couldn’t help but sit there dumbfounded.

“What did you say, you insolent punks?!”
“Aaah, Miss Jill silently crawled into the corner and sulked while hugging her knees!!”
“—No, wait, I think she’s mumbling something.”

“…Yeah, that’s right I’m just an ugly ragweed princess, I just forgot recently, getting cocky thinking maybe I could be seen in a somewhat decent light, but that’s just ridiculous, isn’t it— this is the reaction I should’ve expected from the world, I bet everyone around me was just being polite and half the world is made of kindness anyway, what was I expecting, no matter how I struggle, a weed is still a weed and I can’t face the world like this, oh, it’s definitely going to be the worst day ever…”

“Oh no, she’s gone to the deep end! We can’t do anything if our leader is like this! One of you, do something already!”
“Don’t tell me what to do! —U-, uhh, don’t mind them, Jill. Those brats are screwed in the head. To call you a ghost…Well, I mean, you are inhumanly beautiful and all…”
“…ufufu, I see, you think me to be inhuman…”

“Wha—Don’t say that, senior! Miss Jill is suffering a great emotional attack, watch what you say!”
“Even if you say that, I don’t know what triggers her —Ah, damn it. I’ll find those brats and give ‘em a piece of my mind!!”

Bruno, visibly upset, rushed out of the room.

“…What in the world is going on with her anyway?”
“I-I’m not sure either. Sometimes, Miss Jill just… flips out, or gets strangely insecure about her appearance, or something like that…”
“??? That makes no sense.”

While tending to the unconscious kid (I felt his usage of a Healing Art), Cestlavie and Lynn discussed the situation with a puzzled look on their faces.

Hmph—You two can’t possibly understand the sorrow and bitterness of being born a ragweed like me… I cursed my unfortunate birth when, at that moment, Bruno returned carrying the other children who had fled under his arms.

“Listen up, you guys better apologize to Jill properly!!”
““Hwaaaaahhhh~~””

♦♢♦

“—so you’re saying that you guys ran away because the ghost in the haunted mansion looked just like Jill?”

Bruno, having heard the whole story from the children, took a moment to calm down with some herbal tea provided by the guild staff, and let out a sigh.

“Yeah, the ghost was really beautiful.”
“We thought she chased us all the way here.”
“That’s why we ran.”

“…you heard ‘em, Jill.” Bruno, accustomed to dealing with children, shook his head after successfully fishing out information from them, after which he lightly hit them on the head, saying; “But that’s no excuse to call someone a ghost!”

“Haaaahhh… I understand the situation, but did that ghost really look so much like me?”

Upon hearing my question, the children exchanged glances and after a moment of contemplation, they all responded:

“Nah, the ghost was way prettier!”
“The hair color and vibe might be similar, but when I look closely, you’re in no way near her.”
“Compared to her, you’re just a normie!”

They all denied it in unison.

“……”

“AAAH, Miss Jill is sulking in the corner again!!”

“…hehehehe I’m just a worthless existence anyway–inferior even to a ghost whose existence itself is questionable, a mere weed, trash, dust, a tainted creature with no value in living, a disgusting toad believing itself to be a swan, so foolishly thinking that I could blend into the human world even though I should’ve stayed hidden in the darkness where no one can see me since that’s where I belong…”

♦♢♦

Surprisingly, we were able to open the main gate and entrance door with relative ease and enter the mansion.

“Well, then, I’ll be off…”

The guild staff who had guided us this far quickly uttered these words and hastily left the scene.

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“So, that’s how you guys met each other?”

As he turned towards me to confirm, Bruno took a seat on the stool facing Cestlavie, with Lynn sitting beside him. Quite proactive of her, but it’s frustratingly typical of Bruno to be completely clueless about it.

With that, I naturally found myself sitting next to Cestlavie. While seated, I somehow found myself meeting Cestlavie’s gaze.

“…Well, you could say that I suppose?”
“…I guess we kinda do?”

In reality, we apparently had known each other for a long time, but it wasn’t something worth mentioning aloud.

Bruno, with a raised eyebrow, reacted to our vague responses.

“What’s up?! Is there something else going on?!”
“No, it’s not like that.”
“…”

I tried to make an excuse while Cestlavie avoided eye contact, digging into his ear with his pinky finger.

“—It seems you’re all here.”

At that moment, a woman who appeared to be a dog beastfolk, dressed as a receptionist for the guild, approached us. She looked about four to five years older than us. Her hair was brunette, her eyes brown. She had a medium build and height, wearing low-heeled shoes. Her makeup was subtle, and her appearance—while not overly flashy or dull—featured a pleasant smile and a round-tipped ear atop her head, giving her an attractive and amiable aura.

“Hello, I’m Estella Bajona, a staff member of this guild. May I explain the outline of the request?”
“Nice to meet you, I’m Julia Fortuna, a C-rank adventurer. I look forward to working with you today.”

Other than myself, everyone seemed familiar with Estella as they exchanged brief greetings before she pulled over an empty stool and a well-worn, low table from the corner.

With Estela at the forefront, we gathered around the table in a somewhat informal manner, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

“Now then—” With a preamble, a piece of paper —no, it was a map, slightly larger than the table— was unfolded. “To put it bluntly, the request this time is for an investigation of a haunted mansion.”

““““A haunted mansion?!””””

♦♢♦

The incident dates back several months ago.

It seems that three seven-year-old boys trespassed into one of the mansions in a suburban villa area that is now unused. The reason? — It’s a typical test of courage.

And, as is also typical, in the dilapidated mansion’s corridor, illuminated by the moonlight of the full moon, without casting a shadow, there appeared a woman so beautiful that she seemed not of this world—

After the terrified boys screamed and fled, the ghost that silently chased after them reportedly vanished into thin air at the end of the corridor… This account, tearfully recounted by the boys upon their return, is of uncertain veracity.

Subsequently, several brave souls, having heard the rumors, sneaked into the mansion —though technically that’s trespassing on someone else’s property, a full-blown criminal act— and each experienced similar encounters on nights of the full moon.

However, on other days, they only reported seeing faint shadows or feeling someone’s presence.

Concerned about the bad reputation near the capital despite it being a desolate villa area, the authorities attempted to contact the owner. However, the owner, a renowned painter, has been missing for about ten years.

— And so, it seems that the Adventurer’s Guild has been approached to investigate the cause.

♦♢♦

“If you’re not up for it, we can assign the task to someone else… Um, are you okay with ghosts and the like?” Estella questioned.

“If we know from the start that it’s some kind of ghost, then there’s nothing to worry about.”
“Another ghost? They’re a pain because swords don’t work on them.”
“What kind of clergyman is bad with ghosts?”
“…umm, I might not be best with ghost stuff, but I’ll do my best.”

Each of us responded with an unconcerned attitude.

“It seems you’re all fine with it. Then, we’ll entrust this task to your party. The deadline is the day of the next full moon… which coincides with Prayer Day¹.”

The departure is set for tomorrow morning, so the job falls between Mirror Day and Prayer Day on the weekend, which is a fortunate arrangement for us students. Conversely, if we miss this chance, we’ll have to wait until the next full moon, so it’s imperative that we resolve it this time for sure.

“The reward is eight gold coins upon success… It’s funded by the villa management association, any issues with that?”

Whether this is high or low remains unclear, but Bruno and Lynn nodded satisfactorily, while Cestlavie shrugged lightly. …For now, it seemed like they agreed.

“Understood. Will we receive maps and information for the location?”
“Yes, they’ll be prepared along with the contract. However, since the place is currently remote, you’ll need to arrange your own transportation to get there…”
“It’s understandable since it’s a villa area. —Are there any other issues?”
“Well—”

Estella pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands together.

“Ah, yes. Even if it’s just a formality since you’re forming a party, could you please decide on a leader in case something happens? It’s necessary for the contract.”
“A leader…?”

As a natural flow, I looked at Bruno and Cestlavie, but they both turned away, rejecting the idea from the start.

(…What should I do?)

Choosing one of them as the leader doesn’t seem plausible since they wouldn’t follow each other’s orders. But deciding it on a majority vote might also leave some bitterness.

“Um…” At this point, Lynn raised her hand timidly. “For the leader, I think it should be Miss Jill if she’s okay with it.”

“…Huh?!” I blinked in surprise at the unexpected suggestion.

“Hmm… Well, I guess that’s fine. Seems appropriate.”
“Well, Jill is the highest rank among us, and she’s dependable.”
“Then, I’ll have Miss Julia as the leader.”

My bewilderment was left far behind as the conversation progressed inexplicably smoothly.

“Just a moment, please! I’m just an outsider who decided to join the request today on my own! Is it really okay for me, as a newcomer, to be the leader?!”

““““Yeah.””””

It was decided unanimously and easily.