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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.