Chapter 285 - Backyard of Stray Priest ⑪
This is a story set around Chapter 7, Episode 8.
When I went to the Bird's Head Tavern for dinner, Owen-san beckoned me over.
"You've brought another beauty with you. Is she an acquaintance of Adolf-san's?"
His gaze was fixed on Fiona. Since she was wearing the ring I received from Mary, her form was visible. She was elegantly dressed in the pure white one-piece dress she had received from Eleanor-sama. She was actually the daughter of a noble and, though it was a small country, she had been a lady-in-waiting to a queen. In a rural place like Nakanohara, she stood out more than anything.
"No, we met in the Royal Capital. She wanted to study marble dyeing, so she'll be living in Nakanohara for a while. Apparently, her parents are busy and rarely at home, so I told her she should just stay at our place."
"A young lady from a good family, then?"
"Something like that."
If we ate together in various places like this, the owner, who is a member of the vigilante group, would ask about her background, and the word would spread on its own. Eventually, I'm going to have her mind the shop. It's better if her name gets around.
A few days after Fiona arrived in Nakanohara, Beowulf came forward with a proposal.
"There's been a rumor for a while now that ghosts appear in the town's public cemetery. I was thinking we might as well go and verify the truth of it."
The public cemetery is under the management of the Church. Setting aside the underground portion, anyone can enter the grounds above ground at any time. It's said to be a gathering place for pickpockets and petty thieves from other countries at night, so it's not considered a very safe area.
On the other hand, there are naturally ghost stories as well. Whether they can't bear to leave after death or have drifted in from elsewhere, they supposedly appear. However, as a priest, I'd say that if there were a place where ghosts appeared, a Church priest would have gone there to perform an ascension, so it must be nothing more than a rumor.
Since it's a graveyard, it wouldn't have the right atmosphere without a ghost or two, and bad people do tend to gather there. I think it's a rumor meant for maintaining public order, to keep ordinary people from wandering in at night and getting caught up in crimes.
By the way, the Town Guard is responsible for night security. However, they don't go unless there's a report.
For the Town Guard, there's apparently nothing they hate more than patrolling a graveyard at night. If the opponent is a ghost, they can just tell the Church, but that's not the case when it's a group of criminals.
"If it's just ghosts, it's fine. We don't have to go. But lately, reports of pickpocketing and theft in town have been increasing. There was even a kidnapping incident, so there's talk that we should be patrolling during the night watch."
She had an unusually grim expression. She probably just doesn't want to go.
"Then why not have Fiona do the patrolling? If we talk to Adolf-san, maybe we can arrange some kind of allowance."
Beatrix's words were the deciding factor, and the search for Fiona's night job began.
First, a site inspection. I went to the cemetery with Fiona during the day. The cemetery spreads out to the north of the church and is quite large. It's about a quarter of the size of the entire town of Nakanohara. Furthermore, there are several underground layers, so the overall scale can accommodate a significant number of people. Since most families establish their own graves, the graves of the wealthy are luxurious, with the tomb located inside a small shrine large enough for a person to enter. If there are criminals, that's where they'd be.
"Fiona. This area is the wealthy district. There are quite a few shrines built here, right?"
At the northern edge of the graveyard, there's a large shrine dedicated to a stone statue of the Goddess, and the wealthy are clustered around it. It's far from the town, so once the sun goes down, it's unlikely to be seen by anyone.
It was a weekday afternoon. There were a few people visiting graves scattered throughout the cemetery, but fortunately, there was no one in the target wealthy area.
"Hmm. There are a few of them here."
"Eh? Ghosts?"
"Yes."
Since it was broad daylight, their forms wouldn't be visible unless one was a high-ranking priest. For this inspection, we hadn't brought anyone who was afraid of ghosts. If we had, they would surely have run away.
"I'll try talking to them."
"Please do."
I decided to let the ghosts talk to each other. The security of the graveyard must be an important matter even for the ghosts residing there.
Beatrix tugged at my sleeve.
"Look, during the Revenant incident, a Revenant user infiltrated the graveyard, didn't they?"
"Now that you mention it, that's true."
Those guys manipulated the gravedigger and hid in the catacombs.
"I wonder if the ghosts could gather and form their own vigilante group?"
It might be possible.
In fact, the fortress where Fiona used to be was inhabited by many ghosts, and they apparently contributed to the preservation of the fort in various ways.
"But what about the reward? They won't be happy if you give them money."
"That's the problem. Should we try consulting Marcelo-san?"
Fiona returned. According to the ghosts, people who seem to be criminals have been coming and going. However, the ghosts don't seem to view it as a particular problem as long as their own graves aren't disturbed.
"Hmm. Then I guess a vigilante group is impossible."
Beatrix and I both crossed our arms.
"It would be good if there were some kind of merit for the ghosts."
"Merit?"
The people who are being ghosts as a hobby are staying in this world for some reason. That said, they don't harm the living. We decided to hold interviews one by one at night, with Fiona acting as an interpreter.
Since it's dangerous to go at night, we had them possess a portion of their respective gravestones, which we brought back and had them gather on the roof of the Ghost Mansion.
When midnight came, their forms became visible.
"Uh, you already know Fiona, right? I'm Beatrix. A mage. This girl is Jeanne. She's a Stray Priest, but she won't suddenly perform an ascension on you, so it's okay."
The participants on our side were Marcelo-san as the lead, Paul-san, Beatrix, Beowulf, Will, Flora, Fiona, and myself. Beowulf dislikes ghosts, but since she started this, I made her do her best and participate.
On the ghost side, there were six people. The oldest was an elderly man who lived in the era before the town of Nakanohara moved up to the plateau; he even seemed to have been acquainted with the First King. He appeared to be the coordinator for the group. An Elder, so to speak.
"As for us, as long as the graves are maintained, we have no complaints."
He seemed to be leisurely watching over the town's development without any particular desire to ascend.
"Weren't you involved in the founding of the country?"
"No, I had already retired by the time the King raised his banner."
After that, they began to let stories of the past bloom, as ghosts do. Beatrix and Matilda were starting to doze off.
Marcelo-san's aim was that if they had lived in the land where the Kingdom of Sertoria was founded, they must have been members of the early vigilante group, and he intended to propose that they protect the town together. Unfortunately, the era was slightly different.
"There were fellows like that, but they all ascended in satisfaction as soon as the country was founded."
I see. Building a nation without a peerage system must have been their lifelong goal.
"Then, are there any veterans of the previous war?"
"We won against that Engrio, after all. Everyone was satisfied."
I see, I see. After all, Nakanohara became a battlefield. Many members of the Nakanohara Town Vigilante Group also went to the front. Marcelo-san was one of them. Everyone must have worked hard. It seems they won and ascended peacefully.
"It seems the people gathered here now weren't involved in those big events. They simply like Nakanohara and are leisurely watching over the town's future."
Can you become a ghost for just that? Don't people usually become ghosts because they have lingering regrets?
"Well, first, a drink."
When Paul-san offered a bowl, everyone drank. They seemed to like alcohol.
"Ah, this is delicious. It's been a long time since I've had sake."
We prepared one barrel of sake. It should be enough for everyone.
Wait, what? What do you mean by "a long time"?
Haven't you been drinking the offerings?
When I timidly asked about their situation, it turned out that the ghosts gathered here had no living relatives. It seems they became ghosts out of a longing for human company. It wasn't a strong regret, nor was there any bitterness or resentment. The reason there were so few witnesses even at night was likely because they lacked strong lingering attachments. It's pitiful. I want to do something for them. That said, we can't take everyone in at our place. It would become a literal ghost mansion.
"Could you leave this to me? I don't think it will turn out badly."
Since the cautious Marcelo-san brought it up, I decided to leave it to him.
Two days later, since he said the deal was settled, I went to the graveyard during the day. Beowulf and Will couldn't participate during the day on weekdays. Since they had to hunt boars during the day, I had Bonnie, who is afraid of ghosts, go out hunting with Paul-san. The only humans were Marcelo-san, Beatrix, and myself. However, when we arrived at the site, to my surprise, Adolf-san, Hans-san, the Headmistress, and Jennifer-sensei were there.
"Oh? You all came too."
"It was originally Jeanne and the others' proposal, so it's only natural for us to come."
"Was it?"
The Headmistress was the same as ever, but she must be able to see the ghosts. Along with Jennifer-sensei, she was talking to empty space. Adolf-san and Hans-san, who couldn't see them, were looking awkward.
"What happened?"
When Beatrix asked, Adolf-san explained.
"When we asked the Church, they said they'd handle the cleaning, but they wouldn't look after the offerings. Well, that's to be expected. So, after consulting with Bishop Catherine and Hans, we decided to hire them as part of the Town Guard and provide an allowance. The allowance will be donated to the orphanage, and the children will clean the graves and buy the offerings."
Knowing the Headmistress and the others, they would surely put out offerings worth about half of the donation amount.
"Oh? Of course. We're incurring labor costs here too. Besides, the allowance per head is only one-tenth of a human's."
Apparently, for every ten ghosts, the same amount as one new Town Guard recruit's salary is paid. In exchange, if they achieve something, they get not only a performance boost but also a reward. In short, it's a low-wage commission system.
"Everyone starts as a rookie, after all."
Hans-san was also quite strict.
"If they contribute to the arrest of criminals, their performance will go up and their pay will increase. If they attack directly, rumors will spread, so they'll specialize in reconnaissance. They'll pass the information they gather here to Bishop Catherine or Jennifer-sensei, who will then contact the Town Guard station. That way, we can catch them red-handed in town."
According to Fiona, the ghosts are also motivated. The children will be brought by the Headmistress or Jennifer-sensei once a week to the ghosts' graves. They'll clean and leave offerings. A stone possessed by the ghost in charge for that week will be placed in the teachers' room, and they will use that as a base to conduct reconnaissance in town. Fiona's turn was gone, but that wasn't a problem in itself.
"So, will high achievers become vice-captains or something?"
Beatrix. You're being too mean.
"That's for the Mayor to decide. Though, it takes ten times the results just to equal one rookie, so it might take quite a while."
He was smirking.
"How clever."
Hearing Beatrix's response, Hans-san spread his hands and gave an exaggerated shrug.
The opportunity for the ghosts to be active arrived quickly. Or rather, things had originally become unsettled thanks to the measures against the Demon Lord's army. They reported a group of pickpockets and thieves who were meeting in the graveyard to coordinate to the Headmistress, who had come to clean with the orphanage children. The Headmistress went straight to Hans-san, and together with Town Guard members dressed in plain clothes, they followed the ghost who had emerged from the possessed gravestone and caught them red-handed. At the same time, the Town Guard apparently surrounded and rounded up the other members of the group who were trying to leave the scene.
"We arrested five of them. Quite impressive."
The reward for arresting criminals is better than for exterminating monsters. For theft, it's two silver coins per person. For five people, that's an immediate result of ten silver coins. That's equivalent to twenty rats.
The ghosts were allowed to do as they pleased with the reward money. We immediately decided to have a banquet hosted by the ghosts.
The location was my room, and those who dislike ghosts didn't participate. A row of gravestone fragments possessed by the ghosts was lined up in my room.
"Wow, I feel like I've been rejuvenated thanks to Priest Jeanne."
The Elder was in high spirits, making a toast. The other ghosts didn't seem used to it and were mostly talking to Fiona; a subtle atmosphere flowed where their voices could almost be heard, but not quite.
"Isn't it amazing to achieve something so quickly?"
"I may look like this, but I used to be a hunter."
He rolled up his sleeves at Beatrix's words. No wonder he was acquainted with the First King.
"A kidnapping incident happened before; did you know about it?"
"No, I didn't. Did those guys come to the graveyard?"
This is the problem. Unless they stop by the graveyard, the ghosts can't catch them. That said, it would be putting the cart before the horse to lure criminals to the graveyard and make it a hangout.
"It's fine. We have no relation to the flow of time. It's enough to watch the children who clean the graves grow, receive offerings, and occasionally be allowed to participate in banquets like this."
As expected of someone who has been a ghost as a hobby for many years, he is patient.
After making a fuss for a while, they said they would return to the cemetery because criminals start moving at midnight. Quite impressive.
After returning the stones, Beatrix and I were walking back from the graveyard, lighting our way with [Light], when we heard the sound of people talking. I cancelled the [Light] and had Fiona come out.
"They're living people. I wonder what they're doing?"
Fiona can see them.
This is dangerous. They must be criminals. We knew the opponent's position. We hid behind a grave.
"What should we do?"
"If we use [Light], Fiona will be in danger, right? I'll do it."
"Please."
Beatrix prepared a [Fire Ball].
"Fiona. Go and see how things are. If they're criminals, I'll blast them with fire magic and we'll run to where the Elder and the others are."
"Understood."
Fiona's form, flying fluffily, was clearly visible even in the middle of the night. She must be glowing. As proof, even the nearby gravestones looked as if they were illuminated. That said, no shadows were cast by the gravestones, and she's invisible to those who can't see her. I don't really understand the principle.
"Wh-What! You bastard!"
"A-A ghost!"
"Gyaaaa! Run!"
Screams rose from behind a gravestone about the size of a monument that Fiona had peered behind.
They must be criminals!
Beatrix sent [Fire Ball]s into the air. She fired eight shots in two sets of two, with a bon, bon sound.
She sent them flying in the direction Fiona was pointing. To those running away, it must look like will-o'-the-wisps were chasing them. Fiona was also getting into it and chasing them around. Along with the screams, there were thumping and banging sounds. Not just falling... wait, are they knocking over gravestones?
What a disaster. As a priest, I can't overlook this.
"Hey! Wait! Don't run wild in the cemetery!"
I had Fiona return to the stone and chased after them, illuminating the area as brightly as I could. There were five of them. They were wearing leather armor.
Beatrix cancelled her fire magic and froze the ground beneath the feet of the fleeing men one after another. When they fell and couldn't move, I ran up and shone the light on their faces, only to be shocked.
"Je-Jeanne. Wait! It's us! We're the Town Guard!"
The ones rolling around with both legs frozen by Beatrix were the Town Guard. The ghosts had achieved something. A group of proud members had gathered, thinking they'd try patrolling too. Their attempt to do it sneakily so we wouldn't find them backfired.
Ghosts started gathering from all over, wondering what was going on. To my surprise, there were fifteen or sixteen of them.
"Eeeeeeek!"
Their legs must have given out; they were screaming, unable to move a muscle.
"What are you doing?"
"It-It's patrol practice! U-Uwaah! H-Help me!"
Ghosts were passing in and out of the Town Guard members' bodies.
"How pathetic. And you call yourselves members of the glorious First Legion of the Kingdom of Sertoria?"
Even the Elder came.
"Your training is insufficient. I shall give my opinion to Vice-Captain Hans. Or shall I train you myself right here and now?"
"Hieee, please spare us!"
It was a mess.
In the end, the security of the communal cemetery was left to the ghosts, and it became income for the orphanage. The Town Guard members who, under the guise of patrol practice, had knocked over several gravestones in the middle of the night, ended up having to work in the cemetery at night until they had returned the stones to their original positions and polished them clean.
About two weeks later, I asked the Elder how things were going.
"Well, those fellows seem to have become acquainted and friendly with the ghosts. At first, they couldn't even last half an hour, but now they can listen to stories for two hours without foaming at the mouth. In a little while, they might be able to last until dawn."
"Please don't possess them."
"Don't worry. There are no ghosts in that cemetery who would do something so tactless. It's no fun if the person isn't conscious."
He laughed, ka-ka-ka.
My condolences.