kscans

Chapter 126 - Ghost Stories and Marmi's Request

Before long, it was dinnertime. The table was lined with a meal prepared by the castle staff. I wanted to ask about the ghost, but I knew it would just make the atmosphere weird if I did, so I decided to let Mash-kun handle it.

"Is a ghost a type of monster?"

Mash-kun asked.

"...Last night, while I was sleeping, I had sleep paralysis."

Marmi gulped down her fruit juice. She looked satisfied. Sleep paralysis is a phenomenon where your mind is awake but your body is still asleep and won't move. It's not a supernatural event in itself. We all waited for her to continue, but she showed no sign of saying anything else.

"Is that it?"

Marmi gave a small nod. The others all looked at each other, but her explanation was so concise that no one knew what to do.

"Could you elaborate a little?"

Marmi nodded at my words.

"...I had a dream. I was walking down a dark road at night. I was in a forest and had no idea where I was. I looked ahead and saw a hill. The hill was covered in a grassy field, and I thought if I climbed it, I'd be able to see the surrounding scenery. As I was climbing, something started chasing me up the hill. It was a headless cow. I tried to run, but I was paralyzed and couldn't move. I fell, and the headless cow pinned me down, pressing its hooves into my back. Then some kind of liquid started pouring down on me... and it was blood."

"That's... just a dream, isn't it?"

Marmi nodded at my words.

"...In the middle of the sleep paralysis, I realized it was a dream and my eyes opened, but my body still wouldn't move. I must have been groaning or making some kind of noise, because Patricia came to check on me. As soon as she touched me, my body could move again, and I was able to sit up. When I did, I was covered in blood. My body, the bed, even the floor... there was a sea of blood everywhere."

"Eek!"

Mash-kun let out a scream. I really wish he wouldn't react like that in this body. Shizuka was just as scared. Marmi's storytelling was monotonous, as if she were talking about someone else, but it was enough to terrify the two transmigrators.

"It's p-plasma, right?"

Mash-kun commented, like some scientist from another world, saying something no one here would understand. I wonder if anyone still thinks that. I feel like she's lying about her age. The idea that supernatural phenomena are caused by plasma is scarier than the phenomena themselves, but that'll just complicate things, so I'll keep my mouth shut. I glanced at Patricia, and she gave a deep nod, as if to confirm that what Marmi said was true.

"The next day, when I was washing Lady Mo's clothes and sheets, I asked the castle maids about it. Apparently, before this city was built, a herd of escaped cattle used to live on this hill. When people settled here, they tried to capture the cattle and make them work to build the city, but the cattle resisted and rampaged. So, they cut off the heads of every single one."

Patricia finished her story. She was clearly implying that this phenomenon was the vengeful spirits of those cattle. It was a common enough ghost story, though not one I'd heard often. Come to think of it, Patricia would occasionally get up to tend to Mo, but she was eating with us at the table. She was a strange one. Wake was also seated. Were they just humoring Marmi's little get-together?

"What a terrible place to end up. I want to go home..."

Shizuka muttered, looking genuinely sad. To me, though, it didn't seem like anything to be that scared about.

"This mystery can be solved. In fact, I recently experienced something similar myself,"

I said.

"...Really?"

Marmi looked at me with surprise. Patricia also had an astonished expression on her face. In fact, everyone at the table wore the same look. The exception was Mash-kun. He was sending me a signal to not forget Mizuki-chan. I cleared my throat.

"Well then, why don't you enlighten us?"

Wake said in a teasing tone.

"First of all, stories like that, creation myths and such, are just rumors you find in every town. And the headless cow only appeared in Mo's dream, so let's set that aside for now."

"...I didn't know the story about the cows until Patricia told me. It seems like too much of a coincidence, but maybe I heard it a long time ago and just forgot."

Marmi nodded.

"Next is the sleep paralysis. That can happen to anyone due to sleep disorders, stress, and so on. So that's not a supernatural phenomenon either."

"...I see. It's true I have my own worries and anxieties."

Marmi nodded again.

"So, all that's left is the fact that you woke up covered in blood."

Marmi and Patricia stared at me, holding their breath.

"You started your period, right? Famu threw a huge fit over it about a month ago."

"M-Master! That's a secret!"

Famu shrieked, her face beet red. But with that, the case was closed. When I realized it, Patricia was standing right behind me. Then she hit me with her fist.

"Lady Mo said the floor was a sea of blood, didn't she? If she bled that much, her life would be in danger!"

"Is that so?"

I looked at Mash-kun.

"I-I don't know! I don't know anything!"

Mash-kun was in a complete panic. Cecily looked at me and sighed.

"Mizuki, you've grown up so nicely, and you're telling me you haven't started yet?"

"Of course I have! I have, I have!"

Mash-kun yelled in my place. He seemed extremely flustered. Cecily turned to him with a puzzled expression.

"Why are you so worked up about it, Mash?"

"B-Because I saw it! I saw Mizuki bleeding buckets!"

"...Mash, have you lost your mind?"

Everyone around him was clearly doubting what he said. It seemed I was in a situation where I had to protect Mizuki's dignity.

"That's right. When I'm on my period, the room turns bright red with blood. The nickname I got for it was Bloody Mizuki. A pun on 'mata,' if you will."

Hearing my supportive comment, Mash-kun's face fell into an expression of utter despair. And then Patricia hit me again.

In the end, we ended up staying the night at the castle. We were walking down the corridor toward our bedrooms. Myra was walking beside me.

"Are you really, truly Mash?"

"You finally get it?"

Myra asked, as if to confirm, so I nodded in response.

"I should have paid more attention to Famu's behavior. There's no way she would have stuck by Mizuki's side for so long just to play along with one of Mash's jokes."

Myra sighed. So she really had been consciously standing in Famu's usual spot.

"Your words and actions made it seem like you had completely swapped. It's just that the activation condition for Shizuka's special skill..."

She trailed off.

"The part about how it doesn't work unless the two people are in love?"

"Yes. You must like Mizuki, Mash. That much is clear."

"Are you trying to say Mizuki doesn't like me?"

The unspoken implication was unsettling. I grew anxious.

"No, it's obvious Mizuki likes you too, Mash. But the way she likes you is... Cecily and Aira suspected the same thing I did, but it seems we were wrong."

"Hey, don't just say something so suggestive and leave me hanging. Tell me properly."

Her attitude of just figuring it out on her own only made me more anxious.

"N-No, it was my mistake. I've done Mizuki a great disservice. And I even took the opportunity to make a move on her. I'm so embarrassed."

"I've been telling you we were switched the whole time, you know,"

I said to her as she placed a hand on her cheek.

"You're right. By the way, Mash, you're getting quite good at being Mizuki."

"I know, right? I want to stay in this body forever."

"That would be a problem!"

I parted ways with Myra in front of Marmi's room.

I entered Marmi's room. The other members of Levante and Shizuka were to sleep in the room next door. I was sure Famu would be fine, but I was worried Mizuki would activate her 'boy mode' like last night and make a move on Myra and the others. I was especially worried about Aira. Marmi was wearing a nightgown-like outfit and waiting for me, ready for bed, on a luxurious canopied bed. The room was, as expected, adorned with lavish furnishings. On a small table sat a small box that looked like a treasure chest. Inside it should be the Crystal Core I gave her. There was no one else here. We were alone. Do they think it's fine because I'm Mizuki-chan right now?

"Is this the same room Mo stayed in yesterday?"

Marmi nodded. Even by the light of the fireplace and lamps, I could see no bloodstains on the floor.

"There's only one bed."

"...I'm scared, so sleep with me."

Marmi patted the spot next to her. When I sat down beside her, she scooted closer.

"You're awfully calm. You already know the cause of the strange phenomenon, don't you?"

Marmi nodded.

"...I have a few requests for you, Mash."

"I'm Mizuki-chan right now, but I'm listening."

"...I have a fiancé. I turned twelve today, so I have to marry him, but he's agreed to wait for the five years I'll be attending magic school."

"Magic school takes five years?"

"...There are different departments, and the length is set for each. I'm in the elementary division, so it's five years. The general course is three years, and if you join the research division, it can be ten years or more."

So Cecily is probably planning to enter the three-year course. And this matter with the fiancé is what Famu had consulted me about. Famu said she would solve it, but it seems there's been no progress. It's impossible for a commoner to interfere in the marriage of nobles. I'll wait silently for her next words.

"...My fiancé is skilled in magic that manipulates the mind. Once we're married, his magic will rewrite me to his liking. That's why, up until now, I've been allowed to behave freely, without being bound by the customs and traditions of the nobility."

"You've never even met, right? There's a chance you're already his type, isn't there?"

"...You don't know noble society, Mash. Besides, I don't want to bet my future on a possibility like that."

"That's true. In that case, I'll have Laciel threaten the guy."

"...That would be a problem. The Star Union family, with someone who's been threatened by Lady Laciel, wouldn't be able to stay in the Empire. At worst, the entire elven race could be exiled."

"For example, would the Demon Kingdom be okay?"

Marmi nodded at those words.

"...The demon race worships the Fifty Gods, but the ruling class worships the God of the End."

"I see."

I don't think Myra mentioned that. If the ruling class worships the God of the End, then they're in religious conflict with the human race, who primarily worship Laciel.

"...I still want you to take me, Mash. And I want to travel with you. I want to live freely for that time."

"Living freely is an illusion. No matter how you live, you'll always be bound by something. I thought I could live freely after being transported to this world, but now I'm shackled by all sorts of constraints. Besides, I hear elves don't permit marriage with other races. My party is already full, and I can't just take the only daughter of a powerful regent family on a journey."

"...I think I understand that. But I can accept the constraints that bind me if they're the result of my own choices. I've always just given up because I had no options. But you, Mash, you can give me one more option. Please, give me a chance."

"Have you told Wake and Patricia about this?"

They were the ones entrusted with her on this journey. Why would they leave Marmi alone with me?

"...Today, the person I invited was Mizuki-chan. And I asked them to let me be free, just for today. I want to fall in love and become an adult, too."

So she silenced them by saying she was just having a sleepover with Mizuki. That's fine for tonight. But I couldn't imagine those two would let Marmi run wild. In the end, they would act based on political judgment rather than Marmi's feelings.

"Are you sure I'm the one you want? Can you do it?"

"...I can if I try. You wouldn't complain even with someone like me, Mash, and you're the one Famu is in love with, so it should be fine with me, too. I think."

Her clinginess up until now wasn't just to gain my favor; it seems it wasn't from her own heartfelt affection either. I'd suspected as much, but it still felt a little lonely. A woman with a political background like Marmi made me hesitant, especially with my promise to Famu. Even if I explained that she was the one who asked, Famu would never accept it. Right now, if I were in Mash's body instead of Mizuki-chan's, she would absolutely have followed me and been watching like a hawk.

"I can't let you join the party."

"...About that, Cecily said she's going to magic school. While she's at school, I'll join the party."

"No matter what, I won't remove Cecily from the party. Besides, she's the only proactive one in Levante. If she's gone, we'll just become a group of shut-ins. And you're going to school too, aren't you, Mo?"

"...If you're really thinking about Cecily, Mash, then you should let her go to magic school. The spells she knows are just the ones she learned from leveling up her class. She's merely exercising something that was generated from the start. By creating her own syntax and constructing spells, she can group them as components, link them together to create more complex processes, and efficiently create magic that is enhanced and suited for her needs. For example, the full-body wash spell you thought of, Mash, is just a string of elementary spells, making it inefficient and crude. By disassembling, reconstructing, and reassembling it, it can become efficient and refined. If she can do things like this, her potential will expand. I understand these things and can do them myself. The only reason I was planning to go to school was to extend the time I have available."

So it's like programming, then. I'd always thought of magic as being similar to executable modules or applications that run on a computer or smartphone. By leveling up as an adventurer, I gained the ability to use elementary attribute magic for fire, wind, earth, and water. In a sense, it's like I had usable spells installed. And casting a spell is synonymous with running an executable module. Magic can be controlled to some extent without changing its essence. This is the same as giving arguments as execution conditions to a module. So, I completed the full-body wash spell by simply linking each spell, like a script or shell. At magic school, you probably learn how to make applications and develop your own. She raised her finger and created a sphere of water. Then she placed the water sphere over my head. My face and hair were washed without my nose being blocked. And it was even warm water.

"I want to use that spell, too. Can you build a spell from scratch yourself?"

"...That's impossible. Unless you have a mage-type class, even if you can theoretically construct it, you can't actually use it. Instead, I'll give you the one I built later, Mash."

To use the programming analogy, it means that even if you can write the code, you can't build or compile it into an executable application.

"Can Mizuki-chan use it?"

"...She can, but she's a knight, so she might run out of mana. Besides, wouldn't it be more convenient for you if she couldn't use it, Mash?"

"You've got a point there."

I nodded.