“Xenos, are you really going to open your business here?”
“Yeah, that’s the plan.”
Xenos and Lily left the diner and walked through the city streets at night.
It wasn’t quite midnight yet, but there were no voices of people around, and the only sound that reached their ears was the distant howling of a dog.
On both sides of the rough road, dilapidated houses lined up.
Lily looked around fearfully.
“There’s no sign of anyone here.”
“That’s because this is a ruined city.”
The royal capital of the Kingdom of Hazes is centered around the palace area where the royal family lives, with a special district where noble residences line up, surrounded by a city district where citizens live, and further out, there are scattered slums. This area was a district between the city district and the slums, and it became a ruin after an epidemic broke out in the past.
“Why in a place like this…?”
“I can’t exactly operate a shady business openly in the middle of the city, can I?”
“I see, Xenos is smart.”
“And there’s also the simple matter of rent.”
Aston barely gave him any of the reward, and he used the severance pay to buy Lily, so he only had a little money left. Besides, Xenos, who came from the slums, can’t even make a proper real estate contract, but here there are plenty of buildings available.
The two looked around at the buildings and found a house that was relatively intact.
“Well then, shall we take a look inside?”
“Okay…”
Lily nervously grabbed Xenos’s sleeve tightly.
“What’s wrong? Are you scared?”
“Because it looks like ghosts might appear…”
Ghosts are not merely fictional beings.
The lingering scent of the Demon King, who was destroyed a long time ago, still affects the world, and monsters such as ghosts, zombies, and ghouls are actually born.
“Lily knows. Places like this, where many people have died, are where monsters are easily born. Especially if there’s a Wraith, it’s all over…”
“A Wraith?”
“A monster at the top of the undead-type monsters. It looks like a human, but just by touching it, it takes the life of its opponent and turns them into a subordinate ghost.”
Lily was frightened as they stepped inside. It was, of course, pitch black.
“<Light>.”
When Lily said that and held out her hand, a faint light illuminated the surroundings.
“Lily, you can use magic?”
“Only simple ones.”
Even a child can use magic; as expected of an elf, who are said to possess vast magical power and talent for magic.
“Waaaaah!”
Right after, Lily screamed.
In the room that was illuminated, there was a black-haired woman.
Her face was beautiful, but the depths of her eyes were an endlessly deep darkness, and her entire body was faintly transparent. A sinister aura overflowed from her entire body.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had a life… Give it to me, give it to me…”
“Xenos, it’s a Wraith! There’s a Wraith!”
“Ah, so there was a previous occupant after all. This building does seem like the most comfortable one.”
“Xenos, how can you be so calm…?”
The monster pulled back its lips and floated in the air, ready to attack.
“<Heal>.”
“Gyaaaaaah!”
“Eh?”
When Lily blinked, the Wraith’s arm had disappeared.
Xenos said calmly.
“What, so this is a Wraith? I’ve defeated about a hundred of them before.”
Undead-type monsters are weak to healing magic. During his healing magic training, he used to go to graveyards alone and often encountered them.
“I heard that if you meet a Wraith once, it’s the end… a hundred?”
While Lily gaped with her mouth open, Xenos said to the Wraith.
“I’m sorry, but this building seems to be the most suitable. I won’t get in your way as much as possible, so is it okay if I share it with you?”
“What are you saying? Just give me your life…!”
“<Heal>.”
“Gyaaaaaah!”
“Ah, sorry. I did it on reflex because you were attacking. I didn’t mean any harm.”
“Guoooooh!”
The Wraith’s face twisted in anger, and it raised its regenerated hands.
Its entire body swelled, and a black aura was released towards the sky.
“I won’t forgive you! You’re the first human to anger me, the Wraith-Queen Camilla. I’ll summon all the subordinate ghosts in this area.”
Translator’s Note
The wraith calls herself 死霊王 (Shiryō-ō), “Dead Spirit King,” which I’ve localized as “Wraith-Queen”
“Hmm… I was hoping to share it quietly if possible…”
Xenos shrugged and held out one hand in front of him.
“<High Heal>.”
A ring of light swirled around Xenos, then burst and scattered in all directions. The ghosts that had gathered at the Wraith’s call were instantly extinguished with thin, dying screams. The Wraith, who called herself Camilla, shouted with a stunned look on her face.
“…Wha, what? What are you?”
“Just a humble dark healer. But, I’m really sorry. I just need to use a room for treatment, a bedroom, and a bathtub.”
When he said this as if praying, the Wraith eventually shrunk down with a whoosh, and disappeared through the ceiling to the second floor.
“…Y-You can use the first floor as you please. But the second floor is my room.”
Translator’s Note
She used わらわ (warawa) which is an archaic, first-person pronoun often used by noblewomen or royalty in historical settings.
“Of course, I appreciate it. We did it, Lily.”
“Lily doesn’t know whether to be happy or sad…”
And so, Xenos managed to get a property (with a Wraith attached) for the time being.