episode_0377

After the battle with the Giant Skeleton, Ethan and I returned to the safe area from the old battlefield.

As soon as I handed the magic stone that sealed the Giant Skeleton’s core and body, which was the result of the first day’s subjugation, to Professor Mamali, she came out with a surprised expression and received the magic stone from Ethan and examined it.

“Wow, wow… . This can’t be… .”

“This is the Giant Skeleton’s core and its body, Professor Mamali.”

“Because the soul was too large, it was divided into two magic stones and sealed, so please understand.”

“Wow, wow… . Hooo… .”

Professor Mamari places a magic stone on his hands as if it were a precious jewel and stares at it with his eyes.

He then turned to Ethan and me and carefully asked for news about other subjugation members.

“How do I do this…? . Seriously, two people killed it… ? Well, the other party members… .”

“This is a monster that Lilith and I defeated.”

“Because there was no one who could be considered an acquaintance among the students taking the same class, I had no choice but to go out with the two of us, Master Ethan and myself.”

“… … .”

Professor Mamari looked at our expressions and the sealing stone in his hand, as if he couldn’t believe that the two of us, Ethan and I, had subdued him.

Then, she was muttering strange words to herself as if she were possessed by something.

If “ is this level of material, we might be able to use it to make an advanced curse potion in the next research… . Moreover, the body of a giant skeleton can be used as material for a bone golem… .”

“Professor Mamari?”

“Ugh, school… ! Oh, I’m sorry… . Well, I’ve been holding on too long… . Still, you must be tired today from having to go the long way to defeat such a large monster… .”

“It’s okay, Professor Mamari.”

“Wed, I will inform you about the class evaluation after you submit the assignment for the 3rd day… . Well, at this rate, I think I can give the two people the highest score in terms of skeleton monster material… .”

Of course, it was because I submitted the information for a boss monster that should have appeared only on the third day.

Ethan and I thought that the class results had been submitted and were about to leave the professor’s villa, but it was Professor Mamari who called us in a bit urgently.

“I understand. Then we’ll go in… .”

“Well, two more people… !”

“Yes?”

“Ho, where are you planning to rest today? ? First of all, I know that there are no suitable buildings around here other than my villa… .”

“We plan to pitch a tent near the carriage and stay there for the next three days. As Professor Mamali said, there are no villages around here where people live.”

“Well, like that… . Two people on the same material shuttle… Ah, no, you can’t just make talented people like these two sleep in a tent… . Ah, ah, now, just a moment… .”

Professor Mamari stopped me and Ethan and suddenly looked like he was rummaging through a drawer and taking something out.

As soon as she took the key she had urgently taken out of the drawer, she told me how to use the key she handed me.

“This is the key to my fourth villa… . It’s a place I don’t usually use, but it’s okay to use it while two people are taking a necromantic exploration class… .”

“… What do you mean?”

“Nuh, it’s the professor’s role to assist talented students… . There is a bed in my villa, so I can rest comfortably and have good material for tomorrow… Oh, no, I just expect you to turn in a good assignment, ugh… .”

… Anyway, I wish I could at least do something about that ghostly laugh.

Still, if you look at what he said, he means that he will at least provide a place for me and Ethan to stay while we take this class.

Since they brought back enough material for a Giant Skeleton, the implication is that they hope to bring back this level of material on other days as well.

Even though the intention was clearly visible, there was no particular reason to refuse. It was much better for Ethan and I to sleep in a villa with a proper roof and bed than to bother setting up a tent and sleeping on the hard floor.

“Thank you, Professor Mamari.”

“Well, that’s right… . I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s class too, haha… .”

It was Ethan and I who headed towards the fourth villa she had mentioned, leaving behind Professor Mamari who smiled sinisterly like a strange MacGuffin until the end.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

-Kkiik.

“It’s cleaner inside than I thought?”

“I think so too. I didn’t have high expectations because they said it was a villa that wasn’t used very often, but it still looked much better maintained than I expected.”

The villa that Professor Mamari gave to me and Ethan was an ordinary villa that had been abandoned for a long time, without any dust or bugs crawling around.

I thought I would have to give the villa a thorough cleaning using clean magic as soon as I came in, but fortunately that didn’t seem to be the case.

As soon as he walked into the villa, thinking it was safe to say that there was a maid living there, an eerie voice came out and pierced Ethan’s ears.

‘Welcome, are you two guests of Professor Mamari?’

“Hiyaaagh?!”

“Lee, Lilith?!”

The moment I instinctively screamed in surprise at the translucent maid who appeared without warning.

At the same time, Ethan also saw the suddenly appearing ghost and seemed to think it was a threat, ready to pull out his sword with his right hand.

‘sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you two. I thought that if you were Professor Mamali’s guest, you would naturally be familiar with this kind of existence… .’

“… Who are you?”

‘I am the manager of Professor Mamari’s fourth villa. On a regular basis, my role is to clean the villa, inspect the facilities, exclude illegal intruders, and provide guidance to guests like you who visit infrequently.’

“… Administrator, yo?”

For all that, it looks like a ghost-type monster to anyone who sees it.

The semi-transparent maid responded calmly, as if she had expected this reaction to some extent, as she hardly understood that the mansion was cleaned and managed by a ghost who could not use physical force.

‘First of all, in case you misunderstand me, let me tell you a few facts: I am not a monster, but an ‘intelligent psyche’ created by Professor Mamari. For now, it is my job to take care of this fourth villa with my sanity.’

“… It was created by Professor Mamari?”

‘yes. As Professor Mamari is an authority on necromancy, he has already created several inventions using materials from undead monsters. As the manager of this fourth villa, I am also one of its inventions.’

… Now that I think about it, I think I’ve seen this kind of setting before in 『Luminor Academy』.

Exactly, I didn’t see it in the necromancy class, but there is an episode called ‘Haunted Mansion’ in the middle of the story in Part 4, and the manager of that mansion said that he was a being created to manage the mansion, like this translucent maid in front of me.

Calling oneself a manager was one thing, and if the translucent maid in front of me was created in the same way as the manager of that haunted mansion, it was entirely possible.

“Ho, is there already a being like you somewhere else? Besides this fourth villa.”

‘I don’t know about objects created after me, but I know about objects created before me. However, since Professor Mamali’s personal information cannot be revealed carelessly, we will only reply ‘yes’ to the customer’s question.’

“… That answer alone is enough.”

Unless there is more than one engineer in this world who can artificially create an intelligent mental body, this probably means that the manager of the Haunted Mansion episode was created by Professor Mamali, just like this woman.

First of all, what she said about being the manager of the villa didn’t seem to be a lie, so there seemed to be no need to be more vigilant than necessary.

“I think it will be okay, Master Ethan. That person really seems to be just the manager of the villa, not a ghost or monster.”

“… Really?”

“I think it was this manager’s ability that allowed this villa to be kept clean in the first place. In fact, it would have felt even more strange if it was this clean and there was no manager, Master Ethan.”

‘Thank you for the compliment, miss. As expected of a maid, you have a high level of insight.’

I don’t know what the relationship between the maid and Insight is, but it doesn’t seem like she has any intention of harming me or Ethan.

And well, no matter how artificially it was created, it looked like a maid, so I felt a strange sense of kinship.

It’s been almost 10 years since I worked as a maid at the Blackwood family.

‘I would like to know the names of both of you in order to serve our guests during their stay here. Could you please tell me? If you are reluctant to reveal my real name because it makes me look like a ghost, you can give me a pseudonym or an appropriate title.’

“… Ethan.”

“It’s a release, Mr. ”

‘yes. Then, during your stay, I will treat you as Master Ethan and Lady Lilith.’

… Master Ethan?

“I’m sorry, but please use the title Ethan Confucius instead of Master Ethan.”

‘… … Oh, sorry. ‘I will serve you as Prince Ethan and Lady Lilith.’

“Thank you, Mr. Administrator.”

Like a maid, the manager of the villa immediately understood the meaning of what I said and bowed his head.

… Even though it was only for three days, I couldn’t give up my position as Ethan’s exclusive maid.