Fourth Villa (1)

After finishing the battle with the Giant Skeleton, Ethan and I returned to the safe zone from the Ancient Battlefield.

As soon as I handed Professor Mamari the magic stones that sealed the Giant Skeleton’s core and body-the subjugation achievement of the first day-she took them from Ethan and me with a surprised expression and examined them.

“Oh, ohhh…. Th-this, surely…”

“It’s the Giant Skeleton’s core and its body, Professor Mamari-nim.”

“Because the soul’s size was too large, we sealed it by dividing it into two magic stones, so we ask for your understanding.”

“Oh, ohhh…. Hoooo….”

As if it were a precious jewel, Professor Mamari placed the magic stones on her two hands and stared intently with both eyes.

Then, towards Ethan and me, she cautiously asked about the other subjugation members.

“H-how did you… C-could it be that the two of you defeated it…? W-what about the other party members…?”

“It’s a monster that Lillith and I subjugated by ourselves.”

“Since there was no one among the students taking the same class whom I could call an acquaintance, Ethan-doryeonnim and I had no choice but to go on the subjugation as just the two of us.”

“……”

As if she couldn’t believe that Ethan and I had subjugated it, Professor Mamari alternately looked at the Sealing Magic Stone in her hand and our expressions.

And then, as if possessed by something, she muttered strange words to herself.

“Th-this level of material, perhaps it could be used to make advanced curse potions in the next research…. Furthermore, if it’s the Giant Skeleton’s body, it can be used as material for Bone Golems….”

“Professor Mamari-nim?”

“Uh-huh-huh, ack…! Oh, I-I’m sorry…. I-I was holding onto it for too long, wasn’t I…. You must already be tired from coming all this way today and then subjugating such a large monster….”

“It’s alright, Professor Mamari-nim.”

“Y-your class evaluation, I’ll let you know after you submit your assignment for the third day…. B-but, with this much, I think I can give the two of you the highest score for the Skeleton-type Monster material grade….”

Well, of course, since we had submitted the material of a Boss Monster that should have only appeared on the third day.

Believing that the class results had been submitted, Ethan and I were about to step out of the Professor’s Villa, but Professor Mamari urgently called out to us.

“Understood. Then we’ll be going…”

“B-but, you two…!”

“Yes?”

“W-where do you plan to rest today…? I believe there aren’t any suitable buildings around here apart from my Villa, you see….”

“For the next three days, we plan to set up a tent near the carriage and stay there. As Professor Mamari-nim said, there are no inhabited villages around here.”

“Th-that’s…. Material shuttles like you two… Ah, no, I can’t let talents like you two sleep in a mere tent…. Ah, ahh, j-just a moment….”

Calling out to Ethan and me, Professor Mamari suddenly rummaged through a drawer and took something out.

As soon as I inadvertently received a key she hastily took out from the drawer, she told me where the key she handed me was used.

“Th-this is the key to my Fourth Villa…. I-it’s a place I don’t usually use much, but you, you two can use it while you’re taking the Necromancy Exploration class….”

“…What do you mean?”

“W-well, it’s also a professor’s role to assist capable students…. My Villa has beds, so please rest comfortably, and I only expect you to submit good materials… ah, no, good assignments tomorrow, uh-huh-huh….”

…Anyway, I wish she’d do something about that ghostly laugh.

Still, judging by what she said, it probably means she’ll provide Ethan and me with a place to stay while taking this class.

Since we were able to bring back material of a Giant Skeleton’s caliber, it probably implies that she hopes we’ll bring back materials of this level on other days too.

There was no particular reason to refuse, even if her intentions were obvious. Rather than bothering to set up a tent and sleep on a hard floor, sleeping in a Villa with a proper roof and beds was much better for both Ethan and me.

“Thank you, Professor Mamari-nim.”

“Y-yes…. I’ll look forward to it in tomorrow’s class too, uh-huh-huh….”

Leaving Professor Mamari, who continued to show a strange, sly smile like a macguffin until the very end, Ethan and I headed towards the Fourth Villa she mentioned.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

-Kiiik.

“It’s cleaner inside than I thought?”

“I think so too. She said it was a Villa she didn’t usually use much, so I didn’t have high expectations, but it seems much better maintained than I thought.”

The Villa Professor Mamari gave Ethan and me was a normal Villa, not dusty or crawling with bugs, considering it had been neglected for a long time.

I thought I’d have to clean the Villa thoroughly with Clean Magic as soon as we entered, but fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.

Thinking it was almost as if a Maid was permanently residing there, as soon as I stepped inside the Villa, an eerie voice pierced Ethan’s ears and mine.

‘Welcome, are you two Professor Mamari-nim’s guests?’

“Hiiyaaaak?!”

“L-Lillith?!”

Startled by the translucent Maid woman who suddenly appeared without warning, a scream instinctively burst out of me.

Along with that, Ethan also, seeing the suddenly appearing Ghost and seemingly perceiving it as a threat, had his right hand ready to draw his sword.

‘I apologize. I had no intention of startling you two. I thought that as Professor Mamari-nim’s guests, you would naturally be accustomed to such beings….’

“…Who are you?”

‘I am the Manager who oversees Professor Mamari-nim’s Fourth Villa. Normally, I am responsible for cleaning and inspecting the Villa’s facilities, excluding illegal intruders, and guiding guests like yourselves who visit very occasionally.’

“…Manager, you say?”

For someone like that, anyone would see her as a Ghost-type Monster.

Since I couldn’t quite understand how a Ghost, unable to exert physical force, could clean and manage a mansion, the translucent Maid responded calmly, as if she had somewhat expected such a reaction, and answered.

‘First, to clarify some facts in case you might misunderstand me, I am not a monster, but an ‘Intellectual Spirit’ created by Professor Mamari-nim. Currently, my duty is to manage this Fourth Villa by entrusting my consciousness to it.’

“…Created by Professor Mamari-nim?”

‘Yes. As Professor Mamari-nim is an authority on Necromancy, she has already created various inventions using Undead-type Monster materials. I, the Manager of this Fourth Villa, am also one of those inventions.’

…Now that I think about it, I might have seen such a setting in 『Luminor Academy』.

To be precise, I didn’t see it in the Necromancy class, but in the middle of Part 4’s story, an episode called ‘Ghost Mansion’ appears, and the Manager of that mansion also said that they were a being created for the mansion’s management, just like this translucent Maid in front of me.

The fact that she calls herself a Manager, and if this translucent Maid in front of me was created in the same way as the Manager of that Ghost Mansion, then it was a perfectly plausible story.

“H-hey, are there already beings like you in other places? Besides this Fourth Villa, I mean.”

‘I don’t know about individuals created after me, but I do know about individuals created before me. However, as I cannot carelessly disclose Professor Mamari-nim’s personal information, I can only give you the answer ‘Yes.’ to your question.’

“…That answer is enough.”

If there aren’t two or more technicians in this world who can artificially create Intellectual Spirits, then the Manager in the Ghost Mansion episode was probably also a being created by Professor Mamari, just like this woman.

Since her words about being the Villa’s Manager didn’t seem to be a lie, there seemed to be no need to be overly cautious.

“I think it will be fine, Ethan-doryeonnim. That person truly seems to be just the Villa’s Manager, not a Ghost or a monster.”

“…Really?”

“The very fact that this Villa could be kept so clean seems to be due to this Manager’s ability. In fact, if it were this clean without a Manager, it would have felt even stranger, Ethan-doryeonnim.”

‘Thank you for the compliment, young lady. As expected, you possess high insight befitting a Maid.’

I don’t know what connection Maids and insight have, but anyway, she doesn’t seem to have any intention of harming Ethan or me.

And well, even though she was artificially created, her appearance was that of a Maid, so I felt a strange sense of kinship.

After all, I had also been living as a Maid in the Blackwood Family for almost 10 years.

‘To serve you, our guests, while you stay here, I would like to know your names, if you would be so kind as to tell me? If you are reluctant to reveal your true names to me because I appear to be a Ghost, you may tell me an alias or a suitable title.’

“…Ethan.”

“It’s Lillith, Manager-ssi.”

‘Yes. Then, while you two are staying here, I will serve you as Ethan-doryeonnim and Lillith-agassi.’

…Ethan-doryeonnim?

“I apologize, but please use the title Prince Ethan instead of Young Master Ethan for Ethan-doryeonnim.”

‘……Ah, I apologize. I will serve you as Ethan-gongjanim and Lillith-agassi.’

“Thank you, Manager-ssi.”

Befitting a Maid, the Villa’s Manager immediately understood the meaning of my words and bowed her head.

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