Chapter 16 - Ghosts, Ghosts, Again Ghosts
"Honestly, my first impression of Gondo wasn't bad, you know.
He looked like he was from the underworld, but he was nice at first, and he didn't do anything weird to me.
But the second time he came to my house, he turned into a different person halfway through. It got really creepy.
Maybe he just showed his true colors.
Um... he started acting strange after he said he saw a ghost, that guy.
...By the way, that foreign girl staying at Nakamoto-san's place, is she actually your girlfriend?
No? She's not? I see. ...Good. ...No, never mind.
Hey, let's exchange contact info. Okay? I want to properly thank you sometime."
The words Rio had said when we parted stuck in my mind.
Ghosts.
Again, ghosts.
Not just at my apartment, but a ghost disturbance had occurred around Rio as well.
What if Gondo's actions, which could only be called insane, weren't due to drugs but to an evil spirit?
What if he was possessed, his personality being controlled?
If that were the case, that guy would be a victim too.
Thinking it would be a bit pitiful if so, I decided to perform a status appraisal on Gondo just in case.
I wondered what I'd do if it said he was actually a fan of mature women who was just being controlled by a ghost.
But the remarks section only read: "A yakuza with a big love for high school girls. Has loved high school girls since before he was born."
He probably did harbor base desires for Rio from the beginning.
Even so, he had initially acted gentlemanly and suppressed his urges.
But after encountering the ghost, his restraint had given way.
If that were the case...
The spirit that had appeared this time might have the power to drag out the evil side that people keep suppressed.
My head ached at the thought of such a troublesome thing being around.
Perceiving spiritual bodies is one of my weakest areas.
I was originally the weakest Hero, and I'm clumsy.
I never even awakened skills related to searching, perception, or production.
I am a Hero of effort.
A mediocre talent whose only stats that ever grew, no matter how much I trained, were combat-related.
If I can see an enemy's form, I won't lose, but I lack the talent to find invisible enemies.
Yet now, an invisible ghost is running rampant.
I couldn't help but feel something ominous about a threat that seemed to be targeting my weakness and writhing around.
Well, even so, I still have Angelica now.
That girl is a user of perception skills, as if to compensate for my weak points.
I thought, glancing into the paper bag.
Women's clothing Rio had picked out for me, and some slightly pricey sweets.
With these items that have a special effect on teenage girls, I'd better get Angelica motivated.
I planned to use that girl's skills and do a little ghostbusting starting tomorrow.
"I'm home."
For the first time since living alone, I said "I'm home."
Feeling a warmth spread in my chest, I opened the apartment door.
I felt both eager and dreading how Angelica would greet me.
She wouldn't be doing that newlywed-style thing with a naked apron, would she?
But knowing her personality, she just might. If she did, I'd scold her.
I'd tell her to value herself more, and that would be the end of it. That's not my kind of scenario anyway.
Though a scenario with her as a widow in mourning clothes (age 31) would be dangerous.
And the danchi wife setting has its appeal too.
There's no way that otherworld girl would know about that stuff.
That's why Father is invincible.
As I hummed and took off my shoes, I heard hurried footsteps from the living room.
Angelica was making her entrance right away.
"Father! Hero-sama! Keisuke-sama! Trouble! B-Big trouble!"
"Your address is all mixed up. Why are you so confused?"
"Fatheeer!"
The moment Angelica saw me, she clung to me tightly.
She was still dressed in her Holy Maiden's vestments, just as she was when I left the house.
In other words, it was that thing—her see-through, tissue-thin material revealing her otherworldly bra and cleavage underneath.
In that immodest state, various parts of her body pressed against my elbow.
"Hoh. Not bad. But I'm starting to get used to it, you know. I'm building up a resistance."
"A ghost! There's a ghost right there...!"
"Are you going with the setting of a widow whose husband has come back as a ghost after she remarried!? When did you find out my weakness!?"
"Over there! It's there, it's there! A ghost, just the upper half, floating in the air!"
Seeing Angelica's extraordinary fear, I realized this wasn't a prank.
"So one really did appear."
With tears in her two green eyes, Angelica nodded.After wiping the teardrops from the corner of her eye with my thumb, I headed to the living room.
The barrier magic I had cast on Angelica, Sacred Circle, should still be in effect.
A ghost that could invade despite that was no ordinary opponent.
Was it a wicked god or spirit then?
[Hero Keisuke consumes 300 MP. Activates Divine Sword skill. Attack power increases by 300%.]
[You enter a state of special attack against spiritual bodies, demons, and undead.]
With a thrum, I generated a Light Sword in my right hand and readied it.I took one step forward.I extended my left hand in front of Angelica's face, signaling her to stay back.
'The government, in response to the increasing social security costs...'
An announcer's emotionless voice could be heard.It was a TV news program. Had Angelica turned it on?Or was it a poltergeist phenomenon, where an evil spirit had turned it on by itself?I asked in a low voice, "What happened?"
"W-Well. When I was playing with that square thing that was on the table earlier, a light suddenly turned on in that black tablet..."
"...And then?"
"Then a human from the waist up was shown on it, and it started talking! That's a ghost, right, it absolutely is, right!? Is it going to jump out of that tablet soon, walk around teke teke on just its upper half, and come demanding I give it a lower half!?"
"...You have a vivid imagination."
As if frightened by her own words, Angelica cowered even more.I canceled the skill and let out a sigh of relief.
"Ange. That's called a TV. It's a tool that shows things recorded in the past or distant scenery."
"Distant?"
"How should I put it... You had far-seeing crystal balls over there, right? It's kind of like those, but in a rectangular shape."
"...So those are living humans? They're not half-bodies cut off at the waist as ghosts?"
"The part below the waist is just hidden by the desk. It's not shown on the screen."
Letting out a deep breath, Angelica slumped down."So it wasn't a ghost after all," she said in a relieved voice.
"Usually, far-sight is a lot more blurry-looking, right? If it's that clear, of course I'd be like, 'A person suddenly appeared!?' This is a total noob trap. I'm not wrong here."
Speaking rapidly, Angelica averted her eyes awkwardly.She seemed embarrassed.
I really, really wanted to tease her, but I refrained.I've experienced plenty of culture shock myself, so I can't say anything.It's only natural to be bewildered when suddenly thrown into a different world.
For the first week after I was summoned to another world, I couldn't believe it and thought it was a hidden-camera show.Compared to that, Angelica's adaptability is better.
"Well, then. I'm home."
"...Welcome home."