Chapter 9 - Keeping the Bad Bugs Away
The seriousness of the situation was conveyed by her pale complexion.
They were there. It wasn't just a rumor; there really were ghosts. And enough of them that the expression "swarms" was chosen.
I vaguely associated it with the fluorescent light on the ceiling. A yellowed rod with the carcasses of small insects that had intruded during the summer stuck fast to it.
An image of pitch-black ghosts covering the building just like that floated into my mind.
It was so ominous, filthy, and cursed. It was a ghastly scene that made me want to vomit right now.
"Are they some kind of evil spirits?"
"I can't tell that much—but the only things that get caught in my Perception are wicked things."
Demons. Wraiths. Evil gods. Angelica counted them on her fingers with a trembling voice.
"...I don't want to be here."
I felt the same way. Who would want to live in a house that turned out to be a haunted mansion? I even thought about just going back to my parents' house. I could explain the situation, gloss over Angelica's identity somehow, and the two of us could live as parasites under my parents.
That wouldn't be bad either. However, it was definitely not the best option. I had decided to become this girl's foster father. Running away wasn't allowed. What is the action a father should take when faced with his frightened daughter?
"Leave it to your father. Driving away bad bugs is a father's job, after all."
I thumped my chest strongly to reassure my child. To protect her from threats. That was the best move I could make right now. Once that was decided, there was only one thing to do.
I channeled mana into my fingertips and began the incantation for Sorcery.
The image was important. Covering the entire room with threads of light, spinning a holy cocoon. While playing that video in my brain, I concentrated my mind.
—[Skill: 『Sacred Circle』].
The spell I chanted immediately reflected my will. Please protect Ange. The mana responded mechanically, and a faint light enveloped the girl's surroundings.
"Wha—!? Wait, wait, wait! It's okay! You don't have to go this far!"
While ignoring the noisy Angelica, I continued to pour in mana. This is a barrier magic that protects a designated person within a radius of about three hundred meters from all threats. The ghosts should be blown away by my mana and won't be able to get near Angelica for a while. After that, they can just pass on, or go possess some other target somewhere else.
Though, that's only for a while.
It's just a barrier, after all. To put it bluntly, it's nothing more than a "super great bug repellent spray." If you leave a corpse swarming with flies and just spray that on your body, it's only buying time. Unless we cut off the source of the ghosts somewhere, a similar commotion will likely happen again.
Why do they only flock to our apartment?
If I don't figure that out, I won't reach a fundamental solution. Should I investigate the nearby graves? Should I be conscious of feng shui or the demon gate and change the furniture layout?
I don't even want to think about it, but there's also the possibility that a skeletonized resident or a hexagram drawn in blood is left in some vacant room, and it won't end until I perform a memorial service for it.
While I was resting my chin on my hand in exasperation, Angelica started acting strange. I felt she was strange from the beginning, but sitting down in a girl's pose, looking down, and having steam rise from her bright red face was something from a different world. In this case, "different world" didn't mean another world. It meant, "what kind of rom-com timeline did you jump out of?"
Did I do something that would make her this embarrassed?
"What's wrong, Ange?"
"Because, Father..."
Angelica covered her cheeks with both hands and had a melting expression. ...Don't look at me with those eyes. That's the face of a woman who wants all sorts of things.
"...That just now was [Skill: 『Sacred Circle』], wasn't it?"
"Yeah. But Ange can use Sorcery too. Is it that rare?"
"Of course everyone knows it's a famous spell, but... But isn't this the kind of thing used to protect a general in war, by pouring in every last bit of mana? The kind where the person who uses it collapses because they're empty?"
"That's a common accident."
In my case, I have enough leeway to fire it about a dozen times a day, though.
"Auuuuuuuu."
"So, why are you holding your head over that?"
I observed the strange creature, whose neck had turned red, with cold eyes.
"If I were to describe how I feel right now... it's like I just scraped my knee from a fall, but I was carried to bed in a princess carry, attended to all day long, and then the best doctor in the country was called in."
"What's that?"
"You're too overprotective! Why are you suddenly using such a grand technique!"
Well, I am your surrogate parent. This much is natural for a father. Above all, it's not that grand of a technique for me, but I suppose silence is golden here.
Actually, I can't say it anyway. Being pointed out, I was also starting to feel a bit embarrassed. Did I do something that could be taken as doting so early in the morning?
Angelica had a dazed expression on her face.
Well, it should be better than being hated. I feel like I might have struck a fatal romantic trigger with a hammer, but it's better than nothing. Though I'm worried about how long my sanity will hold if she keeps directing that kind of gaze at me.