Chapter 14 (1/2)
Volume 1
CH 17
The Hero’s Spectre Runs into Several Unexpected Situations
It happened in the afternoon two days prior to Minnalis ranking us up .
That day, I entered Yumis’ mansion through the backdoor used by its staff .
「Whew . Doing this kind of work sure is tiring . 」
「I know, right?」
「Stop complaining, you two . They’ll hold us all responsible if you get overheard, and I for one am not looking forward to being punished with extra work . 」
「「Fiiine . 」」
Three maids exited the building and completed their chore of taking out the trash as they chatted away .
（Well, in I go . ）
I slipped in through the open back door after casually glancing at the maids and double checking to see that they were still focused on doing their work . My current body was one that could easily phase through walls . The only reason I bothered going through a doorway was because this mansion was Yumis’ .
The ghost created by the【Heart Flame Ghost Blade]consisted entirely of magical energy . Hence, it could pass right through the physical, but was highly susceptible to other magical energies . Yumis’ mansion’s walls had been reinforced with magic, and so, going through them was rather difficult . Entering through an open doorway was the better of the two options by far .
Invading through the back door would, under normal circumstances, entail entering a barrier and setting off one of Yumis’ custom made spells . The spell would not only notify her that someone had intruded and inform her of any relevant details, but also summon five highly defensive golems that would engage the intruder in order to buy time .
Of course, those conditions only applied under normal circumstances .
My prior experiences had allowed me to learn exactly how the spell in question functioned . In other words, I also knew that it had no effect on me in my current form whatsoever despite being of an extremely careful construction .
I was completely invisible and in a spiritual form . The only way for me to be detected was for me to be spotted by an individual possessing either an innate skill like Scarlet Eyes or a skill of the highest calibur like the Mind’s Eye .
There was no way that she could have had the skill she needed to spot me as of right now . It was something she would only be able to obtain after training with me .
（You know, I think this is actually my first time here…）
I walked through a gorgeous, well decorated hallway . Being a spirit, I couldn’t actually feel anything at all, but even so, I was able to tell that the carpet was soft . It just looked so gaudy I couldn’t imagine it to feel any other way .
（Hmm… Where should I snoop around first…?）
The reason I had visited Yumis’ mansion was so I could figure out exactly what I needed to do to make her suffer as much as possible . I knew what her goal was . She was completely obsessed with creating a magic item extraordinary enough to allow her to have her name carved into a specific Elmian stone monument . I clearly recalled how insane she had looked back when she tried to capture me; she had appeared obsessive and tunnel visioned . It was like she had completely lost her grasp on reality .
I knew that she’d always sought to fulfill that one goal, even from childhood, but I never was able to figure out why she obsessed over it that much . It had clearly been more than just a childhood dream . Her eyes had conveyed to me that she had seen the achievement as something that would instantly bring her some sort of benefit .
Figuring out her drive would allow me to turn it into her greatest weakness . There was even the added benefit of potentially discovering her other lesser weaknesses as well .
It would’ve been easy for us to just choose to physically torment her, but that alone wouldn’t have been enough .
I wanted more, much more than just that .
（I guess I’ll try looking for something along the lines of a study . ）
Yumis’ secrets were likely hidden away in her study, and her desires in her diary if she happened to keep one . Looking through both had a good chance of providing me with the information I needed .
This world’s common sense dictated that those with higher status owned therooms on higher floors, so I immediately went up the stairs .
The building was extremely vast, and exactly what one would expect of a personal mansion set aside for a feudal lord’s daughter .
「Huh? What… was that just now…?」
One of the maids span around as I passed her by, an action that caused me to stop in place and stiffen up .
She, a woman in her twenties with a blue-purple ponytail, scanned my general vicinity with a confused look on her face .
（Tsk! Did she notice me!?）
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Name: Sori Luelle
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Race: Human
HP: 310/310
MP: 222/222
Level: 23
Strength: 183
Vitality: 143
Stamina: 144
Agility: 208
Magic Power: 119
Magic Resistance: 122
Innate Ability: Intuition
Skills
Pain Tolerance: Lv 2
Presence Detection: Lv 1
Presence Concealment: Lv 1
Dismantling: Lv 3
Night Vision: Lv 3
Sword Arts: Lv 2
Audacity: Lv 1
Accelerated Thought: Lv 1
Condition: Good
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Her stats page didn’t seem to indicate that she was capable of seeing me . Her innate skill, intuition, must have kicked in .
「…It must’ve been just my imagination . 」
Sori, the maid, tilted her head and continued regarding the area for a bit before finally deciding to continue on her way down to the building’s first floor .
（Oh shit!）
「Welcome home, Yumis . 」
「Hey Sori . 」
However, I wasn’t allowed a chance to relax, as Yumis, the disgusting insect I wanted to crush, had suddenly appeared at the bottom of the stairwell .
「Weren’t you scheduled to spend the rest of the day at the municipal office?」
「Stamping papers aside, I’ve finished all the day’s work . I can just do that here, so I’ve decided to visit so I could catch a breath of fresh air . I’m having the documents I need to stamp delivered, but they’re not here just yet, so I thought it would be a good idea for the two of us to take a bit of time in order to relax until they arrive . Could you bring the usual to my bedroom?」
「S-Sure . I’ll do exactly that right away . 」
「Fufufu . I’ll see you upstairs then . 」
（Huh, this actually looks like a pretty good chance to learn a bit more about her personal life . ）
I felt like I was letting my guard down a bit too much, but I couldn’t turn away the chance that I’d just been presented with . Seeing Yumis talk to the maid reminded me of her identity . She was both Yumis’ confidant and the person taking care of her sister . Yumis trusted her so much that she had entrusted her duties as the feudal lord to her upon vacating her post .
The maid clearly knew a lot, and was probably aware of Yumis’ circumstances . From that, I realized that this was a chance for me to spy on Yumis as she complained, grumbled, and in essense, suffered .
The corners of my lips twisted upwards as I chased after the pair .