Chapter 11 – Ghost Turmoil (7)

Translator: Yonnee

—

His sudden appearance was surprising, but even more so, the Seasonal God’s behavior raised a lot of questions.

“Was there a rumor going around in the meantime?”

“A rumor? You did put talismans on the tombstones. But you don’t have to worry because it went well.”

“No, well, other than that. Did people happen to see more ghosts? …Rumors like that.”

After Julia forced the yin energy to come out, she was trying to ask if the talisman worked.

But Leo shook his head, at which Julia clicked her tongue. Patrick took a side-long glance at her.

“You don’t have to worry about it right now. I told you before, Julia. I don’t want you to hurt yourself. You can take your time.”

Julia shook her head.

“No, we’ll need to solve it as soon as possible. It’s an unusual case.”

“Unusual?”

Julia nodded. Souls were forced to disappear, graves were dug up. Something was definitely unusual.

“When exactly did Your Grace hear the rumors about seeing ghosts? Someone said it was about three years ago, but I wonder if that’s really the case.”

“Well…”

Leo propped up his chin on his hand and thought for a moment, then he raised his eyebrows.

“It was around the time people started settling into their homes again. Will this help you?”

“Homes… settling…”

Julia muttered and rose from her seat. Leo looked worried, but Julia just ignored his concerned gaze and spoke.

“Are there any groups of people who have complained or caused problems regarding residential issues?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Ghosts are mostly gentle. Because they still have lingering feelings about being alive. That is, unless they couldn’t go anywhere else and they develop feelings of resentment or revenge. So the dead would wait for someone to listen to them.”

When Julia caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she saw that her hair was a mess. She frowned and tried to temper her hair with a brush she got from a nearby table, but she couldn’t get her bed head under control.

Leo approached her from behind as he saw her brushing her hair. Julia saw him coming to her from the mirror, and he raised his hand as he looked at her red hair with his blue eyes.

Julia pursed her lips as he untangled her hair. He would have let go on his own, but he liked the feeling of her soft hair on his hands.

“So?”

Leo asked, continuing the conversation, and Julia slowly opened her lips again.

“Truthfully, it’s the humans that are scary. The tenacity and ambition that they carry is so strong that it carries over to the ghosts who are easily affected. In the process, malevolent spirits are created, and sometimes terrible things happen because of that.”

“For example?”

“A plague.”

Leo frowned, but Julia continued.

“A plague is a likely consequence. The reason why the bodies of people with diseases become hot is because the yang, or positive energy, is strong. Then, what would happen if the yin, or negative energy, disappeared in a land where yang is widespread while people are living there?”

Julia looked into Leo’s eyes in the mirror. Leo’s blue eyes were in contemplation. His eyes, which were as clear as the sky, were very pretty.

“…Then there would be a risk of a plague.”

“Yes. That’s why I need the talismans to work. The ghosts have probably come out to be seen because they were trying to ask for help.”

“Help?”

“Yes. I heard from the ghosts who stay there that when a few people come and go near their places of rest, some ghosts that had always been there suddenly vanished. Something must have happened, and in the process, ghosts have been appearing in front of their family members while asking for help. But it’s impossible for people who don’t have high spiritual energy to talk to the dead.”

Leo was lost in thought. But after a moment, he reached up with his hand again.

“It’s a three-year time period. We’ve been trying to investigate, but if it’s since then, does that mean someone’s been planning and preparing all of this?”

“Well, I can’t say exactly, but…”

Whether or not the knots have untangled already or not, Leo took the brush from Julia’s hand and skillfully brushed back her hair. Julia glanced at him, then Leo calmly continued.

“I have a lot of sisters. I’m used to it because I did it so often.”

“…Okay.”

Julia felt goosebumps for some reason. It wasn’t from something that was scary or loathsome, but from something that set her in a good mood. She chuckled a little. After Leo was done skillfully combing her hair, Julia turned to face him.

“Anyway, we’ll need to investigate more. Anyone who complained about the matter back then, those who are still complaining… people who’ve been suffering in those dwellings. Or even those who’d benefit when they disappear. We need to investigate them separately.”

Leo gave her a distinctive aloof smile and nodded.

“Take a rest today. I’ll have everything organized.”

When Julia shook her head, Leo gently placed his hand over her head and looked down.

“It’s an order.”

“…”

With the unexpected firmness, Julia looked up at him with her mouth agape, but Leo only grinned at her. He retracted his hand and exited the room with his book. Julia’s gaze blankly followed his back.

* * *

The next day, as the office door closed with a thud, Olden approached Leo and placed a document on his desk. Leo lifted his gaze and looked at him.

“What’s this?”

“I’ve summarized the data you asked about yesterday.”

His eyes subtly changed as he reached out to look through the materials. After his conversation with Julia yesterday, he ordered Olden to do an investigation, but Leo had forgotten about it for a moment.

However, Olden who was ever so diligent, never skimped on the orders given to him. Any other person would have lamented if given the task of investigating three years’ worth of data, but he had finished organizing it all in just one day.

“These are the people who used to own the land?”

“Yes. And some of Your Grace’s people wanted to erect a temple there. They made a suggestion for it, but some others also complained about the housing problem there three years ago.”

A temple. Leo scoured his memories and remembered what had happened. At that time, it would have been possible to build one.

“It was about building a temple in front of the refugee shelter to comfort the dead and provide more housing for the citizens… Something like that, right?”

“That’s right, but the housing issue took more importance.”

Leo tried to guess the possibilities. Did the priests who didn’t get the temple they wanted start doing this out of spite?

It didn’t make sense. Even if a temple wasn’t built in the Grand Duchy of Epesia, the number of temples throughout the continent was more than sufficient.

But if they tried to build another temple and something went wrong, their reputation would take a hit and they’d suffer even more losses.

“It must be something else.”

After Leo went through the documents, Olden stepped closer and spoke.

“I wrote down my personal observations on the last page.”

Olden, being a competent subordinate, always wrote down his opinions so that Leo wouldn’t waste time wrestling with complicated thoughts. And most of what he wrote was convincing enough for Leo.

Olden’s elegant handwriting caught Leo’s eye when he turned over to the last page. He skimmed the page from top to bottom, and a smile graced his lips.

Leo looked back at Olden, his eyes full of confidence as if to say he’d found the answer.

“This is it.”

“Yes, I think so too, Your Grace. This is what I think when Lady Julia comes to mind.”

“Yes, you’re right.”

Leo nodded and got up from his seat and rolled up the papers in his hands.

“Where’s Julia?”

“She went out with Sir Patrick earlier.”

“…Out? Where?”

“I do not know the details, but she mentioned that she needed to check something, so perhaps they headed to the shelter…”

Olden wasn’t even finished speaking yet, but Leo already left through the door and disappeared. Olden sighed.

“She might not like it if Your Grace comes.”

* * *

“You know what, Patrick?”

After they left their horses at a nearby inn, Julia and Patrick walked side by side. Julia felt very refreshed after a day’s rest.

Even though it was early in the morning, the people of the Grand Duchy of Epesia looked very lively. The well-maintained streets neatly separated the roads where people and carriages passed through.

As a result, it was a pleasant environment all around. Julia walked along the streets and spoke.

“Do you know where people’s thoughts are likely to come together?”

“Um, I’m not sure.”

Patrick tilted his head to the side, trying to see if her question had another meaning to it. Julia smiled.

“It’s where the most people stay. For example, somewhere like a business district would be a likely place.”

“Really?”

“Then where do you think is the most fun place for a ghost to be in?”

At what Julia said, Patrick thought for a moment, then answered right away.

“At a crowded place?”

“Right. So what would happen if a malevolent spirit inflicted malice between ghosts and the thoughts of people?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

Patrick looked at Julia with confusion.

“Souls are pure white, so they’re easily tarnished. If there’s one malevolent spirit nearby, it can eat the other souls and become a bigger malevolent spirit. Then, if there’s a place where many souls stay, what will this look like to a malevolent spirit?”

“…A restaurant.”

“Right. It’ll look like a nice buffet restaurant. But in the first place, malevolent spirits rarely emerge. Because for a malevolent spirit to be born, it would mean cutting off the parts that are like the foundation of the soul, then putting on a new personality underneath this. It’s easy for a pure white soul to be dyed, but it doesn’t mean that many souls become malevolent spirits. Because before that happens, they usually move on.”

Julia pointed to the sky. When Patrick nodded, Julia continued.

“But what if someone created such malevolent spirits on purpose?”