Volume 1, Chapter 31 – The Mansion of Dolls

In the end, even after three days, those two hadn’t returned.

The journey to the villa by carriage takes about three to four hours; if nothing was wrong, they should have been back by now.

As expected, it seems they failed.

“It appears those two have failed. It can’t be helped. Chris-san, shall we go?”

Chris-san nods silently, her expression stiff.

“Well then, Count, we’ll be off.”

“Please, I leave it to you. Do take care.”

We board the carriage prepared by the Count and depart for the villa.

The Count arranged for Cedric-san to serve as both driver and guide, so the three of us will be acting together.

It’s now 10 a.m. We departed with the tolling of the bell and plan to arrive at the villa around 2 to 3 p.m., including a lunch break.

From there, we’ll spend about two hours on the Purification and stay overnight at the villa.

If no evil spirits appear even at night, that means the Purification was successful.

If not, it’ll be another day of work.

So, since we’ll be active a bit at night too, we take a nap while being jostled by the carriage.

Of course, my designated seat is on top of the canopy. Even in winter, it feels nice if there’s sunlight!

◇ ◇ ◇

We ate lunch, had some snacks, napped while sunbathing, and with all that, we finally reached the villa.

“Wow, this really looks like the kind of place they’d appear.”

A mansion standing alone in the outskirts. It would have been a nice view if it weren’t covered in ivy.

“The young lady used to maintain it while she was alive, but ever since the evil spirit possessed it, we haven’t been able to touch it at all. I’m ashamed to say it’s ended up in this state.”

Cedric-san explains.

Apparently, Cedric-san was the late Angelica-san’s personal butler and seems to really want to liberate this mansion somehow.

“Fiene-sama, let’s purify the evil spirits inside before sunset.”

Chris-san’s expression is still stiff. She really doesn’t like ghosts, it seems.

This is where I need to step up. My Holy Magic Level is pointlessly MAX, so I should be able to Purify a normal evil spirit with ease.

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Cedric-san unlocks the gate, lets the carriage in, and closes the gate.

Inside, another carriage is parked. Is that the carriage of those noble what”s-their-faces again?

“That is… probably Charlotte-sama’s carriage. So they’re still in the mansion, it seems.”

Even after being insulted so much, Chris-san looks a little worried.

Well, they’re probably dolls by now, aren’t they?

“Is there anything in the mansion’s garden? Like Angelica-san’s grave?”

“The young lady’s grave is inside the mansion. One room of the mansion serves as a chapel, and her coffin is enshrined in the basement. In the garden, there’s a well, a shed, and a garden that was ravaged by the evil spirit.”

“Hmm, in that case, we have no choice but to enter the mansion.”

We open the front door and go inside.

A grand entrance hall with a luxurious carpet covering the floor, splendid wall carvings, and on both sides, staircases with ornately patterned railings leading to the second floor.

On the landing, there’s a painting of a happy family surrounding a beautiful girl.

The man is the Count, so this beautiful girl must be Angelica-san.

And then there”s the chandelier hanging from the entrance hall ceiling.

Sitting on top of it is a single French doll, looking down at us.

Eeek, scary!

The doll starts moving with a clatter clatter .

“Is this… telling us to leave?”

“Eeek!”

That scream is from Chris-san. Meanwhile, Cedric-san is glaring at the doll.

At this point, Cedric-san honestly seems way more reliable than Chris-san.

What do I even do here?

As I watch, the doll”s eyes suddenly snap open.

The next moment, it leaps from the chandelier straight at us.

Its eyes are wide open, its mouth stretched wide like it”s trying to bite us.

And somehow, its hair starts wildly growing and spreading out, and even its arms seem to be getting longer.

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Uwah, this is peak horror. What do I do?

“Waaaah!”

Tearful—no, slightly panicked—Chris-san draws her Holy Sword and cuts down the attacking doll.

With that one strike, the doll’s upper and lower halves bid farewell.

And then, it simply vanished.

“Did we do it?”

Chris-san, that line feels like a perfect death flag, you know.

Just as I’m thinking that, a thud sound comes from behind us.

Turning around, the door we entered through is now closed.

“Huh, it won’t open?”

Cedric-san hurriedly tries to open the door, but it seems it won’t budge.

“Hmm, have we been recognized as enemies and locked in? For now, let’s head to Angelica-san’s grave. That seems to be the source of this incident.”

“Understood.”

We follow behind Cedric-san and walk down a first-floor corridor.

At the end, there’s a large door.

Since it’s adorned with a cross, this must be the chapel.

“This is it, but…”

It seems the door won’t open.

“Hmm, we could force it open, but destroying a chapel is probably not a good idea, right?”

“That… is true…”

That’s when it happened. Cedric-san, who had turned towards us, turned pale and pointed at something.

“U-u-u-u-u-u-ushi…”

Huh? Ushi? Cow? ¹ Ushi (うし) is Cow

“Behind you!” ² Ushiro (うしろ)

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Huh?

At that, I turn around. And there, I see a massive crowd of dolls, including the French doll from earlier!

“Eeek!”

“Ugyouexju-a-i-a#※％＆!”

A groan from me and an incomprehensible scream from Chris-san.

—Chris-san, I’m not sure it’s fitting for a lady to scream like that.

For a moment, I almost panicked myself, but thanks to Chris-san, I Managed to regain my composure.

Here goes one, with Purification Magic.

“There!”

I cast Purification Magic on the dolls. Then, the dolls instantly vanish into the light.

“Phew, that should do it. Chris-san, I Purified them, so it’s safe now.”

“H-h-h-h-h”

Huh? Is she broken?

“Chris-saaan?”

“A-a-a-a-a”

Huh? Cedric-san too? Huh? Why are both of them pointing behind me?

I turn around. And there, I see a massive crowd of dolls, including the French doll from earlier!

Wha—hey, hey, hey, they haven’t decreased, they’ve increased! Tch.

“Purification!”

Light envelops the dolls, and they vanish into the light.

“Now, how about this time?”

Thud, thud, thud, thud

This time, there’s a sound of something falling behind us.

It’s the dolls from earlier. And clinging to the ceiling are countless more dolls that look like their companions.

“Eeeek”

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“Hiiiiiiiiiiii”

Chris-san is panicking. Cedric-san is also deathly pale and seems close to his limit.

“Tch, let’s purify this whole area in one go!”

I unleash a high-output Purification Magic. I get the feeling I Managed to purify this corridor and the adjacent room.

“Phew. This time, it should really be safe.”

“Fwi, fwifwifwi”

Huh? Is Chris-san still broken?

“B-b-b-behind…”

No way?

I turn around, and there, the dolls from earlier have arrived, bringing with them an even greater number of doll companions.

Eeek, seriously?

“Uh. Uh-huh. What should we do, Chris-san?”

“Pu-Pu-Pur-Purification!”

“Nah, impossible.”

“Huh?”

“I used up all my MP with that last one. Tehepero~♪”

“”Eeeeeeeeeeeeeh!””

Their voices harmonized perfectly.

Amazing, they’re reacting like comedians.

“Fiene-sama, weren’t you supposed to be strong when it counts!”

“That’s what Chris-san said, I never said a single word about that!”

“Eeeeeeeeeh!”

“S-so, that’s why we should run away quickly!”

Grabbing both their hands, I start running full speed towards the entrance hall.