While I trembled in fear, Marie snorted with derisive laughter, knowing the spirit couldn’t touch her. “You’re like a ferocious beast trapped in a zoo cage. How cute. It’s not very nice to demand a person’s body like that, though. Luxion, eliminate her for me.”
“If that’s what you wish, I shall,” he responded obediently.
“How can my descendant have that attitude?!” the spirit howled. “Aren’t you the least bit resentful of Holfort?! I’ll chase those bastards’ progeny to the pits of hell! I am Lier’s… Lier’s…” She froze abruptly, going quiet. Those almond-shaped yellow eyes widened and focused on me.
Uh, crap. This is kind of terrifying.
“Wh-wh-what do you want? What’re you looking at me for?” The blood drained from my face. “Wait. Don’t tell me I’m cursed or something.” As my heart raced with fear, I took another step back.
“Lier! Lieeeer!” the astral spirit howled, swelling in size and slamming against the glass sphere like a wild beast.
“Gaaaah!” I screamed. She was so menacing that I was almost in tears.
A crack ran through the glass confining the spirit. Thick shutters dropped around the spherical cage, rattling, to ensure she couldn’t escape. By that point, my breathing was erratic. I put a hand to my chest and forced myself to heave a long sigh, relieved that the experience was over.
“That was absolutely terrifying.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” said Marie. “What kind of man are you? Pathetic.”
“Come on. Even you have to admit that was bone-chilling! Who doesn’t find ghosts and paranormal stuff scary?!”
I could handle monsters, but ghosts were completely different! I mean, okay, there were ghost-type monsters, but since this was a fantasy world, there was probably a way to deal with those. But not actual ghosts. There was no way to defeat them. That was what made them so terrifying.
“Ha!” Marie snorted at me. “There’s way scarier stuff out there than ghosts. Reality—and the people in it—are much worse.”
Before reincarnating into this world, Marie had led a brutal life, so I understood that other things might strike more fear into her.
“At any rate,” I said, eager to change the subject and obfuscate my own cowardice, “You’d better keep that thing under lock and key, Luxion.”
“She displayed an astounding level of power, didn’t she? I am curious as to why she responded so strongly to you, Master, especially given that Marie was the one she requested to see. Moreover, she called you ‘Lier.’ I assume that must be a name?” Luxion was far more interested in this new discovery than anything else.
That was just as well. If the astral spirit captured his interest, he was less likely to let her slip out of her confines, right? Personally, I’d have liked him to send her to the other side as quickly as possible. But as long as she was sealed up tight, that was at least reassuring.
“The hell if I know!” I said. “Man, that gave me goosebumps. I’m ready to head back to my dorm and go to bed.” I’d take care of washing and stuff as fast as possible, then make a beeline to the mattress beneath my blanket’s safety and warmth.
Marie put her hands on her hips and stared at me. “Are you seriously scared? Like, so afraid you couldn’t even go to the bathroom by yourself in the dark? Aw. You’ve got a cute side. Want me to sleep beside you so you don’t have nightmares?”
She’s totally making fun of me! “I’m perfectly fine!”
“Sulking like that only makes you seem more childish,” she said.
She’s just gloating because ghosts don’t scare her as much as me.
Regardless, I was still pretty shocked that a bitter astral spirit had possessed one of the Saint’s relics. I could only hope that problem was limited to the necklace, since there were two more relics out there.
Maybe I should have Luxion look into those. “Luxion, there’s something I’d like you to do,” I said.
“Yes? What is it?”
“I want you to check into the other relics.”
There was a short pause as he considered this. Then he replied, “I can do so. However, it will be a considerable amount of time before I get to that, given its low priority and my lack of resources to allocate to it.”
“Huh? What do you mean?” I cocked my head to the side, gobsmacked. This was the first time he’d designated a request of mine as a low priority.
“We have already removed the threat posed by the Principality of Fanoss. Thus, I will prioritize investigating this planet as a whole from this point forward. We no longer have to worry about those final bosses, so we have less reason to be preoccupied with the Saint’s relics.”
Luxion had me there. Not only were those final bosses out of the way, we’d even handled the Offreys already. We’d dealt with all the protagonist’s obstacles, so there was no real need for her to possess the Saint’s relics anymore. In fact, given the problem with the necklace, it was probably safer for her not to have them.
“Although we confiscated the Magic Flutes, it is still perfectly possible that similarly powerful items are out in the world somewhere. I would prefer to allocate all my attention and resources to neutralizing those,” Luxion continued.
It was chilling to think that other items could destroy the entire world. If those items existed, we certainly couldn’t leave them lying around. It was probably best to trust Luxion’s judgment and have him investigate them.
“All right,” I said. “Prioritize those if you want, but try to look into the relics as soon as possible. It’d be a real problem if Miss Olivia got her hands on one, and it was possessed, too.”
“I will be as quick as possible. However, the chances of the astral spirit being capable of possessing Olivia are remarkably low, given that spirit’s inability to possess Marie.”
We both glanced at Marie in unison.
She was initially surprised to be called out, but her expression soon turned sullen. “What’s that supposed to mean, huh?” she demanded.
Luxion and I traded brief looks. We both seemed to be on the same page about this.
“You’re right,” I said. “If Marie was okay, Miss Olivia shouldn’t have problems.”
“Judging purely on the abilities and powers ascribed to the Saint, Marie seems the best candidate for the position. In terms of pure potential, however, Olivia will eventually overshadow Marie,” Luxion mused. In short, even he agreed that Olivia was a better-qualified candidate for Saint.
Marie wrinkled her nose, her face reddening. “What’s with you two, tearing me down like this? Is comparing me to the protagonist that fun?!”
My smile faltered slightly. “We’re talking strictly in terms of who’d be the better Saint. No need to blow a gasket.”
“You are a splendid woman, Marie,” Luxion cut in, trying to pacify her. “In my opinion, you are far superior. That said, I allow that Olivia is better qualified to become Saint, that she has far more magical talent, and that—given how well-endowed she is, compared to you—men prefer women like her. I will even admit that she has incredible mental strength. Having said all that, you are the one whose old-human features are more prominent. That alone is sufficient for you to outshine her.”
Oof. I’m sure he meant all that as a compliment, but he phrased it like he was just trying to push her buttons more.
Marie’s face morphed into that of a demon out for blood. Her entire body trembled with barely contained rage.
I glowered at Luxion. “Why can’t you even try to be more sensitive toward humans?” It was like he’d stepped on a land mine on purpose. I was often oblivious myself, but even I was disgusted with him.
“I simply wanted to communicate that Marie is wonderful just as she is—that she need do nothing more than simply exist.”
Marie cracked her knuckles.
Knowing that we were in the wrong, Luxion and I knelt in front of her obediently, despite sensing that was futile. Well, Luxion just kind of lowered himself to the ground, but it was the same concept. He tilted back to look up at her, attempting to appear as deferential as possible.