Negotiation
Personally, I wasn't the type to be afraid of ghosts.
The reason was simple.
I never thought such things existed.
Even if I did see one, I could just use magic to catch it.
And when people die, that's it, right? What's the point of being reborn as a ghost and bothering the living?
I just couldn't understand it.
With those random thoughts, I used magic to find the source of this strange sound.
[Search]
[Detect]
I deployed the spells and poured mana into them.
Then I felt something being detected.
Maybe it was because I had been carelessly detecting before, but I could only feel the movements of small insects.
Now, I could faintly feel a presence.
"...It's underground."
It had to be underground.
Because of some magical defense, I couldn't confirm its shape.
That meant I had to go down to the basement where it was.
I said I wasn't afraid of ghosts, but that didn't mean I wanted to fight one.
I just didn't want to fight in my own house.
So I thought about it for a while.
Should I go down, or not?
I pondered, but the conclusion was the same.
"Sigh..."
I had to go down if I wanted to use the basement.
I could give up on using the basement without knowing what it was, but that didn't sit well with me.
It made me uncomfortable.
So, I covered myself in magic and prepared to go down.
[Barrier]
[Banshee's Veil]
[Mana Shield]
[Electromagnetic Field]
Simultaneously casting four spells, I slowly descended into the basement.
Then, a pitch-black darkness enveloped me.
The basement instantly became pitch black.
I couldn't see anything.
So, I used another spell.
[Light]
Light spread throughout the basement.
And the structure of the basement became visible.
It was a very complicated structure.
It reminded me of Silvia's old lab.
Of course, I could see the entire room at a glance, but there were unidentified parts scattered around, blocking my view here and there.
So, before checking what was behind them, I used teleportation to move anything blocking the way to the yard.
The basement was quickly cleared.
And I could see the shape of something in the distance.
Crrr-
It was a tiny rat.
But for its size, its cry was enormous.
Enough to momentarily surprise me.
And after a while.
The rat started to grow bigger.
"Uh, wait. Don't grow. Please."
Ignoring my pleas, the rat continued to grow.
And after a while.
Crack-!
My house started to fall apart.
The basement was spacious, but not that spacious, so this was bound to happen.
Ultimately, the problem was the rat's growth.
The giant rat that had just grown charged at me, wreaking havoc on my house.
As I thought about my house, I couldn't forgive the rat anymore.
[Lightning Chain]
I used Lightning Chain to electrocute the rat running towards me.
Then-
Crrrr-!!
With a strange sound, the rat escaped upstairs through the stairs.
"Ah, come on."
If I let the rat go here...
My house, which was still somewhat intact, would be in danger of being destroyed.
So, I pushed myself a little.
[Thought Acceleration]
[Teleportation]
[Electric Shock]
I cast the three spells simultaneously and poured mana into them in the optimal form.
And after a while.
Crrrr-!
With a strange sound, the rat shrunk in size.
And then it collapsed on the ground.
Fortunately, I managed to knock it unconscious before it caused any major damage.
I was worried that my house would be destroyed.
It seemed I didn't have to worry about that now.
But at that moment.
I heard a presence outside.
And after a while.
Creak-
Someone entered the house.
This wasn't a monster or a ghost.
It was clearly a person.
A person entering another person's house without permission?
That could very well be considered trespassing.
So, I tensed up and drew the mana in my body.
I didn't know the opponent's strength yet.
And after a while.
Clang-!
I saw a figure approaching me from behind and swinging a dagger.
Or rather, a blur.
I couldn't even see what the opponent looked like.
They were moving too fast.
Fortunately, the Barrier and Mana Shield were protecting me, but it didn't seem like they would hold up for long.
'…For now, it seems like they don't use magical attacks.'
I released the Banshee's Veil and used another spell.
[Thought Acceleration]
[Dynamic Vision Enhancement]
As I used the spell to enhance my vision, I could finally see the figure who attacked me, though still blurry.
Slightly brown eyes and long, jet-black hair.
Their mouth was covered with a crude cloth, but it was still evident that they were beautiful.
'Ah, this is not the time.'
This was the problem with Thought Acceleration.
Because I was thinking so fast, sometimes unnecessary thoughts popped up.
So, it was important to cut off those useless thoughts appropriately.
'…Then, this would be best here.'
[Electromagnetic Field]
Honestly, "Inferno" was overkill in this situation, but I had to use it to catch this quick woman who was relentlessly attacking me.
My house was precious, but it could be rebuilt.
First, as the Electromagnetic Field activated, her movements became noticeably slower.
And in that state-
[Inferno]
The Inferno spell devoured mana.
And the surroundings were engulfed in hellfire.
Extremely hot hellfire, at that.
Of course, since I was the caster, I used Inferno everywhere except where I was standing.
Then-
"Stop it!!!"
The woman who had been attacking me cried out desperately.
But I couldn't stop.
There was no guarantee that she would stop moving just because I stopped here.
So, as I moved to use Inferno again, the woman stopped.
She then laid her sword on the floor and raised her hands behind her back.
Her actions were baffling.
She acted as if this house shouldn't be burned down.
As if she was the owner.
So I decided to ask.
Of course, after securing my safety.
[Bind]
[Weight Increase]
[Water Sphere]
I put up triple safety measures just in case and asked the woman, who was now on her knees, a question.
"Why did you break into my house?"
This was what I was most curious about.
If she broke into my house, there had to be a reason.
So, I asked-
"This… this is not your house…! It's mine…!"
"Did you, by any chance, pay for the right to own this house? That's the most important thing. If you did, I'll compensate you and leave."
As I spoke calmly, her brown eyes shook violently.
And then, the woman slowly opened her mouth.
"Actually… this place originally belonged to my master… But he suddenly said there was a place where he could succeed if he invested, so he put the house up for auction… and it was handed over to someone else."
Listening to her story, I felt sorry for her, but the house was legally transferred.
But to think she would attack the person who rightfully bought the house for such a reason.
It was highly likely that this woman was the reason why rumors of ghosts in this house had spread.
"I signed a contract for this house. If you have the money, I can transfer the contract to you. How much do you have?"
"...I have 13 Silver."
"Sigh…"
She was completely broke.
She wasn't as destitute as I was when I was living as a beggar, but it was safe to say she was penniless.
With that thought, I said,
"The minimum price for this place starts at Gold. What kind of house do you think you can buy with that kind of money? The previous owners probably left because they didn't know if the moving figure was a human or not… but I'm never leaving, so pack your things and get out."
I was cold when it came to this.
Economics was a cold-hearted business.
It couldn't be helped.
As I spoke firmly, her eyes, which had been shaking violently, looked at me and welled up as if she was about to burst into tears.
"I'm sorry…! Please, just give me one chance!!"
"I'm sorry, but no. Please leave."
"Please…!"
"It would be my pleasure if you would leave."
I wanted to keep the house intact as much as possible, so it was best to resolve this peacefully.
That's why I was trying to have a conversation.
But the conversation wasn't going anywhere.
I kept telling her to leave, and the woman in front of me kept asking for another chance with tears in her eyes.
As we continued talking, a good idea came to mind.
One condition that could satisfy both parties.
Join our discord server for the latest release updates and novel discussions.
Rate and review this novel on NU to help people find this novel. Bonus chapters on reaching milestones.
Happy reading!