Chapter 24: ‘Explore The Attic’ and ‘Play Ghosts’

“Mana~~ I want to go up too~~”

“Just a moment, Young Lady! It’s still very dirty, so I need to clean it up!”

“Okay~~”

Last night, while diligently cleaning the study for the young lady’s pure knowledge, I discovered a door leading to the attic.

I found it quite by chance and opened it, and oh my.

There was a mountain of dust.

Thanks to that, I’ve been diligently going up and down since morning, cleaning.

“Mana! What’s up there?”

“Nothing much. Just some unused furniture, some antiques, and dust.”

“I want to see!”

“If you come in now, the dust is bad. You see I’m wearing a mask, right? Give me 15 minutes. I’ll clean it up nicely and let you up, okay?”

“Yes!”

The 15 minutes I got permission from the young lady, I dusted off all the dust in the attic and wiped everything down twice with a rag.

Phew… it was possible because I’m an elite maid. If it were a normal maid, cleaning here today would take all day and still not be enough.

“Young Lady! You can come up now!”

“Yes!”

I lower the ladder to make it easier for the young lady to come up.

“Wow! It’s like an adventure!”

“It does seem like an adventure.”

Yes, a large mansion like this should have an attic.

“It’s dark!”

“Ah, that’s right. Shall I turn on the lights?”

“No, it’s okay! I’ll get used to it soon!”

It’s fortunate that both the young lady and I have good night vision.

The young lady blinks her eyes a few times and then looks around.

“Wow… there was such a large space…”

“Considering the structure of the house, it’s a bit small, but anyway, it’s a mysterious attic.”

“Who used to use this place?”

“Hmm.. maybe? When I was cleaning, I saw something that looked like someone used it.”

For example, the bed over there, or the desk and chair, and the sofa.

“It’s amazing. I never dreamed there was something like this!”

Seeing the happy young lady makes me smile.

It was a good thing I cleaned the study yesterday.

“Wow! Who is this, Mana?”

“Well? Judging from the fact that it was covered with cloth, it’s probably someone the person who worked here was drawing, don’t you think?”

A portrait of a woman in a luxurious frame.

Judging from the fact that she has white hair, red eyes, a voluptuous body, and is wearing a neat dress that doesn’t match…

“I think it’s probably one of the owners of this mansion.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, judging from the style of clothes she’s wearing, it’s about… 300 years ago. But it’s also possible that it’s not her own clothes, but inherited clothes.

Like from her grandmother? Judging from the paint and tools used in the work, it’s 150 years ago.”

“Wow… Mana, you know that just by looking?”

“Well, I’m an elite maid, after all?”

Now that I think about it, I wonder if the author made me transmigrate here because I asked about various settings in the comments.

Of course, I also studied like crazy after coming to this world.

“So, 150 years ago, a person with white hair and red eyes like me lived here?”

“Hmm… I think so. I found something that seems to belong to that person here.”

“I see…”

The young lady stares at the picture for a long time.

“…This person must have been lonely too.”

“Maybe so.”

“What else is there?”

“Here… there’s a jewelry box with some jewels.”

“Wow! I want to see!”

A jewelry box containing all the earrings, necklaces, and rings that the woman in the portrait is wearing.

“Wow… it’s sparkly!”

“It’s top quality. It’s not just red stones, it’s all rubies. And since they didn’t use garnets, they must have been really rich.”

“Wow…”

…Does the young lady want something like that?

“Do you want jewels, by any chance, Young Lady?”

“Hmm… no?”

“If it’s something appropriate, I can get it anytime. I’ll get it for you later.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t need it. I have a lot of things that are more sparkly!”

“Then I’ll just leave this here, okay?”

“Yes!”

“You shouldn’t touch other people’s things carelessly, okay?”

“I know! That’s etiquette! I want to see something else!”

The young lady touches every object in the attic once and only then is she satisfied, stretching with a “Phew~”.

“Did you have fun?”

“Yes! It was so much fun!”

“I’m glad you did.”

“Let’s use this as our secret base!”

“Secret base?”

“Yes! Let’s play hide-and-seek here!”

Hmm…

This place was surprisingly well preserved.

Even the items that would have been used at least 100 years ago only showed corrosion due to time, and there was no neglect of management…

It must have been a very precious space for someone.

“It’s better to just leave this place alone, Young Lady.”

“Huh? Why?”

“A place that’s been around for so long~ ghosts come out~~??”

“Gh, ghosts?!”

“Yes! If you mess this place up, a very scary ghost will come out and appear in your dreams every night!”

“Li, liar! There’s no such thing as ghosts!”

“There’s a priest and a mage, so there’s no way there aren’t ghosts, right?”

“Eeeek..! I, I want to go down!”

The young lady, who is very scared, quickly goes down the ladder.

…She’s cute.

I tidy up the things that the young lady has messed up and go down.

Hmm… it’s better to just leave this place as it is.

I don’t know what kind of story this room has, but if it has a story, it’s best not to touch it.

“Wh, what kind of magic should I use to defeat ghosts? Fi, fireball?”

“I blocked it just now, so don’t worry, okay? If anything happens, I’ll chase it away for you.”

“Mana can chase away ghosts too?”

“Of course~ Why do you think I’m an elite maid?”

Of course, that’s a lie.

“Mana is the best!”

“Thank you!”

“You’re welcome. It’s a matter of course, isn’t it?”

I’m sorry for lying, Young Lady…

But it’s quite cute to see you scared.

Hehe.

“Change!”

“Eek!!!”

The young lady usually likes to keep me at 16 years old, but when she wants to play with me, she makes me 8 years old.

Afternoon playtime.

It seems that I usually become 8 years old at this time.

“Young Lady, it’s almost time for dinner, you know?”

“Just a moment before that!”

“Just a little!”

“Sigh… really.”

“What do you want to do?”

“Ghost game!”

…Our young lady has created another mysterious game.

“What kind of game is it?”

“Yes! It’s a game where you cover yourself with a blanket and find the person hiding!”

“Aha”

“One person covers themselves with a blanket and walks around the room, and the other person has to stay still in one place!”

“Hmm… it’s all good, but wouldn’t you get hurt if you bump into each other?”

“That’s why you cover yourself with a blanket so you don’t get hurt!”

“Okay!”

“Then Mana, you be the ghost first!”

“Boooo~”

I cover myself with a blanket and sit on the bed, waiting…

“Are you hidden, Young Lady?”

“No, not yet!!”

“Are you hidden now?”

“…”

Oh, she’s holding her breath.

“Then I’ll find you~”

Heave-ho~

“Where are you~”

Well, I know the structure of the room like the back of my hand.

And I already know where the young lady is hiding.

You’re smart to think of hiding in the closet, aren’t you?

“Is it here~~ or here~~ I can’t see well in front of me, so I can’t find you, Young Lady~~”

As I wander around here and there, I can hear the young lady giggling and holding back her laughter.

…Cute.

To let the young lady enjoy the thrill, I deliberately touch the closet with my hands and repeat getting closer and farther away.

“Oh my~ I don’t know where you hid, Young Lady~~ It’s strange~~ I think it’s around here~”

Then, at some point!

“Here it is!!”

Whack! I open the closet and hug the young lady.

The young lady, who is caught by me, laughs and struggles.

“Kyaaaaa!!!”

“Hahaha! I caught you, Young Lady~~”

“What! How did you know I was here!”

“Well, because I’m a maid, I naturally know where you are, Young Lady!”

“Ugh! Then I’m a young lady, so I can know where the maid is hiding!”

“Okay!”

So this time, we switch roles and the young lady covers herself with a blanket and searches

for me.

“Mana~ Where are you~ Ehehehe~ If I find you, I’ll gobble you up~”

Oh, how scary.

It will take at least another 8 years for the Young Lady to gobble me up~

I’m in the middle of the bed right now.

Will the Young Lady be able to find me?

Fumbling.. slowly touching the wall and moving, the Young Lady stops in front of the closet where she hid earlier.

“Hehe, I know you’re here!”

Whack! The Young Lady opens the closet door and hugs the inside tightly.

But all she catches are the Young Lady’s clothes.

Hehe..

“Huh..? Then… here! Here! Ugh… here?”

The Young Lady even reaches her arms under the bed.

…It’s a good thing I cleaned up beforehand.

“Pfft…”

“Oh!”

Oops!

The Young Lady suddenly raises her body and fumbles on the bed… She’s getting closer and closer to me.

“Mana is here!”

Gasp…

She, she’s getting closer!

“Got you!”

“Kyaa! Young Lady, I surrender! I surrender!”

“No! I’m going to tickle Mana too!”

“Kya hahaha! Young Lady! Just a moment, hahaha! I surrender!!”

So for a while, I finished playing a fun game with the young lady.

“Shall we have dinner now?”

“Yes!”

We eat dinner, tend the garden, take a walk, wash up, and I give her a lap pillow. We lie down in bed together.

Every day is similar, but always a happy routine.

Before going to sleep, I give the Young Lady a long kiss, and suddenly I become curious and ask her.

“But Young Lady. Why did you play the ghost game?”

“Yes! Now that we played the ghost game, even if a ghost appears, it will know that we are friends! We can play together!”

…I wondered what kind of wind suddenly blew.

As expected, you have to be careful even with cold water in front of children.

Should I not have scared her by saying there are ghosts?

“Hehe, I like Mana…”

“If you stick to me like that, you’ll sweat, Young Lady?”

“I still like it! Turn up the air conditioner!”

“Really… If a ghost appears, I’ll scold it!”

“Then you can’t! We can’t play together!”

“Hmm.. then shall we say hello politely?”

“Yes!”