The Phantom Castle

Phantom Castle.

It was a castle standing right in the middle of Ice Heatland, given to me in my previous life by someone who had once been my subordinate… no, an acquaintance.

Originally, it had been built as a small castle where that guy could quietly spend time alone with his mistress, but in the end, he barely used it before he died.

“Please make good use of this castle.”

“I don’t particularly need it.”

“Now, now, don’t say that. I had it built so that you could live comfortably even in such a harsh land.”

“Well, if you’re giving it to me, I won’t refuse.”

According to my memories from my previous life, I was pretty sure that was about how casually I had ended up receiving the castle.

Actually, this was my first time coming here too.

I mean, why would anyone come to a place like this unless they had business here?

After walking across the snowfield for a while, lights came into view.

White walls and pointed roofs atop equally white watchtowers.

Rather than a castle, it might have been more accurate to call it a large mansion.

The castle vanished like an illusion whenever anyone approached it.

That was when I chanted a spell.

“Phantom Release (Phantom Off).”

At that moment, the castle that had been fading away reappeared.

This time, it did not vanish even as we approached.

The real castle had appeared before us.

After entering, I cast the illusion spell over it again.

With that spell active, the castle would disappear like a mirage whenever anyone else tried to approach.

A dome of defensive magic surrounded the castle, keeping the surrounding climate mild.

Several hundred years had already passed since it was built, but because Magic Stones enchanted with Time Freeze (Freeze) had been placed inside, every room remained as pristine as the day it was completed.

Its preservation was perfect.

Yuri looked around in astonishment.

“W-Where are we?”

“It’s a castle an acquaintance gave me.”

“Huh… Roy’s castle!?”

“Though this is my first time here too. Hopefully the bedding and bath still work.”

“…Roy, what exactly are you?”

“Me? I’m just an ordinary adventurer.”

“Ordinary adventurers don’t own castles.”

There was no way I could tell her that my previous life had been what it was, so I brushed the matter aside.

Though I could feel an intensely suspicious stare boring into my back.

First, I decided to check whether the bath could still be heated.

Several hundred years had passed, but it should never have been used even once.

All the furniture and belongings that had belonged to that guy were still here.

The changing room was spotless… Oh, there were clothes here too.

That guy had always spouted ridiculous nonsense about how every item in his wardrobe had to be brand-new. So it was safe to assume the clothes here had never been worn.

The sizes varied, though.

That guy had plenty of mistresses, after all.

He had slept with everyone from towering demon women to petite human women.

He had stocked dresses in every imaginable size so they would fit whichever mistress he brought here.

The dresses were decorated with gemstones and intricate embroidery, and every one looked like something a princess would wear.

Some might not fit Yuri, but honestly, she would probably look good in any dress.

The wardrobe next to it seemed to contain women’s loungewear. Something resembling a negligee was hanging inside. There were also bathrobes, dresses, and all sorts of other indoor clothing.

The wardrobe beside that one seemed to be for men.

Most of it consisted of silk bathrobes embroidered with gold thread, exactly the sort of thing nobles would like. I doubted they suited me, but they looked unused, so I might as well borrow one.

I entered the bathroom and turned the lever on the wall, and hot water began pouring from the bathtub faucet like a waterfall.

Good. At least we could still take a proper warm bath.

This was nice.

Maybe we should stay here for more than one night.

We had until next month to complete the job anyway. We had gotten lucky and found the Ice Deer in a single day this time, but with bad luck, merely locating one could take a week, maybe even close to two.

The bathroom had large glass windows that offered a clear view outside.

As if the earlier blizzard had never happened, the sky was now clear enough to see the stars. The snowy scenery around the illuminated castle was beautiful too.

A morning bath would probably feel amazing.

After checking the bathroom, I moved on to inspect the bedroom.

When I opened the second-floor bedroom… Seriously? One king-sized bed?

Were there any other beds—nope.

Well, of course not.

This castle’s bedroom had been built for that guy to spend time with his mistresses.

There was no way they would have separate beds.

Did that mean Yuri and I had to sleep together?

-“You might as well marry her already. You’re about due to start a family too.”

Gaaaaah!!

Why the hell was I remembering meddlesome Wolk’s words now!?

When I opened the curtains, the huge single-pane window gave me a sweeping view of the scenery outside.

A couple embracing in this room at night while gazing at the snowy landscape would be ridiculously romantic.

At that moment, I imagined myself holding Yuri in my arms and hurriedly shook my head from side to side.

Stop having impure thoughts, Roylotte!!

I was practically that girl’s guardian.

Having some dull middle-aged man like me fall for her would only be a nuisance to Yuri.

While I inspected the room, Yuri went to the kitchen, took bread and pre-prepared ingredients out of a Storage Ball, and made white stew for us.

By the time we finished eating it, the bath seemed to have filled.

A bell rang throughout the room to announce that the bathwater was ready.

After dinner, I went in first, followed by Yuri.

“There was a wardrobe with loungewear in the changing room, so just pick something from there.”

Having finished my bath first, I spoke while drying my wet hair with a towel.

Come to think of it, Yuri did not own proper sleepwear.

The clothes in there were unused and mostly high quality. Fine sleepwear was often made from Healing Silk, which helped relieve fatigue.

I decided we could take some for Yuri to use as pajamas.

“Ah… thanks. This place really has everything, doesn’t it?”

Still looking somewhat bewildered, Yuri headed toward the bathroom.

Still, that had been a wonderful bath.

The snowy view through the window had its own charm too.

I sat on the sofa and enjoyed a drink after my bath.

There was even a refrigerator in the kitchen filled with chilled alcohol. A refrigerator was a box that preserved food and drinks using a Magic Stone imbued with ice magic.

This silk bathrobe was probably top quality. It felt incredibly smooth against the skin.

And he had even left good alcohol behind… I should have come to this castle much sooner.

Then again, unless I had business here, there was no reason to visit the middle of a hellish region that became a blizzard at night and a desert during the day.

It was fine now because Yuri was with me, but staying in this castle completely alone would have been unbearably lonely.

Yuri was probably amazed by the view from the bathroom right about now.

She had that huge bath all to herself, so I hoped she enjoyed a leisurely bath.

About half an hour later, when I was pleasantly tipsy—

“U-Um… Am I supposed to sleep wearing this?”

Yuri emerged from the changing room and asked shyly.

Wondering what was wrong, I looked over at her and my eyes widened.

She was wearing an incredibly dressy negligee.

That itself was fine, but—it was practically transparent!!

“Roy, did you make your girlfriends wear clothes like this?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!! I’ve never had a girlfriend in my entire life!! Those belonged to the previous owner.”

“O-Oh… Right. You did say before that you didn’t have any female acquaintances.”

Yuri looked slightly relieved.

I was glad the misunderstanding had been cleared up, but only for a moment… Wait, weren’t there other pieces of loungewear in there!?

I stood up from the sofa and went back to inspect the wardrobe in the changing room.

I had only glanced through it earlier, so I had not noticed, but looking closely, there were clothes that were practically nothing but strings, bikinis, outfits with holes cut into them, and more.

Every single outfit meant for his mistresses was outrageous!!

And why the hell did he leave this stuff behind before giving me the castle!?

If that idiot were still alive, I would have beaten him to a pulp.

The transparent negligee was probably the least ridiculous option available.

I staggered back into the living room.

Yuri was still standing there wearing the sheer negligee.

“Maybe I should’ve cleaned the clothes I was wearing before and put them back on?”

“No, those clothes would be too hot inside here. And because their defensive ability is so high, they’re heavy too.”

“Y-Yeah, but…”

“I won’t look! Just don’t worry about it and sleep like that.”

“Ah… O-Okay.”

That was a lie.

I had already gotten a very clear look earlier… at her naked body through the sheer fabric.

Her almost translucent pale skin was burned into my mind and would not leave.

Anyway, we absolutely had to sleep in separate rooms.

Otherwise, I felt like I was going to lose my mind.