The Case Of The Mansion Turning Into A Haunted House After I Bought It

“Sid, let’s buy a house. One as big as possible.”

“Where the hell did that come from…”

I woke up at the inn as usual, and Ekarraat’s face was right up in my bed.

Even up close there wasn’t a single dull spot, pore, or freckle to be found.

Her beauty was flawless, as if a court painter had beautified her to the limit.

That said, I’d like her to stop popping out of the shadows without warning.

Ekarraat doesn’t use the Shadow ability; she hides within shadows through her vampire powers, so she can come and go as she pleases, which is annoying.

“How long do you intend to keep living in inns? You have plenty of money; shouldn’t you establish a base around here? Besides, this inn is unbearably cramped.”

“If it’s too cramped and you hate it, stay still in my shadow.”

“The inside of a shadow is even more cramped.”

“So that’s what the inside of a shadow is like…?”

“Last night I found a perfect vacant property—let’s buy it!”

“How did you find it?”

You haven’t been sneaking out while I’m asleep, have you…?

“My eyes and ears can share the vision and hearing of every bat, rat, mosquito, and fly in this world. It’s similar to Sid sharing vision with a Shadow. So last night I observed those animals’ fields of view and discovered a promising property.”

That’s an extremely powerful ability.

Even though she’s been holed up in a dungeon, she knows a lot about the outside world, and the fact she had information on the【Black Neck Mound】dungeon we cleared the other day was probably because of those eyes.

“I am the reason they call me the Sagacious-Eyed Vampire Princess: I store all knowledge and continually acquire all information.”

Ekarraat said that proudly.

＊＊＊

“Mr. Sid, this is the property.”

“Emily, thank you for going out of your way.”

“No, no! Supporting adventurers in finding housing is also the job of the Adventurer’s Guild!”

The property Ekarraat had her eye on was a building managed by the Adventurer’s Guild.

So when I told Emily from the Guild about it, she agreed to come along for the showing.

“Hmm, it’s scrappier than I thought—seems like the kind of place ghosts might show up at night.”

‘Both you and I are, in the broad sense, already ghosts (undead), right? No reason to worry about it.’

I suppose that’s true.

“Haha… It’s been unable to find a buyer for years, so maintenance has been neglected, which in turn makes it even harder to sell.”

Emily offered a dry smile as if the words stung her ears.

The building itself was a large two-story house, surrounded by fences and hedges, with a fairly large garden.

But as she said, upkeep was poor: weeds everywhere, stained exterior walls, vines clinging on—like a proper haunted house.

“We’ve discounted it accordingly, so please forgive the state of it.”

‘So they say. It’s a bargain.’

Ekarraat’s ‘buy, buy’ calls from inside the shadow were noisy.

Maybe she’s gotten used to living with me, but her initial air of an overwhelmingly superior species has faded.

“However, Mr. Sid only registered as an adventurer recently, and even though you’re B-Rank, being a solo operator counts against you. Also… well, because of your background, the rental agreement and loan application were not approved. I’m sorry I couldn’t help.”

“There’s no need for you to apologize, Emily.”

She’s been the only person who treated me kindly without discrimination since I was a slave, so I can’t be harsh with her.

And it wasn’t her who rejected the rental or loan—it was probably her superiors’ decision.

Well, even if I were a higher-up at the Guild, I wouldn’t rent a house to a rookie solo adventurer—especially to a notorious Shikai Tribe member.

“If I pay in cash up front that’s fine, right? How much is it?”

“It’s 7,000,000 G.”

If I hadn’t cleared the B-Rank【Black Neck Mound dungeon yesterday, they might have been reluctant even to allow a lump-sum purchase.

“Well, on the outskirts of the royal capital, even with its shabbiness, 7,000,000 G for this house is cheap. All right, I’ll buy it.”

“Y-yes, understood! Thank you for your purchase! We pray that Mr. Sid’s adventurer life becomes more comfortable!”

Selling properties to adventurers probably boosts her sales record as well.

As thanks for her kindness dating back to my slave days, I bought it generously.

＊＊＊

I went back to the Adventurer’s Guild, signed the contract, and paid the money.

With that, this mansion is mine.

I checked the interior again.

The first floor had a reception room, dining room, kitchen, lounge, toilet, bath, and storeroom.

The second floor had six private rooms and a small lounge.

It was probably built for adventuring parties to live in together.

In layout, it’s close to a boarding house.

“Now then, first we clean.”

I bought cleaning supplies in town and summoned Shadows to do the cleaning.

Having already grasped the Shadows’ loyalty and the goblins’ intelligence and dexterity during the dungeon clear, once taught they’ll work efficiently.

It’s convenient that the hedges around the property make it hard for neighbors to see the Shadows.

“Whoa, the windows here are broken… I’ll board them up for now. If I pull all the weeds from the flowerbeds it’ll look bare… Well, as long as it’s livable, that’s enough.”

After half a day’s work, the garden, exterior walls, and interior cleaning were mostly finished.

“Alright! To celebrate the purchase of the new home, shall we throw a flashy banquet here?”

“That’s vetoed.”

“Wh-why?!”

“We have no money left.”

The Minotaur’s Magic Stone from the S-Rank Dungeon 【Crimson Night Moon】—6,000,000 G

Goblin subjugation and the Goblin Lord’s Magic Stone—500,000 G.

The Dungeon Core from the B-Rank Dungeon【Black Neck Mound】—600,000 G.

Total: 7,100,000 G.

Those rewards should have been enough for me to live without working for a while, but after buying the house and the cleaning supplies to use with the goblins, plus various other expenses, my wallet was almost empty.

“From tomorrow it’s back to the poor adventurer life.”

Besides, both Ekarraat and I are already corpses.

We don’t need to eat, so there’s no need to hold a feast.

“Nooo~~~~~~”

――Postscript.

Rumors spread among the neighbors that a pitch-black shadow (probably a Shadow) appeared at night, and our house was declared a haunted house—but it wasn’t entirely wrong, so we couldn’t deny it.