The Screaming House’s Secret

With a clue finally in hand, we returned to what appeared to be an entrance. We stood once more before the threshold of the Screaming House.

Perhaps we should have realized sooner that a building with no exits must, by necessity, retain its entrance.

“Well then… I’m opening it, okay?”

The Young Miss pulled the door open.

Ordinarily, it would have been my duty as a maid to open the door, but my current height made reaching the handle quite a challenge. Left with no alternative, I had to trouble the Young Miss.

As light flooded the interior, the sudden brilliance of the world outside momentarily blinded me, forcing my eyes to narrow.

It was then, silhouetted against the backlight, that I glimpsed a tall, dark figure raising its arm.

“Young Miss! Watch out!”

As I cried out, I channeled my magic, conjuring a wall of ice.

The Young Miss reacted swiftly, raising her scabbard to block.

However…

Bang!

Snap!

The descending scimitar didn’t even touch the ice wall; in fact, before it could fully pass through the doorway, it seemed to strike something solid and was violently repelled.

Simultaneously, the scimitar aimed at the Young Miss transformed into a fluffy toy, and the right arm of the skeleton wielding it was severed clean off by the sheer force of the rebound.

Capitalizing on the skeleton’s momentary paralysis, the Young Miss swiftly subdued it.

I distinctly heard the sound of bones shattering.

These skeletons were truly too frail before the Young Miss. The ones we’d searched previously had also been easily broken apart by her.

Yet, none of these actions were deemed ‘harmful.’ It appeared that skeletons weren’t considered living beings, thus rendering the concept of ‘harm’ inapplicable to them.

“Eileen, search her quickly.”

“Mm.”

Only then did I have the leisure to examine the skeleton closely.

Indeed, it was the very Skeleton Pirate that had startled me initially, standing guard at the entrance.

Under the Young Miss’s continuous suppression, my fear vanished, allowing me to effortlessly retrieve the items from its body.

Aside from the scimitar, it also concealed a dagger, though fortunately, with only one arm remaining, it was utterly incapable of using it.

Along the way, I also confiscated a trove of treasures: gold and silver ornaments I’d never seen before, yet whose value was immediately apparent.

Among these, there was one utterly unremarkable pendant.

However, the moment I took the pendant, the skeleton began to struggle violently, despite having shown no reaction when I took the previous items.

Even stranger, for a pendant, it wasn’t worn around her neck but was wrapped around her left hand.

“Don’t touch that! Give it back now!”

…Of course, her struggles were futile, merely adding more cracks to her fragile skeletal form.

“That’s it!”

Even as I stared, astonished that a skeleton could speak, and in a female voice no less, the Ghost Captain suddenly cried out in excitement.

“That is my deceased wife’s keepsake!”

Shouting, it lunged forward, seemingly intent on seizing the pendant from my hand.

However…

It appeared to collide with an invisible wall, its entire ethereal form flattening slightly.

But the door was open, wasn’t it?

…Considering how the Skeleton Pirate also seemed to hit an invisible barrier when trying to pass through, this door evidently possessed the ability to separate all spirits and skeletons.

Indeed, without such a function, the doorway would likely be overflowing with all manner of ghouls and monsters by now.

The mere thought of such a scene sent shivers down my spine.

However, there was something else presently giving me goosebumps.

I looked with distaste at the green… substance, or perhaps ectoplasm, clinging to the doorway.

“You, step back a little… I’ll give you this pendant.”

“Oh, oh…”

It was surprisingly compliant, its spirit not malicious, and it immediately did as I instructed.

Back inside the Screaming House, I held out the confiscated pendant to the captain. It promptly reached out, attempting to grasp the pendant in my hand.

But its hand passed right through the pendant.

…?

Seemingly disbelieving, it tried several more times, each attempt ending in failure.

“Is it because you’re a ghost that you can’t grasp physical objects?”

“Yes, it seems that too should have been obvious.”

The Ghost Captain fell silent.

But soon, it turned its attention back to me.

“Could I ask you to open this pendant for me?”

In truth, the moment I acquired the pendant, I noticed it had an inner layer, likely designed to open with a press of the button on top.

“Inside… is a photo of my deceased wife from when she was young. Long ago, we met a mage who could use light magic, and he used his powers to capture this memory for us.”

As it spoke, a look of profound nostalgia crossed its spectral face.

“Ever since my wife passed, I have kept this photo with me.”

So that’s how it is…

It probably wanted to see the photo, to reminisce about its past with its wife.

Given the circumstances, there was no reason to refuse.

Thus, I placed my thumb on the button.

Just then, the Skeleton Pirate’s reaction intensified once more.

“No! Don’t open it!”

This time, she even went so far as to twist her own body, charging forward like a madwoman.

…But the outcome remained the same: she was repelled by the invisible wall.

At the same moment, I pressed my thumb, and the pendant sprang open, revealing the photograph inside.

It depicted a young woman, bathed in sea breeze, her hair swept up by the wind, her smile radiant.

Though the photograph had faded, her charm remained undiminished.

“Ah, Aelora, Aelora!”

Upon seeing the photograph, the Ghost Captain burst into tears.

“Aelora… I’ve finally seen you! In these thousand years, I had even forgotten your face!”

Unlike the ecstatic captain, the Skeleton Pirate merely clicked her tongue.

“That idiot, I’ve tried my best to protect him.”

Initially, I was confused, but I quickly understood her meaning.

“Ah… ahh?”

The captain, who had been weeping tears of joy, suddenly froze.

“Ah… ahhh!!!”

Then, it clutched its head, its face contorted in agony.

“I… I remember now… My wife was killed by a sea monster…”

…Even its gaze became vacant, as if a carousel of memories flashed before its eyes.

“My last voyage was to avenge my wife… No, I merely… wanted to reunite with my wife under that pretense. Those crewmen, I was the one who killed them…”

“Hmph… You’ve always been an idiot, even back then. Though I don’t really have the right to speak.”

Watching the tormented captain, the Skeleton Pirate suddenly spoke.

‘Why did she seem to have known the captain for so long? Hadn’t she led pirates in an attack on the captain’s ship?’

“Who… are you…? Why are you so familiar with me?”

The captain harbored the same questions as I did.

“As expected… you’ve forgotten me.”

A flicker of sadness crossed the skeleton’s face. I didn’t know why, but despite her being a mere skeleton, I could discern her emotions from that featureless countenance.

“I don’t blame you… After all, your gaze was always solely fixed on my sister.”

“Sister…?”

The captain fell into deep thought.

But then, a sudden realization struck him:

“Could you be Aelora’s younger sister, Olive?”