"Little brother, do you know where the steward is? While we were dealing with the wraith just now, we found a bracelet. Presumably, that maid stole it while she was alive.
"I'll ask the steward whether anyone lost a bracelet."
"What bracelet?" Little Odin abruptly stood up.
"This one." Dick handed over the bracelet, and Little Odin instantly snatched it and clutched it tight, his cheeks twitching with excitement.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem?" Seeing his younger brother looking so distracted, he hurriedly asked after him.
"This bracelet... this bracelet was my gift to Rose.
"When I heard you talking about an evil spirit in the fortress earlier, it never occurred to me that it was Rose. Father actually drove Rose to her death. Why? Why did this happen?" Little Odin's voice was filled with helplessness and bitterness.
Dick and the apprentice warlock exchanged a glance without saying much, but both understood what the other meant: they should not meddle too much in the baron's family affairs. Dealing with the evil spirit was enough.
"What? Little brother, you're sure this is the bracelet you gave her? Do you like her?"
Little Odin pressed his lips together at those words, and Kebi instantly understood his younger brother's feelings.
"How could you fall for a servant? Her status was so low, and she had no particular abilities.
"People like us should find someone with a similar status and abilities. Little Odin, you're being foolish!"
"No, you don't understand. You don't understand." Little Odin shook his head. "Two people in love would never grow apart because of their status. If they did, their feelings wouldn't be genuine."
Then he looked straight at Kebi, his face utterly serious:
"Take you, for example. I can tell you've developed a strong interest in Lady Xiya beside you. But if she were just a child from an ordinary family, rather than a warlock, would you still like her?"
"I..." Kebi hesitated at his words.
After a long while, he glanced somewhat awkwardly at the apprentice warlock and shook his head. "I don't know."
The apprentice warlock said nothing at this, merely smiling faintly instead.
Perhaps she had never been interested in Kebi, so she did not mind.
"You don't know? You simply haven't experienced what I have. If you met a woman you deeply loved, you would choose to be with her regardless of her status."
Seeing the heavy atmosphere, Dick interjected, "Let's eat first. Whatever the case, that girl became a wraith after her death. To keep this fortress safe, we must get rid of the wraith."
"What? Rose was already driven to her death, and now you want to kill the wraith she became?
"Wouldn't that erase every trace of her? I won't agree to it," Little Odin said loudly.
"Little Odin, how can this fortress be safe if we don't remove the wraith?"
"But I... I don't want Rose to disappear completely." Little Odin knew he was asking too much, but still made his request.
Dick answered gravely, "Actually, dealing with a wraith doesn't necessarily mean destroying it outright. There is another way."
"What way? Tell me quickly." Joy rose on Little Odin's face.
Dick sighed inwardly. He really is a young lovestruck fool.
Normally, eliminating a wraith only required destroying it through physical means.
But for some wraiths with intense resentment, one needed to discover what had caused them to form.
And usually, what these wraiths found hardest to let go of was their separation from their own remains.
So, as long as they found Lady Rose's remains and burned them outside the cottage, her wraith would naturally transcend and disappear.
"Don't worry. This method won't erase every trace of her. It will merely set her free."
Dick had grounds for saying this.
This world not only had monsters, but also, according to rumors, deities: both Heaven and Hell existed.
If people's souls were not destroyed after death, they would enter the cycle of reincarnation.
The people of this world firmly believed this as well.
"I see. That's wonderful. Let's retrieve Rose's remains now, then burn them tonight."
"Then where are her remains?" Dick asked.
"I heard the servants chatting earlier. They said my father ordered the soldiers to throw her remains into the mass grave, not far to the east," Kebi replied.
At those words, Little Odin's face instantly went pale.
"Then let's do this. After we eat, I'll go to the mass grave myself and retrieve Lady Rose's body," Dick replied.
"But," he continued, turning to Kebi, "could you lend me a horse? I'll use it to transport the body."
"Dick, you can use my horse. It's my warhorse from the knight order. It can carry an astonishing load, and it's brave and fearless. Ordinary bandits' swords won't even make it stop."
"Thank you, then."
Dick spoke again. "Little Odin, don't worry. Since we can now resolve this in the smoothest possible way, let's have something to eat first."
Little Odin nodded at his words, and everyone sat down.
Since this was a tragedy to begin with, they said little at the table.
Soon, Dick finished his meal, said goodbye to everyone, and left the fortress.
Then he mounted Kebi's horse and headed toward the mass grave to the east.
It was around three in the afternoon.
The closer he came to the mass grave, the darker his surroundings grew.
Just as Dick had expected, there were indeed necrophages in the mass grave.
Two ghouls prowled near the mass grave. Fortunately, there were no giant ghouls inside, which would have been harder to deal with.
Dick dismounted some distance away and tied the horse to a dead tree nearby.
Then he crouched and crept forward silently. Reaching the back of a large boulder, he held his breath, took out his crossbow, and aimed at one of the ghouls.
With a whistle, the first bolt struck the ground, scattering a great heap of dry bones.
The ghoul instantly grew alert and looked around.
Another whistle rang out, and the second bolt struck the ghoul squarely in the skull, killing it in one shot.
Then Dick revealed himself and charged straight at the other ghoul, silver sword in hand.
Seeing its companion dead, the ghoul instantly flew into a rage. It stood upright and swayed from side to side. Then dense bone spurs topped with withered flesh slowly emerged from its back. This was one of a ghoul's abilities, which could enhance its defenses.
Dick stood his ground, spread his left hand, and slapped it toward the earth.
In an instant, a pale purple circle of light appeared around him, extending two meters in every direction.
A mysterious five-pointed star was inscribed within the circle, shining brightly.
The ghoul acted purely on instinct and had little intelligence. It found nothing strange about the sight and simply lunged straight at Dick.
Dick raised his sword to block. Claws met blade, forcing both man and monster a step back, but the ghoul had also entered the circle of light-the magic trap began to take effect.
In the blink of an eye, the spines on its back withdrew into its body, as though they had never appeared.
Dick seized the opportunity, turning and swinging his sword again, striking the ghoul squarely in one shoulder.
The ghoul let out a beastlike cry of pain and lunged at the monster hunter again.
This time, Dick dodged sideways, turned, and slashed again. Blood bloomed across the ghoul's back once more.
A short while later, he sheathed his longsword, and a new notification appeared on the panel:
Ghouls killed ×2. Energy points gained ×5. Current total energy points ×110.
Even a mosquito's meat was still meat. Dick smiled in satisfaction, briefly considered, then drew the dagger at his waist.