Claude sat alone on the couch in the lodgings the Koror Villagers had provided them. It was a modest house with a single kitchen, bedroom, and living room. The pair were unsure of the villagers, though, so they decided to knock themselves out in the living room, close by for any emergency.
As he sat with arms crossed, Claude's eyes went to the flickering lamp light in one corner of the room. They had pulled all the blinds and had kept a single lamp burning to avoid any suspicion from the villagers, it made the room dark, but Claude didn't particularly mind the darkness.
Combing his hair to the back with his hands, Claude leaned back on the couch, his head drooping on the end. Things were quite a bit fast-paced. Before he realized that he was out of that forest, he and Elric had already come up for an adventure to make some money.
"And this seems rather complicated as well."
He found it displeasing that solving things won't just be as simple as knocking the monster down a peg. The lying villagers would probably make sure it won't be that simple. That said, Claude was still looking forward to how he would fare against a monster for C-Ranks, it being stronger than that was another thing that ended up washing his plans away.
He didn't think he was extraordinarily strong. Even with all the skills he had cultivated to survive, there were many monsters he couldn't overcome. One of those was much closer than the rest. But he didn't think he'll only be evaluated as 'Strong enough for a B rank.' How strong B-Ranked adventurers were, was something he didn't know. Seeing as there were many ranks above yet, it was definitely a pain to think about.
Thought after thought muddled in Claude's head as his outstretched shadow flickered on the ceiling with the lamp's rhythm.
His eyelids grew heavy.
Like the shot of a silenced gun, a poof rang out in the air.
The orange tint of the night room was swallowed completely by darkness.
Claude's eyes snapped open. He jumped to his feet and looked around. Nothing. Not a single thing came within his sight as the darkness filled everything around. He could make out the faint sensation of Elric still sleeping on the couch next to him, which kept him a little calm.
"Scared?"
A voice.
Loud, yet quiet.
"Are you scared, my dear Claude?"
His chest clenched.
Far, yet close.
"Oh? Are you looking at the one outside?"
Claude hardened his gaze and navigated to the windows.
"This place, it has a strong stench of blood. You can't risk it, not with that child here."
Stern, yet fickle. As if it would stay forever, yet as if it would disappear at any moment.
"Why don't you, let me take over?"
So vile, yet tempting.
"Shut up." Claude howled. His hands finally found the cotton blinds. Claude's hands did not betray his desperation as he pulled the blinds open.
A stream of moonlight trickled inside the house, the voice fading away with each ray that bounced through the place. He let out a half-sigh.
The faint light of the moon raced with the flickers of the stars, trying their best to scarcely illuminate the dark night sky. The curtain of black, the glimmers of blue, and the dancing slivers of silvery clouds.
At times like these, Claude couldn't help but think he was away from home at all.
No matter how much he looked, he couldn't tell the difference. Were the skies truly connected?
A soft giggle entered Claude's ears. The boy's eyes scuttled about before a white apparition reached the corner of his sight.
He held his breath and faced the being. Long blonde hair and a sinister smile, no matter how much he narrowed his eyes, Claude couldn't make out the glowing face of the child-like being.
The apparition paused and turned to Claude, its white dress fluttering in the night breeze.
'What… the fuck?'
Another giggle. The being waved at Claude, as if calling him closer. Before Claude could process anything, the apparition turned away and started running.
"Holy hell was that a ghost!?"
"Should you even be saying that?" Claude snapped at the owner-less voice.
"Well, I don't like ghost—OW! OW!"
The boy pulled the amulet hanging from his neck and flicked his fingers on the purple stone. After hitting the Lord of the Shadows till it shut up, he then looked back at the boy sleeping on the couch. He decided against waking Elric up. Monstrous as that kid was, when he was sleepy, Claude couldn't see him as anything but a serious pain.
"Ghosts don't haunt pretty things, do they?"
"With this one, isn't it an instinctual issue for all beings?"
"Hah fine, I'm sure he'll manage."
Sighing again, Claude lifted back the wooden boards holding the windows locked and pushed them open. Like a young priest calling on a prayer bead, he held his amulet and closed his eyes. A black mist flooded out of the amulet and crawled down to his feet.
Claude immediately leaped over the windowsill. The black mist coalesced and throbbed near his feet as they formed a pair of pitch-black boots. Not a sound emerged when Claude trampled on the blades of grass in the wild yard of the house.
The matte boots had muffled every sound as they glistened in a purple hue under the moonlight. Claude held half a smile as he set off, following behind the ghost.
As he reached the turn leading away from the houses around, he heard the youthful giggle again. He lowered his stance and rushed out again, hiding below the windows of the few homes on both sides of the dirt street. The horses trussed against the stables and the dogs keeping an eye did not as much as notice Claude in his stealthy movements.
Every time the road would curve, the apparition's white dress would stretch out in the corner, leading Claude again.
From the fields to the houses, the creek, and the repurposed mansion.
Lancets with stained glasses stood tall in front of him, the black woodwork reminiscent of a demon's beauty. The long and narrow building with steeples at the edges had its door creaking against the wind, its sound merging with the laughter of the child.
"Creepy."
"Hearing your voice is creepier."
Claude bantered and walked toward the church. He pushed the abrasive doors, and the floorboards squeaked as his weight fell on them, but there was no sound of his footstep, earning a click of the boy's tongue.
He waved away the dust from his nose as he carefully tiptoed through the church. Not a statue remained at the altar nor a single piece of teaching or prayer on the walls. It was impossible to tell which god the church served among the list that had as many entries as there were followers.
"It can't be one of the major gods…" Claude swiped his finger over the benches. Dusty.
Where had that ghost gone? Searching for it, Claude moved around the church. The ghost held his attention, but the church mustered his unease.
It was strange to think that in a world where even Orcs held faith, an entire village would let their church be this unmanaged.
Then, his eyes fell on it.
Near the eastern end of the wall, an end of the floorboard was lifted and placed on the next one over.
Claude's half smile widened as he crouched at the board and pulled the entire thing aside.
Below the church was a tunnel leading away.
"Well, well, well, did they say the snake went underground?"