Adopting the Male Protagonist Changed the Genre - Chapter 50

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 50

Chapter 8

That eyewitness account began in the evening, from a maid who had returned from the annex.

“Oh no. I think I left my ribbon behind.”

“Do you remember where you put it?”

“I think it was in the annex kitchen…”

“Ah…”

It was a luxury item she had bought with money saved penny by penny after sending money home from her wages.

She sent desperate glances to her colleague asking her to come along, but all she got back were awkward excuses mixed with refusal.

Having no choice, she headed to the annex alone with tears in her eyes.

A dark night without even a moon.

The path to the annex was unusually deserted.

Unlike during the day when it had a tranquil charm, the annex visited at night gave off a gloomy and desolate atmosphere.

The sound of bare tree branches swaying in the wind sounded exactly like someone sobbing, reminding her of the haunted mansion rumors she had forgotten about for a while.

‘A noble obsessed with dark magic killed employees as sacrifices to summon demons, I think.’

It was said that the employees who died unjustly then appeared as ghosts.

The maid who finally reached the front of the annex swallowed dryly.

It wasn’t that she believed in ghosts or anything.

But wasn’t there something more terrifying than ghosts lurking in this mansion?

The maid held her breath and carefully knocked on the side door used by employees, but no sound came from inside.

Feeling relieved inside and thinking she should come back early tomorrow morning instead, she turned around.

Creeeeak.

The door opened with a spine-chilling sound from rusty hinges.

The maid barely managed to swallow her scream.

“Who is it?”

“B-Butler!”

Because she saw a familiar face as the door opened.

A young woman who had suddenly appeared one day and taken the butler position at the annex.

Her presence was so faint that when working, if you carelessly turned your head, she would be standing there silently as if she had been there from the beginning.

Nevertheless, the reason her presence wasn’t creepy was…

‘The butler looks handsome even when seen at night.’

Because her neat face with androgynous charm always wore a kind smile.

The maid explained her situation with a much more peaceful heart, and Terry nodded as if genuinely feeling sorry for her.

“Oh my, what an unfortunate situation.”

But that was the end of it.

Unlike usual, her attitude seemed somewhat distant, so the maid smiled awkwardly and spoke again.

“Um, if it’s alright, could I go inside and look for it myself…”

“There’s no need for that. I’ll find it for you. Please wait here for a moment.”

“Here?”

The maid looked around at the surrounding darkness and hesitated.

She would prefer to wait inside if possible.

“Yes, the master is a light sleeper. If she happens to wake up and hear unfamiliar sounds…”

“Yes! I’ll stay here!”

As expected of the butler! She’s being considerate of me.

The thought of possibly encountering Belinda who had woken up and become sharp was nothing short of terrifying.

Grateful for Terry’s consideration, the maid stood by the door and waited for a while.

However, even after quite some time passed, Terry showed no signs of returning.

Tired from the cold and waiting, the maid carefully stepped inside the mansion.

“Butler?”

When she whispered softly, she felt signs of movement from inside.

The corridor was dark as pitch.

Among it all, light was leaking from the only room with an open door.

She didn’t have time to recall that this room was usually locked.

Like a moth drawn to light, the maid approached the door and froze in place at the sound flowing from inside.

“What to… as food… not.”

She couldn’t have heard wrong. It was definitely Belinda’s voice.

“Corrupted… so their appetite is…”

Knowing she shouldn’t, the maid unconsciously peered inside through the crack in the open door.

“…!”

Inside the dim room lit by only one candle.

On walls that were completely blood-red as if blood had flowed, ghostly blurred figures were dwelling quietly.

In the middle of the spine-chilling room that seemed like it was summoning demons, Belinda was there.

She seemed to be having a conversation with someone, but her gaze was directed at empty air.

Soon Belinda twisted the corners of her mouth into a smile.

It was a wicked smile that looked evil, as if plotting some cruel plan.

“Should I offer a sacrifice?”

At that moment, what dominated the maid’s mind was the ghost story of the haunted mansion.

She covered her mouth to prevent a scream from bursting out, but it was already too late.

“Gulp!”

The sound of swallowing breath leaked out, and Belinda fiercely turned to look at the doorway.

Thud. Her legs gave out and the maid collapsed.

“You.”

Belinda slowly approached the maid.

The moment her eyes that didn’t lose their light even in darkness flashed.

“You saw.”

The maid fainted on the spot.

“…”

Belinda crouched down awkwardly next to the unconscious maid and waved her hand in front of her face.

As soon as she confirmed that she was fortunately still breathing, she hung her head low and covered her face with both hands.

“Ah, this isn’t right.”

A groaning sound leaked through her slender fingers.

Today too, Belinda’s infamy was steadily accumulating.

* * *

One day before the maid came looking.

“A personal pistol for Lady Belinda?”

Vivian, who usually got excited at the mention of magical device invention, asked back with a rare uncertain expression.

I nodded and continued speaking.

“However, make it so magical power comes out instead of bullets. Is that possible?”

Guns existed in the world of 【Hirome】 too, but they remained in very primitive forms and didn’t develop further.

The reason was clear.

Any decent swordsman could deflect flying bullets even with a dagger. Not to mention mages.

‘The only things I can trust are money and supernatural abilities.’

Excited about the fact that I had magical power, I tried to take magic lessons with Leo.

But Chaser delivered shocking news to my excited self.

“Oh dear, master. Unfortunately, those with supernatural abilities can’t learn ordinary magic.”

“What? But why!”

“I told you. Ability users have magic circles engraved in their mana. So even if you try to normally summon fire magic, the magic circles overlap.”

“Still, maybe there’s a way…!”

“What doesn’t work doesn’t work.”

For this reason, I couldn’t learn magic, and instead was devoting myself to training in handling abilities.

Fortunately, since my innate mana capacity wasn’t small, I could handle quite vast amounts of mana if I just trained my magic circuits well.

Later, when Chaser analyzed it, he said the Blanche Family’s ability was an incredibly complex magic with three overlapping magic circles involving binding, brainwashing, and assimilation processes.

Currently I had only mastered binding and brainwashing, but he said if I succeeded in the assimilation ability, I would be able to see the world through Cao’s eyes.

Of course, I hadn’t achieved any notable results yet.

Anyway, for this reason I had to rely entirely on my one ability.

‘If I just had a ranged weapon that could shoot my mana, I could tame monsters without directly touching them.’

Current firearms, which weren’t recognized for their effectiveness as weapons, were heavy and had terrible accuracy, but they were still better than nothing.

Guns, which I had encountered countless times through broadcast media in my previous life, seemed easier to handle than bows or crossbows I didn’t know how to use.

However, since mana itself had no attack power, firearms that shot mana hadn’t been developed.

Still, just in case, I asked Vivian, but it seemed making weapons didn’t appeal to her at all.

But as soon as I finished speaking, Vivian’s face suddenly began to brighten with interest.

“Mana… you mean shooting Lady Belinda’s mana like bullets? It’s not mechanically impossible, but implementation would be quite tricky… Still, with a parallel structure…”

It seemed her dejection earlier wasn’t from lack of confidence but from lack of interest.

Vivian, who had been muttering incomprehensible technical terms, wiped her glasses with her sleeve and her eyes sparkled.

“I think it’s possible!”

“Please prioritize weapons over healing potions for now. I’ll pay you compensation.”

“Yes!”

I was relieved by Vivian’s confident answer and was leisurely tilting my teacup when it happened.

“If we had such a weapon, could we defeat ghosts too?”

At Leo’s words as he sipped warm milk beside me, not only I but also Vivian, Terry, and Lord Penandel’s gazes focused on him.

I wondered why he suddenly brought up ghosts.

When I checked the scenery outside the window where Leo’s gaze was directed, I could soon guess the reason.

As we entered the end of autumn, the graveyard at the rear of the mansion was becoming more desolate day by day. Especially the bare trees that had lost their leaves.

I gave Terry a look, and quick-witted Terry immediately drew the window curtains.

This place had once been rumored to be a haunted mansion after all.

Though he usually acted brave, it seemed he still often thought about the mansion’s ghosts.

‘How cute.’

I wiped the milk foam from Leo’s philtrum with a handkerchief and was about to speak.

But there was someone who was a step faster than me.

“There’s no such thing as ghosts in this world. There are only certain unexplained phenomena.”

So said Vivian, who would become a ghost someday in the future.

If someone else had said it, I would have quickly agreed and reassured Leo, but since it was Vivian saying such things, I began to feel suspicious.

What if there really were ghosts in this mansion?

While I hesitated for a moment, Leo asked Lord Penandel.

“Sir Knight, have you never seen anything in this mansion at night?”

“I’ve felt presences before, but I’ve never actually seen anything.”

“…?”

The atmosphere turned cold at Lord Penandel’s dry joke.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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