Chapter 376: The Commission to Exorcise a Ghost

Facing Ouka and Raul's envious expressions, Aiden merely smiled without saying a word.

If Raul and Ouka knew that he had not only done the deed, but with more than one girl—and that one of them was even a genuine goddess—those two old virgins might have instantly shut down on the spot.

The night deepened, and the clamor in the tavern gradually subsided.

After bidding farewell to Raul and Ouka, Aiden walked alone on the road back to the Familia.

The evening breeze carried a hint of chill, blowing away the smell of alcohol on him and clearing his head quite a bit.

Just as he turned into a secluded alleyway, a figure crashed into his chest without any warning.

It was a slender and soft body, carrying a faint, clean scent of soap.

Aiden subconsciously supported the other person and looked down; a head of brilliant golden hair entered his vision.

It was Ais.

Aiden looked around; this alleyway was quiet and deserted, conveniently located not far from the tavern.

He instantly guessed something.

"Ais, were you waiting for me? Is something the matter?" Aiden let go and asked directly.

The blonde girl nodded, her fair cheeks seeming somewhat hesitant under the moonlight.

She hesitated for a while before slightly lowering her head and opening her mouth with a voice even softer than usual.

"I was hoping you… could help me with an adventurer commission I'm currently undertaking."

Hearing this, Aiden instantly recalled those rumors he had heard in the tavern earlier.

He revealed a curious expression and asked, "So that means the rumors are true, and you failed your quest?"

"Mhm." Ais gave a soft hum, considering it a tacit admission.

"Why not go to Riveria and the others for help?" Aiden was somewhat puzzled.

"Everyone in the Familia… is a no-go." Ais shook her head, a trace of distress in her voice. "Leaving everyone else aside for a moment, if Loki were to find out, she would definitely tease me and do some weird things…"

Her voice grew heavy, and her pretty face was full of a troubled expression, seemingly getting a headache just from imagining that scene.

Aiden instantly understood.

Clearly, this mission touched upon Ais's unknown weakness. Once that fellow Loki found out, she would likely take pleasure in it and try every possible means to harass her.

It was exactly because of this that Ais didn't want to seek out her Familia companions, preferring to come to him, an outsider.

"If it's Aiden, I figured you wouldn't tell anyone else about this…"

Saying so, Ais's gaze fell to the ground, her hands nervously fiddling with her fingers in front of her chest. That appearance was a cuteness Aiden had never seen before.

The maidenly unease suitable for her age made her no longer look like that ever-victorious Sword Princess, but merely an ordinary girl in need of help, stirring up feelings of sympathy.

She timidly and slowly raised her head, those pure golden eyes looking up at Aiden.

"Is it… not okay?"

"Of course it is, leave it to me."

Facing Ais, who was looking up at him with a pleading expression, Aiden agreed without hesitation.

He truly couldn't refuse such a super cute Ais, who revealed an expression that made people desperately want to protect her.

"So, what kind of adventurer commission is it?" Aiden asked.

Ais's expression was still somewhat downcast. She pursed her lips and muttered the answer to Aiden in a barely audible voice.

"Exterminating… a ghost that has taken up residence inside a mansion."

"Huh?"

In the empty alleyway, Aiden's astonished voice echoed.

Night veiled the sky.

They stood before an abandoned mansion.

The cracked, blackened walls and the broken windows on the upper floor all silently told the tale that this place had been abandoned for a long time.

Several split, dead trees spread out around the area, their twisted branches looking like a witch's fingers in the dim light.

The unsettled night felt as if it could pour rain at any moment, making this solitary building appear even more eerie.

This was exactly the mansion Ais had mentioned, the one haunted by a ghost.

"Is this… the mansion that little girl talked about?"

"Mhm… this is the location listed on the adventurer commission."

The one who had submitted the commission to Ais was actually a young human girl.

Ais had happened to run into her while walking on the street.

"Sir Adventurer… please get rid of the ghost that appeared in the mansion."

According to that unaffiliated young girl they had never met before, an ominous shadow had appeared in her own secret paradise.

A ghost-like shadow wearing tattered black clothes.

Because she held the position of a First-Class Adventurer, Ais should have been careful not to accept commissions so easily, but she seemed to feel pity for the frightened girl.

To fulfill this unofficial commission not processed through the Guild—which, simply put, was just a personal request—she went to the scene alone to investigate, and then, just as the rumors on the street claimed, she failed.

Not only did she fail to expose the "ghost's" true identity, but according to her, she had been directly forced into retreat from the mansion right before her eyes.

Thus, this incident became a rumor, and the story of the Sword Princess failing a solo commission spread throughout the city.

The mansion was located in the Northwest District of the city, a remote residential area composed of a continuous stretch of ruins.

As a playground for a child, it might actually be just right.

"So, why come at night? Wouldn't daytime be better?" Aiden looked at Ais beside him, his expression somewhat strange.

"The client said that the ghost won't appear until nightfall…" Ais looked up at the mansion, her profile already tense with nervousness.

Aiden speechlessly covered his face.

Sure enough, Ais was still too naive, even a bit airheaded.

He didn't believe that ghosts actually existed in this world.

Even if they did, they wouldn't be some floating apparition, but rather some kind of monster.

Although this world had gods and monsters, and logically speaking, the existence of ghosts would be considered normal.

But when people in this world died, their souls would return to the heavens; they wouldn't linger in the lower world to become ghosts.

So, the so-called ghost was either a misunderstanding, a prank, or perhaps some unknown monster.

"So, has the ghost actually shown up?" Aiden looked at Ais curiously.

Since she had already failed once, she must have seen the so-called ghost.

Right at that moment, Ais, her face pale, raised a finger and pointed toward a window on the third floor of the mansion.

Aiden instantly turned his head, just in time to see a tattered black garment flash past the window and vanish.

Pitter, patter.

Cold raindrops began to fall on his shoulders, and Aiden's expression stiffened slightly.

Ais's cheeks were already deathly pale; she instinctively shuffled her feet, stepping in front of Aiden to shield him.

"Let's go. It was probably just blown up by the wind, don't be afraid." Aiden voiced his comfort to Ais, then took the initiative to lead the way into this supposedly haunted house.

Ais didn't pause for a single step, following tightly behind Aiden.

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