"Huh?" (Mylaine)
I sighed.
Cliff forced me to do the job.
That mansion was said to be a mansion with many things going on.
The owner of the mansion passed away for some reason.
It could not be made public.
So, when the mansion was disposed of, a distant relative of the owner sold it cheaply to the Commercial Guild.
It was put up for sale, but due to its impressive appearance, no buyers were found.
In the first place, there was also talk about who would live there.
As a result of leaving it unattended for a long time, a ghost disturbance occurred.
A mansion that was already difficult to find a buyer would become even more difficult to find a buyer.
Reluctantly, I instructed the staff to investigate.
When about five employees went to investigate the mansion, one employee said he saw a flickering light.
He pointed his finger in that direction, but the other employees couldn't see it.
After that story, rumors spread that it was haunted.
I had heard that some ghosts can be seen and some can't.
By the way, I had never seen a ghost.
In any case, in order to dispel the ghost commotion, I sent a request to the Adventurer's Guild.
I only made the request to get confirmation from the Adventurer's Guild that there were no ghosts.
However, the report from the Adventurer's Guild was that there might be ghosts.
There were people who saw the flickering light like my staff did, but the people who went with me couldn't see it.
Furthermore, I heard a voice in my ear, but no one was there.
Such reports had come up.
Are there really ghosts?
It would be expensive to tear it down, and it would be a waste to destroy such a fine building.
This was impossible for a Commercial Guild.
While I was thinking about what to do, Cliff came to the Commercial Guild with Helen-san from the Adventurer's Guild.
Apparently it was about that haunted house.
According to Helen-san, Yuna-chan received the request.
Why did Cliff come to the report?
I didn't know the combination.
Apparently Cliff came to report on Yuna-chan's behalf.
The ghost in the mansion was said to be a child who entered the mansion.
That couldn't happen.
It was reported that all the locks were securely closed when they checked, and there was no sign that they had been broken.
So it was impossible for a child to get in there.
But Cliff was confident that there would never be another ghost incident.
However, there was no way that a mansion that had been haunted by ghosts would sell.
After saying that, Cliff offered to buy the mansion and turned it into an inn.
It helped that Cliff bought it. If it didn't sell, we would never get any money.
However, even if he said he was going to use it as an inn, it still looked great. The price would also be higher. If the lord's authority were to make it cheaper, people would not gather at other inns and the lord would be dissatisfied.
Cliff then asked me to bring him a blueprint of the mansion.
Then, I explained while looking at the drawings.
Many of the rooms on the first floor were used by servants. This area should be opened for general use. Then, he said he would raise the price on the second and third floors.
Certainly, it could be differentiated.
There was also a kitchen so you could prepare your own meals.
It also had a warehouse, so you didn't have to worry about where to store something.
There was also a bath.
It was certainly possible to use it as a lodging.
For the Commercial Guild, the mansion was sold and the lack of accommodation that had been a problem recently would be resolved. If that happened, people and merchants would gather, and money would flow into the city.
Commercial Guild income would also increase.
When I agreed, Cliff said something outrageous. He decided to leave all management of the inn to the Commercial Guild.
...I was forced to take care of things.
But the terms Cliff offered weren't bad at all.
Cliff would receive 20% of the profits. All other profits would go to us of the Commercial Guild.
There were many people who wanted work, and they flocked to the Commercial Guild to find work.
In addition, the Commercial Guild also had agents who could help you find specialized jobs.
Above all, Cliff said he would take responsibility even if another ghost incident occurred in the future.
If there was any damage, Cliff would pay.
There were no disadvantages to Commercial Guild.
So I decided to take Cliff's offer.
However…….
"...Haa" (Mylaine)
I let out another sigh.
If you were going to start doing it, you would want to keep costs down. Although the initial cost was not very high, it was not zero.
Yuna-chan was spending money without worrying about it when she set up her shop, but I wondered where all that money came from.
"If you want to check, you have no choice but to go." (Cliff)
I decided to head to the mansion to check its condition with my own eyes.
Cliff said so, but I didn't think there would really be any ghosts.
It was scary to go alone, so I decided to take one staff member with me.
"Why did I decide to go with you?"
I was here with Lianna (リアナ), who asked me about Yuna-chan when I was busy.
"I'm sure you'll be happy because you get to work by the guild master's side." (Mylaine)
"I’m glad it’s not a haunted house." (Lianna)
I felt the same way.
"Anyway, you can't leave me." (Mylaine)
Because I'm scared.
"I won’t leave you even if you don’t tell me." (Lianna)
Lianna approached me so as not to leave me.
When we entered the mansion, we first checked the first floor.
There were many rooms on the first floor that appeared to have been used by servants, as Cliff said.
"The bed, chairs, and table are still there." (Lianna)
Just as Lianna said, each room still had a bed, desk, and chair.
Some rooms had two beds, so they could be used as double rooms.
"It needs cleaning, but it looks like it can be used as is." (Lianna)
When Liana touches the desk, she noticed that it was full of dust.
"That's right. Let's go around once and if there are no problems, let's bring in a cleaner." (Mylaine)
When I left the room, I checked other places.
There was also a kitchen and dining room.
The dishes and other items were still there. It was in a drawer so it was clean.
"This seems like it could be useful too."
"Also, there are some high-class plates, so I think they would be useful for guests staying in expensive rooms."
We looked around the first floor and found the stairs to the basement.
"Guild Master, are you coming down?" (Lianna)
"We'll have to check." (Mylaine)
We went underground.
There was a door and when I opened it, it looked like it was a warehouse.
It was clean and there was a bouquet of flowers on the floor.
When I got closer, the bouquet was withered.
"Did the previous resident put it there?"
"Maybe so……"
"I think this place could be used as a warehouse."
"...You don't have to use this place."
I didn't know the details of what happened.
But you could imagine it.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'll lock it up and leave it to the Commercial Guild."
After leaving the underground warehouse, we moved to the second floor.
Unlike the first floor, the rooms on the second floor were large and there were guest rooms and a reception area. The furnitures were still there, so it looked like it could be used.
When I tried to move to the third floor, I found a picture hanging on the wall between the second and third floor stairs.
"Guild Master, what should we do with this picture?" (Lianna)
In front of Lianna's eyes, a fat figure was drawn.
It was a picture of that man.
I had met him a few times, but it made me want to burn it.
Cliff said he was free to use everything in the mansion, so burning it would be the best way to use it.
If I invited Cliff, he might be happy to come.
Or maybe I should display it in that basement warehouse.
I would discuss this with Cliff.
"I'll talk to Cliff about it. But let's move forward with the idea of removing it." (Mylaine)
It was a decision to remove the painting.
"Understood" (Lianna)
Lianna took notes.
But I would like to display some pictures instead.
Well, let's think about that later.
Next, we started checking the third floor.
It looked like the former owner's room and was furnished with high-quality furniture.
The original owner of the mansion had a relative, but apparently they refused to take him in.
There was a plan to dispose of it and make money from it, but they decided to sell it along with the mansion. In hindsight, that might have been a good thing.
It costed money just to have high-quality furniture that matched this room.
From then on, I would give instructions on what to use and what to dispose of. Lianna took notes on everything.
There were more items left that I could use than I expected. Initial costs were likely to be significantly reduced.
Now I had to decide on the price of accommodation so that we could make a profit.
"...Ghosts don't appear." (Lianna)
I was reminded of Lianna's words.
I forgot. There was a ghostly disturbance in this mansion.
We had been in the mansion for quite some time, but we hadn't encountered anything that looks like a ghost.
There had never been any ghostly incidents, such as lights flickering, voices coming from somewhere, or curtains swaying even though the windows were not open.
Was it just a child's prank like Cliff said?
"Maybe Cliff-sama set it up?" (Lianna)
Lianna said that.
"What do you mean?" (Mylaine)
"No one will want to buy a haunted house if there is an uproar about ghosts. In that case, we have to lower the price of the house in order to sell it. That's what he's aiming for." (Lianna)
Poke.
I lightly poked Liana's forehead.
"What, are you saying something stupid? That can't be true." (Mylaine)
After the orphanage incident happened, I looked into it.
Cliff must want to destroy this mansion.
Therefore, I could safely say that it was not the case.
As a feudal lord, he found a way to use it and purchased it.
But he didn't have any good memories of this mansion, so maybe he forced it on me.
Maybe I accepted Cliff's proposal because I knew how Cliff felt somewhere in his heart.
Then, when I heard the news that Yuna-chan had returned to Crimonia, I immediately decided to ask Yuna-chan one favor.
I decided to have Yuna-chan draw a picture in the place where the fat man's picture was.
Of course, I liked the picture of a bear.
Author's Note
Mylaine is moving to make it an inn. And the picture...
Translator's Note
Not sure if リアナ has appeared before.