I am a ghost.
That means I’m dead.
I never dreamt of dying from overwork. But it seems human beings really can die from working too hard.
Where did I go wrong? Was it when I finally managed to transfer to the Strategy Planning Division? Or was it getting too excited and burning myself out with overtime?
Whatever the cause, I’m dead.
Ugh.
Reflecting on the past objectively like this, I felt my anger rise. I just can’t hold it in anymore.
Give it back.
My life.
My happy life, leeching off a wealthy family…!
Wait, isn’t it possible to be happy licking the boots of royalty?
If I get too focused on licking my master’s boots and go “Guh-!”, and die, what happens to my life?
Did I do something wrong by diligently laundering the chairman’s secondary funds day and night? Was it wrong of me to agonize over whether I could pull off a scam?
Guh…
Alright, even if I concede a hundred times, it might have been a wrong choice.
But I gave my all without any regrets. I believe in a fair world, one where I should be compensated for my unexpected death.
Ahem.
You know, there’s that stuff like reincarnating into another world or obtaining a cheat power. Or even regressing back to the past isn’t too bad.
Sniff.
How about I become a billionaire this time with a regression cheat? Honestly, that chairman wasn’t to my liking. A master should act like a proper master, right? Not sharing any of the slush funds, and ugly too.
With a nervous heart, I glanced around, but what I saw was not what I desired.
The square, carriages, Western-style buildings.
Medieval? Renaissance? Pre-modern?
In that sky, there were flying ships.
Wow, fantasy.
My life was ordinary modernity, but suddenly it’s fantasy.
I collapsed from overwork, woke up to find myself a ghost, and here I am in an unknown fantasy world.
Something seems skipped in the middle. Where’s the angel explaining my death? Where’s the god handing out cheat powers?
Sir, surely there can’t be nothing at all?
Right now, I feel like I could lick two pairs of the royal family’s boots spotlessly clean. I’m sure I can do a good job.
But contrary to my wishes, the situation didn’t change as the sun set and rose again.
Having no other choice, I wandered around with this pitch-black, round ghostly body, searching for angels or the Grim Reaper.
But then I noticed something strange.
I gently touched a leaf on a flower pot with my ghostly form.
The leaf went “Guh-!” and rotted like someone who had died from overwork. Instantly, the rot spread through the stem, and the flower fell off.
The beautiful pot was ruined.
Next, I flew towards a cat sitting on the roof. There was no need to worry about it dying. As I approached, it panicked and ran away with a loud scream.
Oh.
I am rejected by animals and plants.
Is this how newcomers in a rural area feel when they face the locals’ prejudices? My fragile heart feels scratched.
Though, as someone who came from another dimension, I am truly an outsider.
Thankfully, humans didn’t react with the same fright as animals. They didn’t even seem to sense my presence. Too unprotected, I didn’t dare touch them. For I am a kind-hearted one.
Time passed. The sun repeatedly rose and set. There wasn’t a glimpse of angels or the Grim Reaper.
Where are the Underworld’s civil servants?
I even visited a nearby grand temple, only to find the priests collapsing in foam upon seeing me and fleeing in panic.
Discrimination against outsiders…!
Since this won’t work, there’s no choice but to raid the Underworld offices on-site despite feeling sorry for the civil servants.
If ghosts exist, there’s a good chance Underworld employees will be present at the moment of life’s creation. So, I should go where a baby is likely to be born.
I know of a happy family. They were major nobles; their wedding carriage procession seemed to go on endlessly. The wide garden was filled with people and laughter.
The couple’s environment was great, and they were even affectionate with each other. They were feeding each other cookies during their teatime. Oh, the ambiance is lovely.
If nothing unusual happens, this happiness will surely continue forever.
Time has passed; they might be pregnant by now, it’s customary for nobles to prepare heirs.
I peeked through the glass window. The couple and a doctor were drinking tea and talking.
The doctor said something, and the wife, with a bright expression, began to rub her stomach. The husband smiled and gently enveloped his wife’s shoulder.
Are they talking about pregnancy?
It’s a celebratory event.
Thanks to them, I saved time.
Since I’m here, I should bless this joyous day.
I respectfully straightened my dark body and earnestly prayed from the bottom of my heart.
May this couple’s life always be filled with days like today.
Forevermore.
The teacup fell. It shattered, scattering sharp fragments. The tea dyed the floor red.
The wife, who dropped the cup, seemed startled. The maidens panicked and immediately began collecting the shards.
Oh dear, be careful.
Suddenly, I felt a sense of weariness. As if drawn by the threads of my prayer, my form was sucked into somewhere.
Dark yet warm space.
Eh? Where am I?
Inside the wife’s belly?
I have reincarnated.
As a girl.
#
Pashtel Love Craft.
The name makes me think of the founder of cosmic horror.
It doesn’t matter. It says Love and Craft. Don’t read it menacingly.
Rather, Love fits well as her middle name.
Pink hair, pink eyes, kind, good-hearted, and positive.
If mentioning the gentle disposition after the physical description seems like self-flattery, then it’s correct. But it’s the truth.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have an opportunity yet to show this fine nature to the world.
I had a loss of consciousness after reincarnation.
And after not regaining consciousness, thirteen years passed.
In a state of idiocy.
The young lady seemed to have a soul that had departed, relying on servants just to eat and sleep.
But thanks to the efforts around me, I had managed to grasp the basics of language and writing, which is fortunate. The feeling of comfort from my head’s stock of common sense is quite complicated.
But did this effort bring any rewards? Somehow, the family situation worsened. Very badly.
When the soul settled, the room was desolate.
Furniture and carpets were missing from the interior.
The unchanged patches on the floor indicated there were once furniture pieces, now all sold.
There’s neither warmth nor signs of activity.
Memories surfaced.
Mother passed away. The stepfather, who married into the family, sold off the family assets for his own profit.
I am the head of the family.
I, who was an idiot.
I, who was abandoned here.
My stomach growled.
“No, my happy life?!”
Pashtel clutched her head. Her pink hair flew in the wind.
Surely, I was supposed to start a less morally commendable but noble life instead of licking the shoes of a wealthy family.
But it ended before I could even taste it?
“My life…!”
I could’ve licked the shoes well.
It suited me.
Eeh.
She clutched her muddled mind.
Missing the chairman’s slush fund.
I wish I had gambled.
She moved to the window to get some air. As she opened the window, the winter wind slapped her face.
“Wowww.”
She extended her hand to close the window again. Sounds of commotion were heard from the ground. Huh? She poked her head out the narrow window.
An endless garden spread out.
But instead of the lush greenery and colorful flowers, the garden was muddy.
The plants were rotting and losing their colors. Here and there, black figures resembling animals or non-human entities were roaming.
Some of them noticed Pashtel and screeched. A sharp sense of hostility came closer.
Pashtel was stunned for another reason.
What happened to the family estate?
Biological threat?
This situation is perplexing for a modern person.
The screeching black non-humans rushed over. They leapt toward the high window. The screeches pierced her ears.
Startled, Pashtel quickly shut the window. She stepped back and observed the situation. The sound of falling and fighting continued.
She sighed in relief.
“Surely, it was a happy family.”
Mother passed away, the father turned out to be a marriage scammer. The mansion has become a mess, and I was abandoned as a child?
I should leave the room and ask a servant about the situation. Though I don’t know how to perform the duties of the head of the family, isn’t this, in the end, a matter of hierarchy?
She reached for the door out of habit but hesitated at an instinctive feeling of unease.
Could it be inside too?
She glanced through the slightly opened door.
A wolf emitting black aura was looking at her. Its slit pupils expanded. Its mouth opened wide, revealing sharp fangs.
Oh…
Hello, friend? Are we friends?
Wrong.
The wolf barked and charged. Black drool splattered.
Pashtel quickly slammed the door shut. In a panic, she locked the stick lock on the door. Simultaneously, the door shook from the impact. The stick rattled.
She stepped back, trembling.
She quickly scanned the room.
Weapon, weapon!
There was no furniture, just an empty space. The only things visible were the blanket covering her bed, and a piece of wood abandoned in a corner.
A piece of wood?
Pashtel swiftly picked up the piece of wood.
It was about the size and thickness of an arm.
Way too short.
When she swung it, a ‘swish’ sound rather than a ‘whoosh’ rang out. It felt like a concert cheering baton.
Can’t even catch a bird.
“Aah, totally useless.”
This isn’t a weapon!
She scanned the room again, but there was nothing else.
“Such bad luck.”
With no other choice, Pashtel gripped the piece of wood and aimed it at the door. While staring at the violently shaking door, she composed herself.
The cool air and even the dust’s movement disappeared into the background of her consciousness. Her nerves were on edge.
Suddenly, her eyes were drawn to the lock. The bar was shaking and making noise, but it remained intact. Tough.
Huh?
It doesn’t break? Isn’t it safe already? Do I need to fight with this cheering baton?
Pashtel maintained her tension as she watched the situation. Soon after, the wolf’s strength seemed to wane, and the door became quiet.
She waited some more, but there were no further changes.
She raised both arms aloft.
“Hooray for technological civilization!”
Victory for humanity!
She observed the door some more before moving towards the window. Modern humans use their minds, not their bodies.
Ignoring the perplexing garden, she looked towards the horizon where the sky met the earth. There were flying ships in the blue sky.
She observed them for quite some time. Several non-conforming flying vessels floated peacefully along varying routes.
“Of course. This troublesome situation is happening just to my house.”
So the task ahead is clear.
Pashtel threw the unreliable piece of wood away.
I’ll wait for rescue.
With my status, I shouldn’t be without external help for long.
She shook off the blanket she accidentally stepped on and draped it over her winter dress. Soon enough, the cold sensation subsided, and she felt less chilled.
Ah, thank goodness I at least have this blanket.
As her tension eased somewhat, she felt fatigue creeping in.
After blankly sitting and nodding off to sleep,
A long time passed.
The sole window’s light disappeared and reappeared. Sunlight illuminated the cold room.
A day has passed.
The rescue team did not come.
There were no similar disturbances.
Pashtel rose, clutching her starving stomach. The lowered body temperature caused by hunger made her fingertips numb, and she felt thirsty.
She picked up the piece of wood.
After searching the room, she noticed the rough joints of the stone floor. She placed the piece of wood on one and leaned on it with her weight. The wood scuffed a little.
She repositioned and leaned again.
Dozens of times, hundreds of times.
The wood gradually wore down, becoming pointed.
Like a wolf’s fang.
Let’s see who dies now.
