If You're Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 72
“…Miss, what are you looking at? What are you talking about?”
He found Ruby, who kept looking at the top of his head and speaking, somewhat intimidating, but at the same time, he felt concerned.
Could it be that herbivores shouldn’t eat the sweet potatoes from this region? Maybe it was giving her strange hallucinations?
Various thoughts and worries kept popping up.
“It’s nothing. I just happen to have a knack for seeing things.”
“…What?”
Ruby decided to be honest with the servants who gave her the roasted sweet potatoes. There was really no reason to keep it a secret.
“So, the thing is, I have the ability to see spirits.”
The four servants just stood there, mouths agape, watching Ruby shrug her shoulders and speak.
Did that mean…
“T-there are ghosts here?”
The sight of the four burly servants simultaneously jumping up from their seats in shock was more amusing than expected.
Come to think of it, Ivan also found spirits frightening despite his large stature. Was it because they couldn’t see them? But that didn’t make sense to Ruby, who thought seeing them was even scarier.
“There’s a little spirit clinging to your neck. Seems like you treated him well when you were alive? Judging by how he still follows you and calls you ‘big brother.'”
All the servants froze like statues at her words.
One of them, managing to pull himself together, asked hesitantly, “D-did you say… my brother?”
“Yes.”
“H-how do you know?”
The servant’s squinted eyes quickly turned filled with sorrow. He soon began to share his story, tears streaming down his face.
“He was my younger brother, lost to an illness when I was a child. Sigh, back then, I was too young to do much for him. Still, even though I built him a grave and laid flowers every year, are you saying he’s still wandering around, Miss?”
‘I just wanted to watch my brother work a little longer, he’s been so strong since he was a little boy. I don’t think anyone can match my brother’s strength.’
Ruby looked silently at the brothers for a moment before speaking.
“Sometimes, children may not realize they’ve passed away, or they might want to look back at the world a bit more because their short lives leave them feeling unsatisfied.”
“Is that so? Could there be any other reason for wandering spirits?”
Superstitions tended to spread more easily among the lower class than the upper class. They waited with serious expressions for Ruby’s answer.
She glanced at the remains of the sweet potato skins she had eaten, then nodded.
“I know it’s not my place to pass these things around, but you’ve given me such a nice gift. It’s only fair to give back, right?”
“Yes, yes. Miss, you’re absolutely right.”
“It seems like there’s nothing to worry about with your brother. He looks perfectly fine. His soul color is very clear. No signs of corruption, emitting a natural and pleasant fragrance. His ears and tail are moving quite lively as well.”
‘Really? Am I growing well?’
“How can you tell?”
‘Ugh. Big sis, tell big brother I love him.’
Suddenly, a little spirit approached Ruby, grabbing her sleeve carefully, making a request. Familiar with the child’s behavior, Ruby remembered the younger siblings she had cared for in her village.
So, she did something she usually avoided. She asked for the spirit’s name. Just like granting spirits favors, it was something she was reluctant to do.
“What’s your name?”
‘My name?’
“Yes. Have you forgotten it?”
‘Nope. My name is Jack. That’s what I heard Mom gave me.’
“Alright, Jack.”
When she called Jack’s name, John, Jack’s elder brother and a servant on the opposite side, jolted upright.
He shed tears once again and muttered, “…That’s my brother’s name.”
“Jack says he loves you.”
“Sniff, sob….”
Soon, John burst into tears. The other servants, who were frozen in surprise, patted his back, each trying to console him.
