QHIM chapter 53- Fake Ghost

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The kettle sitting above the fireplace began to whistle loudly. Glaring at Jerome in silence, I clenched my fist.

It seemed to me that Jerome was purposefully creating these tense situations just to see how I would react.

Like an orca toying with a penguin, he seemed to enjoy watching me squirm in fear.

‘That’s why I can’t let him win.’

To show that I wasn’t intimidated, I deliberately raised my chin slightly.

“Sacreans believe showing their bare body to others is an immense shame. That’s why I don’t even let the maids help me bathe.”

“Am I just ‘others’ to you?”

“Until we’re officially married, yes. You could always change your mind and like someone else.”

I tried to sound nonchalant, but the slight tremble in my voice revealed my fear of losing my dignity.

Jerome, who had been staring at me with amusement, reached out to play with a lock of my hair.

“You always wear your fear on your sleeve. But with that attitude, you won’t be able to persuade anyone.”

“…”

“It doesn’t matter who you’re negotiating with. Don’t laugh, don’t cry, and don’t tremble. Try again.”

I couldn’t tell if he was about to ravish me or giving me a job interview prep.

Desperately searching my brain for an excuse, I quickly blurted out.

“There’s only one situation where a Sacreans would show their bare body. It’s when they’re sure they want to be with that person forever.”

“…”

“Wouldn’t you want to see when I willingly undress in front of you? If you mess that up, you’ll lose the chance forever.”

Was this how Scheherazade felt as she told stories to survive for a thousand nights?

Silently impressed with my own quick thinking, I watched as Jerome took another step toward me.

His hand reached out, and I shut my eyes tightly in response.

A soft chuckle echoed through the air.

“Anyone would think I’m about to eat you.”

When I cautiously opened my eyes, Jerome was holding the book I had been looking at earlier.

I let out a sigh of relief.

I promised myself that when I retired, I’d write a book titled ‘How I Kept My Virginity Intact.’

Smack.

Just as I relaxed, Jerome leaned down and kissed my forehead.

Holding my forehead, I slowly lifted my head to look at him. His eyes curved into a playful smile.

“Idiot. Never let your guard down.”

“You jerk…”

Just as I was about to grab his collar in anger, the pages of the book in Jerome’s hand started flipping rapidly.

His smile faded as the pages flung open, and a thick laughter echoed from the book as something large emerged.

[Who dares to be so indecent in my house?!]

A ghost burst out from the pages, swirling around me and Jerome.

Startled, Jerry puffed up his tail and dashed into a corner.

The ghost, after flying around for a while, suddenly recognized Jerome and greeted him warmly.

[Oh, Jerome! Haha, you seem a bit taller now. But who’s the girl next to you? Could she be your fiancée?]

He had a burly physique and a thick beard, looking like a Viking who had sailed the open seas.

He muttered in surprise.

“Could it be… the Great Sage Maron?”

At my words, the ghost’s eyes widened, and he shrugged his shoulders.

[Oh, it’s been a while since someone called me by that title. Yes, you’re right. My name is Maron. Back in the empire, even just mentioning my name made monsters wet themselves.]

As Jerome yawned, clearly bored, Maron shot him a glare.

Now it made sense how Jerome knew about Maron.

‘Jerome knew the location of the mana stone. He also knew the spirit of the Great Sage Maron was here. That means… he didn’t bring me here for personal reasons.’

It was a bit embarrassing to have misunderstood him as some lust-driven bastard.

Now that I think about it, Jerome was always a bit crazy, but when it mattered most, he had a knack for making decent decisions.

I glanced at Jerome, tilting my head in curiosity.

‘He really does think fast. Could it be true that he was top of his class at the academy?’

Maron had likely used some magical method to trap part of his soul in the book.

As I stood frozen in shock, Maron looked around at me with interest, stroking his beard.

[But… you’ve got something quite peculiar. A Maya pocket watch? That’s one of the rarest relics from Maya.]

Maron’s eyes sparkled, clearly intrigued by a new subject.

Worried, I quickly brought up the divine beast.

“Maron, have you ever heard of the divine beast of Maya?”

After I explained everything in detail, Maron, who had been listening silently, nodded with a serious expression.

[Hmm, I see. Hold on a moment. There’s nothing in this world that Maron doesn’t know.]

Looking full of himself, Maron began rifling through the bookshelves.

While I was thrilled by this unexpected discovery, Jerome seemed unimpressed.

“You finally found a great source of information, so why the long face?”

“I’m bored. I’m starting to not care about this divine beast of Maya stuff.”

“This is all because of you!”

I shouted in frustration, and Jerome patted me on the shoulder.

As he slyly tried to intertwine our fingers, I quickly smacked his hand away.

“Really?”

“Don’t cling to me.”

“You’re doing all this because of me?”

Of course, no one hates physical contact, but Jerome always went overboard.

Sometimes I wondered if he had separation anxiety.

Jerome finally grabbed my hand, mumbling darkly.

“How can even your nails be so pretty and pink, my wife…?”

If he were a dog, at least I could take him on walks to wear him out.

But this madman, who could go days without sleep and still be energetic, left me clueless about how to deal with him.

Just as I was clutching my throbbing forehead, Maron approached me.

[Here, don’t be too shocked. This is the ecological map I recorded myself. I’ve documented every monster and divine beast.]

Maron unfurled a parchment into the air.

Just as he said, the ecological map illustrated the monsters and divine beasts that appeared in each territory.

[You know that the Kaisar Empire’s land is divided into five regions, right? The capital in the center, the western desert lands, the northern snowy fields, the southern ports, and…]

“The grasslands of Sacre, right?”

Of course, even I, the author, knew this much. Just like how Bermut’s mind was corrupted by the heretics, in the original story, the divine beasts also had their minds corrupted, causing them to harm humans.

That’s why Carlisle and Luke formed an expedition with the best people they could find, and the second part of the story centered around their mission to eliminate the corrupted divine beasts. Nervously biting my nails, I thought to myself:

‘This is also why I need to find the divine beasts as soon as possible. If Carlisle and Luke eliminate the corrupted beasts, it’s over. I won’t be able to retrieve the Maya Stones from the beasts.’

Noticing my growing interest, Maron’s face lit up.

[That’s right! Judging by your hair color, it seems you’re from Sacre as well. Anyway, while investigating the monsters in each region, I discovered something peculiar. There are legends passed down in each territory.]

Maron raised his chin as if he was about to start a serious explanation.

Watching him, Jerome abruptly grabbed the book.

“So, this must be the map. Thanks, Maron.”

[What? Y-you insolent brat! I’m not finished yet…!]

Before he could finish, Jerome slammed the book shut, and Maron, screaming in rage, was quickly sucked back into the pages. I asked, looking a bit uneasy.

“Are you sure it’s okay to just leave him like that?”

“He’s the one who calls himself the spirit of knowledge. And he loves showing off so much that if we let him talk, we’d be here all night.”

“Well, at least it’s good news.”

I rolled up the ecological map and tied it tightly.

Now that I knew the location of the divine beasts, it felt like only a matter of time before I collected all the Maya’s Stones.

A satisfied smile crept onto my face.

“Now that we have the map, we can finally find the divine beasts. This is great; I was starting to feel overwhelmed about what to do next.”

As I chuckled quietly, I felt someone’s gaze and looked up.

Jerome was staring at me with a murderous expression.

“…Why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re too cute.”

“…”

“I want to crush you… like you’d crush a potato with your fist.”

There was no point in responding to his nonsense. Standing up, I let out a big yawn. It seemed like we’d be spending the night here.

“I’m tired. I’m going to wash up and sleep.”

“I’ll wash you.”

“That’s depressing. Jerry, before I end up accidentally killing your master, could you show me to another room?”

Meow!

Jerry led the way, as if telling me to follow.

Exhausted, I dragged my feet after him but suddenly felt a chilling stare.

Sure enough, Jerome, the most dangerous person in the room, was smiling innocently at me.

I gave him a low warning.

“In case you were wondering, if you come into my room uninvited…”

Halfway through, I stopped.

What’s the point of threatening someone who’s immune to death threats? Thinking hard about how to scare him, I threw out a suggestion just to see.

“You’ll be sleeping in a separate room forever. Got it?”

For the first time, the smile disappeared from Jerome’s face.

Judging by his reaction, it seemed like this one hit the mark.

Smiling with satisfaction, I left.

Tonight, I felt like I could finally sleep peacefully without Jerome.

…Maybe.

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