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Chapter 9
The white lump curled up motionlessly at the edge of Calid’s bed looked as if it were sleeping.
Unlike the messy state of the room, it seemed incredibly peaceful and quiet.
As Calid rested his chin on his hand and watched it, he suddenly remembered the transparent white woman he had seen a few days ago.
They looked completely different, yet somehow they felt similar.
Was it just his imagination?
That ridiculous thought made him let out a small laugh, and perhaps because the white lump had woken up, it suddenly hurried toward him in panic.
Watching it carefully, it almost looked as if it was checking whether Calid was safe and no longer in pain.
“Why are you here?”
Perhaps it never expected him to speak to it.
The busy-moving white lump instantly froze and seemed to be trying to understand the situation.
“I’m talking about you. White lump.”
When Calid pointed directly at it, the white lump jumped in shock and began panicking.
Yes. That white lump clearly understood every word people said.
At last, Calid admitted that fact.
“Why are you so surprised? Didn’t you already know that I could see you?”
Although Calid had pretended otherwise until now, he had already realized why the white lump kept following him around.
No one else could see it.
Only he could.
Even though it had once threatened him with a flying sword and knew he found it annoying, the white lump still stubbornly followed him around, asking to be noticed.
For some reason, he could not hate it or get rid of it.
Because somehow… it reminded him of his younger self.
And after the white lump had stayed beside him all night while he suffered, he could no longer keep ignoring it.
“From now on, I’ll acknowledge you. So stop poking and bothering me for no reason.”
The white lump tried to act calm after hearing his words, but the way it bounced slightly made it seem strangely happy.
“Well, I guess I can think of it as raising a pet monster.”
If Irene had heard those quiet words, she probably would not have been so happy.
It was a strange peace agreement that arrived one month after Calid and Irene began living together.
“Your Highness, are you already feeling better?”
Because of the danger of Calid’s unstable mana going out of control, the main castle was arranged so that only a minimum number of people stayed during the day, while Calid remained alone at night during this period.
That was why Irene could not find anyone the previous night.
After receiving Calid’s message, Sebastian hurried from the annex back to the main castle and carefully checked Calid’s condition.
“Yes. My mana has stabilized, and my condition feels very good. It’s hard to believe something even happened last night.”
“This time your mana stabilized much faster. Especially the pain seems lighter as well. Perhaps the herbs you’ve been drinking all this time are finally working?”
“Who knows….”
Calid quietly thought back on last night.
What had been different compared to all the other nights when the full moon appeared?
‘As usual, my mana started becoming unstable in the evening. By dawn, all I could do was suppress it to prevent it from going berserk. Then suddenly, the raging mana began calming down. But when exactly did that happen…?’
As he recalled the night, there had definitely been a moment when his mana strangely began stabilizing.
But while enduring the pain and using all his strength to suppress his mana, it was difficult for Calid to figure out the reason.
Like always, the pain alone had been overwhelming enough to burn away all his senses.
‘The only difference was that white lump being there…. Don’t tell me it has the ability to stabilize mana?’
Even while thinking that, Calid found it strange because he had never heard of a monster helping stabilize mana before.
‘That’s impossible. If anything, it should be the opposite….’
Calid considered the idea ridiculous.
“We’ll know if we keep watching. Whether my mana is truly stabilizing… or if this was only temporary.”
“I hope this is a good sign that your mana is recovering. I’ll continue bringing your herbal tea every day.”
Sebastian looked at Calid with hopeful eyes.
After that incident, Calid had suffered from insomnia, headaches, and unstable mana whenever the full moon appeared.
Having watched him suffer from the side all this time, Sebastian could not help feeling hopeful at the possibility of Calid’s mana stabilizing.
But Calid himself held no expectations.
Ever since becoming the only survivor, giving up had become natural to him.
None of his wishes had ever come true.
He only gave a bitter smile.
As if noticing his mood, the white lump quietly approached his side.
As though trying to comfort him.
And because of that small presence, Calid’s heart stirred ever so slightly.
After that, the relationship between Calid and Irene rapidly became closer.
Just as he promised, Calid occasionally spoke to the white lump that followed him around.
“No matter how I look at it, you seem worse than a slime….”
Sometimes the people around him would stare strangely at Calid after hearing him mutter things like that.
‘A slime? You mean those soft squishy things? I used to hunt tons of them in games…. No matter what, how can I be worse than a slime?! I have ghost pride too!’
Watching the white lump repeatedly puff up and shrink in anger, Calid let out a quiet laugh.
“Fine. Then I’ll say you’re slightly better than a slime.”
‘No! Not “I’ll say”! I AM better!’
Even though they could not truly communicate, somehow Calid could still understand the white lump’s feelings.
‘Is this what people mean by bonding with a pet?’
Calid felt as though he had unexpectedly discovered a new talent.
‘What you just said would offend one million ghosts around the world….’
Watching the white lump bounce beside him, Calid smiled like a grandfather proudly watching his cute grandchild.
Meanwhile, the aides and retainers could only exchange confused glances.
‘Is there something there?’
‘No, I can’t see anything. Can you?’
‘I don’t see anything either….’
‘…….’
‘Something is wrong with His Highness!’
Completely unaware of what the people around him were thinking, Calid spent another day in his office as usual.
‘Calid, but why do you keep calling me a lump? What kind of name is “lump”? That sounds weird….’
Irene complained about how carelessly Calid addressed her.
“Hm…. You seem dissatisfied about something.”
‘Exactly! How can you call a person a lump? I have a proper name! Irene!’
Irene tried hard to explain her name, but Calid only wore a vague expression.
‘Ah, right. You can’t hear me. Since you react to me so well, I keep forgetting that you can’t actually understand what I’m saying.’
Grumbling to herself, Irene floated over beside Calid.
“So you’re done being angry now?”
‘It’s not really anger-. It’s just that your way of calling me is way too careless.’
Feeling slightly embarrassed for getting worked up over something so small, Irene shifted her attention to the documents Calid was reading.
They contained reports about mutant monsters that had recently been increasing.
Fortunately, Irene could naturally understand and read the language of this world.
Maybe this was one of the benefits of reincarnation.
‘Mutant monsters? Come to think of it, why does everyone keep calling me a monster?’
Whenever people talked about her, there was always one common word.
Monster.
‘Wait. White lump, monster. They even said I was a new kind. Umm…. Don’t tell me this world doesn’t even have the concept of ghosts?’
If Irene’s face could actually be seen, her eyes would probably have been shaking violently in shock.
Of course, to others she was only a pale white lump.
‘What the…. Then do I not even have a proper form? Instead of a human-shaped ghost, do I look like Casper or something?!’
Irene remembered the ghost from a movie she had seen in her previous life.
A round white body with eyes, nose, mouth, and tiny arms.
‘Oh my god…. So I look genderless too….’
In truth, Irene’s appearance looked slightly different from the ghost she imagined.
To Calid, she looked more like gathered dust or a clump of smoke.
But Irene did not know that.
Even just realizing this much was already shocking enough for her.
‘But then why does he call me a lump? Is it just because I’m white and round? Hmm… if they don’t know what ghosts are… then I guess… I could look like some strange new monster…?’
Irene tried her best to understand Calid’s reaction generously.
If this world truly had no concept of ghosts, then perhaps her transparent white form naturally looked like some unknown new monster.
Still, she could not help feeling depressed after realizing what she looked like.
Calid became confused when the white lump beside him suddenly drooped sadly.
One moment it was angrily throwing a fit by itself, the next it calmed down, and now it suddenly looked depressed again.
Watching it, Calid could not help sighing in frustration.
‘Hmm…. I think there was a book about pets in the library on the fifth floor…. I should read it sometime. Well, monsters and animals probably aren’t that different.’
Calid finally stopped what he was doing for a moment.
