Myths

"Rina?" Called Mrs. Anastasia as soon as she opened the library door. And as the maids said, it turned out that her daughter was indeed there.

Arina turned briefly, but she didn't answer at all. So while entering the room and approaching her, Mrs. Anastasia said again. "I heard you went home first. You should've said it to me though. Me and your father were worried."

"I'm not 3. I know my way home. " Arina replied coldly.

"..." Mrs. Anastasia could feel that her daughter's mood became even worse than this morning, but she still talked again. "Mm, but you've been here all the time? What are you reading?" Asked Mrs. Anastasia while peeking at the books lying in front of Arina.

And at first glance, it seems that all the books are mostly related to myths. 77 Mysteries in the World, 88 Odd things, even 99 creatures that you must stay away from.

"...Why are you reading all this?" Asked Mrs. Anastasia, a little confused.

"Just say ... I saw a ghost." Arina replied flatly.

She was actually sure that the reason that man didn't die must be because the high priestess healed him--or at most, resurrected him. But just in case, she also decided to check other myths in the book.

But because her mother didn't reply anything, Arina turned back to add again. "Yes, I'm a little out of my mind. So could you not bother me right now?"

"..." Mrs. Anastasia still couldn't say anything. But because she was still worried about leaving her daughter, she finally decided to sit next to her. "Mm, why don't you tell me more about it? I also know a lot of myths and ghost stories, you know."

Arina still didn't look interested, so her mother tried to persuade her again. "How about the walking dead, for example? Do you know, ghosts and walking dead are actually just the opposite?" She said again.

"If ghosts are usually in the form of spirits without physical bodies, the walking dead were oppositely in the form of a physical body without a soul in it. Different but same, same but different, right?" She said enthusiastically.

"Sounds intriguing. But that's not what I'm looking for." Arina replied, still not that interested. "Because the ghost I saw seemed to still have both physical and soul. Or at least that's what it looked like."

"Is that so…?" Thinking again, Mrs. Anastasia began to look for another story. "Then maybe that person didn't actually die?"

"...Sure. It must be just my hallucination." Arina replied bitterly. "If you're finished, can you please leave? Your crazy daughter wants to be alone."

"Wait, that's not what I said! I mean, maybe it wasn't a ghost that you saw, but some other creature that can't actually die."

"..."

"Can't actually die?" Arina repeated. "You mean like immortal?"

Seeing Arina went silent like that, Mrs. Anastasia began to look for books on the table. And she finally took one, titled Blessed Or Cursed.

"This, didn't you ever read this? There are actually many types of them, you know." Said Mrs. Anastasia again. "There are vampires who like to drink blood. Then there is also Ajin, a black monster that can turn into human form. And even some fallen angels are also said to exist. Lucian, if I'm not mistaken."

Arina did read myths like that, but is it really possible ...?

Arina briefly checked the pages that her mother showed and she finally replied. "So even though their heads are cut and their hearts are stabbed, they won't die?"

"Yeah, at least according to the book."

'The signs matched, but ...' Arina thought silently. "How could you expect me to trust this gibberish?!" She suddenly grumbled.

"What? Well, I mean, if you don't want to believe it, that's also fine." Replied her mother, confused with Arina's sudden rage.

"Tsk, this can't be…" Arina continued to grumble in annoyance. But when Mrs. Anastasia was confused seeing her daughter like that, she then realized that there was another book in front of Arina.

The Chronological History of the High Priest.

Mrs. Anastasia has been really careful not to push her daughter too much. But she now felt like she really needed to ask her the real problem. "...But Arina, who's the ghost you actually saw today?"

"...Nobody." Arina said while closing her book. "I'm going to go to my room. So please don't bother me again." She said, and finally she left the library.

================================

"Sei, sit down quickly. We need an emergency meeting." Arina said as soon as she entered her room.

"…" Sei doesn't really like hearing the word 'meeting'. But if her master had said so, she could only obey her in the end. So when Arina sat on the bed, she also sat on the floor.

And as usual, Arina took off her necklace so that her shadow could also come out. Because when she said 'meeting', it wasn't just Sei and herself who usually attended it. Arina also needs her shadow. So just like Sei, the cloud of smoke that formed Arina's exact reflection also sat on the floor.

This is why Sei doesn't like meetings! Because every time she sat next to that black monster, the goosebumps on her left cheek just couldn't stop shivering.

"So, when I saw that man wasn't dead, I originally had two theories." Arina started.

"The first is, that he hadn't died at that time and the priestess was the one who healed him. Or secondly, he died, but the priestess was able to revive him."

"I didn't think too much about other possibilities because I was too focused on the high priestess, but… What if that guy was the one who did it? That he might be not an ordinary human and just couldn't die in the first place?"

"...You mean like immortal?" Sei asked and Arina nodded. "Do people like that really exist?"

"I don't want to believe it either. But think about it, we even met some devils." Arina said and Sei immediately curled her lips bitterly. That was one of her worst memories as Arina's subordinate. "And Me! Everyone thinks that a dark magician like me is just a myth, right? But in reality? I'm here."

"…" Falling silent, Sei glanced timidly at the shadow next to her. And it's true. If all this is real, what else is impossible? It seems like at this point they really have to start believing all the myths.

"Plus, I already have too many doubts about the first two theories from the start." Arina said again. "I mean, he should be dead, right? We really stabbed him in the heart, right?" Arina asked, and her shadow immediately nodded in agreement.

"On the other hand, if the priestess was really the one who resurrected him, that also feels a little overboard." She added more. "Because according to history, no high priest and priestess was ever able to do that. So there is almost no way she can do that, right...?"

"That's why, the third possibility kind of makes more sense. That he was the one that wasn't normal..."

They were all silent for a while, but then Sei spoke again. "Then, what are you planning to do if that's true?"

Arina sighed softly. "I can't kill that priestess inside the palace. But since that guy is also in town, he might show up again if I try to do it outside too…"

"…" Sei didn't say anything, but then Arina replied again. "I know, right? I'm also curious about their relationship." She said while looking at her own shadow. "They seem to be trying to look like they don't know each other, but why? If they said they were just old friends or something, I don't think anyone would suspect them either."

"Tsk, you're right. It's a shame. If only they had said that, I could at least spread some rumours that they were having an affair or something." Arina grumbled again. "But if it's like this, I won't have any proof to even spread it. Damn it."

"…" Sei started to feel left out because Arina kept talking to her own shadow. But it turned out she looked back at her. "Well, the important thing for now is that I need to confirm those theories. So how about you go check it, Sei?"

"Huh? Y-You mean…?"

"Try killing that guy, and see if he could resurrect again."

Immediately feeling her heart dropped, Sei spontaneously prostrated herself in front of Arina. "I beg you, anything but that! You know I suck at field work!"

"Why? I don't think you're bad."

"Miss Arina, I beg you! Please!" Begged Sei again while burying her head more on the floor.

"..." Seeing her servant looking so scared, Arina started to think again. Because if she thinks about it, a mission like that is indeed a bit risky. She couldn't afford to lose the only right hand she had, so sending her directly to kill someone that could be immortal does seem a little dangerous.

"Well, I guess I could find another assassin anyway."

"Thank you very much!"

"Phew." Arina started to put on her necklace again, so it meant that their meeting finally ended.

And after her shadow started to disappear, she looked back at her maid. "Right, Sei, can you try checking my letters on the table? See if there's any invitation to a tea party." Arina said again.

"...I understand." Sei got up and walked closer to the table, but she was actually confused with that request. So while checking them, she then asked. "But why a tea party?"

"Because Olivia loves it. So if there's any, she will definitely come." Arina replied with a sarcastic laugh. "She knows a priestess in the palace, so maybe I can hear something from her."

And it turned out, Arina actually got a lot of them. So while checking the invitations one by one, she suddenly widened her smile again.

"I'm actually doubting it, but she still has that mark… So maybe I should check how good of a priestess she is."