Chapter 49: Living with Ghost

Ultear stared at Nate's last message, completely confused.

What did he mean by "your mom is watching too"?

Her mother had been dead for years!

Ultear fell silent, memories flooding back. When she was very young, her mother had sent her to a magic research facility where Ultear endured countless hardships. When she finally escaped and sought out her mother, she found her living happily with her apprentice, smiling and enjoying life.

Ultear resented her mother for abandoning her.

Afterward, she destroyed the research facility and joined the dark guild, Grimoire Heart.

Now, staring blankly at the chat window, Ultear hesitated before typing.

Witch of Pain: "I don't understand what you mean!"

A quick reply came.

Sigma Male: "In the cave on Galuna Island, I collected your mother's soul."

Sigma Male: "She told me she was deceived by the research facility."

Nate had twisted the truth slightly, leaving Ultear with a half-truth.

Ultear's expression changed. Could Nate really have collected Ur's soul?

"She's not dead?" Ultear muttered softly, her silk-draped shoulders slowly relaxing.

Back in the cave, she had been too distraught over Deliora's death to notice anything else. But now that she thought about it, if the forbidden magic 'Iced Shell' was melted down properly, the caster's soul could indeed be recovered.

After all, she herself knew how to use ice magic.

But how had Nate managed to keep Ur's soul from dissipating? And why did he know that Ur was her mother? Did Ur tell him?

Ultear took a deep breath, her mind growing more chaotic with every question. What did Nate mean by "deceived by the research facility"? She was dying to ask but hesitated, deleting her typed-out question.

Deep down, Ultear already had a sense of what it meant—she just didn't want to believe it.

Just then, another message appeared.

Sigma Male: "Want to talk to your mom?"

Witch of Pain: "Big sister is done with her bath and going to bed!"

After sending the message, Ultear closed her chat and sat in the bath, lost in thought.

---

Seeing Ultear's message about going to bed, Nate didn't believe it for a second.

"Your daughter seems to be having a hard time accepting it," Nate said, turning to Ur.

"..."

Ur didn't know what to say at first. Now that she knew Ultear was alive and had grown into an adult, she realized she had indeed been deceived.

Thinking back to everything that had happened, she felt overwhelming guilt as a mother.

"She must hate me now," Ur sighed. "I can't imagine what she's been through all these years… she must have suffered a lot."

"Why don't you explain everything to her yourself?" Nate suggested as he closed the chat window. "I don't know what happened between you two, but I can help you set up an account."

"Can I? Even though I'm a ghost?"

"Of course."

Ur knelt down in gratitude, her posture formal. "Thank you, Nate!"

"No need to thank me. Just help me manage the internet properly later."

Nate smiled. After all, her daughter had generously sent him some personal photos, so this was a small favor in return.

"Anyway, let's get started on teaching you how to manage the internet."

---

The next morning, Nate woke up and noticed that Ur had somehow ended up in his bed. She was now lying on the side near the wall.

"A ghost… sleeping on a bed," Nate muttered with a strange expression. Sharing a bed with a ghost? Too bad she wasn't alive.

Still, Ur and her daughter really did look quite alike.

As he was thinking this, Ur's eyelashes fluttered, and she opened her eyes. Seeing Nate already awake, she smiled and greeted him.

"Good morning, Nate."

"...Morning. But next time, don't sleep in my bed. I'm a healthy, adult man. Your behavior is making things difficult for me!"

Nate shook his head in exasperation. "By the way, since when do spirits need to sleep?"

"It's more like resting, not exactly the same as sleep," Ur explained with a light laugh. "Want a hug? I may be a ghost, but I can still give comforting hugs."

"Nevermind," Nate retorted, walking into the bathroom. After a quick wash, he prepared to head out.

Ur didn't need to wash up, of course. She had slept in her underwear, which, although it had no physical form, still got Nate a little worked up. Outside, she manifested her usual clothes—a pair of tight black jeans, a maroon tank top, and a jacket.

Naturally, these were conjured with magic, not actual clothes.

As they approached the guild, Ur returned to the deep web. Even in a transparent state, she didn't want to risk being noticed by Makarov.

Ur's spectral form reminded Nate of someone else—Mavis Vermillion, Fairy Tail's first guild master. Their states were quite similar. The difference was that Ur didn't possess Mavis's immense magic power and had to rely on Nate's magic to sustain her, unable to stray far from him.

---

In the deep web, Ur tapped the void with her finger, and countless 0s and 1s formed an interface. Last night, Nate had helped her register an account and granted her administrative privileges.

After some basic learning, Ur was now ready to start working for Nate. But before that, she opened her profile.

Username: Ur

She had straightforwardly used her real name.

Taking a deep breath, Ur opened the search function, typed in Witch of Pain, and sent a friend request.

---

Meanwhile, Ultear had woken up early.

Dressed in a silk nightgown, she walked to her window and pulled back the curtains, letting the morning sun flood the room. Her device blinked with a notification. She frowned and opened the internet, finding a friend request waiting for her.

"It's not from Nate?"

She muttered, expecting the message to be from Nate.

She only had one friend—Nate.

But when she read the name on the friend request, her expression changed drastically.

Ur has added you as a friend…

Message: Ultear, I'm sorry. Please hear me out.

"Ur!?" Ultear muttered in shock. "Was everything that guy said true? My mom really isn't dead?"

If this was true, what did her mother have to say after all this time?

Ultear hesitated, conflicted, before finally biting her lip and pressing the accept button.

Wait…

Ultear suddenly realized a serious problem.

If Ur was really alive, then… had she seen all the private messages between her and Nate from last night?

A deep blush spread from Ultear's neck up to her cheeks, turning her whole face bright red.