Chapter 405 - 343: I Have a Bad Guess

Chapter 405: Chapter 343: I Have a Bad Guess

’Who summons an ancestor to fight for them? And just the upper half, at that. Aren’t you afraid your ancestor would smack you first?’

Little Olga’s explanation prompted a string of silent complaints from Lloyd, though he did his best to sound tactful as he spoke aloud:

"Er... It’s fine. The upper half is already quite heroic and extraordinary. It offers a glimpse of his former glory."

Little Olga seemed very pleased with this compliment and immediately replied cheerfully:

"Haha, when we get back from this trip, I must invite you to my home. I’ll tell you all about my family..."

"No, no, no! Let’s not talk about that now! Hurry up and open the door!"

Lloyd quickly cut him off.

Little Olga didn’t know why Lloyd was in such a sudden hurry, but he still took his Walking Stick and tapped it lightly on the ground. The half-ancestor behind him raised the heavy Lance in its hands and smashed it forcefully against the iron door.

The iron door was already severely aged. Under the blow, it shattered into a pile of fragments, revealing a pitch-black spiral staircase behind it.

Lloyd probed again with his inspiration. He immediately heard a series of "+1, +1" notifications from his panel and offered a reminder:

"Hmm... There’s a bit of Spiritual Contamination, but it’s not strong. Are... you coming down with me?"

"Of course. How could a proper nobleman hide behind a friend?"

Little Olga struck a proud, uncompromising pose.

The two of them then began to descend the spiral staircase step by step.

Although it was pitch-black and gloomy, the darkness posed no obstacle for the two Extraordinary Beings. They could clearly see all sorts of miscellaneous items scattered on the stairs: loose papers, small devices of unknown purpose, and someone’s personal belongings.

Other than being ancient to the point of seeming out of place, nothing seemed particularly wrong. At least the papers weren’t some virulent Forbidden Knowledge; maybe they were just simple forms?

’However, judging by the hasty mess, some terrible accident must have occurred here, causing the people who were once here to flee in a panic.’

’There’s no telling what strange things might be lurking deeper inside...’

Lloyd and Little Olga both tacitly understood this. They simultaneously slowed their pace, advancing carefully one step at a time until, after three full turns around the spiral staircase, their feet finally touched level ground again.

Then, from the surroundings that should have been dead silent, they heard a faint, rustling sound and a low muttering.

Following the sound, they saw a writing desk. A withered, human-shaped skeleton was sitting beside it, its bare white skull lolling on its shoulder. It held a bare quill in its hand and was writing furiously.

It was also constantly muttering something in a language incomprehensible to modern people.

The Book of Truth in Lloyd’s mind immediately began to flip through its pages, helping him translate what the figure was saying:

"Uncle... inheritance... money... vacation... resign..."

As it muttered, the skeleton temporarily stopped writing. Then, a new and delicate sheet of paper floated up on its own, folded itself into a letter, and fell into a nearby mailbox.

The mailbox, which also looked new, began to shake. After two seconds, it fell still, awaiting the skeleton’s next letter.

Seeing this, Lloyd finally understood where the "uncle" with many nieces and nephews came from...

’This skeleton must have been an employee here in life. Judging by the setup on the desk, probably an ordinary clerk in the mailroom. She might have genuinely had a rich uncle who was going to give her an inheritance, and she had already arranged her vacation and planned to resign.’

’Unfortunately, it never managed to resign. It was trapped here forever before it could ever receive its inheritance...’

’That’s why all the letters it sends are about an uncle and an inheritance, and they aren’t very tempting. To this day, it’s still just an ordinary skeleton that refuses to rest in peace.’

’Objectively speaking, the poor thing’s story is quite tragic. Anyone who went through that probably wouldn’t be able to rest in peace...’

Little Olga didn’t need Lloyd’s analysis to piece together the story. He suggested,

"How pitiful. We should help it. At the very least, we can’t let it keep sending letters like this."

As he spoke, he prepared to have his half-ancestor take action again, but Lloyd quickly stopped him.

"Let me handle it. This is part of my job, after all."

"Oh, right. You’re an Executioner..."

Little Olga didn’t try to compete with Lloyd for the "kill" and stepped aside.

Lloyd thought for a moment and decided to use his overt ability, the Veto Declaration, to send it on its way.

"In the name of Veto!"

Other than its ability to move, the skeleton had no power whatsoever and was hopelessly decayed. A light tap from the Veto Declaration was all it took to shatter it into a pile of bone dust.

But the panel didn’t display a corresponding notification for Madness Value.

The next second, the bone dust seemed to come alive again, re-forming into the rickety skeleton. It went back to writing its letter, seemingly unbothered by Lloyd’s rudeness.

"Hm? That’s a little strange..."

"Let me try."

Little Olga said, calling upon his ancestor to act after all.

The result was the same. The ancestor’s Lance strike shattered not only the skeleton but the writing desk and mailbox as well. Yet, they all returned to their original state in an instant.

"They... seem to be solidified in this state by some kind of power? Forcibly frozen in this condition?"