“Phoebe!”, Lucina jumped on top her sister, hugging her tightly. “It’s been so long! Why don’t you ever visit? Your big sister gets lonely, you know!”.

  “Lucy…! I’m a C-rank adventurer, you know! I’m very busy…”, Phoebe put up a token level of resistance only.

  “You’ve ranked up, too! I’m so proud of you!”, Lucina held her tighter. Phoebe’s face turned red. “I’m… really proud of you too, Lucy…”.

  Me and Jack stood awkwardly by the doorway. “Um”, Jack fidgeted. “Should we maybe use the back entrance, or…”. “That’d probably be tacky. Maybe we should just wait outside”, I argued. Jack nodded sagely.

  “A ghost!”, Lucina noticed me, and in a flash her sword was out. “[Holy Beam]!”. A wave of purely concentrated sunlight washed over me, and I died.

  Of laughter. “Hahahaha… oh, that tickles!”, I rolled across the air. A tickle attack! What an underhanded ability.

  “Wha… this can’t be!”, Lucina exclaimed. “That was holy magic! It burns the wicked!”.

  “Count Boogula is a friendly ghost”, Phoebe quickly explained. “It surprised me too, but he really doesn’t have any murderous grudges! He’s just… well, a little goofy”.

  It was like a friend had suddenly knifed me in the back before strolling away for breakfast. Goofy?! I was surely the most frightening ghost the world had ever seen! To smear my reputation so casually… these sisters were no joke!

  “I’m sorry sister, but he’s deceived you”, Lucina stared daggers at me. “There’s no such thing as a friendly ghost. They are undead abominations, things that shouldn’t exist. [Holy Beam]!”.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  “Ahahaha! Please, stop! I beg of you! Hahaha!”. I tried to fly away from her tickle beam, but she showed no mercy. “How… ahaha… how does it even burn the wicked, anyways? That doesn’t even make sense. What system of morality does it adhere to?”.

  The sword whimpered. Lucina patted it soothingly. “There, there. I trust you, Jeffrey”. She glared at me even harder.

  “Come on, Count Boogula. Introduce yourself”, Phoebe said through gritted teeth.

  “Fear me, adventurers! My name is Count Boogula, and I have come to eat your souls… Mwahahaha!”.

  “Boogula!”, Phoebe snapped. “Now is not the time!”.

  “But, she’s scared of me! Isn’t this wonderful, Phoebe?”, I displayed my wisdom and maturity.

  Lucina slowly stood up. “I have no idea why my [Holy Beam] doesn’t work on you. You are an incredibly powerful spirit, so perhaps that’s why. In which case, I’ll make you eat silver, demon”.

  “Mwahahahaha! You would dare challenge… me? Foolish adventurers! Prepare to join me in the afterlife! [Spooky Maze]!”.

  Phoebe rubbed her temples as if she had a headache. A pity she couldn’t fully enjoy the haunted delights I had prepared.

  “That was all your fault!”, she scolded me as we ran from the guild. Lucina was just a tad more hostile and powerful than I had thought. “Now my sister’s worried I’m teamed up with some kind of monster! I demand you apologize to her this instant!”.

  “COUNT BOOGULAAAA!”, we heard a voice bellowing in the distance.

  “Yeah, um, I’d love to stay and chat, but I’m just so busy”, I tried to block out the sound of the footsteps rapidly gaining on us. “So, toodles!”, a silver knife pierced the air where my head used to be as I ducked beneath the ground.

  Phoebe sighed. She had a lot of explaining to do.