Chapter 14
“SOOO…WHY IS THIS SOFA in a place like this?” Mira asked, turning back to look at the shopkeeper.
It’d be quicker to ask him than it would be to speculate.
While wearing an anxious expression, the shopkeeper said, “Well, about that…” before beginning to explain.
The reason behind the sofa’s location was that both times it’d been sold in the past, it’d been returned to him within the next several days.
“As you can see, it’s in fantastic condition, and the design and color are quite soothing. It’s an exquisite piece that would look great in all kinds of places. It was also quite expensive, and our regular patrons bought it immediately upon us putting it up for sale,” the shopkeeper said, sounding like a salesman. That changed the very next moment. He now sounded as if he were telling some kind of ghost story. “But a few days after that, something…happened.”
Several days after purchasing the sofa, that same loyal customer had come to return it for a refund. The customers couldn’t relax because it constantly felt like something was watching them. The shopkeeper said that those selling antiques came across such things from time to time—haunted antiques.
“Shops like ours have our own dedicated clerics and exorcists, and so most of our pieces are purified.”
This world had concrete ways to deal with things like ghosts or other things relating to the occult. Depending on their skills, a mage might be able to do something about such an item.
But the shopkeeper said that the sofa was on a whole different level. Having been unable to purify it, their dedicated mage had even asked his masters for help. They ended up telling him there was nothing that could be done.
“But they said that they could feel something.”
So what exactly was possessing it? They weren’t sure of the cause, but it was quite clearly something otherworldly. The mage’s masters said that they’d encountered other cases with entities they couldn’t identify.
The two then suggested that the shopkeeper donate the sofa to the church, as the church had a warded room in which cursed items were stored. So long as it was there, it could rest peacefully.
“Hrmm… Those places are off-limits, right?” Mira knew about such places. She’d seen them quite a few times. Located beneath cathedrals in several large cities, they were used to contain unholy objects from all over the world and were often referred to as “holy dungeons.” Mira had visited these places while assisting Artesia, as they often contained quests for clerics.
However, the shopkeeper wasn’t willing to send it to a place like that…so he’d opted to put it in the corner where no one would notice it.
He believed that the day would surely come when he’d be able to get it purified.
“I see…” Mira interjected, thankful to the two masters.
The slight presence the two had felt was that of a furniture spirit.
The Spirit King said that furniture spirits were very inconspicuous spirits that didn’t make themselves known. They dwelled in furniture and quietly watched over those who lovingly used the furniture. That was how they existed.
“Do you usually send stuff to the church in cases like this? What do other shops usually do?”
The owner of Café Kraftbell Antiques loved antiques so dearly and was so concerned about them that he refused to lock them up alongside unholy artifacts. He had instead opted to put them somewhere out of the way. But what about other antique shops?
On asking him that, the shopkeeper’s face darkened slightly.
“Other places? Well… I’d like for them to hold out hope and look after them, but there are those that dispose of them. There are also those—and this is completely unacceptable—that hide those facts and ship them far away because it takes a considerable amount of money to entrust a piece to the church.”
Despite his love of antiques, he understood this from a business standpoint. But the shopkeeper sorrowfully explained how such situations were handled as if there wasn’t anything that could be done about it.
“I thought as much…”
Not knowing of their existence, people mistook furniture spirits for malevolent cursed spirits. That concerned Mira. Especially distressing was the thought that perhaps people had unknowingly disposed of things that contained spirits.
After a moment, with a look that seemed to say that she’d made up her mind, Mira asked, “Sooo…if I said I wanted to buy this sofa, would you sell it to me?”
She had resolved not to leave the furniture spirits to their fate.
“This sofa? But this is the one I once mentioned is hopelessly possessed. There’s no way I can sell it to you knowing that,” the shopkeeper said plainly.
Had he been an unscrupulous salesman, he would’ve undoubtedly talked about how loath he was to part with it before adding something like, “But if you really want it…” and then listed all its good points before selling it.
However, this shopkeeper had an uncommon sense of responsibility when it came to the goods he was selling. From a business standpoint, he ought to have been overjoyed at the prospect of selling such a problematic product. And yet, he wasn’t sure if it might be harmful in some way, so he flat-out refused to sell it.
At that moment, Mira saw just how kind of a heart he had. And while this was fortuitous, it wasn’t exactly what Mira had hoped to hear when she asked him.
“All right, but what about if I told you this was precisely what I’ve been looking for?”
Was he so intent on being forthright that he didn’t get the hint? She figured that at this point she’d rather see him get surprised when he realized it himself. With this in mind, she gave him a clear hint.
“Precisely what the Spirit Queen has been looking for…?”
Sure enough, the shopkeeper stopped for a moment and stared at the sofa before turning his gaze toward Mira. Doing this several more times, his eyes then opened wide as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard.
“What?! Is it true?! Does it… Does this sofa have a furniture spirit residing inside of it?! No… Those masters didn’t say anything about that… Aren’t mages able to see spirits? If there was a spirit dwelling in this sofa, then they shouldn’t have missed it…”
But his surprise only lasted for a moment. What Mira had said conflicted with what he knew of the situation, and so the shopkeeper began thinking deeply to himself as if puzzled.
He looks conflicted…
Judging from what the shopkeeper had said, Mira could understand why furniture with spirits residing in them ended up being dealt with the way they had been. It was the unfortunate impact of the general consensus that mages could see and speak with spirits. Surely, any mage worth their salt would be able to detect the presence of a spirit?
Even though it depended on just how skilled the mage was, things that weren’t spirits in their own right, like spirit blades, could also be detected. Mages being able to see spirits was regarded as common sense. Everyone thought so.
But in this case, that perception was quite harmful.
How must the shopkeeper have felt when, after calling in those two highly skilled mages, they weren’t able to detect any spirits, as they ought to have been able to, declaring instead that there was nothing they could do? After all, if two highly skilled mages hadn’t detected the presence of a spirit, who on earth would? Therefore, with nobody suspecting there was a furniture-dwelling spirit inside, he began coming up with other spooky scenarios to explain the issue. And that was how the sofa in front of her ended up the way it had. In the past, it likely would’ve just been thrown away.
After giving it quite a bit of thought, but being more confused than ever, the shopkeeper looked straight at Mira and said, “Is there really a furniture-dwelling spirit residing in the sofa?”
On his face was a look of such great anticipation and hope that it threatened to completely overpower his dismay. If what Mira was saying were true, then the way in which other antiques that found themselves in similar situations as the poor sofa would be treated would change drastically.
Furniture spirits were like manmade spirits—referred to as humankind’s kindly neighbors—in that they couldn’t be communicated with. But, to most people, this was just a minor detail. For a long time, manmade spirits had existed alongside their primordial spirit kin and made fine neighbors nonetheless.
“Hrmm, there is. My eyes can detect spirits clearly,” Mira said, nodding decisively as if to confirm the shopkeeper’s hopes. Then, to prove her point, she brought forth and covered her entire body in the pattern of the Spirit King’s blessing and began telling him the reason why.
Furniture spirits were incredibly inconspicuous. The reason she could detect them was due to having the Spirit King’s blessing and her connection to spirits. Perhaps owing to the incredibly persuasive effect those visuals had, the shopkeeper took her at her word.
“Oh wow! What a surprise! So it really is a furniture spirit! Ah, that’s fantastic. Thank you! I’m so glad to hear it. I really am,” he said toward the sofa, jumping up with a big smile on his face and tears in his eyes.
He really was glad that he hadn’t sent it to the church or to be disposed of it. If he had, he would’ve really hurt the kindly spirit. The shopkeeper then thanked Mira again, ecstatic that the sofa had been saved. He’d thought it was possessed by something supernatural, but it was just housing a furniture spirit! The shopkeeper was on cloud nine over this sudden turn of events.
“And so I’ll ask you one more time: Would you be willing to sell it to me?” Mira asked the shopkeeper, who’d begun affectionately squeezing the sofa’s cushions.
The shopkeeper turned around and smiled abashedly, as if just coming to his senses. With a smile across his entire face, he answered, “Why, of course!”
So how much would the sofa go for?
To learn that such antiques weren’t possessed by some hair-raising entity but rather had furniture spirits dwelling within… This knowledge would undoubtedly have a huge effect on the antique market. Once the knowledge spread, the price of all these previously undesirable pieces of furniture was sure to change dramatically.
With Mira having told him about this, the potential price of the sofa would leap. It would likely go for quite a lot.
Having thought it over, the shopkeeper proposed, “How does a million ducats sound?” with a serious look in his eyes and a soft smile on his face. For a piece of furniture, that price was ridiculously expensive.
But considering that it was an antique that had a spirit dwelling within and how much it must’ve cost him up until then, she could tell that he was letting it go for a steal.
“Hrmm, are you okay with that?” Mira ventured to ask. From a business standpoint, this was a perfect opportunity to rake in a huge profit. She questioned if he would pass up such an opportunity.
The shopkeeper quietly yet proudly nodded and said, “I most certainly am.”
“You rescued this sofa from being thought of as something dreadful. Not only that, you’ve given hope to every other piece suspected of the same thing. You’ve already done so much.”
With a congenial look on his face, the shopkeeper gently stroked the back of the sofa as if it were a beloved child. He then boldly proclaimed, “If it will help the Spirit Queen, then I’ll gladly let it go for the price I bought it for.”
Having decided to purchase the sofa, Mira stood in a space where a table and chair had been set, waiting for the shopkeeper, who’d gone off to get some documents for the sale. Even in this impromptu space, he’d displayed some small antiques to give the space a cozier vibe.
“Oh dear, thank you so much for waiting.”
It seemed he had been in quite a rush to prepare everything, as he’d come back in quite a hurry. The shopkeeper took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat-drenched brow. In his hands were a set of documents, and the sofa sat on a trolley behind him.
“All right, shall we get started on the paperwork?”
“Sure.”
Waiting for Mira to sit first, the shopkeeper sat down and quickly laid out one set of documents on the table. Then, doing just as the shopkeeper instructed, Mira went over the warranty, certificate of authenticity, and other documents before signing them.
A cheerful look appeared on the shopkeeper’s face, as if to say they were done with all the red tape. “Well, that takes care of the paperwork. From this moment forward, this sofa belongs to you, Spirit Queen!” he said with a truly exuberant smile. He then turned toward the sofa and added, “I certainly am glad.”
He looked almost as if he were giving away his beloved daughter at her wedding. Then the shopkeeper seemed to think of something, turning toward Mira.
“By the way, Spirit Queen. Would it be okay if I requested something of you?” He had an exceedingly serious look on his face, and his calm voice also belied a sense of urgency.
“Hrmm, a request? What is it?”
Considering this was a man who loved antiques more than anything else, it must’ve had something to do with how to take care of the sofa. At least that was what Mira thought. His request was both unexpected and totally obvious.
“I’d like a photo to commemorate the occasion!”
Aside from the set of documents on the table, there was also a large box. From this, the shopkeeper pulled out a camera-like device and looked at Mira with eyes full of anticipation.
He proclaimed, passionately, that today would be the day that forever changed the world of antiques. He said it was thought that nothing could be done about possessed antiques, and so they were shunned by those in his line of work. But from now on, that would all change, and such antiques would now have their time in the sun.
“I won’t say this about all of them. There are most certainly some pieces that have been sealed away by the church because they are dangerous. But those aside, I believe some of the furniture just had spirits dwelling in them and were sealed away mistakenly. Beginning today, and thanks to the words of the Spirit Queen, those pieces can be saved. If today isn’t a day worth commemorating, then I don’t know what is!”
From how impassioned the shopkeeper had gotten, it was clear that he felt very strongly about the subject. His words themselves were positively bursting with his love for antiques.
“Well, if you say so, then who am I to say otherwise?”
Knowing nothing about the world of antiques, Mira smiled to herself at the thought of how much he seemed to be exaggerating. And yet, she was extremely happy to think that she might be able to help the spirits that had been sealed away.
The shopkeeper informed her that he had another concern: whether or not he could persuade others of this. And so, he eagerly explained that he wanted to take a commemorative photo so that he might have proof that the Spirit Queen herself had attested to such.
“I see…”
If they took a commemorative photo, then they might be able to release those antiques and spirits who’d been unjustly regarded as haunted or supernatural, just as he said. Most importantly, they couldn’t leave spirits in such predicaments to their fate. If there was anything they could do to help, they ought to do it.
Having thought as much from the beginning, Mira said, “Hrmm, sure. We might as well,” and agreed to the commemorative photo shoot. It was for the poor furniture spirits’ sake, after all.
“Thank you so much!”
Overjoyed by Mira’s answer, the shopkeeper added that he’d take the photos right away. It certainly seemed like he intended to spare no effort on the photo shoot. He asked Mira to come back to the shop after a couple of hours. Moreover, she would even be paid a modeling fee.
Just as she was about to leave the antique shop, she saw something. On the other side of some beautifully displayed antiques, she saw a group of paintings all lined up next to each other. They were of all different sizes—small, medium, and large—and all so incredibly vivid that it looked like they might jump off of the canvas at any moment. What’s more, she could tell they were all painted with the same kind of brushwork, which made her think the same person had painted all of them.
“So is this the kind of thing he is into…?” Mira said, smiling as she looked at the row of paintings.
Perhaps whoever painted them was into painting young girls.
The girls in the paintings were depicted with a keen artist’s eye and impressive techniques. It would’ve looked fine if there were only one or two of such paintings…but because the entire space was filled with them, it looked suspicious.
“Well…it takes all kinds.”
Remembering his incredibly attentive demeanor, she decided to regard him as simply an antique-loving shopkeeper and resolved not to think any more of it.
Deciding to go outside while the shopkeeper was getting the photo shoot ready, Mira spoke with the Spirit King and the others about the spirits who dwelled in antiques. She told them of the plight of those spirits, and the Spirit King and Martel remarked that it certainly sounded sad.
Several thousands of years in the past, there were a chosen few who recognized those sorts of manmade spirits and cherished them deeply. But judging from what the shopkeeper had said, that kind of thing no longer seemed to happen. If that was still common knowledge, there would be no way someone who loved antiques as much as the shopkeeper wouldn’t know about it.
“Even the church has sealed away such objects without realizing it. Should they truly be close to that higher power, then they should be able to recognize us, even if we are faint… But from how things look at present, it seems the church has changed quite a bit,” muttered the Spirit King, who had lived for a very long time in a place far removed from the human world before he met Mira. It seemed there was nothing to be done about it.
“You’re right. Things certainly have changed. Not only the scenery but people as well,” Martel said, having seen the current state of the world through Mira’s eyes. “I wonder why.” She sounded rather down, unlike her usual coy and kindly self.
“Yes, why?” the Spirit King mused, then deciding to follow up by asking, “What do you think, Miss Mira?”
If neither the Spirit King nor Martel knew of such things, then there wasn’t much chance she would. Thrown off by having this question lobbed at her, Mira nevertheless did her best to answer him with the first idea that came to mind. “Maybe there aren’t as many devout followers anymore, or something like that?”
It was worth noting there was no basis for what she’d said. It was simply the impression she got when considering the history of people in the modern world. Surely, religious faith in this world where gods, spirits, monsters, and demons existed was fundamentally different from its equivalent in the modern world. But not being particularly involved with any of that, Mira couldn’t say for sure.
“Hrmm, faith declining, huh…? I don’t think so, but… I guess it could be that…”
Sure enough, the Spirit King wasn’t convinced. And yet, it seemed as if he’d struck upon something. The Spirit King muttered that he’d look into it later. It seemed he’d let her know more about it once he learned a bit more himself.
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