Yulia screamed in panic and stepped back.

"Yuria, hey, get out of the way......!ah~~~!It's all your fault, you're dead!"

As a result, Yulia impartially falls into the arms of Chiya, who is playing a game next to her.

"Miss......"

"What's the matter, all of a sudden, that kind of scream? Hey, did you see a ghost or something?"

She reached out and put her arm around Yuria's shoulder. With the help of this sofa, Chiya successfully completed this impossible princess hug.

In addition, the number of people who heard the noise became more and more crowded, and even Naia and Verian gave up the game and gathered. It seems that they are more curious about why Yuria panicked like this than in the game.

"Yuria?"

"Over there...... on the windowsill There is a shadow ......"

After hearing Yuria's staccato words, Airi immediately walked to the window next to her, still holding the broom tightly in her hand.

Yuria, who had straightened up from the sofa, also returned to her usual sitting position at this time. The girls gathered around the sofa where Yulia and Chiya were sitting, and the scene was vaguely tense.

Miss Airi waved her hand back and forth through the window for a long time.

"Yuria, come here. Although the shadow you spoke of is gone...... Still, something is wrong. ”

“？！”“！”“......！”“~~！”

Instead, the wide-eyed girls invariably took a breath.

Airi looked at this side with a visibly serious attitude. She pointed to a dimly lit snowfield outside the window:

"Is the shadow you saw earlier over here?"

“............”

"There's no need to be afraid, I'm here. I'll protect you. ”

“...... Well. As soon as that 'thing' noticed me, it slipped away. ”

For some reason, Miss Airi's assurances were particularly convincing.

"Yes. ”

Airi, whose expression became more solemn, nodded.

"Look there. ”

Yulia timidly followed the direction of her finger and looked into the snow.

"Huh?!"

"You read that right...... Before, there were indeed people there. As for who...... I don't know. ”

Although the snow was falling again outside, the footprints on the snow were still very clear.

Yulia always felt goosebumps on her body.

――――

"That...... Why did you come out with you?"

"As your master, it is necessary for me to ensure your personal safety. ”

"I'm the caretaker of the mansion......! I want to supervise the whole process when I go out at night!"

"Naia came out first!"

"It's obviously my aunt who is trembling with fear, so I'm the first to come out!"

“......”

That's the way it is.

The eldest ladies pushed each other and hugged each other's bodies tightly. It looks like a strange creature with four heads and eight arms.

"If you're afraid, you can actually wait in the mansion......"

"Huh?!If the ghost comes in, won't it—"

The scene was silent, and even Miss Airi glared at her. Verian, who seemed to have slipped her mouth, kept bowing her head and apologizing.

It seems that the ideas of each of the eldest ladies are not far from each other.

"Demons don't have footprints, so, so, that...... It must not be!ahhahaha~"

"And if it was really a ghost, Yulia would have been possessed a long time ago-"

“......”

“......”

This time, even Miss Airi took two steps back.

Suddenly, she was focused by the girls with strange eyes, and Yulia wanted to cry without tears.

"I'm not a ghost!!, and you've been saying this kind of thing since you just started, aren't you really afraid!"

“............ Yes, too. ”

"Sorry, Yuria, it's us talking too much. ”

The girls' eyes returned to the clear footprints in the snow.

The footprints appear in front of the window out of thin air. Judging from the imprints, the person suddenly turned in a direction that could not be seen from the inside of the mansion, that is, he ran towards the main entrance.

However, after a few steps, the footprint was gone. And, as far as the yard could see, no other footprints could be found.

"Wow, ah~~!"

Vellian suddenly screamed.

"No, don't look at me! Look at the ice figurines that Naia and I spent hours making!"

Although there were some strange words that only otaku people would use, everyone turned their eyes to it.

"Oops. ”

"Wow. ”

"Well. ”

Perhaps because of the limited lighting inside the mansion, everyone didn't even notice the snowman they made together during the day.

The PSP ice sculpture was unscathed. However, the magical girl ice sculpture standing next to it is ......

It's miserable.

Yulia couldn't even bear to look at it anymore.

The head of the ice sculpture had fallen to the ground in pieces. The magic wand is only half cut down. A small half of the body collapsed in the snow, and all that was left was the delicate ice sculpture holding a half-wand with its body cut open.

"It's too cruel, it's too cruel......!"

Filiena couldn't help but murmur under her breath.

"Yes!"

"It's too much!"

"You must seize and give a good education!"

It seems that this matter seems to have reached an agreement among the girls.

In this case, the suspect's route to break into the mansion has been clarified. ”

Airi, who knocked on the ground with a broom pole, gave a final summary.

"First of all, the suspect jumped in front of the window on the top of the ice doll made by the head of the school director and Miss Naia. ”

"Huh?!That's not an ice doll!"

“...... Well, the ice doll—"

"It's not—"

"--Alright, Naia, shut up, and listen to Airi first. ”

Chiya forcibly covered Naia's small mouth with her hand, as if she wanted to say something more.

"The suspect should have wanted to spy on the distribution of people inside the mansion through the window, trying to sneak into the mansion by taking the opportunity. However, maybe it's because I saw that it was obviously this time, but there was still a group of game-obsessed ladies below, so it should have caused some trouble. I have to say, Yulia - your trick worked. ”

Huh?

I feel that the maid who is wielding a broom pole and giving an impassioned speech now looks like a detective in the animation is reasoning boldly.

No...... Airi probably wouldn't watch that type of anime.

However, the suspect sensed that Yulia had been discovered and panicked about fleeing. Here's the problem. ”

She excitedly pointed with her broom to the last footprint that was close to this side.

"Why did the suspect's footprints disappear over here? I think the suspect must have arrived here—"

The broom pointed over the porch where the maidens stood.

I see.

It's a good vehicle indeed, and although it's obviously very demanding, Yulia has no doubt that Airi, who has extraordinary physical qualities, can easily do it.

Running helplessly on the spot and jumping on the top of the porch three or four meters high, Miss Airi would not find it difficult for a normal human to do so.

And that suspect, I'm afraid, also has quite excellent physical conditions. (To be continued.) )