โItโs decided that Marion will be cured.โ
โThe problem isโฆ I canโt meet Marion.โ
โChoco.โ
โYeah, thatโs right. Itโs troublesome that itโs contagious.โ
If it werenโt a contagious disease, my father would probably let me meet Marion.
โKyukyu?โ
โYeah, even if I convince him, itโs probably useless.โ
No matter how much I persuade him, my father wonโt allow me to meet Marion.
โHmm.โ
As I was discussing this with Daru, Carol, and Korko in the futon,
โWe should find out where they are.โ
Kuro appeared suddenly from beneath the bed, rising up like it was popping out.
โSpirits are really convenient.โ
Since Kuro isnโt a physical being, it doesnโt matter if itโs under the futon or the bed.
Moreover, Kuro was shining, so the futon became bright.
โWahoo.โ
It seems Daru was happy seeing Kuro.
Daru, excited, bit into Kuro.
Maybe Kuro tasted good.
โS-stop it, Daru! Youโll get me all slobbery!โ
โโฆโ
The area around Daruโs mouth was faintly glowing.
โDaru, spit it out. Spit it out.โ
โโฆNbe.โ
Reluctantly, Daru let Kuro go from his mouth. With a squelch, Kuro fell to the floor.
Kuro was covered in Daruโs saliva.
โHow does that work?โ
It was a mystery how Daruโs physical saliva could stick to Kuro, a non-physical entity.
โAlso, how does the light work?โ
โItโs not physical light, so itโs still dark to others. They canโt see it.โ
Kuro was wiping off the saliva with Daruโs fur.
โWhoa. Thatโs amazing.โ
Itโs really convenient. I wish we had a Kuro in every household.
Well, though, if you canโt see spirits, you wouldnโt be able to see Kuroโs light in the first place, so it wouldnโt really help.
While I was thinking about that, Kuro stood up on two legs, puffing its chest.
โCan you stand now? Oh, you can stand because you can fly.โ
The fact that Kuro can fly means it can maintain its posture without needing to use its legs. It might be natural for Kuro to be able to stand.
โMore importantly, I heard everything!โ
โDid you hear? What should we do?โ
โAsk my friends, the spirits, to investigate Marion.โ
โHuh?โ โWoof?โ โKyuu?โ โKo?โ
Everyone except Kuro, including me, was surprised.
โYou have friends?โ
โWhat do you think I am?โ
โWell, spirits arenโt good at recognizing peopleโs faces.โ
Spirits arenโt human, so itโs only natural theyโre bad at recognizing peopleโs faces. Even humans struggle to identify the faces of goats they donโt live with. Itโs the same thing.
And besides, it seemed that Kuro didnโt have any friends other than other spirits.
โItโs okay! Iโm great! Rulia-sama!โ
Spirits had gathered inside the futon without me noticing.
The glowing spirits made the inside of the futon as bright as daytime.
โNo matter how you think about it, this is not okay.โ
โEh? Thatโs not true.โ โIโm fine.โ โPet me!โ
I stroked the fluffy spirits.
โEven if you tell them, spirits who donโt know Marion wonโt be able to identify her.โ
Even if I give them information like her age, gender, and height, the spirits wonโt be able to pinpoint Marion.
โAnd I donโt think these guys will be able to find Marionโs house.โ
Spirits that had been with us every day might be able to recognize Marion, but on the other hand, they might not be able to find her house and get lost.
โWe can do it!โ โWeโre great!โ โKyaa!โ
The spirits were saying so, but they were all as immature as Daru. If they got lost, there was a high chance they wouldnโt be able to come back. If that happened, the young spirits would likely be scared and cry. It would be sad.
โDonโt worry. Iโm not a spirit.โ
โHuh?โ โWoof?โ โKyu?โ โKo?โ
โEh?โ โThatโs a lie!โ โPick me up!โ
No one had expected Kuro to have non-spirit friends.
I lay on my back, holding the fluffy spirits in my arms.
Daru, Korko, and the spirits all huddled closer, sharing warmth.
โKyaa!โ
The spirits seemed happy, and I was glad for that.
โWho are Kuroโs non-spirit friends?โ
โTheyโre my guardian beast.โ
โWoof?โ
Daru, confused, asked what that meant.
โDaruโฆ Youโฆโ
โWoof?โ
Kuro looked at Daru with an exasperated expression.
โI donโt know either. Whatโs a guardian beast?โ
โWoof woof.โ
Daru happily licked my face, as if agreeing.
โIt canโt be helped. Iโll start by explaining what a guardian beast is.โ
โPlease.โ โWoof.โ
It seems that the reliable Carol and Korko already know about guardian beasts.
Thatโs the impression I got.
โGuardian beasts are beings that protect spirits from curse users.โ
โReally? Curse users?โ
โThere are evil beings called curse users who eat spirits! The guardian beasts defeat those curse users!โ
โScary!โ โWowโฆโ
Daru, too, was scared just like me.
โDaru, youโre a guardian beast too, you know? Why are you scared?โ
โWoof?โ
โYou donโt knowโฆ? Iโm amazed, youโre a guardian beast.โ
โโฆWoofโฆโ
I petted Daruโs head, which looked downhearted.
โItโs okay if you donโt know, Daru. Youโre just a baby!โ
โWoof woof!โ
Daru was saying, โIโm not a baby,โ but babies often say that.
โDaru is a baby, but itโs because you protect me that youโre amazing.โ
โWoof woof.โ
Daru wagged its tail happily, making the futon shake.
โWoof woof.โ
I felt like Daru was saying, โIโll protect you if a curse user comes!โ
โDaru. Itโs Kuro who protects. Rulia isnโt a spirit, so itโs okay.โ
โCurse users can also attack humans.โ
โEhโฆ?! Really?โ
โThey attack.โ
โScary.โ
โBark!โ
Daru again said it would handle the curse users. It made me feel reassured.
โAh! I forgot!โ
โWhat did you forget?โ
โYesterday, Kuro said weโd talk about gravity later!โ
โOh, right.โ
When I hesitated to strike the spirits during sword training, Kuro had said that spirits wouldnโt get hurt unless I used cursed power. Kuro had also said that the explanation about cursed power would take a while, so weโd talk about it later.
โYes, as Rulia-sama guessed.โ
Then Kuro began explaining about cursed power.
The power of curse users, who are the natural enemies of spirits, is cursed power.
The incident with the church of the one god in my past life, the attempted spirit killing, was carried out using cursed power.
โThatโs really scary.โ
โRulia-sama, with your strength, you can defeat curse users.โ
โWhy is that?โ
โBecause youโre half spirit.โ
โWhat does that mean?โ
What does it mean to be half spirit?
โHmm, itโs hard to explain, and even Kuro doesnโt fully understand, but thatโs how it is.โ
โIs that soโฆโ
โYes. Actually, right after Rulia-sama was born, the cursed power cast on Amalia was blown away.โ
โEh? On Mother?โ
โYes. Amalia had been cursed by a curse user and was about to die, but Rulia-sama broke the curse.โ
โโฆHmmโฆ Ah, was it that?โ
โThat?โ
โThatโฆ when I was just born, I saw a black mist around Mother.โ
The black mist had disappeared without me noticing, so I didnโt think much about it.
โAh, so you really did see it? Also, you remember it even though you were just born?โ
โI remember. Maybe itโs because I have memories from my past life?โ
โI see. So thatโs how it is.โ
โBut I didnโt do anything.โ
โNo, you saw it. Rulia-sama broke it.โ
โHmmmโฆโ
I didnโt remember doing anything, but since Kuro says so, maybe itโs true.
โIf I see that black mist-like thing, should I just dispel it?โ
โYes, thatโs right.โ
I donโt know how to dispel it, but if I was able to do it as a baby, then I believe I can do it again.
โNow, to the main topic.โ
โMain topic?โ โWoof?โ
Daru and I tilted our heads.
โThe main topic is asking Kuroโs friend, the guardian beast, to find Marion.โ
โAh, thatโs right.โ
I had been so surprised by the fact that Kuro has friends who arenโt spirits, and the terrifying story about curse users, that I had forgotten.