“Kyuu.”
“…Hah! Did it happen?”
That was close. I nearly fell asleep.
If Carro hadn’t warned me, I would’ve dozed off completely.
I glance over at Sara. Sara is sleeping peacefully.
“…Kuro.”
‘Did you call for me?’
Kuro appeared, sliding down from the ceiling.
I hug Kuro tightly and gently stroke him.
“Yes. I have many things I need to ask you, Kuro.”
‘You can ask me anything. Though, I’m not sure if I can answer everything.’
There are plenty of things I need to ask.
But first, I want to know about Marion’s condition.
“Is Marion… alright?”
‘She’s fine. The curse has been lifted, and Lady Luria’s healing magic has restored her physical injuries.’
“That’s good to hear.”
‘Now, it’s just a matter of waiting for her to recover from fatigue. I’m sure she’ll come to see you soon.’
That’s a relief. Sara will be happy, too.
I gently stroke Sara’s head. Her hair is soft to the touch.
“By the way, why didn’t you tell me?”
‘Tell you about the nature of Marion’s illness being a curse?’
“Yes. The guardian beasts must have noticed.”
Guardian beasts are supposedly natural enemies of sorcerers.
If that’s true, they’d naturally be knowledgeable about curses as well.
‘We did notice, and they reported it to me, but…’
“Then you could have just told me.”
‘If Lady Luria knew it was a curse, she’d have gone to break it, no matter how reckless it might have been.’
“That’s… probably true.”
‘If she did something reckless, Lady Luria could have been in serious danger.’
“Hmm. But it could have been too late.”
Kuro simply nodded without making excuses.
He must have withheld the information, fully prepared for the possibility of it being too late.
‘Is Lady Luria angry?’
“A little.”
‘I’m sorry.’
“I understand you were thinking about Luria’s safety, Kuro.”
It really could have been too late.
And it was a curse that only I could break—or rather, a curse I alone was capable of breaking.
Had I known that, I likely would’ve snuck out of the room in the middle of the night, leapt onto Dau’s back, and dashed off.
Kuro must have wanted to prevent me from doing something so dangerous.
“But from now on, let’s consult each other, okay?”
‘Yes.’
“Luria will consult with Kuro, too.”
‘Okay. I’m sorry.’
“It’s alright. I’m not mad anymore. Thank you, Kuro.”
I ruffled Kuro’s head with my hands.
His two proud tails swayed gently.
There’s still more I need to ask Kuro.
“So, what exactly is a curse?”
‘We don’t fully understand it either, but…’
Prefacing his explanation with that, Kuro began to speak.
‘If magic is borrowing power from spirits, then a curse is borrowing power from sorcerers.’
“Huh?”
‘Honestly, I don’t fully understand it either, but…’
After repeating that he didn’t fully understand, Kuro continued explaining.
Apparently, there’s a group of sorcerers who’ve passed down the art of cursing since ancient times.
“Would a baron hire someone so suspicious?”
‘It seems so.’
“What about curse reversal?”
‘A curse, when broken or reversed, targets its caster.’
“Hmm? Wouldn’t the sorcerer get cursed then?”
Even if the baron ordered it, the curse was cast by the sorcerer.
So, naturally, the curse should rebound onto the sorcerer.
‘That’s true, but sorcerers have a technique to redirect the curse back onto their client.’
“Betrayal insurance?”
‘Something like that.’
If the curse rebounds onto the client when broken, the client is compelled to ensure the curse succeeds.
“Is the method for breaking curses widely known?”
‘Occasionally, high-ranking clergy in the church can do it.’
“Those guys, huh.”
The clergy of the Church of the One God apparently possess unique techniques.
Perhaps they’ve even developed ways to bind spirits using curse power by exploiting their curse-breaking techniques.
It’s probably like the thin line between poison and medicine.
“Hmm. So that means…”
After Mother’s curse was broken, did someone suffer the backlash?
That was five years ago, though.
Father has surely investigated it and sought retribution by now.
But what concerns me more is what’s happening now.
“What Luria is worried about is whether sorcerers still possess techniques from two hundred years ago.”
‘You mean spirit-binding techniques?’
“Exactly.”
‘I think it’s unlikely. Not impossible, but unlikely.’
That’s a relief.
‘Even though binding techniques and curses use the same curse power, they’re as different as healing magic and offensive magic.’
“I see?”
Healing magic and offensive magic both use magical energy, but the techniques are completely different.
It’s like how arm-wrestling and sprinting are entirely different, even though both rely on physical strength.
Excelling in both is nearly impossible.
Being able to master both offensive and healing magic to an exceptional level in my past life was a rare exception.
“Do sorcerers only use curses?”
‘Generally, yes. Though there are exceptions.’
“What about the church?”
I’m concerned whether the Church of the One God, which possesses curse-breaking techniques, might also have binding techniques.
After all, they did have binding techniques two hundred years ago.
‘The modern Church of the One God doesn’t have binding techniques.’
“Then that’s a relief for now.”
I look directly into Kuro’s eyes.
“Kuro, Luria is different from her past life.”
‘I know that.’
“If something troubling happens, please tell me.”
‘Got it.’
“Even though I’m still a child, my father and mother can also be relied upon.”
‘Thank you.’
Thanks to Kuro’s explanation, I’ve learned a lot.
The existence of sorcerers is concerning, but if they can’t use spirit-binding techniques, then I’m relieved for now.
Feeling reassured makes me sleepy.
“Kuro, let’s nap together.”
‘I’m a spirit, so I don’t need naps!’
“That’s not true.”
I pull Kuro into my arms and tuck him into the futon.
“Carro, let’s sleep too.”
“Kyuu-kyuu!”
“Keeping watch is important, but you need sleep to grow bigger.”
I pull Carro into the futon as well.
“So warm.”
I gently stroke Sara’s head, hug her tightly, and drift off to sleep.
