Chapter 78

Chapter 78: You Are Free to Misunderstand (6)

At the two of them’s gazes, I gave a simple, vague answer.

“Before I came to Saengterminum, I wandered around here and there. I heard about Dark Elves as random trivia too.”

Since I had rolled through the war right up until just before my Return to the Past, it was not entirely wrong.

A large part of it was because I knew about Karin through information from before my Return to the Past, but I could hardly say that.

Above all.

‘I have something I want to ask Karin now.’

When I attended the academy as Aron Bayonel, I had not been particularly close to Karin, so I did not know in detail what she had gone through.

…But at the very least, I knew perfectly well what Karin’s end had been like.

Now I had to watch her actions and make a decision.

Whether I should save her, or kill her.

***

After leaving the Artificial Rift, we said goodbye and scattered in our separate directions.

Everyone except me.

“Can we talk separately for a bit?”

I turned and stood in front of Karin, who was about to head toward the Dormitory.

“Talk?”

Karin blinked her green eyes, questioning my behavior.

“Haven’t we already said everything we need to say to each other?”

If we were talking only about this current timeline, then yes, we had.

But the story changed once the memories of the previous timeline got involved.

I pointed at the bow slung over Karin’s back.

“I can’t stop worrying about the fact that your main weapon broke.”

Karin’s face wrinkled.

“Could you give it a rest? I know I messed up too, okay?”

“If you feel that wronged, then tell the truth.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“When Lloyd questioned you just now too, and now as well, you seem uncomfortable even bringing up the reason your weapon broke. Am I wrong?”

Her face stiffened for a moment, but she soon put on a soft expression.

“Ah, ah That? It just broke by accident while I was inside the Artificial Rift fighting monsters. I didn’t want to talk about making a mistake, that’s all. Why are you prying into something so trivial?”

“Is there anyone who saw that happen?”

“No? I went in alone.”

“Hmm… Is that so?”

Honestly, it was not a reason I could not accept at all.

If I had not had information from before my Return to the Past, I would have thought it was nothing serious and moved on.

However.

‘…I know what kind of person you become later, Karin.’

That was because Karin of the previous timeline had been a member of ‘Abyss.’

I did not know in detail through what process she had become a member of ‘Abyss,’ but—

‘Since it’s been confirmed that Abyss was hiding in Saengterminum, it wouldn’t be strange if ‘Abyss’ had tried to approach Karin from now on.’

After all, Dark Elves were naturally talented in Black Magic. 

There was no doubt she was a talent ‘Abyss’ had its eye on.

There was no harm in checking.

“Then shall we take a look ourselves?”

I turned around and walked toward the Dormitory.

“Your weapon is inside your Dormitory, right?”

“…The female Dormitory? Men aren’t allowed in there, you know?”

“So what? I’ll just take a few penalty points.”

“Are you insane?”

***

The lounge near Saengterminum’s female Dormitory.

“Haa……. Here. Is that enough now?”

Resigned in the face of my stubborn attitude, Karin went into the Dormitory and brought out the bow she originally used, placing it on the table.

‘It really is properly broken.’

The Mana Stones fitted into both ends of the bow were not particularly damaged, but the bowstring and the bowstave were in serious condition.

The bowstave had been snapped in two, as though it had taken a powerful impact, and the string that should have been tied tightly had also been severed.

Still, from the outside, it just looked like a broken bow, so there did not seem to be anything particularly strange about it…….

“And this broke while fighting a monster?”

“I said it did. There’s nothing special about it, so why did you insist on seeing it?”

“Then let’s start checking.”

I went to a nearby table and set the broken bow down.

“Whether what you said is true or not.”

I pulled the Pocket Watch from my chest.

Click.

[Artifact activated.]

When I opened the lid, strings of text visible only to me appeared in my field of vision.

If I turned this corner part to the left…….

[The Artifact’s effect has been changed.]

[Demonic Aura Tracking effect activated.]

Good. 

It worked.

Whirrrrr.

Soon, the hour hand and minute hand inside the Pocket Watch trembled, then pointed in one direction all at once.

Toward the severed surface of the bow lying on the table.

“…Ha, look at this.”

A sneer formed on its own.

I had wondered if this might be the case, and sure enough.

“What are you doing right now?”

Ignoring Karin’s words, I performed an additional operation on the Pocket Watch.

Whirrr— click.

[Demonic Aura has been detected in a specific direction.]

[Visualizing the Demonic Aura present at the time of contact through the user’s mana.]

The weakness that came from my mana being sucked into the Pocket Watch lasted only a moment.

Faaaaa…….

Seeing the blue haze beginning to rise from the severed surface of the bow, I held my tongue for a moment.

“…No wonder it sounded like a lie.”

I glared at Karin.

“You’d better tell the truth while I’m asking nicely.”

“Wh-what?”

I shook the Pocket Watch.

“This Artifact has a Demonic Aura Tracking effect. This is indirectly showing the Demonic Aura it came into contact with at the time.”

“…What?”

“If Demonic Aura is being detected this clearly even though quite some time has passed since it broke… then it must have been attacked by a fairly dense Demonic Aura. And of course, there’s no way you, the owner of the weapon, didn’t know that.”

Karin’s eyes wavered.

Demonic Aura was a power treated with sensitivity no matter where one went on the Luknica Continent. 

That was because there was a high risk of the user falling into madness.

Black Mages sometimes used Demonic Aura as well, but only to the point where they had to receive permission from the Dark Empire, or be quarantined after use and undergo a separate condition inspection.

Even I had only used Demonic Aura temporarily after making a contract with Valak to release the price payment, so that said enough.

In other words, the person Karin had encountered was highly likely to be a Black Sorcerer.

A demon worshipper of Abyss.

“I can only assume you met someone inside the Artificial Rift who was using Demonic Aura, and that your weapon was damaged by that someone’s Demonic Aura.”

“…….”

“And yet you tried to hide that?”

Now, this was where it became important.

Why had Karin in this timeline hidden the fact that she had met Abyss?

Faaaaa…….

Holy Power bloomed in my right hand.

“I’ll give you a chance to explain it to me before I tell the Headmaster or the Professors.”

Looking calmly at Karin’s face as she flinched under my gaze, I continued in an even voice.

“If you spout bullshit again, I won’t just let it slide either.”

“Ugh…….”

Even under my questioning, Karin merely clamped her mouth shut and exercised her right to remain silent.

If I had pressured her this far, she should have at least tried to make some excuse.

In that case, there was one possibility to consider.

“Oh, so you aren’t answering?”

I reached out toward her with my right hand, where Holy Power was shimmering.

“W-wait a second……!”

“Ah, stay still. I’m not planning to hurt you.”

“…Huh?”

I brought my right hand, where Holy Power had gathered, to the nape of her neck.

“Didn’t someone curse you? Just looking at you, it seems like the ‘Curse of Silence.’”

Mid-Rank Black Magic, Curse of Silence.

A Mid-Rank Black Magic spell that prevented the cursed target from revealing specific information.

At my answer, agitation flickered across Karin’s face for an instant.

“How did you know I was cur…….”

Her expression suddenly twisted sharply, and she clamped her mouth shut.

“Don’t talk about the curse. That hurts quite a bit.”

This confirmed it.

She had not yet become a member of ‘Abyss.’

If she had become a full member, she probably would not have been placed under the ‘Curse of Silence’ in the first place.

This was something I could make useful on my side instead.

And to do that…….

I tapped the chair beside me.

“Sit here. I’ll try purifying that curse.”

Karin’s eyes went round.

“You can purify it? Really?”

“Have you only ever been deceived your whole life? Just sit down first.”

Karin hesitantly sat down beside me, and I brought my face close to the nape of her neck.

“Hmm, I can’t tell just by looking like this…….”

I tapped the nape of her neck.

“Uht.”

“…I know you dislike me, but I’m doing this for your sake, all right? Hold still.”

“What are you talking about? This much is nothing to me.”

“Oh, is that right?”

Answering indifferently, I drew the formula I had recently learned with Holy Power against the nape of her neck.

Auto-Casting.

Flame of Purification.

The golden flame that bloomed from my palm wrapped around the nape of Karin’s neck.

Flicker…….

This was literally a Mid-Rank Holy Magic spell that purified curses.

In class, I had heard that it could purify Mid-Rank and Low-Rank curses, but—

As long as magic was composed of formulas, exceptions always existed.

Just like now.

‘…Wow, look at how meticulously they set up the Security Formula.’

The ‘Flame of Purification’ continued sweeping over the nape of Karin’s neck, but far from the curse being purified, there was not even a sign that the trace of the curse itself would surface.

I suppose that was Abyss for you. 

To keep the curse from being detected, they had woven an extremely dense Security Formula over the curse formula.

‘Well, not that it matters.’

It was the Curse Type, of all things.

And the one of the Four Great Houses specializing in the Curse Type was House Bayonel, the house I belonged to.

‘How many people do you think can act arrogant with curses in front of me?’

There were only a handful of curse Security Formulas that someone like me, a direct line of House Bayonel who had even returned to the past, could not undo.

Flicker…….

Keeping my right hand blooming with Holy Power where it was, I raised mana in my left hand.

‘At least the curse Security Formula can be undone with pure mana operation.’

The ‘Flame of Purification’ in my right hand, and mana in my left.

I steadily drew dispelling formulas with mana along the nape of her neck.

If one were to compare a curse Security Formula to something, it would be like a wrapped box.

The box was mana, and the contents inside were the curse.

The basic theory of a curse Security Formula was to coat the core curse with mana and heighten the curse’s security.

Normally, when dispelling it, one had to pay attention to the core curse as well, but—

Fwoooosh……!

The moment black smoke began rising from the nape of Karin’s neck and touched the ‘Flame of Purification,’ it faded away entirely.

‘The curse is being handled by this ‘Flame of Purification’ on its own, so dispelling it has gotten easier.’

I undid the Security Formula with mana and purified the curse with Holy Magic.

Before long, I was able to purify the ‘Curse of Silence’ placed on Karin.

“Hoo…….”

Rising from my seat, I exhaled deeply.

“It took a while to purify. I didn’t think it would take twenty minutes.”

Karin rubbed the nape of her neck, where the curse had been lifted, with a dazed expression.

“Wow……. You really are from the Holy Magic Department, huh?”

“Why are you making that face like it’s surprising?”

Well, this was largely because I knew the Curse Type inside and out.

Other Holy Magic Department students did not properly know curse-related formulas, so they would not even be able to imitate this.

Anyway.

“Now that you can speak properly, I’d like to hear an explanation of what happened.”