Chapter 53

"Kyu"

"…Hah! What's the matter?"

It was dangerous. I was about to fall asleep.

If Carol hadn't told me, I would have fallen asleep.

I look at Sara. Sara is sleeping soundly.

"…Kuro"

'Were you calling me?'

Kuro appears from the ceiling and comes down.

I hug Kuro and gently stroke him.

"Yes. I have a lot of things to ask Kuro."

'You can ask anything. I can't guarantee I can answer, though.'

There are several things I need to ask.

But first, I want to know about Marion's condition.

"Is Marion…okay?"

'She's fine. The curse has been lifted, and her physical damage has been healed by Luria's healing magic.'

"That's good."

'Now we just need to wait for her to recover from fatigue. She will surely come to see you soon.'

If that's the case, I can rest easy. Sara will be happy too.

I gently stroke Sara's head. Her hair is soft.

"By the way, why didn't you tell me?"

'About the true nature of Marion's illness being a curse?'

"Yes. The guardian beasts must have noticed."

The guardian beasts are apparently the natural enemies of cursers.

So, they should naturally be well-versed in curses.

'Yes, they noticed and reported it to me, but…'

"Then you could have told me."

'If you knew it was a curse, Luria would have undoubtedly taken risks to lift it.'

"That…might be true."

'If she took risks, Luria could have been in danger.'

"Hmm. It might have been too late."

Kuro only nodded without making an excuse.

He must have decided not to tell, knowing it could be too late.

'Is Luria angry?'

"A little."

'I'm sorry.'

"I know you were thinking about Luria."

It could have been too late.

Moreover, it was a curse that only I could lift, or perhaps only I could have lifted.

If I had known, I would have sneaked out of the room at night and ridden Darc to rush there.

Kuro thought it would be too dangerous to let me do that.

"But from now on, let's discuss things, okay?"

'Okay.'

"Luria will also discuss things with Kuro."

'Okay. I'm sorry.'

"It's fine. I'm not angry anymore. Thank you, Kuro."

I ruffled Kuro's head.

Kuro's two proud tails moved slowly.

There are still things I need to ask Kuro.

"So, what exactly is a curse?"

'Even we don't know much about it…'

Kuro starts to explain after this preface.

'If magic is borrowing power from spirits, then a curse is borrowing power from a curser.'

"Hmm?"

'I don't really understand it well either…'

Kuro repeats that he doesn't really understand it well and then explains.

Apparently, there is a group of curse users who have inherited the art of cursing since ancient times.

"Did the baron hire such a suspicious person?"

'Yes.'

"What about counter-cursing?"

'A curse, when lifted or returned, will turn against the caster.'

"Hmm? Can the curse user not be cursed?"

'Even if the client is a baron, the one who cast the curse is the curse user. So, naturally, the curse would turn against the curse user.'

'However, the curse user has the skill to redirect the curse back to the client.'

"Betrayal?"

'Probably.'

If the curse is returned to the client when it is lifted, the client would have to ensure the curse succeeds.

"Is the method of lifting a curse widely known?"

'Some high-ranking clergy of the church can do it occasionally.'

"Those guys, huh."

The clergy of the One God's Church apparently have unique skills.

They might have even developed a technique to bind spirits using curse power, misusing the curse-lifting technique.

Poison and medicine are a fine line.

"Hmm. So…"

After the curse on my mother was lifted, someone must have received the counter-curse.

However, that was five years ago.

My father must have investigated and taken revenge.

I'm more concerned about the present than what happened five years ago.

"What worries Luria is that the curse users might have the technique from two hundred years ago."

'The spirit binding technique, right?'

"Exactly."

'It's probably safe. Not absolutely, but…'

That's a big relief.

'The binding technique and cursing, while using the same curse power, are as different as healing magic and attack magic.'

"I see."

Attack magic and healing magic both use magic power, but the techniques are completely different.

Just as arm wrestling and sprinting, both using strength, are completely different.

It's almost impossible to be a master of both.

In my previous life, I was an exceptional existence who could use both attack magic and healing magic at a master level.

"Do curse users only use cursing techniques?"

'Basically, yes. Not absolutely, though.'

"What about the church?"

I'm worried that the One God's Church, which has the curse-lifting technique, might also have the binding technique.

They actually had it two hundred years ago.

'The modern One God's Church does not have the binding technique.'

"If that's the case, I can rest easy for now."

I look Kuro in the eye.

"Kuro, Luria is different from my past."

'Yes, I know.'

"If anything happens, please let me know."

'Understood.'

"Luria is young, but both Toh and Mother are reliable."

'Thank you.'

Thanks to what Kuro told me, I learned a lot.

The existence of curse users is concerning, but if they can't use the spirit binding technique, I can rest easy for now.

When I feel relieved, I get sleepy.

"Kuro, let's take a nap too."

'Kuro is a spirit, so I don't need to nap!'

"That's not true."

I pick up Kuro and put him in the futon.

"Carol, let's sleep too."

"Kyu-kyu!"

"Guarding is important, but Carol needs to sleep to grow."

I pick up Carol and put her in the futon.

"It's warm."

I stroke Sara's head and hug her tightly, falling asleep.

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