Chapter 216 - Chapter 215: The Curse-Breaking of Artorum
Four knights pointed their swords at Mika.
In reality, they were probably aiming at the brown-haired youth standing behind Mika.
Mika panicked at the sudden situation and couldn't decide on a course of action.
Damn it, what do I do now!?
If he shielded the knights, depending on how you looked at it, it would appear as if he was shielding the youth and getting in the way.
If he turned hostile against the youth and fought for real, it could cause massive damage to the entire area.
Mika turned toward the youth with a pained expression, and their eyes met.
At that moment, the youth's head bounced.
Mika's eyes widened in shock.
Like in slow motion, the youth's head slowly fell.
Blood gushed from the neck where the head had been removed, and the youth's body collapsed right there.
"“““GAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!”””"
A multitude of screams echoed around.
Standing behind the collapsed youth was Ozendorwa with cold eyes.
"Ozendorwa-san!?"
Ozendorwa did not answer Mika's voice, but kept his sword pointed at the fallen youth without letting his guard down.
Ozendorwa had been patrolling several locations within the capital since morning.
Checking the Fifth Knights Order's assigned areas without prior notice was something he always did.
He set aside time for this once or twice a week, ensuring he visited every location once a month.
Today he had also visited several spots and was heading toward the Southeast Gate of the Second Wall next.
"Commander. Isn't that Rimliche-chan over there?"
One of the subordinates he was leading spotted Rimliche, who was out training with Mika and Basal.
Rimliche was on the roadside with two girls who seemed to be her friends.
However, something seemed off.
It felt as if the two friends were trying to stop Rimliche from going somewhere.
Unlike her usual quiet personality, a piercing presence could be felt even from a distance.
"Shall I go say hello?"
It wasn't just Ozendorwa who felt something was different.
His subordinates also tightened their expressions slightly and nodded.
"Rimliche-san, is something wrong?"
When Ozendorwa called out, the girls who seemed to be friends showed slightly panicked expressions.
This reaction was fairly normal.
Although knights were often seen in the streets, being spoken to by one was not common.
And when it involved knights, it was usually trouble.
There were a certain number of people who became anxious, wondering if they had done something wrong.
"Ozendorwa-san!"
Rimliche, who had noticed Ozendorwa, pleaded with a pale face.
"Mika-kun is in trouble!"
"Mika-kun?"
Thus, she told him about the incident that had just occurred.
Mostly, however, Rimliche seemed in a rush, and it was difficult to understand the situation unless her friends filled in the details.
"A man with red hair...?"
The subordinate knights exchanged glances.
Mika and a man with red hair.
The man was about twenty years old.
And, according to Rimliche, Mika looked more panicked than she had ever seen him.
"Do you know which way Mika-kun and the others went?"
From the girl who spoke in a strangely mumbled voice, they learned the path where Mika had entered from the Southeast Main Street.
"I see. Leave the rest to us, and you go home following Mika-kun's instructions. Alright?"
Even though Ozendorwa said so, Rimliche did not look convinced.
This girl was generally obedient, but when it came to Mika, she could become stubborn.
"Mika-kun told you to, right? Make sure you protect him properly. Hey, let's go."
Ozendorwa emphasized this to Rimliche and led his subordinates to follow Mika.
They explored the surroundings with their subordinates and found Mika quickly.
He was near the statue of the Founding King in the center of the square.
He was in a very conspicuous place.
Ozendorwa quietly observed the scene from outside the square.
"Red hair..."
Mika was with a youth matching the description of the 'brown-haired youth' he had heard about.
"Is that the man in question?"
Unfortunately, there were no witnesses from Shesbarno's team who had seen the incident.
He could not make a definitive judgment.
However...
"You lot, go over there. Make a scene."
When Ozendorwa gave the order, the knights nodded.
No unnecessary instructions were needed.
They immediately grasped Ozendorwa's intention of what he planned to do.
Have his subordinates cause a loud disturbance, then slip around to the back during the commotion.
"You'd better not think about capturing him."
Ozendorwa muttered to himself.
Judging by the report, he was a very dangerous man.
If he tried to extract information with any tricks, the price would be quite high.
Paid with his own blood, or someone else's.
"If it's a case of mistaken identity... I'll apologize."
As he muttered that, the square became noisy.
Ozendorwa confirmed that his subordinates had rushed into the square before moving.
Ozendorwa asked Mika while keeping his gaze fixed on the fallen youth.
"I cut him down without understanding why, but is this the brown-haired youth in question?"
"Y-yes!"
"That's good. I didn't have to come up with an excuse."
It seemed Ozendorwa had cut down the youth based solely on his judgment of the situation, without any certainty.
That luck was too good!
"But, why are you here?"
Coincidence?
The timing was too good for that.
"I met Rimliche-san. She said Mika-kun's condition was abnormal. I heard the situation and thought it might be this."
Had Rimliche spotted Ozendorwa patrolling the streets and told him the situation?
Somewhat far away behind Ozendorwa, Rimliche and the others with pale faces were watching Mika.
It seemed they had followed him after all.
I'm saved, but I'll get scolded later.
If you got involved in something like this, you wouldn't have enough lives even if you had many.
Relying on Ozendorwa was a good judgment, but I must be careful about them following.
"So, what's the situation? What happened?"
"Yes!"
Asked by Ozendorwa, Mika remembered.
Mika hurriedly moved behind the pedestal.
Following Mika, Ozendorwa also moved behind the pedestal.
"What's wrong?"
"It's Artorum!"
"Artorum...?"
Mika stared intently behind the pedestal.
However, he still couldn't see anything.
"It seems there is something called Artorum here."
"Here...?"
It was an absurd story.
Since Mika couldn't see it either, he had no certainty.
"He said that managing Artorum was his 'job'. And he was doing that management work here."
Hearing Mika's words, Ozendorwa grimaced.
"Artorum is an object that collects Voluntas. There seem to be about six of them within the capital alone."
"What...?"
Ozendorwa's face showed surprise at what Mika was saying.
"Is Artorum the thing Mika-kun mentioned before? Something like a black cocoon, I believe...?"
"Yes. It disappeared right before my eyes back then too. Probably even now."
He didn't know the logic behind it, but it seemed to have a mechanism for deception.
The first thing that came to mind was methods called stealth camouflage or optical camouflage.
It was a fairly familiar setting in SF where light is transmitted or bypassed.
Whether it was truly possible or not.
Mika touched the pedestal where the brown-haired youth had pointed his arm, pressing his hand against it repeatedly.
"Mika-kun. Don't touch it too carelessly..."
"Eh!?"
When Ozendorwa called out, Mika suddenly pulled his hand back.
He stared intently at his own hand.
"What's wrong? Are you alright?"
"............There is."
Ozendorwa called out in concern, but Mika seemed to neither hear nor not hear him.
He alternately looked at his hand and a single point on the pedestal, muttering.
"There is? Could it be..."
"Yes, this is probably Artorum."
When Mika was touching the pedestal, he felt something.
It was not a tactile sensation transmitted through the skin.
No, he felt pain, but what caught his attention was the feeling of mana.
Moreover, this was...
A curse...?
Even though he couldn't touch Artorum itself, he felt something intense, like when touching a cursed object.
What on earth was this?
"Mika-kun, are you alright? You shouldn't touch such things..."
"I'm probably fine. It's usual for me."
"Usual...?"
Ozendorwa, worried about Mika's body after touching something unknown, looked stunned upon hearing that reply.
Mika stared intently at the point where Artorum was presumed to be and thought.
If this is something that can be broken like a curse, how do I find the others? Even if such things exist in the vast capital, I can't search for them.
Mika was particularly sensitive to mana, so he could feel it by touching.
However, even a normal mage wouldn't feel anything just by touching a curse.
The only possibility would be the Appraisal Shop Owner, but could she appraise things that were invisible and untouchable?
Flash!!!
At that moment, a powerful light was emitted right next to Mika's face.
"Grr!"
Startled by the sudden flash, he instinctively turned his face away.
What the hell, you idiot! What are you doing in a place full of people!?
Only Fee could pull off such a trick.
I told him to behave himself today at the Adventurer's Guild.
"Hey. What is that?"
Ozendorwa, startled by the sudden light, called out.
Mika turned around to look at Ozendorwa, but Ozendorwa was pointing at the pedestal.
Thinking "No way" at Ozendorwa's surprise, he followed the direction of the finger.
There, a black cocoon with black threads stretched across the pedestal was visible.
I see! Fee can visualize curses!
The black cocoon was about the size of two of Mika's clenched fists.
It was not the one-meter-long thing he had seen before.
"Probably this is Artorum. The one I saw before was much bigger."
"This..."
Even the impressive Ozendorwa choked with surprise.
At that moment, Rimliche and the others came to Mika's side.
"Mika-kun! What was that light just now? Are you okay, Mika-kun!?"
"Rimliche! It's dangerous! No!"
Rimliche seemed to have been curious about the light just now and broke away from Cecilia to come to Mika.
Cecilia was trying to stop Rimliche with a panicked expression.
"Rimliche, thank you. For calling Ozendorwa-san."
"Mika-kun..."
Mika smiled brightly and looked at Rimliche.
Rimliche's expression brightened slightly.
"I'll scold you later."
"Mika-kun!?"
Rimliche made a face as if she had been struck with a shock.
It was pointless to let her escape because it was dangerous, only to have her come back.
"...What is that...?"
Charl muttered while staring intently at the Artorum stuck to the pedestal.
Mika looked somewhat troubled, wondering what to do.
Explaining Artorum (this) is really tough...
He couldn't judge whether he should say it or not.
More importantly, it would disappear if time passed.
For now, let's break the curse first while we have the chance.
But in that case, it's definitely hostile.
Even if the brown-haired youth was gone, his companions should still be there.
A-chan, Hoo-chan, and others.
Mika hesitated with a pained expression.
Still, this is an unknown thing. I can't leave it as is...
Mika turned around and looked straight at Ozendorwa.
"I will attempt to break the curse. Everyone, please stand back a little."
When Mika said that, Ozendorwa looked surprised.
However, Ozendorwa, who had heard of Mika's curse-breaking power, told Rimliche and the others to "understand" and stepped back.
The knights he brought seemed to be arranging various things for the recovery of the brown-haired youth's corpse.
While stepping back Rimliche and the others, he was careful about his position so they wouldn't have to look at the corpse.
"Well then."
The black cocoon was a fairly strong curse.
The fluctuation transmitted when touching it allowed him to measure the strength of the curse to some extent, but it was strange that it wasn't visualized normally.
Without using "Auto-Dispel", it's a level that would take several hours. But if I try to use "Auto-Dispel" on a curse of this strength, "Absorb Wing" is essential.
He couldn't possibly show wings of light in front of the public like this.
Let's go semi-auto. If I just switch between the Search Task and the Unlock Task myself, it should barely work.
Or rather, please make it work somehow.
While wishing that, Mika began the curse-breaking.
The Search Task found the interfering spot in a few seconds, and the Unlock Task broke the curse in a few seconds.
Then, he used the Search Task again.
He repeated such things endlessly.
Well, it's far faster than doing it manually.
However, it seemed he was consuming mana exceeding the recovery amount of "Absorb", and the mana inside Mika gradually decreased.
Therefore, after repeating it a few times, he took a break of ten to twenty seconds.
During that time, he recovered the remaining mana with "Absorb".
...But, what on earth is this Artorum?
He understood it had the nature of a curse.
He was actually using it to break the curse.
Still, it was different from a pure curse in some way.
He felt a vague sense of incongruity.
A subspecies of curse?
There were many things he didn't understand.
In the first place, Mika had found a way to break curses, but he knew almost nothing about curses themselves.
Recently, he had tried to research this and was surprised by the lack of materials.
Nevertheless, after performing the curse-breaking relentlessly for thirty minutes.
Artorum still showed its form.
Why doesn't this thing disappear...?
Based on past trends, he had thought that the stronger the curse, the longer it would be visualized.
While thinking such things.
"“““WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!”””"
The voices overlapped so much that it was like a rumble of the earth.
From Artorum, thousands or tens of thousands of crying sounds, laughing sounds, and shouting sounds rose for a moment.
At the same time, it felt as if something invisible was gushing out, and then Artorum dissipated as if it was wilting.
"Ahh... annoying..."
Due to the sudden loud volume, his ears rang a little.
But for now, it should have disappeared.
Strictly speaking, it had lost the ability to maintain the state called Artorum, but.
"Mika-kun. Just now..."
Ozendorwa, while being alert to the surroundings, called out to Mika.
"I don't really understand, but some curses make noises like that. Well, I've only seen it once before myself."
"Is Artorum (that) a curse...?"
Asked by Ozendorwa, Mika frowned slightly.
"It is certainly a similar thing. But, what should I say... it's similar but not the same, or rather, it felt a bit different. ...I don't really understand it well myself."
No matter how he was asked what was different, there was no way to explain it.
The only way to put it was that it felt vaguely incongruous when touched.
"However, is it okay? Breaking the curse."
Ozendorwa said something like that.
"Why?"
"No, you probably earn money from that, right?"
Ah, I see.
Indeed, if the curse was broken before a request was issued, he wouldn't get even one Lutz.
But who would become a client for something like this?
The country?
"It's not for money. That's why I'm an adventurer."
He tried to say something cool, showing off a bit.
In reality, he had already obtained enough money to live a life of playing around for many times.
More importantly, if I'm not working for free, I'll demand one hundred million Lutz from the country first!
How many times have I been made to salvage for free (Loha)!
Mika looked up at Ozendorwa with a somewhat serious face.
"Ozendorwa-san, you don't say to keep it, do you?"
"What would you do by keeping such a thing? I don't even think there are proper means to investigate it. Rather, having a means to remove it is better."
Saying that, Ozendorwa let out a sigh.
"I will take responsibility. I would like you to handle everything if possible."
If left alone, he couldn't judge whether it was good or bad.
Then, it would be better to eliminate the uncertain factor.
The one who set it up is the one who set it up.
It was bound to be something rotten.
"...Though, there's no way to search for it."
It might be found with the Curse Detector (Fee), but that couldn't be made public.
Should he search the hard way?
While thinking such things...
Flash!!!!!!
The sky lit up.
An incredible brightness.
It was difficult to keep his eyes open.
And, his mana was being stolen wholesale.
It was taken root and branch, and he was about to run out of mana in an instant.
"What!?! This is bad!!!"
Mika instantly manifested "Absorb Wing" and gathered mana.
He swung "Absorb Wing" around, but even so, the recovery rate was sluggish.
Fee had taken an enormous amount of mana.
You damn idiot! What are you doing now!?
What do I do about this natural disaster!?
The sky suddenly lit up, a bizarre situation that seemed to come out of mythology.
Fee, who pulled off unbelievable things that couldn't be hidden.
While thinking about how to punish him, the light gradually subsided.
And thus, it became a brightness where he could properly open his eyes.
"Mika-kun, that..."
Hearing Rimliche's mutter, Mika realized it in a hurry.
Oh no.
He switched from "Absorb Wing" to "Absorb".
"Just now, my back..."
"No, it was so bright. My eyes are still twitching."
Interrupting Rimliche, who seemed about to say something, he lied loudly.
"The wings..."
"It was so bright my eyes are still weird. Are your eyes okay too, Rimliche? Did you maybe missee something?"
He forced his way through!
Did Rimliche notice that Mika was blatantly trying to hide it? She didn't say anything more.
Victory.