Chapter 45 - Chapter 44: Puzzles Have Arrived
The third month of Fire, the last month of summer. The second day of the first week.
No, the date has changed and it is already the third day of the week, Water.
Deep in the night when everyone had fallen asleep.
Mika sat on a chair in his dormitory room, motionless, concentrating.
Arms and legs crossed, left hand resting on his chin, right hand clenched holding the "Cursed Talisman".
"............Done."
In the dimly lit room, he opened his right hand to look at the talisman shaped like a deity.
The restless feeling that had been there until now was gone; it was just a talisman now.
The talisman, from which the "Blessing" had already been removed, was not even a talisman in the strict sense, but merely a lump of metal.
A metal statue of a deity.
Mika had been trying to interfere with this "Cursed Talisman" using magic power ever since he obtained it.
At some point, he noticed that there were parts that only rejected and repelled his interference, and parts that showed a weak reaction.
It was a difference that could only be understood if one manipulated a considerable amount of magic power delicately, but the difference was clear.
The parts that only repelled were untouchable, but the parts that showed a weak reaction, by trying various things like pushing, pulling, and twisting them with magic power, sometimes reached a state where he felt they had "loosened".
When that happened, changes would occur in the parts that had only repelled before, and new parts showing a reaction would appear.
"What is this?" he wondered as he fiddled with it every day, but as time passed, he noticed that the parts he had "loosened" had returned to their original state.
He hadn't realized it because it was invisible and he was feeling his way around, but every day it returned to its original state.
When it returned to its original state and he "loosened" it again using the same procedure, it "loosened" exactly as he remembered.
(This... maybe there's a conquest method?)
Just like solving a cube puzzle, if you follow the set rules and the set procedure, you can always solve it.
He decided to write down the procedure, thinking he might be able to make a cheat sheet, so he could reach the state of the previous day without trial and error.
Once he reached the state of the previous day, he would search for new parts that "loosened" from there.
If he successfully "loosened" a part, he would add it to the procedure again.
Mika had somehow come to feel this "curse" like a puzzle.
What he was doing was like a so-called "brain puzzle".
It required operations like moving two parts simultaneously at a subtle angle, like a ring puzzle, making him use his brain quite a bit.
But if he performed a set operation, a set result would always occur.
There was no unreasonable behavior.
This was the only entertainment Mika had obtained in this world where almost no entertainment existed.
"Done!"
Mika threw the metal deity statue onto the desk and stretched widely.
This sense of accomplishment.
It was the sensation of the moment when a truly difficult puzzle was solved.
"Amazing! So curses disappear when solved? It feels like it returns to magic power?"
After three months of suffering.
It really took a full three months, but he was finally able to solve it.
On days of Earth, he accompanied Rimliche for special training, and on days of Sun, he went out for gathering.
The cursed talisman had become like a pastime for Mika after returning home on weekdays.
It was close to the feeling of playing games when he returned home from school as a child.
"......But, I see. It disappears when solved."
He looked at the deity statue on the desk.
The curse was gone.
In other words, from now on, he would have no weekday pastimes.
"I see......."
Mika muttered, gazing at the deity statue with reluctance.
"Faaah......."
Mika let out a large yawn.
Last night he got more absorbed than usual and went to bed a little late.
As Mika lightly twisted his neck, which still retained a sense of lethargy, Rimliche, who was sitting next to him, spoke up.
"What's wrong? Sleepy?"
"Hmm...... I stayed up a bit too late."
Rimliche had been sitting next to Mika more often lately.
Or rather, recently it was already like a reserved seat situation.
Mika didn't mind who sat next to him, but he couldn't help but feel a slight discomfort from the atmosphere where everyone seemed to be tactfully making room for him.
"Stayed up late?"
Rimliche made a puzzled face.
She must be wondering what there is to stay up late for in a dormitory like this with nothing there.
Mika had not told anyone about the cursed talisman.
Messerite knew, but Messerite, who basically did not like to interfere in other people's affairs, did not talk about unnecessary things to others either.
Knowing that, Mika had felt safe to play his prank.
"Well, I'll sleep early today."
Since there was nothing else to do.
When Mika said that, Rimliche nodded with a "Yeah" and concentrated on her own magic power manipulation.
Rimliche still couldn't feel magic power with the magical tools in the training room, but it seemed she could now feel it slightly with her own will.
She could feel it, but there was almost no response.
It was a feeling Mika also remembered.
Still, she seemed happy to feel that she was growing, even a little bit, and Rimliche's expression had truly brightened.
If he continued to accompany her for special training for a while longer, she would be able to move it to some extent with her own will.
(The special training on days of Earth will be over soon, I suppose.)
There was also a feeling of slight loneliness about that.
Following the weekday pastimes, the days of Earth would also have nothing to do.
(I need to think of a good way to kill time.)
Mika thought such things.
■■■■■■
The third month of Fire, the third day of the third week. On the calendar, summer ends in two weeks.
From the morning of such a day, Mika was running through the forest.
Around Mika, there were multiple sounds of rustling, rustling, rustling, as if several others were running in the bushes.
"Tch!"
Noticing something approaching from the front, he involuntarily clicked his tongue.
Mika fired three "Stone Bullets" he had waiting above his head at the thing in front, then changed direction.
That was the limit for the ones he had waiting.
He found a place where the bushes broke in the direction he turned and ran into it.
When Mika braked suddenly and turned around, three Sou-Labis jumped out of the bushes and attacked Mika.
"Stone Bullet!"
He fired fist-sized "Stone Bullets" at high speed to target the Sou-Labis, but only one hit.
As expected, he couldn't precisely target all three.
Two of the Sou-Labis moved to split left and right, sandwiching Mika.
"Fire Breath!"
He used a wide-area flame to check the Sou-Labi that went to the right, and aimed at the one on the left.
"Stone Bullet!"
He created ten "Stone Bullets" and fired them all scattered.
The Sou-Labi could not dodge the scattered "Stone Bullets" and died.
As he tried to attack the remaining Sou-Labi, he felt something creeping up behind him.
Mika flew by rolling sideways, and a rod-like object passed through the spot where Mika had been at high speed.
Looking at "that" that landed on the ground, it was a giant snake about three meters long.
About ten eyes that seemed to exist were glowing red brightly.
Koot Viper.
It was a monster beast positioned high among the monsters inhabiting the forest.
"Ice Breath!"
Mika switched magic and checked the Koot Viper with "Ice Breath".
He had read that its weakness was cold when he investigated the monsters inhabiting the forest before.
As long as they didn't get close with cold, they weren't scary opponents.
If they got close, he would be wrapped up in an instant and all his bones would be crushed.
"Stone Bullet!"
With the "Fire Breath" gone, he defeated the Sou-Labi that charged in with ten "Stone Bullets".
"Air Cutter!"
He immediately released five "Air Cutters" and sliced the Koot Viper into rings.
He roughly splashed a large amount of "Water Splash" onto the bushes burned by the "Fire Breath", and while on guard, Mika escaped the forest at full speed.
"Haa...... Haa...... Haa......!"
Mika, who had escaped to the lakeshore, put his hands on his knees and repeated heavy breathing.
(......Die! .........Seriously, die!)
Sweat poured out from his whole body, and he felt like jumping into the lake right now.
For a while, he couldn't move and calmed his disordered breathing.
"That was dangerous......."
When he calmed down, he created a "Waterball" and plunged his head into it.
He washed his face roughly, scratched his head vigorously, and then carelessly threw away the "Waterball".
He ruffled his hair casually and took a breath.
Mika wasn't lucky today.
On days of Sun, he usually went out to the forest to gather Karemiso.
He came to the forest this morning too, but before starting to gather, he met two Sou-Labis.
The Sou-Labis in the bushes hadn't noticed Mika and were thinking "Well, how should I defeat him?" when another Sou-Labi appeared from the bushes in a slightly distant place.
The Sou-Labi that appeared later noticed Mika and charged immediately.
Mika's hastily fired "Stone Bullet" unfortunately missed, so the two Sou-Labis noticed Mika.
Thinking this was bad, he was using "Stone Bullets" above his head to check and searching for a place easy to fight in when he noticed a Koot Viper approaching from the front.
How should he have moved?
Mika thought about the battle just now in his head.
Should he have used "Thousand Edge" when he was surrounded by three Sou-Labis?
Unfortunately, "Thousand Edge" could not be controlled well if he was panicked.
He had to send magic power into the oral cavity, nostrils, and ear holes, so he had to concentrate his consciousness and manipulate the magic power quite a bit.
If he didn't aim for a fatal wound, just manifesting it to deal damage to the three Sou-Labis would be an option.
But once manifested, he would have to spread the magic power again.
Through the steady practice so far, he had become able to spread magic power to a target of 10 meters.
However, only if he devoted himself to that.
Usually, he prepared before entering the forest and just tried to maintain that state.
If he used "Thousand Edge" in the forest, he would lose the ability to search using the range of magic power until he expanded it again.
Disliking that, he chose not to use "Thousand Edge" and searched for a place easy to fight in.
Thanks to that, he was able to know about the approach of the Koot Viper from the front.
Well, if he had quickly defeated the Sou-Labis, he might not have encountered the Koot Viper in the first place.
But because he had spread magic power, he was able to sense the attack from behind while fighting the Sou-Labis.
Both have merits and demerits.
He might have survived regardless of which he chose, but for an adventurer, that is everything.
As long as he survives, there is a next time, and if there is a next time, he can do better then.
"Even so, it's tough to get killed."
Mika hung his head dejectedly.
He survived with a feeling of dying, but today he hadn't earned even one Lartz.
If he returned to the place just now, the corpses of the Sou-Labis would be there.
If he could recover all three, it would certainly be a good amount of money.
"Go back there again...?"
Please, spare me.
Other monsters might have already gathered due to the smell of blood.
Even if one is an adventurer, one must not ignore one's own strength when jumping into danger.
"I'll give up for today......."
He looked up at the sky and barked "Ugaaah!".
Even though doing such things wouldn't relieve his frustration, he couldn't help but do it.
Mika returned to the town and ordered leather boots at the armor shop.
He had already obtained leather bracers and a chest plate, but he wanted to make his defense a bit stronger.
At first, he wanted to buy a knife, but Mika's main attack was magic.
Even if he obtained a knife, nothing would change dramatically.
It would be impossible to deal with monsters with makeshift knife skills.
If so, he thought that strengthening his defense even a little would keep his life going.
Next to the armor shop, he headed to the Appraisal Shop Owner's shop.
Upon entering, an old woman with messy white hair was in the back of the narrow shop.
The old woman was looking at a small ornament in her hand.
"Oh, a customer? Welcome, young lady...... no, young master. Well, either is fine."
The old woman didn't seem to remember Mika.
"What's wrong? Do you want something appraised?"
"No......."
When Mika shook his head, the old woman returned her gaze to the ornament in her hand with a bored look.
"What is it, just checking us out? There's nothing to see here. Go over there."
She seemed to have lost interest in Mika and fiddled with the ornament in her hand.
It seemed to be a necklace with a gem ornament.
"I have something to ask......."
Mika called out to the old woman.
The old woman sighed and put the necklace under the counter.
"This is an appraisal shop, you know? Even if you ask, I only answer appraisal results. Come back when you have something you want to see."
It seemed the old woman had no intention of dealing with Mika.
"Do many cursed items get brought in?"
Mika asked the question regardless.
Mika had solved the curse on the talisman a few days ago.
Because of that, he had nothing to do on weekdays.
Interfering with curses using magic power was like a puzzle for Mika.
If he could get his hands on one, he wanted to try another cursed item, but where could one even find a cursed item?
They weren't sold in shops around here, and he remembered that when he had it appraised before, she said, "We sometimes take them in."
He thought that if he came here, maybe he could work something out through negotiation.
Of course, Mika had no cards to use for negotiation.
The old woman looked at Mika's face suspiciously and exclaimed "Ah!".
"You're the young master from that time! The kid who bought the talisman and was plotting something!"
......No, I wasn't plotting anything.
It seemed settled in the old woman's mind that Mika was planning some mischief.
"Actually, since then I've been thinking about 'what is a curse?' and various things. So I wanted to see other cursed items."
"A curse is a curse! What are you saying?"
The old woman made an even more suspicious face.
She must be thinking he is a child saying strange things.
"So, are many cursed items brought in?"
Mika asked the same thing again.
"......Not really that many. About one or two a month."
It seemed they were brought in every month.
"Do you take them in?"
"Well, it's not impossible."
She answered honestly.
Was she getting a little interested in Mika, or was she just dealing with him to get rid of him quickly?
"What do you do with the items you take in?"
"The destination of cursed items is obviously the Church of Light, isn't it? Holding them yourself won't lead to anything good."
It seemed cursed items were taken to the Church.
"Do you have the curse removed at the Church?"
"You silly child. The Church of Light can't remove curses either. You just donate and have them sealed."
"............Curses can't be removed......?"
"Of course. What are you talking about?"
A surprisingly unexpected answer came back.
In games, it was a standard setting to pay money at the Church to have a curse removed, but in this world, it seemed curses could not be removed.
Then, what was what Mika did?
Mika thought the curse was removed, but was it actually not removed?
The curse wasn't removed, but transferred to Mika......?
No, Mika thought the curse was "removed".
If he was told it was a misunderstanding, so be it, but it felt to Mika like the curse "could not maintain its cursed state" and dispersed like mist.
(............This.......)
The old woman shrugged at Mika, who was lost in thought.
"If you're satisfied, go home. Don't think silly things, go play outside. That's best for children."
The old woman creaked her chair and leaned against the backrest.
"............How much is the fee for taking in a cursed item?"
Mika asked while looking down.
The old woman sighed and lazily pointed to a paper posted on the counter.
The paper listed several tiers of appraisal fees from one silver coin to five large silver coins, and at the very bottom was the fee for taking in cursed items.
"......Five silver coins."
"One flat rate of five silver coins per item. Some items might not be taken in, though. And the donation to the Church is four silver coins. The rest is the labor fee."
The old woman answered the breakdown of the fee even though Mika hadn't asked.
Mika involuntarily gave a bitter smile.
Well, what should he do from here?
Was it possible to receive the cursed items the old woman took in?
Normally, it would be impossible.
And Mika had no materials to use for negotiation.
Then, he would just try as usual for now.
If it fails, he would think again at that time.
"Is there a cursed item that was just taken in?"
"Not now. I just took it to the Church recently."
The timing was bad.
It seemed he had just taken it recently.
If they were brought in at a pace close to once a month, the next time would be next month.
"......I see."
Mika hung his head, but then had a sudden idea.
"But, if I go to the Church, there will be......?"
He muttered involuntarily.
If everyone brought them to the Church, even if not every day, weren't they being brought in with a certain frequency?
He didn't know what this sealing was, but there seemed to be quite a few items before they were sealed.
Could he somehow get his hands on them?
"Hey, you bad kid! I won't allow you to do anything bad at the Church!"
But the old woman, hearing Mika's mutter, shouted at him.
It seemed this old woman was a devout believer of the Church of Light.
"I won't! I won't! I haven't even thought about it!"
He raised both hands in a surrender pose.
Doing bad things was unthinkable.
Mika was just thinking if he could be given a cursed item.
Well, to the old woman, that was enough to be plotting mischief.
The old woman looked at Mika with a face that said she still didn't trust him.
"What are you plotting anyway? If you cause any trouble, I really won't forgive you."
"I'm really not plotting anything. I'm just a little interested......."
"Interested......? You said that just now too."
The old woman seemed a bit calmer and looked at Mika with an exasperated expression.
"............Um......."
Mika spoke in a low voice, checking the old woman's expression.
"What is it now."
"If possible, if you take in a cursed item, could you show it to me for a little bit?"
"Haaah?"
The old woman made a voice of genuine exasperation.
"What would you do looking at such a thing."
"No, I'm just a little interested. I'll come every Sunday. Could you keep it until then?"
Please! Mika clasped his hands and begged. He begged until he was worn out.
Seeing Mika begging seriously, the old woman made a difficult face and thought.
"......Why would you be interested in such a thing? And Sundays? We want to hand it over to the Church quickly and be relieved."
"Sorry. Because of the Academy, only Sundays are certain."
Truthfully, he had time on weekdays too.
But he simply didn't feel like moving on weekdays.
After being exhausted by afternoon exercise, the round trip of 4 kilometers to the appraisal shop was surely too hard.
"Academy......? Knight Academy? Or Magic Academy?"
"Magic Academy."
Mika took off the bracer on his left arm and showed the bracelet.
It was a bracelet proving he was a student.
He had worn it the last time he came too, but had she not seen it?
Maybe she noticed it then but forgot.
"This is amazing. A student of the Magic Academy who is such a bad kid."
"No, I'm not a bad kid......."
Mika gave a bitter smile.
The old woman made a difficult face again and thought.
"......You say you're interested, are you researching something about curses?"
The old woman asked Mika with her mouth curved into a frown.
"It's not something that can be called research, but I want to investigate various things."
This was not a lie.
As a result of investigating various things, the curse was removed and returned to magic power.
That was all.
The old woman crossed her arms and hummed, thinking.
"......Until Sunday is okay?"
She muttered softly.
"Is that okay!"
"I'll take it to the Church on the days of Moon."
"Yes!"
Amazingly, the old woman's attitude changed due to the power of the "brand" called Magic Academy.
Mika thanked her over and over and bowed his head.
And two weeks later, the cursed bracelet was finally brought in.
"Oh~......."
Mika placed the bracelet on his right hand and trembled with emotion.
No, that's a lie. Actually, even though it wasn't cold, only his right hand trembled.
What is this?
"That bracelet is nothing like the talisman you brought before; it's a real curse. The effect is likely a decrease in physical and mental stamina. There might be other weak effects, but wearing it causes the most serious decrease in physical stamina."
"If I don't wear it?"
"With these things, if you don't wear them, there is basically no effect. Well, basically. But regarding this one, it's definitely true."
Mika stared intently at the bracelet on his right hand.
There was nothing visible, but anyway, there was something transmitted to his right hand, a fluctuation, or magic power hitting him hard.
He thought his right hand trembling was also due to the influence of that fluctuation.
"............Um......."
Mika spoke in a low voice, checking the old woman's expression.
"What is it now! You know, whenever you act like that, it's definitely for something bad!"
She has quite good intuition.
"Can I be given this......."
"Stop it, you idiot!!!"
A huge thunderbolt fell, and Mika involuntarily shrank back.
"Please do something about it! Please! Please! I will absolutely not cause any trouble!!!"
"You're already causing trouble!"
The back-and-forth battle between Mika and the old woman.
Still, somehow he begged until he was worn out, and even offered to do a dogeza (deep bow).
In this world, dogeza meant nothing, but due to Mika's persistence, the old woman...... finally gave in.
By promising absolutely not to wear it and to return it to the old woman if it became unnecessary, he succeeded in getting the cursed bracelet for free.
Due to the old woman's pride, "I can't sell such a thing," she said.
Yay, puzzle acquired!