Chapter 91 - Chapter 90: [Cure]
"Cheers!"
"...Cheers."
Mika raised his glass, Kaerya responded, but Trys wore a complicated expression.
This was a restaurant near the guild.
It seemed to be a shop often used for post-quest celebration parties.
After reporting the completion of the cursed house request, Mika had invited both Kaerya and Trys to come eat.
(They must have been worried about me quite a bit, so this much is fine.)
These two never say anything presumptuous to Mika.
They just worried about Mika, thinking "I'm doing this because I want to," and followed him into such danger.
"Why am I... with such a guy..."
Trys, sitting next to him, grimaced while watching Kaerya across the table devouring meat and gulping down ale.
"Please don't say things like that. Today is my way of saying thanks."
"That's... I'm glad you feel that way, but I can't let you treat me. Receiving the reward is still a while off, isn't it?"
Although they reported the request completion to the guild, actually, the completion has not yet been certified.
Since Mika performed the exorcism on the cursed wooden box, there is no way to confirm if that wooden box [that] was truly the cause.
However, if no "Wraiths" gather even after a few days, the situation is deemed as if the cause has been eliminated.
If the Client is satisfied with that, the request is recognized as completed. If the Client is not satisfied, but the guild certifies it through their own investigation, the request is also recognized as completed.
So, it just takes a little time to receive the success reward; it's money that will eventually come in.
Besides, actually, Mika has already earned over a million Rats since coming to the capital.
The requests Mika had received until now were quite troublesome ones compared to other adventurers, so there were often rewards of one or two gold coins.
There were even rewards of four or more gold coins, so among adventurers who had just become D-rank, he was earning quite a lot.
"Please don't be so reserved. I might not be able to compete with you two, but I earn quite a bit myself."
"You can see that from today's fighting. Honestly, I underestimated you too much. I'm sorry."
Saying that, Trys bowed her head to Mika.
(Trys [this person] is really serious.)
Mika smiled bitterly.
Even dealing with a child like this, there's no need to be that serious.
"Trys-san, Trys-san. Never mind that, here, drink, drink. Are you saying you can't drink my alcohol?"
Mika handed Trys the glass of red wine that had been sitting on the table.
Trys, somewhat confused, took the glass and drank about half of it in one go.
Then, she let out a hot breath with a "Phew."
"Hehe... I don't drink outside often, but this isn't bad."
Trys's expression softened slightly.
Usually, Trys wears a very dignified aura, but it seemed she had entered a little "off" mode.
"Come on, let's eat heartily! I haven't eaten anything since morning, so I'm starving."
"Alright! It's a contest, kid!"
As Mika started devouring the food on the table, Kaerya ate without losing to him.
With alcohol in her system, Kaerya's mood seemed to be rising steadily.
Trys watched the two of them and smiled bitterly.
And thus, Trys diligently served the food so Mika could eat easily.
For a while, Mika focused solely on eating, while the two drank while nibbling on the food.
After Mika finished his meal, the conversation naturally turned to today's request.
"...It's fine that we managed to complete it, but it became a job with a slightly bad aftertaste."
When Mika muttered this, Trys also wore a pained expression.
The cause of the "Wraiths" gathering was the curse, but what was the cause of that curse?
That was revealed by looking inside that cursed wooden box.
That wooden box was the diary of a servant hired at the mansion.
In this world, there are no diaries; it seems the usual way to record daily events is simply to write them on paper and put them in a box.
Mika thought that "people with good taste" lived in that mansion.
Bright paintings, tasteful furniture.
But it was all built on the sacrifice of one female servant.
Trys, who had looked through the servant's diary with Mika, told him that in this country, hiring a servant is considered a benchmark for one of the middle-class tiers.
Until about a hundred years ago, servants were only found in upper-class families, and they were mostly men.
But from a certain period, female servants began to increase rapidly.
Why did the number of female servants increase?
Of course, because the number of male servants decreased.
So, why did the number of male servants decrease?
The cause lay in the "Fifty-Year War."
Working-age male servants were increasingly taken as soldiers by the country, and the number of servants plummeted.
Upper-class families began hiring female servants to maintain their lifestyle as before.
However, this situation did not improve much even after the war.
Because too many soldiers died.
Women who lost husbands, fathers, children, and lovers due to the war flooded the country.
Women thought that when the war ended, working family members would return.
Those women were thrown into despair.
But they had to somehow feed their children and families.
Such women were increasingly hired as servants, and now it is said there are more female servants than male.
About twenty years after the Fifty-Year War, relatively wealthy families began to increase.
First, families running large businesses began hiring servants, imitating the upper class.
Post-war reconstruction advanced, and as the economy improved, such families increased rapidly.
Thus, it became common for people in the upper-middle class to use servants at home, and hiring a servant became a status symbol for general households.
Originally, servant duties were highly specialized, hiring servants for specific roles like personal care, cooking, cleaning, and laundry.
But what happens if a middle-class family that isn't particularly wealthy hires a servant?
Naturally, they can't hire that many people, so one person ends up taking on multiple duties.
Families that can afford two servants are still better off.
They can cooperate, take breaks together, and complain to each other.
However, if a family can only hire one servant, it is easy to imagine how miserable the labor reality becomes.
One person does all the duties. No rest at all.
Such a servant who handles all duties alone is called an "All-Work Maid," and their misery is famous.
Days of silently enduring heavy work from morning until night, all alone.
The employers live happily every day, but often take out their bad moods on them.
They don't think about the servant at all, giving orders whimsically.
If the work isn't finished, they get scolded.
Even the happy laughter of the family members would only strengthen that servant's sense of loneliness.
The diary in that box painfully conveyed the sadness and suffering of such an "All-Work Maid," and the process until that turned into hatred.
The family in that mansion seemed to be relatively wealthy.
Probably, they had the leeway to hire more servants.
But they were people who fundamentally couldn't understand human pain.
And they were arrogant, believing they were almost upper-class, far above the middle class.
They never thanked the "All-Work Maid" who supported their lives; even though they had beautiful guest rooms, they had no rooms for servants, so they gave them an attic room.
Every night, working until exhausted late into the night, they would lie down in that low-ceilinged attic room where not even a ray of light entered.
For such a servant, writing down their daily hardships in a diary was the only comfort.
At the beginning of the diary, it was written on paper stained with tears: "It's hard," "I hate it," "I want to quit," "I want to go home."
But the meager wages were paid directly to the servant's family, and she herself couldn't even receive a single copper coin.
The paper and ink used for the diary seemed to be things she had taken from the house without permission, feeling guilty about it.
In the midst of enduring such hard days, the servant's heart began to change little by little.
In the middle of the diary,
"Why do I have to suffer like this all by myself!?"
"Why do I have to endure for such a family [those guys]!?"
"The family [those guys] in this mansion, I will never forgive them!"
It was clear that resentment and bitterness were mounting.
And towards the end of the diary, it was no longer even a diary.
Well, in a way, it could be called a diary, but
"He said 'XX'!"
"He did 'XX'!"
She wrote down everything said or done to her by the family, endlessly scribbling patterns like "Die!", "I won't forgive you!", "I want to kill you!"
It was such a psycho diary, written until the paper was black, that I wanted to turn my eyes away.
But even such a hard and painful life came to an end.
By the death of the servant.
Whether it was due to overwork or stress is unknown, but the servant collapsed while working and passed away right there.
The servant's death was also written in the interview materials the guild conducted when receiving the request from the Client.
The guild had considered this servant's death as a 'victim of the Wraiths.'
But probably, the truth is different.
The Wraiths did not appear and cause this servant's death; rather, the Wraiths began to appear because this servant died.
Because the servant's extraordinary hatred changed into a curse upon death.
Based on the contents of the diary Mika obtained, the guild reviewed the series of facts and explained them to the Client.
If the Client is satisfied with this, the request is completed.
Even if they aren't satisfied, if they observe the mansion for a while and judge that the phenomenon of Wraiths gathering has stopped, the request will be certified as completed.
There was a slight issue regarding how the box's curse was lifted, but they pushed it through with "Who knows?"
I just told them it disappeared right in front of my eyes, so someone will probably make up a reason.
Trys's cheeks were slightly red.
Probably, the alcohol was starting to take effect.
"...That was... what exactly did you do...?"
Such a whisper, like a sigh, reached Trys's ears.
"Huh?"
"You... made that black mist [fog] disappear, didn't you?"
"Oh..."
Mika took a sip of his drink.
Across the table, Kaerya was laughing to herself, "Wah-ha-ha."
Is she a laugh-drunk type?
(I've already shown it, so maybe I can talk about it.)
What should I say?
Skipping the explanation about puzzles since it's troublesome.
Well, saying I just happened to be able to do something like that should be enough.
"This is something I don't really want people to know..."
Mika lowered his voice, and Trys nodded with a serious face.
"I picked up a strange talisman before."
"A strange talisman?"
"And I thought it was strange, so I showed it to the Appraisal Shop Owner..."
"...It was cursed?"
Mika nodded.
"The Appraisal Shop Owner said it wasn't a big curse, so I should just throw it away somewhere, but I was curious for some reason. So while I was fiddling with it, somehow... it got lifted."
"Got lifted...?"
Trys wore a face that was half surprised, half exasperated.
But when she came to her senses, she drained the remaining red wine in her glass and ordered green wine from the waiter.
(Green wine... Maybe I'm hearing this for the first time? ...No, I'm sure Yaroibarov-san said he treated guests at the inn with green wine?)
I wondered what kind of alcohol it was, but the arrived drink was a beautiful green color.
A flat object like a butter spreader with holes in it was placed on the glass, with something like a sugar cube on top.
Trys gently sank the sugar cube into the green wine and stirred it with the spreader.
Mika watched that scene, sweating a little cold sweat.
(It feels like absinthe, but is it just my imagination?)
I don't know if wormwood exists in this world, but it was a suspicious-looking drink.
If it really was absinthe, the alcohol content should be quite high, so it should be tough to drink unless diluted with water.
However, Trys didn't mix the arrived drink with anything and drank it deliciously as is.
(It's just a different drink that looks similar... right?)
Mika let out a soft sigh.
Trys drank the green wine in no time and ordered a refill.
"Wait, wait, are you okay? Drinking like that."
"I'm okay~, I'm okay~."
No, you don't seem okay anymore?
You weren't speaking with such elongated endings, were you?
As Mika felt a vague bad premonition, Trys shook her head lightly to steady her consciousness.
"...What you did earlier... wasn't it [Dispels]?"
"Dispel?"
"Yes..."
Trys, whose tone had returned, turned her redder face toward Mika.
Then, looking around to check the surroundings, she leaned slightly toward Mika and whispered softly.
"...One of the Lost [God's Miracles]. It is said to be a [God's Miracle] that could dispel any curse."
Saying that, she straightened her posture.
([Dispels]? A Lost [God's Miracle]?)
I remember hearing in class that there were Lost [God's Miracles].
I wasn't taught specifically which [God's Miracles] were lost, but it seems there was a [God's Miracle] among them that could dispel curses.
(So, is that why...?)
Mika had wondered why no one tried to dispel curses.
He felt he had reached one of the answers.
(The [God's Miracle] for dispelling curses was lost. So they believe curses can no longer be dispelled?)
I don't know how that [God's Miracle] called [Dispels] dispelled curses.
But if the automatic dispelling [God's Miracle] is gone, why not dispel it manually?
Thinking that might be something only Mika could do.
Trys seemed quite drunk, letting out a hot breath with a "Phew~..."
"...Sorry. Forget what I said just now. I won't tell anyone about today either. You can relax."
Saying that, she smiled softly.
Her smile was so gentle that it was unimaginable from her usual dignified aura.
About thirty minutes later.
"So~... why~... why is it~..."
Trys was completely drunk.
"Why~ do I call that gorilla by his name~? I'm 'Trys-san'~."
She clung to Mika, or rather, wrapped herself around him, complaining endlessly as before.
What is this? Is Trys [this person] carrying quite a bit of stress too?
"Kaerya told me personally that 'Kaerya is fine.' It's rude to call Trys-san by her name, right?"
"Then I'll be Trys too~? San, hai!"
"............"
"You won't call me~! Uwaahhh!"
............Troublesome.
Um... where did the sharp knight from the daytime go?
Did she leave?
This is a different person who swapped in, right?
"Trys..."
"What~ is it, Mika-chan~."
Calling me by -chan!
Trys hugged Mika's head and rubbed her cheek against it.
To be honest, the armor is hard and quite painful.
Can't you please do this without the armor?
(She said she doesn't drink much outside, didn't she?)
This is definitely something she should avoid drinking outside.
I never thought Trys would be this clingy when drunk.
As I let Trys cling to me and wondered what to do, I caught Kaerya's eye.
The curfew time was approaching soon.
If I don't do something, I'll break the curfew again.
Mika didn't speak out, but asked Kaerya for rescue with just the movement of his mouth: 'H-e-l-p'.
Then, Kaerya grinned with a bad look.
(Ah, trouble.)
By the time I thought that, it was already too late. Kaerya had also drunk plenty of ale, but she moved quickly without showing any sign of being drunk, going behind Trys.
Then, pulling Trys who was clinging to Mika,
KACHIN!!!
She delivered a merciless punch to the top of Mika's head, making a sound so loud that Mika watching it flinched.
"Kyuuu~~..."
Pata.
Trys spun around and fell.
"Whoa!?"
That's too much, Kaerya!
Mika panicked, manifested [Limiter Off] and [Absorb], and used [Heal] on Trys.
She shouldn't die from this, but Trys was still dizzy.
(I forgot these two don't get along...)
Anyway, we managed to get by today, so I got careless.
Kaerya slung the fallen Trys over her shoulder.
"Is it really okay for us to be treated today, kid?"
"Yes, payment is fine."
"Then I'll leave that one to you. Actually, I don't have much cash on hand."
Saying that, Kaerya smiled bitterly.
With such amazing equipment, you don't have money?
Do you have a policy of not keeping money overnight?
It seemed Kaerya didn't intend to treat Mika, but rather to mooch off Trys.
"Leave Trys [here] to me. I'll watch over her properly."
"Please do."
There is a slight unease, but there is no other way.
I guess I have to leave it to Kaerya.
Mika paid with his card, left the restaurant, and ran quickly toward the dormitory.
I was a bit surprised by the payment of several large silver coins, but I spent a fun time.
Mika, who has a lead on a new genre of request, is swelling with expectations for future quests.