Chapter 112

The closer he approached, the more he could feel an energy that seemed to cut through his body.

It was a curse that billowed up thickly, as if it would cover the entire surrounding area.

The amount was impossible to believe had been emitted from a single human body.

Idril barely controlled his quickening breath as he advanced.

The man with whom he’d drunk alcohol, shared worries, and exchanged laughter might be a dogma.

A dogma that spoke human words and wore a human form.

He’d heard of such things.

Dogmas with personalities were monsters that even veteran hunters had to turn their backs and flee from.

“Mr. Quil!”

Idril shouted toward a massive tree passing before his eyes.

Quilbion was atop the tree. He was lying on a branch, displaying exquisite balance.

Had he not heard?

It was the moment he was about to shout again.

The trees stopped in an instant. The trees that had been swaying their long-stretched branches rooted themselves in the ground.

As if nothing had happened, the mountain regained its stillness.

Quilbion jumped down from the tree.

“Did you find anything?”

He spoke. There wasn’t even a trace of fatigue. As if moving dozens of trees was nothing.

“That just now—you did that, right, Mr. Quil?”

“That’s right.”

“……You’re not a dogma, are you?”

“Would calling me human put you at ease?”

“I don’t know. I still don’t understand what you showed me. That pain, that pressure. And now this terrible curse.”

“In times like this, it’s best to think simply. If we assume I’m a dogma, what can you do, Mr. Idril?”

Idril thought for a moment before speaking.

“There’s nothing I can do. Running away wouldn’t work either.”

“Exactly. So let’s stop the idle thoughts and resolve the matter here first. I have plenty of time, but I have no desire to waste it.”

Quilbion looked down at the ground.

“No matter how I think about it, it seems to be beneath this ground. There’s nowhere to hide in the sky, and I thoroughly searched the surroundings but found no traces. It hasn’t fled either.”

“How are you certain it’s here?”

“One cat disappeared. Whatever’s hiding somewhere must have eliminated it.”

“It doesn’t seem like a smart one. Since it did something that would get it caught.”

“Indeed.”

After clicking his tongue briefly, Quilbion walked toward the house.

Idril stood there dazed before chasing after Quilbion.

“Right now my head has given up on thinking. More than anything, I can’t figure out what kind of existence you are, Mr. Quilbion.”

“Well, an explanation is needed. Since the night has deepened, shall we talk?”

The fellow who’d been spreading terrible curses in all directions looked far too peaceful. So much so that his own anxiety seemed strange in comparison.

People were waiting in front of the house. Having seen trees walk about using their roots as legs, they must be dumbfounded.

Everyone just stared at Quilbion’s mouth.

Quilbion said.

“It’s late. Go back and rest. Don’t stay near this area.”

After one statement, he entered the house.

Idril had expected Ruki, the inspection team representative and young lord, to demand an explanation, but he merely nodded once before withdrawing with the soldiers.

There wasn’t even a trace of dissatisfaction to be found.

“What’s going on?”

Elcoco, who’d been firmly holding her ground despite the eviction order, spoke cautiously.

Idril wanted to explain, but he realized there was nothing to explain.

“I don’t really know either.”

“Those trees—Lord Quilbion moved them, right?”

“Yes, well. It seems so.”

“I had a feeling when Grandma invited him right away, but he really is a monster.”

“A monster?”

“Yes! A monster.”

Saying that, Elcoco was about to enter the house. Idril quickly grabbed Elcoco’s arm.

“You’re calling him a monster.”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“I was a bit scared during the day. I thought blades were going to come out of his eyes. But he wasn’t actually trying to kill me, right? Right?”

“W-well, that’s true.”

“As you can see, if that person decided to kill us, we’d die without even being able to resist, right?”

“Probably.”

“But we’re alive right now. Which means that man has neither the intention nor plan to kill us. He came here to help the lord in the first place.”

“But the power Mr. Quil uses is……”

“A curse, you mean?”

She’d heard in the carriage that he was close with the Barara Tribe, but to think she knew about curses.

“But is it really a curse?”

“Actually, I don’t know either. But it’s definitely a dangerous power. I experienced it during the day.”

“Really? How was it?”

“I don’t even want to think about it. It’s difficult to explain exactly what it was like. Just……”

It was when Idril trailed off.

“Come in quickly. Coco too.”

“Yes!”

Elcoco entered happily, throwing the door wide open. She was a gutsy woman. Or perhaps her brain was damaged and she didn’t know what fear was.

Idril looked at the open door.

Just two days ago, he’d put his hand on Quilbion’s shoulder and giggled, but now he was terrified to the point his mouth felt parched.

– But we’re alive right now.

Elcoco’s words echoed in his ears.

Idril took a deep breath before opening the door and entering.

And then he saw it.

Elcoco convulsing and collapsed.

“Mr. Quil. What did you just……”

“She asked me to show her a curse, so I showed her. She’s probably experiencing what you experienced, Mr. Idril.”

Elcoco, who’d been grimacing and twisting her body, went limp. Quilbion dragged Elcoco and placed her in a corner of the room.

“Knowledge comes with pain. This child understands that, so she’ll be fine.”

“Wh-what if she’s not fine?”

“She’s the one who asked for it, so it would be unfair to blame me. And she only felt a bit of intent, so she won’t die. She’ll just suffer.”

Intent.

It was an unfamiliar term.

“Sit down.”

He sat facing Quilbion.

“Let’s continue the conversation from earlier today.”

A black curse flowed from Quilbion’s hand. Just looking at it made his body stiffen. If he touched that, he’d have another terrible experience.

“The place you belong to calls them dogmas, but I call them goblins.”

“Yes.”

“And this power was born together with the goblins. In a way, it is a curse. Being close to this means you’ll frequently suffer terrible things.”

Quilbion gripped a square piece of paper. The paper transformed into black droplets that fell to the floor, and from the droplets a small cat was born.

It was the cat he’d seen during the day.

“I call this power nark.”

“Nark.”

“Have you heard of it?”

“No, not at all.”

“The curses you speak of probably take the same form as nark. Since it’s the source of the power dogmas use. But nark itself doesn’t exert influence.”

The cat Quilbion created jumped up and perched on Idril’s shoulder.

He tried to swat it away in fright, but it was so nimble it moved all over his body, dodging his hands.

“Eeeek.”

Idril, who’d been flailing his arms about, finally gave up and let his hands drop.

Meooow.

The cat sat on the top of his head and let out a long cry.

“Touch it.”

When Quilbion gestured with his chin, the cat lightly descended and settled into Idril’s hands.

Drained of energy, he stared blankly at the cat.

“How does it feel?”

“All my senses are saying what’s before my eyes is a curse.”

“Is there absolutely no difference from the curses you’ve encountered before?”

Idril cautiously extended his index finger. He tapped the cat’s head and stroked its body.

Then he brought his index finger before his eyes.

“……There’s nothing on it.”

“Curses deadly to humans must leave residue.”

“Yes. Rather than being in this condensed state, they stick to your hands like wiping dust. When those cling to you, misfortune finds you.”

His finger was clean. Despite touching a curse, there was no residue.

Idril spoke while petting the cat.

“This isn’t a curse.”

“Experiencing it is faster than explaining with words.”

“Then what was the pain and agony I felt during the day? I thought I’d been struck directly by a curse and was dying.”

“That’s intent. As I said, nark is a medium. You move mana through nark and invoke phenomena by containing intent. When you offered your blessing during the day, Mr. Idril, I felt something moving. I couldn’t see it though.”

Idril looked at Quilbion in admiration.

“You sensed it? The spirit?”

“Spirit?”

“Yes, the spirit’s energy. Something ordinary people absolutely cannot sense.”

“I said I felt it but couldn’t see it. I only felt that something was moving. I have fairly keen sixth sense.”

The cat atop his palm disappeared. Quilbion continued.

“Just as spirits exist that only you can feel, Mr. Idril, you can think of intent as something only those similar to me can recognize.”

Idril organized what he’d heard so far.

“So Mr. Quil handles the same kind of power dogmas use, but it’s not dangerous? Though it can be used dangerously depending on the situation.”

“We’re finally communicating.”

Curse emanated from Quilbion’s body. He held his breath tightly, feeling that if he inhaled even a mouthful, he’d convulse and collapse.

But the curse filled the entire house, and Idril breathed slowly while soothing his anxious heart.

The curse entered through his mouth and naturally exited. Like ordinary air.

Little by little, his fear was thinning.

“It’s similar to mana.”

“There’s that aspect too. How it disappears if not held onto, how it reacts when will is contained. But unlike mana, this itself isn’t dangerous.”

Idril nodded.

Mana releases tremendous power just by becoming highly concentrated. Enough that touching it would vaporize you without leaving even bone dust.

The black curse that had filled the house was sucked into Quilbion’s body in an instant.

“‘White Wagon,’ you said? The place you belong to.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“When we meet with them, explain based on what you’ve experienced now, Mr. Idril. Repeating myself is bothersome.”

Elcoco, who’d been lying still, made an ugh sound and stretched her arms straight up. Then she twisted her body like a stepped-on earthworm before trembling and curling up into a ball.

Did I look like that too? For some reason, the back of his neck felt chilly.

“When nark contains intent, it becomes dangerous.”

“Not necessarily. Intent is difficult to explain precisely, but the word ‘heart’ can explain it to some degree. The intents I’ve experienced have mostly been fucked up, terrible, and painful, but occasionally there are laughing ones too.”

The cat had reappeared.

It jumped lightly and settled on Idril’s knee.

“Touch it.”

He carefully placed his hand on the cat’s head. Warmth transmitted through his palm. Cozy and snug. To feel such emotions through a curse—it was simply astonishing.

“It’s warm.”

“Goblins with such intent exist, though they’re extremely few.”

“I’d heard that unusual dogmas exist, but…… to think dogmas have such emotions.”

It was when he was smiling at the gentleness the cat conveyed. The energy changed in an instant.

Fierce hatred and murderous intent.

Idril hurriedly pulled his hand away.

“But since most are trash not worth talking to, it’ll be easier to just kill them as you meet them.”

Quilbion spoke with a smile, but that smile didn’t look joyful at all.