3 bar menu

Volume 10 Chapter 284

One Person or The World

「Mum, I’m back!」
「Welcome back. Please, come in」
With Miu leading the way, we entered her house. Since the entire Elnor family would be too many, it was decided that only I, Tina, Seira, Citri, Kikyo, and Silph would enter the house first.
「Welcome home, Miu. Where have you been? And……who are these people?」
Miu’s mother was in the kitchen preparing lunch. A few dark streaks could be seen on her neck.
「Mum, you’re not well, you should be resting!」
Miu rushed to her mother and forcibly seated her in a nearby chair.
「I’m fine today, dear」
She said so, but Miu’s mother didn’t look well.
「Sorry to intrude suddenly. I’m an adventurer named Haruto. These people are my companions」
「……Why are adventurers here?」
「Miu asked us to investigate the cause of your illness」
「She went to adventurers? But what about the payment?」
「I paid for it with my allowance. I want you to get better soon, Mum!」
「Th-that’s……」
Miu’s mother seemed troubled by her daughter’s actions but also somewhat touched.
「Um, did you have enough money for the payment? With just her allowance, it wouldn’t be enough to hire all of you」
Seeing Silph and Seira wearing fine clothes, they probably thought we were high-ranking adventurers.
「We’re still new adventurers, so the payment is not much. But we’ll definitely find out the cause of your discomfort, so please don’t worry」
We already have a good idea of the cause.
「Haruto-san, please heal my Mum」
「……I’m sorry. I don’t want to worry her any further, so please, I beg you」
Miu’s mother also agreed to let us handle her healing.
「Yes, leave it to us」
The guild’s request is to investigate Miu’s mother’s illness. If possible, healing is also included in the request scope.
I want to heal her properly.
「First, I’ll examine your condition. Citri, Silph, please assist」
「Understood」
「Yes!」
Perhaps the cause of her illness is a curse from the Evil God.
We need to thoroughly investigate what kind of curse it is, but I have to ask her to remove her clothes, so I step outside of Miu’s house for a moment.
After a while, Citri came out.
「Darling, it is indeed a curse of the Evil God」
「I see. What kind of curse is it? Can it be dispelled with Seira’s or my magic?」
「Probably…… impossible」
If Citri, who understands our power well, says so, it must be true.
「The curse she touched is a calamity-level curse that could halve the world’s population」
「 —-Eh?」
Miu’s mother was under a curse that gradually drained her life force. Moreover, when the cursed person dies, the curse spreads to others in the vicinity.
Until the cursed person dies, which takes about a month, the curse spreads within the area of a city.
Even if afflicted, one can still move around as if nothing happened, as seen when Miu’s mother tried to cook.
Furthermore, by the time symptoms appear and the status board shows『Condition: Curse』, it’s unclear what kind of curse it is.
Moreover, the general populace in this world rarely checks their status board.
So this curse is easily spread throughout the world.
This curse has spread twice in the past, and the threat of the curse did not disappear until the world’s population was halved.
「Given the strength of the curse, there is no doubt that she is the first victim」
「That’s a relief」
Miu’s mother being the first victim means that saving her will save the world. It’s enough to save Miu’s mother.
—-But it seems it’s not that simple.
「Darling, I’m sorry to say this, but……」
「What?」
「I suggest taking her into the void or the demon realm and killing her there」
「Ha?」
I don’t understand what Citri means.
「Haruto, this curse…… it’s impossible to lift」
Silph also appeared.
「Never in the past has that curse been lifted except by natural means」
Both Silph and Citri say that Miu’s mother’s curse cannot be lifted. Even with items like healing potions or world tree fruits, which are the highest class of abnormal state recovery items in this world, the curse cannot be lifted.
Furthermore, it’s troublesome because the curse roots itself in the soul.
The drastic method of removing the curse by eliminating the body and reviving it with resurrection magic—- which we tried to do to save the beastman king Leo cursed by the black death curse, cannot be taken.
「I don’t want to say this, but…… to save the world—-」
Silph looked like she was about to cry.
「She would have to be sacrificed alone」
If Miu’s mother dies in the void or the demon realm, the curse will disappear without spreading to anyone else.
But I don’t want to resort to such a method.
I can’t choose between one person and the world.
I can’t bring myself to sacrifice someone just to save the world. Especially not after meeting 『her』.
Miu, who praised my teleportation magic, and Tina, who complimented Silph’s beauty
She came all the way from this town to the guild in the distant capital, using up all her saved allowance just to ask me to help her mother.
I accepted her request.
I promised to help her mother.
So no matter what, I want to erase the curse of the Evil God.
「Hey, Shiro. Isn’t there any way?」
From my intuition, since the curse afflicting Miu’s mother was created by the Evil God, I thought that Shiro, the divine beast who serves the gods, might know something.
「Hmm… …I’m not that knowledgeable about curses. What about Luna?」
「Luna?」
「M-me?」
「Luna showed me a book before. It was written by the shikigami in this world’s genesis」
In the dungeon of the ruins in the Vestier Beastman Kingdom, there was a special room that only people from another world could enter.
The book Shiro mentioned seemed to refer to something placed in that dungeon’s special room. Currently, it’s in Luna’s possession.
「That book might have something written about this curse」
「But that book hardly had any information about curses. It mostly focused on medicine……」
「That book has a function to show the information desired by its owner」
「Huh, really?」
「Mm. It’s packed with an enormous amount of information. Normally, it reflects the owner’s interests the most」
Upon hearing Shiro’s words, Luna’s face flushed for some reason.
「Luna, please investigate if there’s a method to lift the curse in that book」
「Y-yes! Understood. The book is in my room. Haruto-san, could you retrieve it with your teleportation magic?」
「Okay!」
I connected the space to Luna’s room with teleportation magic and reached for the book. At that moment—
My intuition kicked in.
While I was uncertain before, now I feel reassured.
The answer is written in this book.