It was the fifth day since Usat went to the castle.

And it's also the day after Nea goes to see Usato.

Aluk and I stayed in our room at the inn and tried not to go out as much as possible, but we were worried about Usato, who never returned.

 

"Usato, are you okay......

"I think he can handle most things, but if he doesn't come back for five days, you might want to think about what happened."

 

Normally, we spend time in separate rooms, but when we talk like this, we sit at the end of the big dining room on the first floor.

Nea isn't going to Usato's right now, but I've told the people who work here that Nea is sick and resting in her room, so it's not a problem.

But-,

 

"I'm worried about Usato, but this situation is also strange, it's not like we have any other customers, but maybe the people here are aware of who I am. But no one is going to kick him out, and no one is going to tell him."

"Aside from Nea, you haven't done anything since you know the identity of Lord Amako...... King Samaria must have known about us beforehand."

 

Placing his hand on his chin thoughtfully, Mr. Alc suppresses his voice so that those around him cannot hear him.

In addition, Aluk said that the purpose of the Samaritan king may be Usato.

 

"But you probably don't know about our actions to the Kingdom of Lingle and Luxvis, or about the Nea we made friends on our journey."

「...... It's a tantrum, but it means he's been active in the most unexpected places."

 

We have to acknowledge the fact that vampires who are loud, brazen, and have a friendly attitude towards Usato are useful.

The taunt of Nea making a fool of me comes to mind, and I press my temples while calming down.

 

"Anyway, we'll have to wait for Nea to come back......"

"Yes, I suppose Lord Usato's imprisonment, or the idea of getting into the castle. It's only a last resort, but ......."

"Can Usato be caught?"

"......, ha, ha, ha, even Usato-dono is human."

 

I wonder what it is for now.

But Usato is not the kind of person who can be captured by ordinary means.

He's fast, he's strong, and he's very bad at giving up.

Even if you are dealing with an evil dragon, you have the courage to fight without hesitation.

If there is a weakness, it is .......

 

"You can't pretend you don't see it, ......."

 

I, Nak, the people affected by the evil dragon, and Nea can't pretend not to see it.

He may deny that he's not that good-natured, but he can't ignore his pleas for help. And you can't overlook those who are suffering.

I think that is what makes Usato dangerous.

 

「...... Maybe you're seduced by a Samaritan princess like Kazuki-sama. I've heard that she's quite beautiful. Hahaha"

「......」

"Oh, yes, I'm kidding, I'm sorry."

 

I wanted to cheer up my gloomy face, and I unintentionally became expressionless at the words of Mr. Alc, who laughed cheerfully.

 

"Usato is liked by strange people, so it's not very fashionable."

 

Kazuki, Wealthy, Kiriha, and some others are normal and kind people, but they're liked by people who are a little dangerous in many ways, such as Suzune, Halfa, Nea, and maybe Rose and the people from the rescue team, so what Aluk said isn't impossible.

 

"I hope it's not a hassle......

"That's already happening, isn't it?"

「!?」

 

Look up at the voice of the third person and face in that direction.

There was Nea, who had gone to the castle in the form of an owl, smiling and waving at us in front of the entrance of the dining room.

 

 

Nea, who had gone to Usato, returned.

She looked somewhat languid, and when she approached the table where I and Mr. Alc were sitting, she sat down on the chair that Mr. Alc had pulled for her without hesitation, and leaned her body against the table as if she were weak.

I call out to her.

 

"So what happened?"

"Hmm, I don't know what to do, I'm going to tell you, but I'm tired."

 

......。

 

"Hmmm."

"Wow!?"

 

Without a word, he put his hand in the shape of a sword and slammed it into Nea's head with a rather serious force.

Holding his head, he fell out of his chair.

 

"What are you going to do!? I just thought I'd make fun of you a little!!"

"I don't need that, so tell me quickly, and the next time you joke around, I'll wear a pigeon tail."

"Wear it!? Isn't there a strong wind against me!?"

 

I think it's understandable that you would be annoyed if you made it clear that it was getting troublesome and then talked about in a way that made it difficult for you to talk about it.

 

"Alright, calm down, I'm sure Nea is tired too, so why don't we talk over lunch for now?"

"Oh, yes, I'm hungry and tired after working so hard. So withdraw that hand...... Whew!"

「......」

 

I reluctantly nodded at Aluk's words and sat back in my chair and put on my cloak again.

I can't help it. He certainly looks tired, so let's pull it off for now.

When Mr. Alc asked the innkeeper for lunch, a warm lunch for the three of them was immediately brought to the table, probably because he had prepared it in advance.

 

"So, as for Usato, he's in trouble right now, and that's pretty troublesome."

 

Nea's words, as she poked at the salad with her fork, made me press my forehead.

Why are you getting into trouble while you're away...... Usato.

 

"What happened?"

"Do you know the princess of Samaria?"

「...... To the extent of rumors. You're the daughter of King Samaritar, who has never been seen?"

"Yes, Usato lived with her for four days until yesterday. By the King of Samaria."

 

What are you doing, Usato......!?

This time, he holds his head and feels indescribable to Usato, who is in the castle. What would happen if I lived with the princess of a country? At least not the treatment given to the messenger.

Nea briefly explained why Usat had been invited to the castle.

 

"I see, the reason I invited Lord Usatoto to the castle was to pull him out...... Is that what you mean?"

"Yes, yes, I think you refused to pull it out. Instead, I ended up staying at the castle for a few days."

 

It's about Usato. Anyway, before I received the letter, I must have agreed because I couldn't afford to disrespect the other party's kindness.

 

"It doesn't matter, the problem is the princess--Eva Ould Samariar."

"Is there something wrong with her?" - No way, the princess fell in love with Lord Usato...... Or something like that?"

"If that were the case, I would still be cute."

 

At Aluk's half-laughing words, Nea slowly shook her head.

 

"She's under a curse, a troublesome curse that can't be helped by healing magic or disembarkation."

"...... curse, is it like Nea's magic?"

"It's more in bad taste than magic, and a curse concocted in a way that she wouldn't have done with a decent head is eating away at her body."

「...... Is Usato trying to help him?"

 

When I asked, the woman in front of me shrugged her shoulders in dismay.

Somehow, I understood what kind of action he was taking.

 

"I implicitly told him to abandon me, but he said he wanted to help me like a child, so I've been scrambling around the castle until now, and he doesn't seem to be remorseful at all, even though he's been cursed once."

"I was attacked...... Is it a curse? Do you mean that the curse has a will?"

"Well, that's where the complexity lies. I'm in trouble if I don't know how to get you guys to help me."

 

Help?

Is there a purpose to Nea's return other than to explain Usato's situation?

 

"From now on, I'll tell you the identity of the curse that is engulfing Eva Ould Samariar, and I'll ask you to help me with my perfect plan to destroy the curse once and for all."

 

 

●　

 

"Lucas, let me be blunt: I'm going to break Eva's curse. So, tell me what the curse is."

"Huh!?"

 

It's too blunt! I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought so.

I was astonished by the first voice of Usato, who came to Lucas to find out the true nature of the curse of Eva Urd Samaria.

Lucas, the man in front of him who seems to be the king of Samariar, also turns around at Usato's sudden words and opens his mouth in a daze.

 

"Usato, what are you talking about all of a sudden!? I was so surprised that I forgot why I called you here!?"

"I'm not joking."

 

When Usato says this in a quiet voice, Lucas' expression changes from surprise to serious. Sitting in front of the tomb, he slowly stood up and made eye contact with Usato.

 

「...... What do you mean? Breaking the curse means helping Eva?"

"I'll help you."

"It's not a problem that can be solved by brute force, and you should know it best, don't you?"

"yes, I know it's not something that can be done by brute force alone, and that's why I have this."

 

Usato, who looked at me, raised his fist.

Reading his intentions, I cast a spell into Usato's hand. The purple pattern on his hand made Lucas roll his eyes.

 

"No way...... Is it witchcraft?"

"Did you know...... it's my familiar, but I can break the curse with him."

 

It makes me feel a little weird when I talk about it, as if I can break the curse.

Does that mean that Usato trusts me that much?

I felt a little proud, and Lucas, who was in front of me, was stunned, and slowly sat down on the ground and smiled softly.

 

"Ha, ha, my country's information network is still a long way ....... I never dreamed that you could handle magic. Does that mean that Eva is still alive thanks to your familiar?"

"Yes, but it's only a makeshift thing. The only way to cut off the root cause is to break the curse itself."

"So you're going to ask me what the curse is."

 

Usato nods at his words, and Lucas covers his forehead with his hand.

 

"To be honest, I didn't think I was going to survive, and she would disappear in front of me, just like her. Yes, I should have been prepared for it......

 

He pauses his words, his voice trembling a little, and he continues to weave his words.

 

"But it's no use, I can't give up, the image of Eliza who couldn't say goodbye to me for so long and no time flashes in my mind. But if she is gone, I don't need to be king anymore because I hate her and the country she loved, Samariar......."

 

I might be able to understand a little bit of how this man feels.

Human life is short, and for me, who has spent all my life disguised as a human in that village, the death of a person comes suddenly one day.

There are many reasons, such as old age, illness, or being attacked by a demon and losing their lives, but in any case, it is painful to see people who were close to you die and disappear.

...... I would never say such a thing in front of Usato.

Usato listened to his monologue in silence. Lucas looked at him with a look full of strength in his eyes, completely changing from his previous feeble appearance, and opened his mouth.

 

"Usato, what I am about to tell you is a disgrace to the Samaritan royal family, a fool who was obsessed with greed, focused only on immediate gain, and in doing so, bound not only himself but also his children and grandchildren with the curse of death. But I don't know if this story will be useful. Do you still listen?"

"Yes, it's necessary."

 

"Oh yes," Lucas muttered, and he finally felt like talking, so he crossed his head to face Usato.

 

"Do you know that hundreds of years ago, Samarian suffered a great calamity?"

"It's a battle between the evil dragon and the brave, isn't it?"

「...... I'm not surprised anymore. I thought you knew that much. yes."

 

Usato, who already knew about the Evil Dragon and the Hero, twitched his cheeks slightly, but Lucas spun his words.

 

"The battle between the hero and the evil dragon came to an end in the form of the victory of the hero--this is the history that the people of the castle know to some extent, and in a normal saga, it should end here. The question is beyond that."

"Beyond ......"

"After the battle, all that was left was the ruins, the people and the knights who were so injured and poisoned that they could not move properly.

 

Still, there must have been many deaths.

If the hero had not appeared, the country of Samaria might not be where it is today.

 

"But the king at that time did not see the ruined city, nor the people suffering from the wound."

"I didn't see it...... Then what did the king see?"

 

The king of a country had neither a desolate country nor a wounded people in his sights. That would be a good thing for a king. In a normal state of mind, such folly would never occur.

If so, there must be a good reason for it.

So, for example,

 

"He is a brave man, and the king was fascinated by the superhuman power that defeated the evil dragon that wielded overwhelming power."

 

―――The ability to charm others.

The appearance of the hero, who defeated a monster that was too out of the norm as an evil dragon with a power beyond human knowledge, must have seemed more divine than anything else, and it must have looked very attractive.

 

"If you have power, you will not be defeated by anyone, if you have power, you will not be overrun, if you have power, you will not be frightened. But when ordinary methods could not keep the hero in the country, and it was impossible to persuade or restrain him, the king thought of another way."

"Witchcraft, huh?"

"Yes, magic, a technology that is being lost now, but at that time there were human sorcerers everywhere. Samaria also had only one magician. The king wanted to use the sorcerer to create a spell to bind the hero to the kingdom."

"Ho ......"

 

Stupid idea.

Essentially, magic is not something that humans can easily dabble in. Even if it could be handled, any attempt to change the nature of magic would invite danger.

To prevent this, there is an insurance policy called the magic of liberation.

...... Hmm? Is it getting lost?

 

"Ho, ho?"

"What's the matter, Nea, I'm talking about something important right now, so please be quiet."

 

Eh, no, I feel like there was a word that I couldn't miss from Lucas's mouth right now.

I tapped him on the shoulder with my wings, but he was scolded by a small voice.

Unaware of our exchange, Lucas spun the rest of the story.

 

"But there's no way a monster as big as a hero can be bound by ordinary magic, because there's no way that the strongest being who has defeated an evil dragon can't resist the magic of a single sorcerer."

"Well, it's enough to defeat the evil dragon."

 

I myself know firsthand how scary evil dragons are.

Even though it had deteriorated as a corpse for many years, it had such strength. If they are fully recovered, it is not surprising to think that they have the power to easily overrun even one country.

 

"I should have thought normally and given up on my plan there, because I should have known that it was impossible to capture a hero even if he was fascinated by power. It was supposed to be, but the king was literally out of the ordinary."

"What did the king do?"

"If you don't have enough power, you can increase it, and if you don't have enough size, you can increase it. A fair price should be paid to bind the overwhelming individual of the brave—and for that the king was so foolish that he did the most unlawful thing."

"The worst thing to do...... Consideration...... No way!"

 

In order to possess great power, it is necessary to have a certain amount of power.

If the power of a single sorcerer is not enough to suppress the power of a hero, then the means are naturally limited.

 

"It's a sacrifice."

 

Well, that's going to happen.

Human life has more energy than magic. If you gather dozens or hundreds of people together, it will be a tremendous power.

I thought about it calmly, but Usato didn't seem to be able to do that, and he clenched his fists in anger and shook his shoulders slightly.

 

"A large number of 500 injured people who were affected by the evil dragon were used as a substitute to strengthen their magic while they were still alive, and regardless of age or gender, their souls were taken out and they all died in silent bodies......

"It's ridiculous......!"

"I think so, too," he said, "but in his quest for power, the king misprioritized what he was supposed to protect. A country can only exist if it has its people, but the king has sacrificed the people he should protect in favor of only the prosperity of the country."

"Huh...... So you managed to catch the hero?"

"No, I heard I didn't catch him."

"What is it, it's like that......

"The dog is dead, isn't it? That word is appropriate. The king's plan to capture the hero was spectacularly defeated, and all that was left was hundreds of corpses and magic that continued to be activated without fulfilling its purpose. And that magic turned into a curse that undermined the royal family."

 

That's the true nature of the curse that was eating away at that girl.

Perhaps those skeletons were the souls of the Samaritan people who were sacrificed to capture the hero, and the chains that tied them were the magic that binds the souls to the Samarian activated by the sorcerer.

 

"Well, what happened to the sorcerer who created the curse?"

"He was executed, because he was the one who made the Samaritan Tower built in the name of reviving after his magic failed...... It seems that the king who executed the sorcerer also disappeared due to a curse."

 

It's not like what I heard from Usato.

I had heard that the tower was built by the king of Samaritan, but he said that it was built by a sorcerer. Maybe I'm mishearing Usato, but the difference is huge.

If it was made by a king, I still doubt it, but if it was made by a magician, it means something.

 

「...... Nea, do you know anything?"

 

Usato called out in a hushed voice.

I look at him, nod my head and let out a chirp.

I knew what the curse was.

I thought it was the same curse that was taking away her body and soul, but I was wrong.

It was the Samaritans who were sacrificing their bodies, and they were stealing their souls—no, it was a magical curse that bound them to the place called Samariar to be more accurate.

If my binding spell is the magic of binding the body, then the magic that the Samaritan sorcerers mastered hundreds of years ago is the magic of binding the soul. What a vicious witchcraft he remembered.

 

"That's all I know about curses."

"Thank you for letting me know."

"I'm the one to thank you, you gave me hope when I had given up. ...... If there's anything else I can do, please let me know and I'll help you as much as I can."

 

At Lucas's words, Usato thanked him once more, bowed deeply, and left.

 

"For the time being, I'm going to find the location of the Great Book of Curses next."

"I'll do that, it's easier to move alone, and most importantly, Usato needs to be in perfect condition first."

「...... Endorsement. Did you ask for it? I've got you covered."

 

He nods confidently at Usato and thinks about it.

Now that the true nature of the curse is fully understood, there is no need for Usato's hand to do the next thing.

Let's start by finding the body of the curse, as Usato said.

 

●

 

"That's why."

"The curse of the people of Samaria, and it is also quite troublesome."

 

I knew exactly what the curse that Usato and Nea were trying to deal with.

However, there is one thing that made me wonder when I heard Nea's story.

 

"Why are you here?" Aren't you supposed to be looking for the body of the curse by now?"

"I'm sure you've found something like that right away, okay? I'm an expert when it comes to curses. I came here for a different reason."

「...... So what is it? Here's why."

 

He is a little annoyed by Nea, who shrugs his shoulders in dismay, but asks calmly.

In response to the question, Nea put down her fork and gave a proud expression before pointing out the window.

 

"That's it."

「...... Huh?"

 

Turning in the direction she is pointing, she sees a white tower towering over the center of the country.

The Samarian Tower rings the sound of bells that I have heard many times since I came to this country. What is it about Sole that is seen as an object of prayer by the people of Samaria?

 

"How did the curse continue to work for hundreds of years? Well, Usato can't leave because he has to break the curse on the castle. That's why I decided to work with you guys on this job."

「...... What the hell are you going to do, Nea?"

 

At Aluk's words, Nea smiled wickedly.

 

"Tonight, we're going to smash the Symbol of Hope in Samaria."

 

I said such a ridiculous thing.