WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: nemui

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◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈

Vol. 1 Ch. 19: Brothers

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"Don't underestimate me!"

Allen was kind, but he was also selfish and cruel.

More than anything, what angered Theo was that Allen had decided for himself that seeing the difference in their strength would sap Theo's motivation.

"I know my own weakness. It is true that I have compared my ability to Allen's and felt discouraged. But if you think something so small can break my spirit, then your understanding is shallow indeed, Allen Lawrence!"

"...Theo, why do you suddenly start talking old-fashioned when you get angry?"

"Listen! I will become a Gray Knight and surely slay the Termea that cursed me!"

He clenched his fists and pictured the years since the Lawrence family had taken him in. The warm times he had spent with his family.

He would not give that up.

"Once I am free of this Curse and Olivia remembers me again, I will become a Holy Knight at last!"

There was only one way for a Mad Walker to be freed from a Curse.

They had to defeat the Termea that had planted the Curse in them.

Then Theo only needed to erase the Curse, become free, and try again to become a Holy Knight.

"So when that time comes, I want you to make me a true member of the family. As Holy Knight Theo Lawrence... I want to return home, to the home where Olivia and Allen are."

Theo knew that Olivia and Allen had already accepted him as family.

But this was Theo's way of setting things right after spreading the Oblivion Curse.

"No matter how much you accomplish in the Holy Knight Order, Allen, I will catch up to you. So please wait for me until then. As my rival."

"Calling yourself my rival is a bold claim."

Allen's smile was half wry amusement and half warmth.

He looked exasperated by Theo's stubborn competitiveness, yet he still cherished him as family.

"I'm strong, you know?"

"I know. But I'll catch up."

Theo put strength into every word, as if engraving them on his heart.

Allen smiled, the corners of his already drooping eyes lowering further.

"Then you'll have to eat a lot more and grow bigger, Theo."

"I eat enough. You're the one who eats too much. Just so you know, if you become famous as the Holy Knight Order's Eternal Glutton, I'll pretend I don't know you."

Three devastating forehead flicks struck Theo in rapid succession.

Given Allen's extraordinary physical ability, the flicks were strong enough to make Theo seriously wonder whether they had punched a hole through his forehead.

Allen puffed out his lips.

"You say you want to be my little brother, but you'll pretend you don't know me? Huh. I see."

"I'll pretend I don't know you because we aren't strangers!"

As Theo trembled with tears in his eyes, something wriggled in his pocket. It was the white fluffball that had jumped into it earlier.

Meh-oo-ah.

The fluffball sprang out and rammed itself into Allen's nose. Allen let out a startled cry, but it did not seem to hurt much.

The fluffball plopped onto the ground, then leaped at Allen again.

It was almost perfectly round, so Theo could not tell whether it was a headbutt or a body slam. He decided it was a body slam.

Meh!

"What is this... a fat mouse? A baby rabbit?"

"I don't know. It came out of me."

"How do you not know when it came out of you?"

"I-I can't help it...! It just came out!"

Allen swiftly caught the fluffball's next charge in his palm.

The palm-sized ball of fur was easily enclosed in Allen's hand.

"Was this the thing that popped out yesterday when you manifested that sword and shield?"

"That's right."

Curse Armament Manifestation.

When he thought about what he wanted to become and how he wanted to live, Theo had sworn to himself, "Be thou a knight."

He pictured a knight's weapons and attire, along with a white horse as his companion. Then, at the very end, this fluffball had popped out.

Theo lacked the confidence to call this thing a white horse, so he clenched his fist and declared firmly,

"This is my companion."

Meh!

The fluffball slipped from Allen's hand and dropped to the ground. The next instant, it sprang into Theo's chest. Theo hurriedly caught it in both hands.

The fluffy feeling in his palms made Theo's cheeks relax.

"All right. From today onward, your name is Revogaldreny!"

"...Theo, your sense of naming things is unique."

"Yeah, it's not bad, right?"

Names sounded cool when they had things like va, vo, gal, gil, and so on in them.

Revogaldreny. Theo puffed out his nostrils, convinced he had come up with an overwhelmingly cool name.

Allen cautiously made a suggestion.

"Why not shorten it to Lenny, at least?"

"That would be easier to call. Nice to meet you, Lenny."

Meh.

The fluffball wriggled and seemed to puff up.

Maybe it had puffed out its chest. Theo had no idea where its chest was, though.

Looking down at Lenny in his palms, Theo smiled.

"Will you remember me, I wonder...? I hope you will, my companion."

The little creature only chirped, Meh, meh, and Theo could not know what was in its heart.

Still, as long as it did not leave Theo, he wanted it to remain his companion for a while.

"Companion, from now on we'll do great things and catch up to Allen, my rival."

Meh-oo...

Lenny shrank down in Theo's hands. Theo thought it was intimidated, but that was not it. Like a person bending their knees before a jump, Lenny had drawn itself in to leap with all its might.

Crying Meh! bravely, Lenny sprang up and rammed Allen's cheek with a bop!

Allen caught Lenny with one hand before it could fall, then looked at Theo in confusion.

"...Does it hate me, maybe?"

"My fighting spirit must have reached it. Good job, Revogaldreny."

Meh-ah.

Allen guarded against Lenny's repeated bop, bop charges with one hand while Theo urged it on.

It was trivial and silly, a small, peaceful moment.

Theo laughed out loud.

Forgotten by everyone, Theo knew how precious moments like this were.

That was why he decided to laugh from the bottom of his heart, as if to drive away the unfairness of it all.

* * *

A room at an upscale inn in the mining town of Worg had two beds. It was the room used by Carla and Beryl, the Gray Knights.

Sitting blankly on one of the beds was Carla, a white-haired girl.

She had drifted here from the West End. Until recently, she had worn a uniform no better than rags, but now she had changed into a spare uniform Beryl had brought.

The uniform consisted of a plain gray jacket and trousers. Beryl had modified hers into a wrap skirt. A few others had altered their uniforms as well, but Carla had made no changes. A shirt and jacket, trousers below, and around her neck, a collar to signal her location, or rather, a black choker.

Beryl told her that a girl her age ought to dress up once in a while.

But Carla had no interest in food, clothing, or shelter. More accurately, she did not have the peace of mind to take an interest in such things.

Carla's heart was always held captive by memories she did not want to forget.

"Hey, Carla. I bought a mask that looks about right."

The door opened without a knock, and Beryl entered. The brown-skinned woman with sandy hair carried cloth bags in both arms, with bottles of alcohol visible inside. She seemed to have bought food as well.

Beryl took out a white mask and handed it to Carla. It was a simple mask that covered the area around the eyes. Carla quietly thanked her and put it on.

"Why not only wear it outside?"

"...It's not good for people to see my face."

"It's fine in the room, at least. Well, if it makes you feel more comfortable, I won't force you."

Beryl sat cross-legged on a nearby chair and put the bottle of cider she had bought to her lips.

Even drinking so carelessly suited her.

Beryl licked her lips and looked out the window.

"I sent an urgent telegram to Erington, so someone will come to take over tomorrow. Then we're leaving. We'll take that new kid with us and head back to Gray Knights headquarters."

That new kid, the boy Carla had encountered, was apparently a Mad Walker.

Carla drew up her memory a little, as though straining her eyes in a foggy world.

"A blond boy with a braid..."

"Theo. Apparently, he has not only Curse Armament Manifestation, but a unique Curse too. It's called the Oblivion Curse."

"...What?"

"Put simply, it makes people around him forget him. It doesn't seem to work as well on the Blessed or Mad Walkers, though."

"............"

Carla slowly raised a hand and touched her heart.

Her pulse was quicker than usual, proof that she was shaken.

She was shaken. Carla, who had spent so long shutting down her thoughts and immersing herself in memories.

"Beryl, do you have paper and a pen?"

"I do. Writing a letter?"

"No. A memo."

"Then will this do?"

Beryl rummaged through her bag and held out a fine pen and a rough piece of paper.

Carla gripped the pen and wrote a single word.

Theo.

Beryl wore an expression that seemed to ask what Carla was doing.

So Carla spoke the reason for her actions.

"Because I don't want to forget, I write it on paper."

It was something very important.

Very, very important...

Character Notes

Theo（14）

A blond, green-eyed boy who aspires to be a knight.

He bears a Curse that causes people to forget him.

Allen Lawrence（17）

A tall, handsome young man with brown hair. Like an older brother to Theo.

An eternal glutton. Blessed with 〈Destruction〉 and 〈Regeneration〉.

Olivia Lawrence（38）

Allen's mother and Theo's foster parent.

A former nun, Blessed with 〈Regeneration〉.

Elbert Randolph（27）

A Paladin Blessed with 〈Destruction〉, 〈Regeneration〉, and 〈Creation〉.

The hero Theo admires. His crush was a married woman.

Beryl（26）

A Gray Knight. An older-sister type with brown skin, sandy hair, and a wrap skirt.

Carla（about 14?）

A Gray Knight. A white-haired, red-eyed girl who normally hides her face behind a mask.

Lenny

A fluffball that came out of Theo. Presumably a failed white horse.

【Terms】

Termea

Something red-black and gooey. It resembles a so-called slime, but has no translucency.

It absorbs creatures other than humans and transforms. Humans are seedbeds, so it does not absorb them.

It implants humans with Curses, turning them into seedbeds and increasing its numbers.

Blood Tail

A spine possessed by Termea. It stabs humans with this spine to inject them with a Curse and increase its numbers.

Besides injecting Curses, it can also be used as an ordinary weapon.

Generally, each Termea has one, but rare individuals called Pain Tails possess multiple Blood Tails.

Blessed

Humans who have received one of the blessings of 〈Destruction〉, 〈Regeneration〉, or 〈Creation〉.

Their physical abilities may improve, or their wounds may heal faster.

Those with multiple blessings are rare.

Cursed

A general term for people who have received a Curse.

Mottled red-black Curse Marks appear across their bodies.

Mad Walker

Among the Cursed, those whose Curse progression has miraculously stopped.

Their Curse Marks become patterned Curse Sigils, allowing them to turn their Curse into a weapon.

Press Bread

A light meal made by putting fillings between bread, pressing it flat, and grilling it. Best served piping hot.

Theo likes it with mushrooms inside.

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