WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: nemui
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◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈
Vol. 2 Ch. 4: Enchanting Fluffiness
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“It’s Lenny, my companion!”
While Theo pleaded desperately, Lenny gave a vacant little “Meaa.”
“Gray Knights are required to entrust all personal belongings and assets to headquarters upon joining. Pets are included.”
Theo stared at Archibald in shock. It made the Gray Knights sound like nuns renouncing worldly life.
But for the Gray Knights, the purpose was different.
Judging from the Holy Knights’ and Archibald’s reactions so far, it was likely meant to prevent escape and keep them under strict control. That was why Beryl had told him to eat the candy on the steam train.
（...Wait. Then how did Beryl get candy?）
Archibald took off his jacket and threw it over Lenny as the fluffball rolled away across the floor with a fwap! He swiftly wrapped the wriggling ball of fluff in the jacket and secured it.
Theo hurriedly clung to Archibald.
“Lenny isn’t a pet. Lenny is my companion. Lenny appeared when I first used Curse Armament Manifestation.”
“...What?”
Archibald frowned and looked at JJ.
The paper bag gave a rustle. Apparently, JJ had tilted his head slightly beneath it.
“Hmm... Could you let me look at that little white fluffball up close?”
“Of course.”
Theo nodded, and Archibald reluctantly placed the jacket on the desk. One hand remained on the saber at his waist the entire time.
The jacket flipped open, revealing the white fluffball.
“Mefuu.”
“Ooh, enchanting fluffiness...”
Perhaps taking JJ’s words as praise, Lenny proudly cried, “Meuu,” then tipped over backward with a plop!
It had probably lost its balance while puffing out its chest and fallen on its rear. Lenny had four legs hidden inside that ball of fluff, but they were so short that they could not even serve as brakes. Thus, this happened.
JJ scooped Lenny up in both hands and stared closely through the paper bag.
“...Hmm. It does seem to be some kind of Familiar. We can have the doctor examine it properly once they return.”
“Do the Gray Knights have a resident doctor?”
“Yeah, our Termea specialist. They’re away at the research facility right now, but once they return, I’ll have them examine your Curse Sigil and abilities.”
With that, JJ gently placed Lenny on the desk. His hands were as gentle as if he were handling a small animal.
“There you go, your little fluffball’s back. As long as you care for it yourself, I have no objections.”
“Thank you very much!”
Theo properly thanked him and reached for Lenny. Moving its short limbs with all its might, Lenny climbed from Theo’s hand to his shoulder.
“Welcome back, companion,” Theo whispered.
Lenny rubbed its fluffy body against Theo’s cheek.
“Right then, I’ll leave the rest to Archibald. Take care of him.”
Archibald glared bitterly at Theo and Lenny in turn before ordering, “Follow me.”
After leaving the commander’s office, Theo was taken to another room on the same third floor. There, he was given a uniform and a full set of clothes.
“We will keep your personal assets and belongings here.”
“Yes, understood.”
The clothes he was given included underwear, simple shirts, and trousers in addition to the uniform.
A building surrounded by fencing and guarded by sentries. Confiscated possessions and money.
They were treated exactly like prisoners.
“If I break my Curse... will these belongings be returned to me?”
He did not want to think about it, but it would be easy to confiscate a Gray Knight’s possessions and simply embezzle them.
Archibald’s frown deepened as he pushed up his glasses with a fingertip.
“Everything will be kept secure. There will be no embezzlement or misconduct. However...”
His eyes behind the glasses fixed Theo with a piercing glare.
“When a Gray Knight dies in service, we place their belongings in their coffin. There have been several occasions when we put only their belongings into an empty coffin.”
That presumably meant the fallen Gray Knight’s body had either gone missing or transformed into a Termea.
People who transformed into Termea were not buried in coffins. Termea remains were not buried, but transported to a disposal facility in the south.
“Not one person has broken their Curse and left the order. Engrave that reality upon your heart.”
With that, Archibald wrote the date on a small tag. Apparently, he recorded when and from whom each person’s belongings had been entrusted to him.
But his hand stopped after writing the date.
Archibald took out a notebook, checked something, then wrote “Theo” on the tag.
（Just as I thought...）
Watching him, Theo became certain.
“Administrator Archibald, you are not a Mad Walker, are you?”
Theo’s Oblivion Curse had difficulty affecting the Blessed and Mad Walkers.
Yet Archibald had struggled to remember Theo’s name from the moment they first met. He was neither Blessed nor a Mad Walker.
“I am here on secondment from the Royal Feather Guard Infantry Regiment. I wear the Gray Knights’ uniform here, but I am not an official member.”
（The Royal Feather Guard Infantry Regiment!?）
Theo was honestly stunned.
They belonged to the Erington Army and served under Crown Prince William’s command. That much sounded much the same as the Gray Knights, but the Royal Feather Guard Infantry Regiment was the elite among elites.
Their name came from the plumed ceremonial hats they wore, and they sometimes served as guards for nobility.
One needed an excellent family background and exceptional skill in swordsmanship, riding, languages, and every other field to join them. In Erington, they were admired by everyone, standing alongside Holy Knights.
（I thought he was with the Erington Army... I never imagined he was with the Royal Feather Guard Infantry Regiment.）
Why would someone so remarkable be assigned to the Gray Knights?
Theo’s expression must have plainly shown his question. Archibald spoke in a curt tone.
“I am Logan Archibald. By order of His Highness the Crown Prince, I monitor the Gray Knights.”
So Archibald was his family name. In that sense, too, he differed from the Gray Knights, who had their surnames taken from them.
Archibald lightly rested a hand on the hilt of the saber at his waist.
It was not a weapon one could rely on to cut through a Termea. Naturally. His duty was not to fight Termea.
“If your transformation into Termea progresses, I will take your heads with this saber. That is why I am here.”
Thinking back, Archibald had never hidden his disgust toward Mad Walkers from their first meeting. Naturally. He was not a Mad Walker. He was one of those tasked with executing them.
From the way he stood with his hand on his saber, Theo sensed the frightening presence of a master swordsman. It was the same bottomless fear he felt whenever Allen became serious.
Theo could not even tell how great the difference in skill between himself and Archibald was.
The gap was that overwhelming.
“When the power of a Curse runs wild, transformation into a Termea advances. Remember that well.”
Theo swallowed with an audible gulp. Then he bowed deeply.
Lenny, who had been sitting on his shoulder, rolled onto the floor with a plop!
“Thank you for your warning, Administrator Archibald!”
“...”
“I will remain vigilant not to rely too heavily on my Curse, and I will also improve my swordsmanship.”
Archibald was warning him not to rely too heavily on the power of his Curse, or his transformation into a Termea would advance.
What a sincere person, Theo thought admiringly.
At Theo’s feet, Lenny, having rolled off his shoulder, gave a disgruntled “Mefubuu.”
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