The Forgotten Curse Knight - Chapter 32

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: nemui

◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈

Vol. 2 Ch. 13: Licking a Little Candy Very, Very Carefully

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That evening, just as Theo and the others returned to the village meeting hall where they were staying, the other Holy Knights who had gone out to question people came back with villagers in tow.

Their reports were broadly the same as what Theo and the others had encountered.

A Cursed with a black sphere attached to their back had attacked villagers.

All of Oswald's subordinates were Holy Knights accustomed to fighting Termea. They had quickly noticed the sphere controlling the Cursed, cut it out, and warned everyone nearby.

Holy Knights and villagers hurried in and out of the meeting hall.

With no order to deploy, they could not act on their own. Besides, Curse Armament Manifestation was exhausting to use. Theo had used it for several minutes earlier, so he needed to conserve as much strength as possible if he was to endure another battle.

So, while resting, Theo did his best to memorize the reports of the people coming and going.

Comparing the places and times where the controlled Cursed had appeared against a map, Theo and the others had found four victims, including Mylene's brother. There were another two a little farther north, and one on the outskirts of the village, for a total of seven.

Nicola, who had inspected the Cursed, reported to Oswald.

"I have a report. The sphere attached to the Cursed's back did not have a Blood Tail. It seems reasonable to conclude that it was not an extremely small Termea, but an offshoot from a Termea of Third Grade or higher."

Nicola usually spoke cheerfully and leisurely while waiting around, but now his words were crisp and clear.

"The Termea's encroachment will likely take anywhere from one to three days."

The rate of encroachment was the time limit before a Cursed, injected with a Curse through a Blood Tail, turned into a Termea. However, that did not apply if they had been injected with a great deal of Curse.

Oswald had already entrusted the unconscious Mylene to the villagers and gathered the Cursed victims in one place.

In the worst case, they would have to be killed before turning into Termea, so isolating the victims was standard practice.

The villagers had also been ordered to stop their farm work, remain indoors, and lock their doors.

（Now we wait for Carla's report...）

Carla's strengths were not only her ability to fly, but also the ease with which she used Curse Armament Manifestation and how long she could maintain it.

Unlike Theo, she did not need the power of words, and she could sustain it for a long time. Its duration was an especially major issue for Theo.

According to Beryl, who had taught Theo how to use Curse Armament Manifestation, pushing it to its limits made it easier to extend those limits.

However, since doing so could also cause mental contamination or accelerate the process of becoming a Termea, it was not recommended. It was better to use it every day and gradually get used to it.

（...How much practice would it take to sustain it as long as Carla can?）

"Oh, and Theo."

Nicola looked at Theo after finishing his report. Theo hurriedly straightened his back.

"Yes! What is it?"

"Mylene woke up."

Theo felt relieved, but his heart also skipped a beat.

Hugo kneaded Lenny as though absentmindedly fidgeting with it, then spoke to Theo.

"Then let's go say hi for a little while. You want to know whether the Oblivion worked properly too, right?"

"...Yeah."

His quiet murmur of agreement fell weakly to the floor.

Oswald did not rebuke them. He only ordered, "Come straight back after you show your faces."

* * *

Mylene was resting in a room at a house near the meeting hall.

She lived with her brother, and with him absent, it was worrying to leave her home alone. However, the meeting hall was holding the people who had become Cursed, so it was not suitable for an ordinary person to rest there. That was why they had left her with a villager.

When Theo and Hugo visited the house, a plump middle-aged woman welcomed them in with a warm, "Come in, come in."

Ordinary people knew nothing about Gray Knights or Mad Walkers. She probably thought Theo and Hugo were Holy Knight apprentices visiting a villager. Smiling, she said, "Thank you for caring about Mylene. You're such good boys."

In the bedroom the woman showed them to, Mylene lay on an adult-sized bed. She seemed to have already regained consciousness, and when she noticed Theo and Hugo, she raised her upper body.

Theo said nothing. He could not.

Hugo had apparently expected Theo to start the conversation. But when Theo did not open his mouth, Hugo awkwardly spoke to Mylene.

"Uh, are you feeling all right? Your head doesn't hurt or anything?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Um, I don't really remember much after I went outside..."

She must have thought they wanted an explanation of what had happened. She was a smart girl.

Mylene looked apologetic for remembering nothing, and Hugo waved both hands.

"Ah, it's fine, it's fine. It wasn't anything serious. Right, Theo?"

"...Yeah."

When Theo agreed, Mylene blinked at him.

Theo knew that look in her eyes.

...It was the look she gave a stranger.

"Is that older boy a knight too?"

Hugo stared blankly. His face said he did not understand what she meant.

"Huh? No, no, no... We were just together..."

Pushing past the flustered Hugo, Theo stepped forward.

（Smile.）

No matter the circumstances, act in a way that reassures people. I am a knight.

Repeating that to himself, Theo knelt before Mylene's bed and brought himself level with her eyes.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Theo. I help the Holy Knights. This is my partner, Lenny."

"Wow, it's cute!"

Theo pulled Lenny out from inside his clothes and set him on Mylene's bed.

The white fluffball rolled down the slope of the bed and finally settled into Mylene's hands. Her small fingers stroked Lenny's white fur.

"We have work to do now, so could you look after it for us?"

"Yes, I understand! I will!"

Theo politely bowed to the middle-aged woman. "Sorry for coming by so suddenly."

Then he urged Hugo along and left the house.

After they had walked a little way, Hugo, several steps behind Theo, muttered.

"You... should've told me first."

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

"Your Oblivion makes people forget you too when you erase their memories, right?"

Theo did not know how to answer. The power of Oblivion was still being tested.

However, he did know that if he erased an ordinary person's memories with 〈Designated Oblivion〉, they forgot Theo's existence too.

Once, with Beryl present, he had asked a soldier participating in early-morning training to help with a simple experiment. He made the soldier forget "that morning's breakfast menu."

The result was that 〈Designated Oblivion〉 succeeded, and the soldier forgot the breakfast menu.

But not only that. The soldier had said this to Theo.

"Why is a child like this in the training grounds?"

...He had forgotten Theo's very existence.

So when Theo tried to erase Mylene's memories of terror, he knew her memories of Theo would vanish too. Even so, Theo himself had decided to take away Mylene's fear.

Theo turned to Hugo and said,

"Thanks for worrying about me. You're a good guy, Hugo."

"...Is that sarcasm?"

Hugo shoved both hands into his pockets, twisted his lips, and glared at Theo.

Theo's brows drooped as he gave an awkward smile.

"This is troubling. I really don't mean it sarcastically. Just having someone worry about me makes me very happy."

Even just a little concern made him happy. Even simply being called by name made him happy. It was true.

Wanting to cling to something so small was not because Theo was humble.

"Because everyone in my hometown forgot me."

Like a hungry child carefully, carefully licking a small piece of candy, Theo treasured and savored every little joy.

If he did not, the loneliness felt as though it would drive him mad.

Hugo caught his breath for a moment, then said nothing more.