WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: nemui
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The Forgotten Curse Knight ◈
Vol. 3 Ch. 5: A Brave and Pitiful Creature
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“It’s possible that you cast Oblivion upon yourself, isn’t it?”
Theo caught his breath. He had never considered that.
...But it certainly made a great deal of sense.
Five years ago, when Theo was still young, he was already a Mad Walker carrying the Oblivion Curse.
（Back then, it hurt when everyone forgot me, and I wanted to run away... Could I have cursed myself to forget everything?）
How wonderful it would have been if he could declare, like a knight, that he was not that weak.
But Theo knew his own weakness.
He was afraid when people looked at him as though he were a stranger. Every time someone forgot him, he was hurt. Theo was so anxious that simply hearing someone call his name made him feel relieved.
（If I hadn’t known about the curse, I could have kept trying...）
If he greeted people cheerfully, behaved well, helped others, showed kindness, became a knight... he could keep trying, believing that someday, surely, people would remember him.
So when he learned that he bore the Oblivion Curse, and that it had all been pointless, his heart had nearly broken.
（The Lawrence family were Blessed and treated me normally... And because Lord Elbert encouraged me when we met that day, I was able to pull myself together and decide to do my best as a Gray Knight... But maybe I couldn’t recover five years ago?）
Had the Theo of five years ago despaired after being forgotten by the world?
Had he wished to forget even the fact that he had been forgotten, and cursed himself...?
Meup!
At that moment, a white fluffball slipped from his pocket and fell onto the lap of Theo, who was seated in a chair.
The fluffball climbed up Theo’s arm, settled on his shoulder, and pressed its soft body insistently against Theo’s cheek.
Mef!
“Lenny?”
Was Lenny trying to cheer up the dejected Theo?
As Theo enjoyed Lenny’s fluffiness, Gertrude blinked.
“Oh my, what a peculiar creature.”
“It’s Theo’s Familiar. It appeared during his first Curse Armament Manifestation, and it’s been with him ever since.”
At Beryl’s explanation, Gertrude gave an interested “Oh?”
Theo had yet to see any Familiar besides Lenny, but he had heard that Familiars were normally red-black and existed only while a Curse Armament Manifestation was active.
There had never been another mysterious fluffball like Lenny, white and soft, making listless little cries, and impossible to identify as either a rabbit or a mouse.
Gertrude took Lenny in both hands and began feeling over its entire body.
“The limbs are here, the mouth is here, the ears are here... Oh, oh, it has a tail too. Now then, where is the anus...?”
The next instant, the white fluffball sprang from Gertrude’s hands, struck the ceiling, struck the wall, struck a shelf, then made an artistic landing on Theo’s lap.
Mef!
The fluffball seemed somehow proud of itself. Beryl whistled, while Gertrude applauded.
“Such movement is unimaginable from its estimated muscle mass. May I dissect it?”
“N-no, please don’t! Lenny... Um, I probably can’t manifest it more than once!”
Theo had only succeeded in manifesting Lenny that first time. No second Lenny, or any after that, had ever appeared.
Beryl asked Theo a question.
“Come to think of it, you can’t put Lenny away, right?”
“Yes. I can dismiss manifested swords and shields, but... for some reason, Lenny doesn’t disappear.”
Manifested swords and shields exhausted Theo if he kept them manifested, but Lenny did not.
So from the day Lenny first appeared until today, it had remained at Theo’s side, rolling about as a proud fluffball.
Gertrude narrowed her left eye and looked back and forth between Theo and Lenny.
“Your heart and this Familiar called Lenny both look pitch-black to my left eye... I see. It seems true both that your curse is in your heart and that this white fluffball is a curse.”
JJ had said the same thing.
Lenny was probably a truly extraordinary existence.
“I consider Familiars to be pseudo-life-forms, but Lenny does not seem to be one. How are creatures made of curses different from Termea, I wonder? What a being to tickle the heart of a Termea lover.”
“...Professor Gertrude, why do you like Termea?”
Theo could not understand liking Termea.
Termea were invaders. They absorbed other living things and used humans as hosts, making them dangerous beings.
Gertrude smiled at the confused Theo.
“Termea absorb living things and mimic their forms, but they cannot absorb humans. They love humans and cannot help seeking them. Yet they can never become human... When you think of them as such earnest and pitiful creatures, don’t they become dear to you?”
Certainly, Termea fixated on humans, but that was because they needed hosts to increase their numbers.
Theo had never sensed any emotion in Termea’s behavior. To begin with, how much intelligence could Termea even possess?
“I’m sorry... I don’t really understand.”
“Then I’ll give you this. It’s fresh off the press.”
Gertrude opened a desk drawer, took out a booklet, and held it out to Theo.
Its title was simply, Termea Ecology: Ask Dr. Termea!
“This is a book where Dr. Termea, Gertrude, gently explains Termea’s basic ecology and examples of Termea that have appeared in the past. It is filled with my love for Termea. By all means, take it with you.”
Theo accepted the booklet and cautiously turned a page.
It was hard to tell what audience the book had been written for, ranging from explanations simple enough for children to understand to specialized commentary.
Still, it was undoubtedly a useful volume for Gray Knights and Holy Knights who fought Termea.
For example, if one severed a Termea’s weapon, its Blood Tail, the Termea would prioritize regenerating it.
The time required varied by individual, but the quickest could regenerate it in around ten seconds. Some individuals also changed the location of their Blood Tail when it regenerated. This information would help one decide whether to sever a Blood Tail in battle.
There was more besides. Termea lifespans were still unclear, though they were estimated to live for more than a hundred years, so Mad Walkers would be wise to stop hoping that the Termea which cursed them would die of old age.
（Amazing. There’s so much useful information... But...）
Within that book, Gertrude did not treat Termea as monstrous invaders.
Theo could even sense an affection for Termea that he could not understand.
When he raised his face from the booklet, he met Gertrude’s eyes.
Beyond the clear lens, her red-black left eye gleamed as it fixed an intent, lingering gaze on Theo and Lenny.
“If you ever want to know more about curses or Termea, come see me. I love children very much... second only to Termea.”
That final remark ruined everything.
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