Chapter 292: We Found a Treasure? (2/2)

“Dispel.” [Remilie]

What greeted me as soon as I got out was Remilie-san’s magic. Light born from magic permeated my body and gave rise to a strange feeling. It was exhilarating, as though I’d been freed from something. My head started working better too. Or rather, I think it’s been sluggish until now.

“Was I cursed?” [Ryouma]

From how she used Dispel, and from how I’m feeling so refreshed, I must have been cursed.

“From time to time, accidents of that sort can occur in places where you can get dark magic stones. The dark element tends to focus on mental attacks or indirect attacks, so that might be why the mana contained within the stones can influence people. I haven’t mined my own stones in awhile, so I’d completely forgotten.” [Remilie]

“I was careless too. Thank you for saving me. If it had just been me, it would have probably been too late before I noticed that I was cursed.” [Ryouma]

“There’s no need to thank me. We’re working together, after all. Later, I’ll teach you how to deal with curses too, but for now, rest. I’ll get rid of the curse on that magic stone too.” [Remilie]

As she said that, she rubbed my head and chanted, ‘Anti-Curse’, then she entered the hole.

“Have some water.” [Sebasu]

“Thank you.” [Ryouma]

Sebasu-san handed me a cup of water and a towel, and I wiped my sweat and drank some water. Light spilled out from the hole, and some dozen seconds later, Remilie-san came back.

“Remilie, how was it?” [Reinbach]

Reinbach-sama, who had stayed alert of our surroundings this whole time, asked that, and Remilie-san made a troubled face.

“I’m not sure how to put it, but anyway, that thing is really amazing. It’s a magic jewel.” [Remilie]

If I recall correctly, the ruby in the necklace Elia entrusted with me is also a magic jewel. It’s supposed to be super luxurious.

While I was thinking that, Remilie-san spoke.

“I know you’re tired, but can you get that magic jewel?” [Remilie]

So I went back into the hole, but she made sure to cast some anti-curse on me before I went.

…Now that I look at it again, that thing I thought was a bunch of magic stones was actually a large cluster of black quartz. I’ve once seen a crystal cluster at the waiting room of a business partner in my past life, but nothing this big. There’s no reason I couldn’t have realized that, though. As expected, the curse had affected my judgment.

Still, it sure is pretty. I wonder if it would be fashionable to display something like this in my house. …Yeah, I think I might want this thing. Despite no longer feeling that chill from earlier, I can’t find it in myself to want to touch it.

So I used Create Block and covered the whole cluster with earth magic. Since it had grown as big as the magic jewel that it enclosed, I got the earth slimes to widen the path, then I used ki to get the whole thing out.

“T-This is…” [Sebasu]

“It’s impressive, but I’m not sure how to handle it…” [Reinbach]

“If not for the curse, it would definitely be on the level of a national treasure.” [Schieber]

After extracting the whole thing out, everyone but Remilie-san and I were speechless. They were barely able to squeeze out their impressions. As expected, this magic jewel was an anomaly, be it in terms of rarity, quality, or size. Even these people, who have long gotten used to luxury, couldn’t tell how much it would go for if sold.

As for me, the amount of money being discussed was already too much for me to wrap my head around. It sounds like a lot of trouble if we tried to sell it, so I think I’ll just keep it at home.

“Ryouma-chan, if you don’t mind, can you entrust this magic jewel with me?” [Remilie]

“This thing?” [Ryouma]

When Remilie-san said that out of nowhere, the first thing that came to mind was to reject her, but then it hit me. Why was I trying to reject her? I would stand out in a bad way if I sold it anyway, and Remilie-san didn’t say she wanted it for free… I’m not so attached to it that I’d reject her request without even hearing her out, but… It seems I might have wanted it a lot more than I thought. Well, it’s a fairly valuable object, so I guess it can’t be helped.

“Dispel.” [Remilie]

When the contradicting emotions within me reflected on my face, Remilie-san used Dispel on me again, and my head cleared again… The adults made a glum face.

“I guess the curse wasn’t undone, after all.” {Remilie]

“It’s not that I was afflicted with a curse again when I extracted this thing but that you couldn’t lift the curse?” [Ryouma]

“You were already under the protection of my Anti-Curse, and the response I got when I used Dispel on the magic jewel was strange. It’s hard to put into words, but… It felt less like I was able to dispel it and more like the curse allowed itself to be dispelled… I thought I managed to dispel it, but I couldn’t actually be sure. It feels bad, honestly.

By the way, it’s also common for the person afflicted with the curse to show an obsession with the cursed object.” [Remilie]

So her question earlier was her way of probing me.

“It’s understandable to want that magic jewel, so I was originally planning on making my decision only after asking a few more questions, but you seem to have noticed that you were acting weird yourself, so it was easy to see that you were still cursed.” [Remilie]

“In that case, I suppose we’ll have to get a shaman, or an exorcist, or perhaps someone high up in the church to examine him then.” [Schieber]

“Yes. Unfortunately, this is about as much as I can do. Dispel and Anti-Curse are all I can use when it comes to curses, after all. The former is – as the name suggests – meant for dispelling, while the latter is meant for defending. Fortunately, the curse that’s affecting you doesn’t appear to be the type that immediately causes the deterioration of your health, but… Are you feeling strange anywhere, Ryouma-chan?” [Remilie]

I pondered on it, but after her explanation about the curse’s obsessive effect, my interest in the magic jewel has mostly dissipated. I was confused earlier, but thanks to her Dispel, that’s been done away with. As of now, I don’t think there’s anything else strange about me. Am I really still afflicted with the curse? I’m normal enough to wonder that.

“In that case, there’s no reason to panic. Curses are less effective when the target has more mana. For the meantime, let’s get out of here.” [Remilie]

“Yes. Even if we tried, we wouldn’t be able to come up with anything if we racked our heads somewhere as gloomy as this place.” [Schieber]

“Let’s go back then… Though I must say… Walking all the way back those stairs would be a pain.” [Reinbach]

“Let’s go back with my dimension magic then. The undead have already been dealt with anyway, so it should be safe by now.” [Sebasu]

Like that, we left the tower, and our quest to search for the herb of Everlasting Darkness at the Town of Departed Spirits came to an end. Though there was an unexpected hiccup at the end, I was without any obvious symptoms, so in the end, I’d say that the trip was both successful and fruitful.