Kays Translations

Chapter 212: The Culprit Behind the Curse

After seeing the others off, Tauro remained inside the shop in Dareder. He concealed himself with [Presence Concealment] while monitoring the surrounding area through [Presence Detection].

The store stood on a quiet side street with relatively little traffic, though people still passed regularly once the town became busy around midday.

Riryo’s mother had kept the shop closed for several days because of her illness. Another day without business would therefore attract little attention.

Eventually, Tauro detected someone lingering outside the door and attempting to peer through a gap into the interior.

He slipped around the building and observed the visitor from behind. The man was short and had an unusually large nose. After searching the darkened shop for some time, he scurried away.

Tauro followed under [Presence Concealment]. The man never noticed him and eventually entered a large mansion.

Tauro moved around to the rear and listened from outside.

“Well? Has the woman died yet?” demanded a loud voice that appeared to belong to the mansion’s master.

“I couldn’t sense anyone inside the shop.”

“Then you should have entered, you fool! The neighbors said the former owner picked up the magic-stone instruction tablet that I accidentally dropped. You were supposed to retrieve it.”

“The cursed stone is still inside. I don’t want to be cursed!”

Their argument grew loud enough for Tauro to hear clearly.

A magic-stone instruction tablet.

Tauro remembered a specially processed magic stone among the goods he had placed in [Magic Storage]. He hadn’t yet examined it closely.

“The curse will barely affect you if you avoid touching the stone and don’t remain near it for long,” the master said.

“Barely is still too much!”

“Why do you think I sent you to investigate? The sorcerer says the connection to the stone has been severed. Go back tomorrow.”

The exchange confirmed that the mansion’s owner was involved in placing the cursed stone. The reference to an instruction tablet, however, suggested that the crime extended beyond Riryo’s family.

After quietly asking a passerby who owned the mansion, Tauro returned to the shop.

The night passed without incident.

The following morning, Tauro returned the merchandise from [Magic Storage] and opened the shop himself. If the short man came back, Tauro intended to surprise him and learn how the conspirators reacted.

Several genuine customers entered and bought ordinary household items. Shortly before noon, the man with the large nose arrived and froze upon seeing Tauro behind the counter.

“You’re a boy I haven’t seen here before.”

“Welcome. I began helping today.”

“Helping?”

“My aunt has been ill and couldn’t keep the shop open. I’m a relative, so I agreed to assist until she recovers. She began feeling better yesterday, and I probably won’t be needed for long. Would you like to buy something?”

“No. I only looked in because the shop was unexpectedly open. Is the woman in the back feeling better?”

“She’s still resting. Please return in a few days if you need to speak with her.”

“I-I see. I hope she recovers quickly.”

The man hurried away, almost certainly to report to the mansion’s owner.

Tauro waited. If the conspirators acted again, they would expose their methods and create an opportunity for him to retaliate.

That evening, an unpleasant presence began clinging to his body.

Aeris’s barrier had apparently faded, and the distant spellcaster had reconnected to the cursed stone. The new curse targeted the person believed to be inside the shop – Tauro himself.

That was exactly what he had intended.

Remote curses carried a serious risk for the caster: a sufficiently capable target could return the curse through the magical connection, and the reflected curse would strike with twice its original force.

Tauro possessed [Dark Spirit’s Blessing (Weak)] and considerable affinity with dark magic. He placed both hands on the cracked cursed stone.

“Very well. Let the counterattack begin.”

He began casting the curse-returning spell.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter