Promotion Test (6): A Curse?
Was it a curse? Veronica's words left me feeling a bit uneasy. It wasn't for some grand reason. I simply wasn't confident I knew how to break that 'curse'.
She seems more certain about it than I am.
For some reason, Veronica appeared utterly convinced that I could lift the gods' curse. The main cause was probably my use of original rune magic that humans couldn't normally wield. But that was like seeing an electric car and assuming you could run airplanes or aircraft carriers on electricity. It was that level of wild delusion.
I uncrossed my legs. The conversation ahead was difficult, so I'd unconsciously slipped into a polite posture.
"Um, Veronica. Last time we were pressed for time so I couldn't explain properly, but I never once said I could break the Bicorn curse, did I?"
"Why dost thou surrender before even making the attempt?"
The small pony's tail swished against my back with a soft tap-tap.
"To thee, it may be a matter easily dismissed with a simple 'I cannot.' But for us, it is a matter of grasping at straws. If there is even the faintest possibility, we will not hesitate to try anything."
The words reached me directly through my mind via rune magic that functioned like telepathy. Even in her pony form, her desperation came through clearly. I see. So Veronica wasn't expecting a hundred percent success either. In that case, I could respond without feeling too burdened.
Refusing a request made so earnestly wouldn't exactly be manly of me. As long as it didn't cause me any loss, I could at least hear her out.
Veronica sat on the floor and continued.
"Moreover, thou hast already lifted several curses. Comparing it to a mere straw feels almost insulting."
"Oh, is that how it is? Sorry. I thought you guys were just humoring me because I'm the one talking."
"Foolish words. I have never once put straw in my mouth."
Veronica sounded slightly offended. Even as a descendant of divine horses, her true form was humanoid, so she probably didn't graze on hay like an actual horse. Makes sense. If I turned into a woman, I wouldn't suddenly develop a womb or anything. If one's core identity remained human, tastes would probably stay similar too.
As a true Korean, I could eat dried seafood or wild greens without complaint, so I could accept a half-pony, half-divine Veronica eating hay with an open mind. Russians were apparently horrified seeing Koreans eat dried bracken, but since hay was also dried grass, the difference wasn't that huge.
"We'll talk about how to break the curse a little later. More importantly, how did you get in here? Didn't the innkeeper stop you?"
"I concealed myself using the rune ᚴ (Kaunan). Wouldst thou understand if I called it Impression Camouflage?"
"Ah, that. I can use something similar."
I drew the ᚴ (Kenaz) rune in the air. Since I hadn't fully grasped its true meaning, it vanished without a medium to sustain it.
A variant of the rune. She must have used it to escape Heisvent too.
Rune language, like any other, had evolved with time and region. So the versions used by monsters, Bicorns, and humans were all similar yet different. Like languages on Earth, overlapping concepts got adapted to fit pronunciation or cultural tastes. Therefore, ᚲ (Kenaz) and ᚴ (Kaunan) were about as different as "that bastard who deserves execution" and "that bastard who deserves extermination." In short, it was basically a difference in pronunciation.
Veronica laid the cat that had been riding on her back onto the floor and spoke.
"Indeed. The origin is the same, yet it is far more effective than what humans cursed by the gods employ. Of course, one day thou may reach a similar level."
"No need for the flattery. About that favor you want, your timing isn't great."
"Why? Has some great matter arisen?"
"Well. Depending on how you look at it, this village is facing something pretty big, but it doesn't really concern us so let's move on."
This was a village built half a day's distance from a forest infested with monsters. The children born here bore no sin, but the villagers lived knowing the danger. You know how some people live near the DMZ despite everything. You could call it safety complacency, but they probably had their reasons.
Thinking that, I continued. "We'll probably head back to Sargadis tomorrow. It's already late to attempt the favor, and the return trip takes two days. So you'll have to wait a bit."
"It seems my following thee would be troublesome."
"It's hard to explain to my party members. The ones who came with me this time aren't Franc or Larilura."
"I am the one making the request, so I shall abide by thy circumstances. A few days' delay is tolerable."
Perhaps because the power dynamic was clear, Veronica didn't argue. That made things go faster, which was nice. But then she spoke with a hint of regret.
"Yet we depart tomorrow morning. I thought we had met in a good place, but it seems I will trouble thee even in repaying my debt."
"Trouble me? What do you mean?"
"Before coming here, I prepared to repay the life debt I owe thee. I intended to take the teleportation circle in the Forest of Holy Water to the land where the Runsten I would give thee lies. But if thou art leaving this place, I must bring thee another time."
"Forest of Holy Water, teleportation circle, Runsten—I'm not following any of this."
Just from the words alone I could make a rough guess, but it was like knowing the shape of a farming tool without knowing its name. I folded my arms.
"So what you're saying is, you were going to give me a Runsten as thanks for helping last time? There's a Forest of Holy Water near Agros Village, and it has a teleportation circle?"
"...I had not even spoken, yet thou guessed it like a ghost. Didst thou not say it was incomprehensible?"
The progression was so obvious. I thought that for a moment, but this was something I should actually be surprised about. Veronica had spoken so casually that I hadn't registered the shock.
"Hey. When you say teleportation circle, you don't mean a Teleport magic circle, right?"
"What else would a teleportation circle be but Teleport? I too rode that circle to a distant place, only to return after hearing of the curse in thy dream."
"That... 'distant place' you mentioned. Where exactly is it?"
"The abandoned grounds of Quartgonia, as humans call it. Some of us Bicorns live in the Forest of Holy Water there."
"Holy shit."
Why did this have to be real? My head was spinning. The conclusion pieced together from the information was way outside the norm.
"Excuse me, you crazy horse. According to what you're saying, there's a Teleport magic circle connecting Britannia to a foreign country right in front of this backwater village?"
"Crazy horse...?! Kgh...! What of it?"
Veronica ground her teeth, holding back her anger at my insulting words. But I had things to say too. After hearing her explanation, I couldn't help using strong language.
"Look here. I don't know how it sounds to you former divine beings, the Bicorn-nims, but to humans like us, hearing that there's a teleportation circle connecting countries is enough to make our jaws drop."
My head was starting to hurt, so I clutched my forehead and clicked my tongue. Someone who didn't know the full story might wonder why I was so shocked now. After all, I'd seen a Teleport circle in the Underground Tower too.
But damn it, how can a magic circle leading to some unknown other world be the same as one leading across the sea to another continent!
If it was hard to understand, imagine a teleport circle in North Korea that could send you straight to Japan in one go. Just saying it out loud felt insane. This was the kind of information that made you want to take it to your grave, imagining what kind of conflicts it would cause.
Plus, the place connected to that damned circle is also a problem.
Quartgonia. It was the name of a nation that had been hostile to Romania during the ancient civilization period. It was now destroyed, but legend said human sacrifice had been common in its golden age. Scholars suspected Romania's propaganda and fabrication as the victors, but regardless, ancient Romania had supposedly razed Quartgonia's lands and erased its culture. That's why in the modern otherworld, the coastal area with a land route to Narmer-Nile was famous. In other words, it was like a PTSD trigger for Romania's religious fanatics, comparable to Auschwitz.
But what the actual fuck. A Teleport circle that leads straight to the spiritual homeland of a heretical sect?
It was no different from shouting, "Surprise! The Japanese Self-Defense Forces have hidden a nuclear submarine in 21st-century Pearl Harbor!"
I let out a silent scream like Munch's The Scream.
"I really, really didn't want to know this shit!"
Correction. It was a very audible scream.
Of course, that circle might help with Teleport research, but hadn't the Underground Tower given me almost no useful information either? And now they wanted me to bet the rest of my life on a place where I'd likely be suspected as a communist? What, are you telling me to ride some North Korean coin or something?
"Be at ease, my friend. Unnecessary worry is unneeded. The Forest of Holy Water is hidden deep within the woods by a barrier. Only those possessing the mana of the Nine Gods may enter that barrier."
When I started reeling, Veronica seemed to notice my concern and offered further explanation.
"The teleportation circle of Quartgonia is one of the six hoofprints left by our progenitor, the Divine Horse, as it slid across the Nine Heavens. That is why it cannot be used without profound knowledge of the Nine Gods' mana and runes."
Veronica explained eagerly, looking like an excited old person who jumped into a conversation between young people because she actually knew the topic. I hadn't noticed because she looked like a pony, but this auntie-pony was quite old...?
"Didst thou say something?"
"I didn't say anything."
Mentioning age to a woman sensitive about it was forbidden. My older sister had taught me that lesson well. I felt my headache easing a little and asked, "Then, um. Humans can't use the teleportation circle?"
"...I cannot state it with absolute certainty."
"Hey, what the hell, you damn horse."
"L-listen to the explanation!"
When my gaze sharpened, Veronica shook her head frantically. It should have looked cute in pony form, but it didn't feel cute at all.
"Humans received the curse forbidding rune usage! Naturally, some of the gods' mana that placed that curse must remain in thy bloodline! That is why I cannot state it with certainty! The conditions differ from the legends!"
Veronica explained in a rush. Bloodline? Was the curse embedded in DNA? Since the curse's effects passed down through generations, it was roughly similar.
"If one possesses as much of the Nine Gods' mana as thou, enough to cause mutation phenomena in parts of the body, they would almost certainly meet the conditions! I simply cannot be sure because I have never taken other humans into the Forest of Holy Water!"
"I would've preferred if you could state it definitively—but wait. How did you know I caused a mutation phenomenon?"
The fact that my native salamander had completed its ultra-evolution into a world dick-dragon was something only my wives and Tirsi knew. Earthlight? Never heard of it.
So how does this damn horse know I caused a mutation phenomenon?
"Ah, aah. The mutation phenomenon is a symptom commonly manifested among humans possessing the Nine Gods' mana after the curse spread. With thy level of accumulation, I simply assumed it would have manifested."
When Veronica noticed my attention shifting elsewhere, she relaxed so obviously even her pony form showed it. I wondered why she was acting like that, but it was probably because I'd reacted sharply from our first meeting. Or maybe because of the traumatic nightmare-like things I'd done in the dream.
Anyway, calmly recalling the past like this seemed to wash away my worries.
Yeah, damn it. We're leaving this village tomorrow anyway.
I placed my hand on the bed and decided to stop the pointless worrying. The conditions were being a master of rune magic plus possessing the Nine Gods' mana. There couldn't be many humans in the entire world who met them. Excluding me, it would probably be Tabula and that bastard's organization. Worrying that they might find the Bicorns' sanctuary, ride the teleportation circle, and cause trouble seemed like a waste of mental energy.
"In any case, speak to me whenever thou art so inclined. Whether it be lifting the curse or going to obtain the Runsten, I shall move according to thy wishes."
Veronica spoke once I seemed to have calmed down. I nodded.
"Yeah. You head to Sargadis too. Can you find my house if I explain?"
"I may wander, but I should be able to arrive."
"If you think you'll get lost, just wait in the nearby forest. I'll come get you. Bring that cat too."
I pointed at the cat that had fallen asleep, completely ignoring our conversation. This guy's fur had improved a lot compared to his stray days. Had Veronica in human form brushed him in a place without people?
—Twitch.
For some reason, Veronica trembled at those words.
"...H-hum. For some reason, thou seemest unusually gentlemanly today. Is it my imagination?"
"I'm basically extremely gentlemanly by nature, you know? All our previous meetings were under special circumstances."
"...That is glad tidings. Thou art the second kind human I have conversed with after Rozanna."
The Bicorn Veronica lowered her gaze as she spoke. Rozanna. That was the hunchbacked girl I had saved. I recalled that she'd been in charge of odd jobs and had looked after Veronica. Veronica must have gone through a lot in her life. It made sense, since our first meeting was when she was captured by the circus troupe. Every human she met probably rushed at her like they'd found a treasure goblin.
Anyway, a Runsten, huh.
I'd only heard about it and never actually seen one. I wasn't sure if that stone would actually help me. More than that, if I managed to lift Veronica's curse, wouldn't other Bicorns come swarming?
I was thinking that when I tried to bid Veronica farewell.
"O-ogre!!!!"
"Run!! An ogre has appeared──!!!!"
A huge shout erupted from the floor below.