Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Someone Gets Backstabbed (1)
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About two weeks had passed.
I, who had made a tremendous contribution to successfully completing the purification ritual, became the temple's most special guest. Thanks to that, I could live without worrying about meals or a place to sleep.
Of course, I didn't just eat and loaf around. Over those two weeks at the temple, I performed the purification ritual four more times on the cursed land, and every one succeeded without a hitch.
"Have you packed everything?"
"Yes, Master."
Yesterday had been the final ritual.
Even though we'd purified a pretty large swath of land yesterday, the experience points I earned were less than half of what I'd gotten the first time. It meant I'd pretty much wrung every last drop of XP out of the purification ritual quest. So the next step was obvious. Time to move on. I'd achieved my original goal anyway—there was no reason to stick around.
What was that original goal again?
I opened my book.
Under my name, faintly glowing letters appeared.
[Saint of Purification]
That was it.
A title!
[The effects of curses inflicted on you are nullified.]
[Nullified curse level range: Up to +10 of your current level]
[Effects of curses exceeding the level range are weakened upon application.]
The [Saint of Purification] title I'd earned by racking up temple contributions had some seriously good effects. And for good reason—the curse on the cursed land wasn't your run-of-the-mill hex, but one cast by the gods themselves. That's why even the big-shot mages couldn't lift it, and only the priests' divine magic had any effect.
'I'm a special case, though.'
The title I'd originally been gunning for was [One Who Obeys the Gods], but [Saint of Purification] was way better, so I had no complaints. [One Who Obeys the Gods] only granted a minor blessing.
Curses were a real pain—tricky and annoying. Once you were hit with one, dispelling it cost a ton of time and money, plus a bunch of restrictions. Better not to get cursed at all. Which made [Saint of Purification] an absolute steal in every way. It straight-up blocked curses up to my base level plus ten. And it even weakened anything higher.
If it reflected curses back at the caster, it'd be perfect, but that kind of effect didn't fit a [Saint of Purification] vibe. Too vengeful.
'Nah, better just not put myself in a position to get cursed in the first place...'
We bid farewell to the temple folk—those paladins who'd ignored me at first were so torn up about us leaving, it was starting to get creepy—and headed to the market.
"I'm looking for a decent carriage. Size doesn't matter."
Why a carriage, out of nowhere?
My original plan had been to buy a solid horse.
But life never goes according to plan.
An unexpected tagalong meant I had to scout out a carriage—and a horse to pull it.
Elle was a little girl, so sharing a horse wouldn't have been the worst idea...
'But with a carriage, she can drive while I rest. No more pitching tents every night.'
Your average girl probably wouldn't know how to handle a horse, but Elle had been a noble's daughter. She'd have had her own mount back then, and learned to ride properly.
If you can ride, driving a carriage is a breeze to pick up.
'Time to score myself a personal ride—and a personal chauffeur.'
Oblivious to my scheming, Elle was buzzing with excitement, lumbered down with luggage as she gawked at the market stalls.
"A carriage?"
"Yeah, a carriage."
The merchant's eyes lit up.
"You know, a really fine one just came in. Great price, too."
Conversations that kick off like this never end well. There's always a catch behind that 'great price.'
Still, I let him talk.
Emboldened by my silence, the merchant launched into his pitch.
"It belonged to a noble from Paldme. Carved from top-quality oak, lined inside with soft calfskin! Curtains are the finest velvet. Spacious and comfy as can be."
"And the carriage itself?"
"Ah, we're still airing it out over yonder, on account of the smell..."
"Smell?"
"Whoops, my bad. I mean the leather! Leather smell, you know."
"Smell? Didn't you say it was a noble from Paldme's carriage?"
"Er, right. Yeah."
The merchant hustled toward the carriage, sneaking glances at me the whole way. What was his deal? Had someone taken a dump in it or something?
'If so, time to haggle hard.'
I followed him at a leisurely pace, already plotting my discount. The warehouse he led me to held...
"Whoa..."
A carriage that oozed an aura totally unlike your standard market wagons.
Majestic. Dignified.
No flashy decorations, but intricate carvings everywhere showed the craftsmanship involved.
'Usually these things come in all colors, but solid black? Kinda suspicious.'
The interior matched—plush calfskin and gleaming velvet, exuding comfort and old-world elegance.
A whole lot of effort had gone into this thing.
I inspected every nook and cranny, then turned to the merchant with a casual remark.
"Nice piece. Must be why the noble's unloading it. In some serious debt, huh?"
"Better if it was just debt."
The merchant let out a heavy sigh.
What kind of story was this carriage hiding?
"Honestly? I like it."
A touch smaller than average for better maneuverability, but roomy enough inside for real rest. Reinforced wheels meant less rattling around. Translation: better sleep quality. Sturdy and light, so the horse wouldn't tire easily.
A perfect carriage.
"But I can't buy it without knowing the full story."
No way something this nice ends up with a wandering druid who's not even a local in Galopik.
There had to be some nasty skeleton in the closet.
The merchant hemmed and hawed, looking pained, but my firm gaze finally cracked him.
"...If I tell you the story, you'll buy it?"
I just smiled without a word. My head was already full of ways to slash the price.
"This here's a special carriage, made for a Paldme noble. Hired the finest craftsmen—and even a mage—for his daughter's eighteenth birthday gift."
Standard fare so far.
"But on her birthday, heading to meet her fiancé... she ran into bandits."
Still standard.
"You can guess the rest. She died. But the real kicker starts now."
The merchant dropped his voice to a spooky whisper, like he was telling summer ghost stories.
"People die every day, right? Happens to everyone. The lady just had bad luck. But those bandits..."
"..."
"They didn't just have bad luck. She was dead, so they figured they'd sell her jewels, horse, and carriage. Except they couldn't. Something happened—no one knows what—and they all got crushed under this thing."
"Fascinating."
"Get this: the only one inside the bandit-crushing carriage? The dead lady."
"So..."
"Yeah! It's a cursed carriage!"
The merchant clapped a hand over his mouth, like he'd just realized he had to sell this to me.
"...Anyway, that's how it was found. What choice did the noble have? He dumped it. But get this."
"But?"
"Everyone who's bought it since swears they've heard a woman's horrific screams. Tsk tsk. Cursed, through and through."
"Anything else?"
"...Huh?"
"Nothing else happen?"
"Uh... well... no."
"I see."
Now I got why this luxury ride was slathered in black.
Covering bloodstains. And the 'smell' they were airing out? Same deal.
"But they all wasted away one by one..."
"I heard you. Now, about the price."
I cut off the merchant before he could dive back into the 'cursed' spiel and got to the point.
"Ah, the price! Right, right."
"Since it's definitely cursed, I'm expecting a fair one."
The merchant tugged at his beard, cleared his throat with a rumble.
"Eight gold. Gotta be at least eight, no matter what."
Eight gold...
Not bad.
But not a steal.
"A carriage where people drop dead—for eight gold?"
"Hey! A rig like this normally goes for twenty—thirty gold easy!"
"A haunted ghost carriage? Different story."
"Ahem. Seven gold fifty silver, best I can do."
"Four gold."
"You... didn't peg you for the ruthless type."
"You're the one trying to offload a haunted ghost carriage without a word, and you're lecturing me on conscience?"
"Seven gold. Only 'cause you're the [Saint of Purification]."
"Four fifty."
"You trying to put me in the ground? Six fifty."
"Five gold. That's my limit."
"You—!"
"If I turn into a ghost, you'd be off the hook, no regrets."
"...Six gold! Final offer!"
Six gold.
Now that's a steal.
I grinned, fished six gold coins from my pouch, and handed them over.
"Deal."
"You're something else..."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
I gazed fondly at my new 'cursed carriage.'
Leaving the cursed land with a cursed carriage... poetic.
"Master, is this really okay? What if we get cursed too...?"
"Don't worry, Elle. Won't happen."
I said it with total conviction.
Even if it really was cursed, my [Saint of Purification] title would kick in—no big deal.
Curses weren't something just anyone could toss around anyway.
'Unless the Paldme lady's ghost was involved...'
Eh, I'd exorcise it then.
With the carriage sorted, next up: a horse.
We headed to the nearby stable. I'd scouted one a few days back, so it was just a matter of paying up.
"...I'm really sorry about this."
Or so I'd thought...
For some reason, the horse I'd eyed was gone.
"Explain exactly what happened."
I couldn't hide my rising irritation as I stared down the stablehand.