Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Why Are You Worshipping My Altar? (2)
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Finally, I get to say this.
I opened my eyes in the fluffy bed.
Actually, I couldn't open them.
My eyes hurt too much...
"I'm really gonna die..."
Anyway, I got up from the bed.
A super fluffy one at that.
The kind only nobles use.
"You're giving me this now..."
My condition after firing the retaliatory curse was awful.
My whole body felt drained of strength, and my eyes were so burst with blood vessels that I couldn't even open them.
A shaman serving the gods had handled a curse, so it was only natural.
"Worse than I thought."
Returning a rotten curse from a rotten bastard had left my body in this state.
It was a total wreck.
Not just my eyes—my right wrist hurt like hell too.
"How do they always know when I wake up..."
I sensed the two old men approaching.
Maybe old folks just don't need much sleep in the morning.
"Chris, you're awake?"
"We're coming in."
Closel entered the room and spoke to me with clear frustration.
"One potion would heal that right up..."
"Even if it did, some other part would still hurt..."
Since the ritual ended, Closel had been trailing me with a potion in hand.
A few drops in my eyes, and it'd be good as new, or so he said...
But that was the problem.
This pain couldn't disappear so easily.
It was a form of retribution.
I'd handled a curse, so I had to suffer too.
The karma wouldn't end until I fully endured the pain myself.
"Being a shaman sure ain't easy..."
"That's the fate you're born with."
"Why not quit and learn magic instead?"
Magic?
Sounds great.
Noble-level treatment, steady salary from the Empire.
Once your skill level rises, you could live rich without a care.
But none of that applied to me.
"Isn't being a mage a job too? I can't do it."
"Think it over. You're a bit old to start, but I'll make it work somehow."
"I'd probably have to be reborn for that."
"Ugh..."
Closel backed off a step, and Parmon spoke up this time.
"How about swordsmanship? It's not a job, so that should be fine, right?"
"Ramon, Chris has to learn magic if he's learning anything."
"Didn't you see him fight that goblin with his eyes closed? Someone like that needs to learn the sword."
"Ah, I said neither works..."
My whole body was already killing me, and now the old men were piling on—my fatigue doubled.
I just wished they'd both leave.
I poured water from the pitcher by the bed and drank.
"You're moving pretty well for someone who can't open his eyes. Seeing with those other eyes again, like last time?"
"Yeah... kinda blurry, but I can make it out..."
Just the outlines, really?
Luckily, I had ways to see besides my regular eyes.
If I focused my Spiritual Eyes, I could see.
The problem was how exhausting it was.
Not for an hour or two, but all day—it just made my head hurt worse.
Seeing the world purely through Spiritual Eyes wasn't easy.
So we compromised: I'd settle for the blurry version.
It was tolerable even while using Spiritual Eyes.
"One more time—if you want to learn swordsmanship, I'll take responsibility and teach you."
"Ah, I keep saying no..."
At that moment, someone entered the room.
"Baron Valen, you've arrived?"
"Yes, Lord Parmon...!"
Baron Valen.
The number one contributor to my fluffy bed.
Rumor had it he was the son of Parmon's old underling.
That explained the stiff, un-noble-like military discipline.
"Ahem... was the bedroom comfortable?"
"Thanks to you."
"...Good."
I could sense his wariness toward me.
A commoner like me under the protection of a Sword Master and an archmage—probably didn't know how to handle it.
But this baron seemed uncomfortable somehow.
"Are you hurt anywhere?"
"...I received some instruction from Lord Parmon."
Last time he'd said he'd look after his juniors, and now he'd done the same for the baron.
Accumulating good karma was always a plus—it'd help the old man's future too.
"Old man, you carrying that thing properly?"
Parmon's divination still hadn't come through.
So I'd given him a special countermeasure.
A talisman to block misfortune.
"Heh heh... meddling with an old man's underwear now..."
I'd told him to fold it neatly and keep it inside his underwear.
That way it'd work for sure.
The shameless conversation only piqued the baron's curiosity about my identity.
"Um... if I may ask, what exactly is your relationship with these two lords?"
"Hmm... relationship, you say..."
Closel drew closer to the baron.
The old man whispered quietly.
He thought he was hiding it, but I heard every word clearly.
I could even feel it through my skin.
"He's the friend who's going to marry my granddaughter."
"Rosel, I think that's my line."
What the hell were these old coots saying?
Why were they deciding my marriage?
I felt the baron's heated gaze after hearing them.
"If anything's uncomfortable, just say so. How about moving to my room while you're at it?"
"...No need. And why would I be your granddaughter's husband?"
"Since it's come up, why not? I'll go fetch her right now. One warp and it'll be instant."
I'm a commoner.
Not someone these super-elite nobles would covet.
A noble-commoner romance?
"No, seriously—why me as your son-in-law..."
Parmon opened his mouth with a pleased expression.
"You don't realize how amazing you are. Plus, personally, you fit the bill perfectly."
"You'll turn the magic world upside down."
Being a great person didn't help with a shaman's fate.
My karma wasn't geared toward becoming someone extraordinary to begin with.
The key point was I'd never even met these granddaughters of theirs.
I wasn't thinking about marriage yet...
The only bonds I'd formed here were with two grandpas and one elf grandma...
Irene looked young, so that was fine.
Plus, she was honestly pretty.
"Where'd Irene go?"
"Muttered something about a branch and followed along."
"Hmm..."
Irene aside, there was still a problem to solve.
I'd just woken up as a patient, and already so much piled on...
"When's the helper you mentioned arriving?"
"Should be soon."
I had no good way to handle Uncle Hans's soul, who'd become a wraith.
Parmon mentioned knowing a holy knight at the temple, so I'd asked for help.
It'd be nice if there was a method, but so far they'd only ever exterminated wraiths—no precedents for restoring them.
"Ow... my head..."
"Keh heh."
Parmon just kept laughing, like it was hilarious.
His smiles were coming more naturally—not a bad sign.
Though some awkwardness lingered.
Closel watched fondly and spoke up.
"That aside, patients need to eat well."
"Right you are. Hey, Valen."
"Yes! Lord Parmon! Your command!"
"Prepare a meal."
The baron's attitude was practically that of someone greeting a god.
Makes sense—he looked trained in the sword, and Parmon was a Sword Master...
"Make it meat-heavy. Meat's the best thing for the body, after all."
"Yes, sir!"
Baron Valen answered energetically and left the room.
He was overdoing it—like he'd fetch every scrap of meat in his territory.
Parmon muttered.
Infusing it with mana, booming grandly.
"Nice weather... makes me crave a drink."
His reply came from afar, mid-run.
"Heh heh... wasn't meant for your ears."
This old man had some boomer traits sometimes.
Normal for his age, I guess...
Parmon called to me.
"I have a few things I want to confirm."
"Go ahead."
His voice was unexpectedly serious.
If he was setting the mood like this...
Necromancer talk, maybe?
"What's your ideal type?"
"..."
Somehow, I seemed to have a monopoly on the old men's interest.
Even borrowing power from the spirit who'd become my guardian felt like dealing with a geezer.
God was a geezer.
Companions were geezers.
Now they even wanted me to marry their granddaughters...
Before shaman stuff, as a person, this needed clearing up.
I got serious too and opened my mouth.
"...Pretty?"
"Pretty."
"How pretty?"
"Spitting image of me."
"Next!"
Closel stepped forward confidently.
"My granddaughter's pretty too. Just like my late wife. For reference, she was a famous beauty in the Empire."
"Didn't you say she took after you more?"
"Ramon, you're not even close to your kids anyway!"
"I'll get close when I head back this time!"
Old friends, alright—their bickering was getting childish.
Either way, both were saying pretty?
Unfortunately, having a shaman in the family continues the spirit line.
One reason shamans avoid marriage.
"Old timers, sorry, but I'm not getting married..."
Closel cut me off.
"He's here."
Someone was approaching the room.
"Oh man..."
A holy knight, huh...
Radiating blinding holy light.
Dazzling to the eyes.
"...It's gonna be blocked."
The closer he got, the stronger the light.
The key issue: that light was blocking my blurry vision completely.
My Spiritual Eyes were totally clogged by it.
One reason shamans can't get divinations around clerics.