Chapter 151
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 155
Chapter Title: True Madness
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Following Charhela, who was leading the way, the ger we arrived at was filled to the brim with all sorts of flashy decorations and symbols, unlike the other gers.
"Zelraph~ I brought him~"
"...Yes."
Waiting for us inside the ger was a beauty brimming with decadent charm, her skin a deep tan and her eyes heavy-lidded with languor.
"...Oh."
This woman was one of the people I recognized.
Zelraph, the grand sorceress—one of Charhela's closest aides alongside Bygelman.
A beauty characterized by her coppery skin brighter than Nemes's, her alluring features, her tall stature, and her voluptuous, curvaceous figure.
Back when I played Origin World as a game, she was one of the heroine candidates I used fairly often.
Her performance was decent enough, but what made her fresh was her use of the unique power called sorcery.
"Charhela. Zelraph suits my tastes more than you do?"
"What...!?"
She lifted her usually gentle eyes into a venomous glare, sending chills straight down my spine.
She looked a bit like Vivian, but the pressure she exuded was immense.
"You! Watch your mouth! Even if I look like this, I'm popular with the barbarian warriors, you know! I'm not someone to be brushed off like that!"
"Isn't it because you're a strong warrior? Barbarian warriors believe that strong offspring come from strong warriors."
"Th-that's...! But! How do you even know that!?"
She admits it.
I wondered if she hadn't been too influenced by the barbarian warriors, for whom honesty is a virtue.
"And I never said you were ugly. Objectively speaking, you're a beauty. It's just not my type."
"Oh, r-really...? Ahem..."
Watching her blush shyly and look embarrassed made my face twist up involuntarily.
Honestly, I couldn't read this woman named Charhela's psyche at all—it was downright terrifying.
Even if the core was different, how could she feel those emotions while in her little sister's body?
In the game, she was portrayed simply as a hot-tempered battle maniac... I wasn't sure if I should call this twisted or just perverted.
"Sigh... Anyway, nice to meet you, Zelraph. Take good care of the sorcery tattoo."
I plopped down in front of her and spoke. She nodded with a languid gesture and smiled softly.
"Hehe. I'd already heard the stories, but you're even more entertaining in person. Leave it to me."
"Oh, do you need any magic ink or reagents? I brought some."
I beckoned toward my shadow, and Murel rose smoothly from it like a ghost, pulling out a heap of colorful glass vials from her sub-space pouch.
"Oh...? This is...!"
Zelraph's languid eyes snapped wide open, sparkling brightly.
"Isn't this imperial top-grade magic ink and reagents!? Am I really allowed to accept these!?"
"Hey now, not just any top-grade—these are handmade from the duke's castle. You couldn't buy them for money."
Clatter.
I shoved the pile of glass vials straight over to her.
"Here. So please make the sorcery tattoo a good one."
Sorcery tattoos didn't have ranks or anything, but the materials used did slightly alter their efficiency.
Well, honestly, it wasn't a meaningful difference... but still better than nothing.
"Aaah! Of course! With these, I can draw an excellent sorcery tattoo!"
I chuckled at the sight of her, eyes shining like a child's—making a mockery of her initial languid, decadent image.
"Then no need to dawdle. Let's get started right away. Take off your top."
"Got it."
Splash!
Zelraph scattered the magic ink and reagents generously over a large sheet of yellowed paper and began muttering something.
"...Thus does this body desire: let there be mystery in this place..."
These were words closer to a prayer than a spell.
In the lore of Origin World, sorcery in this world had originated from curses, so that made sense.
At first, it was nothing more than maledictions—mere malice wishing misfortune and calamity upon others.
But at some point, they took on substance, and various conditions and laws began to be discovered.
For example, if you wished misfortune on someone, you had to draw a circle with chicken blood on their house gate and offer a tribute.
If you wished death, you shot an arrow at a drawing of the target and swallowed saltwater.
If you wanted to inflict bodily pain as you desired, you stuck the target's hair or nails into a straw doll and soaked it in bloodied water.
Once such curses began to produce real, albeit faint, effects, people naturally emerged to study them.
Regardless of empire, kingdom, black mages, or demons.
They discovered that the conditions and laws of curses were tied to the symbols and relations perceived by intelligent beings, and that voicing intense desires and prayers activated their power—thus naming it sorcery.
In some ways like magic, in others like divine law, yet utterly inscrutable in origin: an intensely alien discipline. That's sorcery.
...Or so the lore said.
In the game, it was just one of the skills allowing offbeat playstyles.
"I see and hear and feel that mystery, and as I desire: to the frail one bound to the earth, grant the courage to hunt daily sustenance; let the life and power of the first prey take root within..."
Zelraph's ten ink-smeared fingers began darting across the yellowed paper like living things, weaving in every direction.
What emerged were circles and stars, sun and moon, beasts and humans of unknown identity.
They were hard to make out, like crude sketches from vague shapes, but as long as the symbols stood out clearly, recognizability didn't matter.
"You are the foolish one. That body shall hold strength and sin, life and death, soul and spirit. Thus shall you be blessed even as you are cursed."
⟨ Sorcery Tattoo ⟩
I nodded silently as I listened to her incantation.
The reason I alone had come for the sorcery tattoo—excluding everyone else—was precisely that curse.
If it only made you stronger from getting inked, I would've dragged the whole party along.
In the game, the curse manifested as a penalty: powerful unique skills and bonus stats, but at the cost of equipment restrictions.
On some weapons, armor, and even relics.
Needless to say, in an RPG with tiered power levels and item progression, that penalty was massive.
That was why handling Charhela was so tricky and demanding.
...Well, Origin World being galge-based meant some leeway there... but it was still difficult.
"Mm..."
Zelraph raised her hand, and all the symbols on the paper floated up into the air, jumbling together into a single round, black circle.
I clenched my teeth, bracing for the pain.
Sizzle!!
"Ugh...!"
As expected, the black circle burrowed into my right chest like it was staking claim.
For several seconds, I trembled fiercely, desperately holding down my thrashing body and clamping my mouth shut against the agony—until finally, the pain began to ebb away.
A black circle like an abyssal pit had been etched across my right chest and flank.
"It's done. Now, the power and abilities of your first hunted prey will take root in you. The tattoo's shape will change then, too."
"Hahaha! Not a single scream—as expected of my husband! So manly and splendid!"
I exhaled the breath I'd been holding as I listened to Zelraph and Charhela.
"Hoo... That hurt more than I thought."
I gulped down booze to chase away the lingering pain and slowly rose to my feet.
"Leaving already? Have some tea before you go..."
As Zelraph said that, Charhela pulled a grim expression for some reason.
Why was she suddenly like that? Was there some meaning to those words I didn't know?
"The barbarian tribe's cha... I'm interested, but not now. I'm craving booze more."
"Is that so? How regrettable. And after receiving so many gifts... If there's anything making you uncomfortable or any favor you need, don't hesitate to say it."
"Yeah. Got it."
I waved goodbye to Zelraph and stepped out of the ger, gazing at the wide-open wasteland as I took another swig.
The deep flavor of Belturga booze slid smoothly down, lifting my mood.
"...Hm, that was good, husband. Shaking off Zelraph's temptation like that."
At that moment, Charhela emerged after finishing her goodbyes with Zelraph and looked up at me with meaningful eyes, saying something unexpected.
"What?"
I tilted my head, and she pouted her lips while glaring at Zelraph's ger.
"She never paid any attention to men before, but she goes flirting with my husband of all people... Well, she does have good taste."
"...What are you talking about? Zelraph seduced me? Offering tea counts as seduction?"
"Exactly! Not to mention the coquettish smiles, slyly emphasizing her cleavage, and needlessly exposing her thighs! The Zelraph I've seen all this time never made those gestures! It was a first for me!"
"...Oh, really?"
I'd been too distracted by the sorcery and pain to notice at all.
...Could I use this?
If she realized I truly had no interest in her, she might give up on me.
"I ignored her seduction after she tried so hard—how rude of me. Then maybe some tea..."
"Where do you think you're going? No chance."
Charhela bared her teeth like a little tiger, growling as she blocked my path.
Her momentum was so fierce and ruthless that my body stiffened and my mouth snapped shut.
"Look only at me, husband."
"That's a bit..."
I waved my hand as if declining and gave a wry smile, but she fixed me with a murderous glare.
"Hmph, doesn't matter. You'll be head over heels for me soon enough anyway... Anyway, now that the price is paid, time to talk seriously, right?"
"About how to wipe out the tribe backed by demons?"
"Huh? No? You guys can handle that somehow. That's not the most urgent thing right now."
"...Then what is?"
A foreboding instinct stabbed at the back of my neck, and I swallowed dryly without thinking.
"We have to hold the wedding first! As soon as possible! That way we can get the first night over with quick and I can get pregnant!"
"......"
My head spun, and I clutched my forehead without realizing it.
"...Just shut up."
"What're you saying? This is important, so don't talk like that—you need to pitch in too! Anyway, we've got a war to fight, so we'll keep the wedding simple."
"Please, just shut up."
"Date-wise... two days from now sounds good? And we've got plenty of meat and booze, so no problem! Let's just get it done quick!"
"......"
"You can look forward to the first night! We barbarians have a traditional 'Night Potion' passed down! I've never tried it myself so I don't know, but they say it turns you into a beast! Makes for healthier babies too!"
"......"
She was dead serious.
This woman was really, genuinely setting up to marry me.
Regardless of my thoughts or opinions, forcing it as a done deal.
This... was true madness?
Was I the fake one all along... Time to reflect.
"...My bad. Forgive me just once."
"Huh? For what? Oh, trying to cheat? Don't worry. I changed my mind a bit. Realized no need for total monopoly. Of course, I'm the main wife... but concubines are fine as long as I approve! Not just anyone, though!"
"Please... just stop..."
Even as I begged with my face buried in my hands, she showed no sign of stopping.
"...Murel. Fuck this crazy bitch up."
"Hm. A wedding... Securing a concubine spot quick might not be bad..."
"Murel?"
"Yes, Alzen-nim."
"I said fuck this crazy bitch up?"
"That's a bit much for a joke."
"Not a joke?"
"Hahaha."
Murel let out a dry laugh and fell silent.
"......"
Were we really screwed?
I had no clue what to do.
The next day.
Unexpectedly, Weller came to find me.
I knew she'd been avoiding me, so I thought maybe she was here to settle things once and for all... but that wasn't her business.
"Hey, you're really going to marry Lindel sis!? Are you insane!? Tell her no right now!"
"......"
Yeah. This was the normal reaction.
Both me and Weller had just been fake madmen.
"...Noona."
"What!?"
"I don't want to get married either..."
"...!!"
Weller's face went deathly pale as she saw my depressed, desperate expression.