Chapter 138
Chapter 138
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: To Curse Someone, Dig Two Graves
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"Hold on. Something feels off."
Rishir narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Asking Left Hand.
"Off?"
Jane, who had been awkwardly frozen with her holy sword pointed at the Asking Left Hand, asked the question.
He listened intently to Rishir's words.
"A guy who didn't flinch even when threatened with a holy sword suddenly changes his attitude without any reason. Don't you think there's some ulterior motive?"
The Asking Left Hand.
It was a monstrosity that had led countless people to ruin.
In fact, the hero's party had nearly met their end because of it.
Rishir wasn't quick to drop his guard or suspicion toward it.
Felix cautiously spoke to Rishir.
"From what I see, it's reacting to that."
"Pardon?"
Rishir belatedly looked at his own flames and said,
"Nah, no way. Duke Palrag just said it, right? It's something like a golem that never acts outside its rules. You think it'd suddenly change its attitude over something like this? It didn't even blink when the holy sword was pointed at it. Though it doesn't have eyes since it's a hand. Haha."
The last joke was so terrible that anyone but Rishir would have glared, but the rest rang true enough to touch their hearts.
I'm the hero...
I'm the holy sword...
I'm the former tower master...
Rishir's words restored the pride damaged by the Asking Left Hand's sudden behavior.
"Well said, Rishir. It's not some kind fairy granting wishes—it's a monstrosity that spreads ruin. We can't be too cautious."
"Then, as Rishir suggests, should we keep listening to what it has to say? Felix, you okay with that? Even if we can't make demands of it."
"Charging headfirst into something that screwed us over before wouldn't be brave—it'd be stupid. Rishir's right. That thing definitely has an agenda."
They enthusiastically agreed with Rishir.
"Oh..."
Rishir was moved.
To receive such fervent trust without any cost(?).
Nod.
Nod!
Silent trust exchanged between them!
Basking in their support, Rishir pressed the Asking Left Hand.
"This isn't a demand. I'm asking you."
"What's the reason? Why the sudden change in attitude? Why agree to our demands?"
Gotcha!
As soon as they put up a firm wall of suspicion, the Asking Left Hand feigned innocence, prompting cheers in their hearts.
Rishir was right.
They had nearly fallen for its trick again and made another mistake.
Bonus: escaping the humiliation of blatant discrimination.
Yeah. Total bonus.
Satisfied, they showed even more fervent support for Rishir.
You're doing great!
Press it harder!
Nod.
Nod!
Rishir, eager to meet their expectations, said to the Asking Left Hand,
"No, you definitely said it. That unless we pay the price, you'd never grant our demands.
But suddenly you change your attitude and say you'll grant them. Explain why. If your answer doesn't convince me, this question will be your last—I'll destroy you."
"Huh?"
A word game?
Rishir wasn't soft enough to blindly accept the monstrosity's goodwill.
He persistently doubted it.
"Why only my demands? Are you saying you'll fulfill them because it's me?"
"Then why?"
A flat statement delivered in a mechanical tone.
Rishir wasn't pleased with the response.
'Destroyed by a holy sword or by me—either way, it's destruction. What's the difference?'
Besides, according to Palrag, it was a type of golem.
What golem would abandon its principles out of fear?
Naturally, he didn't believe the Asking Left Hand and judged it was trying to deceive them.
Rishir looked at his companions.
They must have reached the same simple conclusion.
And sure enough.
Their expressions were resolute.
Palrag spoke.
"Rishir. Did you hear that?"
"Yes. It's ridiculous—"
"It seems trustworthy."
"?"
Senility?
For a moment, Rishir harbored a very rude thought toward the grand mage.
"Trustworthy? You mean that thing?"
"Yes. Listening to it speak, it seems to have keen intuition and a solid grasp of the situation. It's clearly an object, yet... I can't fathom how many years it's accumulated power. Definitely a spiritual entity."
"..."
Did we hear the same thing?
Confused, Rishir checked the others' reactions.
All of them looked convinced.
Seeming to say it was safe to make demands of the Asking Left Hand now.
"No..."
Rishir looked at them like they were weirdos.
"""..."""
They were dumbfounded.
Anyway.
As the mood settled, Rishir broached the topic.
"Even if it's submitted to us, is it right to make demands of it recklessly? From how it operates, one wrong demand could ruin our lives."
Everyone agreed with Rishir.
It was a monstrosity that spread ruin.
No guarantee a mild demand would be fulfilled mildly.
"We shouldn't use it recklessly until we grasp its exact nature. Pocheona, do you know anything?"
Felix asked, and Holy Sword Pocheona answered immediately.
"I'll say this upfront: same here."
"Me too."
"The documents we read... we suffered because of it, so we shouldn't over-rely on them."
Pocheona. Palrag. Bellota. Tilla.
The knowledgeable ones expressed reluctance one after another.
They all agreed:
To uncover the Asking Left Hand's true nature and use it properly would take considerable time.
The Asking Left Hand interjected then.
Not even a head chef explaining dishes to VIPs would be this courteous.
Such thoughts naturally arose from the explanation.
Palrag, perplexed, asked,
"Do you usually warn in such detail beforehand?"
"So this time is an exception?"
The Asking Left Hand pointed its index finger at Rishir.
"I see. Well done, Rishir. Without you, it would have taken us ages to fully understand this monstrosity."
"?"
I didn't do anything...
Rishir awkwardly accepted their respectful gazes.
"Granting wishes by cursing? We half-suspected it, but it's even more vicious than expected."
Drey looked at the Asking Left Hand with intrigued, gleaming eyes.
Then Palrag glanced at Felix and said,
"You somehow found and brought back something like this."
Felix smiled bitterly.
Palrag continued,
"Good thing Rishir was nearby. We nearly had a disaster."
"Agreed. If Rishir hadn't been here..."
Talking about me like I'm some emergency medicine.
Ignoring Rishir's complaint, Felix began discussing with his companions.
Eventually, he said to Rishir,
"Rishir. I've thought it over, and this thing suits you best."
Whoa.
Drey looked at Rishir enviously from the side.
The Asking Left Hand was a dangerous monstrosity, but also a powerful relic.
Its value was inestimable.
"Considering your contributions here, and above all, you could use it without side effects."
Felix's decision was reasonable, yet groundbreaking.
Having experienced the relic's power firsthand, relinquishing ownership so cleanly wasn't easy.
Everyone respected Felix's judgment and congratulated Rishir with their gazes.
"..."
Rishir seemed to ponder briefly before saying to Felix,
"By the way, what were you planning to demand from this Asking Left Hand?"
"Ah, that—"
Felix exchanged glances with his comrade Tilla before continuing.
"Truth is, we're being tracked right now."
"Tracked?"
"Yes."
Felix showed the holy sword Pocheona at his waist.
"By someone after this holy sword."
No way.
The hero's job is insanely extreme.
How do you even handle that?
Recalling the previous face thief incident, Rishir looked at Drey and Palrag with such an expression.
Drey smiled bitterly and said,
"Frankly, it's less the hero's burden and more the fate of anyone with treasure. Treasures as renowned across the continent as holy swords are rare."
"Targeting a holy sword—definitely no ordinary foe."
Felix nodded gravely at Palrag's words.
Holy swords were treasures with few pursuers relative to their fame.
The cost-benefit didn't add up.
For one, facing a hero wielding a mighty holy sword's power wasn't easy—
Above all, holy swords couldn't be stolen just by taking them.
Holy swords choose their masters.
Even if wrested from the hero, if it didn't accept the new owner, it was meaningless.
The face thief had targeted the hero's face and power, not the holy sword.
'Crazier than the face thief?'
Rishir grew serious too and listened intently to Felix.
"Yes. We don't know who, but they're tracking us with mysterious powers."
"Mysterious powers?"
Palrag asked back.
"A shaman who helped us said someone is peeking into our fates."
"Peeking into... fates?"
"Yes. Seems they're tracking our movements that way. For now, the shaman's help has blocked it temporarily, but he said it's such a mysterious, powerful force that we can't fully escape it."
Felix looked at the Asking Left Hand.
"We planned to use the Asking Left Hand to interfere with or shake off their tracking. But who knew it'd turn out like this."
"Hmm... Mind if I take a look?"
Felix's eyes widened at Palrag's offer.
Help from a grand mage.
"Please do."
Palrag extended his hand toward Felix.
A mist of cold air rose from his fingertips, carefully enveloping the hero.
"As you said. An unidentified aura lingers around you."
Palrag's expression slowly twisted.
"What irrational power. Not only can't I dispel it, I can't even discern its nature or origin."
Everyone was shocked.
And Felix's party's faces darkened distinctly.
A power even a grand mage couldn't fathom.
The former master of the Blue Tower.
If even Grand Mage Eol's Breath couldn't help, where could they turn?
Then.
Rishir approached Felix and offered his arm.
"Duke Palrag. How about it? Is the aura still there?"
"Hm? Yes, it is."
"Ah. Too bad—doesn't seem like black magic."
Too bad?
Felix's eyes wavered.
'Does Rishir hold a grudge against me?'
Ignoring Felix, Rishir looked somewhere.
"Then, shall we use that?"
His fingertip pointed at the Asking Left Hand.
Offering to share the relic's power for others.
Without hesitation.
It was admirable enough to earn respect, but their reactions were subtle.
"Rishir. Good idea, but too risky, no?"
Jane smiled bitterly at Rishir.
Then Holy Sword Elysia spoke.
"That's not it."
"I mean, use it to curse the owner of that aura."
"""..."""
Two heroes.
Two holy swords.
Their companions.
All doubted their ears.
Never expected a holy sword's master to suggest using a curse monstrosity to curse someone.
An impossible idea for noble heroes like them.
"Cursing someone..."
Felix agonized.
Pocheona voiced concern to its master.
If the hero wielded curse power recklessly and tainted his pure aura, it'd be disastrous.
Moreover, using impure curse power stained the noble name of hero.
Pragmatism or honor.
His pride as a hero tested him.
"..."