Not a Scam Ring, I Swear (2)
Impurities always gathered around a house with a story behind it, or an object with a story behind it.
Especially if it was connected to death — and to an unjust death at that — the corruption was all but guaranteed to manifest.
That was because the soul of the dead, unable to pass on, pooled and pooled until at last it rotted.
In other words, the soul itself became impurity.
The purer the soul had been in life, the stronger and more vicious it tended to become once it turned.
Like that house where Endy’s first request had taken place: the mother, who had been a murderer, had purified far more easily than expected, while the young son had turned out to be the ghost in command of the house’s interior, a little tyrant of the place.
It was the same as black ink on white cloth; it stood out all the more starkly.
Of course, whatever its purity, a soul turned to impurity was dangerous all the same, so anything in this world that came with a “story behind it” was best avoided.
And yet, right now.
In the painting for which Endy and Cream had received a request, he could sense no trace of impurity at all.
It was said to be a portrait of the dead, but that was truly all it was. A perfectly ordinary watercolor painting, pretty in the most harmless way.
Cream, naturally, began to argue with Endy over it.
“Sir… what are you even talking about? This is just a normal painting, so there’s nothing for us to solve, and no reason for me to help. We can just go out there and say there’s nothing wrong, and that’ll be the end of it.”
“Not quite. The client is currently suffering from strange phenomena, isn’t she?”
Cream frowned slightly. Endy had just admitted that he couldn’t sense any impurity, so why was he saying things like that? It put her in a sour mood.
“That would be a pathological self-suggestion, wouldn’t it?”
She recalled the client’s explanation from earlier.
“At first, I liked it because the colors were warm and lovely…”
“Then I found out it was painted by an artist to honor his dead lover! A-a painting of a dead person…!”
She had been frantic, yet unsteady.
The behavior of someone whose nerves were frayed to the bone lingered in Cream’s memory.
“The moment the client learned the painting was connected to the dead, she became anxious. What if that soul was lingering in the painting? What if it had remained in this world and become corrupted? What if it was trying to curse her?”
“Hmm.”
Endy listened quietly as Cream slowly pieced the matter together in her mind.
“Once she fixated on that, she lost her appetite, became sensitive to the smallest noises, grew tired, and, naturally enough, had nightmares too.”
“…”
“Her grandfather being ill was probably just old age. Once the facts lined up that way, the client likely grew even more afraid of the painting. And since she’s lived so comfortably as a member of the wealthy class, she’s probably more easily frightened to begin with. She has more to lose.”
“…”
“But… strangely enough, I still can’t sense any impurity in the painting.”
“Haha.”
“She said she met the painting’s gaze, but this picture was already painted to face this way. The composition was probably intended so that the viewer would feel as though the portrait was looking back at them. It gives the image more life.”
Cream pointed toward the painting.
A painting made to honor a dead lover.
Perhaps he had wanted her to remain alive, even if only within the canvas. The blonde woman in the portrait was looking out at the viewer with a vivid, gentle smile.
But that was all. It was not dangerous. If anyone in this house was dangerous, that white-haired girl was the greatest threat by far.
Having finished her reasoning, the girl put a hand on her hip and puffed out her chest.
“There. That settles it, doesn’t it? My very first and last request is over with. Go ahead and tell the client to visit a doctor or something. Pretending not to know and sweeping it under the rug isn’t always the answer.”
“Miss, I think you’re right. I was thinking something similar myself.”
“You’re surprisingly quick to agree. Haa… Fine, then I’ll just finish putting this away and head out.”
She must have tied her hair wrong before putting on the hood, because Cream took the chance to shrug off the bothersome cloak.
As she fussed with her things, Endy only smiled faintly.
“We’re not leaving.”
“Huh?”
“The request isn’t over yet.”
“What are you talking about now?”
“As someone who has accepted a purification request, I must see it through to the end.”
“There’s nothing to purify. What are you even going to purify?”
“The heart.”
Cream stopped tying her hair, waved a hand in exasperation, and sighed. Her white locks slipped softly down over her shoulders.
The world did have a system of medicine for mental illness. There were people who said one could overcome such things through the power of faith and all that, but of course Cream was not that sort of person.
“Sir, don’t play word games. This isn’t something holy power can heal anyway. You just need medicine. If anything, ask the apothecary for a tranquilizer or something. What heart purification— wait! Don’t tell me!”
“Don’t tell you what?”
“You’re not going to make me take medicine!”
Endy had said it plainly earlier.
To solve this request, he needed an assistant — meaning Cream’s help.
And so she immediately reached the conclusion that this man might be trying to wring medicine out of her.
Endy gazed at her wordlessly. His face was hidden by the hood, but his stare was unmistakable.
“Miss.”
“Wh-what.”
“Didn’t you say you would follow the request properly?”
“I said I’d follow along properly. I never said anything about listening to you.”
“I see.”
As he asked while slowly moving closer, Cream answered by slowly retreating.
Then she caught herself and straightened her back.
If she kept running away like this and getting swept along by his momentum every time, wasn’t that exactly why she always lost? No matter how she looked at it, she always ended up dancing to this man’s tune once she let herself get distracted, so this time she vowed she would absolutely not be fooled.
She had clearly resolved it earlier.
No matter what face this teacher made, no matter how he tried to coax her with sweet words, she would not yield. She would simply stand aside and watch.
So she could not back away now, not when the man was trying to push her around with sheer force of presence.
I’m going to refuse him with dignity…!
With her chin lifted stiffly, Cream looked up at Endy. Since she was looking from below, she could see his face beneath the hood.
Pale-blue eyes, hidden in shadow but shining clearly. For some reason, the way he held his expression so solemnly was almost tolerable.
But that was all. Whatever came out of his mouth next, she intended to snort at it.
“Recently, I have been doing some thinking.”
“What?”
What on earth was he going on about now?
“Just thoughts that came to me before sleeping, alone. Why can’t you trust me, Miss? Why do you dislike me? I considered it, and I think we’ve lacked proper rapport.”
“Rap…port?”
Rapport wasn’t the issue. Everything about this was the issue.
“We are teacher and student, Miss.”
“I’m a priest and a witch…”
“What should exist between a teacher and a student? Trust. Respect. Admiration. Those feelings need to be there. And how does one build them?”
“No, we really don’t need to.”
“At the very least, I’ve decided to respect you as your teacher.”
“What on earth are you—”
Cream’s question did not last long. She wanted to ask what exactly he was planning to do, but he immediately took off his hood and reached toward her.
Then he slipped his hands beneath her arms and lifted her straight up. The familiar dangling position.
“Teach—!”
Just as Cream was about to protest that this was supposed to be respect—
“Miss. You did wonderfully.”
“…Huh?”
“Thank you very much for helping me recently.”
“What… you mean that thing at the park?”
“Yes. If not for you, I might have been seriously injured. I am here now because of you.”
“Wh-what, why are you bringing that up now…”
“And that is not all. You study hard, and it is admirable. You exercise every morning, and that is commendable. The way you study herbs on your own, separately, is also very impressive.”
“Wait, what are you saying, stop—”
“You also eat the snacks I give you so eagerly. Watching you stuff your cheeks and eat honestly makes me want to pinch them at least once.”
“S-stop it…!”
“A precious girl like that is the one and only treasured girl in this world.”
She had no idea what she was hearing.
Why was he suddenly spouting nonsense that didn’t make any sense at all?
Cream just wanted him to shut up. She wanted to sew that mouth shut, that mouth that kept vomiting out absurdities.
So even when she tried to recall the sensation from the park recently — that feeling like her blood was boiling — it wouldn’t come.
Why isn’t it working…! It worked before…!
With that kind of power, she felt like she should at least be able to resist him, but nothing happened.
On the contrary, the more she listened, the weaker she felt, as if her brain were gradually turning limp and sticky under that gentle voice.
“Ugh, nngh…! Why…!”
“Yes.”
“Why are you spouting this garbage at a time like this!”
“If I’m being honest, I think I’ve praised you far too little until now. I suppose I just didn’t know you well enough, and I wondered if that was why you disliked me. Come to think of it, you also seemed to enjoy it very much when I praised you in the park.”
“When! Did! I! enjoy it!”
“You do have a fine voice. Shall I expect you to become a singer when you grow up?”
“Aaaagh!!”
In the end, Cream burst. She slapped at Endy’s arm in a wild flurry of thumps. Naturally, he didn’t even pretend it hurt.
“Calm down, Miss. If you help me again this time, I’ll praise you even more.”
“I told you I don’t need—”
“And I’ll give you a Praise Stamp as well.”
“…A Praise Stamp?”
At those words, Cream’s beating hand stopped dead.
A Praise Stamp.
A seductive phrase capable of ensnaring children.
“Every time you help me, I’ll stamp one for you. If you collect a certain number, something good will happen.”
“…What kind of something good?”
“Hmm. I haven’t decided exactly, so… perhaps I could grant you a wish?”
“…A wish?”
“Yes, one wish.”
“……Hah.”
“Miss?”
“Heh, heh heh…”
Cream began to laugh.
It was clearly a sinister, creepy laugh, but with such a tiny girl making that sound in such a cute voice, it didn’t seem especially evil at all.
“…Fine, all right. I’ve changed my mind, Teacher.”
“Really?”
“I’ll make the medicine. It’s not a purification request, so I’m doing this just for you.”
Unlike when she had been angry earlier, she now spoke with the air of someone saying, I’m mature and calm, so I’ll graciously overlook this.
A Praise Stamp.
With just that, she thought she might be able to drive this man out after all.
If I wish for him to leave the mansion…!
She didn’t know whether that clingy pest would actually grant it, but she had nothing to lose.
At least for today, truly only for today, she would let him have his way.
As far as Cream was concerned, if it wasn’t a purification request, there was nothing that absolutely forbade her from helping. She just had to make the medicine, after all.
Medicine was something anyone could make if they had a book. As long as you learned the knowledge and practiced, you could prepare it quickly enough. It wasn’t difficult.
It wasn’t one of those tasks that only the chosen of the gods could perform.
So this alone couldn’t prove Cream’s worth as a girl.
When she spoke with that thought in mind, Endy lowered Cream back onto the floor.
Tap.
“So what, then? You’re not planning to end this with just handing over a single medicine, are you?”
“Oh, you’re quite eager.”
“I just want to finish quickly and go home. Hurry up and tell me your plan.”
Even as Cream brushed off the spot where his hand had touched her and spoke primly, Endy only smiled with satisfaction.
“First, how long will it take to prepare the medicine? I’d like about two weeks’ worth, if possible, but not so strong that she becomes dependent on it.”
“...I can make it quickly. If I reduce some of the herb mixture from a sleeping draught, it becomes a tranquilizer.”
Making sleeping draughts was second nature to her. On the nights when nightmares left her unable to sleep properly, they were indispensable.
“We’ll need to buy ingredients right away, though.”
“I need to buy a few things too.”
“So what exactly is the plan? Heart purification? Anyway, you want to cure the client’s suspicion sickness, right?”
“That part is simple. The client is suffering from a curse that doesn’t exist, so we’ll have to give her one.”
“What?”
At Cream’s confusion, Endy lowered his voice as if worried someone downstairs might hear.
“……This is how we’re going to do it.”
“Hmm… something’s missing. If we’re going to do that anyway, then just…”
“What? No, that won’t do. It was unavoidable before, but—”
“If you’re going to do it, do it properly. If you’ve brought in someone as impressive as me, then don’t hold back and make use of me.”
“Miss…”
Endy had many thoughts when he looked at this client.
The way a person, having once begun to suspect, could no longer escape that suspicion and instead burrow endlessly deeper into it.
This wasn’t something that could be solved simply by making medicine. Unless she planned to live on medicine for the rest of her life, the roots of that suspicion had to be torn out completely.
That was why he had thought this request would be perfect as his first one with Cream.
And yet this girl was cooperating so well that emotion surged up in him before he knew it.
Of course, Cream’s mind was full of impure and childish schemes like driving the teacher out, but what was good was good.
Once their plan was settled, the two of them left the house.
Since they needed to prepare for the purification, they explained that they would be out for a while, and the client, who did not want to remain alone in the house, went off to a nearby teahouse instead.
That was even better. They took advantage of the moment and moved quickly.
First they obtained the ingredients for the medicine, then bought tar and fine sand before returning home.
By now, Endy had experienced two encounters with impurity. The first was the cursed house; the second, the monster in the park.
He intended to draw ideas from those two experiences and put them into action now.
“Then I’ll leave the medicine to you.”
“That’s no problem, but… um… the act? The setup? Do I really have to do that?”
“Of course. Please move as though you truly are that role. That way the client can immerse herself as well.”
“…”
“Don’t forget. I am Andrew, a wandering pilgrim. And you are his little assistant and disciple. Understood, assistant?”
“Y-yes… ‘Teacher’...”
Answering a little begrudgingly, Cream headed for the kitchen.
In any case, the two of them had begun their first joint request.
***
A woman sat alone in a café, drinking tea.
It was the same black tea she always enjoyed at her favorite teahouse, and yet today it tasted bitter. Still, she forced herself to drink it, just to calm her trembling chest.
Her hair was neatly braided and tied back, and she wore an expensive dress. Judging by her appearance, Madame Wellina had lived a life of enviable comfort.
With a husband who worked at the lord’s manor and a son attending the capital’s academy, there was nothing left to wish for — and yet she still had one concern.
The painting tainted by impurity.
It wasn’t as though she had never encountered impurity before, not even as she neared forty.
She had once had to evacuate while walking through town because a monster appeared, and she had heard many rumors of this person or that being tainted by impurity.
And yet, Wellina herself had never directly faced danger. Everything had always been someone else’s story, one step removed.
But now she could not eat properly, could not sleep properly, and fought constantly with her husband because of a single painting she had inherited.
Everything was miserable.
Impurity… a curse… was it really such a terrifying thing…?
It felt almost as though this were her punishment for having lived too carelessly, too peacefully, for far too long.
As she reflected on that life, she found herself thinking that maybe she wanted someone to save her.
Anyone would do. Please.
Madame Wellina had shut her eyes tightly and was clutching her teacup with trembling hands as if it were a rope thrown to a drowning woman when—
“Madame.”
At the soft voice that suddenly came from beside her, she flinched and looked over. Standing there without a trace of sound, a child had appeared with her hands folded politely over her abdomen. From the voice alone, she would have guessed it was a girl.
She wore a pitch-black hood and a pitch-black robe, revealing nothing of her face, which would ordinarily have been unsettling. Yet to the madame’s eyes, that only made her seem all the more mysterious.
This must be the assistant to the specialist who had come in response to the request.
“The preparations are complete. Please come back with me.”
“P-preparations…?”
“The purification preparations.”
“Ah…”
So the time had come.
The hand that had been trembling all along began to shake even more violently.
What if the purification failed? What if something went wrong during the process? What if her household was struck by calamity because of it?
Unpleasant thoughts kept gnawing at Madame Wellina’s mind.
Then it happened.
Tap—
“Ah…”
The assistant girl placed a hand over hers.
A small, cool hand.
And yet one without even a hint of trembling — a hand that was utterly calm.
“You are afraid.”
“A-assistant…”
“But do not worry.”
Beneath the girl’s hood, the lower half of her face came into view.
Even before the frightening work of purification, her pink lips were lifted beautifully. Her voice was slender, but firm.
“I have never seen anyone as holy as that person.”
Some inexplicable sense of relief washed over the madame, and she stared at the girl as if enchanted.
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