The Curse Examination
This was a lounge inside Saint Dunkerque Hall, the theology building at the academy. “Go on, drink. Don’t you like this tea?” Asia sipped hers with a blissful expression and tilted her head at me, puzzled.
“Yeah. Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.” I’d been on guard, but at her urging I lifted the teacup. The tea inside was Francdeamiz. It looked like Asia kept this outrageously expensive blend in the break room and drank it every chance she got. The other nuns who visited the lounge probably helped themselves too.
“Can you afford that?”
“Afford what?”
“You’re loaded? Keep drinking it like water and you’ll burn through your fortune in no time.”
“I am loaded. I’m from the Hero Party, remember? My bank account is stuffed to the gills.”
Aaaargh! Just hearing that made me think of all the money I’d lost. If only I still had that fortune! I could be drinking this whenever I wanted. Master, why…
This was the three-hundred-and-twenty-second time this week that I wasn’t thrilled about having turned into a woman.
Anyway, that was that. I took a sip. The fragrance of spring bloomed across my tongue. In my mind I saw a princess in a fluttering dress dancing through a flower field. But it still fell short. The variety itself guaranteed excellence, yet it couldn’t match what I brewed myself. Technique really is everything. People should learn proper skills.
“Heh.”
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.”
I couldn’t tell the person who’d served me that my own brewing skills were superior. No matter how true it was. I wasn’t a complete asshole.
“By the way, that adorable little joke you made last time was something else.”
“Adorable? Joke?”
“The name you gave this tea. Thanks to you I was mortified when I ordered it at Café Azure.” She shot me a glare.
Ebebebyup! Glaring at me won’t change anything!
“But as a devout nun with deep faith, I have a generous heart. So I’m even serving tea to the person who made that joke.”
“Right. It was a very cute, very adorable joke. Completely unlike you…”
Asia nodded solemnly. “Exactly. I’m not so much cute and adorable as I am mature and sexy.”
“Cough!”
“You’re wasting that priceless tea. Such a shame.”
How was I supposed to keep a straight face after hearing that?
“Is it appropriate for a member of the clergy to go around calling herself sexy?”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it? I can’t tell lies.”
As expected, this girl was completely unhinged.
“You’re more conservative than I thought, though. Then again, just look at those clothes…”
“What’s wrong with my clothes?”
“Clothes should cinch where they need to cinch and reveal where they need to reveal. Yours are so stifling they might as well be a nun’s habit.”
The sheer audacity left me speechless. “Stifling? These are incredibly comfortable. Don’t talk about them if you’ve never worn them.”
“That’s not what I’m saying. Are you a virgin, by any chance?”
Excuse me? What did I just hear?
“Sigh, never mind. That face tells me everything.” She looked at me with genuine pity. “You’re not exactly a child anymore, so how on earth… Your looks are more than sufficient—they’re practically overflowing—yet it’s strange. The curse is probably a major factor, but even so, it shouldn’t be enough to crush men’s resolve…”
Asia kept rambling on, completely lost in her own thoughts. How had the conversation even reached this point?
“Do you have ridiculously high standards? Or perhaps…” Her expression turned oddly delicate. “Are you homosexual? Sir Altair, I’m not your type, am I?”
Oh dear Goddess! Please save this insane nun!
I had no idea how far she would take this, so I decided to shut her up. “I’m not interested in men or women. I plan to live alone for the rest of my life.”
She stared at me, clearly unconvinced. “People who say that are usually the most perverted.”
“?”
“?”
“Crazy bitch.”
“Your language is rather harsh.”
Had she always been like this? The Asia I remembered was shy, quiet, that sort of image. What had she been doing while I was gone? Come to think of it, right before I was kicked out she had already started to lose her mind a little.
“Talking with you really reminds me of an old colleague from long ago.” She looked straight into my eyes.
“What do you want me to do about it? Stop talking about stuff only you understand.”
“You really do act like a child. Anyway, it’s time. Shall we get going?”
Finally. I hadn’t come here to chat leisurely with Asia. It wasn’t as if our relationship was pleasant enough for us to enjoy seeing each other’s faces.
She introduced me to someone. “This is Professor Rosette.”
I gave a polite bow. She was a middle-aged nun who looked at least twenty years older than me. Compared to someone like Asia, she seemed far more devout and trustworthy.
But can this person really undo my curse?
Her features were too ordinary for that. There was nothing extraordinary about her; she was the exact image of the typical nun that came to mind.
“I’m Altair. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Christianne.”
“I’m Rosette Christianne. Please call me Rosette. I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Asia.”
I immediately shot Asia a glare.
“There was almost no badmouthing,” Sister Rosette said with a gentle smile.
“Ahaha. I see.” So there was some. You’re dead later.
“I’ll show you inside.”
I followed the professor. She led me to a small room containing a single bed, a chair, and a few objects whose purpose wasn’t immediately clear. But there was nothing as eye-catching as I had imagined.
I was expecting some eerie atmosphere.
There was none of that. If anything, it felt like a cozy bedroom.
“We’ll perform the dispelling here.”
I turned and poked Asia’s arm with my index finger. “This girl… Is Asia necessary for this?”
“Hmm, Asia?” The nun looked at her.
“Yes…” Asia pouted and shuffled out. I locked the door behind her.
“It’s not a sight I want to show an acquaintance.”
The nun gave a faint smile. “Please lie down first.”
I did as she asked. The bed carried the soothing scent of oak.
“I don’t know what Asia told you about me, but I’m worried I may have raised your expectations too high.”
“Not at all. It would be wonderful if it works, and if it doesn’t, that can’t be helped. It’s a problem that’s gone unsolved for a long time, so even a small improvement would be a great help.”
“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease too.” Her soft laugh reached my ears.
“It’s been a few days since I heard the story, but I’ve been terribly busy lately and couldn’t prepare as thoroughly as I would have liked. Because of that, today I can only manage something relatively simple.” She sounded apologetic.
“That’s perfectly fine. You must have been incredibly busy.”
That damned Gunter had left me swamped with cleanup as well. At least I only had two low-enrollment three-credit classes. A professor teaching a heavier load, plus all the additional duties professors had beyond teaching, would have been run ragged even with two bodies.
Especially the theology faculty.
This incident involved demonic creatures—their mortal enemies. They had probably been the busiest of all.
“Thank you for understanding. So what we’re doing today isn’t a full dispelling. Think of it as laying the foundation for one.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll begin with a few simple questions. When did you receive the curse?”
Hmm. How should I answer? Should I tell her when I received it from Master, or when Master herself was cursed?
Let’s just tell the truth.
I explained exactly what had happened between me and Master. Of course I left out the details of her true identity.
“So that’s what happened. It’s a little different from what Asia told me beforehand.”
“There were… circumstances.”
She nodded in understanding.
“Are there any other notable characteristics of the curse?”
“It’s heavily affected by my mood. When I become agitated, the aura others feel grows stronger.”
The nun fell silent, lost in thought.
“I’ll ask questions from time to time. You must not answer aloud. Simply think of the answer in your mind.”
“Do I have to form the answer mentally?”
“Yes. Please place your hands over your stomach.”
When I obeyed, she laid her hand on top of mine.
…
A long silence followed. Gentle, non-dazzling sunlight warmed my chin. It was the perfect time for a nap; if I wasn’t careful I might drift off into dreams. How long were we going to stay like this?
After a while I felt holy power stir.
So it’s starting in earnest.
As expected, she soon spoke.
“You carry trauma from being abandoned.”
I barely stopped myself from crying out. It was incredibly disconcerting, but I had to think of an answer first.
She must mean getting kicked out of the Hero Party, right?
It was shitty, but not exactly traumatic.
“It was a very long time ago—twenty years, perhaps?”
Ah, so that’s what she meant. But how had she learned that?
Did she read my memories?
Countless questions rose, but I focused on answering inside my head.
Something like that.
It had been so long that the memories were hazy. Yet compared to that event, being expelled from the Hero Party might truly be nothing.
Looking back now, even that wasn’t all that significant.
During those chaotic war years, plenty of children had been abandoned by their parents.
“Just because something is common doesn’t make it insignificant.”
I nearly bolted upright but managed to hold still. I couldn’t tell whether it was a lucky guess or if she really was reading my thoughts.
It’s been a while.
It reminded me of the days when Master used to read my mind. A lot of ridiculous things had happened because of it. She eventually stopped.
After that there were no more questions. She simply held my hand tightly for a long time.
“It’s finished. You may get up now.”
When I opened my eyes, sweat was pouring down her face.
“Are you all right?” I shot up in alarm.
“Yes. It’s been a while, so it took more effort than I expected. But that’s all. I’ll recover after resting a little.”
She smiled so brightly that I had nothing left to say. I rose from the bed and bowed deeply.
“Thank you so much. I should have brought something… About the fee…”
“There’s no need to worry about that. Asia promised to treat me to dinner at a wonderful restaurant.”
She cleared her throat, her expression turning slightly stiff. “Sir Altair.”
“Yes.”
“The curse you bear is overwhelmingly powerful. Because of that, I couldn’t even consider touching it directly.”
Just as I thought. I hadn’t held out enormous hope, but the disappointment was still there.
“Laying the foundation for the dispelling. Even though I called it that, I couldn’t even manage that much. However, the time we just spent was not meaningless.”
Her rigid expression softened a fraction. “I focused on the fact that the aura changes according to your mood. You remember the questions and answers we exchanged, yes?”
“I do.”
“While we exchanged them, I performed several measures. It’s a type of holy art connected to the psychological realm… It’s an indirect method, but I hope it proves helpful.”
So she couldn’t weaken the curse itself, but it might at least reduce the ominous energy.
That’s still something.
It wasn’t something to be picky about. “I’m certain it will help. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
She smiled at my words. “By the way, have you grown accustomed to it yet?”
“Pardon? Oh, you mean the teaching life? It’s manageable, I suppose.”
But suddenly she burst into laughter at my answer. Was there something funny about it?
“No, I mean the female body. There are quite a few inconvenient aspects, aren’t there?”