Ch.83Chapter 83. I’m the First

“…A curse?”

Tachia finally continued her answer after a silence.

But her voice was much more rigid than before.

“That thing has been cursed?”

The woman who had always shown a dry and blunt attitude, just a little.

I could feel her emotions wavering slightly the moment she heard that the Ego Weapon was cursed.

“Ah, yes. Actually, it was in a dream, but there…”

“That’s impossible.”

Tachia cut off my words as I tried to explain.

Then she turned her back on me and quietly began to continue speaking.

“To begin with, the Undead are far inferior in rank compared to Ego Weapons.”

“…Ms. Tachia.”

“And you’re saying an Ego Weapon, which can accumulate experiences from its past life and after becoming a weapon, is cursed by some rotting corpse that’s obsessed with its past like a senile old man? Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?”

“You do know something, don’t you? About what state this child is in right now.”

“It’s not a curse.”

Tachia repeated the same words while looking up at the sky.

Though she was trying to appear calm, I could immediately tell that she had lost her composure.

As if I had touched a sore spot that shouldn’t have been touched

“I don’t know what that thing told you, but if it looks like a curse, then that child was made that way from the beginning. It’s not something like a curse, but its innate nature.”

“…Ms. Tachia.”

“You got your answer, now go back. I have nothing more to tell you.”

Tachia headed toward her house, ending the conversation in a way that was unlike her.

Her actions, not looking back at me, conveyed a sense of urgency.

“If you’re really concerned, find out for yourself. Though I’m not sure if you can.”

“……”

“…Do you have anything else to say?”

“No, I’ll be going now.”

This meeting was arranged because I was indebted to her in the first place.

If that’s what she wants, it’s right to end it here.

-Thud.

The door closed, and silence fell over the backyard.

After leaving that place, I crossed the severely collapsed street, holding the child I had personally named ‘Pailoi’ in my hand and asked.

“…What I saw back then, it wasn’t just a dream, was it?”

-Woooong.

Pailoi let out a short cry.

But Pailoi also seemed unwilling to say anything more, and like Tachia, showed no particular reaction beyond that.

Yes, this child must also be concerned about Tachia.

If the dream I had before wasn’t just an illusion.

If this child was truly made by refining the soul of a living person, that person must certainly be someone connected to Tachia.

“You really are Tachia’s…”

Perhaps even someone who died hating her for some reason.

For what reason would such a being be reborn as a weapon?

To resurrect a being that harbors hatred toward oneself, isn’t that like saying it doesn’t matter if this weapon kills her?

“…A curse.”

After forcibly pushing such extreme thoughts out of my mind, I retrieved Pailoi into my body and continued walking through the collapsed streets.

“Let’s remove the curse first and then think.”

Let’s first find out if the curse has affected this child before thinking further.

I had arranged to meet Garam this afternoon anyway, so I’ll use my connections as a Hero to get introduced to a cleric first.

Having reached that conclusion, I prepared to head to the meeting place with Garam.

‘Please, for my sake, live with that weapon.’

‘Do your best, as long as you can.’

That day.

I vaguely recalled the words she had spoken when she handed over Pailoi.

****

After the series of events had ended, Irie, having made her preparations, returned to her dwelling to rest.

Though she would have liked to stay longer by the side of the one she wished to make her partner, right now the greatest calamity this world had ever produced was occupying his side.

Although she had received some kindness in the form of minimal treatment and meals, she had to be careful in dealing with her since they had gotten off on the wrong foot from their first meeting.

‘Just seeing the past isn’t enough to know what’s in her mind right now, but considering she even gave him a weapon and is looking after him, I don’t think Hyoseong will come to any harm.’

Still, just to be sure, after leaving that place, she made a prophecy to see the future and was able to confirm that she would be welcoming him when he returned from the guild in the evening after finishing his business.

Yes, as long as no Transcendent intervenes, there should be nothing to worry about.

Having made that judgment, Irie intended to return home and take some time to relieve her fatigue.

“Heeh~ So this is where Hyoseong and Irie live together~”

Not for a moment thinking that someone might be secretly following her.

“What!?”

Her body tensed at the unmistakable voice, and Irie’s head quickly turned toward the front door she had just entered.

Waiting for her there was a woman in a black cloak with a bright and innocent impression…

No, she only appeared innocent on the surface; what existed inside was surely a gloomy abyss.

Irie had painfully realized this during their clash just last night.

“Me-Merilyn? I thought we said goodbye earlier, so why are you here?”

“Hehe~ I was going to back off after hearing that scary woman’s warning, but I changed my mind a bit~”

“No, what do you mean you changed your mind? Don’t you remember what happened yesterday!? If you make such a decision so easily…”

“Then excuse me~”

“Wait a minute, you!”

Before she could stop her, Merilyn had already entered the house.

Feeling a twinge of pain as she tried to restrain that innocent-looking figure, Irie finally grabbed her forehead and let out a deep sigh.

‘There was no such future, but this woman…’

She had checked the future because she was concerned about her backing down so easily, but meeting her was scheduled for the next day when she would be staying at home with him.

Of course, since she was also a Transcendent, there was a possibility that the future could change, but one of the conditions for changing the future, ‘caprice,’ usually accompanies emotional turmoil.

In such a situation, she had thought that even that impulse would be curbed when facing a Transcendent of higher rank than herself, but had this woman’s madness reached the point of suppressing even such fear?

“So this is where Hyoseong and Irie eat meals together~”

But unlike Irie, who was wary of the changed future, Merilyn was focused solely on the house tour, putting aside any concern about her.

Having reached the kitchen, she rummaged around here and there while casually throwing questions at Irie.

“Hmm~ You said you cook together, so do you serve him breakfast too? Do you cook naked?”

“Th-There’s no way I would do that.”

“Aha, then perhaps you wear just an apron over your naked body?”

“Naked apron! There’s no way I would do such an indecent thing! What exactly do you think I am!?”

“Oh come on, when you live together, you might do things like that~ I’m sure Hyoseong would like it too.”

“Don’t say such nonsense! There’s no way Hyoseong would like such indecent…”

Her indignation was momentary.

Irie was briefly at a loss for words, then took time to reconsider what Merilyn had said along with the thoughts that came to her mind.

‘No, come to think of it, I have done several embarrassing things in front of Hyoseong, haven’t I?’

The numerous intimate encounters they had shared over the past three months.

What had initially been embarrassing and awkward had, at some point, become something she approached with a pure and solemn heart, as if performing a ritual.

For that purpose, before their encounters, she would check the future to choose an appropriate day, prepare scented candles or lighting to elevate their mood, study positions at the library, and even secretly purchase risqué underwear at the market.

For someone who took her relationship with him so seriously, questions like this were not easy to dismiss.

‘Compared to those things, maybe w-wearing just an apron is… trivial? No, but such acts should be done after mental preparation. If I carelessly show up in the morning wearing just an apron, Hyoseong might get stimulated and pounce on me…’

Her imagination began to swell, one thought leading to another.

By the time her face had turned red, Merilyn had already left the kitchen and was preparing to enter the inner rooms of the house.

“Oh, found the bedroom.”

“Huh? W-Wait, Merilyn! When did you get there?!”

Irie followed in alarm.

When she arrived at her room, she found Merilyn lying face down on her bed.

“Fufu, Irie, you use a nice bed. It’s so soft and the smell is… *sniff* *sniff*”

“Y-You. What are you doing on my bed…”

“Ah~ Hyoseong’s scent~♡”

A blissful smile gradually appeared as she inhaled the lingering fragrance on the bed.

Detecting someone’s scent is not easy for humans, but for demons with senses vastly superior to humans, it was not a difficult task at all.

“But why is Hyoseong’s scent on Irie’s bed?”

However, what needed attention was not her sense of smell, but why the scent she detected remained in her bedroom.

“Th-That’s…”

“It’s not Hyoseong’s room, but his scent is on Irie’s bed. Could it be that you seduced him to your room when he returned from work?”

“I didn’t s-seduce him… I was just… mentally prepared…”

“No, there’s something else that bothers me more. When sweat or bodily fluids get on a bed, wouldn’t you normally wash the bedding within a few days? Yet the scent still remains.”

Flinch, flinch.

Her body twitched each time a bull’s-eye was hit.

“Ah, I get it~!”

After watching Irie fidget and avoid eye contact, Merilyn soon rose from the bed and exclaimed with a bright face.

“Irie! Could it be that you masturbate every night while smelling Hyoseong’s scent…”

“Aaaah! Be quiet, you!!!!”

The moment those words that even her prophetic abilities couldn’t detect burst out.

As Irie, having lost her reason, immediately rushed at her, Merilyn grabbed her collar and pulled her onto the bed as if she had been waiting for this.

“Hehe, got you~”

“Let go of this. What are you trying to… ugh!”

The hand that had grabbed her collar gradually began to open the gaps in her clothes.

Irie’s body, which had been resisting, suddenly stiffened as she felt the touch of the hand gripping her neck.

Along with the faint killing intent emanating from it, the gaze directed at her had now lost all traces of humor.

“…How strange. You were so fierce last night, but now you look so careless and weak.”

The demon of madness, whose hand had been on her neck, now traced her collarbone and further down her slender arm.

As a serpent-like coldness enveloped her, Merilyn drew closer to Irie’s ear and began to whisper mockery.

“Well, even yesterday, you mainly pushed me back with traps. Conversely, without preparation, you’re just an ordinary human woman, as you appear now.”

Struck by the whisper that hit the mark, Irie could only hold her breath without saying a word.

As she said, the magic Irie wielded relied on her prophetic ability to read the opponent’s movements and operate with a time delay, making the opponent’s insight itself meaningless.

Usually, she could detect dangers aimed at her in advance through prophecy and set up tricks, but with opponents like now where predictions don’t work, it’s impossible to even read such signs.

“To think you would face one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon Lord’s army with such a frail body.”

So this captured situation might be more dangerous than yesterday.

As such anxiety crept in, she began to feel the strength gradually leaving the hand that was tracing her body.

“…I’m jealous. Not only did you take my place while I was gone, but you could also push me back with such composure despite having sincere feelings for him.”

A bitter voice gradually fading.

But there was no trace of the madness-filled anger from before, let alone the irritable argument from the morning.

Yes, it must be because she had already realized it from yesterday’s friction.

What happened has happened, and killing her here wouldn’t change the predetermined outcome.

“…Stand up.”

Having vaguely read her true feelings, Irie decided to completely erase her hostility toward her.

Although she was an unpredictable existence in every aspect, almost like her natural enemy, she knew that one thing was clear: her love for him.

“I have something to say to you too, so let’s talk over tea.”

And she was someone who chose a path where both love and mission coexisted.

As she couldn’t achieve her goal alone, she needed to secure as many helpers as possible who would support him.

“Are you sure it’s okay? You know I haven’t given up on Hyoseong yet.”

“Yes, it’s fine.”

Recalling this point and composing herself, Irie soon directed a gaze filled with firm resolve toward her love rival and said.

“No matter how you view me, I am Hyoseong’s first.”

Taking comfort in the one fact that would never change.

And preparing to bear all the responsibilities that would follow.