episode_0165

It took some time to calm Seoyul down.

“Now, Seoyul? Can’t I use it on other people?”

-Growl…

Seoyul, held in Elia’s arms, showed her teeth. Eventually, a growling sound came from my throat.

I was shocked by the behavior of an animal that seemed to threaten its enemy.

‘Why, why are you doing that?’

Seoyul is strangely wary of Hong Yeon-hwa.

This is the first time Seoyul shows such caution.

Of course, when I first saw Elia, her attitude was not very favorable.

It was a bit sulky and disapproving, but it wasn’t that bad.

Master? When we first met a few days ago, there didn’t seem to be much resistance.

There was a small amount of resistance, but I could understand it as a child’s wariness toward an unfamiliar adult.

To Professor Liana… he was more friendly than expected.

Professor Liana was the first to lightly approach and snoop around instead of staring at her from a distance.

It was Professor Liana who most quickly and comfortably allowed skinship, such as stroking her or holding her in his arms.

‘Is it because he’s an elementalist?’

Fairies and spirits. I can’t say for sure, but the relationship is often close to being relatives.

Seoyul is a fairy, and Professor Liana is an elementalist with powerful elemental affinity. It wasn’t strange to feel something familiar.

Same goes for Elia. It may be that Elia became friends easily because she was born with spirit affinity.

‘…Friendliness?’

I tilted my head at the sudden sense of discomfort I felt.

Friendliness… something familiar and comfortable…

‘I think I did that too…?’

When I first met Elia… to put it mildly, my mental state was very bad.

A person living in a corner of a room has been dragged into a strange game world.

If I didn’t wear glasses, my blurry vision would turn completely black, and spatial information would flood into my head.

With my sharpened senses, I could accurately hear the whispers around me and caught all the gazes that were focused on me one after another.

It was an interest that was difficult for my weak mind to overcome after being confined to a corner of my house for the past year or two.

It’s not that there weren’t people trying to help, but there were times when I got so scared that I ran away.

It wasn’t like that for Elia.

From the first time I scanned it with my spatial perception, I didn’t feel any resistance.

Neither the gaze nor the sounds I felt were uncomfortable.

I felt some kind of comfort… I may have been nervous, but I didn’t run away and got help.

‘Professor Liana…’

I think it was similar back then.

There was no resistance at all from the beginning, and I felt a similar feeling of comfort and warmth.

Professor Liana apologized first and told me to tell her anything I needed help with, but I asked for help with magic training first.

When I think about it, it was very unusual for me to ask others for help first.

‘……’

It’s a feeling that’s hard to describe.

“What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

As I unconsciously made a nervous expression, a hand touched my cheek.

It was Hong Yeon-hwa’s hand that came close.

My body trembled at the touch filled with worry.

“Huh?”

He hesitated and observed the scarlet lotus flower.

I was able to find traces of mental distress, such as shadows remaining under the eyes or a slightly tired complexion.

Who is causing this heartache? Who is it that made you go to China and go through all the trouble?

It must be because of me…

In the meantime, I felt guilty for showing my worries rather than expressing my anger…

Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t say anything and just quietly stroked my cheek.

After studying for a moment, I carefully opened my eyes.

Heavy eyelids lifted, revealing gray, eerie eyes.

The observed information and the field of view overlapped.

A foggy world came into view.

In the middle of the dull fog, a bright red lotus flower was captured.

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“…what?”

Exclamations of confusion, puzzlement, and astonishment erupted from all around.

Hong Yeon-hwa didn’t care about that and stretched out her arms and picked me up and held me in her arms.

A soft texture covered my body.

The smell of milk that had been tickling my nose from before suddenly approached me.

I felt like my body was about to melt away from the worldly warmth that was soon to be delivered to me.

“Is there nothing more to say?”

Hong Yeon-hwa asked while patting her butt.

Bright red eyes stared at me as if asking for something.

I knew what was being asked. I swallowed my saliva and rolled my tongue.

“Sorry, I do…”

My voice is now almost awkward.

Perhaps because it was so closed, I couldn’t speak fluently and stuttered.

The same goes for eyes. As I kept opening it, my eyes got cold and I kept shaking.

“Hmph. Do your eyes or throat hurt? You’re not overdoing it, right?”

“It’s okay… yo…”

It was a bit embarrassing, but I was also happy that Hong Yeon-hwa was smiling and happy.

I was scared that I would get scolded or that I would be offended, but fortunately I didn’t think that was the case.

I smiled out of relief.

At that moment, Hong Yeon-hwa slowly lowered her head.

Breath came. The scent suddenly became stronger.

Hong Yeon-hwa’s face came into view.

– side

A soft texture touched my lips. Moist and warm. My body trembled at the clear expression of affection that could not be misunderstood.

“…ugh.”

The warmth soon dropped.

It was so sad that I couldn’t help but gasp for a moment.

“…What…?”

It was then.

So much so that I started to tremble without realizing it… A gloomy voice pierced my ears.

I turned my head toward the sound, but all I saw was a dull fog.

However, the power of observation caught the teacher with an expression that seemed as if the world had collapsed.

“Hmph.”

For some reason, Hong Yeon-hwa smiled as if she were proud.

– Puzzle!

An eerie sound came from the corner of Master’s lips.

.

.

.

“…When you kissed, you saw eyes and words came out?”

After a while.

Master, who had succeeded in controlling his emotions, made a bewildered expression upon hearing the situation.

It was as if he couldn’t believe what he heard was true.

The reactions of others around me were similar.

Elia was tilting her head with a question mark, and Baek Arin also looked puzzled and lost in thought.

“If it’s a psychological problem, it could be so… maybe?”

Professor Liana secretly expressed her opinion, but she seemed unable to guarantee anything.

‘Uhm…’

I understood that reaction.

Even if you’re like me, you might find it hard to believe or wonder.

But I couldn’t explain it clearly either.

Well, I don’t know why the curse was lifted, even just a little.

At the time, my emotions were heightened in many ways… and my head was so complicated that I just ignored it, but no matter how much I thought about it afterwards, I couldn’t come to an accurate conclusion.

My best guess is… Since my senses opened right after the kiss, I can only guess that may be the cause.

The surroundings became quiet.

It looks like everyone has a lot to think about.

I also had a lot to think about. Should we accurately call it agony?

‘…Shall we reveal the curse?’

At the very least, should we just call it a disability and say that our senses of taste and smell are blocked?

It was a topic I had been thinking about at the beginning of the first semester, and I concluded that I should just hide it at the time.

A short-lived curse.

Even if I say it, there is no way to prove it. Even through the thorough examination received from the association, not a single curse was found.

The curse of sense sealing and the curse of silence.

Although it was possible to prove the phenomenon… there was no way to explain it as a curse rather than a disability.

Also, I couldn’t say to Hong Yeon-hwa, who gave me candy and bought me food and asked with worry and expectation if I was satisfied, ‘Actually, I can’t taste the taste.’

So I hid it.

I decided there was no need to cause confusion.

It was a curse that would happen in the future anyway, and if I couldn’t break it, I would die somewhere alone, so I just kept it a secret.

I regret that choice.

It was a lie that took some thought, but in the end, I ended up regretting it.

If you keep your mouth shut now, you may come back with even more regrets in the future.

I made up my mind.

Isn’t it something that we can’t hide from now on?

Even if we can’t reveal everything, let’s reveal about the curse.

It’s difficult to prove, but… these are the people who will believe me if I make a sincere claim.

[actually…]

– Ugh!

The reason I couldn’t open my eyes was because of a curse… uh, yo…?

‘uh?’

The words stopped.

The necklace of confession stood tall.

No. Has the world stopped?

‘What stopped?’

The feeling is strange. There is no sense of touch. The warmth disappeared. No sound is heard. there’s nothing. It’s empty.

The surroundings are pitch black.

It wasn’t visible.

Observation returned.

– Bagagagagagak—!

It creaks. The gears that were running normally became entangled and stopped. A harsh burst sounded and sparks flew. My brain turned white.

Thinking slows down. The foreign object – the gears – the accident – creaked – as if the wheel had come to a halt. Cognition becomes lighter. Moon-ah-right brain melts

─What, what──

This───award─

Han──…─…─???…?

What’s the law?

『Stop 』

A vague sense of touch was conveyed. A gentle hand covered the ‘eye area’.

Something wrapped around me.

『Restoration』

The countless accidents stopped. The melting brain stuck together, and the creaky thinking restarted.

A sudden event that occurred in a moment… or for eons without being recognized. I didn’t understand it properly.

‘What was it?’

My mind is blank. I don’t know what just happened.

“…baby”

A voice came from behind.

I recognized it that way, but I’m actually not sure.

Would it be correct to call it will rather than voice? It feels like the doctor is truly stuck in my mind.

It’s a more familiar feeling than you might think. When I call a spirit, it feels like it is conveying its message through telepathy.

But it is much higher than that.

“baby”

Whose voice is it?

『Don’t be careless with your body』

Who is speaking?

『…don’t just wander around places that are too dangerous』

Why does it feel familiar?

.

.

.

I feel dizzy.

Magical energy stirred around.

“─?! …! ─!”

“─! …! …! …!?”

“…! ─! …!? …!”

My head was spinning. The sound in my ears was too complicated and muffled.

what? What kind of situation are you in from a while ago…?

I moved my body.

‘uh.’

It didn’t move. Now that I think about it, my body is not only wet but sticky.

Also, my body feels empty. It feels empty inside, as if the insides have been scraped out…

I made an observation.

I observed myself covered in blood clots and the people around me wailing while using all kinds of healing methods.

‘what.’

Damn it again.

* * *

[The curse of silence is activated]

[The Curse of Solitude is activated]

…

[Top owner of growth intervenes]

[The curse of silence (?) is activated]

[Consumes a large amount of points]

…