“Hey, you’re up.”
“What? Jeff? Right... I was knocked out from the medicine.” I’d woken up with a jolt, and it took me a moment to remember what had happened.
“How do you feel?” Jeff asked.
“Still half asleep...but not bad.”
“Good. Everyone else is in the chow room. If you can walk, you wanna join them?”
“Let’s.”
Jeff and I went to the dining hall together, expecting further directions from Rosenberg.
Even before we stepped inside, I could see through the window that everyone was staring at something on the table, some of them putting their hands on the table and leaning all the way over. Eleonora sat in their midst, staring at the table with visible intensity.
I opened the dining hall door quietly, but Miya immediately spotted me. “Ryoma! Are you feeling better?!”
“Yes, thank you. What are you looking at?”
“Eleonora is amazing!” Miya stood aside and revealed what was on the table: on one end a pile of blank paper, already used pages on the other, three sets of paper between them, and three quills hovering in the air. This was the setup she had told me about while we were preparing dinner yesterday. “I thought you’d be more surprised,” Miya said.
“I am impressed. I’m not surprised because she already told me about this yesterday. However, I hadn’t seen her in action yet. Are you writing more reports for us?” I asked.
“I was compiling information about your curse, from the preparation stages through to the inspection of the area after the fact,” Eleonora said, making me realize that I’d fallen asleep without even reviewing what happened after I used the curse.
Rosenberg spoke up. “The main objective was to practice control over the curse and your emotions. Testing its effectiveness was secondary. It was part of my duty as your tutor to assist with the aftermath...not to mention it was I who instructed you to sleep straightaway. More importantly, do you feel off in any way, emotional or otherwise? It could be something as simple as soreness.”
“If anything, I just feel a little sleepy still,” I answered.
“I see. That is most likely because the medicine is still in your system,” Rosenberg explained. “If you do not feel any other symptoms, there is nothing to worry about. Please notify me if you feel unwell at any time, even days later. Now, let us go over what you missed last night. Something came up that you definitely need to know.”
What could that be? I remembered raking out torrents of cursed energy... Did I miss any of it?
“It is not bad news,” Rosenberg assured me. “As with the ropes you created, you exceeded my expectations. Let me begin by saying that your hex was flawless. Your powers, which you have displayed by pushing yourself to the limit, exceed my own... In fact, I do not know of any warlock who could achieve what you have without assistance. Your vast supply of magical energy certainly helped you accomplish a hex that would require a congregation of warlocks performing an extensive ritual to replicate.”
“Compared to the hundreds and thousands of spells I’ve cast, this one truly felt like I gave it everything I had. Still, I didn’t expect such high praise.”
“Allow me to be blunt. It would be safer to be cautious about who you show that curse to. It is truly a marvelous hex, and you deserve nothing but praise for it. Still, in addition to the menacing arm, your hex emanated a sort of...pressure.”
I remembered the arm well, and I’d admit that it must have looked ominous to bystanders. I hadn’t noticed any pressure or intimidating aura about it, so I was glad that Rosenberg had told me. “Do you know what caused that pressure?”
“Simply your magical energy and negative emotions. Everyone has magical energy within them and the ability to sense it. With such a powerful pulse of magical energy, even those without a keen sense for it would feel the pressure. Combined with your negative emotions, some may find it discomforting. Just as my family can detect impressions from hexes, so can anyone else...albeit subconsciously,” Rosenberg explained.
“So...if I used the same process but eased up on the output a little to lessen that pressure, and found a way to make it easier on the eyes, I could potentially use it in public,” I pointed out.
“Having that as an option would serve you well. What I have to say next may help you with that.” Rosenberg brought out my rake—which had crumbled beyond repair—and the magic gem that was left entirely undamaged among the broken pieces. Apparently, the effect of Manifested Hand had stuck with the magic gem, which now worked like an air purifier that automatically cleansed cursed energy around it.
“Okay. So I just need to cast the diet Manifested Hand onto some other object.”
“Just to be clear, please do not use that magic gem,” Rosenberg warned. “I was shocked enough when you first showed it to me, but I was stunned when I saw it in action. After absorbing all that cursed energy, it hasn’t shown any sign of change. There is no telling how much cursed energy it can store nor how much abuse it can take.”
“Information regarding your magic gem will be kept confidential among those present here. With Sebas’s agreement, I left any mention of it out of my reports,” Eleonora said.
“Rest assured, I will personally relay the details to Duke Jamil,” Sebas said.
The magic gem was already as valuable as a national treasure. I could see why they wanted to keep it—and the effect of my hex—a secret. I had no intention of showing it off either. If anything, keeping it confidential would probably mean fewer headaches for me, so I had no objections.
“Wonderful. There is one more thing. As a general rule, it takes decades of continuous treatment to fully cleanse a land afflicted with cursed energy. A lapse in treatment can not only halt progress, but also cause a relapse. However, the testing grounds here—the source of the cursed energy—have shown a dramatic decrease in the amount of cursed energy I could sense in the ground. From what I could sense, I believe you could completely cleanse this place with only ten more runs of yesterday’s hex.”
“In other words, my hex did the work of...a few years’ worth of ordinary cleansing?”
“Correct, thanks to your exhaustive efforts and that magic gem that was perfectly suited for the hex. This is why I saved this piece of information for last.”
If I was being honest, I was so far in the zone while I was casting the hex that I wasn’t really registering the magnitude of the situation, except a vague sense that this was truly an anomaly. “If I did it once a day, I could finish decades of work in ten days...”
“Theoretically, yes. But you should not push your limits every day—not even close. Giving you time to monitor your status... I would recommend no more than one execution of that curse per month, just like the curse-breaking lost magic. Considering that it still will not take you a year to completely cleanse the mountain, you would be working at a breakneck pace,” Rosenberg said.
“If you really wanted to, you could probably cleanse this place in no time,” Hudom chimed in. “But achieving something like that too quickly is also going to draw attention. So, we decided to keep that information to ourselves too.”
“If you ever draw out cursed energy in front of others, work stupid slow,” Mizelia suggested.
“I second that idea. If you wish to keep this information protected from nobles, then moderation is key. I do not expect you to have a difficult time concocting new spells that you can tailor to your needs. That is all I have to relay to you,” Rosenberg concluded before turning to the group. “Is there anything else?”
“This is not directly related to the hex, but...” Eleonora said, handing me the papers she’d been writing throughout our meeting.
A quick skim told me that they were as thorough as her reports always were, plus a summary of everything we’d done in our allotted time here. I’d definitely surpassed my original goal of learning the basics of hexology, particularly when it came to handling cursed energy. In the process, I’d created the cleansing incense, repellant rope, and protective wish bracelet. Casting the lost cleansing spell and developing a way for Korumi to communicate with the outside world were works in progress. As for the mountain’s development that I’d started on a whim, it had begun with my construction of the cottages. We established a basic path from the cottage all the way down to the travel road, and we cleared the lumberyard—future farmland—and dug a well. We were still in the midst of pruning and felling the trees, starting with those around the lumberyard. We hadn’t reinforced the ground of the cursed clearing either.
“We didn’t quite finish everything...mostly because I kept adding to our to-do list,” I said.
“No duh. No one would even believe we did all that we did in one week,” Jeff said.
I chuckled at that. “You have a point. Well, now that I’ll be managing this place, I’ll keep up the work at a reasonable pace.” It wouldn’t be the fastest route to achieve all the goals I’d set, but this was the one I had chosen—a way with plenty of forks and no way back. Taking detours and going the long way was all a part of life. “Since there isn’t a deadline, I might build a trail from the cottage to the testing grounds and make the paths and cottage more comfortable.”
“Now he’s adding even more tasks,” Jeff commented.
“Stabilizing the cursed ground and improving its environment is most welcome... I only ask that you take care of yourself,” Rosenberg said.
“Of course.” I didn’t have to be told twice. In fact, improving my quality of life here would make things easier for me. There were plenty of things I wanted to do... Oh! I finally remembered. Those slimes evolved last night!
“Is something the matter?” Rosenberg asked.
“I just remembered those slimes. My mind is finally waking up. Um, is there anything else I need to be briefed on? Anything I need to take care of...? No? I will read through these reports later. Right now, I’m going to check on the slimes.” I excused myself to do just that. Before I left, I saw everyone exchange a look.
“Is that...?”
“Normal? Probably.”
What was that supposed to mean?
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