The streets, about to be engulfed by the setting sun, were beginning to quiet down.
The sound of shops closing echoed, and street lamps began to illuminate the night. People hurried home, and the tantalizing smell of food wafted from houses on the breeze.
In such a twilight town, I walked alone.
“It’s… chilly…”
The night breeze felt cold, so I tucked my hands into my coat pockets. Looking up at the dark sky, thick clouds covered it, and not a single star was visible. Perhaps because it had been raining lightly until recently, small puddles had formed in the road’s depressions.
It seemed like it might rain again soon. I quickened my pace.
My destination was beyond the [General Area]—the [Reconstruction Area].
The reason… was nothing special. If I had to say, I just felt like taking a walk since I couldn’t sleep. In the process, I thought I’d check on Leti, who might be in the [Reconstruction Area].
There was a high chance we’d miss each other, but that was fine. I’d just go back home normally.
“Huh…?”
As I walked a little farther, my eyes caught sight of a roadside stall that was open.
Laid out on the ground with a mat were various suspicious-looking small bottles for sale. There wasn’t even an umbrella set up, and the products were soaking wet, exposed to the elements.
The female shopkeeper was sitting down, hugging her knees. She hardly moved at all, as if she were dead.
The appearance was so familiar. It was Kaas.
“Oh, Jii-chan…?”
Kaas slowly looked up, and when she recognized me, her face relaxed as if she were relieved. “What are you doing at this hour?” she tilted her head, wanting to know.
“…What are you doing?”
“Um, I’m selling potions… Want to buy one? This one’s recommended.”
She picked up a small bottle and handed it to me, offering it at a discounted price.
“Hmm… What kind of potion is this? It looks incredibly poisonous.”
“Yeah, it sure does. Because it’s poison. If you drink it, you’ll feel a bit numb and unable to move, but it has a spicy taste, so you can use it as a secret flavoring for cooking—oh!”
I slammed the small bottle onto the ground. What the hell was she selling?
Kaas looked teary-eyed. Did she realize she’d committed an act of terrorism?
“It’s all going away. Remove it, remove it!”
“Huh, what? I haven’t sold a single one yet…”
“Don’t sell poison potions as condiments. It’s terrorism, you idiot.”
“It’s not lethal poison, so I thought it would be okay… It has a unique taste that goes well with dishes…”
Kaas seemed dissatisfied. She didn’t seem to realize it was a bad idea.
Selling potions at a stall at this hour was strange enough, and why was she selling potions in the first place?
Taking the bottle from Kaas, who hugged it protectively as if she didn’t want to give up, I raised both arms high to dispose of everything.
Then, something caught my eye at the bottom of the bottle.
“The mark of [J&G Trading Company]…?”
A distinctive emblem.
It was an emblem indicating that the product was from [J&G Trading Company], a major potion retailer.
The mark engraved with magical symbols is impossible to fake. Selling used vials with their contents replaced is, of course, a crime.
“W-What? You, you’re getting involved in crime—!”
“N-No, that’s not it! I-I’m just working there!”
I stopped myself from using communication magic to report her. What’s going on?
Kaas pulled out a notebook from his pocket and showed it to me. Indeed, there was a business card inside, stating that he belonged to the Merchants’ Guild.
“…Wait, you’re a potion maker?”
“Yeah! Pretty cool, right?”
Kaas proudly puffed out his chest.
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“It’s not so much cool as it is surprising that you’re part of an organization.”
I had thought she seemed timid and incapable of conversation, but here she was, working as part of an organization. Quite unexpected. Especially considering she must be busy as a hero…
“It’s impressive that you’ve become a potion maker, considering how difficult it is. Well done.”
Feeling a bit impressed, I watched as Kaas awkwardly turned away.
“Y-Yeah… I’m still just an apprentice, though.”
“Even so, that’s quite an achievement. What’s your job like?”
I asked out of curiosity, and Kaas froze with a blank expression.
“…It’s… fine, I guess. It’s just… normal. But whenever I make healing potions, they almost always turn into poison, so I get scolded and almost fired. And I can’t talk to anyone, so people whisper about me behind my back, but I don’t care, and I don’t cry on the way home or anything, and it’s only natural for someone like me, with a clumsy and stupid head, to be talked about, and I don’t want to die or anything—haha, haha…”
“Ah, sorry. My bad.”
I comforted Kaas, who had broken into laughter. It seemed I had triggered some trauma. It’s difficult to fit into society. My apologies.
“So, did you make this potion too? Amazing, seriously amazing.”
“R-Really…?”
Kaas perked up again, her mood shifting easily.
“I know someone who makes potions for a living, and they say it’s quite difficult.”
I thought of that guy who sends me terrible potions. I have no idea what he’s doing now, but he must still be making potions, since he used to drink healing potions like water and pull all-nighters.
Recalling unpleasant memories, I watched as Kaas closed up her stall and asked me something.
“Speaking of potions… do you know about ‘Spirit Brew’?”
“Spirit Brew? Oh, yeah, I actually brought back some ghostgrass for a job recently.”
“Oh, really? Well, if you knew, that’s fine. Do you know anyone with a spiritual illness?”
“Well… yeah, I do. Why do you ask?”
A while back, I received a message through the guild from an old man to thank me for bringing back the ghostgrass. I declined because I didn’t want to reveal my identity, but it seemed he figured it out because of my black hair. Apparently, the child suffering from the spiritual illness is recovering well.
“You know, …… I’d like to meet him and see his condition.”
“Why? You’re not a healer. You don’t need to be.”
Yeah. …… Yeah, but… …… “
Kaas hesitated and then whispered, “Don’t tell me.”
“Have you heard that spiritual illnesses might be curses?”
“Curses? Oh, well—”
“Shh! Shh! Be quiet! I don’t know who might be listening, so keep your voice down!”
She covered my mouth with her hands, looking around nervously.
Certainly, spiritual illnesses are sometimes considered a type of curse because their symptoms resemble those of curses. However, there’s no conclusive evidence.
The number of cases is extremely low, with only a few reported each year in the Rivulhiro Kingdom and about fifty cases in total across all countries. They have been largely ignored for years due to the difficulty in investigating them. However, there are other reasons they aren’t investigated, such as the difficulty in finding curse practitioners and the many mysteries surrounding curses if they are indeed the cause.
“Spiritual illnesses have been around for a long time, right? Is there any point in cursing multiple people instead of targeting specific individuals?”
“W-Well… there might be some big conspiracy or something. Depending on the type of curse, it can drain the target’s magical energy or life force… so maybe they’re using that for something…”
Usually, curses target specific individuals. By using a part of the target’s body as a medium, curses can be more effective. Without a medium, even an average spellcaster can only cause minor ailments, at most as severe as a slight cold.
Spiritual illness leads to death. If it’s a curse, it would require a highly skilled practitioner of curse magic to achieve.
Perhaps… the hero of [Curse].
I look at Kaas in front of me. Well, she wouldn’t do something like that.
There was also a hero of [Curse] in the previous generation. But they are already deceased.
So, it’s hard to consider that line of thought. It’s probably just Kaas’s misunderstanding.
Just to be safe, I gave her the contact information of the old man who overheard.
After watching her tidy up her stall (she was quite reluctant), I part ways with Kaas.
“…Spiritual illness, huh.”
Suddenly, Henry, Lucas’s younger brother, comes to mind.
That boy also fell victim to spiritual illness and lost his life. He fought against the disease until the end, never giving up his pride.
But if it were a curse… if it were artificially induced.
Many victims of spiritual illness are children. If so, it would be cruel and unethical.
“…”
I continue to walk dispassionately.
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