Chương 82: Hired Help

Much to my annoyance, the incessant nightmares of many children in the orphanage, alongside the rather excessive acts some of them would perform in an attempt not to sleep, ended up causing the caretakers to call for assistance from several experts. The first people they called were a group of exorcists from some nearby church. I frankly had no clue about who they were or the god they worshipped, but they seemed quite competent at their job.

Unfortunately, whilst exorcists could deal with quite a lot of problems, ranging from devilish possession, ghostly possession, and just about any foreign entity or will plaguing a person… My nightmares did not count as such, and they were thus powerless. Thus, the exorcists passed the torch to healing clerics. Their holy spells and miracles to appease the mind and clear someone of their bad thoughts were efficient, but only for a time. And these methods would grow less efficient with time.

Indeed, they might be able to clear the negative emotions, but I could also just swoop back in to reinstate the fear, which was easy, as a level of apprehension always remained within my victims even after the holy treatment. Medical experts were brought in next, more common physicians who specialised in surgery and other forms of medicine considered to be 'mundane' due to not making use of any energy, way of power, or any item hailing from either of the two previous categories.

Naturally, they also failed spectacularly. My nightmares could not be cured this way. The problem wasn't that they could not be dealt with, but with the fact that they were extremely easy for me to reapply, and much like a disease, the more you threw at it without getting rid of it, would result in a stronger, more resilient illness. Or so I believe, I think I heard that from a medic who tried to hit on me once. That one had been quite bold, too courageous for his own good, in fact.

He had gone for a reckless strategy called 'putting his hand on my thigh', and subsequently lost his front teeth after I reflexively elbowed him in the face. It was a shame. He had been doing quite well before that. He should have given a heads-up instead of being overconfident. Anyway…

The caretakers were getting panicked, and word of what was happening in the orphanage was spreading, which was resulting in all sorts of people of dubious qualifications showing up nearly daily to attempt to free the affected victims. The caretakers and overseer of the orphanage felt overwhelmed, and this is how I managed to get myself a position as the guardian of the orphanage's gates.

Now, not only did they give me keys to get into the orphanage whenever I wanted, without any chance of leaving any trace, but I also got to dislocate jaws quite often. Most of the people who showed up with a 'solution' to the nightmares were crooks and charlatans. This gave me the right to put them to sleep forcefully, and despite my rather heavy-handed methods, more kept showing up. Just how far did this story spread?

And what is so special about it that so many would just converge on this random orphanage in the middle of nowhere? Is life that boring in this country? Weren't there a bunch of uncommon creatures showing up not so long ago? What happened to that? Go get killed by Devils Beasts or Whatever-Thing Creatures instead of coming here. I only have two fists to punch all of you with! Ooh… This makes me think… Say Nara… Would there be upgrades to add more limbs to my 'Base Form'?

I am not allowed to give a direct answer to that, but logically speaking, it seems like a rather common concept. You have already been given the option to replace your arms with something else, so adding another arm does not sound far-fetched In my understanding of Nara-Speak, this meant: Yes, absolutely. What an adorable little disembodied voice inside of my head. Giving roundabout, elaborate answers to something she isn't allowed to say to very strongly imply the actual answer. Waaa…

Don't think too hard, or I might get reprimanded for dancing around the restrictions! Relax, if it was worth getting punished for, you would have gotten punished a long time ago. Aren't you being watched by THE System? It probably knows everything you do in perfect detail, so don't worry about it. If it didn't do anything yet, then you're in the clear, Cutie Pie. Cutie Pie? That's a new one…

Calling you 'Nara' all makes it seem like we aren't that close, and there isn't really any way to shorten your name in a more endearing way, is there? So terms of endearment it is. I hope you like it. Just as I finished saying this to Nara inside my mind, a rather peculiar-looking person approached the gates of the orphanage. It was a woman with hair white like the fur of a bunny, eyes that were very clearly pink, and wearing a cloak that covered everything below her neck.

"Hello there. Are you the miss who beats people up? May I get and take a look at the poor children?" She spoke with a rather refined accent, which immediately told me that she was probably of notable status, possibly a noble. The peculiar look also reinforced this notion. Nobles tended to look a bit odd for some reason. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Not that I could say much about that, I had purple eyes myself…

I tilted my head, which was my way of silently asking her to elaborate. One could not just waltz into the orphanage by simply claiming that they could be of help.

"Mmh…? I am Heltna Bombidour. You must have heard of me, don't my looks ring any bells, Miss Knightess?" The young woman struck a pose, revealing that, for some reason, the attire she was wearing beneath her cloak left her entire midriff bare, allowing one to see the various sigils and such drawn upon its surface. Bombidour… I do think I know that name. It's a noble family. Not an exceptionally famous or powerful one, but noble nonetheless. I have no idea what their speciality or little quirk is. I shook my head.

Girlie, I've been in some dirty backroom for nearly a quarter of a century. You probably weren't even born when I got in there, or at best, you were still a little devilish creature.

"Doesn't ring any bells…? That… That's not common… Mmh… Pretty please? I am knowledgeable in curses, hexes, jinxes, and all that business! And I could swear on my life that I can sense very hefty traces of a curse inside the orphanage! Just bring someone else, and I am certain they'll know who I am… You… You won't punch a cute girl, right?" I just stared at her. She could sense my traces inside the orphanage, but couldn't tell that I am a curse myself?

Is it because my knightly form is less connected to my Living Curse side? That doesn't make sense. I am a Steel-Bound Curse, and I am currently a solid chunk of steel shaped into a knightess. By all means, I should be reeking of curse, or does this form count more as a haunted suit of armour, and thus, my Vengeful Spirit side covers up my other half? I felt like I could run in circles for a while by trying to figure this out… No, what's more important is that she can sense my traces at all.

Argantis had been pretty much oblivious to my presence, even when I had been near him, and he was supposed to be an advanced and experienced curse slinger. Was this girl better than him in this department? Was she more talented? Or maybe the nightmares counted partly as a curse? It was hard to say, and I couldn't exactly get this girl to help me figure it out… Now. If she had not been a noble, I would have knocked her out right there and then for being too dangerous.

Regardless of the fact that she was indeed quite cute, I had sunk my fists into the faces of several women already as the watcher of the gates… But her status was a bit too high for me to act recklessly. I didn't want to get sliced up by another knight that I couldn't even perceive moving. No thanks. I motioned with my hand for her to wait, and I went to grab a caretaker, who instantly knew who she was.

"L-Lady Heltna… It is an honour to see you here!"

"Oh, it's nothing much. I am always willing to lend a hand!" I was unable to follow her around, but thankfully, I had made sure to let my little sisters out of the mindscape a while ago before turning into my knightly form. They were currently inhabiting the orphanage's unused attic and performing small frights of their own every so often. They kept tabs on the noble girl and came to keep me updated once night had fallen.

"She… Said… That… It… Was… Partly… A… Curse… And… Would… Come… Back… With… Appropriate… Equipment…" Said Poppy, looking a lot less dead now. Come back, huh? So her noble residence isn't that far from here? Nobody told me that we had a genuine noble in the region… And she's an expert in curses? Are you thinking what I am thinking, Nara? Mara… It is definitely going to be better guarded than Argantis's man-cave. Heltna surely lives in the family residence. This would imply many guards, powerful knights, mages…

Nobles surrounded themselves well and are strongly protective of their belongings Don't worry about it, I'll think of a good and safe way… But do admit, this girl probably has a whole lot of cursed items, and perhaps even bottled curses lying around. This could be a magnificent heist! Well… Yes, but please be careful! I will be. I gave good pats on the heads of cute little spirits, and as I was about to get into the orphanage to give some good frights, I felt a tug in my mind.

It seemed like someone else had failed one too many times inside the nightmares. Ever since I dealt with that first one, the rest had seemingly had a dip in morale, and some of those who had been doing well started failing more often. The first victim had died in the real world as a result of his final loss in the nightmare, and eerily enough, he had passed from a slashed throat.

The false damage of the nightmare world had passed over to the real world, and out of the blue, people had seen a sleeping person suddenly gush blood out of their neck and die without any proper explanation. Naturally, such a bloody and unexpected outcome for the first to suffer from the nightmares made the rest even more nervous, and as such, another one who had been doing poorly to begin with was quick to be dragged to their final trial.

I had no clue whatsoever who it was until I saw them for myself, but I did not resist the pull, and I let myself manifest inside of the nightmare. Once again, I was in my human form. Though, for some reason, I wasn't dressed in my typical attire. Well, I actually was, I just didn't have my coat. My top was a dark grey buttoned shirt that let my neck and clavicles show. It was quite ample around the chest and shoulder area, but much tighter when it got to the forearms.

The shirt was tucked into dark pants, which, unlike the rest, were quite form-fitting. The whole point was to bring attention to my lower body and distract from my wide shoulders. I wanted men to pay attention to the right parts. In any case, I also had some boots. They weren't appealing at all to onlookers, but I found them very practical. Good boots could go anywhere, and I could use them to stomp more effectively. I also noticed a small cut on my right thumb. Ooh… My form was chosen after a specific time, I see…

That explains the lack of a coat this time. I didn't wear it when I was trying to fish myself a husband, and I spent quite a lot of time trying to throw lines, only to pull in trash. Anyway… Where the hell am I this time?