Chương 56: Chapter 52

For some reason, the air felt so much fresher when Sobelle got out of the chief's house. Chael followed after her, face red and constantly looking around as though she was afraid that someone would come up to her and say: "what did you and Sobelle do together huh?!" Which wasn't wrong, really.

Sobelle herself was afraid that someone would ask her about what happened between them, even though it wouldn't really make sense given that they were in a room, so the "noises" they made wouldn't be heard, and that the two of them had already bathed which meant whatever sign of their escapade was left was already gone. Or so she hoped. Sobelle sniffed her shirt and frowned when she didn't smell anything. There were no signs of her and Chael's physical affair, right?

She flinched when a hand touched her shoulder and she swiftly turned back to see Chael, who also looked a bit worried.

"Can you smell me too?" The merchant pulled on the collar of her shirt and dragged it to Sobelle's nose. She whined and stomped her feet when Sobelle pulled away, "oh come on! Pleaseee?!"

"That will only make people even more suspicious of us." Sobelle hissed and pushed the merchant away.

"And don't be too loud! What if someone sees us and suspects that we're both... We're both..." Sobelle felt her face heat up.

"You know. We—""Yes! I get it!" Chael quickly yelled. She covered Sobelle's mouth, her face turning the same shade as her partner.

"I get it! Okay?! I get it—" she stopped and lowered her voice.

"Okay, I get it..."

"Let's just go to the... Forest." She almost slipped up and revealed the existence of their campsite. That was how much her mind was occupied by the worry of someone catching her and Chael.

"We can't stay here."

"Hey Chael? I noticed that—""Notice?!" Chael whipped towards Thetras and let out an awkward laugh.

"What did you notice? Nothing? Right?" The merchant went behind Sobelle and peeked from over her shoulder.

"I don't think you notice anything!"

"No, I... I know you're scared, okay? But you don't have to stay with Sobelle... Or maybe you do." Thetras looked at the girl in question and gave her a smile. He gently nodded at Sobelle, "you two are both women, so nothing will happen between you two. And not to mention, you both seem to be close, so you can support each other." He sighed.

"I'm not a woman so I wouldn't ever get Chael's thoughts, but I know you will, Sobelle. Please take good care of her for the time being."

"I'll do that." Sobelle casually agreed to the request. She cleared her throat and turned to the gates.

"Chael and I have to leave for the forest, see you later."

"I'll see you later..." Thetras waved and watched the two women go. Chael walked stiffly alongside Sobelle, her expression uncharacteristically stoic. Sobelle was actually worried that the merchant was going to give both of them away but to her surprise, no one mentioned the fact that Chael was waddling like the seasonal Ice Slider.

"You look like a Pesvun." Sobelle pointed out. She also told Chael what she noticed earlier, "I think it's better if we just treat the whole thing as normally as we can since the more we try to act like nothing happened, the more suspicious we look." Chael didn't answer for a few seconds.

"... Do you hate it?"

"No?" Sobelle turned back with a frown. What got her to that conclusion? She saw that Chael had stopped walking and was sullenly looking at the ground.

"Why would I hate it? I'm just saying that we shouldn't try so hard to pretend like nothing happened since we only look suspicious by doing it."

"I'm not pretending though... Well, I don't want to pretend like we haven't done anything, at least." Chael muttered for a second before she shook her head and straightened herself. She gently patted her cheeks, "but I don't think that will work out in the long run!" She smiled, now back to being her usual self.

"Let's get to camp, we still have so many things to do and the supplies won't make themselves!" If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"You're right. Let's go." Sobelle worried for just a second before putting the whole thing in the back of her head. How Chael felt about the whole thing was irrelevant, because the merchant was right; they had things to do and the world wouldn't wait for them to finish them. Both of them refused to say another word and made a beeline for their camp. Once there, Chael silently got to work while Sobelle prepared a ritual site.

She grabbed the flattest rock she could find, placed it on even ground, and then erected a tiny shrine around it. She used branches and leaf litter, as well as the spare rope she started to carry to tie everything together. The tiny shrine served as a way to appease the spirits, so Sobelle made sure to make it as pleasing to look at as she possibly could. This was made easier thanks to [Flow State] and after a while, she stood in front of a tiny structure around the height of her knee.

Silently, she grabbed one of the candles she made and then walked to the forest to catch a critter. An unfortunate rat the size of Sobelle's head served as her sacrifice and she brought the rodent back to the shrine, which she then butchered and used its blood to write [Great Spirits, Please Protect And Guide Me]. Which was a simple request, yet it meant everything to Sobelle after what she experienced the day prior. The candles got lit, the rat buried, and the ritual finished.

Once Sobelle got up, her system notified her not only of the ritual's success, but also another thing. Someone had cursed her, apparently, and they wanted her to lose her next fight. For a moment, Sobelle stood immobile, shocked to learn that someone hated her enough to curse her. And that the curse was indefinite. [Curse of Bad Luck: Indefinite] Meanwhile, her protection ritual was only two hours even though the candles would last far longer than that...

No, Sobelle looked back at the shrine and saw that the candles had somehow already melted to a quarter of their size. [Ritual of Protection and Guidance: 2/59/40] Sobelle paled but the feeling passed after a moment. She inhaled and realized that her own ritual trumped whatever effects the curse held. That was something she needed to take note of, as going out into the forest without protection could potentially spell doom for her.

"Is something wrong?" Chael came up with a worried tone. She looked at the shrine and curiously tilted her head, "are the candles defective? I don't think they are meant to melt this quickly..."

"No, they work." Sobelle corrected.

"I was cursed."

"Y-you were?" Chael's tone suddenly changed from worried to outright horrified. And Sobelle understood why, curses were no joke and learning that someone in the village was willing to do that meant that people's lives could be at risk.

"How cruel. I hope that it doesn't last long?"

"No, it's... It's probably going to be a while before the curse lifts." Sobelle did not say that the curse would stay forever because she knew that Chael would only worry about her.

"It's going to be part of my life from now on."

"Then it must be from a tablet then." Chael's guess sounded like it came from experience, and what she said next pretty much confirmed this for Sobelle.

"Tablets can last for a while, and they are very effective if you wish to curse someone."

"For a while, huh?" Sobelle almost laughed. It was fortunate that Chael knew about the curse's source, but she was wrong about the length of time it would last.

"How do I break it prematurely?"

"You break the tablet itself." Chael answered, which gave Sobelle a path forward. Now, if only she knew where the tablet was located...

"Then after that, whatever price the curse bearer paid would be taken by the spirits as compensation for annoying them."

"Thank you for telling me this." Sobelle wants to say that the spirits were unfair for cursing her, but that is just how they are. Spirits do not choose a side, they simply take sacrifices in exchange for their magic. And speaking of sacrifices, "what do you think that person paid for a curse this powerful?"

"I'm not sure?" Chael looked confused for a second before her eyes widened in realization. She covered her mouth, "no..." She looked horrified. She took Sobelle's hand, "someone who loves them? A loved one? It's definitely one of those things, the spirits would rejoice at something like that."

"Hm." Sobelle grunted, guess that meant some poor, lovestruck fool in the village had been sold.

"For them to willingly sell their loved one..."

"Yeah, that's definitely something only a demon would do." Chael's tone was barely audible now.

"Are you still going to leave for the forest?"

"I have to." Sobelle shrugged off Chael's hand and picked up her spear.

"I'll be fine, that, I know."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck then." Chael waved and didn't stop Sobelle from leaving.

"Hopefully you come back unscathed this time, healing you the night before was far too expensive and I can't keep doing that every day." This was the last thing Sobelle heard before Chael's voice was drowned out by the sounds of the forest.