The beast tamer exiled from the hero’s party and the cat eared girl from the strongest race meet
"It hasn't been that long... or maybe it has. Hm. Have you been well, my daughters?"
"Muu... Mother, you're always so sudden. Because of that, we don't even get the chance to talk behind your back properly."
"If you just didn't talk behind her back in the first place, that wouldn't be a problem... Anyway, hello, Mother. Sora has been doing just fine."
"Good, good. I'm glad to see you're well. And now..."
Al turns her gaze to Nokia.
"It's been a while, hasn't it? Have you been well, Nokia?"
"Uh...?"
Although Al speaks to her in a familiar tone, Nokia seems confused and unsure how to respond.
She looks puzzled, unsure of what to say.
...Wait a second, that exchange just now...
"Could it be that you know Nokia, Al?"
"Yes. In common terms, we're besties, as they say."
Where did she even learn a word like that?
"Mother and Nina’s mother are friends...? Mmm, that’s an unexpected revelation."
"What sort of social circle does Mother even have...?"
She has lived a long life, so she must have had many connections...
But still, it somehow feels rather limited.
Could there be some intent behind it?
I'd really like to sit down and talk about it in depth sometime, but...
Right now, there’s something more important.
"Al. In that case, I’ll get straight to the point. Actually, right now, Nokia..."
—has been afflicted by a dark curse.
—has lost all her memories.
—has been taken under protection by Von and is traveling with him.
I explained all of that.
"...So that’s the situation. Do you know anything about this dark curse?"
"Tch... I never thought I’d hear that term here of all places."
Al made an extremely bitter face.
Not just that.
Though carefully concealed, she also seemed to be growing angry.
"So, you do know something?"
"...Yes."
"Then please, tell us what you know. We can't leave Nokia like this."
"That is... Hm. I’m in favor of breaking the curse, but still..."
"Nyaa... Are you against it?"
"Is there something bad about it?"
"If you want to call it bad, then yes, it is. If possible, I would prefer if you all stayed out of this matter."
That was unexpected.
Al has always offered guidance and then left the rest up to us to handle with our own strength...
But apparently, this time is different.
It seems she wants to handle it herself and have us stay put.
It’s not that she wants to exclude us—it’s that she’s worried about us.
You could tell from the way she looked at Sora and Luna: so gentle, yet filled with anxiety.
"But knowing you all, I suppose you won't listen anyway."
"You're right. No matter the reason, we can't just sit quietly and leave it to someone else."
"Besides, this is also Nina’s problem. If we can, we’d like to solve it ourselves."
"Yeah! she finally reunited with her Mom but her mother does not remember her... It's just too sad. I want to do something—anything!"
"Every... one... thank, you..."
Tears welled up in Nina's eyes as she expressed her gratitude.
And to honor those tears, there was no way we could back down now.
"Please, tell us what you know."
"...Sigh, I suppose there's no helping it."
Al relented and let out a sigh.
She sat on an empty sofa.
After taking a sip of freshly brewed tea that Tina had prepared, she began to speak calmly.
"The dark curse that stole Nokia’s memory is likely the result of a forbidden-designation relic being used."
"A forbidden-designation relic...?"
"We, the spiritfolk, possess many items. Like the orichalcum I gave to Rain, or the Shield of Truth we returned to the Hero. There are various legendary-grade items."
"Come to think of it... the spiritfolk like Sora sometimes venture out to collect those kinds of items."
"Why do you do that? Is it just a collector's obsession or something?"
"Fool."
"Ow!?"
Al's fist came down hard.
Her style of teaching is quite... aggressive.
"There are many items in the world. Some are legendary-grade and hold immense power, buried and forgotten. What do you think happens if a foolish human gets their hands on one? Just thinking about it is sickening."
"So that's why the spiritfolk like Sora collect and strictly manage them, right?"
"Exactly. As a people who have never been successfully invaded, the spiritfolk are best suited to protect them. Anyway... back to the topic. Among the items we spiritfolk collect, there are those known as forbidden-designation relics."
"Just from the name, it already sounds dangerous."
It’s safe to assume it’s a pretty nasty item.
"A forbidden-designation relic, as you can probably guess, is indeed a terrible kind of item. For example... something that spreads an incurable disease. Or perhaps a bomb that causes a massive explosion capable of engulfing an entire country, and then leaves the land polluted for eternity."
"That's... pretty extreme."
"Yeah, that’s brutal..."
What a terrifying class of item to exist.
Hearing Al's explanation, I couldn't help but gasp.
"Among those forbidden-designation relics is one called the Blessing of Black. It’s a truly malicious item that steals the deepest, most sincere wish of its target. I suspect that’s what you’ve been calling the dark curse."
"Mother, how do you know so much about this?"
"I manage the relics in place of the village elder, so it’s only natural I would know that much."
"But why are you the one managing them?"
"The elder has... grown senile—no, I mean, he's busy. So I help out as best I can."
Wait, did she just almost say something outrageous...?
Hopefully, that was just Al’s idea of a joke.
"Huh? Wait a second."
I interrupted, noticing something odd.
"That Blessing of Black was being managed in the spiritfolk’s village, right? So how did it end up being used on Nokia?"
"Mmm..."
Al made a painfully bitter face, as if I had struck a nerve.
Looks like we’re finally getting to the heart of the matter.
"Ah... I’ll tell you properly, but I want you to promise something first. What I’m about to say—keep it a secret among us, alright?"
"So in other words, something happened that's serious enough to be kept secret?"
"Indeed. I’m glad you catch on quickly."
"Understood. I promise."
When I looked at Von, he nodded firmly in agreement.
Seeing our resolve, Al seemed to steel herself and continued.
"There was an incident where the Blessing of Black—and several other forbidden-designation relics—were taken out of the spiritfolk village."
"What!?"
"I’ve never heard anything about that before."
Sora and Luna were both shocked.
Al told them to listen until the end, and continued her explanation.
"It happened nearly several hundred years ago."
"But in that case, the timing doesn’t line up with when Nokia was cursed..."
"They were taken a few centuries ago, yes, but that doesn’t mean they were used immediately. I don’t know the purpose, but someone must have made contact recently—and that’s when it was used."
"Ah, that makes sense."
"And now... about the person who stole them—their name is... Mona."
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