Living as an Unemployed in Another World

97 – 4. Silence in the Helm (13)

13.

It has been three days since the day I heard the story of the paladin and made a resolution to correct her curse. In the meantime, there have been some changes in my daily life.

That day, after the commotion in the hallway with Celine, I was treated as the world’s playboy by the people of the inn, and I almost hardened into a bad image…… Fortunately, while I was gone, misunderstandings between the parties had been resolved to some extent, and the young gaze of the adventurers’ enemies softened as a result.

However, even though the glances that stare at me are almost gone…… It was still stressful for me to see female adventurers sometimes sending me strange glances whenever they met eyes. Rather, male adventurers don’t hide their amazement and try to be more friendly than before or distance themselves.

Throughout that, the ones who treat me unchangingly are the dwarves Punta and…… It was Gerald, who was having an extremely hot winter these days. Every time he met me, instead of making a joke, he held back a laugh as if he were a senior in life, patting me on the shoulder, and comforting me by saying, “Cheer up.”

Usually, I would have been grateful for his teasing consolation, but every time I saw his greasy face, I got a fever for some reason. Every time I brag about the good vibes with Emily, who works at the guild, I know she’s lying in bed day and night with Merylda, the shield warrior who lives next door to Mira. Seriously, would Celine take a deep breath in the hallway only when she was cleaning her room? For her sake, she thought that she should learn her clean her similar spell later.

Actually, on the one hand, I understand. If a fighter-class adventurer who has only physical strength stays at an inn all day, where will all the remaining energy go? I just wished them a brief blessing. I gave advice that wasn’t very useful.

“Use contraception properly.”

“Nothing!”

Gerald smiled brightly, showing his upper teeth. After all, if she gets tired of it, she’ll lay her hands on another woman. From my point of view, the real flirt and horny person is right here, and I am the only one who feels unfair. Sooner or later, I have another opportunity to make up my mind that I must grease every corner he goes.

Anyway, I wasn’t very interested in their passionate love, and I still spent time in bed struggling to get a bath every other day, but I still sat at my desk more often than before. I am grateful that Alphonse, who is much stronger than I, has shared the outside work with Mr. Cooper. And during that time I…….

“…… Hi.”

Receiving a brief greeting from Janice, I moved another chair in my room to the side. She sat down with her knees together next to me as she straightened her skirt. What are you sowing these days? A faint fruity scent wafted from the nape of her neck.

Actually, considering the big misunderstandings I’ve caused in the past, I didn’t really want to study magic in my room, but going in and out of a room where women stay is even more misleading. If it wasn’t for the existence of this magic book, I would have rather proudly come down to the hall and study. After all, there is absolutely no privacy in this old inn.

“Last time, I simulated Jin’s slot structure and came up with it.”

“As a mock?”

“I raked up the leftover feed and cast a spell to mimic the movement…… Look at this.”

Anyway, in that way, little by little, I was getting closer to becoming a wizard. In fact, since the essence-like knowledge acquired from her witches did not go anywhere, there was no need to learn her theories from her basics. Rather, in terms of theory, even Zenith could gain something from me. In fact, it was no different from a kind of brainstorming based on each person’s knowledge.

Zenith spread a wrapping cloth on my table, piled fine-grained salt crystals on top of it, and gently swung the wand into shape. It’s probably not ordinary salt, but it was soaked in a reagent somewhere and then removed. Bright red salt is not easily available anywhere. It’s not clear, but the mountain of salt that bulged in the middle repeated expansion and contraction without touching it.

“This is the ‘curse’ of Jin. I imitated you.”

“Curse…… Rather, the fluttering is just like a heart.”

“Right. After all, a curse is a spell that requires a catalyst. And this curse resides in Jin’s heart as well.”

I got a slight chill as I watched the lump of salt, shaped like a human heart, gurgling and gathering nearby salt before shrinking back in size. There may not be such a concept in this world, but from a medical point of view, it is no different from a malignant tumor.

“And, this is my ‘slot’… ….”

Zenith swung the wand once again. Then, the remaining lumps of salt floated up in the shape of a disk, forming a barrier-like barrier. Large and small discs clumping together to form a sphere. Looking at the mysterious sight, I asked Janice’s slender profile.

“This is your Zenith slot? It’s completely different from me.”

“…… The shape of the slots is very different. Except for the commonality of being mostly in the heart or the center of the body.”

“Hmm.”

“I use a lot of protection-type spells, so when I increased the number of slots, I think it gradually became like this. And… ….”

Zenith lightly pinched my wrist sleeves and tugged, as if telling me to concentrate. Dare to say what can be said. Must be an illusion I feel like I’m having a lot of skinship lately. Zenith probably has no interest in me except for my interest as a mage.

Janice placed his fingers on the salt crystals he said were modeled after his own. Then he glanced at me and spoke again.

“Look carefully.”

Go away! A purple light flashed from her fingers, then faded in an instant before taking shape, and the salt crystals in which the disks clumped together quivered in an instant before regaining their original shape. However…… Uh?

“Janice, one of the discs is missing? It’s just salt again.”

“This model is linked to me right now. Just now, I memorized the Greater Magic Missile [Arrow, Arrow, Arrow] Right before it was activated, and then canceled it.”

What? Did you mean to write such a large-scale spell in this small inn room? No, it’s more surprising that you can cancel an order so delicately. If I hadn’t bothered, the table and even my life wouldn’t have been safe. Well, because I have confidence, I can do this kind of eccentricity.

I saw that one of the disks in Zenith’s slot, which was spinning round and round, had shrunk and fell onto the cloth. So, that means that using spells will reduce slots in her case like this. Janice slipped her wrist this time, and with her other hand she placed her finger on the gurgling model of her heart as before.

“Jin, use a spell.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Anything is fine. However, it consumes slots. Also, minus the material things.”

Ah, well, I don’t have the capacity to drag an order to the brink and cancel it like Janice did. If that’s the case, it’s probably a lock [Lock]. It’s not particularly destructive magic, and the room has a door. I chanted an incantation, reaching toward the door with my other hand, not the one that Janice was holding.

“Lock 【Lock】.”

Click! I heard the sound of the door locking, and immediately turned my head to look at the salt Janice was manipulating. OK…… The salt, imitating my heart, did not shrink, but suddenly spread itself all over the cloth like a spider’s web, then began to wriggle up again and jump.

To be honest, it’s disgusting. Besides, there is no consumption that can be recognized at a glance like that of Zenith.

“You see the difference?”

“…… As far as the difference is in the way the spell is cast.”

“Jin’s Curse is modeled after Jin’s heart. Just as we circulate blood in all directions in our body, when we cast a spell, it is not a concept of ‘consuming’, but more like putting a ‘curse’ on the opponent who is casting the spell.”

I suddenly remembered the time when I cast a spell on zombies and ghouls in the labyrinth. Certainly, it worked much better for them than the small magic I know. Soon, Janice shared her surprising guess.

“This is simply my opinion, but if Jin develops his ability in the future to be able to use stronger spells, then Jin’s spell will be like a magic barrier [Magic shield] Or…… There is a high possibility that the effect of the item will not be able to block it.”

“Really!?”

“Because the principle of activation is different from normal Arcane Magic (Arcane Magic)…… In effect, casting a spell with this slot will spread a curse in the form of a spell everywhere. It’s just that the effect of the curse appears in the form of a spell.”

Then what is it? All the spells I’ve been using so far are actually curses that correspond to the spell’s effect? Putting her story together, it seems that if I cast a spell in the form of a ‘spell’, it will go through my slot and be converted into a ‘curse’. That’s a very convenient story. I asked Janice to confirm.

“What about side effects?”

“Huh?”

“I told you the other day. As I continued to cast spells, I felt some pressure near my heart. Does that have any side effects?”

I questioned her, but I had doubts in my heart. In fact, no matter how brilliant a wizard Janice was, she wasn’t sure that she could perfectly interpret and grasp the curse that the witch had planted. However, she unexpectedly gave me an answer very calmly.

“Rather than a side effect, a reaction, a counter-reward, exists.”

“…… What is that?”

“For now, it’s okay, but…… If, to the extent of my ‘slot’, the size increases out of control…… It will eventually eat Jin’s heart and her soul.”

This is an expected story. I knew that curses were all types of spells based on the opponent’s soul. But, what if that happens? I asked Janice again.

“What does being eaten mean?”

When I urged her, she reluctantly gave an ending with her little mouth.

“Lord of the Curse.”

A witch.

“I will forever be subordinated to the person who planted this curse…… With souls captured, as puppets.”

They devour me.