Regressor, Possessor, Reincarnator

“Sir, there’s no need to take a direct look at him. The curse could spread, couldn’t it?”

Soned said to Allen with an uncomfortable expression.

What would he do if the curse were to spread to Allen? The merchant group’s name would be tarnished were anything to happen, regardless of any favors Allen and Soned may have exchanged. 

"I appreciate your generosity, sir. However, he’ll be treated with the potion, so you don't need to look at it yourself."

"No, something similar could happen again. Shouldn't I check it out for that sake?"

"Oh, Sir Allen!"

Karik, who’d only just entered the room, was surprised by the difference between the merchant group leader’s reactions compared to what he’d expected, but Karik nodded after hearing the tail end of their story.

‘It seems that their conversation went well.’

He knew that Allen had wanted to arrange a meeting with Soned, but Karik had still felt a little wrong about it knowing that it’d occurred after only having been associates for a few days.

When he saw Soned's greatly improved expression, though, Karik felt proud of himself for no reason.

"Sir Allen, did your conversation go well?”

"Yes, I was lucky. I was lucky to have taken the banshee tears with me just in case after having heard about Mr. Soned’s son.”

"…Are those… the banshee tears?"

As Karik turned his head, Soned carefully presented to him the purple potion.

"This… is a precious item… hard to come by in any territory…”

Karik looked at Allen with a startled face.

Banshee tears weren’t too difficult to manufacture, but hard to come by.

Even if successfully made and acquired, it was a rare item, generally only sold and purchased between high-ranking nobles or the royal family at a hefty price.

Among curse-healing tools, nothing held a candle to banshee tears.

Allen smiled like his favor wasn’t of note.

"People have different values."

Just as the values of slaves and commoners were different, so were the values of commoners and nobles. If you compared the value of a potion purchased by a merchant's son and one by a high-ranking aristocrat for a large amount of money, of course, the value of the latter would be higher.

However…

"Personally, I simply judged that the favor I received from Mr. Soned was of a higher value than the potion he received in return.”

"I— …You speak far too kindly."

Although Soned thanked him for his kindness, he could not hide his bitter feelings.

‘This is a far larger debt.’

Even though his son was suffering from the curse, he hated himself for calculating the value of their exchange—evaluating the price of his partner’s good will with his merchant’s mind. 

"That's all."

Allen didn’t say that men were inherently equal, or that all life was worth something. It wouldn’t mean anything; it’d just be words. He was just invested because Soned's future value would be more than worth the exchange of the potion.

‘I'll pay back the debts I owe from my past life.’

He also needed to search for the devil-contracting tomes that he’d found in his past life in order to reduce Julius's influence.

'You have to lose some to win some.’

This was his one and only chance.

This period of time when Julius would be gone.

A period of time in which he could prepare for the future without disturbing anyone. So, Allen, guided by Soned, arrived at the room wherein Soned’s son rested.

“Is this it?”

"Yes, we’re here."

Soned angled himself to enter the room first. Nothing strange had yet occurred, but wouldn’t there be the possibility that the curse could cause a sudden explosion?

"I'll go first, and then you, sir, can—”

However, as soon as he opened his mouth, the door behind him opened, cutting him off.

Squeak.

"S-sir!"

“It’s alright. We should still be fine to cure his curse from here.” Allen stepped inside, moving ahead of Soned who was dissuading him from the side.

It was silent inside.

Allen went forward, coming to the bed in the center of the room.

* * *

* * * 

'…He’s so young.'

He must’ve been around fifteen, but his complexion had dulled because of the curse, and his skinny body—showing his skeleton—made him look a few years younger than his true age. Though on the surface, you couldn’t tell if this change was a result of a curse or disease.

‘It’d have been good if you only looked like this because of an illness, but…’

That wasn’t the case.

Allen immediately spread out a sensing range. The net spread out widely across the room and checked around Soned’s child’s body.

Allen sent out a thread to cling to the son’s body. Allen focused and felt the child’s bodily health gradually deteriorating, as if it were being sucked away. For the moment, the son was managing to maintain a somewhat liveable state thanks to all of the measures taken by his father, but Allen wasn’t sure how much longer it’d be sufficient.

‘His life force is being drained somewhere.’

But all of the dark sorcerers were supposed to have been taken down.

Julius's trip to Garvia—which had occurred in their past lives—hadn’t taken place, so Allen could only have taken a guess—but he was certain when he witnessed, firsthand, the condition of Soned’s son:

‘They weren’t properly dealt with.’

Running through his plan—crafted according to the current situation that he’d predicted—Allen felt a tinge of bitterness knowing that he wasn't able to prevent the situation at hand.

"Sir Allen!"

"…A-are you alright? Is there something wrong…?”

Linbelle and Soned, following close behind, rushed to see if something had happened, as Allen stood quietly near the bed.

"…No, I just checked the state of the curse for a moment."

"O-oh, then…”

Soned looked at Allen with eyes filled with anticipation. Allen nodded like Soned had the right idea.

"The curse is strong, but not enough to subvert the banshee tears."

“If that’s your verdict, sir, then—!”

“Soned.”

Allen paused for a moment.

“So, then, does that mean you can help him?”

“Even just one sip should be enough for it to expel the curse, right?”

He’d been worried at first—about how he’d use what was left of the potion. 

‘I could have it stored for future use, or perhaps I could give it to another afflicted kid?’

Maybe if he were to do that, Allen would try to find something else and not be able to, when it came time that he’d actually need something to deal with a curse in the future. 

‘If I don’t say that I’ll use it to heal some other person out of goodwill, it’s not like they’re going to ask me what else I’m going to do with it.’

Until Allen arrived at that thought—

“…”

—that terrible stench lingered in his nose. 

That inhuman smell. The image of those utterly lifeless surroundings combined with that stench that plagued him.

‘…Though could I really look away from another in need?’

If he were to, how would he be at all different from his previous life? Was Allen’s desire for revenge so great that it should trump someone else’s salvation?

So, then… 

‘My people must come first before comparing the value of their lives.’

So, it would be just enough to save the merchant group leader’s son, in that case. 

‘Even if someone were to use what was left of the potion, it wouldn’t be enough to fully eradicate the presence of most curses. But…’

Couldn’t they at least give it a shot?

“I think that your son, the victim, should take enough for himself—enough for one person.”

“I… yes, alright.”

That way, he’d be fully cured of his curse before the end of the month.

“There's no way to know just how many other victims there may be. And no way to know how many others may have already died, either. No, it is surely far too late. The transmission period of this particular curse has likely already passed, but…”

If Julius were to return home—if the time came that that young elf prodigy had run away into the Heavenly Forest…

‘This situation will resolve itself.’

“At the very least, I’d like to hope that we could try to help someone else.”

Allen pleaded to Soned with a sad look on his face.

For the people.

For the poor people afflicted by this terrible curse. 

And…

“They’re all under my care, aren’t they?” 

For himself.

Soned, at a loss after hearing Allen’s answer, lowered his head, closed his eyes, and responded:

“…We should do as you said—no, I implore you to carry out your plans as you said, sir.”

“Thank you.”

Allen gave his practiced smile as always.

That smile that suggested that not a single lie had been told.

* * *

And thus, a single sip was rushed to the merchant leader’s son to drink. 

Upon downing that single sip, its effectiveness was made immediately apparent.

Cough, cough.

“Erik! Erik! Are you okay?!”

“D-dad? What’s going on…”

“Are you alright? Does anything hurt?”

“Perhaps…”

As Allen looked over his patient once more, it was as though he could feel that the curse had been largely weakened, though still laid partially dormant within Erik’s body.

‘If there’s only this much of it left and he were to rest for another few weeks, the rest of it should naturally work itself out of his system.’

Together, Soned and Erik—who hadn’t opened his eyes in quite a long time—both lowered their heads to Allen.

‘Thank you, sir.”

“Thank you so much for helping me.”

“It was no trouble at all. I was afraid that it might’ve been too late already.”

As Allen gave a bitter smile and accepted their gratitude, Soned waved his own hand, brushing it off.

“No, what are you saying! It’s all thanks to you, sir, that…”

“Thank you.”

Allen waited for the father/son conversation to end before following Soned back to the drawing room.

“So, you understand the degree to which his health has improved.”

Allen sat down and began their conversation.

“So… when did he first contract the curse? Because according to my understanding, this curse came from a dark sorcerer which Julius was supposed to have put to rest.”

“So, about that—”

“Would it be okay if I tried to explain all of this?”

Karik, after having been cut off by Soned, readily accepted.

“You’ve been around here longer than I, so, surely, you’d know better. It’s alright.”

“Thank you. So, the part that you, sir, are curious about is just that—a part of the whole story. You’re curious about why, despite Sir Julius’s declaration that the dark sorcerers had been taken care of, their curses were spreading.”

Soned spoke in a calm tone. It seemed that at the improvement of his son’s condition his self composure had recovered to match its natural state.

“If I were to come to a conclusion from that, it could be correct to say that the curse would have died off after the dark magicians were subdued. But… the curses clearly did not disappear entirely.”

A memory from the past came to Allen’s mind.

A memory, set to occur about one month from now, about a disaster.

A memory of a disaster resolved by Julius.

“A more precise estimate would say it was likely around the end of the Thanksgiving festival.”

Soned’s story was a short one.

Julius had subdued the dark sorcerers in his vicinity in Garvia, and, from there, the curse had stopped being produced. Therefore, it must have started to spread again a few days prior. At first, Soned couldn't bring himself to believe that rumor—that the curses were still circulating, despite their creators having been taken out—but with a child afflicted by said curse, he had no choice but to believe that. 

Or, at least, that was the story he—with an unknowing look and a smile on his face—imparted to Allen.

“I didn’t mean to simply reiterate such a widespread rumor.”

Allen remained silent.

But on the inside, he was reviewing his plans that he’d come up with, starting from the moment he’d obtained the banshee tears at a rapid pace.

‘At the beginning, I thought that it’d be such a simple plan to execute, but…’

He restructured his plans according to the fact that Julius was supposed to have subdued the dark sorcerers and the curse sourced from those same southwestern territories.

‘I can use this.’

Allen had already begun establishing a good rapport between him and Soned from saving Erik. 

With Soned’s help, Allen could aid others also afflicted by the curse and get rid of the witch who sourced it. And, perhaps, he could also discredit Julius’s reputation, while propping himself up as a friend of the people.

‘I don't think Soned has any animosity toward Julius yet.’

Just because the curse didn't go away didn’t necessarily mean that Julius failed to subdue the dark sorcerer.

But what if Allen resolved that which Julius couldn't completely settle by himself?

‘He’ll have no choice but to compare us two.’

That was just the way that people were.

"Thank you, again, for your willingness to donate so much of your potion to us."

Soned bowed his head once again. As he collected himself, he returned to his logical, experienced merchant mindset.

"Since you’ve decided to help others, I will gladly follow whatever decision you make, sir."

"I-I'll help you, too, sir!"

Soned vaguely guessed Allen's intention and seemed to be trying to hitchhike accordingly, but Karik—still but a foolish merchant—was swept away by the atmosphere and tried to agree as well.

"Well, then… I shall give you instructions.”

"Whatever you wish, sir."

"Yes, whatever you say, sir."

Allen took out the remaining potion and held it out to them.

"First of all, call in the nearby alchemists to dilute this potion—only to the extent that the effect of the potion remains usable. And make sure that the alchemist doesn’t try to sneak away with any."

Soned accepted the potion and Allen continued:

"And ask for a priest in my name."

Priests were hard to come by, but if they searched the city, they’d be sure to come across at least one. 

"And also, grab some herbs to aid the recovery of those affected by the curse."

"So, you mean…"

Allen nodded, affirming his suspicions. 

"I will take care of it.”

The Daike merchant group was the group that controlled the trading of herbs, so their contribution would be sufficient. 

"Inellia and Linbelle will stay here for a few days." 

There was no way Soned wouldn’t understand what Allen was saying. Soned affirmed:

"The trade will be done fairly."

‘Now that that’s all been taken care of…’

It was time to kill a witch and spread some rumors.

Upon hearing Allen's various requests, Soned closed his eyes—seemingly in thought for a moment—and then opened his mouth:

"…Your kindness will impress many people. However, this will make it difficult to dissolve the curse remaining with other victims."

"I suppose so."

Allen himself wasn’t quite sure whether or not the measures that he’d listed off would be enough to resolve everything.

‘It's just for show.’

It was just laying the groundwork to support the rumors that would spread later.

To show that he took responsibility and did the best he could.

To show that that was how he was able to dispose of the curse.

To show that Allen was, obviously, much more outstanding of a person than Julius.

"…Then what about you, sir?"

Allen slowly rose from his seat upon hearing Soned’s question.

‘In any case, curses become vastly weaker when the caster dies.’

To just kill her should be enough to resolve the whole ordeal.

"Well, of course…"

So…

"I’m going to kill the caster."

He’d hunt down the witch.