Morning arrived, and the faint sunlight tried to pierce through the oiled paper covering the window, but failed in the attempt.
Even though it was already morning, the covered windows left the room shrouded in gloom.
In the dim room, the black-haired girl lying in bed slowly opened her gray-blue eyes. With no dreams all night, it was the best sleep she’d had in some time.
She sat up, stretching lazily, and let out a soft, gentle moan without thinking.
It still felt strange, but gradually, Yuuri was starting to get used to it—after all, it really was her own voice.
She glanced toward the bedside. There, a loli with long, silver-white hair sat, her body faintly glowing, and her little feet in white stockings swung back and forth.
It seemed she had just quietly sat by the bed all night.
Sensing Yuuri’s movements as she got up, Iris turned around, revealing a sweet smile.
“Yuuri-chan~ Good morning!”
“Good morning.”
What is she up to?
Yuuri wasn’t sure what Iris was planning, but that smile at the corners of her lips always gave Yuuri a bad feeling.
Whenever that little white-haired bundle smiled, nothing good ever came of it.
“Hey, Yuuri-chan, there’s a question I thought about all night.”
What kind of question could keep a little evil god like her up all night?
It couldn’t be something bizarre, could it? But if Iris couldn’t figure it out, Yuuri probably wouldn’t have an answer either.
“Hey, Yuuri-chan, I’m really curious. You know, the state of you Cursed Ones is about as bad as sewer rats—maybe even worse.
So why is it that none of you, even when pushed to the brink, have chosen to blow everything up along with everyone else?”
As she brought this up, the little evil god’s eyes sparkled, as if she were talking about something terribly amusing.
“Just think, after suffering so much injustice, there’s bound to be resentment, right? If so, why not just bring the Abyss down and drag everyone to the grave together?”
Yuuri had expected Iris might ask odd questions, but she never thought Iris would ask this.
A hint of surprise flashed through her gray-blue eyes. Iris… why did she care about this?
Could it be that this little thing was trying to incite her to take revenge?
She wouldn’t let herself be someone else’s tool.
Tidying her hair, which had gotten messy while she slept, and making sure the mark on her shoulder and neck was perfectly covered, Yuuri sat down next to Iris.
Though she didn’t know why Iris would suddenly ask such an abrupt question, she did know how to answer it.
“Someone did try it before.”
“Oh? And then?”
Upon hearing this, Iris scooted closer, almost pressing up against her.
Iris’s interested look seemed to confirm Yuuri’s suspicions. Maybe this little one really did have such an idea.
But after hearing the whole story, Iris should give up on the thought.
“Once, a Cursed One who’d slipped out of control actually did that and brought the Abyss down.
But the Abyss didn’t become his power for revenge like he wanted. On the contrary, after corrupting and devouring him, the Abyss vanished without a trace.”
Yuuri paused, glancing at Iris’s expression, which hadn’t changed. She could only go on.
“After that, others tried as well. Some failed to summon the Abyss and were executed in public as a warning. Others really did bring the Abyss, but again, it didn’t go their way—the Abyss consumed them, then disappeared.”
As for whether there were ever any successful cases, Yuuri guessed there probably were, but to prevent desperate Cursed Ones from following suit, all such news was locked down. Now, this kind of mutually destructive revenge was even harder to pull off.
After all, the towns all had barrier wards set up. If you left the barrier and brought the Abyss down, it would just be suicide.
“In the end, it’s nothing but self-destruction.”
“Eh… I see, that explains it.”
Iris smiled. “No wonder things are getting worse. After all, there’s not even any real threat left from those who fight back. No wonder everyone else dares to keep persecuting—facing a beast that’s lost its fangs, who wouldn’t want to come up and give it a kick?”
Yuuri frowned slightly at that.
She was beginning to understand what Iris was getting at with all this.
“Hey, Yuuri-chan, as a fellow Cursed One, what do you think about your current situation?”
The little evil god pressed herself against Yuuri, whispering softly in her ear, her voice as if plucking at heartstrings, pulling at the mind.
“You’re angry, aren’t you? Furious, right? Go on, say it—just say the word, and I’ll help you fix everything~”
Staring into those crimson eyes that seemed to bewitch the soul, Yuuri stood up and pulled away. Her gray-blue gaze showed no ripple at Iris’s words.
“I just want to lift the curse and live a normal life. That’s all.”
“Tsk tsk tsk… Yuuri-chan, that’s where you’re wrong.”
“Well, my apologies then.”
With that, Yuuri ignored Iris and turned to pack her things.
There wasn’t much, so it didn’t take long. Only the longsword was a problem to carry.
Iris still sat at the bedside, memories of Yuuri’s past glimpsed the night before flashing through her mind. A complex light flickered in her crimson eyes.
Yuuri was far harder to handle than she’d imagined.
If anyone else had gone through that, they would have broken long ago. But Yuuri was like someone untouched by it all—her will was staggeringly strong.
No… it was just that her obsession was too deep.
That singular, desperate desire to survive… No matter what happened, it drove her to stubbornly struggle to live on.
People like this were always the hardest to deal with.
But wasn’t that interesting, too?
Iris lightly licked her lips, gazing at Yuuri’s back with a meaningful smile curving her lips.
“Yuuri-chan, you’re really fascinating. I hope you can stay this interesting from now on.”
At the same time, Yuuri was still worrying about how to carry the longsword.
As if sensing her trouble, the longsword in her hand suddenly trembled. Under Yuuri’s surprised gaze, it began to shrink and transform, in a blink turning into a plain, nail-sized, dark gray pendant with no decoration at all.
With a small clink, it landed in her palm.
Yuuri stared blankly at the pendant in her hand.
Was this the sword’s own ability, or had she unwittingly learned some new magic?
“Oh? It can transform by itself? Now that’s interesting, but… it’s still an annoying thing.”
Iris drifted over curiously, glanced at it and commented, then drifted away again.
Annoying, probably because of the ominous aura coiled around the blade. Not that Yuuri could see it.
She hung the pendant around her neck—much more convenient now, though she didn’t know how to turn it back into a sword. Maybe, if she just gripped it and let it sense her intent, it would change back?
Taking her things, Yuuri went downstairs and returned the rusty key to the innkeeper at the front desk.
Outside, the air was much fresher compared to the musty smell inside the room.
“Where are we going today?”
Yuuri glanced back and tossed out two words.
“Earning money.”