“Yuri-chan? You just agreed to that?”
After leaving the shop, Iris floated ahead of her, facing her with a look full of confusion.
“That shouldn’t be right. After all, you already got what you wanted.
Besides, I think, even though there were better ways, Yuri-chan still chose to gamble on luck. You really are a stubborn fool, a total idiot!”
She was clearly scolding her, yet with that soft, fluffy voice and those words, there was absolutely no sense of hostility at all.
As for what the better way was, Yuri naturally knew well—that was only true from Iris’s perspective.
So she just smiled, not taking Iris’s words to heart.
Seeing she was being ignored, the Little Evil God circled her, crossing her arms and keeping that look of utter puzzlement on her face, “I really don’t get you, Yuri-chan. You’ve already gotten a good deal, so making a quick exit is the smartest thing to do.
If I were you, the moment I got that thing, I’d run away. I wouldn’t even give him the chance to make any follow-up requests. But you, Yuri-chan—why did you agree? You really know how to invite trouble for yourself.”
“The request isn’t that difficult anyway, just a simple task. Besides, I really do need the reward that comes afterward.”
“Huh?”
At those words, Iris’s eyes widened. She tilted her head, and for a moment, she genuinely wondered if there was something wrong with Yuri’s head.
“What’s so good about that thing? Never mind the poor quality—I can smell its bad luck from miles away. I really don’t get what could be attractive about that broken sword.”
Iris floated up in front of her, reaching out a finger to mimic knocking on Yuri’s head.
“And besides, Yuri-chan, you already agreed to learn magic from me, right? Are you sure you’ll still need those worthless iron scraps by then?
It’s my magic I’m teaching you! There’s no way that hunk of iron can compare!”
Listening to Iris’s grumpy voice, a barely audible laugh escaped from under the mask. What a little ball of fury.
It’s not like she hadn’t already agreed.
Anything Yuri promised, she would never go back on—it’s just that, when and how much she would learn would be up to Yuri herself.
Looking at the puffed-up Iris, her mind gradually wandered back to what had happened in the shop earlier.
When Yuri had gotten the crystal and was about to leave, Brohl called out to her. Seeing him hand back that silver coin, Yuri was a little puzzled.
Then she understood—it was a request for her help.
Once the request was completed, he would prepare an additional reward for her.
As he spoke, Brohl took out a wooden box covered in runes, hidden away in a corner.
Inside the box was a long, cloth-wrapped object; judging by the shape, it was probably a longsword?
Yuri’s heart stirred. Talk about having a pillow handed over right when you feel sleepy—she’d just been thinking it would be nice to have a sword, and now here it was before her.
It was such a coincidence, Yuri almost suspected Brohl could read minds.
But before unwrapping the cloth, Brohl uncharacteristically put on two pairs of gloves.
That’s odd… Could there be something wrong with whatever’s wrapped up?
Opening the cloth, inside was a somewhat worn-looking longsword. The blade was entirely black, with no decorative patterns at all, looking completely unremarkable.
But Brohl kept his distance, as if afraid of getting contaminated by something.
“Judging by your appearance, you must be an adventurer who spends most of the year on the road, right?”
Her appearance… She glanced at her own tattered cloak—these were the marks left by years of wandering.
Yuri nodded, watching Brohl point at the longsword.
“In that case, it’s perfectly suited to adventurers like you.
Don’t underestimate it just because of its plain appearance—this sword is special. It can deal true damage to the Abyss, meaning it can actually kill beings from the Abyss.”
Hearing this, Yuri raised an eyebrow.
If it can actually hurt the Abyss, this should be a highly sought-after item.
So why was Brohl offering it as a reward, instead of keeping it and selling it for a good price?
With such an ability, people ought to be fighting over it. And yet, here was Brohl letting it gather dust in a corner.
“However, there’s something cursed about it.”
Oh?
There it was.
If there really weren’t any problems, it would’ve been sold for a high price long ago—there’s no way it would’ve ended up with Yuri.
If it could wound the Abyss, what was the cost? The curse was likely the price to pay.
“What kind of curse?”
“Every owner who’s ever held it has died shortly after in an accident. Sounds cursed, right?”
Every owner died by accident, huh.
That really was pretty cursed.
“Over time, it became known as an ill-fated object. Nobody wanted to buy it—nobody even wanted it for free. So, what’s your opinion?”
He waited for Yuri’s answer. If she didn’t accept, he would immediately replace it with something normal.
Just like he’d done with previous customers, hoping one day a fool who didn’t believe in curses would take it away.
Given that the person before him had willingly taken away an Abyssal Crystal—something so dangerous and forbidden—it was likely she would accept this unlucky item too.
So Brohl was gambling—not only would he get rid of this cursed item, but he could also get Yuri to do him a favor.
It was the best of both worlds.
“I’ll take it.”
“Huh?”
Now it wasn’t just Brohl who was stunned—the real fool had actually appeared. Even Iris couldn’t listen any longer.
“Yuri-chan? Is your head filled with water? That sword is oozing black mist—how can you even dare?”
Oh?
Looks like Brohl was right—this thing was almost certainly a cursed, owner-devouring object.
“If something happens to me, shouldn’t that be a good thing for you? What, Iris, are you worried about me after all?”
As soon as she finished, Iris looked as if she’d been choked, falling silent.
A moment later, she turned away with cheeks puffed up, letting out a little humph.
“I’m not worried about you! I just think if you died by some accident, and I took over your body this way, it would be embarrassing.
Last time I failed to seize control just because I was careless! You just wait, I’ll take it myself sooner or later.”
“Is that so? Then I’ll wait for you.”
A quiet laugh came from beneath the mask, and right after, she saw the Little Evil God angrily waving her tiny fists.
“What are you laughing at.”
“Nothing, it’s just a little surprising, that’s all.”
“You’re so weird. If something really happens to you, I won’t care!”
Something happening, huh.
She’s already had her fair share of bad luck and mishaps—one more wouldn’t make much difference.
Maybe if she collected enough misfortune, two negatives would make a positive, and her luck would finally turn.
The recollection ended there. Leaving the black market, Yuri headed west, toward the edge of Anvil City.
Iris floated at her side, looking around.
“This isn’t the way back to the inn, Yuri-chan. Where are we going now?”
“It’s still early,” Yuri looked ahead, “I’m going to check out the place for the request and look for Brohl’s missing assistant.”
When they arrived at the location, Iris pinched her nose, looking so unhappy it was practically spilling out of her eyes.
“Here we go again?”