CHAPTER 21………………………….
“Ah, that’s a relief. Then could you hold this gem for a moment?”
If she had known that looking too healthy would end with her being forced to hold a gemstone, Irene would never have answered him.
While she was busy regretting her life choices, Raseil was already rummaging through the jeweler’s shop.
“Sir Jaen? Are you looking for something?”
“It’s not just this one that’s the problem.”
“…….”
Irene looked down at the gem in her hand, then at the display.
No matter how she looked at it, this gem was the only one that was a problem.
Otherwise, why would it be glowing as if it had delusions of being a lighthouse?
“Sir Jaen? Should I break it?”
Irene’s voice trembled.
It seemed far better to destroy the thing in one go than to keep holding it and panic.
But Raseil didn’t give a simple yes.
What in the world is he looking for?
Unable to hold back her curiosity, Irene followed after him.
He had already pulled out every gem in the display and was examining them in the moonlit shop.
He must have great night vision…
Desperate to escape the fact that a cursed gem was sitting in her own hands, Irene’s brain attempted a brief vacation.
Now that she thought about it, Raseil’s aura was strangely apt for these situations—
cutting down ghosts, sensing strange energies, even physical enhancements that sharpened his sight…
“Ah!”
“What is it?”
Irene’s thoughts snapped in half at Raseil’s voice.
She froze, worried something else was happening.
“I found it.”
“Found wh—”
Irene stepped beside him and looked down at the empty display table.
With all the jewels removed, the carving beneath was clearly visible.
…A demon summoning circle.
So there were two people in this tiny territory who had tried summoning demons.
From the moment she saw the state of the land, she suspected someone had lost their mind—but this was worse.
There were smudged sections, and some parts had been wiped away, which only made it more unsettling.
Is everyone in this territory doing this because the land is already a mess… No, that’s rude.
She offered a mental apology to Yujire and examined the circle again.
It looked almost identical to the one they saw in the abandoned house last time.
At this point, Irene wanted to joke that there must be a communal demon-summoning handbook being passed around the territory.
Except she valued her life and would not say that out loud in front of Raseil.
Finally regaining her composure, she asked:
“What did we… do with the person last time?”
She meant the head they found in the old house.
Maybe it had held clues.
Raseil answered calmly.
“We buried them.”
Obviously, not as a severed head.
He had reattached it properly, restored the body, and given the deceased a proper burial.
He hadn’t killed them; he’d received full consent, broke the post-mortem magic, and even built a grave.
“…Maybe we should have postponed the burial a bit.”
Irene muttered blankly.
Anyone overhearing would get the wrong idea, but she was absolutely serious.
“May I take a look?”
They snapped out of their momentary escapism.
Remaining here wasn’t going to solve anything.
Irene carefully set the gem aside and approached the summoning circle.
Which came first—the gem, or the circle?
There was only one thing she could be certain of:
The supernatural occurrences in this territory were caused by a demon.
“See anything unusual?”
“…It’s cursed.”
Irene mentally reviewed what she knew about demons.
Demons—also called evil spirits.
They grant the summoner’s wish and take their soul…
—or so the stories go.
“In reality, no summoner has ever had their wish granted.”
Most were manipulated into madness.
If a wish was granted, it was always in some grotesquely twisted form.
Even summoning a demon caused catastrophic damage.
“There’s a saying that you need an entire territory prepared if you want to summon a demon.”
Meaning: be ready for that scale of destruction.
Strangely, the more stories like that spread, the more people attempted to summon demons.
“Were they all really that desperate?”
“It’s the opposite.”
The problem was people who didn’t even need to summon one—
those dabbling out of curiosity, then creating disasters they couldn’t fix.
The truly desperate ones usually researched so thoroughly that their damage was minimal by comparison.
“Sir Sieren, have you seen many of those types?”
“Yes. A few, by chance.”
And that was exactly the kind of case the Imperial Third Knight Order handled.
People joked that they were more like an investigation unit than a knight order—and they weren’t wrong.
Normally, this entire area should’ve been quarantined…
But the territory looked far too intact.
If a demon had been summoned here, the crops should have withered, the land cracked, and people fallen ill.
Clearly something else was being concealed.
Could the Duke of Resean be hiding something?
The suspicion lasted only a moment.
The Resean family had produced spirit mages for generations, and spirits and demons were natural enemies.
If anything, the duke’s household would gladly slaughter demons.
“Sir Sieren?”
“Ah, sorry. Just thinking.”
Still, the undeniable truth remained: the evidence of a demon summoning was right in front of them.
Irene refocused.
“Who owns this jewelry shop?”
“One moment.”
Raseil frowned slightly.
The shop had changed owners so many times—three times in the past five years.
“I think it’s Ms. Azien now.”
The daughter of the previous owner… and one of Yujire’s very few friends.
“When morning comes, we should visit—oh, could you hand me the lantern?”
As Raseil inspected the gem, a piece of paper fell beside him.
The ink was smeared, the paper brittle with age.
—To whoever ends up possessing this gem, please read this carefully.
I know you probably won’t take it seriously, but do not ignore this.
The handwriting was an old-fashioned style.
—The moment you first saw this gem, you wanted it, didn’t you?
Wanted it enough to buy it no matter the price—
even if it meant selling everything you own, or even giving up your family.
The story was disturbingly familiar.
Ah. That time…
Raseil recalled Luzea’s story—
how her father had sold her to pay for a gem he became obsessed with at a gambling den.
—After obtaining the gem, strange things must have begun happening.
It probably escalated before you even knew how to respond.
I’ll tell you what you must do—listen carefully, and do not ignore this.
1. Keep the area where the gem is displayed brightly lit.
At least three lanterns.
Even if you see strange shadows inside the light, do NOT pay attention to them.
2. Avoid touching the gem directly. Don’t even think of crafting it into jewelry.
If you must handle it, wear gloves.
Even that isn’t perfect—touching it even once will leave burn-like scars.
Wash your hands daily with wine infused with melted pearls; they’ll fade in three days.
3. You may hear bizarre noises every night.
Especially when you lie down to sleep.
Even if the gem is in another room—or another building—
you’ll hear it as if it’s right beside you.
You’ll want to get up and check the gem.
Don’t.
Whatever you see in your room will be better than what appears where the gem is.
4. Don’t even think about throwing the gem away.
It is obsessively attached to its owner—and incredibly sensitive.
Everyone who tried to dispose of it was later found dead in the river…
not drowned, but burned to death.
Yes, burned. Not a mistake.
