Volume 17 Chapter 9 Epilogue
After we solved the big problem, things were a bit of a mess.
Let's talk about what happened in the Holy City. Thanks to Mars, who knew exactly what to do, we were able to fix everything quickly.
Next, we had to deal with what to do with Mars and Ravuri...
"Forgive them?"
This was right before we fixed the city.
Ravuri and the others came to apologize, and Miss Fuuko replied with just one word. Mars and Ravuri were both shocked by her casual response, like they couldn't believe it.
"No, no way...! You can't just forgive us like that!"
"Well, maybe you should rethink this. There's a saying that 'good deeds will be rewarded, and bad deeds will be punished'."
But Miss Fuuko didn't budge. She was like a rock.
"It's okay because it was fun?"
She had a happy, carefree face.
I remember that Miss Fuuko loves playing games, and she even said that she invited the "Cursed Users" to Holy City because it was fun...
Did she know this would happen from the beginning, or did she think it was okay if she died? I don't know, and it's no use thinking about it.
"Anyway, as a punishment for you two... I want Noroa Rator to clean my room?"
"Why me?"
"Well, these 2 can't even enter the room, right?"
"I guess I thought I'd have to clean it from the beginning..."
So, right now, I'm busy cleaning Miss Fuuko's room.
After the battle with the monsters, her room was a total mess. I'm using Reign Helia Crown to control the monsters' bodies as pawns, and I'm storing them in the Gluttony Mimic Bag.
After that, it's just a lot of hard work cleaning up.
"And so, I solved the big curse problem..."
"Is cleaning up the curse now?"
"No, it's like a field trip."
"Well, it's more beautiful than before?"
"That's not something the person cleaning says, okay?"
Sigh.
"Do you remember what we promised? If I solve the curse, you'll tell me about my past and 'her'."
"Did I say that?"
"Yes, you did."
"Really...?"
Miss Fuuko looked down at her knees. There, Juju was taking a nap.
For some reason, Miss Fuuko stared at Juju intensely.
"Aren't you going to tell me?"
Miss Fuuko shook her head from side to side.
"Why not?"
"It's because of the cost."
"Ugh... I guess we can't do anything about it then."
It's like when you have a bad habit, and you can't stop doing it.
"However, you already know 'her' name, right?"
"Huh?"
"I mean, 'she' is――"
* * *
After we solved the curse, we stayed in the holy city for 3 days.
We were there to take care of the aftermath of the curse and do some sightseeing. Since we had been working non-stop since we arrived in the holy city, we hadn't had a chance to visit any tourist spots yet. But because of the curse, there were no tourists, and we got to have the whole place to ourselves, which was a nice surprise.
After enjoying the holy city for a while, we decided to leave.
The Inquisitors, who had been with us for a while, came to see us off.
"Finally, you're leaving. Good riddance."
"Hey, Inquisitor Sein, don't say that when we're saying goodbye."
"Ggh..."
Miss Miimo scolded Mr. Sein, who looked upset.
'Pukupukupuku! You're getting angry at your age!;
"You're changing your laugh so much lately!"
'I'm just trying to create a character!'
"You're being honest, aren't you?"
"Ugh... just disappear from the holy city already, you're annoying."
"Inquisitor Sein said this, but it seemed like he was actually grateful to you. He was the first one to come see you off."
"No, I... I want to see Lovely Rav!"
'After all, blondes are tsundere.'
"Anyway, you guys have permission to enter the city, so you can come back anytime. And with Noroa around, you can get good training too."
"I'm scared because it seems like we'll be researched in many ways..."
"I'll definitely do it. And one day, I'll surpass you!"
"Please take care of yourself..."
Then, I said goodbye to Miss Miimo and her friends, and got on the ship.
"But... was it really good, Ravuri?"
"Huh?"
I called out to Ravuri, who was also on the same ship.
In the end, Ravuri decided to travel with us.
One reason was that she didn't have a place to go back to.
But the main reason was...
"If I take away Ravuri's cursed equipment, you'll be free..."
So, Ravuri chose not to give up her cursed equipment.
Mars, who was no longer a "Cursed User", was able to work in the holy city and make amends, but Ravuri, who was still a "Cursed User", didn't have many choices.
She would have to live a life of being attacked by both humans and monsters, and never be free.
"But... I'm okay with this life. I don't want to trouble Noo anymore."
"No, it's not a trouble. Getting cursed equipment is a reward in my line of work."
"A reward? I don't really get it, but... anyway, I've caused trouble for many people, so I think I should take responsibility for this curse."
"Okay..."
If I could take it away, I would have, but taking it away from someone who has already received the cursed equipment goes against my policy.
"And... if you're cursed, won't Noo protect me?"
"Huh? Well, that's the plan..."
Ravuri's cursed equipment, the Hell Hell's Flute, has a cost that attracts monsters all the time. Unless she has special equipment like the Parasite Palace, she can't handle it on her own. If I just leave her alone, it will cause harm wherever she goes.
It's a curse that hurts others and can't live without being protected by someone.
"Your curse is a big deal. I'll keep protecting you from now on."
"Then, being protected is way better than being free lovely♪."
Ravuri suddenly hugged me tightly.
"Whoa, Ravuri?"
I was really surprised.
"Ah, I got it because... I got the Hell Hell's Flute, which is a super strong equipment!"
"You're so lucky♪!"
"Thank you so much!"
"...Rav, aren't you getting a bit too close to Sir Noroa?"
"No way, that's not true! And by the way, didn't you also get equipment from Noo, Cil?"
"In my case, I can only use my head to attack, that's all!"
'Ugh, you're so noisy...'
Just then, Juju, who was sleeping in my hood, started moving around.
'Why do you always attract so many noisy people on our travels?'
"You're their leader, after all."
With Ravuri joining us, our journey is going to get even more chaotic.
But... I remember what Miss Fuuko said before. She said that Ravuri and I were supposed to travel together from the start.
Maybe we've finally returned to our original path.
"So, where are we going next?"
Juju asked me in my ear.
'We've been traveling to get to this place for a while now... but...'
"Our destination isn't set, but we have a purpose for our journey."
'What's our purpose?'
I got a clue about "her" from Miss Fuuko, and I'm also curious about the organization of "Cursed Users" that Ravuri and the others are a part of.
There are many things I want to do.
"But for now, I just want to collect more cursed equipment. I still have a lot of space left in my inventory."
'Should we go to the dungeon?'
"Yeah, let's do it."
If I have the powers of map manipulation and monster control, I can probably clear any dungeon easily.
Thinking about this, I looked forward to the future journey.
Author:
And that's the end of the Holy City chapter
I'm also concluding this story as a whole.
Thank you so much for reading until the end!
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