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Chapter 61

We arrived at and entered the home of Celes’ comrade.

It’s a proper brick house that’s seemingly a little nicer than the others in the neighborhood.

If an adventure is strong enough to fight beside Celes, they probably earn enough to be comfortable.

“Thank you for coming all the way here.”

“Thank you very much.”

“Not at all. We just happened to be in the area.”

Celes’ comrade then introduced us to his father and brother.

Well, we probably seem like nothing more than Celes’ escort, so I briefly introduce myself too.

“I’m sure my wife will be very glad to see you all.”

The man then leads us to his bedridden wife.

Just what kind of illness plagues her, I wonder.

‘By the looks of her, it seems not to be a common one.’

Well, their whole family is pretty glum about it. Though, the rest of them seem healthy.

That says a lot about the disease though.

Heck, I almost feel like a doctor already. I approach my patient.

“Welcome, and tha—cough, cough—thank you for coming.”

Inside was a middle-aged woman with a hand on her chest and a pained look on her face, clambering out of bed to greet us.

Needless to say, but her complexion is sickly; she’s visibly unwell.

“Oh, you needn’t get up. Please take it easy. I am Celes, a friend of your son. I have always been relying on his strength. He is always laying his life on the line to fulfill his wishes. I would like you to know that his goals are ours, too.”

She’s talking about something we’re not expected to understand.

Celes speaks while grasping the woman’s hand, showing her earnestness.

And perhaps it’s getting through. Celes’ reassurance puts a warm smile to her face.

“And are those more mates behind you? I am so glad my son has met so many friends.”

“Umm, well... yeah. That’s right, Mom.”

Celes’ comrade hesitates for a bit but goes with the flow.

It wouldn’t be necessary to pick nits and correct her.

But, judging by their exchange... you just know that the mom is very ill.

If this were Japan... it’d be close to late-stage cancer.

Seeing her son and his friends paying her respects moved her to tears.

It’s oddly comforting.

Anyway, let’s get to the point and see how her condition is.

“Would you mind if we took a look at you? We are well-versed in medicines and potions.”

“Cohgray, the madam is not sick per se...”

Not sick? Oh, right, they mentioned it earlier.

“Still, Cohgray is proficient at creating recovery potions. It might be beneficial for him to take a look. What do you say?”

“Right... well, if he is a friend of yours, then I can trust him.”

The woman gives her approval with a gentle smile.

With her consent, I get closer and check her situation out. But, of course, it’s Veno who’s doing the diagnosis.

‘Hmph. Leave it to me and I may be able to come up with something.’

He’s really the kind to help anyone.

What happened the ol’ “Take responsibility!” and half-hearted Veno?

He’s grown to be a lot more positive since we all left Nisua together.

‘Hold thy tongue. Hurry and examine her!’

Alright, alright. I think it’d be better if I had a stethoscope for situations like these, but maybe Veno can tell just by looking at her.

“It stems from here...”

Oh? There’s a particularly afflicted part?

She rolls up the sleeve on her right arm and pulls down her clothes to her chest.

... what is this? A black welt? It snakes from her arm right up to her chest.

The tip of it even has a bruise, almost in the shape of a dragon’s head.

You might even mistake it for a black dragon tattoo or something.

‘This is... ugh. I cannot believe something like this still exists.’

Veno disgustedly mutters out.

It seems like he knows something about it.

‘Certainly, this is no disease. It would be more accurate to call it a symptom of a curse. Bloodflower was actually modeled after this. You could even say this is the original. ‘Tis a hex.’

That whole diagnosis is a big yikes.

Just thinking about Bloodflower again makes me nervous.

‘’Tis nostalgic for me. The lass’ ancestor and I only met because he was also afflicted by this curse, seeking me out to slay me.’

Why don’t you explain it everything before you start reminiscing about the past?

‘Aye, that is fair. This curse... this hex is called Dragonfall’s Charge. This abominable curse is created with forbidden magics by man long ago.’

It’s man-made?

‘Aye. The rulers of yore sought dragon parts and dragon treasures. So, they placed this hex on adventurers and then publicly blamed dragons for it, compelling the adventurers to take up arms. It is utmost cowardly.’

“It is an abominable curse placed by dragons to cause humans to suffer. To dispel it, we must slay its source...”

Celes chimes up as I examine the patient. It’s exactly as Veno described it.

‘Of course, this spurs the development of the young men in this family. They must grow up to be a hero so that they can one day defeat the dragon lest his precious family succumbs to the curse.’

I don’t get what Veno’s point is.

‘I have seen many dragons falling because of this. It concludes with the tyrants lifting the curse in exchange of the dragon’s treasure, materials, and even territory. ‘Tis inevitable. Humans are, quite truthfully, fearsome creatures.’

But jeez... the culprits are still at large.

‘To return to the topic of the lass’ ancestor and I, the method to lifting the curse was well-known in his time. ‘Tis strange that the curse still exists.’

Well, doesn’t it mean that the method has been lost in time?

‘Perhaps. He was always a forgetful one.’

So, do you still remember it?

‘Hold on. It may be easy to lift... aye, but there is careful handiwork, so the old method would not work. But, for a dragon like me...’

Veno had already begun to dispel the hex.

It might sound like a bit of software engineering jargon, but it’s almost like a high-speed, high-bandwidth wireless connection.

‘I have concluded the analysis. I even have some clues as to the source of the curse. ‘Tis rather despicable how the curse was placed. Back then, they would bury a medium in the home to afflict the household. This, however, is the work of someone who had many dragons slain.’

Veno showed me the results of his analysis and the source of the hex in my vision. Then, he spawned a piece of parchment with instructions on it.

“Please assemble for me high-ranking Mages and Priests who are capable of performing rituals.”