“Ugh!”
“Whoa!”
Even I who was not startled by even a few bugs, screamed.
What the hell is that? It's a snake with legs!
The plump, fat fox was much longer than my outstretched hand.
“Hey, get out of here!”
A fox climbed up my skirt. I fluttered my skirt around in a fit of rage and jumped up and down in place.
The fox, which was told to fall, did not fall, and something soft was stepped on under my feet.
“Ugh.”
I didn't look down at my feet, but I knew what it was without even looking.
"Calm down."
Just before I was about to fall backward - of course, since it was a fox's field, there was no way it would have fallen - Erne caught me as I staggered.
Then he shook off the maggot attached to my skirt with his hand and lifted me up in his arms.
I hugged Erne's neck as if I was holding onto a rope.
Erne ran out of the store very quickly, even while holding me like a Princess in his arms.
“You’re crazy. I’ve never seen so many.”
Tan, who was standing in front of the door and ran out first, muttered as if he was scared. I who had buried my face in Ern's shoulder, raised my head at Tan's voice.
Erne's face was right in front of my nose. Even though I've been with Erne, I've never been this close.
Since I had never been hugged by anyone before, I felt awkward and squirmed.
“Hold still, or you’ll fall.”
“Please stop.”
Princess, how awkward is that? It would have been better if you had slung me over your shoulder and run away like you did when we ran away from the arena... Wait a minute.
I, remembering the time when we had fled the arena, realized that one person who should have been standing next to us was not there.
“...Sir Henry!”
“Return the medal.”
Erne clicked his tongue as he looked at Henry, who was shivering while climbing onto the display case.
“A guy who has been to a war zone says he is afraid of foxes?”
“No, how can you not run away when dozens of them suddenly pop out?”
“What’s the use of putting a sword down? Shouldn’t you strike it with a sword?”
Erne frowned and told him to hurry up and come down because it was pathetic. Henry felt a strange sense of foreboding as he hurried down from the display case. Somehow, he felt like they had had this conversation before.
“Sir Henry, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’ve calmed down a little now.”
The foxes had all run away and disappeared somewhere. They seemed to be hiding in an unseen corner of the store.
They went back into the store, intending to eliminate the cause of the foul odor while also exterminating the foxes.
Tan covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and headed towards the torn-up floor. Judith, Erne, and Henry naturally gathered there as well.
There was a gap between the floor and the ceiling, barely big enough for a small person to lie down.
It seemed that even someone as young as Erne, Henry, or even Tan would not be able to enter, and only someone as young as Judith would be able to enter with difficulty.
There was a thick mass of unidentifiable black mucus, and in the middle, something that looked like a bone could be seen.
“Hmm, it looks like a human bone.”
Henry, a security guard in his own right, deduced from the shape of the bones that it was likely a human corpse.
“He appears to have died in a crouching position.”
“I think so.”
Judith, Erne, Tan, and Henry all looked down at the same spot around the hole in the floor.
The very existence of the corpse was bizarre and creepy, but it was nothing compared to the fox earlier.
“Ugh, but if I keep smelling this, my stomach will feel bad and my head will hurt.”
Henry coughed and frowned.
“It’s not just a bad smell, it’s poison.”
Even for a psychic, it must be hard to resist the smell, Tan muttered with a frown on his face.
“Poison?”
“Yes. It’s not toxic, but if you inhale it for a long time, it can cause addiction. It can also corrode things like wooden tables. So, why don’t you go outside and talk?”
They came out again.
“I have a rough idea of what is going on. Whoever is lying on the floor over there, he or she has a vague understanding of curses.”
Tan was quite mature when he was working as a psychic.
“You know it only vaguely?”
“What you just saw is one of the poison techniques. It involves turning strong resentment into poison to take revenge.”
Poisonous snakes, poisonous wasps, or poisonous insects.
Gather 100 other poisonous insects put them in a jar and starve them. Then, they eat each other inside the jar.
When there is just one left, the blood of the person you want to curse is put on the meat and thrown into the jar.
After taming them for another 33 days, open the jar and the one that survives will follow the scent of blood.
“They say that no matter how far away it is, it can find its owner. I learned that if it bites you, no antidote works.”
Tan continued his explanation.
“To increase the chances of success in revenge, you must first use highly toxic bugs, and use bugs of the same type. In addition, you must drink the blood of the person you wish to curse every single day for 33 days without fail.”
“It’s not easy.”
Erne muttered.
“That’s right, it costs a lot of money. That’s why they sometimes resort to trickery. They concentrate the resentment on a part of the body of the person they want revenge on and put it in a jar.”
Usually, fingernails or hair were used, but some people cut off fingers or other body parts.
“Just touching the inside of a bug that has eaten a body part that holds a strong grudge creates a poison so painful that it will make your whole body twist.”
Tan glanced around the store as he explained.
“I think he had a very strong grudge. He sacrificed himself completely. But his method was too clumsy.”
Over there, that corpse seemed to have used the fox as an arrow of revenge. So, he thinks he managed to gather a few dozen foxes, but then things went wrong.
“Sealing is key. That way, the foxes won’t eat each other. But they didn’t know that and took the foxes to the floor and let them loose.”
It seemed that he had not even been able to obtain the blood of the target of his curse, or that he had not even known that it was necessary. So there was no way that the curse would work properly.
“I guess he knows the spell to complete the magic. That’s why he's become this vague, stinky lump that’s causing harm to this store.”
“So, Mr. Tan, are you saying that he has a grudge against the store itself?”
“I think the person who runs that store has a grudge. When it was empty, there was no smell, but once business started, there was a smell.”
So that's why. Judith, who had discovered the cause of the stench, looked at Tan and asked.
“Can it be eliminated?”
“Yes. It’s not difficult. There are a lot of steps, though.”
Fortunately, Judith sighed. At that moment, Henry, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, intervened.
“But since it’s a curse of resentment, do I not need to find the person who made him hold a grudge?”
“Yes. Because the curse itself failed. It’s just that the resentment remains and continues to torment people.”
So, even if you search for the person who held the grudge, it will be of no use in lifting the curse.
“On the one hand, it’s pitiful. What happened that made him plan such revenge, sacrificing himself?”
“It’s not like it was a success though.”
While Tan, Henry, and Erne were talking, Judith was staring at the store.
“Hey, Miss Harrington, you’re going to take that thing away right now, right? Let’s see, for now.”
As Tan was about to explain how to remove the curse, Judith cut him off.
"No."
Erne was dumbfounded when she heard that. Judith said no. No. The person who had been making the biggest fuss about getting rid of it was saying she wouldn't get rid of it.
Erne, although not convinced, asked calmly.
“Why not? Are you sure you want to find out who that guy has a grudge against and if he’s a bad guy, you’re going to take real revenge on him?”
Instead of answering, Judith only smiled incomprehensibly.
“Did you get bitten by a fox?”
Erne looked at Judith with worried eyes.
“Erne, why are you being so picky when your wife says she wants to do the right thing?”
“Don’t you know that when a person suddenly changes, they die? Last time, you bought me a horse and thanked me for everything, but then you almost died right after.”
It was because of the golden bugs, but anyway, the timing was perfect.
“Hey, psychic. Look carefully. What’s that thing?”
When Erne grabbed Tan's head and turned it towards Judith, Tan made a flustered expression but still looked at Judith.
“She's been acting strange all day. She keeps giving up gold coins, and she keeps offering to take revenge on strangers.”
Look closely to see if there's something like a money ghost attached to it. Erne held Tan's head tightly and held him in place.
“Miss Harrington is fine.”
“Then, then, I’m fine.”
Judith removed Erne's hand from Tan's head and wrapped her arms around Tan's shoulder affectionately.
Tan looked even more uncomfortable than when he was caught by Erne earlier.
“Why, why are you like this?”
He looked at Erne and Henry for help.
“You’re hugging another man in front of your husband, tsk.”
“You should be a husband and say such things, Erne. And these days, it’s trendy to have a lover even after getting married.”
“There are so many superficial trends.”
Tan gave up on helping them, seeing that they paid no attention to him at all.
“Mr. Tan, no, Tan, I’m your older sister so I’ll let you talk, okay?”
“Yes, do whatever you want.”
“You speak clearly. If you cheat here, I won’t let you off easy.”
...Are you a gangster?
Tan nodded, swallowing the words that were rising to the tip of his tongue.
“I’ve already told you everything about my home, so how could I scam you?”
“Curse, can it definitely be removed?”
“Yes, definitely. We can start today.”
Judith patted Tan's back as if she was satisfied.
“Then let’s do it in a few days.”
“Whoa!”
Even I who was not startled by even a few bugs, screamed.
What the hell is that? It's a snake with legs!
The plump, fat fox was much longer than my outstretched hand.
“Hey, get out of here!”
A fox climbed up my skirt. I fluttered my skirt around in a fit of rage and jumped up and down in place.
The fox, which was told to fall, did not fall, and something soft was stepped on under my feet.
“Ugh.”
I didn't look down at my feet, but I knew what it was without even looking.
"Calm down."
Just before I was about to fall backward - of course, since it was a fox's field, there was no way it would have fallen - Erne caught me as I staggered.
Then he shook off the maggot attached to my skirt with his hand and lifted me up in his arms.
I hugged Erne's neck as if I was holding onto a rope.
Erne ran out of the store very quickly, even while holding me like a Princess in his arms.
“You’re crazy. I’ve never seen so many.”
Tan, who was standing in front of the door and ran out first, muttered as if he was scared. I who had buried my face in Ern's shoulder, raised my head at Tan's voice.
Erne's face was right in front of my nose. Even though I've been with Erne, I've never been this close.
Since I had never been hugged by anyone before, I felt awkward and squirmed.
“Hold still, or you’ll fall.”
“Please stop.”
Princess, how awkward is that? It would have been better if you had slung me over your shoulder and run away like you did when we ran away from the arena... Wait a minute.
I, remembering the time when we had fled the arena, realized that one person who should have been standing next to us was not there.
“...Sir Henry!”
***
“Return the medal.”
Erne clicked his tongue as he looked at Henry, who was shivering while climbing onto the display case.
“A guy who has been to a war zone says he is afraid of foxes?”
“No, how can you not run away when dozens of them suddenly pop out?”
“What’s the use of putting a sword down? Shouldn’t you strike it with a sword?”
Erne frowned and told him to hurry up and come down because it was pathetic. Henry felt a strange sense of foreboding as he hurried down from the display case. Somehow, he felt like they had had this conversation before.
“Sir Henry, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’ve calmed down a little now.”
The foxes had all run away and disappeared somewhere. They seemed to be hiding in an unseen corner of the store.
They went back into the store, intending to eliminate the cause of the foul odor while also exterminating the foxes.
Tan covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve and headed towards the torn-up floor. Judith, Erne, and Henry naturally gathered there as well.
There was a gap between the floor and the ceiling, barely big enough for a small person to lie down.
It seemed that even someone as young as Erne, Henry, or even Tan would not be able to enter, and only someone as young as Judith would be able to enter with difficulty.
There was a thick mass of unidentifiable black mucus, and in the middle, something that looked like a bone could be seen.
“Hmm, it looks like a human bone.”
Henry, a security guard in his own right, deduced from the shape of the bones that it was likely a human corpse.
“He appears to have died in a crouching position.”
“I think so.”
Judith, Erne, Tan, and Henry all looked down at the same spot around the hole in the floor.
The very existence of the corpse was bizarre and creepy, but it was nothing compared to the fox earlier.
“Ugh, but if I keep smelling this, my stomach will feel bad and my head will hurt.”
Henry coughed and frowned.
“It’s not just a bad smell, it’s poison.”
Even for a psychic, it must be hard to resist the smell, Tan muttered with a frown on his face.
“Poison?”
“Yes. It’s not toxic, but if you inhale it for a long time, it can cause addiction. It can also corrode things like wooden tables. So, why don’t you go outside and talk?”
They came out again.
“I have a rough idea of what is going on. Whoever is lying on the floor over there, he or she has a vague understanding of curses.”
Tan was quite mature when he was working as a psychic.
“You know it only vaguely?”
“What you just saw is one of the poison techniques. It involves turning strong resentment into poison to take revenge.”
Poisonous snakes, poisonous wasps, or poisonous insects.
Gather 100 other poisonous insects put them in a jar and starve them. Then, they eat each other inside the jar.
When there is just one left, the blood of the person you want to curse is put on the meat and thrown into the jar.
After taming them for another 33 days, open the jar and the one that survives will follow the scent of blood.
“They say that no matter how far away it is, it can find its owner. I learned that if it bites you, no antidote works.”
Tan continued his explanation.
“To increase the chances of success in revenge, you must first use highly toxic bugs, and use bugs of the same type. In addition, you must drink the blood of the person you wish to curse every single day for 33 days without fail.”
“It’s not easy.”
Erne muttered.
“That’s right, it costs a lot of money. That’s why they sometimes resort to trickery. They concentrate the resentment on a part of the body of the person they want revenge on and put it in a jar.”
Usually, fingernails or hair were used, but some people cut off fingers or other body parts.
“Just touching the inside of a bug that has eaten a body part that holds a strong grudge creates a poison so painful that it will make your whole body twist.”
Tan glanced around the store as he explained.
“I think he had a very strong grudge. He sacrificed himself completely. But his method was too clumsy.”
Over there, that corpse seemed to have used the fox as an arrow of revenge. So, he thinks he managed to gather a few dozen foxes, but then things went wrong.
“Sealing is key. That way, the foxes won’t eat each other. But they didn’t know that and took the foxes to the floor and let them loose.”
It seemed that he had not even been able to obtain the blood of the target of his curse, or that he had not even known that it was necessary. So there was no way that the curse would work properly.
“I guess he knows the spell to complete the magic. That’s why he's become this vague, stinky lump that’s causing harm to this store.”
“So, Mr. Tan, are you saying that he has a grudge against the store itself?”
“I think the person who runs that store has a grudge. When it was empty, there was no smell, but once business started, there was a smell.”
So that's why. Judith, who had discovered the cause of the stench, looked at Tan and asked.
“Can it be eliminated?”
“Yes. It’s not difficult. There are a lot of steps, though.”
Fortunately, Judith sighed. At that moment, Henry, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, intervened.
“But since it’s a curse of resentment, do I not need to find the person who made him hold a grudge?”
“Yes. Because the curse itself failed. It’s just that the resentment remains and continues to torment people.”
So, even if you search for the person who held the grudge, it will be of no use in lifting the curse.
“On the one hand, it’s pitiful. What happened that made him plan such revenge, sacrificing himself?”
“It’s not like it was a success though.”
While Tan, Henry, and Erne were talking, Judith was staring at the store.
“Hey, Miss Harrington, you’re going to take that thing away right now, right? Let’s see, for now.”
As Tan was about to explain how to remove the curse, Judith cut him off.
"No."
Erne was dumbfounded when she heard that. Judith said no. No. The person who had been making the biggest fuss about getting rid of it was saying she wouldn't get rid of it.
Erne, although not convinced, asked calmly.
“Why not? Are you sure you want to find out who that guy has a grudge against and if he’s a bad guy, you’re going to take real revenge on him?”
Instead of answering, Judith only smiled incomprehensibly.
“Did you get bitten by a fox?”
Erne looked at Judith with worried eyes.
“Erne, why are you being so picky when your wife says she wants to do the right thing?”
“Don’t you know that when a person suddenly changes, they die? Last time, you bought me a horse and thanked me for everything, but then you almost died right after.”
It was because of the golden bugs, but anyway, the timing was perfect.
“Hey, psychic. Look carefully. What’s that thing?”
When Erne grabbed Tan's head and turned it towards Judith, Tan made a flustered expression but still looked at Judith.
“She's been acting strange all day. She keeps giving up gold coins, and she keeps offering to take revenge on strangers.”
Look closely to see if there's something like a money ghost attached to it. Erne held Tan's head tightly and held him in place.
“Miss Harrington is fine.”
“Then, then, I’m fine.”
Judith removed Erne's hand from Tan's head and wrapped her arms around Tan's shoulder affectionately.
Tan looked even more uncomfortable than when he was caught by Erne earlier.
“Why, why are you like this?”
He looked at Erne and Henry for help.
“You’re hugging another man in front of your husband, tsk.”
“You should be a husband and say such things, Erne. And these days, it’s trendy to have a lover even after getting married.”
“There are so many superficial trends.”
Tan gave up on helping them, seeing that they paid no attention to him at all.
“Mr. Tan, no, Tan, I’m your older sister so I’ll let you talk, okay?”
“Yes, do whatever you want.”
“You speak clearly. If you cheat here, I won’t let you off easy.”
...Are you a gangster?
Tan nodded, swallowing the words that were rising to the tip of his tongue.
“I’ve already told you everything about my home, so how could I scam you?”
“Curse, can it definitely be removed?”
“Yes, definitely. We can start today.”
Judith patted Tan's back as if she was satisfied.
“Then let’s do it in a few days.”
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