Chapter 23
People whose lives can be changed dramatically by a single outcome often have superstitions. Athletes might eat only certain foods before a match, or always wear the same color underwear.
Eden, whose life hinged on a single fight, also had a ritual she always performed before facing a demon. In other words, a superstition.
“What is that grass?”
“Sansho leaf.”
Eden answered Bezel’s question and placed the leaf she’d been chewing between her fingers. She took out a lighter with her other hand and lit the tip of the leaf, causing thin gray smoke to rise.
Eden moved her hand widely to form a gray cross with the smoke. Only after the smoke had completely dispersed into the air did she shake the leaf to extinguish the fire and flick it far away.
“A cross. How sacred.”
“Well, it’s not so much because of the cross itself, but more like trying to forget the curse, at least when I’m fighting. This leaf is used as a painkiller.”
Sansho leaves had pain-relieving effects. Though there were side effects of numbness if used excessively, even those side effects were welcome to Eden.
It was better to be numb and feel nothing. Only then could she forget the terrible pain of this curse.
Now she faced demons as if it were nothing, but Eden too had her rookie days. When she had just become a Hunter after losing her family to a demon, she trembled and couldn’t sleep until the day of her first commission.
Before important events, even things normally taken for granted become a source of concern. Eden had bought sansho leaves from a nearby pharmacy, worried that the pain from her curse might interfere with her fight against the demon.
On the day of the fight, in front of the abandoned house where the demon was hiding, Eden chewed the sansho leaves she had bought. After doing the same action for a long time, her fear subsided. Though it was unlikely a single blade of grass could improve her curse, the pain seemed to lessen, perhaps due to a placebo effect,
That day, Eden successfully defeated the demon. The memory of that first success was so vivid that ever since, she had kept chewing sansho leaves by habit.
The ritual gradually evolved to the point where she now burned the chewed leaves to make a cross.
How should she put it? She did not worship gods, but as someone who acknowledged their existence, it felt like the scent of that cross-shaped smoke would linger like a trace and protect her.
And it also served as a performance to show the clients.
“Painkillers… Is something like that really necessary?”
Bezel, wearing a cozy sweater, asked with eyes as harmless as the soft wool. The wind was still chilly to wear just a shirt, so Eden had hurriedly bought him the sweater on the way over and made him wear it.
“You speak so easily since it’s not your problem. Of course it’s necessary. Why wouldn’t it be? When my body is rotting away like this?”
“That’s not what I meant… I’m here now.”
Bezel brought his hand to his chest. It was a reverent gesture, as if taking an oath.
What does that mean? Eden, who stood there with a frown, understood his words a beat later.
“What, are you going to ease my pain instead of the sansho leaf?”
“Yes. I thought that’s why you brought me here.”
Ah. He had seen through her intention. Embarrassed, Eden cleared her throat.
“Th-That’s true, but…”
Eden trailed off and subtly extended her arm. However, Bezel ignored her arm and stepped forward. Maybe because his legs were long, the distance between them closed in an instant.
“…What are you doing?”
From up close, his looks were dangerously heart-stopping. Eden reflexively stepped back. Bezel cupped her cheeks with both hands and tilted her head up.
Smooch.
Soft lips touched her forehead and pulled away. For a moment, Eden couldn’t comprehend what had happened to her and just blinked blankly.
Smooch. Smooch smooch.
Meanwhile, Bezel planted three more kisses on her, once on her chin, once on each cheek. They were light pecks that children might give, with no s****l meaning whatsoever.
Only after Bezel lowered his hands that had been cupping her cheeks did Eden finally collect herself.
“Aaaaaaah! Wh-what the hell was th-that…!”
She was so flustered that she even stammered. Eden flailed her hands, rubbing the spots his lips had touched.
“You seemed to like crosses.”
Only then did Eden realize that his lips had moved in the shape of a cross.
‘So it had meaning after all… No, that’s not the point!’
“Still! You can’t just kiss someone without asking! In this world where men and women should be proper!”
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