Why Would a Holy Knight Be Afflicted with Such a Curse? - Chapter 2

I continued.

“Who cursed you? It would have to be a pretty powerful sorcerer to curse someone like you.”

“….”

“Actually, what kind of curse is it that made you come to me? You’re the type who would just consider most curses as training and pray them away.”

“….”

Celesto couldn’t answer a single word. He just kept his handsome lips tightly shut and clenched his fists.

Ah, I really can’t take this.

I eventually sprang up from my seat. Celesto’s shoulders flinched noticeably, but I ignored it and started circling around him. I was looking for signs of the curse.

Curses always have a designated target. Therefore, when a curse is activated, a mark always appears on the cursed individual. That’s how the curse operates.

But there was no curse mark anywhere on his visible skin.

“This is really strange…”

I muttered to myself.

The nature of the curse, its operating method, activation conditions, etc. The details differ for each curse, but fundamentally, they are all the same.

That point is: it’s magic designed to screw people over.

That’s why curse marks usually appear in conspicuous places. After all, it’s magic meant to torment people, so it adds a visual effect to socially isolate the victim as well.

“Why isn’t there a mark? Did you hide it? Holy power conflicts with curses, so maybe you could erase the mark… No, if you did that, the curse would have been dispelled at the same time, right?”

Maybe I can’t see it because his shirt is buttoned all the way up?

Thinking that, I hooked my finger on Celesto’s shirt collar. It was to check the skin that wasn’t visible from the outside.

That’s when Celesto shot up from his seat.

“Hey!”

At his yell, which was almost a scream, I instinctively covered my ears.

What the hell, why is he like this?

I looked at Celesto with a puzzled expression. His usually composed face was completely flushed.

It’s not like we’re at an age where we need to observe strict propriety between men and women, are we? Of course, considering our positions, touching bare skin might be a bit much, but…

Hmm, I guess I was in the wrong.

Right. Trying to see the bare skin of a grown adult man without permission is against etiquette.

Even if we’ve seen all sorts of things from each other since coming of age.

While I was nodding to myself, Celesto grabbed his collar and stammered in protest.

“What, what do you think you’re doing?”

“I was checking to see where the mark is. Most curse marks appear on visible areas, so I thought maybe it was hidden by your shirt and tried to look.”

“…Do you absolutely have to see the mark?”

Huh? Something’s a bit strange.

Though not overly sensitive or fussy, Celesto definitely had a difficult personality. He was the one who used to criticize me first whenever I did something weird.

So, if this were the Celesto I knew, he should be angry at me right now. Pointing out my rude behavior and demanding an apology would be normal.

But instead, he’s avoiding my eyes as if embarrassed.

I stared blankly at Celesto. The suspicion that had been forming since he first told me he came because of a curse was turning into certainty.

This guy has fallen victim to a serious curse.

On top of that, he hasn’t been able to say anything about the nature or symptoms of the curse at all.

It seemed like a rather embarrassing type of curse.

In that case, should I ask about the mark first rather than the curse itself?

I needed to see the mark anyway. That would allow me to guess the time period and what kind of magic user created the curse.

I opened my mouth and tried to sound as gentle as possible.

“Yeah, I need to see the mark. Actually, starting with the mark would make things easier. The appearance of marks varies depending on the era and culture.”

“In person? Can’t I just draw you a picture of what it looks like?”

Well, look at this?

I looked at Celesto with suspicious eyes.

If he can draw it, that means he’s looked at the mark quite a bit himself. It also means it appeared somewhere easy for him to see.

And yet he’s this reluctant to show it to me?

What exactly is the problem?

The locations where curse marks appear are pretty much the same across the board. But the fact that he’s so unwilling to show it means the mark’s appearance is likely unusual.

A mark that even Celesto, with no academic knowledge of curses, finds suspicious… Does it have a demon drawn on it or something?