Why Would a Holy Knight Be Afflicted with Such a Curse? - Chapter 4

“…Similar.”

“Where? When? Do you know who created the curse? A person? Or a demon?”

At the barrage of questions, Celesto’s brow furrowed.

“…Are you more curious about this curse than about me?”

Isn’t that obvious? Even an academy student who just read the book “History of Forbidden Arts” for the first time yesterday would be curious about this first.

But, like a scholar who has stumbled upon a research topic never seen before in his life, I tried my best to be friendly and socially adept.

“Of course I’m asking to break the curse. I need to know what kind of curse it is to dispel it, right?”

“If you were worried about me, you would have asked about my condition or symptoms first.”

Ah, he saw through that.

I started looking at the mark more brazenly. Since my true intentions were already exposed, I decided to satisfy my research urge.

The pattern on Celesto’s that… was special in many ways. The shape of various figures layered several times over, and the characters running along the lines, were all types I was seeing for the first time.

The problem was that observing the mark wasn’t easy.

As I bent down to check the characters near the base, Celesto took a deep breath. His perfectly chiseled abdominal muscles, as if carved in marble, twitched along with bulging veins.

“….”

It had been like this for a while. Whenever I got close, Celesto would overreact.

Even when I tried to focus only on the mark, his manhood would twitch blatantly, making it impossible to concentrate.

At this point, even I started to feel embarrassed.

I swear, I was more interested in the curse mark than my childhood friend’s d**k.

But seeing that massive lump of flesh, which looked like it wouldn’t even fit in my hand, bobbing threateningly, all my attention was drawn there.

Eventually, I decided to calm Celesto down first.

“Just… stay still for a moment, Celesto. I need to see the pattern—”

Drip.

A small amount of seed fluid leaked from the tip of the glans, which was glistening with moisture.

That whitish substance, more semi-solid than liquid due to its stickiness, slid down from the glans and dropped directly onto the carpet of the reception room.

Startled, I froze, my mouth opening and closing silently. Then Celesto took a step back, putting distance between us.

“D-don’t come near me.”

He exhaled with difficulty.

“I told you it was the Lust Curse… Hoo… Just stay back a little. It’s… hard to hold back.”

My friend, barely managing to force out the words, looked unfamiliar and tense, as if making me feel the 5-year gap between us.

But I couldn’t help but ask this question.

“…What’s hard to hold back?”

“…”

“Don’t tell me you’re… like this because of me right now?”

“…Damn it.”

Celesto messed up his hair, scratching it until it made a sound.

Maybe he thought he couldn’t avoid it any longer. Celesto finally started to talk about the curse.

“When I entered the underground of the old chapel… a magic circle or something activated.”

Celesto said, fidgeting with his burning red earlobes.

“It was a restricted area even before they moved the chapel. So I expected something to be there, but… I didn’t know it would be a curse.”

To think there was such a goldmine in a place I’d never once set foot in my entire life.

I learned something interesting, but what surprised me now wasn’t the new curse in a holy place.

“You went into a restricted area? You?”

That Celesto Castanor did something he was told not to do?

I was genuinely surprised. If it weren’t for his lack of social skills making it hard to make new friends, he’s the type who wouldn’t even associate with someone fascinated by forbidden things like me. And now he himself did something wrong.

This time, genuinely concerned about Celesto rather than the curse, I asked.

“Why did you go to a place like that?”

“…I had something to investigate.”

But Celesto just mumbled his answer evasively.

Soon, as if trying to divert my interest, he blatantly changed the subject.

“Right after the curse activated, an inscription appeared on the wall. It was a brief explanation of the curse and… a warning not to go beyond that point.”

If I ask where that point is, he’ll probably clam up again, right?

I decided to politely gloss over whatever Celesto wanted to hide.

It was like basic knowledge for scholars majoring in taboo studies. People who testify about taboos always have something they want to hide.

Of course, I’ll hear it all later anyway.