MBOMEN 36

Chapter 36. Secret Game (5)
“Oh no, Lila!”

Eustar rushed to support her, but Lila pushed him away. She felt like she might vomit everything in her stomach all over his clothes. It wasn’t until later that she realized she hadn’t eaten much to begin with, so there was barely anything to throw up.

“Here, Lila.”

Lila frowned at the orange hexagonal pill resting in Eustar’s palm and shook her head. Her vision was spinning, and it felt like her internal organs were all twisted up, but she still didn’t want to eat that.

“I’ll be fine… Just need a minute…”

Practically collapsed on the floor, Lila murmured. Eustar crouched beside her, wearing a concerned and baffled expression.

“It’s odd how long this motion sickness is lasting, Lila. You must have an unusually sensitive constitution to magic.”

With her cheek pressed against the cold floor, Lila moved only her eyes to glance at him. She figured she probably looked ridiculous right now, but oddly enough, lying like this seemed to help the dizziness and nausea subside a little.

“It’s ridiculous. A witch being sensitive to magic.”

“The magic powering Tentinella has been refined. But the magic wizards use is pure and unprocessed. Maybe you’ve been exposed only to natural magic for so long that your body’s taking time to adjust to the refined kind.”

Lila blinked and let out a long breath.

“I don’t understand a word you’re saying.”

Eustar chuckled softly. Just then, hurried footsteps approached with wide strides. Lila heard a man groan and slowly lifted herself up.

“What’s going on here, Lord Eustar?”

Lila’s expression stiffened slightly when she raised her head and saw the man’s surprised face.

The man was tall—nearly as tall as Eustar. His square-shouldered black clerical robes fit him perfectly. His curly, rich blond hair and downturned eyes made him look like a gentle, large dog.

“Can you stand?”

He offered a hand, but Lila stared at it as if it were smeared with blood and stood up on her own. Holding her still-churning stomach with her fingers, she took a few steps back.

“You’re a priest, I see.”

Lila spoke. Eustar, knowing she’d react that way, didn’t bother to explain and simply watched their first meeting with curiosity.

The man smiled. Surprisingly, he looked even gentler when he smiled. He seemed like someone who believed everything in the world was beautiful and all people were born good… The kind of person who, in short, probably wouldn’t get along with Lila.

“I’m Marnac Deiarmor. I serve as the branch head of the Adiak division.”

With that, Marnac interlaced his fingers and took a prayerful stance, the typical posture of a priest. No, it wasn’t just a stance—he actually said a prayer.

Eustar whispered,
“You can call him Marnac. ‘Deiarmor’ is a surname given to all priests.”

Lila glanced at him.
“A common surname?”

After finishing his prayer, Marnac answered in a gentle voice,
“That’s right. Priests of Sheorrow take a vow during ordination to forsake all worldly ties. That includes their family names and any rights they held in the secular world. Only then are they worthy to stand before the god Cersita and the five gods of Sheorrow.”

Lila listened with a sour expression. Her motion sickness had passed, and she was feeling better, but standing across from this priest—who looked at her like she was a lost lamb—was still uncomfortable.

Marnac asked,
“What is your name, Sister?”

Lila looked at him with a gloomy gaze.

“I’m not your sister. I couldn’t be, even if I wanted to. Can’t you tell?”

But Marnac simply gazed at her, smiling warmly. Eustar was a frequent smiler, too, but Marnac’s smile was… different.

No, Lila thought, no one else could smile like that.

It was like suddenly having a light turned on when lost in the dark—comforting. Though, for a witch like Lila, it was comforting and unsettling at the same time.

“All people are my brothers and sisters. They are also my parents, teachers, and students to guide. So you are my sister as well. What you are does not matter. Cersita and the five gods do not sort people into categories to protect or abandon them.”

Lila flinched at his compassionate words, as if stung by nettles, but after taking a deep breath, she extended her right hand. Regardless of him being a priest, he was a branch head, and she couldn’t just linger here.

“Lila Krisrad.”

“Miss Krisrad.”

Marnac’s hand was large and warm, and despite his firm grip, it didn’t feel intimidating.

Eustar and Lila followed Marnac deeper into the Adiak branch. Like the other places Lila had seen, there were odd machines and a low hum in the background.

But the spotless white walls, soft feather-shaped light fixtures, arched ceilings, and glowing pillars gave it the atmosphere of a temple.

“Feeling uncomfortable, Lila?” Eustar whispered playfully.

Lila gave him a slightly sulky look and shot him a glance.
“Fortunately, no. Just because I’m a witch doesn’t mean I’ll puke the moment I enter a temple. We’re not in the Dark Ages.”

Eustar laughed.
“I doubt even witches from the Dark Ages were like that.”

“It’s a figure of speech. Anyway… I’m fine. Thanks for your concern.”

Marnac led them through the corridor. He exchanged a few words with Eustar and spoke to Lila as well, but as they went deeper inside, his face grew increasingly somber.

Eustar finally said,
“Time to tell us what the problem is, Marnac.”

Marnac glanced back and sighed.

“Yes, Lord Eustar. As I mentioned earlier… A small sink was detected, and agents were dispatched. But…”

Marnac’s steps slowed. A subtle anguish radiated from his broad back.

“The sink vanished as the agents approached.”

Eustar furrowed his brow.
“Vanished?”

“To be precise, it didn’t disappear—it just hid. When our people get within a certain range, it reappears. Once they go beyond that range, it disappears again.”

“Sounds like a game of hide-and-seek,” Lila said suddenly.

Marnac nodded.
“Exactly. No matter what we try, we can’t get close to the sink.”

“What came out of the sink?”

“We don’t know yet. Unlike usual cases where monsters or ghosts linger nearby, this one… has never shown itself. Not once.”

“What about tracking?”

“It’s ongoing, but no progress.”

Finally, Marnac stopped at the end of the hallway. There was a room with a transparent wall.

“That man…”

Lila touched the glass. Inside the room was a man with a gaunt body and torn clothes. His ragged pants revealed his knees, which he was furiously scratching with his nails.

Marnac explained,
“He’s a villager. He ran a small shop. Yesterday, he came to headquarters in a state of panic.”

According to Marnac, the man had already been covered in injuries and was mentally incoherent when he arrived. And since then, he had repeated only one phrase:

“He kept saying the seeker is coming.”

Eustar let out a dry chuckle. The man’s knees were bleeding.

“Did he actually play hide-and-seek?”

Marnac sighed.
“We don’t know. But to this moment, he keeps saying the same thing. And he’s in extreme fear. That’s why we’re keeping him under observation.”

Lila asked,
“Isn’t it risky to keep him in such an exposed place?”

Marnac shook his head gently with a faint smile.
“No. Evil spirits and other malevolent things can’t enter this place. But we needed to keep an eye on him. In case…”

“In case he dies,” Eustar said coldly.

Lila had never heard his voice so frigid before. Nor had she seen him look at someone that way.

Something’s not right.
Lila stared at the man scratching his knees. His skin was almost gone—soon his bones would be visible.

Something…

“That man is cursed.”

Eustar and Marnac both turned to look at her.

“Cursed, Lila?”

Instead of answering, Lila leaned closer to the glass. She thought she could almost see something. It wasn’t clear…

“Mister Krisrad, how did you know?” Marnac asked.

Lila stepped back a few paces, her eyes fixed on the man flinching at nothing.

“I heard about it from my mother… when she was still alive. But I never learned how to actually see curses. I was never taught.”

“If someone can see a curse… could they break it?” Eustar asked.

Lila gave a vague nod.
“As far as I know, yes.”

She turned to face them.
“A curse is like a tangled thread or a scattered puzzle. If you can see it, you can untangle it. But I can only sense that he’s cursed—I can’t see it. If I could see it clearly, I might find a way… but right now, it’s difficult.”

Could I try anyway? For a moment, Lila wondered if she could use her ability on a living person. To open up his core. Maybe then she could find a clue…

—No, Lila. That’s not a good idea. Never.

She spun toward Eustar.
“What did you just say, Eustar?”

Eustar looked down at her, confused.
“Lila?”
“You just told me. You said it wasn’t a good idea.”