MBOMEN 37

Episode 37. Secret Game (6)

“You’re saying I said that to Lila?”

Lila looked completely dumbfounded and turned to Marenak. He seemed to flinch slightly, but she didn’t care.

“You heard it, right? Yustar said that to me. He told me it wasn’t a good idea. You heard it, didn’t you?”

Marenak looked helpless, like a lost puppy, glancing between the two without giving an answer.

Lila was about to lose her mind! Lately, she often wondered if something was wrong with her head—ever since she’d met Yustar—but today, she truly felt like she was being haunted by a ghost.

Yustar gently placed his hands on Lila’s shoulders and looked her straight in the face.

“Lila, are you sure it was my voice?”

“Yes! It was your voice. So clear that I couldn’t possibly have mistaken it for someone else’s.”

Yustar started to say something, but then changed his mind. He couldn’t explain everything to Lila right now. Maybe someday it would be possible—but honestly, even if that day came, he didn’t really want to talk about it.

“For now, calm down, Lila. It could be a side effect of portal sickness. Sometimes… it happens. People see things or hear things that aren’t there. Right, Marenak?”

Marenak looked flustered. Portal sickness sometimes caused vomiting, dizziness, even fainting. But hallucinations or auditory delusions? He had never heard of that before.

But one glance at Yustar’s expression told him this was not the time to say, “No, that’s not true.”

“Y-Yes. That’s right. There are some people like that.”

“Really?”

At Lila’s question, Marenak quickly nodded and turned away as if to inspect the man in the room. Then he clasped his hands over his chest and offered a brief prayer of repentance.

Yustar spoke again.

“If we can’t break the man’s curse right away, the first thing we should do is check the Sync. If possible, we identify and eliminate the source. Can you handle it?”

He turned toward the man, and Lila followed suit.

The man behind the glass had stopped scratching his knees. He was now plucking out his hair one strand at a time and laying them in a neat row on the floor.

We have to do something fast, Lila thought. If they didn’t remove the curse or its source, that man would surely die here.

“…Okay. I’m fine. Like you said, that was…”

“A hallucination. Trust me. If you’re not feeling well, take some medicine before we head out.”

Lila made a gagging gesture.

“Not a chance.”

Elsic, where Tentinella Branch No. 4 and Adiac were located, was a port city in the western part of the Kingdom of Sierrow. As they stepped out of the building, a strong sea breeze blew in, carrying a salty, acrid, bitter smell.

“What is that smell?”

Lila wrinkled her brow and asked. That’s when Yustar remembered—she’d only ever lived in the mountains of Rizikus.

“That’s the smell of the sea, Lila. Salt, mostly. Maybe some dried seaweed too.”

“I’ve never seen the ocean before. Only heard about it in stories.”

“Once our work is done, we can take our time and enjoy the view.”

Yustar said it like it was a good thing, but Lila didn’t feel too thrilled. More than anything, the smell was awful. She missed the earthy scent of the mountains and the fresh greenery.

“Where’s the Sync?”

“Oh, right. Lila, may I see your hand for a moment?”

It was a strange request, but Lila obediently held out her hand.

Yustar looked down at the back of her hand and then let out a small laugh. He gently kissed her knuckles, then turned her palm face-up.

“You could’ve just said palm from the beginning.”

Lila pouted. Yustar looked amused and gazed at her in silence.

Then he asked, “Did you really hate that kiss so much?”

“I…”

Lila began to reply but pressed her lips together and finally muttered, “That’s not it.”

For a moment, she felt like she was lying, but then again, maybe not. A kiss on the hand or finger—what was the big deal? It wasn’t even the first time.

Yustar, with a knowing look as if he could read her thoughts, gently placed a round, flat object in her palm.

It had a hard glass cover on top, and inside were countless finely etched markings.

There were also five black needles of varying lengths. At first glance, it looked like a clock or compass, but its purpose was clearly different.

“Is this a magic tool too?”

“It is.”

Yustar tapped the glass cover lightly with his fingertip. The thin needles quivered like they were alive.

“It’s not a compass, is it?”

“No. But similar. A compass finds direction. This finds Syncs. It’s called a Seeker.”

“Seeker.”

Repeating the word, Lila stared at it. The five needles pointed in different directions and didn’t move. She gave it a light shake, but it didn’t budge.

“Keep it, Lila. I’ll prepare the other things you’ll need later.”

“How do I use it?”

“It’s simple. See the small button on top? That silver one. Press it.”

Lila did as instructed. The button was stiff, but after a push, it clicked inward—and suddenly, the motionless needles began to spin rapidly!

“Now we wait. It’s looking for the energy of a Sync. It’ll first detect the closest one.”

Lila asked, “Why are the needles different lengths?”

“Because each Sync emits different energy wavelengths. Some have long waves, some short. We’re still researching it, so we can’t explain everything… but basically, each needle reacts to a different wave type. If three or more point to the same spot, there’s definitely a Sync there.”

The needles kept spinning. For a moment, Lila worried—what if they never stopped? What if she couldn’t use this magic tool, like how she got portal sickness?

But eventually, one by one, starting with the shortest, the needles slowed and came to a stop—pointing in the same direction.

“They stopped.”

Lila looked up.

“It’s northwest from here.”

Yustar pulled a monocle from his jacket pocket and fitted it over his eye. Lila watched him adjust the ornament attached to it and asked,

“You said you needed that to see ghosts, right? It’s a magic tool too? Does it have a name?”

“Of course. Tilarr Ogershire. But no one actually calls it that.”

“Can you only see ghosts with it?”

“That’s the main function… but some gifted mediums can use it to access a ghost’s ‘core’ and attempt an overlay. It’s not easy though. If you’re not careful, you can suffer backlash. No one likes having their memories forced open—even ghosts.”

Lila’s eyes flickered oddly. If what he said was true, then she was the only one who could see and overlay souls without the monocle.

Now she understood why Yustar needed her. Facing the ghosts created by a Sync would be nearly impossible without a pure and powerful medium like her.

Yustar spoke again.

“Look at the Seeker’s needles, Lila. What color are they?”

Lila looked down and gasped. The tips of the needles, which were black before, had turned a faint yellow.

“They’re yellow.”

“Yellow, hmm. That’s not bad. Sometimes they turn white, and that means it’s quite far. But yellow means it’s within walking distance. Let’s go look around.”

As Yustar was about to step forward, he paused and added:

“Marenak said this Sync is small but has a strong influence in several areas. Be careful, Lila. Stay close to me. If not, at least keep me within your line of sight at all times. Understand?”

“Yes. I understand.”

Lila replied clearly, but strangely, her own voice sounded distant and hollow, like she was dreaming.

Was it the unfamiliar salty sea smell? The noisy, bustling streets? Everything suddenly felt unreal, as if the ground were floating.

“You brats! Can’t you behave?!”

A loud voice suddenly struck Lila from behind.

Turning around, she saw a woman with her headscarf slipping sideways, yelling incomprehensible curses at laughing children. A few wilted apples were rolling at her feet.

“Little punks,” the woman muttered, gathering the apples back into her basket. The group of six or so kids ran off, laughing and bumping into each other.

“Here you go.”

Lila picked up an apple that had rolled nearby and handed it to the woman. She took it with a gruff expression, but her tone was surprisingly kind.

“Thanks, kind miss.”

“It’s nothing.”

As Lila smiled and turned to leave, she noticed a smudge on the woman’s apron. A dirty handprint.

“Looks like the kids were playing tricks.”

Looking down, the woman yelped, “Oh no!” and brushed her apron off haphazardly.

“Darn brats. I should’ve smacked their bottoms so they couldn’t sit down. They must’ve done it on purpose—covered their hands in mud and pretended to bump into me.”