Chapter 04 …
The Secret of the Cursed Seal and Alfilliese’s Past, Part 1 — Friendship —
“Looks like I completely missed the timing to make my entrance…”
The sister in question had already dealt with her own enemies and was simply watching how everything unfolded. Incidentally, the men who had attacked her had been beaten so thoroughly their faces were barely recognizable, stripped of everything they owned, and tossed into the manure pit of the stable.
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth… and crapheads get treated like crapheads, huh?”
Naturally, no such doctrine existed in the church Anorn belonged to.
“Still… she’s that skilled, huh? She might even be as strong as one of the battalion commanders of our temple knights. And besides…”
The unnatural distance and force of the thrown dagger. As Anorn thought there was no way it should have flown like that over nearly twenty meters—
“Ah, there you are, Sister!”
“Wah—”
Alfilliese suddenly called out to her, startling Anorn.
“Sister, should we get going before everyone starts asking questions again? I really don’t want people flattering me all over again.”
“R-right. Let’s go then.”
Still somewhat stunned, Anorn went to fetch the horses. The two mounted up immediately and hurriedly tried to leave town, but at that moment, the elderly gatekeeper called out to them.
“You girls there.”
“What is it, Gatekeeper?”
“Looks like you’re in a hurry, so I won’t keep you. You’re heading to Miishia, right? My son runs an inn there. If you stay there, show him this old man’s letter. I wrote that he should let you stay for free.”
“Really? Thank you, Grandpa!”
“Oh, think nothing of it. This town should stay peaceful for a while now thanks to you. If anything, this is too cheap a reward.”
“Then we’ll gladly accept it. Umm… what was your name, Grandpa?”
“Bis.”
“Thank you, Mr. Bis. I’m Alfilliese. Hopefully we’ll meet again someday if fate allows!”
“You bet.”
The gatekeeper Bis waved them off with a smile. Alfilliese seemed completely delighted at being treated kindly by someone.
After leaving the town of Iz and traveling for some time, the Sister had become strangely quiet. Even when Alfilliese spoke to her, she only gave vague replies. Growing suspicious and slightly worried, Alfilliese looked toward Anorn.
“What’s wrong, Sister?”
“Hm? No, it’s nothing.”
“It’s obviously not nothing. Are you feeling sick? Should we take a break?”
“No, it’s fin— …Actually, yes, let’s rest.”
As if she had made up her mind, the Sister turned toward Alfilliese with a serious expression unlike her usual self. Sensing the importance of the matter, Alfilliese straightened up as well.
“Let’s go over to those rocks.”
This area was mostly grassland. Located near the center of the continent, it had long been well-developed, and many travelers passed through it. Merchant caravans could be seen both ahead and behind them, and the neighing of horses was constant. In a situation like this, they couldn’t exactly sit down by the roadside, so the two left the highway slightly and sat atop a deserted rock hidden from view.
Anorn reluctantly began speaking.
“Alfi… this might be hard for you to answer, but can I ask you something?”
“If it’s something I can answer.”
Alfilliese’s expression was serious as well.
“This morning… I know it was wrong of me, but I happened to see part of the markings on your body.”
“So it was that after all. And?”
“Those aren’t ordinary markings. Some cultures use tattoos in rituals, or brand criminals. There are also magical crests and family emblems. Some royal families even use them as proof of kingship.”
“…”
“I’m no expert, so I can’t say for sure, but yours looked like some kind of cursed seal. More specifically… the kind used to seal magic.”
“…And?”
“A sealing curse is one of the strongest types of markings that can be placed on the body. It obstructs the flow of magical power and places an enormous burden on the user, but the effect is extremely powerful. And you’ve carved them over almost your entire arms, haven’t you?”
“…There are some on my back and chest too.”
“That means your magical power is immense. Normally, even a single ring around the arm is enough to permanently prevent an average mage from ever using magic again. And despite sealing that much power… you still used magic, didn’t you?”
“What makes you think that?”
“The distance your dagger flew. There’s no way it could have gone that far from the way you threw it. You used wind magic or something similar.”
“You figured that much out? So… what now? Are you going to kill me?”
“That depends on you.”
Anorn’s gaze sharpened further.
“What do you really want, Alfi? With that much power, you could practically do anything, couldn’t you? You could become an officer of a nation, join the Magic Church… no matter what path you chose, people would fight over you. If you wanted, you could even rule by force like some Demon King.”
“…Me?”
Alfilliese suddenly looked off into the distance.
“I don’t know what I want to do… or what I’m supposed to do at all.”
She began speaking quietly, little by little.
“I was born into a farming family. We weren’t poor, but we were just an ordinary household that never had to worry about our next meal. But I had power that wasn’t ordinary. When I was little, I never thought using it for myself was wrong.”
Anorn watched her intently, as though trying to measure what kind of person Alfilliese truly was.
“Sometimes I couldn’t control it properly… and eventually, I ended up causing someone’s death. He was a defeated soldier fleeing from war who had wandered into our village. I couldn’t overlook him trying to assault the villagers… but apparently that was a mistake. Before long, I was surrounded by a large group of mages.”
In the world Alfilliese lived in, that was only natural. Long ago, mages had been treasured for their power against monsters and Demon Kings. But there had once been a mage who manipulated nations and attempted to plunge the world into war. Though that mage was ultimately defeated, the incident caused tremendous casualties, and ever since, people had come to fear the dangers of magic. Mages increasingly suffered unfair treatment from ordinary people.
Eventually, the divide deepened into outright oppression and persecution. In response, mages attempted to regain public trust through strict self-regulation. The organization created for that purpose was the Magic Church, and it became common belief that those with strong magical power must discipline themselves rigorously and remain under supervision.
Because of this, anyone who abused magical power would inevitably be punished directly by the Magic Church. The Church even maintained divisions dedicated entirely to hunting rogue mages.
At the same time, however, magical power existed within everyone to some extent. Normally it only manifested through study and training, but occasionally, some people were born with the natural ability to use magic. Those gifted with such talent were usually identified through astrology or prophecy and taken into proper custody shortly after birth. Someone powerful enough to kill others would never normally be left unattended.
In that sense, Alfilliese was an exception.
Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call her an anomaly.
Being gifted with talent did not always bring happiness.
While Anorn pondered this, Alfilliese continued calmly.
“There were about ten mages, I think. But my magical power was overwhelmingly stronger, so I defeated them almost instantly. Ah, I didn’t kill them, okay? There was no need. I was simply stronger. Then, the person who happened to pass by was my master.”
“And what was your master’s name?”
“Aldryus.”
“Don’t tell me… Aldryus = Selk = Rezelwork!?”
“That’s right.”
There were many famous mages throughout the world, but the mage known as Aldryus was exceptional even among them.
He had displayed terrifying magical power at a young age, yet abandoned magical training entirely at only twenty years old. After leaving the Magic Church, he joined the knight order of a certain nation and, through martial skill, rose to the rank of commander of a thousand men—just one step below general.
Furthermore, he excelled as a civil official as well. His work in flood control and urban planning remained influential worldwide even now. Loved by both nobility and commoners alike, and highly valued by the king, he was eventually granted the title of count.
Yet for reasons unknown, he renounced all his titles in his mid-thirties and vanished into the wilderness.
Because no one ever understood what he truly thought, he was often called an eccentric or madman. At the same time, he had become a near-legendary figure.
The fact that such a man had raised Alfilliese far exceeded Anorn’s imagination. Or perhaps only someone of that caliber could have raised her.
Alfilliese continued.
“My master defeated me easily. Even though he was a mage, his martial arts were top-class too—it felt unfair how strong he was. After that, I was placed under his custody, and in exchange for living far away from civilization, I was spared punishment. There were apparently other circumstances too, but Master never explained them. That’s when he placed this sealing curse on me.”
As she spoke, Alfilliese rolled up her sleeves. But from what Anorn could see, the patterns on the right and left arms differed.
“Can you tell they’re different? The one on the left was done by Master. The one on the right… I carved myself.”
“You did it yourself? Is that even possible!? More importantly, that’s insane!”
Cursed seals demanded enormous sacrifices from both the one who placed them and the one who received them. The caster would lose some bodily function—such as their sense of taste or a portion of their lifespan. The recipient, meanwhile, would suffer unending agony.
That was why cursed seals were normally used only to imprison Demon Kings, powerful monsters, or as the ultimate punishment for criminals.
To place one upon oneself was beyond madness.
Yet Alfilliese’s expression remained so bright that it barely conveyed the severity of the matter. That only made it more painful for Anorn to watch. Sensing Anorn’s thoughts, Alfilliese hurriedly continued.
“I didn’t lose any bodily functions, though. Instead, every time I try to use the magical power sealed by the curse, the seal’s erosion grows stronger.”
“That means—”
“Right. The more I use my true magical power, the greater the pain becomes.”
This was not something one could speak of so casually. Imagining the suffering Alfilliese endured, Anorn shuddered.
“Don’t make such a worried face. Right now, the pain isn’t that bad. If I avoid using magic for long enough, it gradually fades away. I haven’t really used magic for several years now, so it doesn’t hurt at all anymore. Occasionally it throbs a little, like it suddenly remembered itself.”
Alfilliese gave a faint smile as she explained.
“But because Master placed that seal on me, his lifespan was shortened. He was the first person who genuinely cared about me. But in the end… I might as well have killed him myself.”
“…”
“His final words to me were: ‘Live according to where your heart leads you.’ I kept wishing he’d at least curse me or resent me for once. But Master treated me like a real daughter… more than my actual parents ever did. I only found out later that it was my real parents who reported me to the Magic Church. So the seal I carved onto myself is like a vow to Master. A reminder never to forget what he did for me. Otherwise… I think I might end up hating my real parents.”
“Alfi… you…”
Anorn looked at Alfilliese with sorrowful eyes, but Alfilliese pretended not to notice.
“So I decided I’d do for others what Master did for me. I want to use this power for someone else’s sake. Maybe there are people I can save because I have this power. I don’t know what exactly I’m searching for yet… but I want to find out. I have no intention of using it for myself. Even if you were to kill me right here.”
“Why would I have to kill you?”
“But you could if you wanted to, right? You’re stronger than me, Sister. Besides… isn’t that your real line of work?”
Alfilliese stared straight at Anorn.
(How much has this girl figured out about me…?)
Even Anorn herself didn’t know. But Alfilliese was far sharper than she had imagined.
Unbothered, Alfilliese continued.
“Your bearing is completely that of a warrior. I think people who know what to look for would notice immediately. You said you were very curious about me when we first met, but I felt the same way, you know? Because for the first time in my travels, I met someone who looked like a Sister helping people… yet somehow felt impossible to defeat. Even if I fought with everything I had, I don’t think I could win against you. I may be ignorant about the world, but I trust my instincts as a fighter.”
“I see… So you really aren’t ordinary after all. Still, you’re overestimating me. I’m not that strong. More importantly, I suppose that’s why your hair is black too?”
“You think so? My instincts are usually pretty accurate, though. But yes, you guessed right—I dye my hair black.”
“Then what color is it naturally?”
At Anorn’s purely curious question, Alfilliese looked slightly troubled.
“Well… I can tell you, but then you have to tell me a little about yourself too.”
“Me? Fine, though there are a lot of things I can’t talk about because of my job.”
“Then… are you really a Sister?”
“That part is true. I even have proper identification. See?”
“It’s real. And you’re a bishop? Above bishop is…”
“Assistant Archbishop, Archbishop, and Supreme Pontiff.”
Seeing Alfilliese’s eyes widen, Anorn puffed out her chest a little proudly.
“So you really are someone important.”
“Show me proper respect and grovel before me!”
“No waaaay!”
Alfilliese stuck out her tongue dramatically at Anorn.
The childish gesture looked somewhat young for her age, catching Anorn off guard. But then again, Alfilliese was still a girl not even twenty years old, someone who had spent what should have been the most carefree years of her life isolated in the mountains without friends her own age. It made sense she had never experienced this kind of playful banter before.
To be honest, Anorn had never really intended to fight Alfilliese. Still, she had believed it might become necessary. If needed, she knew she could become as cold-hearted as required. That understanding came from her long experience as a warrior.
In fact, as part of her pilgrim duties, Anorn often accepted missions to exterminate monsters, and when reinforcements couldn’t arrive in time, she would sometimes carry out those missions alone.
But seeing Alfilliese open up to her like this, Anorn became convinced that even if she herself tried to kill Alfilliese, the girl would never use the cursed seal against her.
And with that realization, Anorn lost even more of her will to fight.
Without realizing it, she had already begun to think of this much younger female swordswoman—young enough to still be called a girl—as a friend.
