The Sleeping Devil
Vol. 3 - Ch. 20 - Master of the Forest

Faced with the sudden request from the master of the forest, I involuntarily shook my head.

"Has this master of the forest been tainted? Are they about to turn into a demon? And asking me to kill them?"

No, no, what kind of joke is this? Is their mental state too fragile? It's almost amusing how someone can be so emotionally affected just because their feet got dirty, making me wonder how delicate they truly are.

"May I take a look for a moment?"

"(You may, but please don't touch it. It would be troublesome if you transferred it.)"

Approaching the hind leg that was thrown out, only this leg seemed to have thinned from the thigh down. Mud stuck to it, almost reaching the height of an adult's stature, solidifying around the leg like a cast. Did it step into concrete or something of the sort?

"Sheriel, don't get too close! It could be dangerous if you get kicked!"

"It's okay, I can communicate properly. By the way, can you speak to them, sir?"

"(Ah, is this okay?)"

Whether they heard the voice of the master of the forest, Didier and Hermes widened their eyes and raised their voices.

"Oh, this must be the telepathy they mentioned last night. Such a strange sensation."

"I've never heard of being able to speak to magical beasts... Are they closer to spirits because they're the master of the forest?"

Surprised, the two left them be, while I tried applying a cleansing spell to somehow remove the mud.

"...What are you doing!?"

"It seems the master is bothered by this dirt. But it doesn't seem to come off with a cleansing spell."

"Hey, what are you saying..."

Despite generously enveloping it with water, for some reason, the mud wouldn't come off. What incredibly stubborn dirt...

Trying to scrape it off with my hand, the mud fell off with a splash. Ah, so it's mud resistant to water. In that case, maybe rubbing it against something would work. I was amazed at how even though they're a master, they seemed rather clumsy. I diligently continued to remove the mud.

Though it came off easily, upon touching it, it was chillingly cold, sticking to my hand with a gooey, clammy sensation.

"(W-what are you doing... Do you want to die by touching it barehanded!?)"

"You're being dramatic. It'll come off once cleaned, won't it? Honestly, living in the forest and getting worked up over a bit of mud---do you really live here?"

Ah, now that I think about it, this mud doesn't come off even when washed. Klayla's mud had healing effects, and it seemed mud, when infused with magic, had various unique effects. However, strangely, my hands weren't dirtied by the mud, and what I removed turned into sand and disappeared smoothly.

Wow, truly like a fantasy.

"Sheriel... Please step away quickly. Could it be that the master of the forest has been tainted?"

"Yes, it seems so. There, almost done!"

The master of the forest fluttered their pure white eyelashes, gazing at their now clean feet. Hermes restrained Didier, who was struggling to come here, from behind.

"Let go of me, Grandpa! Sheriel!"

"What's wrong, big brother? They're all clean now."

Actually, there wasn't any dirt, but as I returned to the two, casually brushing my hands, Didier somehow collapsed on the spot.

"What the heck are you doing! Touching a magical beast with accumulated impurities!"

"You only had mud stuck to you, right? And then you got all worked up, accumulating impurities?"

"Huh? There wasn't any mud, though..."

Oh? Something doesn't add up here. When I looked at the master of the forest, they were still gazing curiously at their feet.

"Master, the dirt has been removed, right? You're fine?"

"(Unbelievable. Can a human child really purify impurities barehanded?)"

As the voice of the master of the forest resonated, Didier approached me in a tremendous rage.

"See, it's impurity... Wait, you exorcised it!? Without any purification chant!?"

Even after explaining it wasn't impurity, everyone but me insisted it was. It was getting increasingly confusing, and that's when Hermes stepped in to mediate.

"Sheriel mentioned something like mud stuck to the master's feet. Master of the forest, was there something abnormal about your feet?"

"(Right. Since I kicked a demon with this foot before, it hasn't been moving as I wished. Then, impurities began spreading throughout my body like poison, and I thought I'd fall soon.)"

"So, now it's all fine?"

"(Yes. Every time this girl made strange movements, impurities seemed to leave my body. Now my foot moves fine without issues.)"

Huh? Was the master of the forest really invaded by impurities?

"Master, couldn't you see the mud?"

"(I couldn't see it. Did the young lady see something?)"

"Yes. Although cleansing magic didn't work, it easily came off when scraped with my hands, like mud hardening and making it difficult to move."

Everyone blinked repeatedly, and an inexplicable atmosphere lingered. It's been like this a lot recently. Feeling increasingly uncomfortable, I shrugged my shoulders.

"Master! You're better now!"

"Master, you're beautiful! The forest feels lively!"

"(Human, well done! You're a good one!)"

The fairies fluttered around, praising me one after another. It seemed not to be a bad thing. I hesitantly looked up at Hermes, who had a difficult expression, pressing his brow.

"Sheriel, it's speculation, but what you saw, like mud, was impurity. Normally, impurities can only be cleansed through a purification ritual using a purification chant. If it weren't for you having no resistance to impurities, touching it would have let impurities invade your body."

"Wait, so does that mean I'm cursed?"

"No, it's not that. Well, that's part of it... Anyway, you did something dangerous. Please don't be so reckless."

Even if you say it's reckless, I didn't know, so it can't be helped. Is ignorance really a sin in this case?

More importantly, it's more critical that I inherited a curse. Until now, I thought my cooking and magic were thanks to memories from a past life. I believed my good memory and high processing abilities, like Beriards, were due to my brain being abnormally active from birth, leading to exceptional thinking abilities.

"Grandpa, am I a demon-like person without guilt like my big brother?"

"Hey, that's rude! The person in question is right here!"

Pressing down on Didier, who was snapping, Hermes switched to diagnostic mode.

"Is there anything abnormal in your body or mind right now, Sheriel? Feelings of anger, sadness, or a suffocating darkness taking over your emotions?"

"No, nothing like that. Just a bit shocked about the curse."

Phew, Hermes let out a big sigh, and finally, after several years, the diagnosis was made.

"Sheriel has inherited a curse. You likely have magical talent, considering yesterday's conversation. Mercy seems to be almost non-existent, possibly influenced by the ethics of your past life."

"Oh, well, I kind of suspected that might be the case..."

Right, ever since meeting Zorad's grandparents, I had a slight suspicion. Since I retained some sensations from the dream of Sheriel, I could understand. However, emotionally, it was shocking.

It's good to have memories from a past life, isn't it? I thought it was a glitch, but thanks to that glitch, it seems I've developed some level of ethical understanding.

"(Human, what nonsense... You purified impurity! Something even spirits can't do?)"

"That's right, that's the issue here. I've never heard of exorcising without a purification chant."

Hmm, since I've never seen a person or a human with accumulated impurities, I haven't fully grasped the concept of impurities. I thought of it as a spiritual bad thing, but if what I saw earlier was considered impurity, then for me, it's a physical bad thing.

Magic does have its reasons, after all. But what I did just now couldn't be explained even by myself.

No need to complicate things, though, right?

"Just because I could see and touch it means I could remove it, I guess."

"Is there such a ridiculous story? How did you feel when you touched that impurity?"

"It was sticky and cold."

Hermes explained the process of his diagnostics. By placing his hand around the base of my neck and extending his senses into my body, he could feel a cold, sticky substance similar to what I felt inside my belly.

Because of that, it was confirmed that what I removed earlier was indeed impurity.

"I'm surprised by Sheriel being able to visually perceive impurity."

"I never imagined it would turn out to be such a difficult situation... I thought the master was just a delicate and clumsy being."

The master of the forest stood up straight, repeatedly kicking their now clean feet backward. I thought they might attack with their antlers since they're a deer, but it seems kicking is also their specialty. The thinned hind legs bulked up considerably.

As expected of an all-attribute being, without impurities, their self-healing ability is quite high. I don't know if muscles grow from healing, though.

"More importantly, you mentioned there was a magical creature earlier, right? Did you resolve it by kicking it away?"

"(No, I kicked it just to escape from being engulfed. We don't possess the means to purify magical creatures.)"

"Then where is it now?"

"(It's deep within the forest. I've told everyone to stay away, but it's probably still moving slowly.)"

Magical creatures wander seeking magic. This forest, home to many magical beasts, seems tense due to the appearance of magical creatures. Hermes straightened his posture and turned to the master of the forest.

"We'll head for an extermination mission with Sergio tomorrow."

"(I see, much appreciated. Thank you, humans.)"

"Purifying magical creatures is the responsibility of humans blessed by the gods. I apologize for not realizing it until now."

After bidding farewell to the master of the forest and the fairies, we decided to return to the mansion. Since we were quite deep in the forest, Hermes called for Guri-chan.

"Guri-chan, is it okay for the three of us to ride together?"

Growling sound

"A couple of adults can ride, so it's fine."

And so, the three of us rode on Guri-chan's back and soared into the sky above the forest. The vast expanse of green carpet spread below seemed endless. In the opposite direction of the mansion, I felt a heavy, gloomy air. Could that be the presence of the magical creature?

"The Devil's Forest is larger than this, right?"

"Yeah, flying over the forest is prohibited, so I don't know the whole area. If you head further north, it connects to the Devil's Forest. The entire west of Beriard is the Devil's Forest."

Recalling the map of this country I learned in history, I tried to pinpoint our location. Considering we were deeper into the forest, it seemed to be in the direction of the Devil's Forest. Perhaps it was moving towards there, seeking magic.

Returning to the mansion and telling Sergio about our adventure in the forest, he had the biggest smile I'd seen on this trip. Is monster extermination such an event that lifts one's spirits so much?

"I was bored, so this is perfect!"

Even though Sergio was the one who proposed going on this trip, what does he mean by being bored?

Despite all that happened, I sighed, realizing that ultimately, nothing beats the thrill of a battle.