The room fell silent as if doused with cold water.
The knight looked as if he had encountered the most insane person in the world on a narrow bridge, utterly dumbfounded. The magician seemed too startled to speak.
In the next moment, the magician’s mouth was half-open. I glared and shouted again.
“Don’t answer! I told you not to!”
The magician clamped his mouth shut.
I know I must look like a madman. But what can I do? It’s this damn curse. These people who have never experienced turning to stone, why do they keep answering and making a fuss!
After glaring at the two with piercing eyes (though my gaze probably wasn’t visible because of the hood), I turned away swiftly. The old man following me covered his face with his hands and muttered to himself.
“Oh, my head…”
I know, I’m embarrassed too!
The guide, thinking a real lunatic had come, glanced around furtively and walked as if running. I didn’t have the energy to explain, and I didn’t want to get tired from another conversation, so I just kept my mouth firmly shut.
We entered the innermost room. The employee knocked twice before opening the door.
“Boss, your guests have arrived. You may enter.”
Ignoring the employee, I stepped inside.
Across the large desk sat a red-haired child. The long, well-maintained hair shone brightly. There was no makeup on the face, and the clothes were just children’s wear, but the expression and atmosphere were strangely adult-like.
The child looked even smaller behind the big desk, being short and slight in stature. Could this young child be the famous informant?
As I stood there puzzled, the old man whispered to me.
“The child has been cursed to become younger. Don’t show any surprise.”
So that’s why they’re an expert on curses? But how can I trust the information from someone who can’t even lift their own curse? If the information was really useful, wouldn’t they have lifted their own curse first?
Then, the child boss invited us with a youthful voice.
“Please, have a seat.”
There were two chairs prepared opposite the desk. The old man and I each took a seat. The child glanced briefly at a paper that looked like a record sheet, then turned their gaze to me.
Green eyes that matched the red hair. The name might be Rose.
“I’ve roughly heard about it from the butler. Or should I say, I’ve noticed. Anyway, I wanted to see the condition.”
Then the child hopped off the chair. I just watched as the small figure circled the desk towards me. The child reached the other side and gently placed a soft hand on my forehead.
It felt unpleasant. How should I describe it? Like tiny metal circles traveling through every vein in my body, searching? My insides grew cold one by one.
What can they tell from this? Welcome to the mysterious world of magic.
“It’s a cunning curse. Probably other magicians wouldn’t notice the curse even if they did this.”
The child removed their hand and returned to the desk. Before the child could sit down, the old man asked eagerly.
“Is there no way to break it?”
“Wait. It seems we’ve been tricked by the same person.”
The child rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a thin book. It was so thin, it looked more like a pamphlet than a book. The child pushed it across the desk so I could reach it.
I slowly read the title of the book.
“About the Trickster?”
“Yes, the Trickster. A powerful and malicious being that can even bind magicians with a curse.”
“My curse is because of this… monster?”
The terrifying green mass on the cover looked nothing but monstrous. A sticky, mud-like body with dozens of eyes, sharp and bizarre teeth like knives.
Then the child gestured and advised.
“Turn the book over.”
I checked the back cover. There was a dapper gentleman wearing a top hat and carrying a pocket watch. A white-gloved hand slightly lifted the brim of the hat.
“A monster yet a gentleman, a cannibal yet a kind neighbor, a fairy that brings fortune yet a demon that leads to ruin.”
The child continued in a dry voice.
“I don’t know how you got entangled with the Trickster, but it’s going to be tough. How long is the curse?”
“One year.”
“Well, that’s a relief. Try to survive it.”
“…What?”
I asked in a dazed voice. The child repeated as if I couldn’t understand.
“Try to survive. There’s nothing you can do, the curse is cast.”
“There’s nothing I can do?”
“What else can you do?”
“Can’t we find this Trickster or something and kill it?”
“Kill the Trickster?”
The child laughed loudly. At that moment, I thought that perhaps they were much older than I had guessed. The laugh was strange, filled with detachment, anger, frustration, and sorrow. The voice was youthful, but it didn’t sound like a young person’s laughter.
“You can’t kill the Trickster. Killing the Trickster is like killing yourself. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I don’t understand.”
What a leisurely riddle.
“The Trickster is a kind of variable. An irony of fate. Have you ever seen two people who married for love but can’t stand to kill each other? Or enemies who suddenly fall in love? The Trickster is an existence like that contradiction.”
“…So it’s not a living creature?”
The child looked exasperated.
Suddenly, I felt very wronged. They might be a magician or an expert in magical theory, but I’m just a person who lives by doing business! How should I know what a Trickster is?
The child continued as if explaining to a newborn.
“It’s a living monster, but not an ordinary creature. You can’t kill or revive it. So just accept it as fate. It’s only a one-year curse, right?”
“But still…”
“If it were an ordinary curse, I would have tried to help, but not with the Trickster. Just go. And don’t forget to pay.”
They want money for doing nothing.
As a business person, I was too stunned to respond. The child glanced at my face and added as if doing me a favor.
“But you can take the book.”
“Is there really no way?”
The old man asked earnestly, but the child just shook their head. Their face was full of an old person’s worries. But the next moment, youthful joy and anticipation filled their young face.
“Think positively. Maybe the curse will bring you a good gift?”
“…”
I wasted my time coming here to hear nonsense. I’ve already been branded a madman by a magician and a knight because of this curse.
“Yes, I understand.”
I answered briefly and stood up. The child waved their hand.
“Take care.”
“Goodbye.”
Before the child could respond further, I quickly ran out and slammed the door.
The receptionist looked surprised that it was over so soon. Not wanting to get tired for no reason, I ignored them and left the payment to the old man. It was a waste of money, but I couldn’t argue since I hadn’t heard anything worthwhile.
The old man held the Trickster book given by the child. I wonder why he took it. Did the old man also feel it was a waste of money?
The magician and knight who had been waiting sat up and fixed their gaze on me. The knight’s eyes clearly read.
‘That madman.’
I ignored them too. After hearing such pessimistic advice to survive the year, I had no energy to feel embarrassed or angry.
The magician’s reaction was different from the knight’s. He looked at the old man and me, then fixed his eyes on the book in the old man’s hand.
About the Trickster, he glanced at the short title and seemed about to say something. As the magician’s mouth opened, I got up and left. I had no intention of engaging with that answer-addict.
“Miss, let’s go together!”
The old man hurriedly followed me. Although I was past the age of crying, I wanted to throw myself into the old man’s arms and cry like a child.
“I won’t die turning into stone, will I…?”
“Of course not. Let’s just endure it for exactly one year.”
“Alright…”
I trudged towards the carriage. Even as I half-lay on the plush seat, a sigh escaped me. The old man was engrossed in the Trickster book even in the carriage. It wasn’t many pages, but he read it so intently.
As I looked at the book cover, the magician’s strange gaze came to mind.
“Old man, did you see earlier? That handsome magician was staring hard at this book.”
“Yes, I felt it. The gaze was piercing. I don’t know who he is, but he’s not an ordinary magician, that’s for sure. But since you did that…”
He hesitated, looking around nervously.
“I’m frustrated too, that’s why! Isn’t he really strange? Why does he keep answering? Anyway, both the Duke of Daira and that magician, why do they act the same, unable to answer, as if they’re consumed by resentment…”
Huh?
Then I remembered the sword that magician had… Isn’t the Duke of Daira also a magic swordsman? He said he was coming to the capital today, didn’t he? The Duke of Daira also said he would be coming to the capital soon.
…Did I tell a valuable customer to shut up?