3.

After running for another three days, we arrived at a village that, as Jin said, was reputed to be the wealthiest in the vicinity. Its name was “The Sole Village.” It was bustling like any large village, with a considerable number of people, but it had one more special feature: the presence of a teleportation mage.

Teleportation magic was an extremely rare skill, managed directly by the empire, and teleportation mages were dispatched to various places, where they would cast the spell for a hefty fee from those who visited the location. Therefore, teleportation magic could be considered the exclusive domain of wealthy high-level individuals or nobles.

“It’s a Grade S rare curse…”

The priest, after casting the spell with his hand on my forehead, removed it and spoke.

“If it were Grade A, it might be difficult to confirm the presence of the curse with magic, but from Grade S onwards, it becomes challenging.”

Then why did they confirm it with magic now? As someone who had announced being afflicted by a Grade S curse from the beginning, it seemed absurd, but I quietly waited for the conversation to continue.

“However, assuming you’re afflicted by a Grade S curse, you can attempt purification.”

Even though it was true that I was afflicted by a Grade S curse from the start… It was unavoidable since the curse couldn’t be confirmed with magic.

“The purification cost would be around 1,000 gold.”

Here, too, it was 1,000 gold… It was still an enormous amount, but it seemed that the costs didn’t vary greatly between temples. I had earned 100 gold by selling the Grand King Kuku’s Wing that Kellyan had said wasn’t needed, but I still had a long way to go before reaching 1,000 gold. The priest, noticing my slightly melancholic expression, added a shocking statement.

“The 1,000 gold I mentioned is the fee for one purification session. You’ll need a minimum of ten sessions for it to be effective, meaning you’ll have to pay a total of 10,000 gold.”

…Excuse me?

“A… a thousand gold?”

“And did you think purifying a rare curse wouldn’t cost that much?”

“Well, in other temple towns, they said it’s 1,000 gold for ten purifications, right?”

“I’m not sure which temples those are, but they certainly don’t compare to the purification power of our Tikane Temple.”

Was the cost much higher because the purification effect was better? It was frustrating not being able to compare their purification abilities since I hadn’t seen them in action.

“It’s not the time to haggle over the cost. Rare curses can be excruciatingly painful. We can completely heal you.”

“But I don’t have enough money.”

“How much do you have?”

“Uh, a hundred and… um…”

“Then please leave.”

The priest lost all interest before I could finish speaking. Well, if they’re asking for a thousand gold and the other party has barely a hundred, it’s understandable that they’d lose interest.

In fact, knowing that I didn’t have enough money even as I came to the supposedly largest temple in the village, I hadn’t had high expectations. Still, a thousand gold seemed excessive. Whether it was because of a significant difference in purification power or because this priest was a scammer, I couldn’t tell…

“Leave a confirmation fee of 50 silver before you go,” the priest said to me as I was about to leave the temple.

“A confirmation fee? You didn’t mention any additional costs.”

You didn’t even ask for magical confirmation in the first place, did you? But the priest unfairly cast me as a thief when I protested.

“When we’ve used magic for you, it’s only natural that there would be a cost, don’t you think? Are you saying you won’t pay now?”

As the priest shouted in a particularly brisk tone, knights in white armor began striding towards us from afar. The weapons they carried on their backs were longer and larger than their own height, looking ominous enough that one swing could tear a person apart.

I hurriedly took out 50 silver and placed it on the table before leaving the temple. Fortunately, the knights didn’t follow me after I paid.

Scammers… Did they build this grand temple by swindling money like this? If it was Sayiris, she would have likely performed the confirmation magic without charging a fee. Of course, there wouldn’t be a need to ask her for such a favor.

Although I hadn’t visited with high expectations, the cost was more than I had anticipated.

The important thing was that neither this temple, which demanded a thousand gold, nor the summer temple, which demanded a thousand gold, gave a definite answer that they could purify me. They just said they could try, that it might work, but no one gave a guarantee that they could remove my curse. I didn’t have that kind of money, but if I paid a thousand gold and still wasn’t purified, it would be incredibly bleak.

Apart from what happened inside, the pure white exterior of the Tikane Temple was very sacred. As I weakly walked along the path of the extending wall, I stupidly exclaimed when I saw someone standing at the end. Even though he was just standing quietly at the beginning of the alley, he also looked at me when I looked at him.

“Kelian…?”

As I approached and called his name, he reached out a hand to me. Why is he extending his hand? For a moment, I was puzzled by the gesture, but when our hands touched slightly, Kelian’s lips curved up. Ah, I see.

But this warrior is being reckless again in broad daylight. Fortunately, unlike the completely susceptible others, I had developed a slight immunity, yet those without any immunity were captivated by his small smile.

“I’ve come to take you.”

“Thank you. But why the hand…?”

“Do you dislike it?”

“No.”

It seemed as though he thought it was okay as he continued to tightly hold my hand, and I found myself walking hand in hand with Kelian almost by accident. Of course, I didn’t really mind. Instead, I tried to suppress the excitement that bubbled up, feeling almost like I was in some kind of romance, unable to differentiate time and place. Romance? That couldn’t be…

“It seems you had some business at the temple.”

He spoke while we walked hand in hand. How did he know I had visited the temple? Well, I guess it wasn’t hard to guess. There was only the temple in the direction I was coming from.

“Oh, yes. Just some prayers.”

“Were you a follower of the Tikane god?”

“A follower… Not really, I just went there once.”

Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be a topic he was particularly interested in, as he nodded his head without delving deeper.

Our destination was a large inn located in the middle of a street filled with shops. It was an inn I could never afford to stay at alone, but with the wealth of the warrior party, there were no issues. None of them, not even Dain, seemed to mind me spending money.

Of course, it wasn’t a situation where I could freely spend money since I didn’t know when I would need to visit the temple again… But I didn’t have much money to spend in the first place. With that thought in mind, I stole a glance at Kelian’s profile.

Compared to the temples that demanded a thousand or ten thousand gold without giving a definite assurance of healing from the curse, Kelian, who could alleviate my pain for days with just a single kiss, seemed even more remarkable. Ironically, he didn’t even know that he was the one providing the purification.

Kelian, who had seemed somewhat gloomy since the knights sent by the Lord of the Three Seasons had arrived, now seemed to be doing better.

“Should I let go now?”

As it seemed we were almost at the inn, I withdrew my hand from his first. While Kelian willingly let go of my hand, he looked at me as if asking for a reason.

“Other people might see us. Our, uh, companions.”

“Is it not okay if they see?”

“Of course…”

Doesn’t it matter…? Not…? I had naturally thought it wasn’t okay, but now that Kelian, who is in charge of the warriors in the party, casually agreed, I suddenly felt confused.

“If you want, then yes.”

Kelian said that amidst the countless gazes of passersby. Despite his gruff tone, the atmosphere seemed to have become slightly awkward. Perhaps it was just my imagination!

As we got closer to the inn we were staying at, there were many people on the street, most of whom couldn’t take their eyes off Kelian. Some might have recognized him as a warrior, but it seemed that there were more who were just admiring his face.

For now, there was no one we knew around. Sayiris would be at the inn, and Barkrud said he was going to repair his weapon, so he wouldn’t be on this shopping street. Jenin and Dain had decided to go to the information guild, and although I didn’t know exactly where they went, it seemed they weren’t around here.

“Kelian.”

When I called his name and stopped walking, he also stopped and looked at me.

“Yes, Lady?”

I was about to dash forward, but conscious of the surrounding gazes, I quickly grabbed his arm and pulled him to a corner. It was better than walking in the middle of the street, but the gazes still followed us. It was a bit scary to enter a dark alley, so I decided to compromise and stay here. Of course, with Kelian by my side, there was nothing to fear.

I reached out and gently lowered Kelian’s cheeks, which were looking at me with confusion. Pat, pat. Not on the lips, just around them, I kissed him twice before letting go. I didn’t know why it had to be twice. I just did it.

Kelian seemed a bit surprised. It must have been strange for the woman who had asked him to stop holding hands because others might see, suddenly kissed him. Or maybe he was surprised by the sloppy kiss. There was a possibility for the latter, too, which saddened me.

“Shall we go now?”

I casually started walking, pretending nothing had happened. Even though I knew Kelian was following, I couldn’t bring myself to look at his face and just walked ahead.

“Lady.”

This time, he called me. I was afraid of what he might say, but I couldn’t pretend not to hear him calling my name. I replied with a voice drowned in embarrassment.

“Yes.”

“I want to kiss you.”

“….”

I almost heard a sigh escape me. I stood still, turned around, and faced him.

“I did. Just a moment ago.”

“This time, I want to. Fair enough.”

What kind of competition is this? Fairness? I was incredulous, but I had my own problem. It was the corner of my mind that couldn’t be controlled by reason, buzzing with excitement at his words. The kisses we had shared before had been so wonderful that just hearing him suggest it now made my heart flutter. Even though I had heard such words from him after coming back from the temple, the purification of the curse was still on the back burner.

“But…”

We were almost at the inn…. Hesitating with a threadbare strand of reason, he calmly agreed.

“Alright.”