Chapter 58: A Quick Reunion (2)

“Is Mr. Ian, by any chance, a virgin?”

At my question, everyone blinked in surprise. However, since this was a matter concerning Karen’s colleague, she was the first to regain her composure.

“Well, I don’t really know about that.”

“It’s okay. We can start finding out now.”

I took out the unicorn dagger and placed it on Ian’s arm. There was no reaction at all. Nada.

“Oh. Mr. Ian is not a virgin. Well, it makes sense. Serving the goddess of love, he must have had many opportunities.”

“……”

Karen closed her eyes tightly as if she had learned something she wished she hadn’t. But it was already too late!

Just as you can’t turn a non-virgin back into a virgin, the fact that Ian was not a virgin was something that couldn’t be forgotten…!

Shaking her head vigorously to regain her senses, Karen asked in a trembling voice.

“What, what is this that makes it possible to discern whether he is a virgin or not? And why on earth is the matter of purity important…”

As she spoke, Karen lightly tapped the dagger with her fingertip. The blade momentarily shone brightly.

“You’re a virgin.”

“……!”

She stiffened in surprise, and I shrugged my shoulders, explaining.

“This dagger is made from a unicorn’s horn. That’s why it can lend the power of a unicorn to those who are maintaining their purity. The power of healing and purification.”

“Ah!”

Karen nodded as if she finally understood. However, her expression soon darkened again.

“But in other words, this means Ian cannot be healed with this dagger.”

“So it appears. Could you explain the details now? We’re in a temple, not just anywhere. We should be able to lift most curses here.”

“You’re right. Moreover, Ian and I are inquisitors who were injured in the line of duty, so we qualify for additional support. However, this isn’t a typical curse. In fact, it might not even be a curse at all.”

“What?”

Karen gives me a wry smile as I look at her, puzzled.

“As you know, the primary duty of an inquisitor is to deal with apostates who tarnish the name of the goddess.”

“Thinking back, when we first met, you came to the shop because you wanted to inquire about One Who Devours the Twilight from Ellie.”

“Yes, I can’t divulge all the details, but Ian and I were tracking them after learning they were plotting something.”

“So, you confronted them this time?”

“Yes. Thanks to Brother Jonah’s recent help, my divine power has increased, and the blessing within me has strengthened. We managed to repel them… but in a final act of desperation, they sacrificed their followers to cast a curse.”

“Ah.”

Although One Who Devours the Twilight is a group of heretics, they are still priests in their own right, meaning they possess some divine power.

In a world where gods are real, it might seem absurd to speak of a heretic possessing divine power…

The goddess of love is currently focusing her energy on tuning the labyrinth from its very depths. That’s why her influence on the surface has weakened.

It’s easy to spill water but hard to gather it back up. In the same way, it’s easy to bestow divine power or blessings but difficult to take them back.

That’s why the divine power of those in One Who Devours the Twilight is distorted but not gone. They see this as undeniable proof of their righteousness.

…The real reason, however, was somewhat different.

A fallen priest wielding twisted divine power is a must-have!

That’s the kind of setting I added on a whim. The other reason was just tacked on later.

As I looked at the fallen Ian, I nodded.

“Now I understand a bit better. Though it’s twisted and inverted, at its core, it’s still the same divine power. It acts harmfully on the body, so it must be seen as a curse, but rather than a real curse, it’s more like a bizarre blessing that the human body can’t withstand. After all, it would have to be something like this for the temple to be unable to lift it.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“…You really are knowledgeable.”

Karen nodded with an impressed expression. Wondering if I had acted too knowledgeable, I turned my head to look around, only to find that the only one surprised was Remilly, who had guided us here.

Lydia’s expression hardened slightly, but she didn’t seem to doubt me.

Is this all because I’ve been pretending to know a little bit of this and that all along? Maintaining consistent behavior is indeed important.

Anyway, now that we know the cause, we should start looking for a way to treat Ian. It was a brief encounter, but still, watching someone you know die is a bit… unsettling, isn’t it?

“If it really isn’t a real curse, even if he was a virgin, the unicorn dagger wouldn’t have been able to do anything. By the way, what are the symptoms?”

“The flow of blood has become abnormal. The blood clots in one place, turning black as the tissue dies, or it circulates too strongly, causing the blood vessels to burst from the pressure. Even though Mr. Ian looks fine on the outside, his internal organs have necrotized several times. Right now, the other priests and I are taking turns treating him, but if this continues…”

“Ah, that’s the Blessing of Erectile Dysfunction being distorted.”

“Ere… What?”

Karen asked back with a stunned expression. It was then that I belatedly realized the mistake I had made.

“Oops, my bad. Saying it like that makes it sound like it prevents erections. It’s the opposite, actually. It’s supposed to help with getting an erection… What was the exact name again? The Blessing of Erection? No, that’s not it. Was it the Blessing of Everlasting Love or something?”

I remembered writing this setting with a chuckle, thinking about what kind of blessings would be amusing if you were a goddess of love.

In this world, men have low libido, so their stamina is also low; therefore, they need a little help to have a passionate night.

This blessing is one of those. It regulates the blood flow to the lower body… There are a few blessings related to blood flow, but if it can be cast on a man and cause such symptoms, there’s only one answer.

Admiring my perfect deduction, I was snorting through my nose when I finally noticed the reactions of those around me.

Karen was just blankly blinking, and Lydia subtly distanced herself as if she wasn’t part of the group.

“No, you’re not even kids. How can everyone react like this to an erection? It’s a bit embarrassing.”

“Is, is that so?”

“I don’t want to hear that from you, Jonah.”

Though they seemed to have a lot to say, Karen nodded for now, and Lydia gave a hollow laugh.

Sighing deeply, I slumped my shoulders.

“Haah… you all act like a bunch of lewd adults. Fine, just step aside. I’ll try to treat it.”

“What?! You can treat it?”

“Of course. To start, does Inquisitor Karen understand how those of One Who Devours the Twilight use the blessings that benefit the human body as if they were curses?”

“I’m not interested in such heretical knowledge…”

“Well, it’s better not to know. If you know, you’ll want to use it because that’s human nature. It’s just that there are issues like this one where you need to know in order to treat it.”

Saying so, I placed my hand on Ian’s chest. Let’s see, is this about right?

“It’s not like a man’s lower part grows because there’s a bone there, you know? …No, among animals, there are indeed cases of those who actually do have a bone there, but at least not in humans. It becomes hard because blood rushes there and can’t escape.”

I continued to explain to Karen, who tilted her head in confusion during this unexpected sex education lesson.

“The Blessing of Everlasting Love, essentially, regulates blood flow. It either increases the flow to the lower extremities or reduces the amount that escapes, thus facilitating easier pooling of blood. But what if we alter the position slightly?”

“Yes?”

“What if the blood pools in areas other than the lower body and fails to drain? Something problematic would occur, right?”

“…Because those organs aren’t designed to handle such stress.”

“Consider also accelerating other aspects of blood flow. Imagine the blood pressure skyrocketing, blood vessels bursting randomly, and abnormalities in the immune system causing the blood to rot.”

In simpler terms, think of it as thrombosis, hypertension, and sepsis.

Of course, if we get technical, it’s a bit different… but whatever the cause, the symptoms that appear are roughly similar.

No, perhaps it’s even more severe. Since this is not a natural occurrence but an artificially induced phenomenon by divine power, it’s akin to being forcefully pushed, with the symptoms continuously worsening.

Eventually, as Karen pointed out, despite extensive treatment, the rate of recovery can’t keep pace with the rate of deterioration, leading to tissue death.

“But, essentially, we’re dealing with abnormalities in the blood, right? Then the solution is straightforward.”

I put away the unicorn dagger and took out the carving dagger.

“Inquisitor Karen, please gather all the divine power you can muster. Miss Lydia, if you possess a high-level recovery potion or better, please bring it out. We’ll settle the expenses with Inquisitor Ian later, right?”

“All of it, you say?”

“…An inquisitor won’t be short of funds; it should be fine.”

Karen, though puzzled, began to harness her divine power, her body glowing with a faint pink hue.

Lydia also nodded, retrieving a luxurious bottle filled with a red potion from her bag.

Once everyone was ready, Karen, with focused intent, cautiously asked, “What is this coping method?”

Instead of answering, I stabbed the carving dagger into Ian’s heart.

Thud!

“It’s something like this.”

Heart reset.