"Hmm... M-Mastaa, no... this isn't the kind of situation where I should be riling you up... Hah!? ...A dream?"
Tinno Shade was a Hunter. Thanks to her big sister's training and experience, she had been forged into someone who could respond instantly to any situation, no matter how exhausted she was.
She sat up from the sweat-dampened bed. At the same time, yesterday's memories came flooding back, and she couldn't help but clutch her head and let out a long breath.
It was, without exaggeration, a feat on the level of a god—something she couldn't begin to comprehend even while watching it unfold right in front of her.
The actions up to that point had been completely incomprehensible, but the events inside Mimi-kun at the very end were even more so.
She had understood the situation well enough up to a certain point, but in those final moments—while Tinno was desperately fleeing—everything had ended in just a matter of minutes.
The last thing Tinno saw was a torrent of black water rushing through the mysterious city inside Mimi-kun, and her Master waving at her with a completely relaxed expression.
That attack was—she wasn't even sure the word "attack" was adequate anymore—it was absolutely not something within the realm of what human hands could accomplish. It was an overwhelming, mystical power that wouldn't be enough even to handle with an entire army.
That a single person could deal with something like that was, frankly, unbelievable. Even Tinno, who always cheered on her Master's actions with a sense of awe, was honestly put off... no, quite seriously disturbed.
Tinno had assumed her Master was sealing the curse inside Mimi-kun, but... looking back, Mastaa never actually said yes or no to my suggestion...
She had known from the start that their skill gap was enormous, but reaching that level was something Tinno—despite being told she had talent—couldn't imagine achieving no matter how many more years... no, decades of training she undertook. Besides, the opponent was someone that no other member of the Mourning Specter had been able to handle.
Conversely, she couldn't understand why her Master had dragged the curse all over the place and pulled it to that extent. Surely it wasn't just to subject everyone to trials...
She had endured terrible ordeals up to now, but yesterday's curse incident was unquestionably top-tier among them. It had been physically grueling, but the mental stress was even worse. She had thought she was pretty used to hellish situations after going through so many trials as her Master's junior, but apparently such terrifying things still existed in this world. The world was far too vast.
She didn't remember much of what happened after being rescued from Mimi-kun. She had been at her physical and mental limits, completely in a state of shock.
At that time, Tinno had been like a living zombie, and all she could do was scurry away from her Master, who had just accomplished something of terrifying magnitude. People fear what they can't understand, and that was probably her instinct making the choice.
She was incredibly sleepy. She wanted to just fall back asleep in bed, but she couldn't do that.
Her body was still heavy, but at least she had recovered enough to stand and walk. After the disgraceful escape she had put on display yesterday, she needed to redeem her honor immediately, or she might be cast aside.
Besides, her Master was surely worried about her. She must be worried. Tinno hoped she was worried.
Being able to wake up in the morning as usual was probably the result of all that rigorous training.
She scolded her still-slightly-broken heart, took a shower, and quickly changed clothes. Tinno knew well how to avoid running away when you wanted to flee—you push forward with momentum.
She walked outside. From citizens to merchants, from Hunters to knights, the imperial capital was buzzing with talk of the curse.
That curse had an aura so intense that even ordinary people could feel it, and her Master had chased it all across the capital—of course it would become a topic of conversation.
Listening to the rumors as she went, she entered the Clan House. It was somewhat surreal that the Clan House had mostly retained its original form despite such a powerful curse having run rampant inside it.
She had heard that curses born from the thoughts of living beings generally didn't affect non-living things, and that must have been true.
And the fact that Tinno, who was a living being, had been caught up in that curse and was still perfectly alive meant... in other words... her Master was a god!
Steel her resolve, she climbed the stairs to the Clan Master's office.
Inside the office, the Master—who had just pulled off something incredible yesterday—was confronting Mimi-kun while clutching a large staff.
"Alright, Mimi-kun! Repeat after me: Go, o, od, mo, rn, in, g!!"
"Mastaa, please, don't do anything that weird."
Tinno wanted to say that her Master's playful side was one of her good qualities, but with such a drastic gap, her emotions couldn't keep up.
The Master noticed Tinno and smiled while still holding the staff.
"Ah, Tinno. Good morning—were you okay?"
"Y-Yes. Of course... I'm glad you're safe, Mastaa. By the way, what are you...?"
You seem to be talking to a treasure chest, but... maybe Tinno was still a bit tired.
The staff the Master was holding was the one she had seen displayed in her private quarters. She didn't know what abilities it had, but it was only the day after the curse incident—surely it was some incredible item that Tinno couldn't even imagine.
To Tinno's timid, upward-glancing question, the Master answered cheerfully.
"I was wondering if I could have a conversation with Mimi-kun. It seems like a pretty impressive treasure chest..."
"I... I see..."
She couldn't understand at all. Mimi-kun did have a mouth, but...
Besides, the Master—who had dealt with the curse incident (while scattering trials everywhere)—should be the most sought-after person in the imperial capital right now. It wouldn't be strange if nobles or the Explorer's Guild called her in as a key witness... yet here she was, showing up at the Clan House first thing. Why was she just leisurely hanging around here?
For some reason, her heart started pounding. This was definitely not love.
She had heard that becoming a fully realized Treasure Hunter meant nothing could shake you, but when on earth would Tinno reach that state?
The Master spoke to Tinno, who was more in a state of resignation than enlightenment.
"Man, I'm really in a bind. After all that, I've been getting contacted from all over... Eva got snatched away from me."
"Oh!?"
So that explained why she was leisurely talking to a treasure chest.
The Sub Clan Master Eva was someone who, much like Tinno, endured her fair share of trials. She rarely faced life-threatening danger, but she was constantly being used as a proxy without proper information-sharing in these masterful schemes, so it was hard to say which of them had it easier.
And those words hit home. Tinno asked, trembling.
"Eva is standing in for you—which is to say... Mastaa, are you busy!?"
"Ah, yeah, yeah, that's right. I'm busy... There's nothing I can really do even if I answer the summons, so... Hmm, I think they have good intentions, but without sound, 'Round World' just doesn't work."
The Master was muttering to herself while staring at Mimi-kun, who wouldn't so much as budge. But Tinno wasn't paying attention to that.
Nasty thoughts kept swirling through her mind. Things were never fine when her Master said she was busy.
Could it be that a disaster even worse than that curse debacle was approaching?
She couldn't imagine a monster more powerful than that Spiritfolk of a curse—but could it be that the incident wasn't over yet?
"M-Mastaa... um, about yesterday's curse—"
"Ah... it's right there, you know? Elisa took the gemstone, but—"
The Master pointed to the desk. There, in front of a teddy bear wearing a cross pendant, sat a black staff and sword.
On the teddy's arm was the ring Tinno had obtained inside Mimi-kun and presented as a gift, forced onto it.
"A five-piece curse set!?"
"I have to return the staff and sword, though... in case anyone asks."
She was completely playing around with cursed artifacts that had caused chaos throughout the entire capital. The most dangerous-looking curse gemstone was gone, apparently, but this was still insane.
It was probably a display of composure, but watching from the side was terrible for her heart. Her heart was already racing—how much more did her Master intend to make it pound?
Then, the Master suddenly looked at Tinno as if she had just thought of something.
"Ah, right. I had something to tell you, Tinno—"
"Y-Yes. What is it...?"
Her already-limited heartbeat accelerated further. At this rate, she'd end up acquiring her big sister's "Peerless Shadow."
That technique of intentionally accelerating your heartbeat to explosive speed was a terrifying one—if your training wasn't sufficient, your heart could burst.
Her body was hot. Hot, yet cold. She was way too tense. Just as Tinno looked like she was about to collapse, the Master opened her mouth to continue.
At that moment, the door to the Clan Master's office burst open.
"Kai-chan, it's terrible! Come quickly!"
The one who burst into the room was her big sister. Tinno couldn't help but shudder, but the woman didn't so much as glance at her, rushing straight to the Master.
Her big sister was always short-tempered, but seeing her this panicked was rare. Even the Master's eyes went wide.
"W-What happened?"
"Just come on, hurry!"
Pulled by the hand, the Master looked around in a fluster. Her gaze fell on Tinno, but if even the childhood-friend Master couldn't stop her big sister, there was no way Tinno could.
"Fine, let's go! Tinno, come too."
"Eh? Ah, y-yes..."
The staff was practically shoved into her arms. Presumably she was meant to bring it.
It seemed like her big sister was only calling for the Master, but once told to come along, she had no choice.
Dragged by her big sister, with the Master following along with a troubled expression, Tinno clutched the quite heavy staff and hurried after them.
§ § § Pulled by Rieds, who had suddenly appeared in the Clan Master's office, they walked through the imperial capital, which was still abuzz with talk of the curse incident.
Fortunately, it didn't seem to have spread that I was the one behind the curse incident. If word got out that a Level 8 Hunter had caused a commotion, that would be a problem.
But since I had left the cleanup to Eva, things should settle down soon. I should always leave these public-facing matters to Eva.
Everyone watched us as we walked by, as if being dragged along. Behind us, Tinno—who had been roped in by her refusal to be left alone—was tottering along, carrying "Round World."
...Why did you bring the staff? That thing's heavy, you know.
Rieds dragged me to the Sword Saint's dojo—the place we'd been visiting rather frequently lately.
Something had happened. The half-destroyed gate was blocked off with "No Entry" tape, and citizens had gathered around.
Several knights were discussing things with grave expressions. Rieds pushed through them and guided me inside.
And then—seeing the scene spread across the spacious dojo, I was struck speechless.
Across the wide outdoor training grounds stood countless stone statues shaped like swordsmen. They were extraordinarily lifelike, so precise they looked like they might start moving at any moment.
At the bizarre sight, Tinno let out a small shriek. Taking a deep breath, she cautiously approached one of them.
A stern expression, eyes wide open. The sword in its hand was no mere stone—it was the real thing. It was crafted to an almost tastelessly high standard.
Tinno grabbed my sleeve and said, her face pale.
"C-Could this be...!? Please tell me it isn't..."
"...I-It's quite a well-made statue, isn't it..."
...When I came here the other day while being chased, there weren't any statues, were there? Or was I imagining things?
I tapped on the statues with a knock-knock, checking them one by one. Every single one was genuinely lifelike, and no two were alike.
In fact, they were completely human. I didn't want to believe it, but even I could tell.
Humans had become stone. How strange.
"W-Well, this is probably just one of those things that happens all the time."
"What!? E-Eh!? This happens all the time!?"
Tinno's eyes went wide as she stared at me with those shimmering, beautiful irises.
Well... you know, in myths and legends, it comes up pretty often...
I mean, it's like, you can probably imagine the cause. We literally brought it here the other day.
"Kai-chan, over here, over here!"
Rieds waved me over. I was feeling nauseous, but I headed that way anyway.
The number of statues wasn't ten or twenty. I had been told there was barely any damage—what a scam.
There, what I found was a stone cage. Inside it was a statue of Luke, gripping the bars and roaring with his mouth wide open. Nearby was a statue of the Sword Saint, face taut, gripping his sword—presented as a set. I had more or less expected this, but seeing it with my own eyes made my breath catch for an instant.
Staring into Luke Saikol's eyes from up close, wide open as they were. But those eyes would never meet mine.
R-Right... that curse had said something about making sure he could never hold a sword again...
"Kai-chan, do you think Luke is still alive in there?"
"...W-Well, let's at least put a mask on him so dust doesn't pile up inside his mouth."