Chapter 816 – 7th Wish (Part 1)

000

This is the 7th time I have come to my senses at the entrance to the market street.

After completing the now familiar task of sending Amelia and Sasha away, we gather under the tree with Noctis and Aisha and talk about the strategy proposed by Layla.

＂So… In order to make the wish of the old shaman inside that cylinder come true. Is this a plan to have Cleon’s colleague possess the Great Priestess?”

When Noctis asks Cleon if what he understood is correct, she nods in the affirmative.

“That’s right. And, the Rakshasa within me will take Nayuta away from Kuon. If you do that, there will be no subject to wish for, and loops will no longer occur.”

But Aisha answers Cleon’s words.

“Ha, but. Is this really okay? Possessing a person with a ghost means…”

“Yes, it is no different from making a noble person. Like you and me. But don’t worry, Lila said there’s a very small chance she’ll lose her temper.”

When Cleon answers as if he understands Aisha’s concerns, Aisha’s expression darkens.

There have been many times when I have thought that it would have been better if I had not had reason when I became a nobleman. Noblemen are objects of fear and give themselves destructive power and impulses that are difficult to suppress.

As someone who has lived as a noble since her birth until now, it was difficult for her to understand Cleon’s feelings about having to voluntarily make her companion a noble.

“… Let’s go to the temple first. Because it won’t start unless you meet and talk to Kuon.”

When Cleon speaks to her, her worry visible in her eyes, Noctis nods and follows Cleon.

As for Aisha, she seemed a little hesitant, but she soon came to her senses and chased after Cleon, heading toward the temple.

001

It wasn’t that far from the market street to the temple, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a place you could just enter if you wanted to.

At night, the trees in Asteris bloom to suppress ghosts, and they release magical power. Of course, there are some that borrow the power of the spirit vein flowing through Asteris, but the magical energy overflows excessively and destroys the trees. This was because the shamans were controlling their magical power in their respective positions to prevent transformation.

Therefore, only those who are allowed to enter the temple at night are in very urgent situations or have made an appointment to visit after receiving such notice in advance.

No matter how much Cleon is in the position of leading exorcism, he would not have made such a promise ─

“I’m sorry, but you cannot enter the temple at this time.”

─, It was the first time in a long time that I was denied entry at the entrance.

Unable to do anything about the guards who were looking at him with their spears crossed, Cleon first retreated from the spot.

＂Cleon, can’t you go in too?＂

“Ah. I think you have to make a promise in advance that you will visit sometime. I can’t help it. The only thing I can do is ask to be allowed to enter from the inside.”

When Cleon closes his eyes while talking like that and tries to convey his voice to Kuon through the imprint-

The thread of magical power that was extending out bounced back as if it had been blocked by something.

＂…＂

He didn’t give up and tried again, but when the same result was repeated, Cleon couldn’t tell whether it was the temple’s barrier that was repelling his magic, or Kuon himself.

“We’re in trouble.”

He tried his best to find a way to escape the loop, but Cleon sighed at the fact that he couldn’t get close to it.

I thought about using a curtain of darkness to hide myself and my group and sneak in, but since the inside of the temple is a place overflowing with purifying magic, I couldn’t use it because the deception using black magic would also be weak and easily detected. Br〉

“The guards are just faithfully carrying out the orders they received. It seems difficult to convince them…”

＂As expected, explaining it to the shrine maiden or priest inside…＂

While Cleon and Noctis were talking and thinking about a way, Aisha thought for a while and then spoke as if she had decided on something.

“… If it’s an emergency, you can go inside, right?”

＂… Aisha?＂

When Cleon looked up at her, feeling some power in her voice, she took off the headband that was wrapped around her head.

Then, she showed her own small horn growing there.

＂If we say that a nobleman who has been cursed with blood has been captured, wouldn’t it be enough to call it an emergency…?＂

＂!＂

Both Cleon and Noctis could not help but be surprised by Aisha’s words.

During the Five Elements Festival, a nobleman cursed by blood is born by accepting several ghosts collected through the bloodshed at once.

It is certainly true as she said, but nobles cursed with blood are sealed within the temple and cannot come out until a cure is found.

Considering the cost you had to pay to get inside, I had no choice but to say that it was a very risky method.

However, it was a fact that Aisha also knew well.

That’s why Aisha spoke while holding Cleon’s hand.

＂I also have no intention of being sealed inside there for the rest of my life… So. “I’m leaving it to Cleon.”

Even if you go inside with Aisha, who revealed her identity, you can come out again.

It was a decision to get out of this loop.

Cleon made eye contact with Aisha for a moment, and then she nodded as if she understood.

“… Okay. If that’s your resolve. I will definitely find a way to get out.”

In response to Aisha’s words, which showed her determination to sacrifice herself with her strong will, Cleon nodded her head.

Once the strategy was decided, what had to be done was simple.

First, use her magic on Aisha to put her to sleep and tie her with her rope.

It was necessary to go that far in order to let people know that they were under arrest.

And when Cleon approached the entrance of the temple once again, carrying her on his back, her guards looked more surprised than before.

“Oh, didn’t you come here a little while ago?”

＂By subduing the cursed… Nobleman.＂

When Cleon said that and showed Aisha on her back, the guards held their breath.

＂In a short time… Have you captured the nobleman?＂

They seemed surprised that Cleon had captured the nobleman and brought him back less than 5 minutes after being kicked out of the entrance, and they looked quite embarrassed.

Cleon thinks it’s a good thing that he added an illusion to Aisha’s face just in case, making her look like a different person than before.

“I heard that nobles must be sealed inside the temple. Is it okay if I go inside?”

“Of course. You can tell it to the shaman or priest inside.”

Cleon felt sorry for being deceived, but he thought that this was unavoidable in order to end the loop, and passed between the guards who were out of the way.

If Noctis tries to follow in Cleon’s footsteps-

“I’m sorry, but only one person can go in here.”

＂In order to prevent the ritual of suppressing ghosts during the night of Asteris from being interrupted, the order is to keep as many people out of the temple as possible.＂

Noctis looked embarrassed for a moment when he saw his path blocked before his eyes and Cleon beyond.

Cleon also couldn’t leave her alone.

When the time comes, Tindalos will come.

In that case, Noctis, who could see her Tindalos but had no power to fight, would not be able to protect her.

However, it wasn’t that Noctis didn’t feel anything when he saw Aisha’s determination just before to sacrifice herself.

“It’s okay, Cleon. I can at least run away until Cleon comes back!”

Cleon still looked worried at her words, but perhaps to strengthen Cleon’s resolve to move forward, Noctis continued to walk away from the entrance to the temple.

“Wait a minute, Noctis…!”

Even the words of Cleon, who tried to call her out, were so far away that she could not hear them.

Cleon, who watched her leaving back for a moment, clenched her fists as if he had no choice, and like Noctis and Aisha, he strengthened his resolve and moved her legs.

Climbing the stairs into the temple, I finally arrived at the entrance of the temple, where I saw shamans and priests controlling the magical power of the trees spread throughout Asteris by casting spells here and there.

‘That’s incredible concentration…’

Previously, it was said that there exists a kind of trance state in which Kuon receives the voice of the divine tree, but perhaps they are also in a similar situation now.

And assisting the shamans and priests who were showing such concentration were apprentice shamans who had not yet reached their age.

They move around the temple to keep the ritual intact, scooping up water and bringing it to the side of their predecessors, transporting those who have collapsed due to depletion of magical energy, and acting as messengers so that the next runner can take their place.

I couldn’t help but feel clearly that if so many people from the temple were not mobilized, Asteris during the festival would be in danger.

At that time, one of the apprentice shamans who discovered Cleon, who should not have entered this place, approached her.

＂… The protagonist of the exorcism? Why, at this hour… Unless it is urgent, you cannot come in.”

Hearing the voice of the woman wearing a fox mask, Cleon realized that she was Nagi, an apprentice shrine maiden he had met several times in the temple, and was talking while showing Aisha on her back, just as she showed it to the guard at the entrance. .

“I subdued the nobleman who was cursed with blood. I heard that if this happens, it will not be a ritual to purify her, but it will be necessary to seal her.”

＂…! Excuse me. Clearly, it was an urgent matter. This way.”

Following her guidance, Cleon was guided to the place in the temple to seal the nobles.

After carefully passing by the shamans and priests who were mindlessly concentrating on the ritual, the place we arrived at was an even more alien place even in the temple.

While she was coming here, she felt as if she had passed through several barriers.

Perhaps, she thought, without her guidance, it might be difficult for her to get here or go back outside, and when Cleon looked around to take a look.

It felt like a kind of indoor garden, and what you could see around it were trees that had grown so much that they barely reached the ceiling.

Although it was a place to seal cursed nobles, none of the nobles were visible.

＂Where are the other nobles?＂

In response to Cleon’s question, Nagi points to the trees growing inside.

“It’s sleeping inside these trees.”

＂…＂

Her story, which reminded him of Nayuta and the end of Rakshasa, made Cleon feel goosebumps on his back.

“Could it be that you are parasitizing the tree and taking away its power?”

“… There was no such scary idea.”

In Cleon’s words, when Nagi gets close to the tree, the bark of the tree peels off as easily as paper, and inside, a ghost can be seen sleeping in a child-like position.

“These trees are special and have the ability to continually purify the objects they are wrapped in. Just enough to prevent the curse from progressing.”

＂Well, was it something like that…＂

When Cleon seemed relieved by her explanation, Nagi took out a small, shiny, jewel-like seed from a bag containing seeds he had brought from somewhere.

＂… Put the nobleman on the floor.＂

Cleon nodded his head at her words and put Aisha down on the floor.

Then, Nagi dug up the soil right next to her, planted her seed, and waved a small wand with a bell on it.

“You, the one who contains the negativity of the world and sank into the swamp of pain. May you find peace and rest for your soul here.”

After chanting, which is like a small prayer, a sprout instantly blooms from the seed, and a stem extends through the ground, gently wrapping around Aisha’s body.

As she was sleeping, she did not show any signs of distress, and just disappeared, surrounded by trees.

The sealing method was much milder than she had feared, but she was still worried about whether she would be able to get it out again.

In the meantime, once the tree has fully grown and the sealing is complete, Nagi looks back at Cleon with a small sigh.

＂… With this, the sealing of the nobleman has been completed. Thank you, Master of Exorcism. Then, I will guide you back to the entrance.”

While saying that, when Nagi was about to start her movement, Cleon stopped her steps by saying ‘Wait a minute’.

“I want you to guide me to where Kuon is, not to the entrance. She has something to tell her. … It’s as important as a nobleman’s seal.”

＂Dear Kuon…＂

Nagi mumbled at Cleon’s words, and then she shook her head.

“Sorry. No matter how much you say you are the master of exorcism, it is impossible for you to enter the place where the great shaman who is purifying the sacred tree is.”

＂We can do that somehow… Please Nagi…!＂

When Cleon raised his earnest voice towards her, she flinched, trembled, and looked at her Cleon.

＂My name again…! I asked you to forget it!”

＂Oh, right…＂

Come to think of it, she said that a shrine maiden who did not become her part should not let her name be known to others…

There, Cleon flashes through her head, and what she does flashes by.

I don’t really like taking advantage of people’s weaknesses, but…

＂Nagi. How can it really not work?”

“Well, you can say it like that. It’s the rules of the temple…”

“I will make sure no harm comes to you. So… Guide me. Nagi.”

＂Ugh…＂

Every time Cleon continued to call her name, her body trembled, and she soon adjusted her mask, which was about to fall off.

＂If you guide me this time, I will never call you by your name again…!＂

＂…＂

At Cleon’s words, Nagi sighed heavily, probably because he felt that he couldn’t break Cleon’s stubbornness.

“… All right. If you say that much. But you have to keep your promise…”

In the end, when Nagi, who gave up first, said that, Cleon nodded her head as if it was natural.

Then, she takes Cleon through the temple and guides him to the entrance of the ceremonial hall near the main temple, which refuses entry to others during the ceremony.

“… I will be waiting here. But you have to come back quickly.”

Cleon wondered for a moment whether he should tell her that she might be late, but she nodded and went inside her ritual cabinet.

After passing through the barrier that blocks the outside and inside without difficulty, and when Cleon steps into her field of consciousness –

There, I was able to find Kuon, who was diligently performing his sacred dance, and Tokoyo, who was taking a break thanks to Kuon.

Tokoyo also knew very well that no one else would enter the conscious room at this time, so she stood up in confusion at the sudden appearance of Cleon.

＂Huh, Cleon!? Why here!? No one will be able to come in!”

“I’m sorry Tokoyo. I have something to tell Kuon…!”

As Cleon said that and looked at her Kuon, it seemed as if Kuon had reached the point where she was completely in control of everything, and she continued to move her own body without even noticing Cleon’s arrival.
It was a continuation of the new dance.

“… Ha. Is this something that needs to be said even if it means breaking the rules? I’m sorry, but Kuon is completely focused on her new work right now. For that to be released, the next shift… So, we have to wait another hour or so.”

＂An hour…!?＂

Cleon was surprised to hear Tokoyo say that, and she realized that she couldn’t share her story with Kuon while she was in the loop.

＂What the hell is going on?＂

However, Tokoyo also seems to have taken into account that Cleon could not have come here without any thought, so he asks him about the situation.

Then, Cleon told her what she was experiencing so desperately, that her time was going backwards.

＂…＂

Then, a small silence fell between Cleon, who explained the whole story, and Tokoyo, who heard the story.

“Yes… Honestly, it’s hard to believe. I don’t think you’ll lie. If it’s a story related to Nayuta, I can’t just ignore it.”

To her, she is a being who inherits the same bloodline.

Even though Nayuta is not a direct ancestor because she did not have children.

“But… Like I said before. Kuon can’t stop that Shinmu now. When Kuon stops, the purification of the spirit vein also stops.”

＂…＂

Cleon looked back at Cuon, unable to reply to her words.

“─But.”

And, Tokoyo continues talking to Cleon as if the story is not over yet.

“… But, you probably didn’t forget, right? Of course, I have the blood of a great shaman. Above all, the one closest to me in terms of lineage is mine.”

＂… Tokoyo.＂

Cleon realizes the meaning of her words and looks at her.

“─The one who uses Nayuta’s possessed form is me, not Kuon. I will be the vessel that fulfills her wishes.”

Like many of the resolutions we’ve seen today, Tokoyo says this while placing his hand on his chest.

As Cleon looked at her like that, he fell into the agony of her conflict once again.