Chapter 27

The area around the dark bruises was covered with red scratches.

“Hmm… So, your name is Bebil?”

She read aloud from the form the man had filled out prior to the counseling session.

“You’re currently working in the Imperial Treasury, it seems. There’s nothing here to frighten you, so take your time and speak. Have some tea to calm yourself.”

Bebil nodded and slowly sipped his tea. Then, after taking a deep breath, he began to speak.

“I’m currently living in the eastern dormitory. My roommate is also part of the Treasury, and we’ve been sharing a room for about two years now.”

“Yes, go on.”

“But… things started to go wrong around the time of the Foundation Festival. He began waking up in the middle of the night, muttering nonsense while staring into the void or pacing around the room. At first, I thought it was just sleep-talking… but even when I consulted a physician, they said it was merely a habit of his sleep.”

He took another deep breath before continuing.

“That’s not all, though. Sometimes, he emits an unbearable stench from his body, or he stares at me for no reason. It happens often.”

“A stench?”

“Yes. It’s like the smell of a rotting corpse. But here’s the thing, Madam. I’m the only one who can smell it. Only me! When I panicked and caused a commotion because of his black eyes staring at me, I was dragged to the infirmary, and the physician there said I had mental issues! What I experienced was real… but no one believes me.”

The man buried his face in his hands, visibly tormented.

Suddenly, his breathing grew erratic.

Startled, she clapped her palm loudly near his ear. The sharp sound snapped him back to his senses, and he looked up at her.

“Even with those injuries, no one believes you?”

“They all say I inflicted them on myself. But I’m sure of it—Mesh is possessed by a demon. He’s been cursed and turned strange!”

Bebil cried out in agitation.

“Ever since Mesh changed, I’ve been hearing strange whispers. I feel like I’m going insane—I want to tear my ears off.”

As he spoke, he scratched his ears frantically. The unhealed scratches reopened, staining his fingertips red.

“Please, can’t you save me? Everyone treats me like I’m insane and refuses to help. If this continues, I’ll truly lose my mind—or worse, Mesh will kill me before that happens!”

Bebil threw himself to the floor, pleading desperately to be saved.

“Eched, this seems…”

“Yes, it looks like a form of dark sorcery.”

“Doesn’t it?”

Despite not wanting to recall it, hearing Bebil’s story gave her an unpleasant sense of déjà vu, as if she were witnessing Gusto consumed by dark sorcery all over again.

“Get up, Bebil. There certainly seems to be an issue, so we’ll investigate.”

“Really? Truly… thank you so much.”

Tears welled up in Bebil’s eyes. He seemed deeply moved, likely because he had only encountered people who dismissed him as insane, and now someone was finally offering to help.

Still, if this truly involved dark sorcery, it was a grave matter. Mesh’s sudden change suggested he might have been caught up in some incident.

“For now, let’s start by checking out your dormitory.”

With that, they headed to the eastern dormitory where Bebil and Mesh lived.

Upon reaching the room, guided by Bebil, both Eched and she paused simultaneously in front of the door.

When they hesitated to step inside, Bebil asked anxiously, 

“Why… is there something there?”

“Well…”

“This place is a dump.”

Blunt but accurate.

She nodded in agreement with Eched’s remark.

The room resembled a garbage heap. The windows were tightly shut, and the curtains were drawn, making it dark. The accumulated trash gave off a foul stench.

As she hesitated, Eched entered the room, pulled back the curtains, and opened the windows wide to ventilate the space.

“It’s a wonder anyone living here hasn’t gone mad.”

She couldn’t help but agree.

If she were living in such a room, she would have lost her mind long ago.

“This is all Mesh’s doing.” 

Bebil muttered as he began picking up the trash.

Standing by the window, Eched surveyed the room with a detached expression. He approached the filthy bed on the right side, flipped over the bedding and pillows, and uncovered even more trash beneath.

“Find anything?”

She stood at the doorway, pinching her nose.

The idea of stepping inside was unappealing.

Beyond the filth, the possibility of the room being connected to dark sorcery made her even more reluctant.

“Nothing unusual.”

“Need help?”

“Stay where you are.”

Eched thoroughly searched the room alone. However, he found no evidence of dark sorcery.

“If there’s nothing wrong with the room, we’ll need to meet this Mesh.”

“I…”

At the mention of meeting Mesh, Bebil took a frightened step back.

“Don’t you have work to do?”

“I’m on leave.”

“Lucky you. In that case, we’ll meet Mesh ourselves. Don’t worry too much. If we can’t pinpoint the cause, we’ll find another solution.”

“Do you really believe I’m not insane, Madam?”

Moved by her apparent belief in him, Bebil looked at her with gratitude. She responded firmly.

“That depends on what we find after meeting your roommate, Mesh. If it turns out you are insane, we’ll deal with that when the time comes.”

At this point, there was no certainty about anything. Meeting the roommate and hearing his side of the story was the priority.

They headed toward the Treasury office.

“Mesh… The name sounds familiar… Oh!”

She remembered.

Mesh.

He was the one who had canceled his counseling session, saying his problem had been resolved.

‘Could this be connected?’

As she pondered, she suddenly halted, sensing something strange.

She fixed her gaze on a man walking down the distant hallway.

It was faint, but she could feel the same ominous energy from him that she had sensed from Gusto.

“Eched.”

“Why? You look pale all of a sudden.”

“That man. I feel the same energy from him as I did from Gusto.”

Her palms began to sweat involuntarily.

Without realizing it, she grabbed Eched’s sleeve.

“Shaterian, we’ll need to confirm it, but it seems you have the ability to sense the presence of dark sorcery. It’s likely tied to the divine power you recently acquired.”

“My divine power?”

The sudden emergence of her divine power and her unique ability to detect dark sorcery—it all seemed connected to her recovered memories of her past life.

“Can’t you sense dark sorcery?”

“I… am only half of what I used to be.”

Eched took the hand clutching his sleeve and linked arms with her.

“This way is safer.”

Though displeased, she couldn’t deny that staying close to Eched was indeed safer, so she didn’t argue.

“That man must be Mesh, the roommate Bebil spoke of.”

“Doesn’t seem like Bebil is insane.”

“Agreed.”

“Let’s go.”

Without hesitation, Eched crossed the corridor toward where the man had disappeared.

Linked arm-in-arm, she followed him, oblivious to how affectionate they might appear to onlookers.

***

As the end of the month approached, the Treasury became overwhelmingly busy.

They crossed the quiet commotion and entered the office of the Treasury Director.

“What brings you here?”

Earl Wilt, the Treasury Director, stood up in surprise at their sudden intrusion.

“We’ve come seeking your cooperation, Earl.”

“Cooperation…?”

She explained the series of events that had unfolded so far.

As he listened, the Earl’s face grew increasingly grave.

“Is what Bebil said true?”

“We’ll need to summon Mesh to confirm whether it’s true or not.”

“I understand.”

Nodding, the Earl left the office and soon returned with Mesh.

Mesh entered, looking puzzled at the sight of them in the office.

“Are you certain?”

“Yes.”

The black aura around him grew darker the closer it got to his torso, as if the source of the dark sorcery resided there.

“I heard you were looking for me. What is this about…?”

“I heard you share a room with Bebil.”

“Bebil?”

Mesh’s expression instantly twisted.

Then, suddenly agitated, he shouted.

“This is so unfair! Me, trying to kill Bebil? That’s just the delusion of a mentally ill man!”

His clear eyes pleaded his innocence. He seemed genuinely truthful.

But the stronger his emotions grew, the darker the aura around him became, and the stench intensified, contradicting his claims.

“Do you know how to use magic?”

“No. How could a commoner like me possess magic or divine power?”

“Then, are you familiar with dark sorcery?”

“Dark sorcery? First, they said I was possessed by a demon, then cursed, and now they’re saying I practice dark sorcery?”

She shook her head, denying his words.

“That’s not it. Bebil came to the Grievance Counseling Office, and the way he described you matched the characteristics of someone consumed by dark sorcery. That’s why we’re investigating.”

“I truly don’t know how to use dark sorcery, nor have I been involved with it in any way!”

It was certainly strange.

There was undeniably a dark sorcery aura emanating from him, yet his clear eyes showed no trace of it.

She couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

“But Mesh, didn’t you originally request counseling through Bruf of the Foreign Affairs Department?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then tell us about that. What was troubling you?”

“It was nothing significant. I wanted advice about confessing my feelings, but things worked out, and my worries disappeared.”

“Really?”

As Mesh ran a hand through his hair, his collar shifted, revealing a necklace beneath.

“And where did you get that necklace?”

“This? I bought it while visiting the capital for the Foundation Festival. This necklace, which grants wishes, is the reason everything worked out…”

Mesh paused mid-sentence as he proudly displayed the necklace.

The gemstone in the necklace had turned black.

“W-why is it black…?”

Eched stepped forward and snatched the necklace.

A powerful aura emanated from the pendant as it dangled in his hand.

“This is a talisman used in dark sorcery.”

“N-no! This is just a simple necklace!”

“Mesh, depending on your answer, your guilt could be lighter or heavier. This is clearly a talisman used in dark sorcery. Where did you buy it?”

“From a merchant I met in the northern part of the central district… Ugh!”

“Mesh?”

Suddenly, Mesh clutched his throat and collapsed.

His eyes rolled back, leaving only the whites visible, and the veins on his skin bulged grotesquely.

Mesh clawed at his neck, leaving deep scratches.

The necklace in Eched’s hand began to hum violently, as if it were going berserk.