Volume 1, Chapter 44 – The Curse

“She’s not a full-blooded beastman. As long as she has human ancestry, acknowledges the Goddess of Life, and accepts the Church, she can become one of us. If the Church could recruit more talents like little Fia, we wouldn’t lose so many people to the Darkborn every year. Did you see the look on the captain’s face when he chased after the two-horned bull tribes? That was the expression of someone prepared to die. Those of us left behind either just got married or have children who aren’t yet adults. The captain considered our families and didn’t let us follow.”

“That’s true. It’s all thanks to Fia and Miss Claire here. If not for your timely intervention, these patrol soldiers would have been in grave danger. Three minotaur—it would take at least an entire paladin squad to match them.”

As he spoke, the tall paladin glanced at the wounded soldiers lying on the ground, then smiled warmly at Claire and Fia, who was hiding behind her.

Claire returned the smile and naturally took Fia’s hand, like an older sister.

“If there’s nothing else, we’ll take our leave now, honored paladins.”

“Wait a moment.”

The tall paladin hurried forward, took paper and pen from one of his companions, quickly wrote something, and handed the note to Claire. Perhaps it was due to the paladin’s inherent blessings, or maybe because he wasn’t an ordinary person without magic, his initial fear of Claire had faded, and he now seemed much less afraid.

“This is proof of your assistance. You can use it to claim a reward from the Church later. The exact amount will depend on the rank of those three minotaur, but given how many soldiers you saved, I’d say it’ll be at least fifty gold coins. Please, make sure to claim what you’ve rightfully earned.”

“Thank you.”

Taking the note, Claire led Fia away from the paladins’ clearing.

Though the paladins hadn’t questioned why Fia kept her head covered with her clothes, staying near them any longer risked exposure. If the paladins hadn’t witnessed Fia defeating the Darkborn themselves—dispelling their suspicions—they would have undoubtedly insisted on verifying Fia’s identity first.

However, the two hadn’t gone far before stopping again.

Reаⅾ oո КаtRеаdіոɡСafе

It wasn’t Claire who halted, but Fia.

She caught sight of the Darkborn-afflicted man whom Claire had treated.

Stricken with the Darkborn curse and surrounded by paladins, the man could only huddle in a corner of the ruins, his family shielding him from view to prevent the paladins from noticing his blackened body.

Fia let go of Claire’s hand and approached the man, bending down to ask,

“Are you alright?”

If Fia remembered correctly, the man had also been caught in the minotaurus rampage. Though the monsters had targeted the temple soldiers, they certainly hadn’t bothered to avoid trampling him.

Hearing her voice, the man looked up. When he saw Fia, the fear in his eyes gradually faded.

“I-I’m… fine. Thank you for driving away those Darkborn.”

“This isn’t ‘fine’ by any measure.”

The man’s back had been scraped raw by the minotaur, as if layers of skin had been forcibly torn away, and blood was slowly seeping out.

The man forced a pained smile.

Rеаⅾ οn ΚαtRеαⅾiոɡCαfe

“Some medicine when I get home will fix it.”

“More importantly, miss, can you help him leave this place? If the paladins find him, he’s done for.”

The woman beside Fia spoke up anxiously.

Probably not.

The man’s entire body was pitch black, and with only a pair of shorts covering him, he was far too conspicuous. There was no way to sneak him past the paladins.

“Let’s heal his wounds first.”

As Fia pondered, Claire’s voice came from behind. She crouched down and handed a bottle of medicine to the man.

But the family’s reaction was unexpected.

First, terror flashed in the man’s clouded eyes. Then, the woman let out a shrill “Eek!” before the children around them burst into loud sobs. It was as if Claire wasn’t human but a demon from hell—everyone recoiled in fear. The man, still curled in the corner, reacted just like the cat-eared slave that night, pressing himself against the wall to avoid Claire’s outstretched hand.

“M-monster… Stay away from me!”

“Don’t touch my husband!”

Reaⅾ oո ΚαtRеadiոɡСαfe

Trembling with terror, the man shielded his head with his arms, while the woman—though her legs shook violently—stood protectively in front of him.

Their trembling teeth and shrunken pupils betrayed their sheer panic. Even when Claire immediately withdrew her hand and stepped back, their fear didn’t lessen. If anything, it deepened.

What was going on?

Fia frowned and demanded,

“Hey, she just healed your husband. Have you forgotten? You were the one who knelt and begged her for help.”

“W-what are you talking about? I’ve never seen this person before…”

The woman’s expression twisted into something between a smile and a grimace, her fear warping her features grotesquely.

Fia clicked her tongue in frustration and pointed to the spot where Claire had treated the man—now reduced to rubble by the minotaur’s stomping.

“Right there. Your husband was suffering from the Darkborn curse, and you begged her in tears to save him. Then she, Claire, used medicine and magic to wake him up. How can you not remember?”

“You must be joking. Wasn’t it you who healed my husband, miss? You seem angry… Ah! W-we’ll pay the treatment fee later! We’ll give it to the chief, and he’ll pass it on to you!”

“Tch.”

Rеαd оn ΚаtRеαdіnɡСafе

The woman’s fawning smile grated on Fia’s nerves. Almost instinctively, her right hand shot toward the woman’s collar—but she stopped herself just in time.

This wasn’t the woman’s fault. Violence wouldn’t solve anything.

This was all because of Claire’s curse.

“Fia, let’s go back.”

“But—”

But what?

Fia didn’t know what to say.

These people had already forgotten Claire, even attributing her healing to Fia. No matter how angry she was, no matter how unfair it felt, beating them up or venting her frustration wouldn’t make them remember. Just like how Anastasia had met Claire before but had no recollection of her when they met again—this was the same.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Fia withdrew her hand and turned away.

“Let’s just pretend we never met.”