Chapter 309: Ch 308: Who in their right mind would want to have a love affair with a witch?

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If it wasn’t for my Space Travel lvl 66, to get back to Gerald’s house we would have had to go out of town, as his magic stones don’t work in big cities due to the anti-traveler protection they have.

But since I was still slightly moved by the way the old man vouched for me, as well as grateful for bringing me to the auction, I decided to put my trust in him.

Before I upgraded the skill to level 66, I couldn’t have used Space Travel inside the big cities either, but now I recently discovered that, although I still can’t open illusory doors to go into the big cities, I can use it to get out of them.

The old man looked at me with an obvious question in his eyes when he saw me using the skill, since normally it isn’t possible for a person to have Space Travel and Inventory at the same time, but he didn’t ask me anything about it directly.

So I, obviously, preferred not to give him any explanation about it and let him draw his own conclusions.

That’s one of the few characteristics of the old man’s character that I like: he knows how to respect people’s privacy.

While we were looking for an alley away from people, the elf followed us all the time in silence, but I have discovered that, as absurd as it may seem, she refuses to do anything that I don’t directly order her to do.

That bothers me a lot and I have begun to ponder the possibility of releasing her when I learn the knowledge for which I bought her.

I don’t know how the process of freeing a person from slave status works, but if I finally decide to do it, I can go ask Erick’s grandfather.

“Gerald, no offense, but I think you may have a curse,” I say, trying to sound as serious as possible.

We’ve just entered Gerald’s house, having appeared outside the door of his place, and now is the perfect time to test the idea I came up with when I first saw the old man’s status.

If I’m right, the experiment I want to do is going to help Gerald, as well as provide me valuable information about the way curses work.

According to what Beatrice told me, sooner or later I will have to deal with that kind of thing when I face the king of Drial Cenit.

So the best thing is for me to acquire as much information as possible on the subject.

But for that I first need to convince the old man that he has a curse.

“Yes, I know. It’s something I’ve gotten used to living with,” says Gerald with a bitter expression on his face from behind the counter of his store.

Emir: !!!

“How do you know?” I ask, extremely puzzled.

’It looks like things are going to be a lot simpler than I had thought.’

“It’s… a long story,” says the old man, sighing sadly.

’This is the first time I’ve ever seen old Gerald make that kind of expression…

If I wasn’t seeing it with my own eyes, I would never have believed that this proud and violent old curmudgeon could look so…

Vulnerable’

“As I had told you before, I have some free time. So I can listen to your story…” I say hesitantly at his hopeless expression.

Dusk is near, as the auction lasted most of the afternoon, but I’m still not prepared to go back home.

I can’t think of anything else I could do or say to Alessia to make her no longer think of herself the way she does, other than what I’ve already told her.

And that’s why I’d rather stay chatting with the old man for as long as possible in order to delay the moment of seeing my first girlfriend again.

“… if you feel like telling me. But… If you don’t want to, you don’t need to tell me anything. I merely brought up the subject because I believe I have a means of freeing you from the curse.”

“Ha! Let me highly doubt that… But you can try if you want to,” says the old man skeptically.

“Doesn’t it bother you to live like this?” I ask, very surprised by the fact that, even knowing he has a curse, he hasn’t done anything to get rid of it.

“Of course it bothers me! I’ve searched for a long time for a method to free myself from that bitch’s parting gift. But nothing works…” exclaims the old man, returning for an instant to his usual mood, but the spark of anger that shines in his gaze lasts only a few moments before it dies out.

“… Haa… There’s no point in me getting angry about it. I’ve already resigned myself to living like this.”

“Was it a woman who cursed you?…” I ask curiously.

“… How did she do it? Is it some kind of spell or-”

“I don’t know how she did it…” says the old man, sighing again.

“… all right, boy. I’ll tell you how I got this curse. Maybe it’ll do you some good to know, being the way you are.”

“What am I like?” I ask, puzzled.

“A womanizer. I was like you. No, what am I saying? When I was young, I was better than you. Much better. Women fought each other to win the right to sleep with me…” says the old man, with a nostalgic smile.

’Sure…

That’s pretty far-fetched, but I’m not going to question it…

It doesn’t make any sense…

Looks like the poor old man is senile’

“… But I should start from the beginning. I am originally from one of the many small kingdoms of the north. The kingdom of Ardal… I imagine this is the first time you’ve heard of it…”

’True’

“… When I lived in that kingdom, I was a mercenary. It was a nice job. Simple, well-paid, and it allowed me to travel and see the world…”

’I guess it’s a fairly common job in the warlike northern kingdoms…

That being the case…

I imagine that, if all the northern kingdoms were to unite, they would be a major threat to Castemira and Drial Cenit…

It’s fortunate that they prefer to fight each other.’

“… The thing is, when I was young I was very handsome. Don’t laugh! It’s true. I could take any woman I wanted to bed, just with my face and a few affectionate words. Because of that, I was constantly looking for new challenges: women with a reputation for being hard to conquer. Brat, if you don’t wipe that stupid grin off your face right now, I swear I’m not telling you any more!”

“Sorry. It’s just… I find it hard to believe,” I say, trying to put on a neutral expression at the old man’s scowling look.

“You’ll see, kid. Time changes people. I know you’re relatively high level, so it’ll take you a good while to get old, but I guess in 80 or 90 years you’ll remember my words,” the old man says with an air of wisdom.

“How old are you, old man?” I ask, remembering that he also has surprisingly high levels in his status, although his levels are nothing compared to mine.

“That doesn’t matter to you, does it? Do you want me to tell you my story, or are you going to keep asking silly questions and making stupid expressions?” retorts the old man with a dangerous tone.

“Haa… okay. I promise not to interrupt you or react in any way to your words. Happy?” I say in a conciliatory tone.

“No. I’m not happy, but that’s none of your business either…” says the old man in a growl.

“… As I was saying, I… What was I saying?… Ah, yes, I used to look for challenges. One day our mercenary company stopped for a while outside a small village where a witch lived…”

’A witch? Living in a village?…

How strange…

I guess the Solus Temple doesn’t have much influence in the northern kingdoms.’

People with the Witch or Warlock class are not well regarded by the Solus Temple.

It’s not as bad as having a criminal class, but it’s quite similar.

So, people often blame the person with those kinds of classes for nearby misfortunes, whether or not they are guilty.

Until, in the end, people with those kinds of classes end up being disowned and expelled from life in society.

“… an incredibly beautiful woman… And absolutely crazy, so they said. But I was not one to believe women’s gossip. Beyond the words of her female neighbors, she dedicated herself to living quietly isolated from the town and was only seen outside the house very occasionally. Her neighbors said they had never seen her with any man…”

’No wonder…

Who in their right mind would want to have a love affair with a witch?’

“… and that she rejected any attempt at romantic approach, in spite of the numerous admirers she had… ”

’Oh? That’s funny…

Maybe witches aren’t really that evil…

It wouldn’t be the first Solus Temple lie I’ve discovered…

Or maybe it’s simply because that happened in another kingdom and another culture…

A culture that, apparently, is not so influenced by the Solus Temple…

In the end, hatred begets hatred’

“… Obviously, that was all the incentive I needed. So I tried to court her…”

’Really?… Now I think I understand how he ended up being cursed’

“… It wasn’t easy. In fact, she was one of the hardest women to conquer I have ever met in my life… but I did it. And in a few hours we were both in her bed…”

’Haa… He walked into the lion’s den all by himself… And I guess he didn’t come out of the experience unscathed.’

“… It was unbelievable. She was amazing. However, as incredible a woman as she was, my job didn’t allow me to stay anywhere for long… Many times the women I slept with didn’t take too kindly to saying goodbye…”

As the old man talks about his old life, for a few fleeting moments a few nostalgic smiles are glimpsed in his expression before fading away almost as quickly as they appear.

“… They seemed to think that, having slept with them, I had a duty to stay by their side and give up my way of life. A way of life that made me very happy. I loved the freedom I had too much…”

’I can empathize with that free spirit…

My first encounter with Melisa was something similar…

Fortunately, things turned out differently for me…

Today I should go visit her…

It’s been two days since I’ve seen her…

Maybe this time she is ’ready’ to go to a labyrinth to gain levels’

Ever since she asked me on her own initiative to take her to the labyrinths, Melisa has been constantly postponing the experience, always coming up with a different excuse every time I go to see her.

“… This woman in the story was just that type, but she was far more dangerous than any woman I had previously met. The curse she put on me…”

’I knew it…

That woman is the one to blame for the old man’s curse…

That means that witches really can curse people and that at least that’s not just another Solus Temple invention…

But…

Just because they have the ability to curse people does not mean that they are all evil…

We all have the ability to harm others in some way if we set our minds to it, but that does not make us inherently evil…

Maybe witches really are as evil as they say, or maybe they’re not…

But…

There’s no point in trying to draw conclusions from the scant information I have on a single witch.’

“… Haa… She was really gorgeous… I wish I could say that I don’t regret being in bed with her… But I can’t. That woman was the worst thing that ever happened to me.”

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