“......”
When I pulled the sword out, the witch’s body swayed. She staggered back a few steps and collapsed onto her rear. Blood spread and soaked through the weeds beneath her dress.
Around that time, Ran quickly pulled a first-aid kit out of her [subspace pouch].
If there was any silver lining—though I wasn’t sure if I should even call it that—from a medical standpoint, it was fortunate that the wound wasn’t deep. The witch had remarkable regenerative capabilities.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“...Go ahead.”
As Ran silently approached, the witch frowned in displeasure.
Even so, when Ran took a step forward, the witch, still seated, tried to scoot away to increase the distance.
It was the same reaction as before. She showed rejection whenever someone other than me approached.
Yet, for some reason, the witch fainted with her eyes closed, and so Ran casually tore off a piece of the ragged cloak and began dressing the wound.
At that moment, I had all sorts of thoughts running through my mind.
Emotions are...
A high-speed response system to external stimuli.
It was the emotion of hatred that made me stab the witch. And the urgency of needing to save her that made me save her.
But emotions, while fast, are often prone to error.
Now was the time for logic to step in.
I asked myself:
Q. Was saving the witch the correct decision?
If I didn’t kill her now, I might be unleashing a catastrophe upon human history. So was it right to spare an Otherhorned Demon?
That she hadn’t killed anyone so far was just based on existing records. There’s no telling what could happen in the future.
But despite being wounded by me, she never showed aggression. At that moment, I felt I shouldn’t attack her.
So was it the right call to save her? I couldn’t be sure.
I was still acting emotionally. So that decision was deferred.
Q. Then was there no logical basis for saving the witch?
Actually, there was one.
「Spy Instinct │ㅅㅇ)」
The voyeuristic perverted star-spirits always showed up when something interesting happened—but they rarely ever showed up around demons.
Because demons weren’t interesting.
A demon is like a bar exam student studying murder all day. That’s hard to find entertaining.
So then,
I judged that this witch was more than just a simple demon.
Q. What was the witch’s relationship to me?
I had no idea. But it probably had something to do with that “bell.”
Q. Why did I forget the witch?
...Before I could answer that, I had an experiment in mind.
“Ran. Stay here for a bit. Attach the headband model.”
“Yes.”
I left Ran and the witch behind and descended the mountain.
Once I was far enough away, the status windows began popping up chaotically.
< ♠ 『Curse of Forgetting』 is in effect. Direct memories and records of the recently encountered individual will be erased or distorted. >
< ⧉ 『Game System』 resists. >
< ♠ 『Curse of Forgetting』 is in effect. Direct memories and records of the recently encountered individual will be erased or distorted. >
< ⧉ 『Game System』 resists. >
⋮
Like two entities locked in battle, the windows kept alternating—
< ⧉ 『Game System』 is victorious! >
The curse was repelled.
“...The Witch of the Graveyard. Eve.”
I remembered.
As expected, I had near-complete immunity to all mental attacks. Thanks to the 『Game System』, the system framework⧉ that protects me.
And yet... I still forgot her?
I thought hard.
When does the Game System deactivate?
‘Ah.’
The hotfix.
Suddenly, I remembered the final status window before the hotfix.
< ⧉ 『Game System』 will temporarily shut down. >
Since the 『Game System』 is what keeps me anchored in this world, it shuts off during [logout].
There must’ve been a delay.
The 『Curse of Forgetting』 slipped through that delay.
Unbelievable.
A system flaw caused this whole mess.
Q. Why did I forget the witch?
Because of the delay during the system shutdown.
“Ran.”
“Yes.”
“Can you submit a ticket to the system⧉?”
“I can try.”
“Do it. Tell them to fix the logout delay before any more hotfix patches.”
I didn’t say anything mean like “maybe run your shitty game better.”
“I don’t know what that means, but I’ll pass it on as is.”
Finally:
Q. Then will I forget the witch again every time I log out?
...Seems like it.
Unless the [Curse] is lifted.
“I’ve finished dressing the wound. What now?”
“......”
Yeah. What now?
“Should we send her home?”
“And how do you know where that is?”
Ran pulled something out of her pouch.
A dog-ear headband.
“She’s got a good nose.”
“......”
Thus, Ran sniffed around and eventually tracked the witch’s living space.
A cave.
It was unexpectedly tidy inside.
There were glowing gems for light.
A few crude iron swords.
A bed made of dry grass.
No smell.
And yet, for some reason, there was a sacred energy in the air. Not metaphorically—it was actual [Holy] attribute magic, faintly lingering.
Why the hell would there be [Holy] energy in a demon’s house?
That’s when my sword sheath vibrated ominously.
< ○ The sword further doubts your integrity. >
Stupid sword.
I shoved it back into [Inventory].
“You did well. Have a ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) seat.”
“Yes.”
I sat down and thought some more.
What do I do with this demon?
***
On the cave wall were strange scribbles.
I couldn’t tell what they meant.
As I stared blankly, Ran spoke.
“Shall we go back, Professor? It’s getting late.”
The witch hadn’t woken up.
I thought I might talk to her when she did.
Ran suggested it might be due to mental stress.
So I figured it was time to head back when—
Rustle.
I turned toward the sound. A plastic container—looked like it was picked up from the trash.
What the hell? I looked inside.
A squirrel.
...And it was hugging an armful of pinecones?
Flinch!
It froze as our eyes met.
“What’s this?”
“A squirrel.”
“Is it a pet?”
“......”
Then, a sudden feeling.
“...Looks more like a pinecone thief.”
Flinch...!!
The squirrel tensed even more.
Or maybe I just imagined it that way.
“A thief? How did you know?”
That wasn’t the squirrel—that was Ran.
I turned my head. Now there was a parrot perched on her head.
“What’s that?”
“A communication parrot. It can interpret nonverbal communication—body language, expressions, magic, vocal tones.”
...How many damn “support tools” does she have?
Then the squirrel started fidgeting.
“It’s planning to escape.”
“But it’s afraid of you, Professor.”
“Apparently, it’s had a shallow connection with the witch... the Otherhorned Demon. They’ve had pinecone-related disputes before.”
“The squirrel claims a significant number of its pinecones were stolen.”
“So from its perspective, this is not theft—it’s rightful reclamation.”
“......”
I didn’t really care about squirrel drama, especially with my head already overloaded... But the story weirdly drew me in, so I just listened.
So the witch... was a pinecone thief?
“Wait.”
“Yes?”
“Nonverbal communication?”
“Yes.”
“Then... can you talk to her?”
“Yes.”
This was getting interesting.
“Ask about the witch.”
As I’ve said before, the 『Curse of Forgetting』 applies to the world and its people. More precisely, it applies to the “world surrounding people.”
It doesn’t apply to animals or stars.
“......”
Ran leaned down toward the squirrel. The parrot on her head started doing a weird little dance. Gestures I couldn’t interpret at all.
“She says she doesn’t know much about the witch.”
“Ask if there’s anyone... any animal who does.”
Doom-ch doom-ch.
“There is.”
“Who?”
Doom-ch.
“She says if we let her keep the pinecones, she’ll bring them.”
Five minutes later, the squirrel returned with some friends: An old-looking bird, and... a familiar face.
“You’re Miniminimung.”
“Woof!”
It was Elize’s puppy. I’d seen it around the campus. It wagged its tail, so I gave it a pat.
It clearly didn’t know what was going on—just tagged along. The old bird, on the other hand, had something to say.
Chirp chirp... chirp chirp...
Ran hesitated for a moment.
“What is it?”
“...It’s not literal translation—it’s reading the mana impressions from their consciousness. It uses second-person narration, so it’s a bit awkward. But the summary is this:”
The bird had been watching the witch for quite a long time.
Many humans had approached, and most of them did so with aggression.
“...Probably the backlash from the great curse. She gives off an ominous aura.”
But once, a human approached with kindness.
And that was me.
“So... how many times did I visit her?”
According to the bird, over twenty times.
Each visit was brief, but later on, the witch began to eagerly await them.
......So I really came that many times?
And yet I still didn’t know why. Something felt off.
Why would I keep coming to see an Otherhorned Demon?
Was I measuring the angle for a kill?
Even now, I didn’t have a solid logical reason to keep her alive.
Why the hell did I come?
“Look, Professor. A turtle.”
A turtle?
Sure enough, a turtle was crawling into the cave.
Why the hell is there a turtle on a mountain?
As it approached, I realized—it was a spiritual beast.
It must’ve been another acquaintance of the squirrel.
Doo...um...ch...it...
Ran spoke slowly. The turtle nodded.
Ten minutes later, Ran relayed its message.
“...This turtle is about 1,100 years old. According to him, the witch must accomplish something at Starfall Mountain. If she leaves, it would be akin to death.”
Shit...
That made everything way more extreme.
To proceed with the Starfall Mountain redevelopment, we’d have to drive her out. But if she leaves, she basically dies.
“...Does that relate to why I came here?”
“Probably. Also, the turtle says... he didn’t know she had a horn.”
Huh?
That sounded meaningful.
Didn’t know she had a horn?
I asked the bird.
“She didn’t know.”
The squirrel?
“She didn’t know.”
Miniminimung?
“Woof!”
“He’s happy to know now.”
So, he didn’t know either.
Of course. The hood only came off because of 「Spy Instinct │ㅅㅇ)」. Normally, it would’ve stayed on.
‘Wait.’
Suddenly, a theory struck me.
‘Then maybe... even I didn’t know?’
I raised my hand to cover the witch’s head in just the right spot.
If I didn’t know she was an Otherhorned Demon...
If she hid her horn, she would’ve seemed entirely human.
And if she was human...
I slowly reached for Eve’s hand and checked her status window.
───
Eve Lemontree [3.0]
───
Ah!!
Right then, everything in my mind clicked into place.
1. This Potential Status Window only appears for humans. It doesn’t appear for demons or monsters. Meaning: the witch is partially human!
2. I remembered why I came here. A potential of [3.0] is insanely high. High enough to make me instinctively want to keep her.
Constellations? Top rankers? Screw them. [3.0] Potential could surpass them all.
3. I now had an overwhelming reason to keep her alive. This wasn’t a pure “Otherhorned Demon.” It was partial demonification under specific conditions. And her potential was so extreme, it caused her to become Otherhorned.
‘Wait. Then...?’
Finally—
4. I had a scale in my heart. I placed something on both sides. And immediately, I knew what I had to do.
Something very, very important.
And that was...
“Hello? Layme? This is Professor Dante. Please inform the princess: Starfall Mountain redevelopment is hereby canceled. And our contract is void.”
Cutting ties.
TL Note: Hey guys, go check the previous chapter again — a new bit got added in 🙌
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