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“Behold! The magic of my being!”

Catherine Marigold Atanitas was forced to quickly recall her brief time spent as an adventurer.

Hundreds of years ago.

Having finally graduated from the tiresome priesthood, Catherine left Olivier empty-handed, and for various reasons such as skill improvement, material gathering, and securing funds, she temporarily became an adventurer.

And then she realized this.

“Wait, am I actually quite strong?”

Oh, how she wished that there had been someone nearby to point out her arrogance when she boasted of her skills, someone who could later remind her how embarrassing it would be.

Then, she wouldn’t have had to remember the humiliating moments that popped into her mind every time she kicked her blanket aside.

Unfortunately, Catherine had no such person around her back then.

There were plenty of people in opposition, however.

“Oh my goodness, this isn’t the capability of a typical wizard! A genius…!”

“Ugh, I concede my defeat…!”

“It’s truly an honor to meet you, a recently famed skilled wizard.”

Of course, there was no reason not to understand the praise.

Catherine hadn’t realized it at the time, but she had been fried from a young age by a sage-level Grand Wizard, which had lowered her self-esteem.

Receiving the constant accolades in her ear as a fledgling who excelled only in knowledge and skill compared to her age and rank allowed her self-worth to swell.

Her once drooping shoulders and nose were lifted higher and higher.

Moreover, having met various sages and Grand Wizards since her apprentice days, Catherine had developed a refined taste. The wizards she encountered while adventuring often had less skill than her.

There were a few exceptions, but she quickly caught up.

Thus, Catherine naturally became arrogant.

There were more people encouraging her than there were to point it out, and as her mood lifted, so too did Catherine’s shoulders and head.

The title of the Great Spirit of Cold Waves was a bonus she had reaped along the way.

Then one day.

An opportunity arose for her to be promoted to S-rank adventurer.

The hunt target was man-eating witch women who would hijack ships whenever they passed over the middle sea, transforming the crews into pigs and devouring them.

By then, she had already reached Grand Wizard level and could have easily claimed the S-rank without any trial or request, but her inflated pride refused to let her take the easy path.

Alone it might have been difficult, but thanks to a group of temporary partners also challenging for promotion, they succeeded in the hunt.

“I-I am the last high priestess of Hecate! I will—”

“How noisy of you to grunt like a pig, just like a witch! I shall send you off to the side of your dead god!”

With that, they completed the request and obtained the loot.

“This is a magic book… and it has such divine power?”

The dying words of the man-eating witch’s leader, whom she had believed was merely a pretender to the title of high priestess, might not have been a lie. The magic book truly radiated immense magic along with a feeling of divine power.

Of course, if it were Catherine of now, she would have approached it carefully, but back then, she was the very stereotype of an arrogant wizard, seeing no fear in the world.

What could a dead god do, she thought, as she completed the remaining challenges to advance and holed herself up in research the moment she reached S-rank.

Indeed, whether the magical book was the remnant of a dead god was no joke, as even the genius that she was could only comprehend a minuscule fraction of it.

That minuscule fraction was enough to elevate her to sage-level wizardry.

“Wait, protective spell!? A curse!? What could a dead god possibly—!?”

And thus, the curse was unleashed.

Even if a computer user suddenly dies, the password built into the computer does not reset. The same goes for the magic book.

Had Catherine taken her arrogance down a notch and thought rationally, there might have been a chance to avoid the curse.

Fortunately for Catherine, two things were on her side.

One, Hecate was a god who cherished her wizards.

Two, the dead god’s remaining powers had diminished over time.

And thus, Catherine witnessed the magic book teleporting away before her eyes, while simultaneously realizing there was a sky above the sky.

However, despite this newfound understanding, the illusion shattered.

In simple terms.

Her Chūnibyō (middle school syndrome) had been completely cured.

It wasn’t all that unnatural.

Chūnibyō tends to heal suddenly with just a trigger.

Truthfully, it requires only sufficient time to heal without a trigger as well.

What remained in her mind and heart, swept away by the ice magic, were the embarrassing statements and experiences she had carelessly uttered during the years gone by.

When her arrogance, which had burned with the ferocity of a wildfire and threatened to scorch the entire world, was doused with cold water, it simmered down.

“Ah, Sir Atanitas. It’s been a while since you—”

“I’m retiring.”

“W-What!? Just like that!?”

The reason being, she had achieved satisfactory results, so she saw no reason to continue as an adventurer.

For now, as an excuse to focus on her research, she shut herself away.

Catherine ran away from her dark past.

There may not have been paradise where she diverted, but—

“Hey, creature. Do you have any idea why your lover is acting like that all of a sudden?”

“What? Oh, it’s probably because of her dark history coming up.”

“Dark history? Quite an interesting combination of words, indeed.”

It made sense that he wouldn’t know. This was a term that first appeared in the sequel of an anime infamous for wiping out half of Earth’s population by dropping a space colony right at the start.

“It’s just an embarrassing memory I’d love to completely black out on—”

“Say another word and see what happens.”

“Yup.”

Catherine shot a sharp glare at Karem, who pretended to zip his mouth, then turned her gaze to Wales.

“Dark history, dark history. The combination feels as if it was meant to be from the start.”

“Then, if that’s the case, your curse—”

“Yes, while it may appear as magic, its foundation lies within divine power. The system is different. Perhaps you’ve misused a divine object of Hecate?”

“…”

Creak! Wales casually speculated while gnawing on Fried Chicken.

“I shall refrain from asking, considering your cook’s merits.”

“Thank you, Sir… crunch…”

However, Wales felt disappointed.

“Sigh… Don’t you think this is becoming somewhat ambiguous?”

Wales’s original plan was this.

1. Instantly release the curse from Catherine.

2. In return, reduce the frequency of receiving meals to once a week.

3. Enjoy the dishes and look forward to next week’s new menu.

But that plan was shattered right from the start.

Divine power? Who could have predicted that?

The only thing Wales could do now was suppress the efficacy of the curse. Though it was based on divine power, it was feasible since it was manifested through magic.

Of course, Catherine had already diminished the curse to its limit through research, so Wales had no actual work to do. Thus, his last hope faded away.

If the curse were purely divine power, it wouldn’t have been frustrating.

“Well, a god could possibly do something about it.”

The Dragon Lord, now enamored with gastronomy, had nothing but meaningless advice to provide.

“My thoughts suggest that even that is unlikely.”

“Even for a god, you say?”

“Actually, precisely because they’re gods, it’s all the more stringent.”

Thinking it would be simple had made it all the more difficult for Karem to grasp.

“Approaching this only through magic is foolish. Divine curses can only be lifted by the god that cast them.”

However, with one eyebrow raised, Catherine seemed to understand, folding her arms, nodding her head.

“Is that so.”

Memories surfaced of the Greek and Roman mythology she had read in her past life.

In those tales, it was indeed said that only the god who cast the curse could lift it.

Even asking another god for help would yield only transformations into constellations or trees, or they would have to bring that god over to mediate a solution.

It felt remarkably like an inflexible public servant notifying her that they were unable to resolve a matter and that she’d need to seek assistance from the appropriate department.

“Wait a minute, you said that god named Hecate was dead.”

“Indeed. Even if a god dies, the curse remains embedded within the divine object.”

“Much like my colander pot?”

“Exactly, just like Eranos’s pot. However, given that Hecate was a powerful god, even after death, her power would still be strong enough to cast a curse, despite being diminished.”

Suddenly, Wales snapped his fingers.

“Well, laughingly enough, this is fortunate. Creature, I would like to drink cola.”

“Wait a minute. Mary has the wallet—Whoa.”

Like Karem, Catherine couldn’t quite keep her words flowing. Wales was also astonished by the organizational skills beyond his expectations.

Where there had once been a mound of gold and silver, there now stood a perfect cube.

A shining golden cube stacked neatly with gold coins.

A structure that seemed larger than a typical cabin.

And while Mary was sorting the gold coins, she swiftly gathered them up as if stacking yet another golden cube like a casino dealer organizing cards and chips.

As she focused solely on stacking the gold coins like blocks, Mary turned toward Karem, who had approached her.

“What brings you here?”

“This insane thing—this is reorganization?”

“Yes, it’s neat and tidy, is it not?”

“No, weren’t you supposed to categorize them into boxes or something?”

Did she mean that reorganizing meant this? Looking closely, it appeared she had separated the treasures other than the gold coins.

“I thought of that too, but sadly, we have no empty boxes. I can’t just dump it all out and reorganize—”

“You were stacking them with gold coins?”

“Not much else I could do.”

“No, like, you could group them by type and put them to one side.”

“That’s not organizing.”

“That’s fair, but… well, this isn’t right.”

Having found the situation utterly absurd, Karem lost track of his words. He quickly refocused and brought forth an extended pocket of space.

“Chiiiiiiii—”

“Gulp— gulp— gulp— Haaaah! That’s the taste.”

From the moment he drank, a fizz far more potent than beer washed over him.

The oiliness and aftertaste in his mouth were obliterated by the sweet refreshment.

He savored the divine sensation within him, igniting his insides all the way from his mouth to his throat, and down to his stomach.

Now drinking cola in front of Wales, Karem indulged from the pot with conditional infinite servings.

“In the end, I gained nothing. You must be feeling disappointed.”

“Well, if I say it doesn’t disappoint me, that would be a lie.”

He had thought there was some connection to the god regarding the curse, but to discover it delved into the realm of divine authority was unexpected.

So it was only natural that it couldn’t completely be freed, even if it had weakened.

In that moment, Karem’s expression bore a stark opposite feeling to what she was experiencing—almost relief—which made Catherine scowl.

“What thoughts crossed your mind just now?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Then you should have hidden that relief that showed on your face.”

Sigh Did I get caught? Reluctantly, Karem confessed the truth.

“I just thought it would be a bummer if it were to come undone just like this.”

“A bummer?”

“Until now, due to the curse, I was able to serve Catherine at meals, but if the curse disappears, that will also end, won’t it?”

Of course, Mary did the vast majority of serving, but just like Mary refused to give up, neither did Karem.

“Wait, no.”

Karem set down the glass he had been feeding Catherine the cola.

His thoughts had been short-sighted. Let’s think the other way around.

“If the curse were removed, it would mean Catherine could feed me instead?”

“Are you saying that to the one with perfectly fine hands?”

Catherine scoffed in disbelief.

“What do you mean? The god who would lift the curse is already dead.”

“Then wouldn’t it be best to ask the nearest god?”

After all, Wales had said the chances were slim, but it wasn’t impossible. Of course, Wales meant that the odds weren’t zero, which mattered greatly. If it wasn’t, surely they would provide a method to break it.

Naturally, it had only been a day since the debt was repaid, so asking again felt a bit off, so they decided to postpone it for the next chance.

If Samshin and Yustitia were aware, they might say it wouldn’t matter and would instead encourage him, but Karem’s thoughts didn’t stretch that far.

After all, regardless of how friendly they may be, the god’s might is a significant matter.

Then amidst the meal, a remarkable comment from Wales interjected.

“Creature. Though you possess a divine object and your divine power rivals that of an apostle, you speak as if you can visit the gods freely.”

“Huh? It’s a possibility, after all.”

“Okay, but—what?”

“They even come over to visit us sometimes, you know?”

As she talked about light-footed unnamed travelers, she waved her hands, recounting how Lady Yustitia had chatted with her using a scale.

“Hahaha! No way would those arrogant gods treat their kin and relatives in such a way.”

“Really though…”

“Don’t talk so recklessly to other creatures.”

“Would I?”

Wales, who had been lifting a whole Porgeta, suddenly caught sight of Karem’s chest, shrugging his shoulders, then noticed the ring on Catherine’s left ring finger.

…

“No way.”

“Wales?”

“It’s nothing. Hm? Wait, what is this?”

“It’s tofu made from soybeans.”

“Hmmm… Soy? This is surprisingly decent.”

With no care for the nonsensical thoughts, Wales sprinkled soy sauce on the tofu and swallowed it whole.

 

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