Early morning.
Lee Seo-jun and I were having a long meal in our room.
The menu was traditional Korean cuisine.
A meal composed of rice, fish, vegetables, and other ingredients. The harmony of each dish was well-balanced, suiting my taste perfectly.
“So, what’s the plan for today? You said you’re going to treat the granddaughter’s illness.”
Lee Seo-jun took a sip of soup and asked me.
“First, we need to find out the exact cause of the mystic fever.”
“The cause? We need to know that too?”
Lee Seo-jun looked at me with curious eyes.
“Yeah. It’s a bit complicated to explain. I’ll go over it with you later, step by step.”
It was too much effort to explain it all in detail right now.
At my words, Lee Seo-jun nodded and resumed eating.
His rice bowl was piled high like a mountain, but before long, it was nearly empty.
It’s always fascinating to watch.
If he eats that much, you’d think he’d bulk up, but how does he maintain such lean muscles?
“You really eat a lot.”
“I need the energy.”
“……”
I was about to stop paying attention to Lee Seo-jun and return to my meal when—
“Is the food to your liking?”
A clear, pleasant voice came from the direction of the door. When I turned my head, Eun Seol-ah was standing there with a faint smile.
Yesterday, she seemed shy and unsure of how to act, but today her expression looked more natural—though judging by her slightly flushed ears, she might be forcing herself to act normal.
“Yes. It’s delicious—I’ve nearly finished it all,” Lee Seo-jun said, showing his nearly empty rice bowl.
Eun Seol-ah smiled softly.
“I’m glad it suits your taste. Oh, right, I didn’t get to introduce myself properly yesterday. My name is Eun Seol-ah.”
She bowed politely with both hands in front, a formal belly bow.
Perhaps thanks to Eun Hye-soo’s strict etiquette training, every motion carried a sense of elegance.
Surprised by her sudden self-introduction, Lee Seo-jun bowed back.
“I’m Lee Seo-jun.”
After saying that, he glanced at me as if to say, “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself too?” With no choice, I gave a greeting as well.
“…Kim Sunwoo.”
At my introduction, Eun Seol-ah smiled and spoke.
“You can speak casually. Both of you will be my seniors next year anyway.”
“Eh, you haven’t even enrolled yet.”
“It will be fine.”
At her words, Lee Seo-jun thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Hmm. Then I’ll take you up on that and speak casually.”
“Yes! Please do.”
Seol-ah replied brightly.
“So, what brings you here?”
“Oh, my grandmother wants to see you. She asked me to let you know to come by after your meal.”
“The head of the house?”
“Yes. She said she wanted to talk about my illness…”
“Okay. Then let her know we’ll come after we finish eating. That’s fine, right?”
Lee Seo-jun looked to me for confirmation.
“Go ahead.”
At my words, Eun Seol-ah nodded.
“Alright, I’ll let her know. Please enjoy the rest of your meal.”
She bowed to us again and disappeared. I picked up my chopsticks.
“Let’s finish eating.”
“Yeah.”
Once we finished our meal, Lee Seo-jun and I headed straight to the head’s room.
When we arrived, we saw Eun Hye-soo and Eun Seol-ah.
Eun Hye-soo was half-reclining comfortably on the bed as always, while Eun Seol-ah sat modestly beside her, chatting.
With Eun Hye-soo’s youthful appearance, they looked more like a close mother and daughter than a grandmother and granddaughter.
Startled by our arrival, Eun Seol-ah stood up from her seat.
Eun Hye-soo calmly stared at us before speaking.
“I heard the food suited your taste. Were there any other inconveniences?”
“No, we’ve been very comfortable.”
“That’s good.”
She straightened up from her reclining position.
“The reason I called you here is because my feelings have changed.”
“Your feelings?”
“Yes. Yesterday, I got emotional because of my granddaughter’s illness. I let myself get swayed by the words of someone who’s barely even an adult.”
She looked me straight in the eyes as she said it. I could feel strong distrust in her gaze.
“…So you’re saying you don’t trust me now?”
“That’s right. I slept on it and calmed down, and now I feel differently. I can’t believe I agreed to lend you my granddaughter just because you claimed you could cure her without any proof. I must have been a fool.”
This situation was starting to turn for the worse.
I had a nagging feeling yesterday when things were going too smoothly that something was off. Guess I was right.
Well, it can’t be helped.
I’ll just have to convince her with something plausible.
“Your granddaughter told me something unusual yesterday.”
At my sudden words, Eun Hye-soo looked at me with a puzzled expression. So did Seol-ah.
“What did she say?”
“She said her mother died from the mystic fever.”
Eun Hye-soo pressed her lips together, then replied.
“That’s right. My daughter died of the mystic fever. And?”
“It’s common for diseases to be passed down genetically. But the mystic fever isn’t one of them.”
“What are you trying to say?”
I don’t know.
I’m just making this up to sound convincing.
“The mystic fever is caused when ‘mysterious energy’ comes into contact with human blood.”
“I know that.”
“And the mystic fever is neither contagious nor hereditary. There has never been a recorded case.”
“…That’s also true.”
“When did your granddaughter contract the fever?”
“It was after Miyeon passed away.”
Eun Miyeon.
That was Seol-ah’s mother’s name.
“That’s your daughter’s name, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What do you think is the reason her mystic fever showed up in her daughter as well?”
“I don’t know. As the name suggests, ‘mystic’ refers to a power humans cannot comprehend. I simply believed the mysterious force that lingered in Miyeon may have transferred to Seol-ah, who shares a similar nature.”
“I think differently.”
“What?”
Now comes the important part.
“I suspect the cause of the mystic fever is a curse.”
“…A curse?”
“I’ve seen something similar before. A powerful curse that kills a person and then lingers, passing on to their child. Of course, for a curse of that scale, extensive preparation would be required—perhaps a sacrifice, and tools related to mysterious energy.”
Everyone stared at me with wide eyes.
“…Are you saying my daughter’s mystic fever was caused by a curse?”
At that moment, Eun Hye-soo’s expression shifted, as if she remembered something.
“Do you recall anything?”
“My daughter once mentioned something about curses. But it was before she ever fell ill, so I didn’t think much of it.”
That was new information.
“Then that makes the curse theory even more likely.”
“…A curse, huh. I never even considered that. But if that’s true, it explains why none of the countless physicians could cure her. But who would do such a thing?”
“That’s something we’ll have to find out, bit by bit.”
Eun Hyesu looked at me with a curious expression.
“That’s quite the theory. You definitely have a different feel than all the other physicians I’ve dealt with.”
“It’s only a hypothesis, after all.”
“Fine. Let’s say you’re right, and the cause of the mysterious illness is someone’s curse—how exactly do we find the shaman that put the curse?”
“I’ve thought of two possible methods.”
Everyone focused on me at my words.
“The first is to lure the shaman out.”
“Lure them?”
“Yes. We send your granddaughter outside so the shaman can see her. If someone went so far as to place a curse, it means they harbor serious resentment. They’ll likely react in some way.”
“But isn’t it too much of a gamble to assume the shaman would just notice her because she’s outside?”
“Then we make them come to us.”
“What?”
“If she becomes famous, they’ll come on their own.”
This was exactly how the original story resolved Eun Seol-ah’s mysterious illness.
Next year, Eun Seol-ah would earn top marks at the magic academy and quickly gain a reputation as an unprecedented prodigy, following in the footsteps of Lee Seo-jun, Yoo Ara, and Choi Seo-yoon.
Word would spread about her strange illness too.
And upon hearing the news, the shaman would hide their identity and approach her during the special class arc.
“Making her famous to draw the shaman in… that’s an interesting idea. But there’s no way you can do that within the two days you promised.”
Originally, I was planning to take some suspicion and just barge into where the shaman was hiding within the two-day limit and resolve everything.
But now that Eun Hye-soo’s trust was slowly building, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to extend the timeline.
“That might be true. But is two days really so important when it comes to your precious granddaughter?”
“…You’re not wrong. Fine then, what’s the second method?”
“The second is to investigate any remnants your deceased daughter may have left behind, and track down a likely suspect from there.”
That one was just something I said on the fly.
Mainly to spark Eun Hye-soo’s curiosity and make my reasoning seem plausible.
In the original story, nothing about Seol-ah’s mother’s belongings or past was ever even mentioned.
So, this method was unlikely to ever actually be used.
Eun Hye-soo fell into deep thought.
“Remnants, huh…”
“As expected, there’s probably nothing to go on. Then let’s proceed with the first—”
“There is.”
“Sorry?”
“There’s a place in Seoul that my daughter used before she passed. It’s still intact. Go investigate it.”
Huh? Wait, what? Seoul?
“That’s seriously amazing. How did you even guess it was a curse causing her illness?”
In front of the main gate of the Eunwol family estate.
Lee Seo-jun, who had finished getting ready to head out, looked at me and said.
“I told you earlier, I’ve seen a similar case before. That’s what made me suspect it.”
“Where on earth do you see cases like that?”
I clammed up for a second. How was I supposed to explain this?
“…Well.”
When I hesitated, Lee Seo-jun gave me a suspicious look.
“Why’d you stop mid-sentence? I asked where you saw it.”
“…You don’t need to know.”
“Jeez, you sure have a lot of secrets.”
He quickly gave up and shook his head.
Now wasn’t the time to care about small things like his reaction.
Something totally unexpected had happened.
A place once used by Seol-ah’s mother.
That never appeared in the original story.
Running into something like a discarded plot from the main story always felt strange.
What if I discovered something there even I didn’t know?
While I was lost in thought, Seol-ah came running from the distance.
Her clothes were different than usual—modern attire.
She had a small bag slung over her back. Judging by the size, it seemed enchanted with spatial magic.
“Sorry I’m late. I had a lot to pack. And I talked with Grandma for a bit…”
Seol-ah bowed apologetically.
“Don’t worry about it.”
Just then, Eun Hye-soo appeared behind her. She stared at me for a moment before speaking.
“You really don’t need my help?”
“No, I’m fine. If the family head gets involved, the shaman will just run away. We need to appear as vulnerable as possible to lure them out.”
“…Still, isn’t this far too dangerous?”
“Grandma. It’s okay. I can take care of myself.”
“…”
Eun Hye-soo looked at Seol-ah with a gaze full of concern.
“Tsk. Fine. Just don’t get hurt and come back safely.”
She patted Seol-ah’s shoulder, then turned her gaze to me.
“Don’t let anything happen to her. If something does happen…”
Meeting her sharp eyes, I just gave a firm nod instead of answering.
And just like that, we left the Eunwol family grounds.
It seemed like it was Seol-ah’s first time leaving the family estate—her face was full of excitement.
“Are we heading straight to Seoul?”
“Of course. That’s where your mother’s traces are supposed to be.”
At my response, Seol-ah nodded. Then she stared intently at my face.
I met her gaze in return—but she quickly looked away and mumbled.
“…Do you really think my illness and my mother are both connected to a curse?”
“In my opinion, yes.”
Her expression grew serious. Then, with a slight quiver in her voice, she said,
“But why… What could be the reason…?”
“There must be some reason. We’ll find out when we meet them.”
“…Okay. I hope so.”
Seol-ah nodded.
“Then, shall we go?”
We started walking toward the portal gate. When we arrived, Seol-ah looked at it nervously.
“What’s with that face?”
“I’ve never used a portal before.”
“You’ve never used one?”
“No.”
In this world, saying you’d never used a portal was like someone in the modern day saying they’d never taken a train.
No, since portal gates were much more expensive, maybe it was like never flying on a plane.
“So this is your first time going to Seoul, too?”
“Yes, it is. So I’m kind of nervous.”
I let out a quiet chuckle.
What a total country bumpkin.
TL : This feels like a filler episode. Ugh, I can’t wait to be done with this stupid arc. That protective spell must be worth it because this arc—whatever it is—is super boring.
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