Chapter 189: Cursed Sword

Xiao Tao had probably been the same way at home, sneaking snacks before dinner only to get scolded by his mother. Qiu Nuoya could almost picture the peaceful, ordinary family life he must have had.

"Do you think... I’ll never be able to go home again?"

Even though his face was still bright red, Xiao Tao continued eating the dried fruit without stopping as he quietly asked the question.

"It seems that my body in my original world has already died, so I don’t think there’s any way for me to return. But you seem to have come to this world under completely different circumstances from me, Xiao Tao. I think it’s still too early for you to give up hope."

Perhaps saying that was nothing more than empty consolation. Still, telling him that returning home was absolutely impossible and hurting him even more did not feel right either.

"You’re right... There’s still hope, isn’t there...? Sniff... This is just too delicious. I can’t stop crying..."

Tears streamed down Xiao Tao’s face as he continued nibbling on the dried fruit.

Seeing him like that, Qiu Nuoya could easily imagine how emotionally exhausted he must have been as well.

They still had not heard the full details about the cursed knife or the Hero Summoning, but for today, Qiu Nuoya decided that the most important thing was to let Xiao Tao eat his fill and get a good night’s sleep in a warm bed.

...

Xiao Tao was sleeping peacefully with his head resting on Qiu Nuoya’s lap, his quiet breathing filling the air.

Qiu Nuoya had actually wanted to hear more about Xiao Tao after dinner, but since the boy looked exhausted, he had told him that he did not need to force himself. Xiao Tao had then leaned against Qiu Nuoya’s shoulder and fallen asleep.

Since staying in that position would not have been very comfortable, Qiu Nuoya had gently lowered his head, and now Xiao Tao was resting comfortably on his lap.

"Well, look at you. You’ve got the best seat in the house."

Warren said that as he poked Xiao Tao’s cheek with a finger, but Xiao Tao showed no sign of waking up. He must have been truly exhausted.

"What does everyone think of him?"

"Well, he doesn’t look like he’s lying. There wouldn’t be any point in telling a lie like that anyway. But I can’t agree with the idea that he’s supposedly the Hero summoned through the Hero Summoning you mentioned. No matter how I look at him, I can’t see this kid as some incredibly important figure."

Igor’s point was perfectly reasonable. Qiu Nuoya also could not see Xiao Tao as the kind of Hero who had been entrusted with such an enormous responsibility. If anything, Xiao Tao seemed more like a quiet introverted type. He gave Qiu Nuoya the strong feeling that they were very much alike.

"I don’t really care who this guy is, but the thing that’s causing me the most trouble is this..."

With that, Warren casually stroked the sword that sat in his belt holder as though it had always belonged there.

"It doesn’t talk like he said it would, and I don’t sense anything strange from it either. But no matter what I do, I can’t get this thing off..."

Apparently, Warren could remove the belt holder itself, and the sword was now lying beside him. However, whenever Warren tried to walk away, the belt holder would rise into the air along with the sword and wrap itself around his waist again.

"The sword itself seems really good, and if it’s not harmful, I wouldn’t mind keeping it, but..." What was completely fixed to the belt holder was the sword’s sheath. Warren muttered, "The sword itself seems perfectly usable, though," then drew the blade and held it up toward the fire, inspecting it against the light.

"Since you are a swordsman, perhaps you are simply compatible with the sword. It certainly seems to be infused with magical power, but even from my perspective, I do not sense anything particularly sinister or ominous from the curse within it."

Indeed, just as Viktor said, Qiu Nuoya did not sense anything sinister from the sword either.

What Qiu Nuoya found more concerning was the nature of the curse itself. Based only on what they had heard from Xiao Tao so far, the curse seemed to amount to nothing more than the sword following its owner around wherever he went. At this point, it almost seemed like a loyal dog that followed its master everywhere.

Although Xiao Tao certainly looked exhausted, he was otherwise perfectly healthy despite claiming to have been cursed. And this former knife had apparently protected him by fighting on his behalf. Rather than a cursed sword, it might actually be more accurate to think of it as a defensive weapon imbued with powerful magic specifically to protect its master.

"Come to think of it, Long was the first one to notice something strange about this, wasn’t he? What do you think, Long? You said something about sensing some kind of bad magic, right?"

Long, who had been drinking while holding onto the barrel of alcohol, glanced over at Qiu Nuoya before shifting his gaze to Xiao Tao and then to the sword.

[ I don’t sense it now. ]

"Really?"

[ What I sensed was the magic of darkness. But I can’t sense it anymore. I can still sense a powerful magical presence, but that’s all. ]

"You can still sense that it’s powerful?"

[ Yeah, but it’s calm now. ]

What exactly is the magic of darkness? Since it was called darkness, Qiu Nuoya wondered if it had something to do with Dark Magic.

"What did Long say?"

"He said he initially sensed the magic of darkness, but he can’t sense it anymore."

"The magic of darkness... Could that mean the power of the Demon King?"

[ I don’t know anything about some Demon King. All I know is that the magic I sensed was bad. I don’t know why it was like that either. ]