I was saved by a human. Not a talking animal or a flying fairy, but a truly ordinary person. His name is Bogart. He introduced himself as an ordinary farmer. Ah, of course, before he introduced himself, Elise and Ariel almost killed him.
Just when I barely managed to calm them down from using the demon’s food scattered on the floor as new cooking ingredients, I mentioned that my next destination is the kingdom, asking if they could find ingredients there to treat us with a meal.
Bogart, narrowly avoiding danger, explained why he had screamed all the way here.
“So you’re from the cursed kingdom?”
“Y-yes! Sniffle… A monster suddenly appeared and chased me, so I ended up running here.”
He said this while hiding his tears. The cursed kingdom was close on the map, but it was hard to imagine how long he’d been running for it to reach us.
Elise smiled but with a menacing face.
“Huh, is that so? So where’s that great monster now?”
“Eh, eh?! It… It was chasing me just moments ago! I swear to God! It’s true! I’d bet everything on it! It’s real! No lie!!!”
Bogart shouted in panic. His desperate scream must have been due to Elise’s killing intent. After all, upsetting her would mean certain d*ath. Ariel crossed her arms and glared at him.
[By the way, we’re heading to the cursed kingdom next. Have you seen a black rabbit?]
“A black… rabbit?”
“That’s right~ A rabbit. Are your ears blocked? Should I dig them out for you?”
When Elise shoved her staff, thicker than Bogart’s head, towards him, he trembled and shook his head frantically.
“No! I can hear perfectly! Black… rabbit. Now that you mention it, His Majesty recently spotted a strange black rabbit! With a black hat and cloak!”
“Oh, that’s the one! Do you know where it went?”
“I haven’t heard about its whereabouts after that. But His Majesty might know! If you’re looking for that black rabbit, I’ll guide you to His Majesty!”
Ariel frowned even more deeply, displeased with his words.
That’s when the bushes beside me suddenly moved violently. Out burst a golden flash. Blinded momentarily, I couldn’t open my eyes properly, but then a loud roar echoed—something definitely dangerous.
Instinctively gripping my scythe, I prepared to fight when the golden creature pounced on me.
“Aaaah!”
It felt soft and silky like silk. What is this? Confused, I forced my eyes open to see what was in front of me.
There stood a non-human, non-animal being covered in long golden fur, its enormous black mouth wide open.
“Graaah!!”
“Aaaah! What is this thing?!”
[Prince!]
The golden beast was smacked aside by someone’s water blast and crashed to the ground.
“That’s it! That’s the monster that chased me!”
“What a strange monster?”
Crash! Elise casually swung her staff and smashed the monster’s head. The creature collapsed, its head buried in the ground.
Elise stared intently at the presumed-dead beast. Its side had a cut wound from my scythe, though no bl**d came out.
[Prince, are you okay?!]
Ariel grabbed my face and turned it around to check.
“Yeah, I’m fiuuuine.”
My cheeks were squeezed so hard my pronunciation got messed up. After confirming I was unharmed, she hugged me tightly.
[Thank goodness! I was worried you might be hurt!]
“Incredible!!!”
Bogart knelt down and bowed deeply. We all looked at him perplexed.
“Why are you bowing so suddenly?”
“Well, because you’re much greater than I imagined! Our kingdom is known as the cursed kingdom. That golden monster was the very curse we couldn’t get rid of no matter what. And you’ve defeated it so easily!”
No matter what they tried, they couldn’t defeat this monster, huh? I glanced again at the golden corpse. Surprisingly, it began melting away and was absorbed into the ground, leaving no trace.
“Hmm~ no wonder the fight felt off. It was some weird curse.”
“That’s right! You who broke the curse so effortlessly are exactly the hero His Majesty needs! The hero our kingdom requires! Please, I beg you, save our kingdom from this curse!”
Such a sudden request. Though I was wary after being tricked by a pig before, seeing this grown man crying and bowing so desperately made it clear how urgent his situation was.
I glanced at Ariel and Elise before answering.
“Alright. We were planning to meet His Majesty anyway to find out the black rabbit’s whereabouts.”
Neither Ariel nor Elise objected to my answer. Instead, they issued a brutal warning.
[If you try to mess with us, we’ll rip your head off.]
“That’s right, we’ve been betrayed once. If you do anything funny, we’ll extract your organs while you’re still alive. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?”
“Hiiiiik! There’s absolutely no way I’d dare!”
“Then good~”
Thus, we headed toward the cursed kingdom under Bogart’s guidance. Watching him happily walk ahead, relieved that the curse would soon be lifted, I asked.
“So, how did the curse start?”
At my question, Bogart gave a bitter smile. Although the mood briefly dampened, making me regret asking, he kindly explained.
“Ah, such a tragic tale.”
“I hate suspense~”
When Elise waved her staff, Bogart quickly shed his sorrowful expression and stood straight like a diligent private.
“I’ll explain right away! Eighteen years ago, a beautiful daughter was born to His Majesty and the Queen. She had golden hair. Suddenly, Godel, the kingdom’s most famous magician, rushed in saying he felt an extremely evil presence emanating from this child.”
Golden hair. Hmm, this sounds familiar somehow.
“Godel claimed this child was naturally imbued with immense cursed power, which would grow and bring calamity to the kingdom. Trusting Godel, His Majesty and the Queen were troubled. They couldn’t bear thinking their precious daughter harbored demonic powers, losing sleep over it. But then something happened.”
With a serious face, Bogart continued.
“The nursemaid taking care of the princess was found murdered—by the princess herself.”
[Oh! Shocking! A baby killing someone?!]
“Hee~ strong for a baby, huh?”
“Wait, a baby did it?”
For some reason, Bogart seemed to enjoy our reactions, nodding with satisfaction.
“That’s right! A baby not even a few months old! She brutally killed her caretaker using her golden hair. Oh~ the scene was horrifying. Limbs pierced by hair, eyes gouged out—it was a sight never to be forgotten!”
“Hee~ I want to see it too. So what happened then?”
“Eventually, Godel took responsibility for the princess. He built a magic tower near the kingdom with no entrance or exit and locked her inside. Godel lived there too, starting research to suppress her evil powers and turn her back into a normal girl.”
Golden hair. Magic powers. A curse. Is this Rapunzel? But it’s darker than what I know.
[Seems like it was resolved well, no? Princess locked up, can’t get out.]
Bogart shook his head sadly.
“No. Somehow, the princess’s cursed power started manifesting throughout the kingdom. As you saw with that golden monster earlier—that’s her hair.”
“Her hair?”
“Yes. Definitely the princess’s hair. Even though she’s trapped in a tower with no way out, her hair seems to be exempt. Her cursed power continues to spread across the kingdom.”
Elise listened carefully and tilted her head.
“You should just k*ll her. Why don’t you? Even if she’s strong, it’d be hard to take on the whole kingdom, right?”
At Elise’s words, Bogart wore a meaningful yet melancholic expression.
“It’s impossible. I told you they chose not to k*ll her when she was young and instead locked her in the tower. Plus, the tower has no entrance or exit.”
“So, no one can enter the tower, meaning there’s nothing to be done?”
“That’s right. No one could enter because of the barrier Godel placed. But since you defeated the golden monster that no one else could handle, things might be different! I have a feeling you can pass through the barrier!”
Bogart looked up at the sky, smiling so widely it seemed like his face might split.
“Well, not wrong. We’re the Black Reapers after all.”
Bogart froze mid-step, his eyes widening.
“T-the Black Reapers? Surely you mean THE legendary Black Reapers?”
[Hem! That’s right! Our prince is the Black Reaper! The one destined to end all stories!]
“Ahhhh…”
Bogart’s eyes rapidly reddened, and tears streamed down like chicken droppings. Using every facial muscle, he grinned brightly, like someone who’d finally fulfilled a lifelong wish.
“This moment has finally come. Finally…”
I thought to myself,
This reaction is kinda embarrassing.
