Nellis felt the weakening energy and searched for the next curse medium.
She had to find it quickly before the Dikidia bastards noticed the curse weakening.
Whether Nellis was seriously calculating the situation or not, Ruperi beamed as he put the curse medium they had found into a bucket.
Ruperi's face was smeared with dirt.
[This time, it's over there. They might notice us and come after us, so let's move quickly.]
"Yeah!"
Nellis did not know why he was so excited, but Ruperi stood up and picked up the heavy bucket.
Nellis considered using magic, but decided against it.
With the flow of mana tangled, she feared that using magic carelessly might leave her unable to cast it when it truly mattered.
'That doesn't mean I can help in this body.'
A small, tawny teddy bear.
Looking down at her body, which was smaller than the bucket, Nellis sighed.
'Why is Paul sighing?'
The teddy bear had not truly sighed, but its slight droop of the head looked like a sigh to Ruperi.
'Is it because he's covered in dirt and needs a wash? I told him I could carry him.'
Ruperi had opposed the teddy bear's request to be put down.
He had not wanted his beloved teddy bear to get dirty, but……….
[Can you carry me and the bucket together? It'll keep getting heavier.]
At those words, Ruperi had no choice but to give up.
The more curse media they found, the harder the bucket became to carry.
Unaware of his owner's feelings, the teddy bear crossed the garden in tiny, adorable steps.
'It's not bad, coming outside with Paul like this.'
It felt like an adventure.
Ruperi quietly giggled.
As expected, his secret friend was very cold.
But Ruperi knew that his secret friend actually had a warm heart.
When he had been sick, Paul had fretted over him and stayed by his side. Even now, he had risked himself to break the curse.
'Just like Paul said, that dream really was a nightmare.'
Paul would never coldly abandon him.
Although the teddy bear had habitually tried to escape until now, Ruperi pretended not to notice.
'Then again, a formation. He finds the media based on a formation?'
Watching the teddy bear move ahead without hesitation, Ruperi recalled what Paul had said a little earlier.
[For a curse this large, the curse media were likely arranged according to a formation. There are several possible formations, but let's go this way.]
He had heard that formations had countless variations and were difficult to learn.
Even for a fairy, knowing about something that difficult……….
'Well, he is a fairy, so maybe he knows it.'
This atmosphere somehow felt familiar, but Ruperi decided to accept it in his own way.
As he followed the teddy bear with a grunt, Paul headed toward a secluded corner of the garden.
[This is the last one.]
"Really?"
It seemed they could finally break the curse.
Ruperi smiled brightly. He hurriedly picked up the garden trowel and headed where the teddy bear pointed.
But.
"No wonder the curse has been weakening."
"To think this cute little young master would ruin our plan."
The voices of people carrying chilling energy suddenly came from above.
Ruperi looked up in surprise.
However, before he could even make out their faces, someone grabbed him by the collar and lifted him into the air.
"Ugh!"
"How did he even notice the curse?"
"L-let me go!"
"It seems we haven't actually seen anyone afflicted by the curse yet. Ah? Young master, you're cursed?"
The corner of the Dikidia bastard's mouth stretched into a wide grin.
Ruperi struggled to free himself, but stiffened at that smile.
"Even so, it makes no sense for him to find the curse media."
"Could he be hiding some trick? He's a direct descendant of House Kreuz."
A sense of danger washed over Ruperi.
He thought he had to escape quickly, but the hand of that chilling bastard was incredibly firm.
Seeing Ruperi trying to swing the garden trowel to escape, Nellis went pale.
'The Dikidia bastards noticed already?!'
Then again, the curse had not merely weakened. It was on the verge of breaking.
The Dikidia bastards dispatched from Miten could not possibly have failed to notice.
But Ruperi being caught was something Nellis had never expected.
"Are you not going to tell us properly?"
"Ugh! Let me go right now!"
What should she do? Should she use magic? They seemed to be third-tier mages.
Nellis anxiously looked around.
If she used magic, would the knights hear the commotion and come running?
She could not be certain, and while her mind raced through the possibilities—
"Agh!"
"The hell?"
Ruperi was thrown aside.
"That hurt. You dared to injure me."
"Calm down. Since it has come to this, we should at least kill one little brat before we leave—Hm?"
At that moment, something leaped out and blocked Ruperi.
The Dikidia bastards were flustered when a teddy bear jumped out.
"What is this now?"
A teddy bear moved?
Nellis was flustered as well, but the teddy bear calmly made words appear.
[Get lost.]
"Get lost?"
[If you don't, you'll regret it.]
The Dikidia bastards snorted at the words.
"Hey, hey. That teddy bear says we'll regret it."
"That takes some courage. But this energy feels familiar."
"Paul………."
Seeing the small teddy bear's back, Ruperi felt tears well up in his eyes.
Those vicious bastards looked as though they might hurt the teddy bear too, so Ruperi gripped the trowel and tried to step forward.
But Paul blocked him.
[It's okay. I'll handle it.]
"How are you going to handle it?!"
[I'll draw their attention. Run while you can.]
The violet letters shone resolutely.
The Dikidia bastards, who had been giggling, looked at the gradually brightening sky.
"We cannot delay any longer. Deal with him and escape quickly."
"Leave him to me."
The moment those words ended, sinister energy rose all around them.
As heavy, turbid mana was brought into motion, Nellis darkened her red eyes and gathered mana.
'I can't let them do that.'
Fifth-Tier Necromancy: Wraith Summoning.
She crushed the nearby soul beneath her power of domination and summoned a wraith.
As the curse magic was cast, sinister energy spread, and a black, translucent wraith appeared before Nellis and Ruperi to block the spell.
FLASH!
"A-a wraith?"
"Paul?"
[Ruperi! Run!]
The backlash from blocking the spell was far greater than expected.
For Nellis, who could only use fifth-tier magic, the humiliation made her insides churn.
"Paul! Don't! Where do you expect me to run?!"
"Ha, was he a necromancer?"
"Why is there a necromancer in Kreuz?"
[I'll say it again. Get lost.]
When Nellis summoned another wraith, the Dikidia bastards finally stopped laughing.
Nellis hurriedly ordered the wraith to take Ruperi away, but Ruperi struggled as he refused to go.
"Let me go! I can fight too! I can't leave Paul behind!"
That idiot. He should just run already!
"Ah, is this what you meant by regret?"
"You deal with the necromancer. I'll grab that kid."
Where do you think you're going?
The moment the Dikidia bastard took a step, Nellis cast magic.
Fifth-Tier Necromancy: Binding.
A wraith sprang up from the ground and grabbed the Dikidia bastard's ankle.
"That teddy bear!"
The bastard reflexively cast a counterspell, leaving Nellis no choice but to withdraw the wraith.
Third-Tier Curse Magic: Binding.
It was a spell that devoured magic from the inside like a curse and shattered it.
If the wraith had kept hold of his ankle, the spell would have been broken and her insides would have churned even worse.
'Cheap trick!'
"Paul!"
[Go! I said go! Go get the knights!]
"We cannot waste any more time. Kill him now!"
The curse magic continued.
Numerous curse spells poured out, but each time, Nellis used wraiths to disrupt the Dikidia bastards' casting.
"Paul………"
As he watched the teddy bear and the chilling figures gradually recede, Ruperi was overcome with helplessness.
'I can't leave Paul behind!'
No matter how he struggled, he could not break free.
Just as Ruperi was about to attack the wraith with the garden trowel—
[Ruperi!]
He looked up.
A chain made from a tangled mass of countless written formulae was flying toward him.
Ruperi's blue eyes widened at the slowly approaching chain, and he instantly knew what he had to do.
He had to knock it away.
If he did not, something terrible would surely happen.
His grip tightened around the garden trowel, and just as the chain drew close enough for him to strike—
FLASH!
A puffy, translucent cloud formed before him, and the strange shape he had just seen knocked the chain away.
The wraith burst from the impact, and beyond it, Ruperi saw the teddy bear clutching its stomach in alarm.
"Paul!"