Chapter 100

It was snowing.

Zoro was looking out of the hospital window. The roof of the neighboring house, covered in snowflakes, was gradually being blanketed in its original color, white.

Three children were huddled together on the hospital bed. With the two girls in patient gowns resting their small heads on his lap, Zoro sat cross-legged as they slept soundly.

Normally, multiple people shouldn't lie on a hospital bed, and even guardians shouldn't climb onto the bed with patients.

However, the two girls were extremely afraid of being separated, and they became very anxious and trembled if anyone approached when neither Geto nor Zoro was nearby. Thus, Zoro had no choice but to sit on the bed where the two were lying.

The girl with the darker hair curled up. Zoro recalled the names of the two he had heard earlier. As expected, they were sisters. The one with the darker hair color was Hasaba Mimiko. The other was Hasaba Nanako.

"Mommy..."

Mimiko murmured in her sleep.

Zoro looked down at them and silently pulled the blanket a bit higher over Mimiko.

He turned his head to look at the door of the room. It slid open, and Geto entered, carrying a bag full of something.

"Zoro—"

Zoro put his finger to his lips with a shush, signaling for silence. Realizing the situation, Geto closed his mouth and approached quietly. Zoro wrote in the air with his finger on the bed.

-What were you doing?

Geto wrote back in the air with his finger.

-Talking with the assistant director.

The assistant director accompanying them this time, Shokinji Misato, had been involved in the sorcery community for quite some time and handled the case somewhat mechanically but rationally.

Geto, massaging his throbbing head, recalled what Shokinji had said.

"...While it's possible to heal them instantly with a reverse technique by asking Ms. Ieiri, we first need a doctor's diagnosis. Child abuse is often disguised as discipline."

"Cigarette burns, bruises on the face and body, fractured legs, malnutrition... Speaking with the doctor, it seems all are textbook symptoms of child abuse. So, prosecution is possible. I'm not sure how many villagers will be charged, though."

"As you might know, this country does not prosecute unless guilt is certain."

"Fortunately, a majority of the villagers confessed. They claimed these two children were the cause of the recent deaths and a curse. To the police, that will sound absurd, so many will be charged. Administrative measures will also be taken to prevent them from approaching the children."

"...By the way, did you purify the curse suspected of causing the death incidents?"

"I understand you might want to look away, but you must go with Mr. Zenin and take care of it. With many villagers likely to be prosecuted, if we leave the curse, it will feed on their negative emotions and grow stronger. Then, the curse might reach special class and target other villages as well."

"...You need to become desensitized, Mr. Geto. If you want to be a sorcerer for a long time."

'Need to become... desensitized...'

To what?

To the harm sorcerers suffer at the hands of non-sorcerers?

Because of ignorant fools, do I have to keep watching as my colleagues and juniors get hurt and die?

For how long?

...I never expected non-sorcerers to recognize or reward the efforts of sorcerers.

"Suguru."

But for the reasons of seeing, of fighting. If this is how they're treated in return—

"Suguru."

Poke!

Zoro poked Geto's forehead with his finger. Snapped out of his reverie, Geto looked up at Zoro. Facing Zoro's calm gray eyes, Geto unconsciously unclenched his fists.

"Mmm."

The children, stirred by Zoro's voice, opened their eyes. Suguru quickly softened his expression and said,

"Did you wake up? Sorry about that."

"It's okay."

It had been a long time since the sisters had slept on someone's lap.

Mimiko looked back and forth between Zoro and Geto, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"Should I call you Mr. Zenin, Mr. Geto?"

"No, that's a bit."

Too formal, isn't it? It feels a bit much to hear from kids who are only about ten years younger than Geto... Even Zoro isn't much older than these girls.

Zoro and Geto exchanged glances.

"What was that about talking to the assistant director earlier?"

"...Nothing. It's not important."

Hmm, Zoro grinned slyly.

"You're hiding something."

...Is he using mind-reading? Geto glared at Zoro for pointing it out so bluntly in front of the kids. The sisters looked at Geto with wavering eyes, and Geto relaxed his expression and sighed.

"Just. We originally came here with a purpose."

He was vague, but Zoro understood he meant the curse they hadn't purified yet.

"I'll go alone. You stay here."

"...Technically, the mission was assigned to me. You're just support. So if anyone goes, I should go alone."

"That's not happening."

Sending Zoro alone was like asking to be grabbed by the collar by Toji.

Geto became serious, and Zoro shrugged.

"Then there's no helping it."

The problem was the children. They seemed to have already grasped the situation, their eyes welling up with tears.

"Are you going somewhere?"

"We have something we need to do."

"...Will you come back?"

Geto bent his knees to meet their gaze and spoke in a gentle voice.

"Of course. It's just a quick task we need to handle. I'll ask another uncle to watch over you, and just in case, I'll leave something to protect you."

Geto then took out a female curse with a torn mouth. Among the subdued curses, it was the least grotesque (although it would show a ghastly appearance if it fought) and looked more human-like.

Nanako looked at Zoro. When their eyes met, Zoro spoke bluntly.

"I promise. I'll come back to you."

Geto, who had rarely seen Zoro make promises, looked a bit surprised. But not fully grasping the significance, he continued with a smile.

"Is there anything you want? I'll buy it on the way back."

Nanako mumbled and then spoke softly.

"…Come back soon."

Geto hesitated, then responded affirmatively, "Yeah."

Looking down at the arms covered with yellow, blue, and red bruises, Geto's heart felt constricted.

"...."

He couldn't be sure what the right answer was.

...

Geto stood absently inside the village's stalactite cave.

The cave was beautiful enough to be a tourist attraction if it weren't located in such a secluded place. The long, white stalactites sparkled as they caught the light from the flashlight Geto was holding.

However, he wasn't really taking in the scenery.

Boom!

The right half of a curse, composed of stalactite, and its left half, resembling a human, were sent flying into the cave wall by Zoro's slash.

The stalactite part of the curse broke apart but it promptly got up and regenerated its half body.

The curse raised its hand. As it lowered its hand, the sharp stalactites in the cave fell all at once.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang bang!

With a whoosh, a giant squid curse appeared and knocked the falling stalactites away from above Zoro's head.

'I didn't need to be shielded.'

With this level of power and speed, it was possible to avoid even getting grazed by the stalactites and simply walk through the rain of stalactites.

Tap, tap. A few small fragments of stalactite fell on Geto's head. Zoro frowned, seeing this. It seemed like Geto was not fully focused on the fight.

"[Shi-shi-shi-shin, ple-ple-ple-please... Ah-ah-ah-ah-no, it's be-be-be-because of you, it's because of you...]"

The curse, emitting a strange voice, wrapped white energy around its stalactite arm. Sensing the energy and strong malice with his Haki, Zoro looked frustrated.

"So indecisive."

It was a mixed, ambiguous feeling. Zoro had encountered a special class curse that could erupt spikes before, and this one felt like a downgrade.

A bit of thought, but that was all.

Flash!

The curse feinted a charge at Zoro, then suddenly turned towards Geto. Zoro shook his head dismissively.

"Idiot."

He should have just run away instead of attacking either side.

"[Si-si-si-sir!]" 

The curse made a strange noise as it lunged toward Geto. Coldly, Geto's eyes met the curse's. As if he wasn't troubled enough already.

"...This is annoying."

Crunch!

Geto grabbed the curse's arm and ripped it off. Climbing on top of the fallen curse, Geto slammed his fist down on it.

Clang!

The shoulder part made of stalactite shattered. Again, Geto raised his fist as if entranced.

Clang! Bang! Crash! Smack!

Geto, his body enveloped in energy, relentlessly pounded the curse. He pummeled every part, whether made of stalactite or not. Observing traces of Toji's hand-to-hand combat techniques in Geto's movements, Zoro thought he had learned well.

As the curse collapsed, exhausted and unconscious, Geto stood up from atop it. Although martial arts was his hobby, this was the first time he had beaten a curse to death with his fists. It was inefficient and messy.

Zoro sheathed his sword and said,

"You seem preoccupied, Suguru."

"Was it that obvious?"

"It shows."

Geto was slightly slower in his responses than usual.

If the disparity in skill between Geto and the curse hadn't been so great, being mentally elsewhere during a fight would not be good.

"If you have doubts, cut them off and come back."

Nothing is weaker than an attack filled with hesitation.

Hearing Zoro's words, Geto rubbed his forehead and sighed.

'If doubts could be cut off just by wanting to, would they even be doubts?'

But saying this, Zoro would probably reply, 'I can cut them off.'

...No, perhaps there shouldn't have been any doubts in the first place. Thinking too deeply isn't his style.

"You're simple, Zoro. That must be nice."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

Geto reached toward the fallen curse. The unconscious curse transformed into a black, round bead, which Geto grabbed.

Gulp.

Geto swallowed the bead. The sensation was like swallowing a rag used to clean up vomit—a repulsive sensation crawling down his throat.

Watching this, Zoro asked Geto,

"Tastes good?"

Geto hesitated. It was the first time Zoro had asked such a question.

"Why do you ask?"

"If it's tasty, I might try some."

"Mad—absolutely not!"

Geto jumped.

"It's awful. Horribly awful. It tastes like vomit itself. Plus, a curse's body is highly toxic! If you eat it, you'll die!"

Just getting close to a curse could harm a non-sorcerer, let alone eating it. It's abnormal for a human like Toji to swallow curses nonchalantly; a non-sorcerer would die.

"Oh, really?"

That sounds painful. Zoro promptly gave up the idea of eating a curse.

"Then why do you eat it?"

"I have to do it this way to control the curse."

Only by forming the curse into a bead and swallowing it does the subjugation complete. Zoro frowned.

"Is that okay?"

"..."

"Tastes like vomit. Must be disgusting."

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