Translator: Shizukuku

Editor: Lilia

Read at Watashi Wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 140 – A Quest from Regalo-san

I paid the donation fee, walked out of the room into the hall, and saw Crash and Regalo-san talking off to the side. I quickly went over to greet them. 

“Regalo-san, hello.”

“Hey, Mac-kun, it looks like you’ve gotten your voice back, so they must have lifted the curse.”

“Yes, in the back.”

“Well then, shall we head to my shop?”

“Ah, please give me a moment. I’d like to buy some holy water.”

I asked the two of them to wait for me and ran over to the person selling holy water near the entrance.

I bought a few bottles and hurried back to them.

Holy water was also quite expensive. It was about twice the price of a high potion.

I really didn’t want to get too close to the church. The financial cost alone was a good motivation not to.

I followed behind Crash and Regalo-san, who were exchanging information, and we arrived at the [ Sorcery Shop ], having taken a different path than the one I took when I came with Vidello-san.

I thanked Regalo-san, who kindly opened the door for me, and entered the shop.

“I heard from Crash-kun that you got yourself cursed on purpose? Why on earth would you do something so ridiculous?”

Regalo-san asked me with a smile and gently offered Crash and me some freshly brewed tea.

Oh, it smelled so good. It had a light floral scent. I wondered if it was herbal tea.

“I’m trying to create a new recipe. I was thinking about what would be good, and I wondered if there might be an item that can lift curses.”

“Yes, right now, the church has a monopoly on curse lifting.”

“I wanted to know how curses are currently lifted. I thought it would also be important to know what it felt like to be cursed, and how it felt like to have the curse lifted. And finally, I wanted to know if there were already curse-lifting items being used by the church. I thought the quickest way to do it was to get cursed myself.”

“I see. You’re the same as always, Mac-kun.”

Regalo-san chuckled quietly at my response, prompting Crash to sigh deeply and say, “It’s true, though,” with a sullen look on his face.

“Mac is always getting involved in strange things out of the blue. Even Vidello can’t stop Mac’s antics. In fact, Vidello doesn’t even want to stop him. He says that when Mac charges ahead, it’s his role to support him from behind. He’s too lenient.”

Vidello-san, I didn’t know you said something like that. You’re a very supportive and open-minded person, Vidello-san. I love you.

Regalo-san laughed again beside me as I grinned happily.

“Mac-kun, you are someone who mustn’t stop. If you were to stop, the path leading to the best possible future would be cut off.”

“Regalo-san…?”

Regalo-san’s enigmatic words caught both Crash’s and my attention.

The best possible future; whose future is he talking about?

Mine and Vidello-san’s?

As I was pondering this, Regalo-san changed the subject, saying, “More importantly, I’d like to ask you something, if you don’t mind. I will compensate you for the information.”

“Eh, ah, sure. I don’t know if I’ll have any useful information, but I’ll answer the best I can.”

Puzzled by Regalo-san’s words, I replied, and Regalo-san nodded, saying, “You certainly have the latest information. How much did you have to donate to have the curse removed? And if possible, could you describe the curse removal process in detail?”

“Oh, then I do have the latest information.”

Ping! A surprise mark appeared in my quest column.

Oh, this was a quest, too.

Gently opening the quest column, I quickly read the contents.

『【NEW】 Let’s Share Information About the Church’s Curse Removal.

Regalo wants to know about the church’s inner workings. 

Share any information you know.

Clear Reward: Item Creation

Quest Failure: Unable to provide Regalo with the desired information – Item creation not possible. 』

Oh, I definitely wanted to succeed in this one.

My heart skipped a beat as I read the text, and then I closed the quest column.

First, I drank some tea to calm myself down, and then I looked at Regalo-san again.

Which information did he want? I was sure he’d want to know about the offerings. What else? What information would satisfy Regalo-san?

Since I wasn’t sure what he wanted to know, I decided to explain the entire process.

What I saw and felt when I entered the curse removal room, and that unpleasant sensation.

Details about the bishop’s curse-removal magic, the sensations I felt, the items he used, being told the price of the offering for the first time after the bishop departed. And that ridiculously high price. I might have described that price with too much emotion.

I explained everything to him.

Upon hearing this, Regalo-san showed a thoughtful expression, as if considering something deeply.

I wondered if he needed more information. Maybe there was something else, but there wasn’t.

Regalo-san fell silent for a while, closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and murmured softly. 

“…I understand. I have come to realize that it’s best to sever ties with the church. Thank you for the valuable information.”

“What, sever ties?!”

Surprised by the somewhat alarming utterance, I watched as Regalo-san picked up the teapot from the table and calmly refilled Crash’s and my cups.

“Recently, the church has been a bit excessive in their actions, so I’ve been looking for the right time to break away.”

“Excessive actions, like the high offering prices?”

“That’s part of it, and also the peculiarities in the curse removal procedures.”

What did he mean by peculiarities in the curse removal procedures? 

As I tilted my head in confusion, Regalo-san narrowed his eyes slightly.

“The concept of causing pain during curse removal is truly unacceptable. The spell for curse removal is meant to erase the curse, not inflict pain. They must have altered the words of the spell so that it causes pain. Such modifications to magic are something even novice priests are taught early on, but it’s supposed to be for the purpose of warning them of the dangers of doing so. It seems there are some in the church who take pleasure in the pain of others. The bishop you encountered must be one of them. Their curse removal process is disturbing. Light magic accompanied by such pain is typically reserved for criminals or interrogations.”

“What?! Criminals?!”

I couldn’t help but blurt out in shock at Regalo-san’s words. 

Wow, I ran into someone with such a disturbing inclination… The church was truly scary.

As I trembled, Crash looked at me with a pitying expression.

“Maybe the donation amount isn’t right either? Are they overcharging?”

Could I have negotiated? Was bargaining with the church something you could do?

“Well, in the past, the church was a charity. Yes, back when the Demon King was still a threat to everyone.”

“So now that the Demon King is gone and the threat has disappeared, the church started losing business?”

As I voiced my thoughts, Regalo-san’s eyes softened.

“You wouldn’t normally say ‘losing business’ when talking about a church, but you’re right. That’s exactly what happened. When peace came, the number of people praying to God decreased and donations also decreased. It became a survival crisis, and they were forced to raise the prices of their offerings. Even priests are people. There will always be those who are susceptible to greed. If such a person stands at the top, the entire church itself may become greedy. I couldn’t say for certain that the current state isn’t like that. That’s why I’ve been assessing the situation.”

I see. So I provided the information that put a stop to it.

“And furthermore, it seems they are using some sort of enchantment magic. It’s almost like fraud. I’m glad Mac-kun feels discomfort from such deception. Thank you for the valuable information. As a token of appreciation, you can ask me for a favor. Is there anything you’d like?”

Once again, my mind was read, and a word I was curious about slipped through my mind. 

That’s right, I had a favor to ask.

I took out a feather from my inventory and showed it to Regalo-san.

“I want to make this into an accessory and give it to Vidello-san as a present. So Vidello-san will be happy.”

“Oh my, this is a Blue Tail feather. How lovely. I understand. I’ll make it with all my heart, ensuring it reflects both Vidello-kun’s style and your feelings.”

Regalo-san smiled warmly, and at that moment, a notification pinged in my quest column. The quest had been successfully completed.

I’m glad. I was able to give him the information he needed. 

Feeling relieved, I sipped from my still steaming cup.