Chapter 196
I can't tell if my interest stems from curiosity, discomfort, or pure intuition.
"Here you go, miss. I made yours a little bigger.""Thank you!!""You're welcome."
The mother and child left that place, and we proceeded as planned to the waffle stand to receive our freshly made order.
The sweet aroma whets my appetite, and my tired body, having just finished dungeon crawling, demands calories.
"Munch! Mmm! So sweet and delicious!!!"
Nel immediately takes a big bite, wagging her tail in delight at the sweetness.
"Yeah, tasty."
Following her lead, I take a bite of my waffle. Though the dough is slightly dry, the sweetness creates a satisfying texture in my mouth.
Eating something sweet is the best when you're tired, and after physical exertion, you can really feel the calories replenishing you.
And since that sugar becomes energy for the body, it incidentally fuels the brain too.
That physique and demeanor—there's no doubt he's a combat expert.
While eating, my thoughts aren't on the waffle in my hand but on that family from earlier.
"Are you interested?""...Yeah, I'm interested.""Then! Why not go talk to them?""Just like that?"
To be precise, it's the man protecting the family that interests me.
But is it okay to suddenly approach a family I don't know?
"How would we even start? Just say hello like normal?""Is that not okay?"
This might be the difference between adult and child thinking. Nel is sharp—she can think like an adult despite being a child. But her lack of experience means childish logic still comes through sometimes.
"No, well, it's not wrong..."
So she suggests the pure idea of greeting them to get acquainted—something that wouldn't occur to me.
"Then let's go!! If Libert is worried, it must be important!"
She grabs my hesitant hand and pulls me along as she starts running. She's right—if I went home without knowing, I'd just be left brooding over this unease. Maybe approaching them to resolve this discomfort isn't a bad idea.
"But do you know where they went? It's been a while since they left.""No problem! I remember their scent.""Wow, beastfolk are amazing."
The issue was not knowing where they'd gone, but Nel taps her nose, saying she can track them by scent—a skill humans lack.
Guided by her, we run until we spot the familiar mother and child.
"There they are!""Yeah."
They seem to be asking for directions while looking at some paper. As we rush over, pulled by Nel's momentum, they notice us.
"Oh, it's you two."
Without the intensity he showed when sending that adventurer flying, the man tilts his head in gentle confusion, his voice as mild as our first impression.
"Hello.""Hi there!""Yes, hello. Did you need something, miss?"
Realizing we came for a reason, he starts a normal conversation without hostility. Since Nel pulled me here, he assumes she's the one with business, but she shakes her head.
"It's not me—it's Libert!""Is that so?""Yes."
He looks at me, understanding I'm the one who wants to talk, and meets my gaze with curiosity.
His face is kind and gentle, with light brown hair. His build is solid but not bulky.
His appearance is gentle yet doesn't seem unreliable.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Libert.""Pleasure. I'm Hyurida. This is my wife, Mee, and our daughter, Kryush.""...""H-Hello."
After introductions, I learn his name is Hyurida, but it doesn't ring any bells. His wife bows silently, and their child, holding her hand, greets us in a small voice.
"Sorry, my wife can't speak due to circumstances."
For a moment, she moves as if to speak but stops herself, offering only a nod.
From that, the "circumstances" Hyurida mentioned connect to something in my knowledge.
"...Could it be a Siren's Curse?""You know of it?"
During FBO events, there are many fetch quests, including those for recovery items.
"Yes, I once heard about someone seeking medicine to cure it."
Siren's Curse.
Sirens are monsters resembling avian beastfolk like Amina, but their appearance is grotesque. Though often depicted as beautiful, in FBO they have monstrous faces and sinister purple wings.
With sharp claws, poison, flight, and the "Cursed Song" skill that inflicts debuffs, they're formidable.
The Siren's Curse is one such debuff.
Players can be affected too.
The effect is simple: it silences you. No skills are disabled—it just prevents speech. You might think, "That's it?" but the curse's real nuisance is its permanence—only specific curse-breaking items can lift it.
New players often mistake it for a bug when recovery items fail to cure it, but the solution is later revealed through quests—an infamous, troublesome curse.
To me, it's not that scary. I know how to obtain and craft the cure.
So I mentioned it casually, but...
"Is that true?! When?! Where did you hear this?!"
He closes in urgently, kneeling to grab my shoulders. This pattern again...
Nel gives me a look that says, "Here we go." Once more, my common sense isn't so common.
"Uh—""Please remember! I've been traveling to restore my wife's voice! I beg you!!"
Seriously, what's up with this world? Shouldn't Siren's Curses be curable by now?
Earlier, they must have been asking about a way to lift the curse.
"At least let go, and I'll tell you?""Ah, my apologies. I lost my composure."
This item isn't useful beyond quests. Sirens only appear in limited areas, and the main concern is strays that leave their habitats.
"It's fine. You really care about your wife, huh?""Of course I do."
Good thing this happened after leveling up. If he'd grabbed me with the strength he used on that adventurer, my child-sized body would've been crushed.
Hiding my relief and cold sweat, I keep a straight face.
"My family means more to me than life itself. When my wife lost her voice, I was heartbroken."
He's a good guy, but I'd prefer if he didn't cry in public. A grown man kneeling and weeping in front of a child makes it look like I made him cry.
"Could you stop crying? People are staring.""Ah, sorry. The thought that Mee's voice might be restored... We went to the western continent to buy an Elixir, but the unrest there made it impossible for outsiders. We were at our wits' end.""Where are you from? If you're outsiders on the western continent, does that mean you're from the southern one?"
Wiping his tears, he resumes the conversation. The western continent info is intriguing, but I'll set that aside for now.
"No, we're from the north. My hometown's safety is... questionable. Recent clan conflicts made it risky for me to travel alone for supplies. If we had a son, I'd have left him to guard the house, but he insisted on journeying to cure his mother. So we've been traveling to find him, a cure, and a new home."
Hyurida's story is heavy. The northern continent is the beastfolk-dominated warzone, right?
"Luckily, I'm confident in my strength. I've worked as a merchant guard during our travels."
A survival-of-the-fittest world where races form hierarchies based on combat prowess.
Surviving there means he's undoubtedly strong. Humans are looked down upon by some beastfolk, and the weak face persecution.
"I see."
Visitors from the northern continent... There have been more lately.
Not that it means much, but at least I know how they reached the capital.
"I'll tell you how to make the item to lift the Siren's Curse.""You know how?""Yeah, sort of."
He seems decent and in genuine need, so I don't mind helping.
"Are you... a dwarf?""No, I'm human."
He eyes me skeptically for knowing a cure I shouldn't, suggesting dwarves might, but I deny it.
How many times has this happened? I take out memo paper.
"You'll need a Class 3 Curse Potion, Songbee Honey, a Class 2 or higher Wind Spirit Stone, and...""I can't thank you enough.""Don't worry about it. We help each other out.""I won't forget this. Once Mee's voice is restored, I'll repay you."
I jot down the ingredients and, on another sheet, the crafting method.
"This will let you make Hymn Candy to lift the curse. Try it.""Thank you, truly."
He takes it carefully, reads it, and tears up again.
"Save your thanks for after it works. And you'll need to find your son, right?""Ah, right."
Honestly, this feels good. No calculations—just helping on instinct.
Maybe that earlier unease was my intuition nudging me to assist them?
"Do you know where he is?""Sadly, no. We also left because his letters stopped coming.""That's worrying.""Yeah. Shalia, where are you?"
Hm? Shalia?
And at this moment, I hear the name of a certain NPC.