TMBIPYMEN Chapter 37

"I told Laila that?"

Laila's expression turned incredulous, and she looked up at Marnak this time. He seemed to flinch slightly, but that was none of her concern.

"You heard him, didn't you? Yustar told me that. He said it wasn't a good idea. You heard him, didn't you?"

Marnak could only look back and forth between the two of them like a poor puppy who didn't know what to do, offering no answer.

Laila felt she was going mad! Lately she'd often wondered if something had gone wrong with her head—ever since meeting Yustar—but today she truly felt as if she'd been possessed by a ghost.

Yustar carefully grasped Laila's shoulder and looked straight into her face.

"Laila, are you certain it was my voice?"

"Yes, I'm telling you! It was your voice. Clear enough that I could never confuse it with anyone else's."

Yustar started to say something, then changed his mind. He couldn't make Laila understand everything right now. Perhaps someday it might be possible, but honestly, even if that day came, he'd prefer not to tell her if he could avoid it.

"Calm down first, Laila. It could be an aftereffect of portal sickness. Sometimes... it happens. People see hallucinations or hear things. Isn't that right, Marnak?"

Marnak was flustered. Portal sickness could cause vomiting or dizziness, and sometimes people even fainted, but he'd never once encountered anyone who complained of auditory or visual hallucinations.

But looking at Yustar's expression, the atmosphere absolutely did not allow for saying "no."

"That's... right. Yes. Sometimes there are people like that."

"Really?"

At Laila's question, Marnak quickly nodded and turned away, pretending to check on the man in the room. Then he clasped both hands over his chest and offered a brief prayer of repentance.

Yustar said, "If we can't break that man's curse right now, the first thing to do is examine the sink. If possible, we'll find the cause and eliminate it. Will you be all right?"

He turned toward the man, and Laila turned her head as well.

Beyond the glass, the man had stopped scratching his knees and was now pulling out his hair strand by strand. He was arranging them in a line on the floor.

They had to do something quickly. Laila thought. Unless they removed the curse on that man, or the source of that curse, he would surely die here.

"...All right. I'm fine. Like you said, it was..."

"It must have been an auditory hallucination. Trust me. If you're not feeling well, take some medicine before we leave."

Laila made a retching gesture.

"Absolutely not."

Elsik, where Adiak—Tentinella's Fourth Branch—was located, was a port city in the western part of Sierrow Kingdom. As they left the branch building, a strong sea breeze blew, carrying a fishy, bitter, salty smell.

"What is this smell?"

Laila asked, frowning. Only then did Yustar remember that she'd lived only in the mountains of Ridgecarse.

"It's the smell of the sea, Laila. The smell of salt. There's probably the smell of dried seaweed too."

"I've never seen the sea. I've only heard about it in stories."

"Once we've finished our work, you'll be able to look at the sea at your leisure."

Yustar spoke as if this were a good thing, but for Laila it wasn't particularly something to look forward to. Above all, the smell was too nauseating. She suddenly missed the earthy smell and fresh plant scents she could smell in the mountains.

"Where's the sink?"

"Ah, right. Laila, would you hold out your hand?"

It was an odd request, but Laila obediently extended her hand to him.

Yustar looked down at the back of her hand for a moment, then let out a small laugh and lightly kissed her knuckles. Then he carefully took her hand and turned it so her palm faced upward.

"You should have said palm from the beginning."

When Laila spoke blankly, Yustar looked at her with amused eyes.

Yustar asked, "Did you dislike my kiss that much?"

"That..."

Laila, who'd been about to answer, pressed her lips together firmly before replying briefly, "It's not that."

For a moment she thought she was lying, but thinking about it again, perhaps not. What was the big deal about kissing the back of a hand or fingers anyway? Besides, it wasn't even the first time.

Yustar wore an expression as if he could see right through whatever Laila was thinking, then gently placed something round and flat on her palm.

The top was covered with a hard glass lid, and inside were countless finely engraved scales.

There were also five black needles of different lengths. At first glance it resembled a clock or compass, but its purpose was clearly entirely different.

"Is this a magical artifact too?"

"That's right."

Yustar answered simply and tapped the glass cover with his fingertip. Tap. Then the thin needles trembled with their own movements, as if alive.

Laila said, "It's not a compass."

"No. But it's a similar device. A compass is used to find direction, but this is used to find sinks. It's a magical artifact called a Seeker."

"Seeker."

Laila looked down at the Seeker on her palm, echoing his words. The five needles each pointed in different directions and didn't move. She shook it slightly, but still there wasn't even the slightest motion.

"You keep this now, Laila. I'll slowly prepare other things you'll need too."

"How do I use this?"

"It's simple. Do you see the small button on top? Yes, that silver button. Press it."

Laila did as he instructed. The button was stiff, but when she applied force it soon went in with a click. Then amazingly, the needles that hadn't budged at all suddenly began spinning rapidly!

"Now wait a moment. These will search for the sink's energy. They'll prioritize finding the one closest sink first."

Laila asked, "Why are the needles different lengths?"

"Because each sink's energy has different wavelengths. Some emit long waves, others short waves. We're still researching this, so it's hard to explain exactly... but anyway, those needles each detect different wavelengths. But when three or more needles point to one place, there's definitely a sink there."

The Seeker's needles kept spinning. For a moment Laila worried what would happen if the needles never stopped. Just as she suffered terrible motion sickness every time she traveled by portal, if she couldn't handle this magical artifact properly either...?

But that didn't happen. The five needles began to slow down, starting with the shortest, then gradually came to rest one by one, pointing to a single spot.

"They've stopped."

Laila raised her head.

"Northwest from here."

Yustar took out his monocle from his jacket pocket and put it on. Laila stared at him carefully touching the decoration on the monocle, then said, "You said you need that to see ghosts properly, right? That's also a magical artifact. Does it have a name?"

"Of course. It's called Tillar Auguseer. But no one calls it by that name."

"Can it only see them? Ghosts?"

"That's its original purpose... But members with mediumistic qualities can use the monocle to access the 'core' and attempt overlaying. But that's not easy. You can suffer internal injuries from rebound if you're careless. Nobody likes having their memories forcibly examined, after all. Even if they're ghosts."

Laila's gaze wavered strangely. According to him, she was the only one who could freely see spirits' cores and even perform overlaying without that monocle.

She finally understood why Yustar needed her. Without herself—a pure and powerful medium—dealing with the ghosts created by sinks would be no easy matter at all.

Yustar said, "Look at the Seeker's needles, Laila. What color are they?"

Laila lowered her head to look at the Seeker on her palm and was immediately startled. The tips of the needles, which had definitely been black at first, had changed to a pale yellow.

"Yellow."

"Yellow, hmm. That's fairly all right then. Sometimes they turn white, which means the distance is quite far. Yellow means it's a walkable distance. Let's walk around and try to find it."

Yustar, about to take a step, made an "ah" sound and added, "Marnak said this sink is small in scale but seems to exert strong influence in various places. So be careful, Laila. Always stay by my side. If that's difficult, at least always keep me in your line of sight. Do you understand?"

"I know. I understand."

Laila answered. Her voice was clear, but for some reason her own words sounded meaningless and distant, as if she were dreaming.

The fishy smell of the seaside she was experiencing for the first time, the crowded streets... Was it because of such things? Suddenly everything felt unreal, as if floating away.

"These damned brats! Can't play quietly!"

A booming voice suddenly struck Laila's back.

When she turned around, a woman with her head covering slipping askew was hurling incomprehensible curses at children who were giggling and running away. Withered apples were rolling around at the woman's feet.

"Damn brats."

The woman grumbled as she picked up the apples one by one and put them back in her basket. Five or six children ran far away, giggling in shrill voices. They scattered here and there, hitting each other's shoulders or bumping bodies.

"Here."

Laila picked up an apple that had rolled nearby and handed it to the woman. She took the apple with a sullen face, then spoke in a completely different tone—friendly and amiable—from her expression.

"Thank you, kind miss."

"It's nothing."

As Laila turned around with a brief smile, her eyes caught the woman's skirt hem. On one side of the apron was a dirty handprint.

"The children must have been playing pranks."

The woman who looked down at her apron let out an "ah!" Then she grumbled and brushed off her apron carelessly.

"Damned little brats. Should've caught them and beaten their bottoms so they couldn't sit. They definitely did this on purpose. Must've smeared mud all over their hands, then stamped it on while pretending to bump into me."