He already knew that more strength could be extracted with overt physical contact, but he didn’t expect it to be to this extent.

Well, perhaps it was natural since it was the first time he had been so close to someone who became a sacrifice of the curse.

The reason Carlos brought Irene.

It was because Irene was the “sacrifice of the curse.”

The reason why Irene was chosen as the sacrifice of the curse is unknown.

What’s certain is that when all the flowers on her back tattoo bloom, the shackles binding Carlos to the human world would be released.

And the one who became the sacrifice would die.

Since the flowers on the back tattoo fed on the life of the sacrifice.

“…”

Suddenly, the reality of that fact painfully pierced Carlos’s bones, and he frowned.

Bringing a cursed sacrifice to Esper Castle wasn’t the first time for Carlos.
Before Irene, I brought about three more people. No, maybe it was four. Anyway, Carlos didn’t particularly care that those who became sacrifices of the curse would eventually die. Even when they died without lifting the curse, he only lamented the fact that it wasn’t resolved but didn’t find meaning in their deaths. However, why did the prospect of Irene dying bother and irritate him so much?

“…”

“What’s with your expression?”

Seeing Carlos’s expression crumpling, Abel asked in a concerned tone.

“Is there any problem with the barrier, perhaps?”

Let’s stop unnecessary thoughts. If Abel catches on, it will be troublesome, so Carlos washed his face and nodded.

“No, there isn’t.”

“Of course not.”

Abel raised his hand to his waist with an air of confidence, laughing cheerfully.

“I repaired the barrier myself; there couldn’t be any issues.”

“…”

What confidence was he saying that with? Carlos looked at Abel with eyes filled with bewilderment. Even if there were no actual problems, it would have been awkward, and there were, in fact, visible issues.

Carlos could have solved them, and he refrained from pointing them out because he knew how much Abel had suffered during this time. However, seeing Abel come out like this, a mischievous desire to point out and fix each problem emerged.

But Carlos couldn’t act on such a whim. Despite Abel’s hardships, it was inconvenient for him to remain in the Esper Territory any longer, especially with an investigation team sent by the temple about to arrive.

Abel and their inevitable meeting needed to be prevented at all costs, so fixing the barrier needed to be stopped here.

“Thanks for your hard work until now. It must have been a challenging request, and I appreciate you accepting it.”

Apart from that, Carlos sincerely expressed his gratitude.

In response, Abel scratched his neck with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

“What’s with you? Why are you saying such things out of the blue?”

“I just said what needed to be said.”

“Well, if you say so.”

Abel chuckled.

“If you’re so thankful, do me a favor too.”

Most of Abel’s requests were mischievous pranks that made people around him uncomfortable. Although not malicious, they were annoying to endure. So, Carlos was a bit reluctant to fulfill Abel’s request, but considering that he had accepted Carlos’s request, he reluctantly nodded.

“What’s the favor?”

“Not right now. It’s about asking for a favor later when I have something.”

It would likely involve joining in some elaborate prank. Carlos felt a bit uneasy about what kind of massive prank Abel was planning.

Despite his inner reluctance, Carlos had no choice but to answer affirmatively on the surface.
Carlos internally didn’t want to comply, but externally, he had no choice but to agree.

On the way back to Esper Castle after finishing the barrier repairs, Abel folded his hands behind his head, looked up at the night sky full of twinkling stars, and mumbled, “I guess the barrier is fixed. Now what? Shall we take a stroll in the human world for a change?”

Carlos, who had been walking ahead, turned around, perplexed.

“Aren’t we supposed to go back to the underground world?”

Abel grimaced and waved his hand dismissively.

“Don’t say such dreadful things. If we go back, a bomb of nagging is sure to be thrown at me. I really don’t want to go back already.”

Carlos, looking bewildered, retorted, “If you did your job properly, there wouldn’t be a bomb of nagging in the first place.”

“I did it properly. I’m sure I did everything I had to.”

Abel walked ahead, tutting more than Carlos.

“But Hugo, that guy, constantly picks a fight with me about whether he likes what I did or not. Even in the previous incident, he came even though he knew I was on vacation and bombarded me with things to do. So, let’s just head back now.”

Carlos replied, recalling the contents of the letter sent by Hugo, “It seems like there’s really a lot to do.”

“Indeed.”

Abel chuckled.

“Right now is the harvest season, so there’s almost nothing to do.”

While other territories in the underground world were busy with harvesting, Widor was an exception. Due to the nature of the island making farming difficult, most crops were brought in from other territories. Therefore, unlike other territories, Widor didn’t have extensive harvesting.

Instead, Widor developed its tourism industry, taking advantage of its mild climate and beautiful sea. With well-established hotel and villa systems, anyone from the underground residents wanted to travel to Widor.

Many tourists had visited, but during busy periods like the harvest season, the number of tourists decreased significantly, making it the most leisurely time in Widor.

So, Abel also took a break from everything and came on vacation for a while.

“…”

Carlos also knew this fact well, so he refrained from telling Abel to go back. They needed to somehow send him back to the underground world.

However, using work as an excuse seemed unlikely, and Carlos was pondering if there were any other good excuses.

While deep in thought, Abel, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped.

“Is it because of that?”

Turning around with a roundabout way, he looked at Carlos.

“Are you trying to send me back to the underground world because of the pigeons coming to the Esper Territory right now?”