Tiendavis - For Perfect Salvation - Chapter 22

“What are you talking about with that child……”

Sion muttered in disbelief as he stood at the doorway.

Then Ibi Ariate, startled like a cat caught doing something naughty, turned around with drooping eyes.

Seeing that pitiful expression, Sion let out a sigh.

This house has poor soundproofing.

Moreover, Sion was already half awake when that little one knocked on the door earlier.

He had just been ignoring it due to sleepiness, but the voice from the next room fully woke him up.

—Unnie, but are you really the Holy Maiden?

—Not yet. …… You know that earlier was a joke, right?

Sion couldn’t believe his ears when he heard talk of a Holy Maiden.

So he quickly got dressed and came out, but what he heard next was even more outrageous.

—No, I really hate your teacher.

—I’m not sure about that, but if he agrees, you should run away. He’s a pervert worse than an animal.

In the end, Sion spoke up in disbelief, and Ibi Ariate started looking around meekly again.

“Teacher!”

As Sion glared at Ibi, the child got up from the carpet and ran over. So Sion had no choice but to soften his expression.

“I’ll give you this.”

The child rummaged through their pocket and suddenly held out something. In that small hand was a crystal about the size of a pebble.

Sion immediately recognized what it was and sighed again. Then he firmly shook his head.

“You should keep this. Your mother went through a lot of trouble to get it for you.”

“But you don’t have a mother to give you things like this. So I’ll give you mine.”

“No, take it back.”

When the child stubbornly persisted with such an unfilial statement, Sion grabbed both of the child’s cheeks with one hand.

Then, in a stern voice befitting a teacher, he said:

“Take this home, lock the door, cover the windows, and don’t move until tomorrow morning.”

“Tch.”

“Tch?”

“Okay, I’ll get through this new moon safely and see you again.”

The child shook their head to brush off the teacher’s hand. Then they gave Ibi a nod and scurried away.

The child who had arrived in a flurry left just as hastily, and an awkward silence lingered in their wake.

Sion looked at Ibi first. Ibi, who had been squatting while talking to the child, finally stood up and said:

“They really seem to like you, Count. What the child offered, it’s salt from Manya, right?”

As Ibi said, what the child had brought was a piece of the Manya salt crystal, like those that had filled the salt warehouse where Ibi had been hiding before.

“You know that, so why ask?”

Unlike Ibi who approached him amicably, Sion’s voice was gruff.

That was partly due to lingering sleepiness, and partly due to this absurd situation.

“It’s just, the child is so kind. That salt must be precious in Bis.”

“It is precious. You might not realize it since it’s piled up adequately in Tienda.”

That salt called Manya salt is made by purifiers who purify seawater.

In Bis, that salt is traded at very high prices. Because it can prevent the curse of Noche.

Morning is the natural enemy of night. So the curse of Noche shrank from salt imbued with Manya’s blessing.

This was also why curses didn’t dare approach Tienda.

The Manya Tower is covered with those salt crystals, and warehouses are filled with them.

So in Tienda, they don’t even think about the new moon, but Bis is different.

In Bis, people either spend all their money to buy salt to avoid the monthly calamity, or wait for dawn while holding their breath in the darkness.

If they can’t avoid misfortune despite that, they die.

“That’s right, it would be nice if it was easily available in Bis too.”

Ibi Ariate said cautiously. So Sion couldn’t help but laugh.

It was truly a fleeting and irresponsible thing to say.

The reason Manya salt is expensive is because the Manya Tower has joined hands with Marquis Montra.

The tower only distributes salt to Marquis Montra, and Marquis Montra calculates how much the commoners of Bis can pay for their lives and raises the price as much as possible.

It’s all the result of that greedy calculation, yet Ibi Ariate, a purifier of the tower, mutters as if it’s someone else’s story in a kind voice.

Of course, Sion knows that Ibi is innocent in this matter.

However, he really hates that selfish and cowardly Tienda, so he can’t look kindly on Ibi Ariate who is trying so hard to join it.

Moreover, Ibi Ariate, who continues to speak recklessly, is:

“Putting aside the salt, are you planning to spread rumors that you’re the Holy Maiden?”

“No, I have no such intentions.”

She lies so easily. So Sion sighed and said:

“Of course you shouldn’t. You’re not the Holy Maiden yet, and you won’t be in the future either.”

Ibi’s expression froze at Sion’s warning. So Sion felt even more displeased.

Ibi Ariate always has that kind of expression. As if she believes everything will be resolved if she looks at you with those hurt eyes.

“If you still have any thoughts of blackmailing me, you’d better reconsider.”

“Blackmail…?”

Ibi Ariate asked in surprise.

This reaction made Sion dumbfounded once again.

Last night, Ibi tried to take advantage of Sion’s situation while talking about the preciousness of daily life.

So when Sion asked if she was blackmailing him, she boldly answered that it wasn’t wrong to say so.

It was just last night, no. It was only a few hours ago.

In the meantime, Ibi grabbed an innocent child and said she was the Holy Maiden, so to Sion this looked like an absurd ploy.

That’s why he got up right away to warn her, but Ibi Ariate once again had those surprised rabbit eyes.

“It’s the same whether it’s blackmail or revenge. You might feel wronged, but even if you reveal what you saw, neither Bis nor Tienda will believe you, and you won’t be able to prove it.”

Ibi’s eyes grew even rounder at Sion’s continued words.

So Sion thought it was really a convenient face.

With a face like that, there might even be people who deliberately let themselves be fooled when she lies.

Sion too was overcome with mixed emotions, and quickly concluded:

“If you still want to try, calculate sufficiently first. Whether it’s effective or not, you’ll have to deal with the consequences.”

With those final words, Sion turned away.

Left alone, Ibi stood there blankly for a long time.

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Ibi, who had come down from the second floor, had a somewhat dazed expression.

With such a face, Ibi entered the room and sat quietly on the bed.

Dies knew well when Ibi became like this.

So he waited silently, and soon Ibi raised her head.

“Butler.”

Ibi called Dies in a faint voice that was barely audible.

Then, with an expression that looked almost like she was about to cry, she whispered.

“I think I’ve found a way after all.”

Saying that, Ibi hugged Dies tightly. Then she looked at the butler who was strongly refusing the embrace with eyes shining like stars.

Dies let out a hollow laugh seeing that sight.

Dies also knew well when Ibi had such eyes.

This was the look of confidence that Ibi Ariate only showed right after using her cunning more brilliantly than ever.

After lunch, the village became properly chaotic.

The men checked if there were any animal carcasses around the village.

The loudly crying livestock had already been sent to the mountains the day before. So people clicked their tongues looking at the empty barns, saying this time they shouldn’t die too much.

The biggest worry was houses with babies. Parents went underground with their babies to prevent crying sounds from escaping, and covered the top with thick carpets.

Windows were covered with boards and chimneys were tightly sealed. Still not feeling at ease, people set up anything that could be used as a weapon next to the front door.

On such an afternoon of preparing for disaster, Mrs. Marso’s two-story house was especially noisy.

It was because all the villagers had gathered there.

“What’s going on outside?”

Sion asked Mrs. Marso, who had just come up to close the windows, about what was happening.

“Ah, that, the couple in the room on the first floor is distributing Manya salt to the villagers.”

Ibi Ariate?

“They’re giving out a handful to each house, my goodness. Where did all that come from……”

At Mrs. Marso’s words, Sion looked out the window again.

Then he saw Ibi Ariate and her butler standing among the people.

Seeing that sight, Sion immediately got a headache.

And Mrs. Marso also clicked her tongue worriedly.

“If they got fakes from somewhere and are doing this, it’ll be a big problem……”

Contrary to such concerns, Ibi Ariate’s salt is likely to be real.

Since they were coming to Bis on the night of the new moon, they would have scooped up plenty of salt from the tower for safety.

But to generously distribute that to people, Sion saw this as a clear provocation.

He had clearly warned her not to do anything unnecessary, but Ibi Ariate came out like this as if to show off.

Moreover, distributing salt in Bis is Marquis Montra’s exclusive right. No matter how renowned a purifier of the Manya Tower she is, this action is clearly problematic.

‘What on earth is she trying to do?’

Sion still couldn’t understand Ibi Ariate’s way of thinking.

Only his assessment that Ibi Ariate was a fool was becoming more firmly established.

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Finally, the sun set.

Darkness slowly fell, and the village became as quiet as if it were empty.

How long had it been since pitch blackness covered the sky, when a pale form revealed itself in the darkness.

People peeking out the windows from inside their homes covered their mouths at the sight of that bizarre form resembling bones.

It was the curse of Noche.

It was translucent like a thin curtain and had a bizarre shape as if several large animal bones were joined together.

The villagers held their breath and counted their number.

The number of curses that entered the village was three. Yet people couldn’t dare to think it was few.

The curses, not even touching the ground, moved their bone fragments bizarrely and wandered through the air.

Then they searched every corner for something living.

As if the curse had caught some scent, it pushed its bone tip into the gap of a door of a house. Then it suddenly flinched and retreated.

People who saw this sight cheered.

The salt that a young woman had distributed during the day was real. So the curse couldn’t enter any house and was wandering around.

At that moment, the sound of a child crying rang out from a house.

Then the lurking curses moved like lightning and all stood in front of that house.

The curses, certain of life, scratched at the door gap as if trying to enter. But that was only for a moment, all three curses convulsed as if struck by lightning and hurriedly scattered.

Blue smoke was rising from that door where the curses had gathered.

It was smoke coming from the Manya salt placed at the entrance, burning on its own to drive away the curse of Noche.

This village was full of Manya’s blessing.

The resentment of the dead dragon could not overcome that noble will.

In the end, the curses that couldn’t find prey quietly disappeared, carrying their hunger and resentment.

As the curse retreated without screams or cries, Dies, who had been watching outside, said:

“It’s only a matter of time before this reaches Marquis Montra’s ears.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”

Ibi, lying face down on the bed, smiled leisurely.

This morning, when Sion Laurel suddenly spoke coldly, she thought, why is this guy acting like this?

But as she quietly listened to what he was saying, she became certain.

Certain that she would get everything back from that arrogant and shameless count who twisted other people’s lives and, far from being sorry, only threatened that if you touch me, be prepared for the consequences.

So Ibi waited for this night to pass and morning to come.

However, it wasn’t just the wandering curse that one had to be wary of on the night of the new moon.

They thought it was a rare peaceful new moon.

In the darkest night before dawn, a violent sound that shook the mountains tore apart that thin peace.

Kyaaaa!

At that thunderous scream, people who had just fallen asleep woke up in shock.

Then they hurriedly searched for the curse.

Fortunately, it was quickly found.

Far away, the mountain was moving.

More precisely, a curse that had finally found and eaten the livestock tied to the mountain was raising its decaying body.