Master of All Sins

Chapter 15 : Younger Sister and Older Sister - 1

In a dream, I was talking to someone.

I couldn't tell who it was exactly, but it was clearly conveyed that they were not human and that they possessed a beauty that could captivate anyone, regardless of gender.

“Instead of giving your heart to so many, why not choose just one? Love isn't a calculation, but the heart is calculating. Someone will surely come to resent you someday.”

– For you, of all people, X, to say that? If you don't have a mirror, shall I make one for you?

“I heard your trick is to lure people into your nest by offering to make them things?”

– You caught me. But I'm serious. If you don't make up your mind, X, you'll be the one who gets hurt. You'll definitely get stabbed before I do, I'm sure of it.

“I'm not like that. You know that, right? They are all good friends and comrades. With a shared purpose…….”

– I wonder if they all think so?

“…….”

– You've always had a tendency to see every situation too idealistically. But you just said it yourself, the heart is calculating. Everyone acts according to their own desires, more so than vague dreams and hopes. You need to accept that─and accept the fact that you can't bring everyone into harmony.

“I still want to do it.”

– Hmph… It looks like everyone is taking a step back for now. But you can't hide it forever. All desires will be revealed and clash brutally.

“I'm sure it can be controlled with love.”

– Something like love is an illusion. The world is ruled by desire. Remember, everyone is selfish and everyone is swayed by desire. I just hope that you, being so gentle and kind, don't get swept up in it and get hurt.

“……Then, could you start by taking your hand off my butt?”

– My, you caught me again.

The conversation with my somewhat lecherous friend was immensely enjoyable and also sorrowful.

That was probably because.

I may have already suspected that an unavoidable end was approaching.

***

Waking from my sleep, I couldn't grasp the situation for a moment and just stared blankly at the ceiling.

As the memories of the dream scattered fleetingly like morning mist melting in the sunlight, a single remaining drop of dawn's dew fell, plop, onto my forehead.

“Everyone is swayed by desire…….”

“Pardon? Are you perhaps saying that you were just swayed by desire, lost your self-control, and are about to pounce on me, young master?”

“Not a chance.”

Facing Geum Mo-a, who had been waiting by the bedside, picked up on my muttered words, and threw a joke at me, I chuckled and replied.

“In the first place, don't I lack the desire to raise my head and stand up?”

“Grrrrind…… I was already planning to make destroying the one who cast that curse my absolute top priority……!”

Geum Mo-a vowed in a resentful voice, even as she brought me a cup of water to drink, followed by a basin of water and a towel to wash my face.

After drinking the water and washing my face, I retorted.

“There's no need for that. Other curses are far more urgent.”

– To cast a curse that makes him impotent, he must have been deeply resented by women in his past life. A foul and dirty human…… hmm?

Making my effort to speak euphemistically pointless, Fire tail , having guessed the name of the curse correctly, leaped onto the blanket covering me and was sneering, but it trailed off when it met my gaze.

This was probably the first time it had seen my bare face up close.

I was just hoping it wouldn't be filled with disgust, but for some reason, its reaction was strange.

– Hoo, I see, hmm…….

After silently studying my face for a moment, Fire tail nodded with a look of understanding and said.

– Now it makes a bit more sense. With a face like this, you must have been quite the scandal in your past life, yipe!

“Honestly, acting like a damn dog, spouting nonsense all the time.”

Geum Mo-a, having kicked Fire tail away, placed a tray with a bowl of rice gruel on my lap.

“You must be very hungry, right? You haven't eaten all day. Please eat a little, even if you don't have an appetite.”

“Ah…… I wondered why my spiritual power consumption felt greater than usual. So that was why.”

Only then did I realize that I had been maintaining my body by consuming spiritual power instead of nutrients.

Originally, my spiritual power had been tied up protecting my body from all sorts of curses, leaving me with only a pittance to use freely.

But now that the curses had been alleviated and a large amount of spiritual power had been released, I was in a state where I couldn't get a good sense of my maximum usable spiritual power and its consumption rate.

“I'll accept it gratefully. ……So, how much time has passed?”

“It's completely daytime now. I'll open the curtains.”

“Daytime?”

When Geum Mo-a pulled back the curtains, the sunlight, perhaps because it was a high-rise hotel with no other obstructions, shone dazzlingly, coloring the room's interior.

My naturally weak skin used to hurt as if it were on fire when directly exposed to sunlight, but now, as I basked in it with my bare face, I felt even the unpleasant feelings left by the half-remembered dream disappearing.

But even that joy could not hide my astonishment.

“When did we get here?”

“We came out of the Phantom World in the morning, so it's been about four hours.”

“Only four hours since I fell asleep…….”

I muttered in amazement.

When I collapsed onto the bed, I thought I would need to sleep for a full day before my body would feel a bit better.

To think my condition would improve so dramatically just from the curses being slightly lifted…….

Could it be due to the incredible recovery power granted by my increased spiritual power?

– Myak!

“Right, you helped too. Thank you.”

I stroked the head of the Myodusa, which was coiled up across from me asserting its presence, then calmed my surprised heart and ate the rice gruel again.

Although my stomach was still not in good condition, perhaps because my body had improved overall, even the rice gruel tasted quite delicious.

“Shall I turn on the news?”

“……Yes, I should probably check the Shin Clan's reaction.”

It was by no means because I had any lingering feelings for the Shin Clan.

It was to check if, by any chance, the Shin Clan had said anything unnecessary about me.

– It's the prestigious family belonging to the Eight Families of White Blood that represents Aeshin, the Shin Clan, also well known as one of the ‘Capital's Three Great Families’. The third son of the family head, Shin Yu-hyeon, Mr. Shin Hwe-in…….

Geum Mo-a nodded and turned on the TV with the remote, and as expected, news about me was on.

However, contrary to my concerns about how the family might have manipulated the story, it simply ended with a straightforward report that ‘the youngest son of the Shin Clan, who had just become an adult and undergone the gatekeeper ceremony, had gone missing in the Phantom World and the family was doing its best to search for him’.

“That's unexpected. I thought they would not only say you were dead but add all sorts of lies to make your image the worst it could be.”

“It's not that hard to understand. Those people would never ‘officially’ tarnish the family's reputation. What good would it do them to further disgrace me, whom they've already deemed dead?”

“True. Then what's this about searching? I'd think it would be cleaner to just officially report you as dead in the news.”

“I think I know what that's about. I suspect they're not looking for me, but for you.”

“Ah.”

The Shin Clan's eldest son, Shin U-in, in particular, had an obsession with Geum Mo-a that was beyond imagination.

He probably couldn't care less whether I dropped dead or not, but since Geum Mo-a had followed me into the Phantom World, he might be leading the family retainers in a search as soon as the entry ban on the Shin Blood Great Gate is lifted.

It's even possible there's a group that assumes I'm still alive thanks to Geum Mo-a and is trying to find me to finish the job themselves.

“……Thinking about it that way, perhaps I judged the situation too lightly. Mo-a, wouldn't it be better to transform into a completely different appearance?”

“It's fine, young master. They won't recognize me even if we meet face-to-face. Not that we'd get that close in the first place!”

– Next up in the news. Two days ago, we reported that Italy's Mount Vesuvius in Campania, which had been inactive for over 80 years, had erupted again.

Despite the fact that the youngest son of the Shin Clan—one of the Capital's Three Great Families among the Eight Families of White Blood located in Seoul, with a higher status than other families—had gone missing, the news story was surprisingly short.

As I was wondering about this, I saw the next news report and my eyebrows twitched.

– And surprisingly, yesterday and today, dormant and extinct volcanoes around the world have successively started to become active again, drawing much attention. According to feng shui experts, it is impossible for the energy of fire to rise simultaneously in unconnected lands like this……. We will hear more details from reporter XXX.

“What……?”

Volcanoes all over the world have started erupting at once?

Something that couldn't happen unless someone had grabbed the entire Earth and shaken it was happening.

Without even needing to consult feng shui, it was clear that a spiritual problem was involved.

If the situation had been accurately grasped, a sorcerer would be sitting there, commentating with a self-important, smug air, not a feng shui expert.

The fact that this wasn't the case meant that the authorities had not yet figured out the reason.

“Come to think of it, the Eul did appear. Could it be that a great change is coming not just to this country, but to the entire world…….”

– That person is stretching rather flamboyantly.

The abnormal situation, which made sense of why my own news was cut short, made me serious as well.

Just then, Fire tail , having confirmed that I had finished my rice gruel and the tray was cleared, leaped onto my lap again and spoke.

I was stroking its head without much thought, but I belatedly understood its meaning and asked back.

“What did you just say?”

– You're worried about that person too, aren't you? But it's useless. For five years, until that person comes to find you, you can just tremble in fear with a troubled heart!

“I've already heard that. So are you saying that all the world's volcanoes have started erupting because ‘that person’ has woken up……?”

– That's right?

What… kind of nonsense is this.

At that rate, they would be no different from a god.

The scale of it was so large that I gave up trying to comprehend it. I put a hand to my forehead and looked back at Geum Mo-a.

I was about to open my mouth to ask if she knew about this, but just then, the doorbell rang.

“Looks like that fool is here. Young master, hurry and put on your mask.”

“Right, of course.”

Just as I put on the mask that had been placed by the bedside, Geum Mo-a opened the room door.

As expected, it was Father Lucas.

“Brother Shin-hae! I'm glad you're awake. I know this is rude, but the situation is so urgent that I had to come.”

“I was just about to get dressed and leave anyway. Any changes in the meantime?”

“About that…….”

As I got up from the bed, Geum Mo-a came over and diligently helped me change my undergarments and get dressed.

Father Lucas was about to speak but stopped, a dumbfounded expression on his face as he watched the scene.

“Brother? Are you by any chance using a demon as a handmaiden?”

“She's a shikigami.”

“But that is, well…… aren't you being overly dependent?”

At those words, I flinched.

Come to think of it, until now, my body had been in such a state that it was natural to receive Geum Mo-a's help with everything, but… now that my body was much better, shouldn't I try to do things on my own instead of leaving everything to Geum Mo-a just because she was a handmaiden?

Could this be a violation of my three-year pact with Geum Mo-a?

However, contrary to my worries, upon hearing Father Lucas's words, Geum Mo-a hissed like a cat that smelled kimchi dumplings and declared firmly.

“This is my right as a handmaiden. If you try to take even this from me, I swear I won't stay still.”

“Are all handmaidens like this?”

“Of course, most of them. Right, Father?”

“Yes, that's right…….”

Geum Mo-a turned her head towards Father Lucas with her sharp retort.

I had no way of knowing what kind of expression she made, but seeing Father Lucas slightly avert his gaze and admit that he was wrong, I guessed it must have been quite frightening.

“Right, Brother. They say the Sister's symptoms have gotten worse. We need to perform the exorcism quickly, but whenever I try to get close to the master bedroom, I get the same feeling as that time……”

“That time? You mean when you were dragged into the Phantom World?”

“That's right. No matter how many prayers I recite, it's useless. The power of most demons can be ended with a single Prayer to Saint Michael, but against that power that forcibly banishes me to another world, I have no way to resist!”

He must have been trying on his own all the hours I was asleep.

Seeing the priest's frustrated face, I felt a strange sense of admiration.

I was impressed by Father Lucas, who could genuinely care for others with no trace of falsehood.

“Still, you managed to get here without being chased back into the Phantom World again.”

“I remember the sensation from that time. For what it's worth, this body has received professional training. I don't fall for a danger I've already experienced once.”

“Where did that sensation start? What about now?”

“Ah, it's fine now. I only feel it when I try to approach that house, specifically the master bedroom where the Sister is.”

“Do Yu-na, was it? Can't that woman come out?”

“The Sister's condition has worsened due to the curse, so she can't move at all. Fortunately, the believer and the Sister's younger sister can still go in without any trouble to take care of her, but if something were to happen to them too…….”

While talking with the priest, I finished changing with Geum Mo-a's help, then let out a faint sigh and said.

“I have a few ideas, but I'll have to go back to the house to know for sure. For now, there was no problem with the house itself. It must be an issue between people.”

“What kind of person would do such a cruel thing! Especially to a new bride who has just gotten married and should be spending a happy time with her husband and is even pregnant!”

“Pregnant?”

At those words, my movements stopped for a moment.

Immediately after I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again, a wave of my rage washed over the priest.

“You fool, you should have said that first!”

“Ah.”

For a woman to carry a child in her body is an endlessly sacred and blessed event, but because two people are residing in one body, the magical significance is amplified to no end.

It's the worst in the sense that the negative aspects far outweigh the positive.

I would have to find out if the curse was on the child or the mother and it was even possible that the child was an overly special being and was affecting the mother.

……just as I was born leaving an incurable, serious illness in the body of the mother who gave birth to me.

“Let's hurry.”

“Haha……. Did the word ‘pregnant woman’ make you anxious too, Brother? As I thought, my eyes that see the soul were not wrong.”

“Don't smile.”

Father Lucas let out a faint laugh with a warm expression, but I only scowled.

As I was about to follow the priest out, Geum Mo-a approached me and put a black overcoat I didn't remember on me.

It was, of course, a Western-style jacket.

“It's a tailored jacket that goes well with the shirt you're wearing. Isn't it nice? I bought it at a department store while you were sleeping, young master.”

“Where did you get the money?”

Just by looking at it, the material was clearly not ordinary, so it couldn't have been a cheap item.

Now that I could no longer use my status as the son of a prestigious family, money was gradually becoming a sensitive issue for me.

However, Geum Mo-a replied confidently.

“It's from my salary that I've saved up. I was keeping it separately in preparation for the day you and I would leave the family together, young master.”

“……When I get money from the priest, I'll pay you back, so write down the price.”

“Then with the money I get from you this time, I'll buy a nice silk hat.”

“Absolutely not.”

After a firm reply, I picked up my staff.

I was about to follow the priest, but I paused and opened my mouth.

“Is there a pastry shop here?”

“Yes, there's one on the first floor. Perhaps as a gift for your visit to the sick……?”

“No.”

I let out a low sigh and said.

“As an offering.”