Special-grade Cursed Item

"This all came about when the pirates first launched an attack on our

planet."

Zesh, who was now sitting on a sofa seat opposite mine, started talking

about the events that led to the seed of the Sacred Tree coming into my

possession.

"The pirates barged into the engagement ceremony that was about to

take place on the base of the Sacred Tree, which was located at the

border between the territories of Grado clan and Minfa clan. The attack

was terribly fierce, and many participants were either injured, killed, or

taken away. Even then, the pirates still seemed unsatisfied and aimed

their aggression at the Sacred Tree. The rays of light emitted from their

ships burned down the Sacred Tree and turned half of it to smoldering

ashes."

"I see. But why did this seed end up all the way in the middle of a forest

then?"

The area where I picked up the glowing seed was right in the middle of

the Grado clan's forest territory. Its location was pretty far away from

the Sacred Tree itself. So does that mean someone purposely carried it

all the way to the location where we found it?

"When the Sacred Tree faces its demise, it releases a seed to the world.

The seed then flies away from the dying tree and pierces a spot where

the one destined to find it will appear. And furthermore, no one except

for those destined can ever pull the seed out from where it lies."

"The heck? Is this the Sword in the Stone or something...?"

There were similar legends circulating on Earth. The sword stuck on a

rock pulled out by King Arthur and the magic sword pulled out from an

apple tree by the Nordic hero Sigurd are some famous examples. Only

the chosen ones could pull them out, and they would be granted

tremendous power, authority, prestige, and in most cases, tragic ends in

exchange. Basically, none of the characters I knew of met decent deaths.

"The heck! So ain't this some kind of special-grade cursed item? I really

don't need this thing, so just take it away please."

"No, no, no! This is an incredible honor you know!?"

The mysterious object, err, the Sacred Tree seed, also flashed several

times in response.

"You ain't fooling me! I'm sure the ones who pulled this thing out in the

past met incredibly tragic ends in exchange for power, honor, and stuff

like that!"

"T-There's no such thing... Mm, yes, no such thing at all. I think?"

"If you're gonna lie through your teeth, could you make it more

convincing!?"

I scolded Zesh from the top of my lungs as the special-grade cursed

item flickered weakly.

"In the first place, we'll immediately leave this star system the moment

our business here is done. I even actually want to leave now, to be

honest. Come to think of it, we don't really have anything left to do here,

right? Okay, let's get out of here. Like, now. Immediately."

"Wait, wait, wait, wait! Please wait! Please at least give me some time to

relay the fact that you have been chosen Hiro-dono, and let us think of

countermeasures. Please! I only ask you to stay for a few more days!"

Zesh frantically begged as he knelt on the floor again.

"It will also take some time to prepare the items to compensate you all.

It would take at least three days to prepare and transport them. If

possible, I'd like you to give us one week. I will arrange for the best

accommodations and service during that time, so please."

"Gununu..."

If he's already gone this far... No, no. I can't back down now. This kind

of event pattern will probably lead to even more troublesome stuff after

all. I have to resolutely refuse–

"Hiro-sama, I think you really don't have to mind it that much, you

know?"

"...What do you mean by that?"

"Um..."

Mimi turned her gaze away as if finding her next words hard to say.

What is it?

"I think things will turn out the same as usual regardless of whether or

not you choose to keep the seed..."

"..."

Mimi's words shut me up. Was she trying to say I was living a cursed life

already, so it didn't matter if I kept a special-grade cursed item or two?

Is that it?

"Yeah, that's how it is huh."

"Yep. Definitely."

"Um... I'm sorry Big Brother, but I'm of the same opinion."

"Master, there is a saying that goes 'If you've eaten poison, then better

lick the plate as well.' or something to that effect."

"I don't wanna! Who'd want to eat poison anyway!?"

I resisted desperately, but ultimately, we ended up agreeing to stay in

Theta for another week or so. Dammit.

In the end, we decided to continue staying at the inn near the

integrated port facility where the welcome party was conducted. They

welcomed us even more respectfully than before. It kinda felt like I was

their king or lord or something.

If it was left at that, then I'd have no problem with it. But that wasn't the

case at all. First, there were the media. I don't know where they

managed to sniff out info, but lots of them came to visit the inn and

asked for interviews. We refused all of them, of course. I won't agree to

interviews even if the three clan leaders came personally to beg me.

Since we were adamant in our refusal, they resorted to taking voyeur

shots from long distances through the use of high-magnification

cameras or drones.

We couldn't relax even if we wanted to with this atmosphere, so we

immediately lodged a complaint to the clan leaders. Or rather, even if I

wasn't a formal aristocrat, I was still considered as an honorary

imperial viscount. Do they think taking private photos and videos of an

imperial noble without permission was allowed? Huh? Anyway, we

threatened the media with that sort of justification through the clan

leaders, and the sneaky lot immediately stopped their antics. Hooray

for aristocratic privileges!

I thought things would finally settle down. But–

"It's been a long time, everyone."

A beautiful woman with her two female attendants paid us a visit. Yep.

It was the daughter of Clan Leader Zesh, Lady Tinia. Today, she wasn't

just accompanied by her female attendants. A handsome male elf also

tagged along.

"Hello. I'm Nect, the son of Minfa clan's leader, Miriam. Thank you very

much for your help back then."

Nect was a handsome guy with a refreshing and warm smile coupled

with lustrous blonde hair. Although he was one of those damn pretty

boys, I didn't find him particularly annoying. On the contrary, he

seemed like a likable young man.

"I'm glad that you seem to have recovered completely."

"It's all thanks to you. To be honest, I remember little when we were

imprisoned inside that ship, but I've heard that I would have died if it

weren't for your help. I really am very grateful."

Mr. Nect bowed his head in gratitude. Yeah, it feels nice to be thanked so

earnestly like this. Perhaps the fact that he can pull off stuff like this so

naturally is one of the major factors that made him a refreshingly

handsome guy.

"And I'm sorry for my mother's behavior last time. I was told that she

caused you some inconvenience."

"No, it's alright. She did appear quite enthusiastic, but she talked with

me in a warm and cordial way."

She was somewhat a little too enthusiastic regarding my unusual

circumstances, but it was still interesting to hear Miriam-san's

conjectures. I was still not too fond of magic, but it might not be a bad

idea to pay her a visit later on since we had some time.

"And I've also heard that Hiro-dono was actually looking for a rare

drink."

"Uh, yeah. Well, I didn't manage to find what I was looking for in the

end."

My gaze turned distant involuntarily. If even that big beverage company

wasn't familiar with it, then cola most likely doesn't exist on this planet.

"Actually, I know of some herbal concoctions that are not generally

available to the public back in the Minfa clan's territory. They are

medicinal infusions that the herbalists and pharmacists living in the

border area close to Grado clan territory make for their use."

"...Hou?"

That ignited my interest. Certainly, cola was originally derived from

root beer, which was considered a health tonic made by people like

those pharmacists Nect mentioned. Hence, it was possible that a

concoction that resembled non-carbonated cola was actually one of

those traditional medicines unavailable to general distribution

channels.

"I've brought over recipes for concoctions that were quite well received

in past contests, as well as some actual samples that were considered

excellent in last year's contest, but..."

"Good job, my friend. Let us sample them immediately. Ah, would you

like to come to our starship as well? You haven't had many

opportunities to board a starship, right? If you'd like, I can even take

you on a scenic flight. Heck, you can even accompany us to hunt bandits

if that's what you prefer."

Nect-kun sure was a nice fellow huh! Eh? What a complete 180, you

say? Well, of course. I ain't some saint or upright politician. Anyway, I'm

looking forward to sampling those drinks!