Published: August 25, 2025
Today, three chapters posted simultaneously.
This is the first chapter.
The next day
It was the final day to inspect the experimental site, and the day to put all my magic into practice had arrived. Mr. Sebas had returned by morning, so after everyone finished breakfast together, we all headed to the experimental site. This time, we would be using the upper half of the area, which was divided into upper and lower sections.
“Everyone, here are two each. They’re enchanted with magic to protect against miasma. One should be enough, but as a backup, please wear them on both wrists if needed.”
Once we arrived, I handed out the friendship bracelets I had asked Ms. Eleonora to make last night. She had made plenty overnight, so I had no qualms about using them freely. They were made from the undyed fiber slime threads, so they were pure white, but thinking of them as braided cords, they were quite similar to ropes.
Additionally, I had white metal fittings fashioned to resemble the paper streamers attached to sacred ropes, serving as both decoration and fasteners. You could almost call them accessory-style sacred ropes.
As we chatted cheerfully about these little details, I took the cursed slime out from the dimension home and wrapped it around my neck. On both wrists were the friendship bracelets. In my hands was the rake-shaped staff I made last night. Everyone stood at a distance of about five meters surrounding me, ready and waiting just in case—it seemed everyone was prepared.
“All right, let’s begin!”
After declaring this, I took a breath and started by drawing out the miasma.
Gently channeling mana into the rake, I scratched the ground. Suddenly, miasma burst forth with the force of a burst water pipe. The sheer amount and density were overwhelming compared to the black dust from the other day, and I was momentarily taken aback—but there was no time to be stunned.
As I pulled the miasma out, I simultaneously absorbed it into the magic gemstone while scratching the ground to draw out more. Repeating this quietly, the miasma that I couldn’t absorb fast enough began to drift around. This was expected. I calmly continued.
Miasma is like poison to living beings—something harmful. In other words, it’s bad (…). In Japan, there’s a saying: “like attracts like.” It means people with similar thoughts or temperaments naturally gather. It is also expressed as “douki aimotu” (同気相求む).
I used this to reinforce my visualization: good things attract good things; bad things (miasma) attract bad things (miasma)… As I focused on this, the behavior of the miasma changed dramatically. Its previously overwhelming spread slowed and stopped. The miasma already dispersed began to draw together, moving as a black mist that enveloped me.
I continued gradually increasing the power of the magic without consciously focusing on anything else.
“Hey, take care of this work too. Do it by tomorrow morning. I’ll check first thing then, so finish it up!”
From my conversation with Ms. Eleonora yesterday, I grasped a sense of things. Curses use negative emotions. But what are negative emotions? What is their source? In my view, they come from “experience” and “the past.” The events a person has gone through and how they felt at those times.
In my case, the source is the life experiences I carried over from my past life as Ryoma Takebayashi. Negative emotions don’t need to be forced out; once they leak, they flow endlessly, surfacing with memories. Like thick, heavy crude oil, dark feelings churn restlessly beneath the surface of my heart, bubbling violently then subsiding.
Still, no matter how turbulent my emotions may be, behaving purely on them is not commendable as a working adult. Naturally, I tightly sealed my heart and tried not to let them out.
Now, I just needed to stop doing that.
Instead of sealing the lid tight, I loosened it.
Letting the emotions spill out naturally.
“Hey! There was a mistake in the document you submitted! If you think you’re so good at your job, then get it perfect the first time! This is work, so being careful is the minimum, right?! Redo it now! If you’re unhappy, quit the company! We can find someone else to replace you any time!!”