Chapter 119…………………………………..
What on earth does that mean?
As I looked at her in confusion, the old woman let out a hollow chuckle.
“You did well. That high‑nosed Trencia deserved it.”
While listening to the old woman speaking beneath the shade of the tree, the name Trencia suddenly flashed through my mind.
“Trencia of the Kereis family—the Trencia Forest! Is that what you mean?”
That was the only Trencia I knew, so I asked just in case.
“Yes. That Trencia.”
So it really was.
Seeing my eyes widen, the old woman laughed as if to say, Why are you so surprised now?
“You didn’t seriously come to see me without knowing even that, did you?”
“…Well.”
I stepped closer to the old woman, who clicked her tongue. Even while glancing at me, her hand never stopped moving. She seemed to be holding a pen and writing something on paper.
What in the world was she doing?
“Stop there.”
“Pardon? Ah—yes.”
I stopped where she indicated and asked what I’d been wondering.
“You said earlier that I ‘gave Trencia some water.’ What did you mean by that?”
“You changed the fate of the Seed of Calamity.”
“You don’t mean… Ron, do you?”
The old woman paused her writing and lifted her head to look at me.
“Yes. When that child’s fate changed, the prophecy Trencia put forth became completely wrong as well.”
She added, chuckling gleefully, that Trencia was now being humiliated by the guardian gods because of it.
Was that why I couldn’t find the guardian god the last time I went to Trencia Forest? The thought crossed my mind.
“Then… are you also a guardian god, Grandma?”
“You’re quick to catch on.”
“…!”
So the Delve family really did have a guardian god! Everything my uncle had hinted at was true.
But in Trencia Forest, the god had appeared like a glowing hall of light. Not in human form like this.
“I manifested myself because I knew you would come. So don’t doubt me. I absolutely hate humans who doubt me.”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
After accepting my apology, the old woman went right back to writing. Watching her, the situation began to make sense.
Guardian gods who protect each family.
And their prophecies.
Perhaps this world moved according to their will.
Then…
Could what she’s writing right now be a prophecy?
But I couldn’t see it clearly. She was blocking it with one arm—like a kid in elementary school shielding their paper so their deskmate couldn’t peek.
“Grandma, if the prophecy of Trencia’s guardian god is wrong now, does that mean we don’t have to worry about future crises anymore?”
“Tsk. As if.”
Straightening her hunched back, the old woman leaned against her chair. I tried to sneak a look at what she’d written, but she quickly flipped the paper over.
Ah, so close.
“As you know, there are people born with malice so immense it can’t be compared to that of ordinary folk. But all of them have the strength to control themselves.”
“Then they’re not Seeds of Calamity, are they?”
If they could control themselves, there would be no need to fear them harming others indiscriminately.
The old woman narrowed her wrinkled eyes.
“But when an evil spirit enters the body of someone with malice, that becomes a Seed of Calamity.”
“An evil spirit…”
It was something my grandfather had once told me about—the presence of an evil spirit he felt from a serial killer.
“Evil spirits seek out weak minds among those with malice and coil themselves inside. The child whose fate you changed was originally supposed to have an evil spirit lodged within him. But thanks to you, his mind became strong enough to reject it.”
A chill ran through my entire body.
That meant Ron Kereis—the strongest final villain in the original novel—had originally been possessed by an evil spirit.
Thank goodness I purified Ron early. That could’ve been disastrous.
But just as relief settled in, another question surfaced.
“Then where is the evil spirit that couldn’t enter Ron’s body now?”
The old woman answered casually.
“It must have entered another body.”
“Another body? Whose? No—more importantly, why do evil spirits even come into being? How do you catch them?”
“Haaah…”
Letting out a deep sigh at my endless questions, the old woman removed the glasses perched on her nose.
“What do you actually know?”
“I don’t know anything. But you’re the Delve family’s guardian god, right? And I’m Marianne Delve. So… can’t you tell me?”
I clasped my hands together and put on a pitiful expression. Resting her chin on her fingers, she said,
“Think carefully. There are countless humans on this land. When people die filled with greed and malice, that malice remains behind and piles up massively.”
“Massively?”
“Yes. That mass of malice clumps together and becomes an evil spirit capable of corrupting this world.”
“Then those evil spirits were the ones killing people? Then we have to catch them quickly!”
My voice rose without me realizing it. The wrinkles on the old woman’s forehead deepened, and soon a fierce scolding poured out.
“Do you think that’s easy?! Do you have any idea how hard I’ve been working, chasing those things down all this time?! As the days go by, the number of evil spirits increases—and they keep growing larger too! That’s why it’s such a struggle!”
“…I didn’t think it through.”
I bowed my head again, apologizing.
“Lift your head now.”
“Yes, Grandma.”
Her anger seemingly gone, the old woman stared at me with an unreadable expression.
“Wait. Come to think of it, you already know.”
“Know what?”
“How strong evil spirits are. Especially you—you almost died to the first evil spirit. You remember, don’t you? Anyone who’s seen the first evil spirit can never forget it.”
The meaningful smile on her face felt a little frightening.
I died to an evil spirit?
In my previous life, I was killed by some murderer while walking alone at night…
“…Don’t tell me—that murderer back then was an evil spirit too?”
But as if my question didn’t matter, the old woman had already gone back to writing.
“Grandma! Grandma!!”
“Good grief, you’ll burst my eardrums!”
She dug at her ear and stood up, facing the tree behind her. In an instant, the branches gathered before her, revealing papers hanging from them.
I stared blankly, then suddenly my gaze shifted to the paper lying on the desk—the one she’d been writing on until just now.
At that moment, a gentle breeze blew, and one of the stacked papers fluttered down in front of me.
“…!”
This was my chance.
I knew full well it was wrong, but my curiosity got the better of me. I quickly grabbed the paper and tucked it into my clothes. By the time I finished straightening myself, the old woman had turned back around.
“Hmmm.”
She looked straight at me, the corners of her lips lifting—as if she knew everything.
Gulp. My throat went dry.
But whether she was pretending not to notice or truly didn’t know, she didn’t press me about it.
“I have a lot to do, so go back now.”
“I still have so many things to ask.”
“How annoying.”
“Just one more. If, like you said, I almost died to an evil spirit—then how did I come into this world?”
“That’s not hard to guess. Most likely, your soul was dragged along together with the evil spirit.”
“…Then what about my body in that other world?”
“Why cling to a mere vessel of flesh? It already lost its soul.”
That meant my previous self was truly dead.
I’d known that, but perhaps part of me had wanted to deny it—to believe my death hadn’t been so meaningless.
“Then what about the real Marianne’s soul?”
The old woman looked at me with her face genuinely scrunched up. Maybe I’d annoyed her with too many questions. Still, curiosity was curiosity.
“You’re the Delve family’s guardian god, Grandma. You can endure this much persistence. Think of how many prayers of gratitude the family has offered you.”
“Hoo… my head hurts. Ungrateful brats who sold off everything and barely managed to protect a single tree—what’s so lovable about them? Anyway, instead of me, you go and kill the first evil spirit.”
“…Me?”
“Yes. Do that, and I’ll tell you. And that paper will reveal itself at a crucial moment, so make sure you always carry it with you.”
“…!”
Before I could fully process my shock, a massive wind suddenly blew at the gentle motion of her hand.
Then—whoosh—everything spun. When I closed my eyes and opened them again, I was in a hotel room.
“I slept for an entire day?”
“Yes! We should hurry and call the Duke!”
I grabbed Kauts, who was about to rush out.
“Wait—where did I collapse?”
“In the backyard, in front of the tree.”
“Ah.”
At his words, memories slowly resurfaced.
The abandoned mansion of the Delve family.
The lone tree in the backyard.
The guardian god grandmother I met there.
What I learned about malice and evil spirits.
Even how my soul came to this world.
“…Right! The paper!”
I hurriedly searched inside my clothes to see what the old woman had been writing. When I finally found the crumpled sheet, I cried out in triumph.
“I found it—I brought it with me!”
“What is it, Miss?”
“A paper written by the guardian god.”
To calm myself down, I postponed looking at it and instead told Kauts everything about meeting the guardian god.
“Really? And this paper came from that guardian god too?”
“Well… she didn’t exactly give it to me.”
I swallowed the rest of that sentence. After all, I’d stolen it.
I quickly tried to unfold the crumpled paper.
But—
“…Huh?”
Something was wrong. No matter how hard I tried, the paper—neatly folded in half—wouldn’t open at all.
