Level Eater
Chapter 146

Just when they decided to respect her wishes to the utmost and not get involved if she seemed okay, she made a gesture indicating she was about to commit suicide.

Frankly, Tatsuro and the others were so taken aback that they could only blink in disbelief.

At that moment of stunned silence, the girl moved the blade away from her neck.

Simultaneously, her vivid sky-blue eyes reverted to their original deep crimson.

"Just now, you were about to use magic on that bird, weren't you? What are you trying to do?"

"I wasn't trying anything; I just wanted to check on your condition. You were literally dead a moment ago." (Tatsuro)

"I know that, but—ugh."

"Hey, not again!" (Tatsuro)

This time, right in front of Tatsuro and his team, the girl clutched her chest and fell backward into the coffin, as if to sleep.

Tatsuro, determined to save her this time, used life magic together with Nana on the girl who was once again on the brink of death.

Cardina also started examining the girl's mysterious condition.

However...

"It didn't work." (Tatsuro)

"So, she's dead again?" (Ai)

"Yeah, she's dead. What on earth... Cardina, did you find anything?" (Tatsuro)

"Pewee..." (Cardina)

"She said she didn't find anything." (Nana)

"I see..." (Tatsuro)

Then everyone turned their gaze to the girl, who was undoubtedly a corpse.

Since it happened once before, no one knew how to deal with the girl now.

But Tatsuro thought it was essential to prevent another suicide attempt when she revived, so he put the dagger in his [Item Box].

While he was at it, he tried to see if the girl's corpse could be put in the Item Box, but it couldn't.

(Maybe she's biologically dead, but the system doesn't recognize her as dead.) He thought

The Item Box can't contain living things. Initially, he thought plants couldn't be stored either, but according to the help file, it's precisely those with their own will that can't be stored.

Thus, even among plants, monster plants can't be stored. Likewise, people who revive can't be stored because they will eventually move.

This explanation made sense.

After staring at the girl for a few dozen minutes, about the same time it took for her to revive before, she opened her eyes.

"Good morning. This time, I promise you I won't use magic without permission. Can we talk first?" (Tatsuro)

"…Before that, let me ask you something. Are you members of the merchant guild?"

"No, we're all adventurers." (Tatsuro)

Since it was entirely true, Tatsuro looked her straight in the eye and said so. Then her eyes changed from red to sky blue again.

"Can you prove that?"

"I have my Adventurer Guild ID... but is it possible to be a member of both the Merchant Guild and the Adventurer Guild? If so, showing it would be meaningless." (Tatsuro)

"No, it's not possible. While merchants and adventurers often have good relations, I've heard that the upper levels of the Merchant Guild and the Adventurer Guild don't get along, so it's not allowed."

"Oh, I see." (Tatsuro)

Touched by the world's common sense again, the two of them lightly brushed off the familiar "how can you not know that" look.

Since proving their registration with the Adventurer Guild was enough to confirm they were not members of the Merchant Guild, they put aside the question of "why" for the moment and both Tatsuro and Ai showed their IDs to the girl.

"Indeed, adventur—individual rank 6 and party rank 8... Is this real? ...It's real."

"Well, I wouldn't know how to make a fake one." (Tatsuro)

"Yes, indeed. And if you're high-ranked adventurers, you can be trusted."

It seemed that proving they were high-ranked adventurers rather than just adventurers significantly lowered the girl's wariness.

"High-ranked adventurers' titles come with a lot of trust, don't they?" (Tatsuro)

"Of course. Unlike the Merchant Guild, the Adventurer Guild doesn't give out ranks easily. To reach rank four or above, you must demonstrate considerable skill and integrity as an adventurer. High-ranked adventurers are emblematic of the Adventurer Guild. Therefore, if they act recklessly, all the Adventurer Guilds worldwide would become their enemies, so you can trust them in that regard too."

"Enemies worldwide, huh? Well, as long as we don't cause trouble, we won't do anything shameful." (Tatsuro)

"Uh, so does this mean you trust us for now?" (Ai)

"Yes."

Even though Tatsuro initially intended to check on her condition and leave, he became curious about what was happening to this girl and started asking questions.

"Then please answer this: do you understand what's happening to you?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes, I understand. I keep dying and coming back to life, right?"

"Yeah, the first time you died in front of us, it was quite a shock." (Tatsuro)

"I'm sorry about that. But I'll probably die again in a few minutes, so please don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it? Isn't there something we can do?" (Tatsuro)

When Tatsuro said this, the girl weakly shook her head.

"I couldn't meet up with the person who could help, so there's nothing I can do right now. After all, it's a curse placed on me by the world's greatest curse magician."

"A curse from curse magic... Can that even be done, Tatsuro?" (Ai)

"The higher the level of curse magic, the more conditions it can impose, so it might be possible for a very high-level magician. But even if that's true, why are you so calm despite being in such a state?" (Tatsuro)

"...It seems you misunderstand. This curse wasn't placed on me; I had it cast on myself."

"Huh?" (Tatsuro)

"What?" (Ai)

"Pewee" (Cardina)

"Neigh" (Jeanne)

"Hmm?" (Nana)

Like Tatsuro and Ai, Cardina and the others, who had been quietly keeping watch, couldn't help but let out questions at the incomprehensible answer they heard.

Who in their right mind would ask to be cursed to repeatedly die and come back to life?

Understanding that this would raise such questions, the girl accepted it with a calm face.

"Sorry, I'm even more confused now. Could you explain as much as you can? Depending on your reasons, we might be able to help you."

"I see. Then first, my name is—uh... excuse me, I'm about to..."

Here, a forced break occurred, leaving Tatsuro and the others anxious as they waited.

"My apologies. Once again, my name is Leah Schleiermacher. I am a dwarf." (Leah)

"I'm Tatsuro Hasami, human." (Tatsuro)

"I'm Ai Yashiki, same as Tatsuro." (Ai)

"Humans? You? Oh, it's my turn now. Let me explain. I was born as the daughter of a mid-level blacksmith in the town of Holmes. Up until I developed some self-awareness, I thought we were a normal family. However, when I reached the age to have the system installed, that normalcy started to crumble—" (Leah)

From there, Leah began to recount her life to Tatsuro and the others.

She said that when the system was installed, she received a skill called [All-Seeing Eye], which allowed her to analyze and understand anything she saw. However, after acquiring this skill, her body weakened, and her hands became inexplicably clumsy.

However, even though she tried to use the knowledge gained from this skill, nothing went well. The information she understood could only be comprehended by her, and when she tried to convey it to others, no one could grasp its meaning.

Moreover, her body became weak, always feeling heavy and often sick, making it difficult to leave her room. This skill, while powerful, consumed a lot of energy and could only be used for a few seconds at a time.

With her condition, the skill was almost useless.

Initially, her parents were pleased, but they gradually began to resent their daughter, who, despite having power, couldn't accomplish anything.

Leah's daily life continued this way until a significant turning point arrived. One day, her father, drunk on cheap liquor at a rundown bar in town, complained about his daughter's skill to a stranger sitting nearby. This man happened to serve a certain merchant.

He quickly relayed the information to his master, and the merchant became very interested in Leah's skill. He learned that her parents resented her and that her mother was expecting another child.

Without wasting time, the merchant rushed to Leah's home, the Schleiermacher residence, and offered to buy the girl for a considerable sum. Although initially hesitant, her father was easily swayed, and her mother, convinced by her father that they could have another child, eventually agreed.

"And Leah, you knew all of this?" (Tatsuro)

"They were discussing it right next to where I could hear." (Leah)

"That's unbelievable." (Ai)

Thus, without any regard for her will, Leah was sold to the merchant for a large sum of money, like a commodity. However, her new environment wasn't initially as bad as she feared. She no longer had to listen to daily complaints, and she was assigned several female servants to take care of her weak body. In some ways, her life became more comfortable.

But the merchant didn't buy Leah out of sympathy. He needed to use her skill to generate profits exceeding his investment. His plan was to show Leah tools from dungeons that had not yet been deciphered and have top researchers, hired with his wealth, decode her seemingly nonsensical descriptions.

Though the researchers couldn't understand everything, Leah's explanations contained the ultimate answers to their ongoing studies. Her knowledge, though cryptic, indicated that the processes leading to those answers existed.

The researchers, driven by this, painstakingly extracted bits of knowledge, advancing their current technologies slightly. The merchant then quickly applied these new techniques to create products advertised as having the latest technology.

These products, being superior to existing ones, were highly sought after despite their high prices, leading to substantial profits. Consequently, the merchant recouped his investment in Leah many times over and rose to prominence in the Merchant Guild.

This merchant, a half-dwarf named Moritz Holbein, advanced through the ranks and eventually became the head of the Liushten Merchant Guild, controlling the entire region's guilds.

"Hey, isn't this Merchant Guild notorious for some bad rumors?" (Tatsuro)

"I think Leela mentioned something about that." (Ai)

"Yes, Moritz's influence over the guilds has led to more unscrupulous profit-making methods encouraged among merchants, driven by his acquaintances and their networks." (Leah)

"That's terrible." (Ai)

"Well, this confirms that we should avoid dealing with this Merchant Guild. But what about Leah-san?" (Tatsuro)

"Please call me Leah, Tatsuro. You're a bit older than me." (Leah)

Although Leah looked no older than a grade-schooler to Tatsuro, he decided to accept her request.

"So, Leah, you were essentially a golden goose for this Moritz guy. I can't imagine he'd let you go so easily. Is this where the curse comes in?" (Tatsuro)

"Yes, that's correct." (Leah)

As Moritz amassed wealth, he became more ruthless, disregarding Leah's health and forcing her to use her [All-Seeing Eye] almost daily, except when she was bedridden.

Though Leah wanted to refuse, the situation left her no choice, and she continued to work like a machine. One day, an elf man dressed in a flashy yellow robe with large red embroidery and blond hair visited her.

The man introduced himself with grandiosity, saying;

"I am Aarenfrit, the world's greatest curse magician. I have brought a choice to this pitiable dwarf girl."

"That sounds incredibly shady..." (Tatsuro)

"Indeed. I thought he looked very suspicious at first too" (Leah)

Leah said with a small smile before continuing her story.