The Revenge of the Soul Eater

The Old Man of the Cemetery

  「Why am I playing music at a place like this? Hehehe, it’s how I check to see if there’s anything odd」

  The old man who was focused on playing his biwa in the middle of the national cemetery said that and showed his yellow teeth.

  His eyes were white and cloudy. He’s probably blind.

  「No matter where this blind old man is or what he’s doing, it has nothing to do with you, right?」

  *Bebenn*, the old man spoke as he played his biwa.

  Clothes filled with noticeable holes, thin limbs like withered trees.

  If he wasn’t playing a biwa, I might have mistaken him for a bum or a wanderer.

  According to the people who manage this cemetery, this old man has been playing his music to nobody throughout this big cemetery for over a year as a “requiem”.

  「What? There is no special reason in particular. If I must give one, it’s because I can’t leave them alone, I guess」

  「Can’t leave them alone?」

  「Appeasing malevolent gods with my music and purifying evil spirits hostile to humans is what I do for a living. That is why I am playing my biwa」 

  「…You mean, there are evil spirits in this cemetery?」

  「Hehe, not exactly. It’s just that in a cemetery like this, there are many people who cannot rest in peace. I’m giving them direction to nirvana. If souls remain in this world without a body for a long time, they will turn into evil spirits」 

  After saying that, the old man laughed in a high pitched voice.

  「Hehehe! I can’t give proof for what I’m doing though. It sounds like I’m insane, right? I wonder when was the last time I talked to someone like this」

  The old man continued to speak as he played the strings skillfully with both of his hands.

  His smooth hand movements that did not match his age displayed a level of skill that one could not reach with just a few years of practice. 

  I don’t know if he’s telling the truth about appeasing the gods or cleansing evil spirits, but it’s probably true that he plays music for a living.

  I tried talking to him since he was near the house of Dragunaut’s graves. Now, let’s see if my decision was correct or not.

  「Old man, there’s actually one more thing I like to ask you if you don’t mind」

  「Oh? Ask me whatever you like」

  「It’s about last night. Did you see any suspicious people or spirits here?」

  I asked him for information around the time Claudia collapsed.

  The old man then tilted his head to the side like he went into thought.

  「I don’t really recall anything worth mentioning…Wait, come to think of it, there was one suspicious person here」

  「What was that person like?」

  「The one who is in front of you right now 」

  The old man smiled.

  「I was playing a song alone in this cemetery at that time. Suspicious? There was no one who was more suspicious than me! Hehehehe!」

  As I listened to him laugh, my face turned sour before I realized it.

  I feel like he’s making fun of me. Right as I was about to give up as since it didn’t look like I was going to get any useful information out of him-

  「…Did somebody place something like a curse on an acquaintance of yours?」

  The old man’s voice slipped into my ears.  

  I felt like he just read my mind and I became wary.

  「…Why did you think that?」

  「What, you were asking a strange question of if there was anyone suspicious in a cemetery after sunset. Moreover, you cared about spirits as well. I can’t imagine someone asking about those things unless they are searching for the presence of a curse. You sound too calm for someone who has a family or friend cursed. Therefore, I immediately came to the conclusion that this person should just be an acquaintance of yours」

  「Impressive」

  「Hehehe, it’s an honor to receive your compliments. As a token of my thanks, let this old man lend you his wisdom. It’s been more than a year since I came to the capital. Old people have the wisdom of the old, and blind people have the wisdom of the blind」

  「By all means, I would like to hear your advice」

  After my response, I told the old man about the one who got cursed- Claudia Dragunaut.

  It’s already common knowledge everywhere that the daughter of Duke Dragunaut had fallen to a curse and their family had been doing everything they could to look for a solution. There was no need for me to hide that.

  Then, after the old man heard everything, his face turned serious for the first time.

  「…Oh my, fate is a strange thing. For you to be acquainted with that girl…」

  「Hm? You know Lady Claudia?」

  「I mentioned her a little just a moment ago. Remember I said “I wonder when was the last time I talked to someone like this”? Before you, the last person who spoke to me was a girl named Claudia. She did not mind how dirty and poor I looked and talked to me, and when I told her about what I’m doing here, she did not mind my suspicious behaviors and said to me, “Thank you for taking care of my mother’s resting place”」

  The old man looked up as if he was gazing at the sky.

  「I have traveled all over the continent until this year, but it was my first time meeting someone like that girl. She made a deep impression on me. It was thanks to her that the officials here don’t chase me out of this place. Even animals would repay someone for their kindness, so of course I would do that as a human」  

  The sounds of the biwa that has been playing nonstop since a while ago seem to have sped up.

  「The true horror lies not in spirits but the people. If you want to relieve that girl from her curse, you should focus on the people and not the spirits」

  「So you’re saying I should not look for what cursed her, but find out who is cursing her?」

  「Yes, yess. When people gather, shadows loom. Jealousy and hate are born from such shadows. No matter how virtuous someone may be, there is no escaping from those shadows. It doesn’t matter if they are her close friends or siblings, because the shadows will be there」

  「…Are you saying the one who cursed Lady Claudia is someone who is close to her?」

  「Hehehe. Are you thinking that’s impossible? But that’s how humans work. There are too many stories of people killing their parents or parents killing their children to count in every country. Especially for big families like the house of Dragunaut, there will definitely be dark shadows between their family members」

  「Hm……」

  「These are my foolish thoughts, but Duke Dragunaut has two daughters. The oldest daughter is Astrid, and the younger one is Claudia. The older daughter will remain in the family to succeed their family, and the younger daughter will marry the crown prince and become the future queen. However, if it’s just about succeeding the family, it doesn’t matter if the younger sister is there or not. Claudia becoming the future queen would mean that the older sister will no doubt become a subordinate of the younger sister. Wouldn’t there be a big shadow there? 」 

  「……You’re saying the older sister cursed the younger sister?」

  「Since she’s the person who is the closest to her, she could curse her easier than anyone else. Don’t you think she could easily plant some illness in her or something? I have wandered around the continent for decades, and I have never heard of any curse that is immune to healing or prayers. For that reason, I believe that the origin of that girl’s curse comes from the shadow hidden in the older sister.」

  The old man made his claim while he played his biwa.   

  After I heard his thoughts, I nodded.

  I felt like I obtained an unexpected lead from this trip to the national cemetery that I thought I’d try visiting since there was nothing to lose.

TLN: This old man hella suspicious