The veins on Bars’ forehead popped even more.

  "That’s not the right reaction at all! Are you even reflecting on yourself!!?"

  "Bars——! What are you yelling about? Are you going to shout at me in front of my face? Do you even look like a king right now!!?"

  Eperu scolded sharply.

  "Huh...... But Mother, she......"

  "No ‘buts’. I have no problem with it, so why do you have so many complaints? Now leave— I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I’m going to speak with my granddaughter."

  "Uh......"

  Bars immediately drooped his ears in defeat.

  "Yes......"

  He stood up reluctantly and walked outside. As he passed Miko, he glared at her fiercely.

  Miko shrank her neck, and as soon as he was gone, she stuck out her tongue at his retreating back.

  Hulim stood at the door, watching Bars storm off in anger, then looked at Miko—who had instantly perked up again inside.

  For some reason, she had a hunch that Miko would probably get into trouble soon......

  "Grandma~!"

  Miko ran excitedly to Eperu’s side.

  "Yes, my good girl~!"

  Eperu patted her head affectionately, then turned her gaze to the door.

  "Young lady outside, please come in."

  Hearing her voice, Hulim stepped inside.

  "Hello. My name is Hulim Hayelar."

  "Hmm, Hayelar...... From the Pasara Empire, are you? Ask me whatever you want. Even though I’m just an old woman, I can still answer a few questions for you young folks."

  Eperu looked quite elderly, her eyes squinted into slits, her expression calm and peaceful as she sat cross-legged on a blanket.

  "You’re Miko’s friend, right? No need to be formal—call me Grandma Eperu, just like Miko does."

  "Thank you, Grandma Eperu...... I’m here to ask you about the Hekadiza Mountains. May I know why it was sealed off?"

  "Oh~, Hekadiza......"

  Eperu’s squinted eyes opened slightly.

  Then they narrowed back into slits.

  The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  "That place is very dangerous now. Do you have something to do there?"

  "Yes. There’s something I need to investigate thoroughly."

  "I see......"

  "It’s not something top-secret, so I’ll tell you."

  "It was twelve years ago......"

  Eperu began to speak slowly.

  "......One day, a sudden earthquake struck the always peaceful Hekadiza Mountains. At first, no one paid much attention to it—thinking it was just an occasional random occurrence."

  "But then, all kinds of abnormalities started happening there."

  "The creatures in the mountains became more and more violent. Even normally gentle creatures turned extremely aggressive—attacking intruders and their own kind alike, even cubs and blood relatives."

  "Frequent battles spread gradually. By the time we reacted, the entire mountain range was filled with the smell of blood. All creatures—whether animals or monsters—that still had their sanity were desperately fleeing the area."

  "To find out the reason, we sent people deep into the mountains to investigate. However, after a month of searching, not only did we get no answers, but less than one in ten of the many investigation teams we dispatched returned."

  "Everyone—just like the creatures in the mountains—seemed to be cursed, losing their sanity. Their eyes were filled only with anger toward everything in the world, and they attacked everyone without discrimination. Even those who narrowly survived underwent drastic changes in personality—flying into a rage over trivial matters......"

  "Sigh......"

  Eperu let out a sigh,

  then continued.

  "Since ancient times, there have been all kinds of rumors about that mountain range. Among them, there’s a vague legend recorded only in an ancient document."

  "The record describes a forbidden entity—one with unimaginable power that brings calamity—being sealed beneath the mountains.

  In the past, no one believed this rumor; many even thought it was a story made up by people in the distant past. But because it was an extremely ancient document with special significance, it was preserved all this time.

  If it weren’t for the incident twelve years ago, I would have disbelieved the rumor just like everyone else. But this curse that shrouds the entire mountain range—perhaps only that legendary forbidden entity with taboo power can explain it......"

  A forbidden entity......

  Hulim was shocked to hear such a thing. For some reason, she suddenly remembered Irus’ strange reaction when she had mentioned the Hekadiza Mountains earlier.

  Could Irus also know about this? Could the thing she had avoided talking about back then be the forbidden entity Grandma Eperu was referring to?

  "Grandma Eperu, have you tried to find this forbidden entity?"

  Hulim asked.

  "We have. As soon as I realized it might be the thing from the legend, I immediately sent people to search for it. But......"

  "As I just said, even though we were fully prepared to resist the curse this time, we still failed. All the anti-curse tools were ineffective. Only a handful of people with magic tools that protect the will managed to return alive."

  "At that time, we realized this was a special curse targeting the will. So we collected many magic tools that safeguard the will and sent people to the mountains again to find the truth."

  "But before we could uncover the truth, we discovered that the power of the curse was constantly growing. In the end, even the magic tools that protect the will began to fail. We had no choice but to seal off the area."

  "The only lucky thing is that for some reason, the curse is confined to that mountain range—preventing a greater disaster."

  "......"

  After listening to Eperu explain the reason behind the Hekadiza Mountains’ sealing, Hulim felt a little stuck.

  Clearly, if anti-curse magic tools didn’t work, corresponding light attribute magic wouldn’t either. This meant even she wouldn’t be immune to the curse if she entered.

  "Thank you for telling me all this, Grandma Eperu."

  "You’re welcome, child."

  "If the matter you need to attend to in the Hekadiza Mountains isn’t too important, I suggest you give it up for now."

  "I......"

  Hulim hesitated. She didn’t want to give up just like that.

  "It’s alright. Whatever choice you make, follow your true feelings. You can stay with us for a while to think it over slowly."

  "Miko——"

  "Grandma Eperu, I’m here!"

  "Take your friend to her quarters, and show her around while you’re at it."

  "Got it!"

  Miko stood up from beside Eperu.

  "Let’s go, Hulim!"

  "Okay."

  Hulim nodded.

  "Thank you for having me."

  ......