Chapter 246: Seems Like I'm Being Searched For
* * *
On a clear winter evening when the sun began to tilt.
On the roof of someone's house, somewhere in the town of Serelirin.
A cursed child clad in something like a pitch-black rock was lying on her back.
With her[Presence Concealment]in full effect, she was just lying still.
Not moving.
Not moving at all, as if she were a real rock.
Near that cursed child, a pigeon was flying.
This pigeon is the gray bird we can encounter in parks and such.
It's safe to assume it's a bird that looks like what we generally consider a pigeon based on our common sense.
That pigeon was about to pass over the cursed child without caution... at that moment!
A part of the pitch-black, rock-like something covering the cursed child's body came undone and stretched out with an agility reminiscent of a frog's tongue, capturing the pigeon!
The pigeon, caught by the pitch-black something, was squeezed tightly by it and died instantly without even causing a fuss.
"............"
The cursed child drew the pitch-black something... [Black Arms] close to herself and stared intently at the carcass of the captured pigeon.
Then, what do you know?
Just as a wisp of smoke seemed to rise from the pigeon's carcass, it was engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye!
This is the cursed child's abnormal ability, [Ignition].
This ability, which has been magicized by the God of Magic and is also affectionately known as "living magic" by people, would originally be able to create a small fire on easily flammable wood chips at best.
This cursed child has sublimated it into an ability to directly burn and cook targets by forcibly pouring in her abundant magical power.
And so, a little later, the pigeon gripped by the [Black Arms] became a crudely roasted whole bird.
The cursed child began to devour it, bones and all, while remaining expressionless.
* * *
Hmm, hmm, hee-hmm!
Hee-hee-hmm, hmm, hmm!
<Oh my, you seem to be in a good mood, Emi.>
Oh, Extra-sama, you can tell?
That's right, I'm in an excellent mood!
<Thanks to the "Barter Operation" lately, you've been able to eat a lot of human food, right?>
That's right!
I'm grateful for that encounter with that boy, which became the trigger...
The chubby boy I happened to meet in the back alley where I lost my footing and fell.
He gave me a bag full of dried fish in exchange for my churros.
From that experience, I had an inspiration!
The groundbreaking idea of obtaining food through bartering!
<As groundbreaking as ancient humans have long since come up with.>
This operation has been successful, and I've been able to obtain various foods so far.
Not only foods I've heard of in my previous life, such as dried fish, but also snacks I've never seen before, which made me feel moved like, "Ah, it's a different world culture."
By the way, this barter operation targets children.
One reason is that for some reason, children in this town often walk around with snacks.
The second reason is that if I deal with adults, they might cause unnecessary commotion by calling the guards or something.
The third reason is that I think children generally like shiny things, and they seem to purely appreciate my churros as compensation.
<But is it okay? What you call churros, those deer antlers, are actually tremendous magical power-containing materials, you know? If you sell them to the Adventurer's Guild or something, I think they can be converted into quite a bit of money.>
It's fine, it's a hassle.
There's a high probability that I'll just be turned away at the door for being a cursed child and that's it.
That perverted old geezer and office worker I met in the forest, they were surely exceptions.
And even if I get money, I probably won't be allowed to shop at most stores anyway.
It's pointless.
Then, it's better to make the children happy, right?
I'm sure that big deer would have wanted that too.
I'm sure it's looking down on us from the sky, laughing...
<I'm pretty sure that's a strained, dry laugh.>
Well, anyway.
While chatting with Extra-sama, I was eating the roasted pigeon I caught to satisfy my hunger... that's when it happened.
"Cursed child! Where are you, cursed child!"
From a distance, such a shout was heard.
<What is it, you're being searched for, Emi.>
I poked my face out from the edge of the roof and looked down at the back alley.
Since it was originally a street with few passersby, I could immediately tell who the voice belonged to.
A boy walking from over there, looking around restlessly.
He's calling for me.
His age is probably younger than mine.
He's wearing a helmet-like hat, and he's carrying a bag that makes some kind of clattering metallic sound from inside.
And... is he wrapping a cutting board around his stomach?
What a strange outfit.
<I don't think there's a single person in this world who wants to hear that line from you.>
Hey, Extra-sama, you've been badmouthing me quite frequently lately, haven't you?
What's the deal?
<I apologize.>
Alright, I forgive you.
Now, let's get back to talking about that boy.
"Come out! Come out, cursed child!"
The boy is holding a pastry-like snack in his left hand and a wrench-like metal tool in his right hand, searching for me nervously.
His features are quite well-defined.
With upturned eyes, he gives the impression of being strong-willed.
<...? Don't you feel like you've seen that boy somewhere before?>
Extra-sama says that, but I have no memory of him at all.
That boy shouldn't have been among the children I've met in this town.
There's no way I've seen him before.
I'm sure it's just your imagination.
For now, I loosen my [Black Arms] and check inside my pocket to confirm the number of churros.
There are three left.
Now, should I go for a trade again this time?
It's a mutually beneficial barter where I'm happy to get food and the other party is happy to get something of value.
I jumped down behind the boy without a sound.
I said, "I'll start moving the story from the ," but it's not moving at all!