Are MZ Shamans In Trouble In Romance Novels? - Chapter 65

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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65.

-Whiiiii

The moment the box opened, a low and heavy whistling sound like a ship’s horn could be heard. Calisia’s consciousness slowly sank down following that eerie melody.

-Hah, ugh…! Hah, ugh…!

In the darkness where not a single ray of light entered- Calisia breathed roughly. It was because unknown anxiety and fear had overwhelmed her entire body.

A foul stench brushing past her nose and cool air. Where could this be? Calisia groped the floor with trembling hands. A damp and slippery sensation crawled up through her fingertips.

Step- Step-

Calisia shrank back at the sound of footsteps coming from afar. It was instinctive fear.

-Ugh, mmph! Mmph, mmmph!

Her hair was grabbed and something was forcibly shoved into her mouth. Something thin and slender… It felt like a ball of thread. Calisia moved her tongue frantically trying to spit it out.

Splash-!

But that didn’t last long either. It was because of the water pressing down on her windpipe. Calisia, who had been struggling in pain, sank below the surface.

-Whiiiiii

The eerie whistling sound that captured souls was heard once again. Calisia, who had been submerged in the deep water, swam following it as if bewitched. Each time she moved her body, dark blue flesh spread like paint. And before she knew it, she was in a place surrounded by round walls. Made of bricks.

Splash!

In front of her empty eye sockets, a clump of hair swayed gently with the current. Calisia burst into laughter without realizing it. Flesh that could have been lips or tongue scattered wildly and sank into the water.

-Let’s climb up on that, that bastard is calling me, keke, let’s climb up, up, kiki

A murderous desire and excitement she had never felt before filled her to the top of her head. Calisia, her mouth torn wide, shot out like a snake.

“…Kuh, ugh!”

The clump of hair was shoved into her throat once more and at the same time Calisia’s mind returned to reality.

“Uweeek!”

Calisia’s waist collapsed forward. She barely managed to grab the wall and vomited up unknown things.

“Valus!”

Seeing Calisia vomiting black water, Ian struck her back hard.

“Vomit it all out. It’s okay, vomit everything.”

Ian continuously rubbed Calisia’s back.

“…Water. Well.”

Calisia, who had briefly rested her head against Ian’s chest, looked around. Despite her hoarse voice, her eyes were sharp and bright.

“Is there a well here?”

Ian, who managed to understand her words, raised his voice toward Pail.

“Yes, yes! This way!”

Pail, who had been quite startled by Calisia’s condition, hurriedly guided the way. He went up the hill path to the right along the storage room wall. Soon a well with a roof appeared.

Thump, thump, thump-

Calisia’s heart beat violently. She carefully approached the well step by step.

“…Damn it, ugh, urk!”

Calisia, who looked into the well, forcibly suppressed the rising nausea. It was definitely the well wall she had seen when she was assimilated with the Water Murder Ghost’s memory.

“Pail. Do you draw water from this well to use?”

“Yes. Not for drinking water, but we use it for quenching at the forge.”

“…So that’s where it attached.”

Calisia let out a sigh. When quenching, water and steam would naturally splash, wouldn’t they? And that was well water where Water Murder Ghosts had been stagnating.

“Pail. Where does this well connect to?”

Calisia’s gaze turned deep into the well. If she followed this waterway, she would be able to find traces of the bastard who dared to use living people as offerings.

“It should be connected to the underground sewers.”

“Close this well and don’t use it for the time being.”

Water Murder Ghosts, and evil spirits created by human hands at that, had been swarming there. No matter how much they had left, the impure energy still remained.

“When you say close it, until when do you mean, Young Miss?”

“Until I tell you to open it again.”

Calisia, coldly cooled by anger, turned around with her fists clenched tight.

***

“The Empire’s religions and their sects, what is sorcery, the origins and genesis of black magicians, the world of souls, understanding necromancers and also…”

Calisia, who entered the training ground with haggard eyes, listed off the books she had read last night. She hoped to find out even a little about the mastermind behind the Water Murder Ghost incident.

‘No matter how I think about it, it doesn’t seem like this was done by just one person.’

It was about forcibly drowning living people to turn them into water ghosts. This kind of death curse consumed a lot of spiritual power and had very severe backlash. It meant it was too burdensome for an individual to handle.

‘Moreover, they secretly collected the hair of the blacksmiths they targeted. It means they had precise targets for the death curse.’

The Water Murder Ghosts had all died with blacksmiths’ hair in their mouths. The human body was the most powerful spiritual medium in shamanism. Having died with such things in their mouths, how deeply entangled must those karmic connections be.

‘So that’s why purification rituals and exorcisms were completely useless. They could just grab onto the connection thread and come back.’

Calisia bit the inside of her cheek hard. What kind of crazy bastards had done such a thing?

“So did you find anything?”

Calisia, who had been lost in thought, turned her eyes to Ian’s voice.

“…Oh, no. Surprisingly, there’s no information at all. There are those who perform human sacrifices, but there’s no mention of commanding or handling ghosts. But judging by what they did, they’re definitely well-versed in this field.”

Calisia, dragging her tired body, plopped down next to Ian. After crouching and reading books all night, her whole body was aching terribly.

“So I decided to cleanly give up on this and do what I can for now. A soul retrieval ritual.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“You’re offering to help without even knowing what it is.”

Calisia’s eyes became as big as marbles at Ian’s immediate answer without any hesitation.

“You’re trying to drive out water ghosts, aren’t you? Don’t delay and tell me what you need.”

“What I need? I need a lot. Flag poles, cotton cloth, chickens, brass bowls, raw rice, Buddhist monks, shamans, dried pollack, seaweed, apples, pears, drums, gongs, small gongs…”

“Only tell me what’s possible.”

Ian raised his hand at the endless stream of demands.

“Actually, I need musical instruments. One of the most important things in shamanic rituals is shamanic music… but Arkea doesn’t have the instruments I’m looking for.”

Shamanic music is extremely important in conducting rituals. It’s because the melody and sound itself contain the power of evil warding. It was like a kind of powerful buff.

“So, how much do you trust the Northern Knights?”

Calisia smiled prettily and blinked her eyes.

***

[ Job Posting ]

Qualifications: Northern Knights members

Position: Minstrel

Application Period: Today at noon

Preferred Qualifications: Virile men

Working Hours: Flexible

Pay: Won’t disappoint

Recruiters: Calisia Valus / Ian Lakies

※Interview Location: Sparring Room

The Northern Knights gathered together and murmured. It was because of the paper stuck to the target board. Despite the childish content, it was a document with the ducal seal stamped on it. They couldn’t help but be interested.

“Minstrel? What minstrel?”

“What does ‘preferred qualification: virile men’ mean?”

The more they looked at it, the more puzzling the job posting became. What did singing and virility have to do with each other? Moreover, weren’t there opera singers who castrated themselves saying their voices would be ruined by puberty?

“Virile men? You’re immediately disqualified.”

“You’re introducing yourself. You’d be the one disqualified.”

The knights giggled among themselves. They still weren’t taking the recruitment notice very seriously.

“Attention everyone!”

Then, Calisia’s booming voice echoed through the training ground.

“As you all saw, we’re looking for a minstrel. Those confident in singing, please apply in large numbers. By the way, the pay is…”

Calisia pulled out a noticeably bulging pouch from her bosom. The knights’ gazes all converged on her hands at once.

“This much.”

Calisia untied the strings and turned the pouch upside down.

Clatter clatter clatter-

Gold coins that sparkled brighter than the sun poured down like rain.

***

Gail Longs. The brunette knight entered the sparring room hesitantly. In one corner of the spacious area sat a desk and chair of unknown origin.

[ Judge’s Seat ]

Along with a rather crude paper sign. Gale’s complexion kept changing in the strange atmosphere. The whole situation was both amusing and nerve-wracking.

“Participant number 1, please introduce yourself.”

Shortly after, Calisia and Ian took their seats at the judge’s table with stern faces.

“Uh, I’m Gail Longs. I’m from Linton Village in the Northern Region and I’m good with swords and spears?”

“Let’s hear you sing first. The test is simple. Just follow along with one verse of the song I sing.”

Calisia stood up from her seat and cleared her throat. It felt quite awkward to sing after such a long time.

“Soul oh- Soul oh- It is a soul.”

A rather mournful tone echoed through the sparring room.

“Neokiyaa- Neohiyaa- Neokirotaa.”

Gale clumsily followed the pronunciation and finished the song.

“The tune is roughly correct.”

“Then do I pass?”

“No, just one more thing. You saw the preferential treatment clause, right? Do you qualify?”

Calisia stared intently at Gale, saying this was the most important part. The Water Murder Ghost, having water attributes, was an evil spirit with very strong yin energy. At a time when there were no instruments to play shamanic music, the singing voice of a man with strong yang energy was quite a useful substitute.

“Chastity… uh, yes. Oh- um, well I do qualify for that but it’s hard to prove, haha. I’ll just say that I feel energetic even in the mornings.”

Gale awkwardly laughed while flexing his muscles for no reason. It didn’t seem like something to discuss in front of a princess.

“We’ll notify you of the results later. Leave.”

Ian, who had issued the dismissal to Gale, seriously wrote something down.

[ Somewhat vulgar / -50 points ]

Calisia, who had sneaked a peek at his evaluation sheet, let out a hollow laugh. And she didn’t know then that it would be her last laugh of the day.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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