Chapter 6 The Appearance Of It.

Suzal's reaction remained surprisingly calm. 'Is that all?' he pondered.

"I see. Well, I'm a little bit shocked, but in the end, it doesn't really matter, does it? After all, I wholeheartedly accept you both as my real parents, and I'm genuinely grateful to you." I concluded, punctuating my words with a warm, sincere smile, because what I had just said was undeniably true.

Then, out of the blue, Suzal recalled the moment he had first arrived in the village. 'That was when that adventurer had carried me all the way from there to here. It was because a group of typical villainous individuals were relentlessly chasing after me.

WAIT!

The fact that they were chasing me indicates that there must be something exceedingly valuable that they believe I possess. I'm in the dark about what it might be, but I must exercise caution. Even though it may take those individuals several more years to track me down, I should never dismiss the possibility. I need to be prepared to confront them at any given moment,' Suzal pondered. But then, fate had other plans.

"W-wait, is this true? Dad..." Rachel stammered, her voice quivering with uncertainty.

"Yeah, and guess what? It turns out that I, too, was adopted by the old man," Oscar chimed in, only to receive a playful tap on the head.

"Ouch!" Oscar exclaimed, rubbing his head.

Mr. Oliver interjected, "You can call me 'Father' or 'Dad' from now on."

"Alright, alright," Oscar conceded.

"Hey! Please, can you give me an answer? Are you truly not my biological parent?" Rachel pleaded, her voice almost desperate.

"Of course, he isn't. Why are you acting so strangely, Rachel?" Oscar inquired, his concern evident.

"Yeah," I nodded, mirroring my confusion.

'This girl's behavior is quite perplexing,' Suzal thought, his bewilderment deepening.

Then, to everyone's surprise, Rachel's eyes welled up. Her shocked expression, with raised eyebrows, gave way to tears streaming down her cheeks. She silently wept a few tears before abruptly turning and heading towards the exit, uttering a few choice words.

"I hate you, Dad," she bitterly declared before disappearing through the gate.

The revelation left all of us in a momentary silence. My mother, Lily, turned to Mr. Alden and inquired, "Alden, do you happen to know the reason behind her recent behavior?"

A concerned look crossed Alden's face as he replied, "To be honest, Lily, things haven't been going well between us lately."

"I see. Well, let's proceed with dinner for now and assign someone to keep an eye on her," Grafiel ordered Oliver, not willing to take any chances. Although she knew not to cross the village border, impulsive actions were always a concern.

Suzal, deep in thought, considered Grafiel's decision as he dined with the others. To his delight, it appeared that his mother had prepared his favorite meal for the evening.

Meanwhile, at a shadowy location, a report regarding Village No. 7 and the boy had reached a certain individual.

"So soon?" the individual remarked.

"Yes. Shall I read it aloud?" the subordinate inquired cautiously.

"No, I'll read it myself. You've been working diligently; take some rest."

Reading the report, the individual's interest was piqued. "A dispute arose because he aspired to be an adventurer instead of a mayor, huh? Interesting. Let's see what this newcomer can offer. Despite his unassuming appearance, his progress is abnormally rapid. He's even unlocked his magic."

Sighing, the individual abandoned their polite facade and issued orders to the subordinate. The subordinate, feeling the pressure, complied.

"Use a B-ranked for them and C-ranked for those adults. Strong ones, and do it quickly. It's the perfect opportunity to test his strength if they manage to survive," the individual said with a cruel chuckle.

"Understood, my Lord," the subordinate replied, departing to carry out the task.

"Wait, one more thing. Has the newcomer already placed that curse on him?" the individual inquired to confirm, reverting to a polite tone.

"Yes, it's done. In the best-case scenario, he might die, and in the worst, he might fall into a coma," the subordinate replied, adjusting the situation to their malevolent intentions towards Suzal.

"That may be unlikely. After enduring Oliver's intense killing intent, he's proven quite resilient. Carry on with your tasks while I attend to mine," the individual ordered.

"Yes, my Lord," the subordinate said, departing to fulfill their duties.

Unbeknownst to Suzal, someone had already placed a curse upon him.

Suzal finished his dinner and complimented his mother's cooking. He then greeted his uncle Oliver and Alden at the gate of their house. After helping with the dishes, he settled down to read some novels from this world. His otaku spirit still burned, though he missed the animated adventures from such stories.

Little did he know, he would soon experience something entirely different in his dreams – a brutal, psychologically torturous genre.

As he drifted into deep sleep, he found himself back in his past life's world.

"Huh? Where am I?" Suzal pondered, but what he saw next horrified him.

"Huh? What?" His eyes widened, and he screamed.

"SAKURAAA! NO! Why did you do that?"

Before him, his beloved girlfriend had committed suicide. He witnessed it happen – the rope hanging from the fan, her placing herself on it, and her haunting words.

"You betrayed me, Soma-kun."

"No! Please, just stop it. You don't deserve this," he shouted from the depths of his heart. He watched as she slowly succumbed, saliva leaving her mouth, until finally, all he saw was her,

DEATH.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop it. He couldn't be there for her.

He cried, blaming himself for not being able to save her, for leaving her alone on Earth.

But the show wasn't over. He saw more.

"No, you can't just do that. He isn't dead. You haven't even found his body yet," he could see Sakura protesting to someone from the government.

"Sakura, please, you have to survive this time. You can't die because of someone like me," he screamed, hoping his voice would reach her, but it couldn't.

This was happening because he had lost all rationality.

Then, the next scene appeared without warning.

"Wait, those guys are..." Suzal thought, seeing some suspicious individuals.

"Those guys are the bullies from our high school. Don't tell me..." Suzal's fear became a reality.

Suddenly, those guys confronted her. "Oya oya, look who it is?" one of them said.

"If it isn't that b***h of the genius," another chimed in. Normally, Suzal or Soma would have been enraged and taken them down, but his mental state was far from the best.

"What do you wa-...?" Before she could speak.

One of them came from behind and covered Sakura's mouth. She tried to resist but couldn't.

"Hey, by the way, guys," one of them said, catching the attention of the others.

"What? What?" one guy exclaimed excitedly.

"Look at those curves, man. Don't you think she could be useful to us in that way?" he suggested.

Horrified, both Sakura and Suzal watched it unfold.

As the night wore on, Suzal experienced more illusions, each harsher and more brutal than the last, breaking him inside totally.

It was precisely 8:34 AM, and he remained in a deep slumber, ensnared by a curse that inundated his mind with debilitating illusions of his impending downfall. This malevolent curse not only imprisoned him in this unending dreamlike state but also hindered his cognitive faculties. Failure to awaken from this plight could lead to a dire outcome, possibly even a coma or worse.

Lily, overwhelmed by concern, voiced her distress, 'No matter what I try, he simply won't stir. Grafiel, his fever shows no sign of abating, and he's drenched in sweat. I shudder to think of what's befallen our son.' Her fervent attempts at employing the most potent healing spells proved utterly futile, leaving them all perplexed.

The enigma with Suzal was that he suffered not from any conventional ailment that typically induces feverish symptoms. Instead, the torment unfolding within him required a remedy that eluded their comprehension.

"Tch! What in the world is afflicting him?" Grafiel muttered, his brow furrowing in distress. Even as they grappled with this enigmatic predicament, yet another crisis loomed.

"Grafiel-san," spoke one of Oliver's subordinates, "we bear grave tidings.""

An irked Oliver demanded, "Speak quickly; it had better warrant the disruption."

"Oliver-san, this matter is exceedingly dire," the subordinate cautioned.

"Proceed," Grafiel replied, maintaining a neutral demeanor.

"Our search party has just uncovered the lifeless body of the individual entrusted with ensuring Rachel's confinement within the village boundaries."

"WHAT???" All three of them exclaimed, their astonishment undeniable.

The subordinate continued, "Furthermore, the extent of injuries on his body strongly suggests that his assailant possessed a formidable rank, possibly even at the B level or higher."

The gravity of the situation weighed heavily upon them, leaving Grafiel, Lily, and Oliver with a multitude of unanswered questions.

"I see. I understand the circumstances. Hey! Oliver what do you say? Wanna go wild after a while?" Grafiel proposed to his friend Oliver with a smile.

"Yeah, I was getting the feeling that I had been a little rusty. Let's polish our skills a bit by killing whoever is trying to do this things." Oliver replied with a smirk too.

"Hey, Lily for the time being I leave this village in your hands, alright?" Grafiel said.

"Alright make sure to come fast with Rachel. I will try my best here too." Replied Lily as she continued to heal him.

Then suddenly a mysterious card appeared out of nowhere in the air near his body. In which was written a single word. And it was....

"Sensumo."