Reincarnated as the mother of an otome game's villainess?!

Chapter 40. La danza del fuego.

—He did?

He must have gotten at least one of the letters I sent him, and knew I was looking for him. How foolish someone had to be to have so much faith in me just because of that? I took a deep breath and cleared my head.

—It is all right now, Christopher. We'll find the cure for this very soon —I said, trying to smile.

I understood everything now. In the story of the game, Christopher died after adopting the saintess. It is never mentioned how long after that it happened, so I never made the connection. I never even considered that it was connected to the curse. Without my meddling, whoever was behind the curse would have released it months later, meaning that Christopher would have come here before the spread came into full force. Now, thanks to me, he didn't get the chance to go back to his home. But all of that made me sure that my intuition was right.

—The saintess must be in this town —I muttered to myself.

I got up and turned towards the mayor.

—What I am going to say is not going to make sense, but for the sake of healing everyone here, I need you to trust me, no matter how ridiculous it might sound.

—Ho? Interesting proposal —Quejada said—. Fine, what is your request?

—Bring me all the young girls.

—...Excuse me?

—Bring me ALL the young girls. Around 5 years old, no, make it everyone who is between 3 and 7 years old to be sure. Give priority to the blond ones, but we need to check everyone. From this town, and any other that is within walking distance.

The man was obviously confused, but promptly seemed to give up trying to decipher my words, and smiled.

—Understood. I'll gather the ones from here by tomorrow, and I'll send Santicus for the ones in the nearby towns.

—Thank you.

He yelled at his assistant to get his donkey ready for such errand, which he did despite protesting that night would fall soon. I returned to try to make my friend and the other cursed people as comfortable as possible. Maxwell and Ingrid were still too focused on treating them, and didn't stop until they had checked everyone at least once. Thankfully they weren't alone, as there were a few of the townsfolk helping. I saw Maxwell give a very detailed instruction to them and to Ingrid about what to do if anyone suffered an attack, before sitting at a nearby bench and falling asleep almost inmediately. It must have already been midnight when I went to sit next to Maxwell. I was also tired, but I didn't want to go to sleep. My ears were ringing and I had a weird feeling in the back of my head. If I went to sleep in that state, I probably would have another nightmare.

—Would you like some tea? —Lucius said, offering me a cup—, surprisingly, they even have a small kitchen in the back.

—Thank you.

—Don't mention it. Actually, I was feeling a bit useless, Maxwell and Ingrid took care of the inflicted, and you set our plan to find the saintess in motion without a hitch.

—Ah... I really didn't do much. It will depend on you and Ingrid to identify the saintess.

—Well, that would also fall solely on Ingrid. I can't do any divine magic, or magic whatsoever.

—Oh? Is that the case?

—Yeah, my compatibility with the collective is very poor. I can't hear the voice of Enki at all. But I was raised by the church, and I still have my own talents, so I can help in my own ways. Still, it is a bit frustrating.