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Chapter 6
The Status Window Is Back!
I leapt up and shot through the air, slapping onto his thigh mid-flight.
I could feel it—the essence of the curse climbing up his leg, clinging to my feet, my legs, my stomach.
That thing, which was basically lethal poison to a living creature, seeped into my skin like it was trying to bore its way inside.
My breath caught in my throat.
But I couldn’t stop here.
If I’m going to die anyway, I’m at least going to make a sound while I go down!
Even if I died, I was going to let out at least one “squeak” of defiance.
I forced my body to move and climbed up his form.
Past his torso, past his shoulder—until I finally reached the top of his head.
I planted myself there and raised both of my tiny front paws with solemn determination.
Rat Master… please lend me your power!
I silently prayed, then grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled with everything I had.
“Chiiiii!” (Stop it!)
And then—miracle.
Calix Nepherto actually stopped moving.
What the hell just happened?
Did my prayer somehow reach France or something?
Or was it just some universal law that humans become controllable when a rat sits on their head?
While I was lost in ridiculous thoughts, a familiar surge of energy suddenly washed over me.
“Chii…?” (Huh…?)
Something unpleasant and corrupted inside me began transforming—turning pure, clean, refreshing as it flowed in.
This was unmistakably the sensation of purification.
No way I was imagining it.
Back when I pretended to be a saintess, this had been my main job.
Which made this even stranger.
What is going on? I’m not a saintess anymore—I’m just a rat now.
Right as I frowned in confusion—
zzzt.
A faint distortion rippled in the air, and a semi-transparent window appeared.
[LOADING…]
The status window I thought had run away… was back!
It looked different though—black and white, low resolution, flickering with static.
Still, it was something!
With a racing heart, I waited.
The spinning icon disappeared.
[□□□□□□□□□□]
A strange new gauge bar appeared.
“Chii?” (What is this?)
As I questioned it, a small pop-up appeared.
[C0RR%PT!0N SY#TEM: $#!@ UNST@B— ERROR… %## BODY LIMI— SKILL @#!% ENABLE…]
It was so broken I couldn’t understand a single word.
I stared at the first blinking segment.
Then realization struck me.
Is this… a battery?
Back when I was acting as a saintess, purifying curses gave me points through the status window.
I used those points to upgrade my pathetic level-1 saintess skill tree.
So if those points were actually energy…!
A shiver ran through me.
So that’s it!
The status window didn’t run away—it just ran out of power!
It probably used all its energy to drag me out of that damned pocket dimension.
Ah… and I was blaming it all this time…
“Chiiii!” (I’m sorry I doubted you!)
I wailed into the air.
But I quickly calmed down.
So purification restores energy.
Then my objective was simple.
“Chi!” (Alright!)
I immediately grabbed the villain’s hair tighter.
He started acting up after absorbing the curse’s core essence—so if I purify all the curse clinging to him, he’ll calm down, and the status window will recover.
Two birds with one stone!
I took a deep breath.
Purifying curses was something I was confident in.
After all, I used to be a modern human with lungs strong enough to filter city smog and fine dust.
I focused, isolating the foul, sharp, murky energy.
Wait… this is weird. Was this “purification” not actually saintess power?
While I was thinking that, the curse clinging to him was completely cleaned away.
I glanced at the status window again.
[█□□□□□□□□□□]
Unexpectedly, the gauge hadn’t moved past the first segment.
Do I need more?
I looked down at the cursed land below—but hesitated.
Because I was still holding his hair.
If I let go and he starts rampaging again, that’s bad.
As I hesitated, the black covering his eyes began to fade.
His violet irises reappeared.
Blink.
“….”
He slowly looked around, still half-dazed.
“Not a bad hell, I guess.”
He was clearly still spouting nonsense.
I scoffed at him—and tugged his hair again.
“Agh.”
He jerked his head up violently.
That movement made me slip off the top of his head.
I ended up dangling from his hair like a rope.
Before I could recover, a large hand grabbed me.
“Was it you?”
“Chii?”
I tried to act like an innocent, harmless rat.
But this time, he didn’t back off.
“Answer me. Did you stop my rampage?”
“…”
“Now that I think about it… the curse core moved strangely earlier. Was that also you?”
Unfair—that wasn’t me!
“Do you have the ability to control curses? Or… don’t tell me you purify them?”
…Oh no. I’m screwed.
My throat went dry.
I couldn’t respond carelessly.
If he learned I could purify curses, this guy—whose goal was basically world destruction—might kill me on the spot.
But if I denied it outright, I’d be confessing that I’m a suspicious rat that understands human speech.
Time passed.
And Calix Nepherto seemed to interpret my silence however he liked.
His violet eyes glinted.
His grip tightened.
I squeezed my eyes shut, thinking this was it—
But then…
“You’re more interesting than I thought.”
“…?”
Huh?
I opened my eyes.
He was smiling at me.
His eyes curved like a satisfied cat.
“Good. From now on… you’re mine.”
“Chii!!” (What the hell are you talking about?!)
Before I could react, he bit his own finger and drew blood.
“If you’re a trick, I need to keep you close. If you’re a gift, I can’t lose you.”
He muttered nonsense while brushing my neck.
“Chii… chii…?” (W-wait… don’t tell me—)
And then it happened.
Before I could stop it, something burned on the back of my neck.
A red drop of blood from his finger branded me.
A binding mark.
It used to be placed on slaves… though in modern times it’s more like a magical identification chip.
And I had just been forcibly implanted with one.
Naturally, I was furious.
“Chiiiii!” (What are you doing?!)
You damned villain!
You think you can brand me without consent?!
Not only am I a rat, now I’m your damn pet?!
I screeched furiously.
But Calix didn’t loosen his grip.
Instead, he held me even tighter, as if determined not to lose me.
“Since it’s come to this… calling you ‘you’ is inconvenient.”
He tilted his head thoughtfully.
“I’ll give you a name.”
I froze.
After a long silence, he smiled.
“I’ve decided. Your name is… Rat.”
“….”
