"Don't pick it up!"
By the time Ethan shouted those words, he was already too late.
Attendant Five had already picked up the pitch-black Strange Idol.
Ethan hurried over, snatched it from her, took off his coat, wrapped the idol inside it, and then set it aside.
After all, this Strange Idol was far too sinister.
Even if touching it for the first time only caused sleep paralysis...
Who knew...
In a place as strange as this, what kind of sleep paralysis would it be?
So if accidents could be avoided, it was best to avoid them.
"Ah! My Lord, why has your hand turned black?"
Seeing that Ethan's fingers had turned black, Attendant Five quickly took out a spotless handkerchief from her clothes. Without minding the dirt, she grabbed his hand and carefully wiped it.
But no matter how much she rubbed, the black stain on Ethan's fingers wouldn't come off.
Ethan took hold of Attendant Five's hand and turned it over.
"Don't just look at mine. Yours is black too."
"Ah!"
Only then did Attendant Five realize it.
Then she smiled, "It's alright. I'm just a rough person. I'll just wash my hands later. But you're different, My Lord. You're the master of our estate. As the estate's head steward, I can't let anything imperfect appear on you in front of everyone."
"Thank you."
Ethan felt a little warmth in his heart.
After all, in this terrible place, aside from the relationship between Lord and subject, he had never experienced the care of family or anyone close to him.
It wasn't a bad feeling.
"But it won't wash off," Ethan shook his head and withdrew his hand, "Our hands have been contaminated by the Strange Idol. This black stain probably won't disappear anytime soon."
"Ah!", Attendant Five covered her mouth in surprise, "Then... My Lord, when you told me not to pick it up just now, was this the reason?"
"More or less."
Ethan picked up the Strange Idol, still wrapped in his coat, and smiled helplessly.
He hadn't expected the Scarecrow's little scheme to succeed in the end after all.
Fortunately... it was only sleep paralysis.
Still, Ethan was a little curious.
With the level of mental strength he had now, could he force himself awake through sleep paralysis?
If he could... then perhaps he could find some way to communicate with this Strange Idol and make it work for him.
"T-Then... My Lord, will you be hurt? Or will it affect you somehow?", Attendant Five asked nervously, glancing worriedly at the wrapped Strange Idol in his hands, "How about... you let me carry it instead?"
"It's fine. It'll just cause sleep paralysis. I'll just think of it as being unable to move while sleeping. It's no big deal."
Ethan said it casually.
But Attendant Five's face immediately turned pale.
"S-Sleep paralysis?"
"Yeah. You've experienced it before too, haven't you?", Ethan asked as they walked toward the Demon Tree.
Attendant Five silently swallowed, "M-My Lord... c-could I stand guard outside your door tonight? I think... I just won't sleep."
"What? You're scared?", Ethan smiled and rubbed her head, "If you're scared, then come sleep in my room tonight. It'll be fine."
"Really?"
The fear on Attendant Five's face disappeared in an instant, replaced by delight.
Ethan nodded, "Yeah."
"Thank you, My Lord!"
"Alright, I have something to do at the Demon Tree first."
With that, Ethan broke into a run toward the Demon Tree.
"Help me take care of Mr. White. If he asks, tell him I have something to take care of and I'll be back soon."
"Yes, My Lord!"
———
[Beneath the Demon Tree]
Ethan handed the Strange Idol over to the two Archmages to study.
He wanted them to find a way to remove the curse from his fingers, or at least figure out whether it was possible to control the Strange Idol.
As expected.
The two Archmages immediately became completely absorbed in studying the Strange Idol.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ethan climbed the Demon Tree to have a look around.
He wanted to find a suitable place to transfer from this Demon Tree to the Demon Tree in another city before using alchemy.
That way, even if the Peace Organization discovered his existence, locating him would be much more difficult.
This was also the first time Ethan had observed the Demon Tree from such close range.
He saw...
That every ten meters or so up the enormous Demon Tree, one or two thick branches would grow out.
And somewhere along each branch was a blue sphere of light.
Each sphere was about two meters tall and one meter wide.
It hung suspended from the branch.
From a distance...
It looked almost like the fruit of the Demon Tree.
It was quite extraordinary.
Could it be that entering these spheres of light was how one traveled to the other branches of the Demon Tree?
Ethan jumped onto the first branch and approached the sphere of light.
After hesitating for a moment...
He stepped inside.