"Lose half her life? Recuperate for two months?"
Shendu's proposed treatment method left Emilia, Roswaal, and the others utterly dumbfounded. Let alone saving someone, this was practically the lowest-grade healing method imaginable.
"No, absolutely not! Rem is already on the brink of death. If you treat her like that, it'll only get worse and worse."
"And I suspect you did this!"
Upon hearing this solution, Ram gradually stopped crying. She shot Shendu a vicious glare, fury blazing in her eyes.
From the very beginning, Ram's hostility toward Shendu had nearly reached its peak. At first, she had suspected that Shendu had orchestrated everything herself, deliberately staging this incident to gain their goodwill.
After all, Ram had ample reason for her suspicion.
First, Shendu's origins were mysterious and her strength immense. She could very well be a curse caster.
Second, Ram could not read her at all. It would have been easy for her to follow Rem and plant a curse.
Third, using a curse to earn their gratitude was, after careful analysis, the most likely possibility Ram could think of.
Faced with Ram's blunt suspicion and deep hostility, Shendu shook her head helplessly. This was exactly the sort of situation she disliked, which was why she had not come forward to treat Rem immediately.
If she saved someone only to raise a white-eyed ingrate—wouldn't that be even more troublesome in the future?
"Then I shall take my leave. Since someone here dislikes me, why should I stay?"
Shendu stepped forward, lowered her head to glance at Felt at her side, and said casually, "Let's go, Felt. There's no need for us to wade into this mess."
"Yes, Big Sister. Hmph."
Felt snorted angrily. Just as she was about to leave, Beatrice stepped in front of her, looking apologetically at Shendu.
"Ram, there's something Betty hasn't said yet."
"This truly wasn't Big Sister's doing. Earlier tonight, she even asked Betty about curses. She was investigating."
"Besides, Big Sister is very strong. She has no need to resort to such despicable methods."
The moment Beatrice spoke, Roswaal and Emilia were both startled. They had not expected that Shendu had already discovered the problem before they had.
After Beatrice finished, the suspicion in Ram's heart diminished considerably. Even so, she still did not feel at ease letting Shendu treat her younger sister.
"What is going on, Miss Shendu? Did you notice something beforehand?"
Roswaal's mismatched eyes fixed on Shendu as he broke into a grin that was frankly painful to look at.
"That's right. I had just discovered it myself, so I dealt with their curses while I was at it."
"Each person was cursed to a different degree. Felt's was the lightest, so I handled hers first, then removed the curse from my servant. That's roughly the situation."
Shendu spread her hands. A trace of impatience had already surfaced in her crimson eyes.
Sure enough, her guess had been correct. Even doing a good deed required choosing the right occasion. Otherwise, being doubted like this would sour anyone's mood.
"I'm sorry, Sister Shendu. Please forgive Ram's rudeness. She didn't mean it."
Emilia had always chosen to trust Shendu, so she felt deeply apologetic and hurried to speak on Ram's behalf.
"It's fine. I didn't take it to heart."
Shendu shook her head calmly, showing no sign of anger.
In truth, she had other ways to remove the curse. For instance, she could directly strip it away with magic power, then use the Horse Talisman to heal the damage, achieving complete eradication.
Besides that, she had five or six different methods to lift a curse.
But she could not act so easily. Curing the curse without any difficulty would bring her no benefit at all.
As a demon, she would never do something that offered not the slightest advantage.
...
"Ram, calm down. Don't forget why we invited Miss Shendu here in the first place."
"If she has no solution, then no one else will either."
Roswaal leaned close to Ram's ear and whispered softly.
Roswaal was clever, like an old fox. Seeing Shendu's confident expression, he understood that she had a solution. She simply had not displayed it because of Ram's attitude.
Hearing Roswaal's reminder, Ram reconsidered from another perspective and found his words reasonable. Slowly, she turned her gaze back toward Shendu.
"Lady Shendu, every fault lies with me. Please forgive me. But Rem is my only family. Please save her. Afterward, I will do anything you ask."
Ram dropped to her knees and kowtowed deeply. The suspicion and fury from earlier were gone, replaced by desperate pleading as she looked at Shendu.
"Yes, Sister Shendu. If there is another method, perhaps you could try it."
Emilia, standing to the side, felt heartache for the blue-haired maid and added her plea.
"Very well. I can attempt another method. Let me examine her first."
Shendu agreed readily. She walked straight to Rem's side and placed her slender hand on the girl's forehead, checking her condition.
Sure enough, Natsuki Subaru and Felt had fared slightly better. But Rem's curse had already taken effect. In less than half an hour, her life force would likely be completely drained.
Her forehead was icy cold, like a block of ice, and her complexion was deathly pale.
The curse had reached its middle stage. If Shendu used curse counteraction now, it might erase the remainder of Rem's life force along with it.
"Well? Is there still hope for Rem?"
Ram stared at the silver-haired, red-eyed Shendu with desperate anticipation and could not help but ask.
"There is a way. It seems curse counteraction won't do. I can only create a magic potion to remove her curse."
Shendu recalled that within her inherited memories, she possessed knowledge of a righteous mage's potion-making arts. She decided to use that method to resolve Rem's curse.
"A magic potion? What is that?"
Everyone present was filled with question marks. It was the first time they had ever heard the term.
"It's nothing complicated. By combining different materials, one can create a special potion with unique effects. Removing a curse this way is relatively gentle and won't result in... that kind of outcome."
Shendu smiled as she explained, though the others still looked utterly bewildered.
Roswaal, however, smiled more deeply. Though he did not fully understand, he was certain that this visitor from another world had a solution.
It seemed Shendu truly possessed the power to change the world. Of that, he was becoming increasingly convinced.