As he spoke, Mr. Meloni took out a wide-mouthed glass bottle. Leaf-shaped flames blazed fiercely inside it:
"But I have to admit, it makes an excellent source of fire."
Miss Danist took the bottle and examined it:
"So this is the trouble you encountered? You have no way to deal with this kind of cursed object?"
Great Elder Mr. Davis nodded:
"We have tried using holy water, rituals to banish evil spirits, freezing, and other methods to deal with them, but none of them worked. As for destroying this tree directly, we are worried it might lead to other consequences. We detected an extremely high temperature in the tree's core, and forcibly destroying this cursed object might cause it to self-destruct."
"So we hope you can help us and see whether this thing can be safely neutralized. It is late autumn now, the season when forest fires are most likely to occur."
"I'll try."
Miss Danist reached out as she spoke, but Shade stopped her:
"If anyone is trying it, it should be me."
"Be careful. Directly touching this tree or that deer will leave burn marks on your body."
Mr. Meloni warned him, but Shade still directly touched the trunk with his right hand. Almost the instant his palm made contact, fine cracks appeared across the back of his right hand. Crimson light then radiated from those cracks.
His palm did not feel much pain. Shade raised an eyebrow as "she" softly said in his ear:
This is a curse originating from a kind of Curse Fire. Do not remain in contact with these charred things for too long.
Only then did Shade release the tree. The protective effect his body had instinctively produced—the traces of First Fire Embers—slowly faded from the back of his hand.
"I have a