Hooray! Cursed Again!

Chalk dust hung suspended in the classroom. Outside the window, the shadow of a bird had been nailed to the curtains; even the sunlight had stopped flowing. This was one of Death Tessa's abilities.

Yet her presence could be heard, but she was nowhere to be seen. Just as Ian looked around—

"Almost a day has passed. Why do I feel like you're not worried at all?" Death Tessa frowned as she passed through the teacher's body from behind the frozen instructor at the podium.

She seemed to have changed outfits today. She was still dressed entirely in black, but now she wore glossy leather clothes and pants. Ian really wanted to know whether Reapers as a species could fart.

"Hm?"

Tessa sensed Ian's strange gaze.

"Who said I haven't done anything? I've already prepared a brilliant plan. Do you know what it is?" Ian cautiously tested the female Reaper.

"Hm?"

Death Tessa frowned.

"Do you think I'm watching you every second of every day? Don't be so narcissistic, little guy." Her tone was unfriendly, but Ian's smile suddenly brightened.

"You're right. I think so too." Ian's smile was radiant, like that of a genuinely sunny and cheerful young man. Yet the female Reaper's frown only deepened at the sight.

"I truly didn't expect attending class to be more important than your father's life. What can I say? You're an exceptionally qualified student?" Death Tessa's tone was clearly tinged with speechlessness.

She looked around. The physics teacher's mouth was still frozen in the shape of F₁l₁ = F₂l₂. Poor physics teacher—he had no idea that something violating physics was happening right now.

"This is part of the plan."

Ian blinked.

"What plan?"

The female Reaper narrowed her eyes. She seemed to have learned Flash from those Evil Spirits as well. With a whoosh, she appeared in front of Ian, though she did not stir even the slightest breeze.

"I can't tell you. That's also part of the plan. Trust me, I really do have a plan—if I told you, there's a chance my plan wouldn't work." Ian made a Three-Body Problem reference. Unfortunately, everyone present, whether they could move or not, probably could not understand his humor or terrible joke.

"If you still want to save your father, you'd better hurry."

However—

"Perhaps you could offer me some help? You know... I'm just an ordinary person." Ian was not trying to play the victim. He knew perfectly well what he was capable of.

Death Tessa frowned again at his words.

"What does that have to do with me? Do you think I care?" She wore a somewhat displeased expression, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked just like a delinquent girl warning strangers to keep away.

"If it truly had nothing to do with you." Ian lightly tapped the desk with his fingertips. His tone was certain as he voiced the truth he had guessed. "You wouldn't have shown up here."

Discovering this secret did not actually require particularly profound insight.

"..."

Death Tessa fell silent, and the temperature in the classroom plummeted. It was unclear whether it had been affected by her mood. Just as the tension reached its peak—

"What a cunning Imp. You win." Death Tessa shook her head a few times as if she had a headache. Her concession made Ian feel even more certain that he might truly be Metropolis's God of Gamblers.

The boy secretly gave himself a thumbs-up.

"Why don't you start with yesterday's plane crash? Your father hasn't failed in a long time, has he?" Death Tessa had already offered him a hint.

"We should go to Metropolis General Hospital, right?" Ian quickly picked up on it. This was roughly the same as his previous line of thought. Perhaps he had the potential to become Metropolis's great detective too.

"Mm."

Tessa's brows lifted almost imperceptibly.

"It seems you really did conduct some investigation and research."

Her tone softened considerably, once again proving that she really had not been keeping track of Ian's progress every moment. That made sense. As a Reaper, she surely had plenty of work-related matters to handle.

"I told you, I have a plan." Ian emphasized it again. Just as he intended to ask for more clues, he suddenly saw the Reaper raise a slender finger.

"Let me save you some time to carry out your plan." With that, the woman with beautiful, cool pale skin snapped her fingers, and the black-and-white frozen world peeled away like a torn canvas.

Ian felt the world spin around him. By the time his vision cleared, the smell of disinfectant had flooded his nostrils. Beneath the ghastly pale lights, the large sign reading "Metropolis General Hospital" hung before him. Puddles left by the rain reflected the two of them—the world had regained its colors at some point.

Yet time still seemed not to be moving.

Ian looked at Tessa's hand in surprise. There were no gems and no Infinity Gauntlet on it, yet a single snap had still produced an earth-shaking effect.

"Is this a Reaper's ability?"

Ian truly did not know much about this unusual species. He only knew that Reapers existed in the old American show Supernatural, and that made him realize what his [Death Knight Kin] meant.

"If you want to become a Reaper, I can submit an application for you. The kind where you start working early." Death Tessa seemed extremely speechless toward this overly curious boy.

There was a hint of concealed dissatisfaction in her tone.

"Stay calm. Don't panic over everything." Ian raised his head to look at the hospital building's name, seemingly deep in thought. This once again prompted Death Tessa to question him.

"What are you staring at over there and thinking about?"

She tilted her head and asked in confusion.

"I think this hospital's name doesn't sound very good."

Ian gave his answer.

"???"

Death Tessa took a deep breath.

"If I ever become interested in being mayor, I'll definitely rename this place Metropolis First People's Hospital..." Ian continued rambling.

"Stop!"

Death Tessa could not help interrupting him.

"Has anyone ever told you there might be something wrong with your head?" The woman, who had always prided herself on having a good temper and excellent manners, truly could not hold it in anymore. She even began regretting her choice.

"Yeah. I even have a doctor's certificate."

Ian rummaged through his school uniform and pulled out a somewhat crumpled medical slip. It had originally been kept in the living room drawer with the medicine prescribed by the doctor.

The medicine was gone now, but the certificate remained.

"??????"

Death Tessa was already considering returning him.

"Hurry up."

She took a few more deep breaths.

"This is the only help I can give you from now on."

With that said—

As though she were rushing to get off work, she suddenly jabbed Ian in the forehead. Before Ian could react, the female Reaper had vanished from where she stood.

The next moment—

The world abruptly began moving again. Ambulance sirens, the rolling wheels of carts, and medical staff shouting all rushed into Ian's ears at once. Ian discovered that although people were constantly coming and going around him—

No one noticed the boy who had seemingly appeared out of thin air.

[Temporary Curse: For twenty-four hours, you will be immune to death.]

On the status panel—

A clear icon flashed.

It was a seemingly negative status that was actually positive.

The absurdly powerful effect made Ian nearly lose control and stab himself twice on the spot.