The way Talia told us about the problem that was arising at the well made me very suspicious.

  Although the last few days had brought us a little closer through Varen, as he increased Talia's business while she provided us with free meals as a thank you, it had made us talk a little over the last few days.

  But our conversations never went very deep, never getting to the point where we stopped out of the blue to chat and gossip about something that happened in town.

  ‘This is certainly strange...’ I thought even more suspiciously.

  My suspicion intensified even more over the next few days, when I began to observe Talia even more closely and realized that the way she acted didn't correspond to just an innkeeper.

  Talia had much greater control over her body than normal adventurers, even surpassing Varen who already had greater strength than normal people.

  From what I analyzed, Talia's strength was probably around a High Low-Class Devil, weaker than I was when I arrived in this world, but stronger than Varen by a good margin, meaning that by human standards she had the strength of a C Rank adventurer.

  Her sturdy figure, one wounded eye covered by an eye patch, and a few battle scars hidden beneath long-sleeved clothes gave away even more that she was no ordinary person.

  ‘Why would someone with that kind of power do something like this?’ I asked myself, even more confused.

  Varen had no idea about Talia's motives either, but after realizing that it didn't look like she was going to try to do anything to us, I decided to start investigating Gwen's well.

  -

  The next day, just after breakfast, we left the inn.

  My goal was the Ironvale market, a place I could only describe as organized chaos... merchants shouting prices, adventurers bargaining for weapons, and children running between the stalls, just the perfect place for gossip.

  Covering my face better with my black cloak, I spoke to Varen. “Varen, you're the bard here, play some music, something to attract attention while I try to hear something among the people.”

  Already knowing my intention, Varen gave a mischievous smile as he took the lute off his back. "Leave it to me, master. I'm going to sing Gwen's song again. If anyone knows anything, they'll be sure to open their mouths."

  Without wasting any time, he climbed onto a wooden box and started strumming, the melody echoing through the market, while he enchanted his own voice with the [Devil Whisper] to attract even more attention from the people around him. “They speak of Gwen, with flaming hair, who played the wicked game of a witch...”

  As soon as Varen's voice came out, the crowd stopped, attracted like flies.

  People in this world had almost no entertainment, so any opportunity for something different, interesting, and most importantly, free, was greatly appreciated by them.

  This made it even easier to gather curious people to gossip about something.

  I leaned against a fabric stall with my hood down, hiding my red eyes while using my Middle-Class Devil senses to pick up whispers.

  It didn't take long for the first gossip to emerge.

  A blacksmith in his thirties holding a large sack of coal stopped to listen to the music and muttered to an older man who was walking with him: "This Gwen... they say she stole her family's bell to give to a witch and curse the town well. My daughter said she saw the well glowing once at night while the bell was ringing by itself, without any wind."

  The man next to him shook his head. "Nonsense. My neighbor said she was stabbed by her boyfriend when he found out she was cheating on him with the dog."

  ‘Interesting...’ I made a mental note, knowing it would be foolish to believe everything I heard, so I continued listening to the various comments people made to their friends about the song.

  Varen's voice with [Devil Whisper] was so captivating that there was a crowd of at least 50 people listening around him.

  And those people didn't listen quietly, those who knew something weren't afraid to comment on what they knew with their friends, taking advantage of the interesting subject that came out of nowhere.

  This led to several different versions coming to my ears, making me have to filter out what sounded silly and what sounded real.

  Noticing how easily I could hear even the whispers of people in the crowd, I was amazed at how powerful the capabilities of a Middle-Class Devil were, making me wonder even more how powerful I'll be when I become a High-Class Devil!

  From what I heard, the legend was full of holes, but the bell and the glow of the well matched what Talia said. And the bit about betrayal? That smelled like more than just gossip, but not with a dog as the first man had said, but a betrayal from the girl to the town.

  Varen ended the song with an exaggerated bow, and some copper coins clinked on the floor.

  Spotting me in the crowd, he winked at me, signaling that he had also heard something.

  As he picked up the coins, a herb seller with deep wrinkles and a suspicious look approached and explained cautiously. "You sing beautifully, boy, but you'd better stop that song. The well doesn't like to be reminded."

  Varen was clever and just inclined his head, feigning innocence. "Why, my kind lady? It's just a story, isn't it?"

  She hesitated, looking around. "It's not just a story... my sister saw the well glow two years ago, the night that Gwen died. She said she heard a bell, as if it were crying. Whoever goes there disappears, or comes back mad."

  After saying this, she spat on the ground, making a sign against the evil eye, didn't want to say anything more after that and left.

  Varen was surprised by the old woman's attitude and looked at me again, only to find me just as surprised as he was.

  -

  In a more secluded place, we began to piece together the clues I'd heard, in addition to the stories Varen had already heard to make the music, until we came to a preliminary conclusion.

  "Legend has it that Gwen betrayed someone for power, stole a bell, and was killed by her lover after betraying him. The well glows, and has a bell that ‘haunts’ it. But no one explains what the bell did, why the witch wanted it, or even more importantly, why the bell is still there if the witch wanted it so badly." I summed up thoughtfully, feeling that we were getting close to the truth, but still didn't understand something.

  Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

  Varen frowned, looking around in confusion. “Master, they said that the well cursed the city, could that have anything to do with that strange slime?” He hesitated. "What if it's dangerous? Not that I'm afraid, of course!" He laughed, but his nervousness was obvious.

  His first question took me aback, and I instinctively moved my hand to the crystal at my waist, feeling as if it might make sense.

  “Varen, we're going to investigate that well tonight.” I decided.

  This made the man even more nervous, but shaking his hands and feeling his new strength brought back some of his courage.

  “Okay, master.” He said, trying to sound confident.

  To avoid anything going wrong, this afternoon we didn't leave the city to train and just kept investigating.

  I was still suspicious as to why Talia specifically wanted Varen and me to go and investigate the well, but even though I watched her for a while, she didn't leave any clues as to why.

  ‘Luckily she's weaker than me and probably doesn't know my true strength, so if she tries anything with us, she could be in for a very unpleasant surprise...’ I thought to comfort myself.

  In the evening we left the inn and went to the place that the rumors pointed to as the location of the well.

  The sky was dark, with heavy clouds hiding the moon when we finally reached the edge of Ironvale, where the well was located.

  The place was very close to the town, but there were no houses around the well, only trees.

  This was an old, cracked stone structure covered in moss, with an old, frayed rope hanging from the pulley.

  Above the well was a rusty bell, swinging slightly, although the night was completely windless to justify it... The air even seemed colder here, which made it even stranger.‘It's too quiet...’ I thought, looking around suspiciously with my red eyes.

  Varen was holding his dagger tighter than usual, as if it were a great sword, before looking down into the pit and swallowing. "Master, it looks... normal, doesn't it? Just an old well. No glow, no bell crying." He stepped forward, peering into the dark water below. “Do you think the old woman from the market was making up stories?”

  “I don't know...” I muttered, circling the well with slow steps.

  My Middle-Class Devil senses were at maximum, looking for any trace of mana or danger, but there was nothing.

  The water was still, the bell mute, and the stone under the moss hid no rune or magical trap.

  'If there's a curse here, it's very well hidden. I touched the Mana Slime crystal at my waist, hoping for some reaction, but it remained completely cold, not in the least affected.

  “Maybe we came at the wrong time?” I asked aloud.

  Varen relaxed a little when he heard my theory, finally holding the dagger in one hand. "So it was just gossip? Because, look, I was ready to face a spirit with flaming hair, but this well is deader than Talia's stew yesterday." He laughed.

  That's when it happened! The crystal at my waist began to pulsate, warm against my skin, and a faint blue glow began to emanate from it, illuminating my cape.

  ‘What the hell?’ I thought in surprise, this being the first time I'd seen this crystal react to anything!

  Before I could do anything, the well responded! The water below glowed with the same blue light, as if it were alive, and the bell began to ring, a much deeper sound than it should for a bell of this size.

  Tum... tum... tum...

  Varen jumped backwards, almost dropping the dagger. "Master, this isn't normal now! What's going on?!" He stared at the well with wide eyes as the glow grew stronger, reflecting off the stones.

  “Calm down, Varen, you don't have to worry so much about your current strength.” I tried to calm him down, but he was still worried.

  Even though I was a Devil, this was my first interaction with something Supernatural in my two lives!

  Hell, I didn't even know ghosts existed until a few days ago.

  Fortunately my current strength gave me the confidence to hold my chest high, but just in case, I still drew my sword and stood ready for something to emerge from the pit.

  If we hadn't been so close to the outskirts of the city by now, I would even have spread my wings and pulled out my tail, something that helped me a lot in combat.

  Standing at attention with my body tense, I began to feel something inside.

  'That's mana, and it's strong.

  The crystal was still pulsating, as if it was talking to the well, but what chilled me the most wasn't the glow or the bell... it was the feeling of being watched.

  My Middle-Class Devil senses picked up something, a subtle movement in the shadows about twenty meters behind us, hidden among the trees.

  ‘Someone else is here!’ I realized worriedly.

  Focusing, I began to smell leather and metal, mixed with a slight hint of herbs and food spices.

  ‘Talia!’ It was the first name I thought of when I smelled it.

  “Varen, stay still and don't look back.” I whispered, keeping my eyes on the well so as not to give away that I knew. “We have company.”

  He swallowed his fear, nodding. "It's... it's her, isn't it? The dead girl from the well?! Is she going to kill us now?!"

  If I felt afraid of the Supernatural, Varen was showing me what real fear was.

  "No, it's probably Talia. Now she's going to tell me what's going on." My voice came out colder than I intended.

  'If she thinks she can play with me, she'll regret it. I took a step forward, pretending to inspect the well, and then spun around quickly, letting the Devil Whisper flow into my voice with the most intent I've used so far, my current goal being to get close to mind control level. “Talia, get out of there, now!”

  The silence hung for a second, until the bushes moved, and Talia emerged, her eye patch glinting in the dim light emitting from the well.

  She didn't look surprised, just... tired.

  Her hand was near her waist, where I knew she hid a dagger, but she didn't draw it.

  “You're smarter than you look, Adam.” She said with a firm voice, but with a touch of caution. “Or should I say... stronger?”

  'She knows I'm dangerous. I realized, and that gave me the upper hand.

  Keeping the[Devil Whisper] Active and letting my voice echo like an order she couldn't ignore, I spoke. "No more games, Talia. Why are you spying on us? Why did you send us to the pit? Tell us the truth!"

  She crossed her arms, her good eye staring at me, as if weighing up how much she could reveal.

  For a moment I even thought that the[Devil Whisper] wasn't working, but her reaction showed me otherwise.

  She sighed, and the tension in her shoulders eased a little. "It's not what you think... I'm not your enemy. But I'm not free to do what I want either."

  Saying this, she pulled up her sleeve and showed a scar that glowed with faint runes, like a magical shackle. “This is a magical contract... I was obliged to protect this well, to prevent anyone from tampering with the curse that's trapping the girl inside, Gwen.”

  Varen, holding the dagger in one hand and extending his other hand forward ready to summon a fireball, widened his eyes. "Arresting? So she's alive?!"

  Talia ignored him, focused on me as she spoke. "The contract doesn't allow me to break the curse, or say much. But there's nothing stopping me from... bringing someone here. Someone who can do what I can't."

  She gave a crooked, almost bitter smile and continued. "And you, Adam, you're not just any adventurer... I've seen how you move, how you analyze everything, the reputation that's building up that you're completing D Rank missions without breaking a sweat, but every now and then you choose E Rank missions to disguise it, how you hide your strength. I've noticed that you're stronger than me, and I'm C Rank... I don't understand why someone with your power is lost in Ironvale, and I don't even care, but if anyone can face what's in the pit, it's you."

  'So that was it. My mind spun, putting the pieces together.'She wants me to break the curse, but without getting her hands dirty.

  The crystal was still shining at my waist, and the bell hadn't stopped ringing, but it was weaker now.

  But I still had to confirm something. "And why me? Why not send a bigger group, or the guild?"

  Talia laughed dryly. "The guild would attract attention... and other adventurers? They'd die, or worse, spread the secret. You and the bard are outsiders, discreet. But most importantly, you..." She hesitated, her one eye shining with something between respect and fear. "You can ‘defeat’ me in battle, if you need to. The contract says I have to protect what's in the well, but if the enemy wipes me out, there's nothing I can do. So, if you want to save the girl, you can leave me unconscious and do what you have to do."

  'She's using me as a way out. I remained silent, weighing up her words. The[Devil Whisper] gave me a small guarantee that she wasn't lying, but she also might not be telling me everything.

  'Who made this contract? And what's really holding Gwen back?'

  The glow from the well began to dim, and the bell stopped, making the air heavy again.

  “Varen, go back to the well and see if you can find anything in the water, but don't touch it.” I ordered without taking my eyes off Talia.

  He nodded, rushing to obey, clearly relieved to get away.

  Staring at her for a few more seconds, I decided to trust the woman a little and spoke. "Talia, you're coming with us. And if you try anything, it won't just be a staged battle."

  She raised her hands as a smile returned to her face. "Fair enough, but Adam, be careful what you wake up to. The girl in the well... she's not what the legend says."

  ‘Of course not...’ I thought, feeling the crystal pulsing again.