273

Chapter 273: Tell Me (3)

“Atya?”

The name, one I couldn't even remember ever hearing in passing, had barely seeped into my ears.

At the same moment, pain began to wash over me.

It wasn't visible from the outside.

It was pain that scraped away at me from within, like phantom pain.

“Ah… there's no way.”

But it wasn't as agonizing as it had been in that ruined cabin back then.

Maybe because this was the second time, it was somewhat bearable.

Or perhaps the certainty this pain had given me was keeping me… keeping me…….

I clenched my teeth so I could endure it more easily.

Maybe the clue that had suddenly come so much closer was acting like an adrenaline stimulant, because that alone was enough to straighten my back.

I could endure it.

I felt certain of that.

“Ticha, but who is this person……?”

“Um, an outsider who got lost on the way to Münmund and ended up here… but more importantly, who are all these people?”

“Soldiers from Münmund. Which means we need to treat them, but…….”

Bolstered by that certainty, I hurriedly examined the person who had just muttered the name.

A Cureti with gray hair and triangular ears.

The right shoulder was half torn away, and black veins stood out in blotchy patterns from Demonic Contamination.

I remembered.

“Ticha, how many medicinal herbs do you have left at your house?”

“We stocked up fairly recently, so we've got quite a lot. But I don't know if they've all dried out yet……!”

“Damn……!”

At the same time, I listened in on the others' conversation.

It was half involuntary.

Treatment will be difficult without medicinal herbs.

How could I possibly ignore words telling me that the clue I'd only just managed to grasp might disappear?

“Excuse me for interrupting.”

I thrust my hand, trembling from the pain, into my bag.

If I let that person die, whatever I could have heard would vanish too.

So I should provide whatever I could.

That was my reasoning.

Of course, if medicinal herbs that hadn't been there when my bag was searched suddenly appeared, Tisha would be suspicious.

He might treat me even more like some sheltered young master.

Or think I was a mage.

Or, worst of all, suspect that I was hiding even more things.

“If it's medicinal herbs, I have some.”

But the information that person might possess was more urgent than whatever suspicions a single Tisha might have.

Despising myself for first weighing reasons before saving a human life, and sickened by the reality that had forced me to become this way, I stared at them.

Both Tisha and the Village Chief were looking at me in surprise.

“May I give them to you?”

“Pardon?”

“Is that really true?”

“I don't joke when someone's life is at stake. What do you need?”

“First, tell us what you have.”

What did I have again?

I considered listing everything, then simply began pulling medicinal herbs from my inventory through the bag one after another.

The Mountain Lord had told me the names of the herbs, but those were terms used only in the Great Forest, so there wasn't much I could do about it.

Besides, it wasn't as though I'd memorized the names of every herb in the first place.

“You…….”

Tisha's eyes went slightly blank as he watched what I was doing.

It would be a little troublesome if he blurted out something like, Where did you pull those from?!

I moved the hand I'd been using to retrieve herbs and placed my index finger against my lips.

Apparently, that gesture was universal enough.

Tisha's body gave a little jolt.

His working mouth and the dimples digging deep into his cheeks displayed his confusion in full.

“…We don't need this one. Do you have more of this instead?”

Fortunately, that subtle stiffness didn't last long.

Rather than trying to pry the truth out of me, he began helping sort the herbs.

I was fairly grateful for that.

“Can you treat them too?”

“Not very… well.”

“Wow. You really are a complete Young Master.”

“…….”

I'd just performed the miraculous feat of producing items that hadn't existed before, so denying it any further probably wouldn't accomplish much.

I smiled bitterly and took out all the herbs they needed, laying them out.

The people who knew how to treat wounds hurriedly took them away.

“I'll help.”

“You said you couldn't.”

“I only said I'm not skilled in treatment. I can still hold someone down.”

“Oh… that's definitely useful. Then hold this person for me!”

“All right.”

I firmly restrained the patient with the laceration, 切傷, who was trying to thrash around in pain.

All I had to do was overpower them with brute strength, so the fact that my arms and legs were shaking as though I had a severe tremor made no difference.

“Bite down on this piece of wood. I'm putting it in!”

Tisha had the patient clamp a piece of wood between their teeth, then prepared to pack medicinal herbs into the wound.

His hands were somewhat dirty.

“Come to think of it, did you wash your hands?”

“My hands? Why?”

“…Wash them first. They could die from an infection.”

“An infection……?”

Right.

This place still had a poor understanding of hygiene.

I hurriedly rolled up my sleeves and pulled off my gloves—turning off the disguise skill had been pointless. I hadn't expected to need it again so soon—and took out the water I'd been carrying for drinking.

“Wait.”

Splash!

Water I'd collected from a river where trout lived poured over Tisha's hands and mine.

I poured it over the patient's wound as well.

“That should do.”

I didn't know whether pouring water directly onto a wound was actually the correct thing to do…

But at the very least, it had to be better than leaving dirt and dust inside it.

As the patient gave a weak scream and squirmed, I held the limbs firmly in place.

The treatment resumed.

“…So you were educated. Even in the cities, not many people know about infection.”

Once we'd finished treating one person, it was the turn of the person who had called me “Atya.”

People had stopped the bleeding, but so much blood had already been lost that the face was terribly pale.

A paleness that made the black veins stand out even more.

“I won't deny that I've had a considerable education.”

Was it really good for an injured person to keep talking?

Still, endlessly talking might be better than allowing them to pass out or fall asleep like this.

Vowing that if I ever managed to return, I'd look into getting some sort of related certification—whether as an EMT or in first aid—I poured water over the wounded shoulder.

By then, half of the drinking water I'd been carrying was gone.

“Don't close your eyes. Keep talking to me.”

“…All right.”

But one person was already finished, and someone else was holding down the remaining patient.

There probably wouldn't be any particular need for more water.

With that thought, I casually tossed aside the emptied leather pouch.

Then, while Tisha treated the injured person, I kept their attention focused on me.

“…Who is Atya?”

And in the process, I asked what I'd been wanting to ask.

Outwardly, it was a question meant to keep the person conscious.

Inside, it was because I desperately wanted to hear the answer.

“My… nephew. Looks quite a bit like you…….”

“You must resemble each other a great deal if you thought of Atya the moment you saw me.”

“Yes… very much. Your hair is a little brighter and paler… but his would sometimes shine when he stood beneath the sunlight too…….”

Whether fortunately or unfortunately, with death staring this person in the face, the usual barriers had fallen considerably.

Without even knowing who I was, the person readily gave me information.

The left hand clenched around a tiny fortune pouch hanging from the neck.

A corner of my chest began to ache as though hundreds of needles were piercing it.

I couldn't tell whether it was guilt or actual physical pain.

“Still… the eyes are a little different… that child had a strange greenish-brown color…….”

“…I see.”

Maybe it would hurt less if I coughed up blood instead.

My body trembling, I forced myself to smile.

“If you want to see that nephew of yours ag-ain, you need to hang in there. If you die here, you won't… be able to get back to the home where your nephew is.”

What the hell was I saying?

If Atya was the existence I hoped Atya was, then Atya would already be dead.

Was it right to say something like this despite knowing that?

“…Just hold on a little longer.”

But I want to go home.

“…It's strange.”

“Wh-what is?”

“The longer I look at you, the more you seem to resemble Atya… but the way you speak is completely different…….”

“…Is that so?”

Atya—this person's nephew—must have had a somewhat tougher personality.

I smiled as though I might cry and patiently waited for the next words.

I still hadn't heard the information I wanted, and I didn't want to interrupt.

Fwoosh.

The scorching pain continued to press down on me, as if brands had been seared across my entire body.

It was becoming a little difficult to swallow my groans.

“What… kind of person… was Atya?”

“Extremely… clever and inventive. Not really… the sort suited for the military……. Hated rules and strict atmospheres… didn't resemble the parents at all in that regard…….”

Meanwhile, the person's words began to stretch slower and slower.

For an instant, the pain in my body vanished from my awareness, replaced by urgency.

The hand I had on the wounded shoulder reflexively tightened.

“But still… such a kind child…….”

“Hhk.”

Suddenly, I heard the sound of someone sobbing through clenched teeth.

Yet there wasn't a single person here crying sorrowfully, no matter how much they screamed from pain.

“You can't go to sleep. We're not finished yet.”

“I'm sorry, I'm just so sleepy…….”

“I know you're sleepy, but endure it anyway.”

“Yes, yes…….”

But that sound must have been my imagination.

It had to be.

Otherwise, I—unable even to see my own family, reduced to having thoughts like these in front of someone who was dying—would become too miserable to bear.

“The first aid is finished. We need to move this person inside now.”

“Ah, yes.”

Half dazed, I followed Tisha's instruction and lifted the patient.

The unending burning pain made my legs stagger, but everyone else simply assumed the person I was carrying was heavy and thought nothing of it.

“Want me to help carry them?”

“I'm… fine.”

I took a step while barely keeping a smile on my face.

Cold sweat streamed down me, but the situation was so urgent that no one noticed anything strange.

Sweat gathered naturally in the palms of the hands from which I'd thrown off my gloves.

“Thank you…….”

Then, briefly, the person in my arms whispered.

The voice was so faint that if my hearing had been even slightly worse, I wouldn't have understood it.

As strength drained from the body in my arms, it became a little heavier.

“Ah.”

Just as before, urgency bleached the pain away for an instant, and I hurriedly quickened my pace.

Rustle.

When I lowered the person onto the prepared bed, I could see the chest rising and falling shallowly.

Still alive.

Still alive.

“…Can this person survive?”

“I don't know. Too much blood was lost…….”

Ignoring whether the relief I felt came from human empathy or from my own selfish feelings, I stared blankly and thought.

I want to cry.

Or maybe laugh.

No.

What I really want most is…….

“…I hope you survive.”

Feeling suffocated, I undid the top button of my clothes with one hand and rubbed my face with the other.

It was only half a beat later that I remembered my hands were covered in blood from helping treat everyone.

Moisture clung to my cheek.

Moisture that should originally have been hot, but had now become chillingly cold.

“It's in God's hands now. Go wash yourself.”

“…All right.”

I hated that thought so much it made me shudder.

My entire body, aching as though I'd been beaten despite having suffered no injury, only made that feeling stand out more sharply.

I accepted Tisha's suggestion.

Read only on MUGEX

* * *

“We're already so busy it feels like we're going to die, so why are the wild beasts acting up too?”

Meanwhile, there was Shuburken, a city positioned at the junction leading toward either Brisden or Hirsenzig.

In a village along the highway before reaching that city, Deathbringer grumbled.

Their current situation was that those damned beasts had delayed them by roughly half a day.

“At least it's nice that we don't have to camp outside because of it…….”

Of course, if they had passed this village, they would have had to spend the night on the road.

Looked at that way, the wild-beast incident wasn't entirely bad.

After all, sleeping in a village was far more comfortable than sleeping on the road.

“Hmm…….”

Still.

When they were already in a hurry, having something this trivial hold them back was irritating.

It was something like the urge to kick a random stone lying on the road for no reason.

“Maybe they got orders from the demons.”

“…Please don't say things like that even as a joke.”

In the meantime, Meister tossed out the joke with that uniquely obnoxious expression.

This time, Daniel's face went pale with horror.

Apparently, he'd imagined the animals of this world moving around according to demons' commands.

“Why're you acting so disgusted?”

“…Hmm. Even I think that's a rather horrifying thing to say.”

Deathbringer, too, began to feel uncomfortable.

Especially because they happened to be eating at the moment, and the dish he was eating had been made from one of the wild beasts they'd killed.

“You people have such weak stomachs.”

“Yours is probably just insanely strong…….”

“Look at the Hero. She's perfectly fine.”

“No, that lady is…….”

Deathbringer's lips moved as he looked at the Inquisitor, who was silently shoveling food into her mouth.

Rather than having a strong or weak stomach, isn't that straight-laced woman just not listening to this conversation at all…?

The words he couldn't bring himself to say lingered in his throat.

“Are all mages like this?”

In the end, Deathbringer chose to change the subject.

“Not quite.”

The Archmage, who had been quietly eating until then, joined in.

The curt statement, cutting the matter off before anything more could be said, clearly carried her determination not to allow Meister's bizarre nature to spread into prejudice against mages as a whole.

“Of course… compared to ordinary people, most mages do tend to have higher tolerance thresholds. It varies greatly depending on their field of research, but generally speaking, that's true.”

Still, perhaps even the Archmage's conscience wouldn't allow her to bury the truth completely, because she added an explanation no one had asked for.

“But not to that extent.”

She still did not deny that Meister was exceptional even among them.

“What the hell is wrong with me?”

Meister's expression turned sullen.