Chapter 142

Hennes, a knight of the Kingsguard, led her to a bedroom in the back. Yuri was able to meet the woman she was looking for right away.

A girl greeted Yuri on the bed with only her upper body raised.

It was a woman with a weak body as if she were the embodiment of the word ‘sickly’.

Her body was clearly too unhealthy to be described as slender, and it made those who saw her feel uncomfortable.

She looked to be about 16 or 17 years old from Yuri’s point of view. The impression is probably not helpful, as the characteristic pointed ears of an elf are sticking out from the side of the head.

“Ah… it’s exactly the same as what I saw on [Broadcast].”

After coughing a couple of times.

The sickly girl smiled happily and made a small bow towards Yuri.

“I’m Yubel Rapier. It is a great honor to meet you, Your Majesty Yuri… I’m very sorry to be dressed like this.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was our side that made the sudden visit. ―――Sera.”

“Yes.”

Yuri ordered Sera to treat Yubel’s cold as soon as possible.

There are two types of wards in the city of Ulysses:【Barrier Ward】that prevent demons from entering, and【Temperature Control Ward】that keep the temperature in the city constant. On the other hand, there is no【Purification Ward】in place to keep the city clean.

The reason why there is no【Purification Ward】in place is that the city of Ulysses had sewers laid underground when it was built, and each house in the city was equipped with a toilet from the start.

There is no stench coming from this city, so it was not necessary.

However, if the【Purification Ward】had been set up. The virus that causes illness cannot exist in the air, so Yubel would not have caught a cold.

When I think about it… 

(I wonder if we should put up the wards now…?)

Yuri’s thinking about this quietly in her head.

It’s not a heavy burden now that materials can be easily procured from messenger beasts, although the【Purification Ward】require a reasonable cost to deploy.

“Thanks to you, I feel much better now.”

Yubel, who had finally stopped coughing after receiving the healing magic from Sera, expressed her gratitude with a smile.

“I’m glad to hear that… But if your symptoms are clear enough to cause a cough, I think you should seek treatment at the temple sooner rather than later, don’t you?”

“I’m afraid that… is a shameful story. I was born with a weak body and I suffer from some kind of illness every day. So even if I am treated by a priest at the temple, the next day I will have the same or another illness…”

“… Really? That’s terrible…”

Such intractable diseases indeed seem to have existed even today.

To find out more, Yuri used <Appraisal> to look at Yubel.

Yubel Rapier

Elf / 119 years old・Female / Propensity: Good

〔Astrologer〕- Lv.1

Life Force: 2 / 2

Magic Power: 34 / 34

[Strength] 2

[Toughness] 0

[Agility] 3

[Wisdom] 16

[Charm] 18

[Blessing] 20

(―――This is terrible.)

That’s what Yuri thought after just one glance.

I wonder―――if it’s some kind of congenital muscle disease? Yubel’s physical ability value is abnormally low, especially the value of [Toughness] is “0”.<br />(TN: Congenital Muscular Disease (CMD) are rare muscle diseases mostly present at birth (congenital) that result from genetic defects.)

In principle, the resistance of diseases depends on the value of [Toughness].

So it is safe to say that Yubel, whose [Toughness] is 0, is very vulnerable to all kinds of illnesses, including the common cold.

In addition, Yuri’s [Toughness] has been reduced to 0 due to the effects of the equipment she wears, but her body is completely immune to colds and other illnesses.

However, the higher the [Blessing] value, the shorter the natural recovery time for abnormal conditions and weakening debuffs. In the case of Yuri, who has an extremely high [Blessing], the disease is healed in less than a tenth of a second, so it has no meaning at all.

(… Now, what should I do?)

Today, Yuri only visited Yubel to ask her about the assassin, so I don’t need to mention that she suffers from a severe case of weakness.

Nevertheless―――Yuri is essentially fond of women.

In addition, if it is a woman like her, who is carrying unreasonable hardships due to her ‘natural constitution’, Yuri cannot ignore it now that she knows about it.

Yuri can think of several ways to solve this problem… But the easiest solution would be to deploy a【Purification Ward】in the city of Ulysses.

If we can create an environment where viruses can be killed immediately, most diseases can be nullified. As long as they live in this city, they will be able to leave their beds and act freely.

However, in this case, nothing will change the fact that Yubel’s body is vulnerable, so she will still be defenseless against injuries, for example. The fact that her [Life Force] is only 2 makes me wonder if it is possible to live a healthy life in this city just by nullifying diseases, even though she will never die.

More importantly, putting up a ward for her alone is a bit too much.

Instead, it would be smarter to solve the problem with some kind of equipment.

“… Please give me your hand.

“Ye, yes. Is this okay…?”

Yuri put a ring on the ring finger of her right hand that gave her the ability [Physical Ability Up (Extra Large)], and a ring on her left hand that gave her the special ability to [Invalidate All Abnormality].

Yubel Rapier

Elf / 119 years old・Female / Propensity: Good

〔Astrologer〕- Lv.1

Life Force: 2 / 2

Magic Power: 34 / 34

[Strength] 2

[Toughness] 1000 (0 + 1000)

[Agility] 3

[Wisdom] 16

[Charm] 18

[Blessing] 20

… It’s a very unbalanced status. At any rate, her body should no longer be sickly, and as long as she wears the ring that disables all abnormal conditions, she will never be affected by the disease.

After putting the two rings on Yubel, Yuri gently touched her head.

“I’ll come back to see you in a week. I’m sure you’ll be all better by then.”

“I-I’ll be better…?”

“Yes. As long as Yubel wears those two rings, the disease will no longer affect your body. You will remain in good health.”

However, her physical strength is probably low due to her bedridden life, so it would be better to give her some time before asking about the assassin.

After a week, she should be able to regain a healthy body.

“Sorry for the interruption. ―――Sera, let’s go.”

“Yes, Yuri-sama. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Yuri walks out of the hotel, accompanied by Sera, who bows her head to Yubel and the knights guarding her.

It is not a fundamental solution to solve the problem with the equipment.

If she’s in decent health in a week, then I can suggest to Yubel that she get a <Class> to increase the value of her [Toughness] ability or raise her level in the “Labyrinth”.

“… Yuri-sama, that ring is precious, isn’t it? Is that all right?”

That’s what Sera asked me as we took the hotel’s elevator down to the first floor.

It was not an accusatory tone, but it sounded a bit like a voice filled with worry.

“Well, it’s best in the hands of those who need it, isn’t it?”

Yuri answered the question in a calm tone.

The ring of [Physical Ability Up (Extra Large)] is an item that can be created by the <Rindou> so I have a lot of stockpiles. In the meantime, the ring of [Invalidate All Abnormality] was one of the rarest items among the gacha prizes implemented in the game『Atros Online』.

There were only five of them in the Yuri Empire.

To give away such a valuable item to someone she’s never met before―――even from the point of view of Sera, who has the propensity for [Extreme Good]―――would seem a bit excessive.

… Well, I can’t help what I gave away.

I don’t think it’s right to ask for it back now.

(I have a weakness for ‘sickly’ characters like Yubel, don’t I?)

It was for that reason, after all, that she had wasted a great deal of time.

Personally, Yuri wanted to give as much support as she could to Yubel.

So, without hesitation, she gave her some high-value items.

So―――yeah, I guess it can’t be helped.