CH 39

We arrived in the target area.

“…We’ve got luck that it’s not raining.”

Apparently she got attacked by monsters. Traces of blood were left on the ground.

“Going by the amount of blood, she should still be alive, unless she got swallowed whole.”

The blood around here was a bit too lacking for a fatal wound.

“Guess we follow the blood traces then? Though she might have been finished off after runnin’ out of steam, or gotten devoured.”

True.

Judging by the dryness of the blood, we won’t be in time even if we hurry, but then again we don’t really need to be anyway.

We followed the traces while keeping a watch on our surroundings.

…And then.

“A boar.”

“Looks like a fang boar. It’s possible to evade these guys if you find a place to hide, but if not, you won’t be able to get away. …Now then, I wonder which of both applies here.”

The boar spotted us. It looked this way while shuffling its forefeet.

“It’s got a wild temperament. Don’t get attacked. Ryoku, take refuge on a tree.”

“Sorry, but I’m goin’ to kill it, ‘kay?”

“No other choice. We’ll have it serve as a side dish for dinner.”

Sword kicked off the ground with a laugh, and beautifully stabbed the area around the boar’s heart just as it was about to charge at us. Blood spewed out, and the boar stumbled a step forward, just to collapse in the next moment.

“I’d really love to process it right here and now, but the request comes first, I suppose.”

After advancing a bit further, a depressed rock came into sight. Its surface was roughly scratched and shaved off. The boar must have tried to destroy it by thrusting itself against it many times over.

Within the rock I discovered a trembling, ghastly pale girl.

“Sword, I found her. I’ll take her back, so please process the boar.” I said to Sword over my shoulder as I peered into the rock.

“We’re adventurers who accepted a rescue mission for you. I’ll guarantee your safety until we reach town. For starters, come out from there.”

Hearing that, the girl started to cry, apparently feeling relieved.

She came out while quivering. Her lower arm past the elbow was bent. Its bones were completely fractured and the muscles were severed as well. Normal methods would only allow for her left hand to be amputated at this point.

I swiftly applied emergency treatment, and fixated her left arm.

“Here, it’s a painkiller, so take it.” I passed her a medicine that acts against wound festering, fever, and sepsis.

“…This is…”

After closely scrutinizing the medicine, she lifted her face, looking at me. Gradually her expression changed into one of surprise.

“Take it. Its effect is…well, I guess it’s alright. I can’t tell since I was never injured myself, but it should work for the most part.”

I used giant worm for the antifebrile component, but was it actually correct? It’s similar to the antifebriles I know.

When I asked Sword, he said it’s not poisonous, so I think it should be fine.

After getting startled, granny laughed, saying that she never used that ingredient.

“You…You’re the one from back then!!”

She was trembling all over.

She’s unexpectedly lively. Or rather, good job being able to chatter away like this when your arm has turned into such a mess. Most adventurers are brimming with vitality if you rescue them. Even if they were on the verge of death moments ago. In a certain sense, they have my respect for that.

“I’ll carry you to town.”

“No need! If I’m going to be saved by the likes of you, dying would be…”

She faded out. Dying would be? What’s the continuation?

“Dying would be? Better?”

She stayed silent.

To be frank, you having died would have been better for our side as well.

“Unfortunately you don’t have a say in this. I’ve already received the reward for the request.”

“Eh?” She looked very relieved.

…I don’t really get her. But, well, whatever.

I’m only accomplishing my request.

“…Then, give me a healing potion and not some medicine like this!”

What’s with the rude way of referring to my medicine?

“I don’t have any healing potions. I think Sword has some on him, but I’m the one who accepted the request.”

When I turned around, I got startled as he had drawn super close.

“Eek! …Hey, don’t get so close! I’ll handle the rescue request, so take care of processing the boar!”

“Right now, Ryoku’s in the middle of drainin’ its blood.”

Why have Ryoku do it?

“…Please! Please give me a healing potion! This arm…won’t heal without a healing potion! Let alone being an adventurer, I won’t be able to lead a normal life anymore!”

Ehh…? You’re going to rely on a healing potion? Weren’t you the pupil of a pharmacist?

Sword looked coldly down at her.

“Five silver coins for a low-grade healing potion.”

She froze.

“…I’ll work and pay it back! I’ll definitely repay you!”

“By the way, the injury of that arm won’t be healed with some low-grade healing potions.”

She gasped, “……No way.”

“Obviously, no? Healin’ lost body parts with only five silver coins? If that flew, there’d be a lot less reasons for adventurers to retire or die. A high-grade potion only heals ruptured muscles and flesh as well as bone cracks. So you need a special-grade potion to recover lost body parts. Besides, if it’s broken to such an extent, it’ll be too late to do anything once a day passes. It’s different when you immediately stick back an arm that got cut off, but regrowin’ an arm requires quite a few special-grade potions. Special-grade potions cost one platinum coin per piece. I wonder how many you’d need to use of those to get this healed. Can you pay all that? Someone like you? During your lifetime? Like no way.”

Makes sense.

“Adventurer is a job where you gotta live with those kinds of risks. Gettin’ injured, losin’ an arm, dying, or being exposed to corpses; if you get cold feet from stuff like that, it’s the wrong job for you. I don’t know what kind of dream you’ve got for bein’ an adventurer, but you should have understood by now, right? …In the first place, you ran away because you hated bein’ poor and hated studyin’ despite of the great chance of havin’ an excellent pharmacist teach you the ropes. You don’t wanna do a job that requires workin’ hard because you don’t feel like puttin’ some effort into it. That’s why you’ve become an adventurer where you can do as you please? That arm is the price for learnin’ it the hard way. If you finally woke up from that dream of yours, go back to the pharmacist granny, lower your head, and beg her to teach you.”

She started to cry.

“…C-Can’t I have you somehow compromise? With this arm, even if I were to aim at becoming a pharmacist… I beg you. Please help me.”

“Even if you were to offer me your life, it wouldn’t be enough to pay off the costs. Then it’d be better for you to croak. That way I could use my precious special-grade potions in a more useful way than wastin’ them on some stupid lass.”

The stupid girl was lost for words.

“No, it’d be a problem if we let her die now. In the worst case I’ll take her back after knocking her out.”

When I retorted calmly, Sword cast a sidelong glance at me.

“…Your as calm ’bout all of this as ever. Haah…anyway, let’s take her back. The pharmacist lady is goin’ to handle the rest one way or ‘nother, right?”

“Correct. …Hey, take this medicine.”

When I tried to hand it over to her, she slapped it down.

“…She doesn’t have the cash to pay for healing potions, so why not give her this…poor-man’s medicine to ease her mind? Is that what you’re trying here!?” The instant she yelled that, Sword slapped her.

…Just what is that guy doing…? She’s my rescue target, and wounded on top of that.

Moreover, he grabbed her by the hair afterwards.

“You bitch! Don’t you know that some folks can’t even get such a medicine!? There are limits to actin’ like a lil’ spoiled brat! Stuff like healin’ potions ain’t anythin’ you can buy easily, even not as an adventurer! Adventurers don’t have potions for healin’ injuries, but for killin’ their enemy after deceivin’ them that you got injured durin’ battle!”

…Eh? For real?

I feel like Sword is the only guy who’s so extreme, though…

“…That pharmacist granny contorts medicines and sells them for cheap to poor people like you. With her level of knowledge she should have been a famous scholar or clergywoman. Worryin’ ’bout the future of a young girl, she said she’d teach her the knowledge she obtained herself, and yet the lass herself looks down on her as a poor pharmacist, and slaps away her medicine because of that. Haah. Your truly a rescue target that’s not worth savin’ at all!”

“Wait, wait. Calm, calm.”

Why is he getting so riled up?

“No, the one who made that medicine is me. I wanted to test out its effectiveness, but neither you nor I know injury or illness, right? Since that girl got injured anyway, I’ll use her as a sample to see whether it works as intended and whether it has any side effects.”

Both of them froze with a crackling.

“It’s the perfect opportunity, Sword. Hold her down just like that.”

“Haah?”

I forced her mouth open and poured the medicine into it against her will.

“Now then, it’d be great if it works, but…worms were small and narrow in the world I used to be. The worms over here are big, aren’t they? I have no idea whether they’ll trigger the same effect… Well, it’ll probably be alright…is what I want to believe.”

Sword and the girl’s expression cramped up.

“……Hey? Just now you said something about worms and so on, didn’t you?”

“Correct. I think it was called giant worm or something like that. That’s in there. It has an effect of lowering fever, and alleviates pain.

…Hmm?

Once Sword let go of her, the girl collapsed on the spot like a pole that lost its balance.

“Huh? It looks like she’s asleep, but…it shouldn’t have any effect to promote sleepiness.”

“…She fainted. She suffered a shock from bein’ fed worms.”

Umm? Why would she faint from that?