CH 87

(Izumi POV for the whole chapter)

“In retrospect, I don’t know how we managed to survive the days and nights of adversity that accompanied by.”

“I know, right? I also miss the time when I was requested by the Fox Princess-sama to join her.”

At the moment, my team is preparing to move on to the next region. But in the midst of it all, Ryo onee-chan and the others are ruminating on the past nine years.

“But soon, we’ll be able to get in touch with Ichiko-san, won’t we?”

“Yes, that is what Kurokiri informed us. But even if we can establish contact with her, we’ll still have to pick her up.”

“I can’t wait to see what kind of person she is.”

As usual, everyone is talking about Ichiko nee-chan as if she were a stranger even though they should have been intimate with each other except for Une onee-chan, whom she had never really met.

“Izumi? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing… nothing…”

But I can’t tell them about that. This is after all to avoid being perceived by whatever it is that has tampered with our memories.

And then I feel the presence of someone approaching this direction.

“Someone… is coming…”

“Who is…? Oh, it’s a member of our group, isn’t it? Is something the matter?”

“Ah, good thing I was just in time. Miss Ryo. May I ask you a favor?”

The one who approached us is one of the younger members of the “Mercenary of the Fog”.

Perhaps it’s because he’s been running, that he appears somewhat out of breath.

“It depends on what the matter is. Go ahead and say it.”

“Yes.”

Ryo onee-chan prompts him to speak, and the group member begins the conversation.

“Earlier, we loaded our belongings onto a carriage and wheeled it out of the gate, and some of the slum residents were aware of Miss Ryou and requested that we offer medical assistance. They blocked the way, saying, ‘If you don’t give us treatment, we won’t let you through!’.”

“Oh. So it’s another hassle. By the way, what are the specifics of the treatment being sought?”

“The majority are just fractures and cuts. But it takes some time for them to heal spontaneously. The rest are just a few sick people.”

Ryo onee-chan mulls over her options after receiving the report. Meanwhile, my colleagues and I are packing our belongings.

“Why doesn’t the administration of this street offer treatment?”

“They can’t afford to send their invaluable healers to someone who is poor and not a resident of this street. That’s what they said. Well, to put it simply, it’s a monopoly. What an atrocious story.”

It is, indeed, an atrocious story. However, since my group and I have witnessed and listened to many stories far worse than this one over the past nine years or so, we don’t feel that it’s that horrendous. People with healing skills are, without a doubt, indispensable.

“Just to be sure I have this right, the slum is outside the street, right?”

“Right. There will be protesters from all walks of life, but slum dwellers are treated as outcasts.”

“Then I’ll leave the minor ones to the others and focus on the critically wounded.  However, I cannot heal the sick, and there is a limit on how many times I can use my skill each day, so I will leave once I have healed a specific number of people. If they try to obstruct me at that time, I will use my ability to force my way through.”

Ryo onee-chan heads outside the gate after stating so, where she employs ≪Command≫ to treat the wounded. After healing a reasonable number of people, she repels all attempts to restrain her physically and psychologically and departs the street.

Nonetheless, now that we have some income as recompense for the treatment, our pockets are somewhat warmer.

A few days later.

On the main road, the “Mercenary of the Fog,” and I are protecting a girl.

The girl was found collapsed in the middle of the road, and after confirming the girl’s name and other details, a contract was struck to bring her to the next town under the condition that she would serve as a maid in the mercenary group.

Manokami Shigan is the name of the girl. Her age is around 14-15. Her features are relatively well-defined, though she always wears a hood over her eyes, and she has stunning brown hair. Her chest is… about the same size as mine?

As for her status, she is level 1 and her skill is ≪Automatic Escape≫, a skill that allows her to automatically transfer location and escape in the event of imminent danger. Even she herself has no idea why she was lying in the middle of the road due to this skill.

However, based on the skill’s effect, I can somehow tell that she fled from something hazardous while asleep.

Now, regarding Shigan, she is a very talented maid, who assists us in our everyday activities. And, despite the fact that her face is rarely exposed, the way she smiles and her well-groomed demeanor have seamlessly merged her into the “Mercenary of the Fog” without bringing any sense of discomfort.

Notwithstanding, I somehow sense that something is not good about Shigan. Yet, there is no justification or anything to that feeling. It is merely a vague and undesirable feeling. That is all there is to it.

So I conclude that such a feeling is a misunderstanding on my part, and decide to interact with Shigan as I would with anyone else.

And a few days after Shigan joined, there is a contact from Kurokiri nii-chan.