Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter SS

Side Story: Noble’s Trust 

“I’ll be going, then. Will you be all right?” I asked. 

A hand reached out from the bed in the living room and waved. It was Lorraine’s hand. She’d drunk too much last night, and it left her in a sorry state. She thought it would get worse again if she tried to stand or talk, so she just expressed her will with a hand gesture. 

Lorraine didn’t often get hangovers, but when she became sleep-deprived from doing too much research, it could happen. I was probably the only one who knew this, but that was how she was. Not that knowing this particular secret did me any good. 

“Well, I made some plain soup and porridge for you. Eat that when you’re feeling better. See you later,” I said. 

She raised her arm and shook it in a different way from a moment ago. She was saying thanks, presumably. At this rate, Lorraine would recover to some extent by noon, so I figured she’d be fine. With that confirmed, I opened the front door and headed out to the guild. Considering how Lorraine was feeling, I didn’t plan to go out for too long today. 

“I can’t say I expected you to travel down here, Count Robista.” 

Inside a carriage approaching Maalt, one man addressed an older gentleman. The older man was Count Curtis Nal Robista, owner of a vast amount of land near the capital. He was one of the most powerful nobles in the Kingdom of Yaaran. The man who casually addressed him was a Gold-class adventurer hired by Count Robista as a bodyguard. His name was Hayden War. 

For a count to travel so far from the center of the country, he needed a bodyguard. Hayden charged a bit much for his services, but he was a pleasant man and strong to boot. They were attacked by many monsters on the way to Maalt, but Hayden dealt with them all single-handedly. Of course, they were attacked by bandits as well, but he made quick work of them too. Even in the capital, only first-rate adventurers held the title of Gold-class, but now Count Robista understood just how powerful they were. Not only was he strong, but he was quick-witted. Count Robista even offered to employ him, but Hayden preferred the freedom of adventuring. Count Robista didn’t hold it against him. In fact, he appreciated Hayden’s honesty and even came to think of him like a friend. 

“I told you before that, yes, Maalt is a small city, but it’s actually quite interesting once you look into it,” Count Robista said. “Especially recently. Over the last five or six years, the talent coming to my territory from this city has improved drastically. You know how the medicine industry is booming in my territory and makes up most of our income? The quality of our medicinal herbs has a significant impact on our economy. That’s why I’ve asked Viscount Lautner to inspect them on-site. Hopefully something comes of that.” 

Viscount Lautner was a noble that ruled the territory around Maalt. His family had been around for quite a long time, but they had so little prominence he was mostly unheard of, even in the capital. That also meant that when power struggles took place in Yaaran, they remained at peace. A noble family with so little influence would usually be taken advantage of and eventually eliminated, but that had yet to happen. They were an odd family. 

Having met Viscount Lautner, Count Robista would describe him as a truly plain man. If that were an act he put on, it might make him far more terrifying than he appeared. But he reacted positively to the count’s request and even volunteered to show him around Maalt. He may or may not have been trustworthy, but he was a fine man to spend time with as a friend. It was enough to make the trip to this rural town worth it. But that wasn’t the count’s only objective here. 

“Well, I’m sure you don’t know this, but distant lands like these can have materials unheard of in the big city. In that sense, I think you have something to look forward to,” Hayden said. 

“Would you say they’re rare even from your perspective?” 

“Yes. I operate in the capital because it’s easier to find good jobs there, but if you just want to enjoy yourself, you should go out to the countryside. A fair number of people who live out here are adventurers, and they can be surprisingly competent.” 

“Interesting. Would there be anyone I may want to hire?” 

“I don’t know about that. These aren’t the most polite sorts of people. Might be too crude for a noble’s tastes, you know?” 

“That could be interesting in itself.” 

That day was the first time someone had ever been knocked onto Count Robista’s table at a bar. Hayden had visited Maalt many times before, so after they arrived and decided which inn to stay at, he took them to a bar he recommended. But as they were enjoying their drinks, it suddenly happened. Luckily, though, the count wasn’t hurt. Just before the man crashed into him, Hayden grabbed him with one hand and threw him back. Then another adventurer opposite him caught the man, also with one hand, and rolled him onto the floor. 

After witnessing the whole thing, Robista whispered, “Maalt is a frightening place.” 

Hayden laughed. “I think you mean an interesting place. All jokes aside though, I won’t say this is a daily occurrence, but you can see it’s rowdier than in the capital. But in exchange, it never gets boring.” 

“So it seems. But why was that man knocked onto my table?” 

“Some petty argument, I’d guess. You were watching, right? They were too far away for me to hear the exact details, though. Oh, looks like someone’s here who can explain,” Hayden said and looked at a suspicious man in a mask. He was the one who’d caught the man Hayden tossed. 

“Sorry about that,” the man said. “I’ll pay for any food or drinks that got ruined. I already ordered replacements, so they should be here right away.” 

Hayden heartily laughed. “You don’t have to pay for a thing. Not like you’re the one who threw him over here. I mean, you just knocked that other guy out cold.” 

It was true. The man who’d ended up on the table had been punched and sent flying by another man. And that man wore a satisfied grin for a brief moment before this masked man knocked him unconscious. When Count Robista described Maalt as frightening, that was what he’d seen. It made him think that master fighters were all around him. 

“You’re not wrong,” the masked man said. “But he was an acquaintance of mine. He’s fine when he’s sober, but looks like he drank a bit too much. He started a fight over some nonsense. Sorry.” 

Hayden shook his head. “It’s no big deal. Just the way adventurers are.” 

“So are you an adventurer too? I can tell just looking at you that you’re great in a fight. And who’s this here? Oh, my apologies. I had no idea a noble was present.” The masked man quietly bowed his head. 

Count Robista was wearing perfectly ordinary traveling clothes, so he was surprised that this man had immediately identified him as a noble. Some people could tell at a glance, but he didn’t expect that of someone so far from the capital. Not only that, but the count was keeping quiet to avoid attention, and nobody else seemed to notice him at all due to the fight that broke out. 

“I’m here in secret,” Count Robista said. “Please act naturally.” 

“Right, got it,” the masked man replied. He proceeded to treat the count the way he would anyone else on their first meeting. 

Based on this series of events alone, this was clearly a man who knew a lot. Count Robista felt his impression of adventurers changing greatly. That was also because of Hayden, but most people weren’t this quick-witted. Not even most nobles. But while adventurers were usually known for being crude and violent, there were two adventurers of this nature. It was a real shock. 

“I appreciate it,” the count said. “But what were they fighting over in the first place?” 

“Oh, so they were having fun drinking at first, but when they told each other where they live, they got into an argument over which was more of a country town. One said it was their town because they had giant frogs around, the other said it was their town because of all the poison spiders, and it just got more heated until they decided to settle it with a test of strength. I should have stopped them, but I do think they should be satisfied after that little scuffle. I’m also at fault for letting it go that far, though, so I figured I had an obligation to pay for your food.” 

“I understand why you’d argue over which is the bigger city, perhaps, but over which is more of a country town?” The count cocked his head, being from a big city himself. He had argued with other nobles over which of their cities were more developed, so he understood that. But this was beyond his comprehension. 

Hayden laughed and said, “Well, city people have their pride, and country people have theirs. They probably wouldn’t have gone as far as a fight if they were sober, but that changes when you’re drunk. I’m from a country town myself, so I kind of get it.” 

“Is that right?” asked the count, unable to understand. 

“Yes, but I’m happy to pay for the food,” the masked man said cheerily. “And if you’re here in secret, you must have some business here, right? If you need any local adventurers, just tell me. I’ll work for cheap. I won’t say I’m that strong, but I know the area pretty well.” 

The count bitterly smiled at this act of self-promotion. He thought the masked man did a pretty good job of it. He turned what at first appeared to be a big mistake into a business opportunity. Of course, it was possible that the count could have gotten angry with him, but he must have noticed that the noble held no such feelings. He wouldn’t have said anything otherwise. And it seemed like at least in part, he sincerely wanted to apologize. 

Count Robista looked to Hayden. He wanted to know if this man could be trusted. From the count’s perspective, this masked man seemed fairly interesting and perhaps even trustworthy, but adventurers weren’t to be taken lightly. Ones that seemed fine at first glance could turn traitor, especially in rural towns, as Hayden had explained on their way here. Hayden would be the judge. Nobody had approached as smoothly as this masked man, but adventurers had tried to sell themselves to the count in the past, and Hayden had ignored them all. In most cases, the reason was they were quite likely to be assassins sent by enemies of the count. This masked man seemed like he might be one as well. Considering how readily he approached, he might have been the most suspicious of all. 

But Hayden nodded to the count. It was a gesture indicating that he was fine to trust for now. The count was surprised, as this meant that the masked man’s actions so far were all unplanned and he simply reacted to the circumstances. The count wanted to learn a little more about this masked man. 

“We don’t have any specific plans yet, but we want to collect materials in Maalt for a while,” he said. “An acquaintance is supposed to show us around tomorrow, but that will likely be a haphazard affair. Would you be able to show us around the day after tomorrow?” 

Viscount Lautner was supposed to show them around, but that would be entirely from a noble’s perspective, so he might not know much about the lives of commoners or certain specific materials. The count intended to make up for that himself by finding another guide. If he could ask a trustworthy local, then he would have no problem doing so. The masked man had already shown his skill and personality, so there seemed plenty of reason to pick him. 

“Two days from now?” the masked man said. “Understood. Oh, and can you tell me what materials you want in advance? It’ll make my job easier.” He couldn’t show the count every material in Maalt, so his question was understandable. 

“We mostly want materials used in medicine, or anything that could potentially be used in medicine,” the count admitted. “That’s why I don’t want to limit our search area too much. Would that be difficult?” However talented this adventurer may have been, it was unlikely he would know everything that could potentially become medicine. The count asked knowing it would be a challenge. 

“Medicine? Ordinary medicine or magic medicine? And as far as materials with potential, there are some that would only be found in Maalt and not the capital, if you don’t mind those. Or do you specifically want materials that could be found elsewhere?” 

The masked man continued to inquire in great detail. The count was taken off guard at first, but he was an expert on this, so he answered every question. They even used complex medical terms. 

“Understood,” the masked man said. “If we start in the morning, I think we can get to every location in town within the day. There are a number of goods we’ll have to go outside of town to collect because they won’t be sold in stores during this season, so we’d need to go to some dangerous places as well. Visiting those will take a few days.” 

“I’ll protect him,” Hayden said. “You only need to lead the way.” 

“Right, then. And as far as magic medicine goes, I know somebody who’s been a researcher in Maalt for a long time. She naturally knows a lot about materials in the region. There may be things I can’t explain on my own, and I’ll have to check her schedule, but would you mind if I brought her along at some point? Of course, if you meet her and decide she’s untrustworthy, then you don’t have to hire her.” 

“Then we’ll decide when we see her,” the count said. “A researcher, though? There’s a surprising variety of people in Maalt.” 

“Small towns like these draw a lot of oddballs. That’s part of what makes them interesting,” Hayden remarked. 

“I’ll admit I’m getting kind of excited for an old man. I haven’t felt this way in ages, so this is a fresh experience. Shall we sign the contract now?” 

“Sure. Officially it needs to be done through the guild, but we can take care of that on the morning we start. I have the documents with me,” the masked man said. 

“No, we’ll submit the forms tomorrow,” Hayden insisted. “If we’re going to start on the morning of the day after tomorrow, then this should be less trouble. I’m going to put out a request for you by tonight, so you just need to take it. What is your name, by the way?” 

“Oh, right. My name’s Rentt Faina.” 

“I’m Hayden War.” 

They turned to the count, who thought to himself for a bit. “I’m Curt,” he said, making Hayden burst out laughing at the alias. 

Rentt seemed to realize it was a fake name as well, but he went with it. “Curt, huh?” he said. “Nice to meet you.” Then he held out his hand for a handshake. 

The count grabbed it tight. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.” 

“Hoh, so you took a job from a noble from the capital, did you? Well, I suppose you haven’t officially signed a contract yet.” 

I described today’s events in detail to Lorraine. Normally a request from a noble would demand some secrecy and discussing it over dinner would be inappropriate, but because Lorraine was going to join us, I had to tell her. 

“Yeah. Tomorrow they’re going to ask for me at the guild. The plan is to show them around starting the day after tomorrow. So, think you can join us?” 

I’d told them I’d bring Lorraine along without actually asking her first, so I was a little worried about her schedule. We knew about a week’s worth of each other’s plans for the most part, but we also both had a tendency to make new plans at the last minute. Like going to the bar and leaving with a new job as I did today, for example, or Lorraine heading off to some other region to gather materials. But I did also tell Curt and Hayden that I’d check with her first, so if it turned out she wasn’t available, it wouldn’t be an issue. Maybe they would think a bit less of me if that happened, but that would be all. It sounded like I’d be able to help them just fine on my own anyway. But I wanted to do a satisfying job, so I hoped to prepare for any eventuality. 

“I don’t mind helping out,” Lorraine said. “I have no particular plans scheduled for then.” 

“Oh, good. Thanks, Lorraine.” 

“No need to thank me. We’re friends, after all. You’d do the same for me. But this client is just a bit bizarre, don’t you think?” Lorraine asked after thinking for a bit. 

“What do you mean?” 

“You’ve determined that this Curt person is a noble, right?” 

“Yeah. I can’t say so for sure, but Curt’s clothes were of pretty high quality. I can’t see mana directly the way you can, so I don’t know exactly what spell was on those clothes, but I knew it was some pretty remarkable magic. I don’t think it was any average spell those clothes were enchanted with. Also, there was a small insignia on them, one that you wouldn’t be allowed to bear if you weren’t at least a viscount. Considering what he was wearing, he’d have to be a noble.” 

“And you say that other man, Hayden, is quite powerful?” 

“Right, he seemed pretty impressive himself. I couldn’t gauge the full extent of his abilities, though. I think he’d have to be above Silver-class, probably at least Gold-class.” 

“That strong? If he’s protected by a man with such power, he must be a noble of high standing.” 

“Yeah, so what’s bizarre about that?” 

“To be blunt, such people don’t typically bother to visit towns as irrelevant as Maalt. They’re clearly suspicious.” 

“I don’t think you need to insult Maalt like that, but fair enough. I admit they’re kind of suspicious. Typically, a noble would come with a much larger group in tow. They’d put themselves in danger otherwise, not to mention it makes them look bad.” 

Nobles had to keep up appearances in a variety of ways. Traveling with only one other person could start rumors that he was poor, and traveling incognito raised his chances of being targeted. If he wasn’t where he was supposed to be, it would be hard to deal with any problems that arose. That was why nobles didn’t care to travel like this. But this one was, so he had to have a good reason. 

“I asked them about it but didn’t get a real answer. They’re not going to tell us,” I said. 

“But you decided to take their request anyway?” 

“Might as well. They didn’t look like bad people. In fact, it kind of looked like they were in a bind, so I wanted to lend them a hand.” 

Those were my honest impressions. I could have turned them down, but after hearing about the job, it sounded like the only ones in Maalt who could do it right were me and Lorraine. It wasn’t strength they needed but someone with a breadth of knowledge about materials and medicine, as well as familiarity with the region. Of course, a high-ranking adventurer who’d lived in Maalt for years could probably do it too, but this was where Maalt’s insignificance really hurt. When most adventurers got good enough, they would move to the big city, so there were next to no high-ranking adventurers around. As such, it would be hard to find others that could fulfill their request. What they were asking for was also unique. It would be one thing if they just wanted specific materials, but they also wanted to find other materials with potential. Virtually zero adventurers had exhaustive enough knowledge to meet that demand. 

But Lorraine was an alchemist and magic medic more than she was an adventurer, so she possessed deep knowledge of medicine. And thanks to my lasting relationship with her, I knew more about materials used in alchemy and medicine than the average adventurer. I also spent enough time at Lorraine’s house to read plenty of her books on the subject. That gave me some extremely specific knowledge not even high-ranking adventurers would necessarily have. 

As to whether the two travelers lacked that information, I would guess they didn’t. Their plan was probably to have the hired adventurer show the noble around the region so they could check the materials themselves. Not that I could prove this, but it had seemed to me that Curt possessed a great deal of medicinal knowledge, clearly more than I did. I didn’t know if he’d be a match for Lorraine in that department, but he certainly knew more than the average noble. It was easy to imagine that he specialized in medicine. If so, then he could probably identify useful materials just fine on his own. 

But if that were the case, why did Curt seem a little panicked? I knew he wanted to find some useful medicinal materials, but that didn’t explain much. There was no use in trying to think about it anyway. Sticking your nose in your client’s business would be rude. If his concerns were important to the job, then he would presumably tell me about them and I could simply do what he asked. 

“You’re always too kind, Rentt. That mask doesn’t match your personality in the least,” Lorraine said with a gentle smile. She was probably right; nobody would look at this skull mask and think I was kind. But I hadn’t changed on the inside since back when I was human, and people had called me kind all the time. 

“I’d wear a more appealing mask if I could, but unfortunately, this mask isn’t willing to come off. At least I can reshape it to some extent.” 

“But the base design still looks like a skull. You can make it a cool skull or a scary skull, but your only options are skulls.” 

“True, but whatever, it’s fine. It keeps some people away, so it kind of keeps me out of trouble.” 

Back when I was human, I’d looked relatively delicate for an adventurer, so certain nasty adventurers from outside Maalt would drag me into some annoying business. Of course, it wasn’t too much of a problem after I showed them what I could do. But it was irritating nonetheless, and I didn’t want to have to hurt or traumatize people. I thought a lot about what I could do to prevent that, but after I ended up with this body, nobody underestimated me anymore. In fact, they avoided me because I was creepy. Maybe if I’d just dressed like this when I was human, that would have worked too, but I never would have thought to wear a skull mask. 

“I feel like it’s getting you into all sorts of new dilemmas, though.” 

“I can’t deny that. I just hope this job isn’t one of them.” 

In a spacious bedroom, a young girl was panting with anguish. A doctor sat at her side, assessing the situation. 

Eventually he sighed and said with a grave expression, “This isn’t easy to say, but if nothing changes, your daughter will lose her life to this eventually, Count Robista.” 

“Is there nothing I can do?!” Robista cried. “She was just fine a month ago! How did this happen so quickly?” 

“That’s how diseases are. You know plenty about medicine yourself, so I shouldn’t need to tell you this.” 

“But I don’t even know the name of this disease.” 

“Not even I know of every disease in the world, but your daughter’s symptoms don’t match any I’m familiar with. I’ve never seen anyone covered with specks like this.” 

Count Robista’s daughter, Elaine, had dark purple spots resembling ink all over her face. The doctor and the count could both think of diseases with similar symptoms, but the shape and color of the spots were different. That combined with the other symptoms made this disease extremely difficult to identify. This was a doctor of high esteem whom the count trusted, but he had called other esteemed doctors from the capital to look at her with the same results. He had exhausted nearly all his options. 

“Sorry, I don’t blame you. I just don’t know what to do.” 

“My apologies, but there’s nothing I can do either. I can at least tell you that while Lady Elaine’s health is deteriorating, it’s happening gradually. It’s already been a month since these specks began to spread, but she still sometimes feels well enough to walk around the garden. I did say eventually, but that day could be very far from now. There will be time to test a number of things. Don’t give up hope, Count.” 

Elaine seemed to be in pain at the moment, like she could die as soon as tomorrow, but after a bit of rest, she would be healthy enough to go out and eat. That didn’t mean there was nothing to worry about, however, because the specks were still spreading across her body. It felt as if the moment those specks covered every inch of her, they would take her life. The count couldn’t let that happen, but he didn’t know how to stop it. His anguish was unending. 

The count sprang up in bed with a terrible fright. He was pouring cold sweat. 

“Are you awake, Count?” someone asked from next to him. The count looked and saw Hayden tending to his weapon. 

“Hayden, I...” 

“That must have been a dreadful nightmare. Was it what I think it was?” 

“It was about my daughter, yes. Same as every day. Sorry.” 

“It’s fine, but don’t lose hope. I’d ask you to relax, but I’m sure that’s not easy to do.” 

Count Robista grimaced. “This is my daughter we’re talking about. I can’t hope to relax yet. But at least I feel better now than when I thought I could do nothing.” 

“Which changed thanks to a prophecy, you said? I remember you mentioned it when I took the job, but is that true?” 

“Indeed it is. Well, whether it’s legitimate or not, this is all I can do. I have to try.” 

“You were praying for your daughter’s recovery when a god spoke to you, right? Where were you when this happened?” Hayden asked. 

“I was in the chapel in my mansion.” 

“Right, nobles have those. And that’s where you had this premonition?” 

“Correct.” 

“What was the god like?” As was typical of adventurers, Hayden had no particular reverence for gods. He believed only in his own skill. 

“To be honest, I don’t know whether it was a god. I had placed a number of my daughter’s dolls on the altar, and one of them suddenly came to life and spoke to me. ‘If you wish to cure your daughter’s illness, search for materials for medicine in Maalt. Then you will eventually find the cure. Whether you make it in time or not depends on you,’ it said.” 

“It could have been a demon,” Hayden suggested. 

“Perhaps. But if so, then the gods have done nothing for me. I’d be left with no choice but to believe in the demons instead.” 

“I’m sure you’re kidding, but for a god, that’s an irritating task to give someone. Why have them look for the materials and not simply the medicine itself?” 

Count Robista nodded. “I thought the same thing, but if the medicine doesn’t currently exist, then maybe that’s all they could tell me. Nobody has seen a disease like this before, after all.” 

“Well, that’s true. But that means you’ve been foisted with a lot of work. To even research whether it works or not will take considerable time.” 

“Maybe that’s why the god said we have limited time. At any rate, there’s something I can do. I simply have to do it.” 

“Right. Let’s hope that this adventurer can help.” 

As expected, yesterday’s excursion with Viscount Lautner was lacking. This wasn’t because the viscount was lazy or cut corners; it was because he couldn’t find what the count needed. He did take the count to drug stores with recipes for rare medicine and the ingredients they required, for which the count was thankful, but none of it seemed like it would work on Elaine’s illness. But just in case, the count burned that knowledge into his memory so he wouldn’t forget it. He planned to test those recipes when he got home, but his expectations were low. Count Robista only hoped that today’s adventurer would live up to his potential. 

Count Robista and Hayden waited outside the guild where they agreed to meet until the man in question approached. 

“Sorry, have I kept you waiting long?” the masked man asked. 

“Only because I was so impatient that I came early. It’s fine.” 

In actuality, it was common among nobles to come to negotiations early to get the psychological advantage, so he had done it out of force of habit. Hayden had said he would have been just as well off coming later, but the habit had been ingrained for many years and was hard to shake off. In the end, Hayden gave up on convincing the restless count. 

“That’s good. Now, let me introduce you,” Rentt said and glanced behind him. 

There was a beautiful woman. She looked intelligent, but with a callous look in her eyes, and she had an aura of powerful mana. She must have been the researcher Rentt mentioned the other day. 

The woman faced the count and quietly opened her mouth. “Greetings, Count. I’m Lorraine Vivie, a Silver-class adventurer. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’ll be helping Rentt introduce you to potential medicinal materials. I’m a magic medic myself, so I consider myself fairly familiar with the subject. I believe I’ll be of some help.” 

Her self-introduction was masterful and without a hint of self-abasement. She had clearly recognized that she was speaking to a noble of high standing, so she was probably comfortable with such situations. In other words, she was just that knowledgeable about medicine. Her ranking of Silver-class meant she had talent as an adventurer, but high-ranking nobles didn’t employ Silver-classes especially often. Her skill as a magic medic seemed more likely to be of value. The count was pleased to meet Lorraine. 

The count looked to Hayden to make sure he had no complaints. He didn’t appear to express any, so the count turned back to Lorraine and held out his hand. “Thank you for the polite greeting. I’m Curt. You seem to know just who I am, but as you can see, I’m trying not to draw attention. Treat me with no more civility than you would anyone else, please.” 

“Got it. How’s this, then?” Lorraine switched from the previous polite language to more of a casual demeanor. Much like Rentt, she seemed quite adept at reading the room. 

“That will be fine. Now then, we only have so much time. Can I ask you two to show me around?” 

“I never expected such useful materials to be hiding here,” the count remarked after they had finished walking all around Maalt. 

“None of these things are that rare in this city,” Lorraine said. “But it’s hard to keep them fresh, so they don’t get shipped to the capital. I thought you might be interested in these, but are they to your satisfaction?” 

“Of course. Viscount Lautner introduced me to a number of drug stores and wholesalers yesterday, but today has been far more fruitful.” 

“The viscount is a noble, so I take it he only took you to stores with expensive goods. If so, a lot of these materials wouldn’t be included. Marketplaces and back alley stores have a surprising number of quality goods as well, but they may be too sketchy for a noble.” 

“Interesting. Maalt is quite nice, I must say. I have visited stores of this sort in the capital, but they didn’t carry anything so curious as this.” 

Lorraine nodded. “That’s something unique about Maalt. A lot of expert material collectors live here. Even the novice adventurers can perfectly distinguish between different herbs, so I imagine that’s a big part of it.” 

“Is that right? I’d love to learn from them, then.” 

“It’s not so simple. At any rate, can we consider this job finished? This only leaves some materials that we’ll have to leave town for to collect directly, since they’re out of season and not in stock.” 

“Oh, yes, let me think about it.” 

Thanks to Rentt and Lorraine, Count Robista learned about and acquired many useful materials. They explained everything from the effects of the materials to the changes they went through when made into medicine. They were so helpful that the count considered hiring the two for a lengthier contract. There were even a number of materials that seemed like they could help Elaine. 

In a village not far from Maalt, there was apparently a disease with symptoms much like Elaine was experiencing, and they had discovered an effective medicine for that illness and the materials to produce it. Naturally the doctors in the capital were unaware of this, as not only did the disease only appear around this village, but it never resulted in death. It didn’t take long for patients to fully recover. 

It was, of course, Lorraine who taught him this. She was familiar with all the local diseases in the villages around Maalt. The count found her knowledge to be absurdly extensive, but she was humble about it, claiming it was simply the result of living in Maalt for a long time. Regardless, it would be able to help Elaine. The count was so thankful he wanted to kneel to her. 

With a cure in reach, there was no need to ask even more of Rentt and Lorraine. The count started his farewells. 

“Well, I’ve obtained what I came here for. I don’t think there’s any need to go anywhere dangerous. This job is complete, you may—” 

“Hold it! No, not yet,” a voice said from out of nowhere. 

“What? Did somebody say something?” the count asked, but Rentt, Lorraine, and Hayden shook their heads. “Then who was it?” 

“Yeesh! Here, over here!” the voice said louder. 

The count felt a creeping sensation in his chest from the shock. “What in the world?” he exclaimed and looked closely at the thing floating in the air and staring at him. It was the talking doll from his mansion. He had brought it with him. 

“Are you... Are you that god?” 

To his surprise, the doll shook its head. “No, no, I’m just a divine spirit with no name. These two are my followers. But you’re a follower of Viroget, aren’t you? Viroget’s power still remains in this doll, so I can go inside it too.” 

Viroget was a god of plants and fertility. The main business in the count’s territory was medicine production, so he worshiped Viroget, the god with dominion over the plants that served as materials for many of those drugs. Only now did he know that the doll had been inhabited by Viroget and that his first visitation had been from a god after all. But if so, that didn’t explain why this other mysterious spirit was now inhabiting the doll and speaking to him. 

“I’m a piece of Viroget,” the spirit explained. “I exist mostly independently at this point, but I still receive orders sometimes. And I was told to help you out.” 

“Me?” the count asked. 

“Yeah, you. The boss is a real slave driver, you know. But, oh well. I need to tell you that if you go home now, you won’t be able to help your daughter.” 

“What? Why is that?” 

“Her illness is a variant of an infection caused by monster bugs local to that village Lorraine told you about, to be sure. The cure can be made with the materials you have now, too.” 

“Then what’s the problem?” the count asked. 

“There wouldn’t be a problem if you used it on the villagers from Chiweb where this disease shows up all the time. They’ve adapted to life around the monster bugs and sort of coexist with them, so they don’t need too much help. It just suppresses the bugs so they don’t do too much damage. But your daughter’s not like those villagers, so that cure’s not good enough.” 

“Oh no... Then, is there no way to save my daughter?” The medicine was meaningless. They had discovered what the illness was but had no method of curing it. The count thought that his daughter was as good as dead. 

“Now just wait a minute,” the doll said. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s a way to save her. If you make that medicine even stronger, you can force the bugs out of her. You want to know which materials you need for that, don’t you? That’s what I’m inhabiting this doll to tell you.” 

“Really?! Then yes, please do!” He couldn’t help but grab the doll and shake it furiously 

“I will, I will, just let go of me,” the doll pleaded. After the count let go, the doll sighed with relief. “So, human, if you travel northeast from Maalt for two days, you’ll find the Ancient Woods of Rasta. Go deep within those woods, defeat an ancient ent, and take its leaves. If you add those to the medicine for the monster bug infection, your daughter will be saved. Anyway, see you later.” With that, the doll crumbled to dust. It couldn’t hold the divine spirit any longer, presumably. 

“Did you hear that?” the count asked the other three. “I wasn’t dreaming or hearing things, was I?” 

“No, I heard it too,” said Lorraine. 

Hayden nodded. “Me too.” 

“Then our job isn’t done yet,” said Rentt. “We’ll have to show you the way there. Shall we head to the Ancient Woods of Rasta tomorrow? I’ll have horses ready by then.” 

The count nearly shed tears when he heard that. They didn’t have to do that. He did need a guide, but this was far from what their original job was. It would also be dangerous. Ancient ents were a serious threat. And yet they were fully willing to help. 

“I’ll reward you heartily. Also, you don’t have to do anything too rash for me. But if you’ll show us the way, then thank you.” 

Feeling that this request was unbecoming of a noble of his standing, the count bowed deeply. The two adventurers nodded, and Hayden patted the count on the shoulder. 

“That being said, I’m starting to regret having come here,” the count said with a bitter smile. 

They were surrounded by dense trees. Only the path ahead was spacious, a bit unnaturally so, but the reason for that was self-evident to the four travelers. In the center of the open area stood a giant tree. It was dozens of meters tall at least, and its trunk and branches were frightfully thick. It looked like no more than an ordinary plant, but in truth, it was something else. 

“The flow of mana tells me that this is a monster,” Lorraine said. “It’s an ancient ent.” 

Lorraine possessed eyes with the ability to see mana. It wasn’t that rare of a trait, but few people could make proper use of it. It demanded talent too great for most humans, but Lorraine was able to use it just fine. She was a rare sort of magician. 

“Can that creature be defeated? Not that I don’t believe in all of you, but look at it,” the count said. 

It looked too large for any human to take down. The three adventurers had encountered and slaughtered many monsters on the way here, but nothing as massive as this. It looked impossible to the count, and for good reason. But the adventurers rose from the grass in which they were hiding. 

“If we don’t take it on, your daughter is doomed. I’ll give it a go, at least,” said Hayden. 

“Size alone doesn’t mean much from a monster,” said Lorraine. “Well, ancient ents can also use magic, though, so they’re powerful foes.” 

“We haven’t even started the fight. Don’t give up hope yet, Curt. We’ll manage, just watch. Should we get started?” Rentt asked. 

The three adventurers made no particular plans before they jumped into the open area. Just then, the ancient ent rose from the ground, causing the earth to split beneath it as its full body was revealed. It was like a giant made of trees. A swing of its arm unleashed a blast of wind, and when it focused its mana, pointed trees sprouted up from all over to be launched like arrows. It was beastly. 

The count wondered how they could possibly win, but the adventurers he hired were brave. Others might have been intimidated by the ent’s mighty arms, but Hayden ran right under them and stabbed the trunk with his broadsword. 

“Can’t miss a target this huge!” he said with a laugh, but then branches like porcupine spines sprouted from the stab wound and nearly impaled him. “That was a close one. Guess we can’t just chop it down and be done with it.” 

“I thought a Gold-class would have at least researched how an ancient ent fights. They can sprout those needle-like branches from any part of their body,” Lorraine explained. 

“Ancient ents are pretty rare; can’t say I’ve had the chance to fight one before. I wouldn’t know about them. In fact, I’m surprised you do.” 

“I’m a scholar who studies monsters. Adventuring is a side gig,” she said as she cast a spell. 

Lorraine unleashed several fireballs several times as massive as an ordinary Foteia Borivaas. The count feared that they could set the forest ablaze, but they didn’t. A few of the fireballs missed and hit the trees behind the ent, but they were only burned a little. However, the three that hit the ancient ent incinerated its branches. 

This made the count panic, for the fire could have also burned away the leaves. But in reality, no such thing happened. The blaze stopped before it got that far. Even the count knew why this was. Lorraine was controlling the spread of the fire. It was difficult to control a spell once it was far from its caster, and it seemed unthinkable that she could manipulate it after it already struck the enemy. The magicians in the count’s army couldn’t do that because it was such an advanced technique. But Lorraine could do it and talk at the same time. Her skill with magic was awe-inspiring. 

“Huh, not bad,” Hayden said as he swung his sword. “You said you’re Silver-class, but with talent like that, you could hold your own against a Gold-class.” 

“I’d like to think so.” 

“Honestly, I thought you and your friend there were gonna be dead weight, but you betrayed my expectations. In a good way.” 

Hayden looked at Rentt, who stood closest to the ancient ent and acted as a distraction while hitting it with every little attack he could. Each of Rentt’s individual attacks did only minor damage, but he gave Hayden and Lorraine ample opportunity to fight without fear of retaliation. 

“That’s good to hear. And it looks like he’s enjoying himself,” Lorraine said. Rentt was in fact having a ton of fun, despite being the closest to the ancient ent. 

“I’m pretty confident in my evasion, but even I don’t have the guts to stay that close to such a monster for so long. Does Rentt not feel fear or what?” Hayden asked with an appalled look. He spoke of Rentt like he was a mysterious being. 

“Fear? Maybe he doesn’t,” Lorraine answered with a vague smile. 

“Oh? But that can’t be, can it?” 

Every adventurer, no matter how much they boasted, had at least some fear left in them. To trample their fear through sheer willpower or to ignore it and fight anyway was what defined bravery. That was how Hayden saw things, but he also knew there were exceptions. Some people’s senses were completely broken. In other words, they were a sort of lunatic. Hayden suspected that Rentt might be one of those types. 

“Rentt has been a Bronze-class for a long time, you see,” Lorraine said. “He’s probably happy just to get to fight a monster like this. That’s why he’s forgotten his fear, that’s all.” 

“What? He’s Bronze-class? Ridiculous. With strength like that, I thought he was up to Silver.” 

When an adventurer was specified for a job request, they only had to sign their name. They didn’t have to write their rank. It was presumed that the client would have already spoken with the adventurer, so the guild staff saw no need to ask for their rank. That was why Hayden never heard about Rentt’s rank until now. He had just assumed he was Silver-class. But he wasn’t. 

“Well, it’s a long story. But it doesn’t change how strong he is.” 

“Of course. Not even any old Silver-class could do what this guy’s doing. Even I’d have trouble pulling that off.” 

“He’s only gotten so good recently. That’s why he’s happy.” 

“So he broke out of his shell, eh? The excitement can mask your fear at times like those, to be sure. I see now.” 

Most adventurers never got past Bronze-class. A surprising number spent years, even decades without moving past that rank. But a select few would eventually figure something out after years of trying and go through a rapid growth in strength. Such people were said to have broken out of their shells. Hayden thought Rentt to be one of them. 

“But those folks have a tendency to hurl themselves into danger. The way he’s fighting right now doesn’t seem too hazardous, but it’s probably best we settle this soon.” 

“Right. I’ll create a path. Hayden, I want you to pierce the ancient ent’s forehead.” 

“Is that its weak point?” Hayden asked. 

Lorraine nodded. “From what I’ve observed just now, yes. Each individual ancient ent has a different weak point, but I can see this one’s mana is focused in its forehead. I can’t see it moving from there either, so that’s probably the place.” 

“But you’re not totally sure?” 

“Nothing’s ever certain in combat.” 

“Fair enough. All right, I’ll try it.” 

“Then here goes!” Lorraine said as vast amounts of mana spread throughout the area and thick, wriggling vines appeared from the ground. Hayden thought this was the ancient ent’s magic at first, but they ignored him and went after the monster, restraining its thrashing branches. 

“I see, so that’s how you’re creating a path,” he said as he raced toward his destination. When he reached the wooden giant, he leaped and raised his sword high above his head. “Rentt, stand back!” he shouted. 

If he was as excited as Lorraine said, then Rentt might not have heard Hayden, but he was surprisingly quick to retreat. Maybe he wasn’t in such a frenzy after all. Maybe Rentt was fearless for other reasons. Hayden had his questions, but this was no time to think about them. Rentt and Lorraine seemed to have some sort of secret, but they did their job admirably and showed how open-minded they were as adventurers. There was no reason not to trust them now. All Hayden could do was hammer his sword down on the monster. 

“Take this!” Hayden roared as he thrust the sword into the ancient ent’s forehead. The bark he’d cut through earlier was much tougher, so he was surprised by how easily the sword pierced through. It reached all the way into the depths of the monster. The ancient ent let out a cry that would even make a mandragora turn pale, and with a loud boom, it collapsed to the ground. 

“I’m so glad to have met you two. Perhaps it was the will of the gods,” the count mused after they returned to town, brimming with admiration. He asked Lorraine and Rentt for a handshake, and they happily obliged. 

“It sounds like Viroget actually inhabited that doll, so probably so,” Rentt said. 

“The divine spirit said it was a piece of Viroget too,” Lorraine agreed. “But why did Viroget deliver this message to you?” 

“Most likely out of necessity,” the count said. “You said that disease is contagious, Lorraine? That means we’ll have to produce quite a lot of medicine before it spreads, and I’m the only one in the capital who can do it.” 

“I see. Does that mean you’re Count Robista?” 

“Did I give too many hints?” 

“I was right, then? That makes sense. The gods must have been concerned about an epidemic.” 

“Probably so. Thankfully we obtained a large number of ancient ent leaves on this outing. No doubt they’ll run out eventually, but we know that we just have to make the medicine stronger. I’ll try developing other recipes that don’t require ancient ent leaves,” the count declared. That was probably easier said than done, but the count was determined to make it happen. He was granted this opportunity, and he intended to use it. “We’ll be leaving soon, then. If I ever visit Maalt again, I hope you’ll meet with me. Thank you so much for the help!” 

With that, the count left Maalt. 

“You were pretty reckless on this job,” Lorraine said to me as we were having dinner at home after Count Robista left. 

“You think so? I thought I put up a pretty good fight, considering how big of a foe that ancient ent was. Got to make use of my experience fighting shrub ents.” 

Ancient ents were rare monsters, but it was said that shrub ents could grow into them after hundreds, maybe thousands of years. That made the two monsters similar, and I had fought plenty of shrub ents, so I was used to them. 

But Lorraine shook her head and said, “Well, I don’t think you were in much danger in the fight itself, but that’s not what I’m saying. Hayden noticed something bizarre about the way you fought, so I was a bit worried he would find out what you really are.” 

“Oh. Really?” 

“When you were in a somewhat dangerous spot, you used an ability you shouldn’t have been able to use, didn’t you? Your robe was hiding it, but when I used my magic eyes, I could see that part of your body disappeared for a moment.” 

“Sure, but I doubt anyone but you could have seen that.” 

“You realize that Hayden is Gold-class, right? It wouldn’t be surprising if he had magic eyes too as a secret weapon.” 

The stronger the fighter, the more likely they would hide their greatest abilities and use them only in emergencies. Lorraine wanted to point out that this might have been true of Hayden, and she was right to do so. 

“I get it. Maybe I was a little careless. If he did happen to see something, I thought maybe I could claim it was an effect of the robe.” 

“I see, that’s not a bad excuse. Even I can’t fully figure out that robe. He might have been forced to accept that explanation. I’m glad to hear you at least thought it through somewhat.” 

“Look, I do think sometimes. But either way, I’ll be more careful in the future.” 

“As long as you understand. You don’t want to draw too much attention.” 

“I sure don’t.” 

A month passed. 

“Hey, Rentt! Look at this,” Lorraine said when I returned home from a dungeon. She was holding a letter. 

“What’s that?” 

“Can’t you tell from the insignia?” 

The wax seal on the letter did look familiar. It was the same symbol that was on Curt’s clothes. That meant this was a letter from Count Robista. 

“So he made it back home okay.” 

“Yes. Hopefully that medicine worked,” Lorraine said as she opened the letter and gave it a read. I peered at it from behind her and read it at the same time. She could have read it before I got back, but apparently she wanted to read it with me. How thoughtful of her. 

“Sounds like the medicine worked fine,” I said. 

“Yes, and thanks to how they mass-produced it, they had medicine for others who caught the disease later too. Seems like the count was right about why he received that message from Viroget. But I didn’t expect that it was caused by migration from this region. If moved to another area, the bugs that cause the disease normally die before symptoms manifest, but for some reason, they adapted to Robista’s territory.” 

“Pretty terrifying, but it sounds like the count will be able to keep producing medicine, so that settles this whole incident.” 

“Not necessarily. He also wrote that the infection rate hasn’t died down. The battle is only just beginning, I’m sure. That’s the way diseases are. But Count Robista’s the head of this territory, and he knows the correct way to combat the disease, so I’m confident he’ll put an end to it eventually.” 

“Right. Should we write a response? We could tell him to get in contact with us if he needs to hunt another ancient ent.” 

“Oh, that’s a good idea. Let’s do that. Although, we’ll probably need Hayden’s help again.” 

“If we can fight alongside each other again, that’d be fun. Hopefully it won’t be necessary, though.” 

As we chatted with each other, Lorraine finished writing the letter and sent it out. Two weeks later, we received another letter from Count Robista saying that the disease caused by the monster bugs had been stopped. We also got a letter of thanks from his daughter. Lorraine and I celebrated with some fine wine that day.