Heroes and Their Qualifications (4)
My current location is the lodging I’ve arrived at after parting ways with Nicola.
I chose an especially nice place since it’s the last time.
Plus, it’s spacious.
Unnecessarily spacious, even. There are three rooms.
I could have chosen a smaller place since it’s time to part with Cecilia and Valkvogel, who accompanied me, but I still prefer a larger space when possible.
It’s a strange thing to say, but I like the feeling of sitting alone in a large house.
It’s quiet and comfortable when I’m by myself.
After all, once I return home, I’ll have to be alone, so it’s also a way of getting used to it in advance.
Of course, the larger the room, the more annoying chores like cleaning there are… but that’s something for tomorrow’s me to deal with.
Now, since there’s nothing else to do alone in this large room, it’s time to get started.
I’ve already decided on everything that needs to be done. Whether it will go as planned, I’m not sure, but there are four main things I have to do.
Open Bella’s letter.
Say goodbye to Valkvogel.
I mustn’t forget to open the letter addressed to me.
And I need to keep checking if Chloe’s letter has been opened.
Finding Bella shouldn’t take too much time since her activities are limited. Now that the Demon King is dead, there’s no reason for Bella to wander outside the Dragon Kingdom, and she’s quite a celebrity, so I could meet her at any moment.
As for Valkvogel… it seems like it’s about time to part ways.
We’re already inside the Dragon Kingdom, and there was a chance she couldn’t have entered at all. I don’t know the reason, but it seems she’s marked by the Dragon Kingdom. So, it’s not a bad idea to part ways sooner rather than later.
What? What about the leash?
How is my life guaranteed without it?
That is…
Well…
Um… right, I’ll just deal with it at the end.
It’s safe to secretly remove the leash and escape before leaving the Dragon Kingdom so she can’t follow me.
Probably.
Or it would be safe to neutralize her and escape at the same time as I release the leash. I’m grateful for the horn she gave me, but I need to clearly separate business from personal matters. There’s also the possibility that she might try to go after my life again.
Next is the letter addressed to me.
I have to open this damn letter written by the hero himself. It’s not sealed with some annoying divine power, but it does have a bothersome curse that I’d rather not deal with.
There are experts related to curses in the Dragon Kingdom, so if I find one and entrust them with it, they can quickly lift it.
So, I can handle this alongside other tasks.
It’s not that difficult of a job to begin with.
The last thing is to check if Chloe’s letter has been opened.
Surely she must be dead, yet for some reason, that letter remains sealed.
Maybe she’s still alive. There are stories about the height of the waterfall she fell from and the survival rates. If luck and coincidence align, she could barely cling to life.
But then, the letter should have opened by now if that were the case.
Given that her letter hasn’t been opened for over half a year, the likelihood that she didn’t die is increasing.
Or maybe she never fell in the first place.
She could have seen me coming and turned back.
Still, I must always check the letter, just in case.
If I’m extremely lucky, Chloe might slip on the stairs, and the letter would open.
I’ll just check it when I have some spare time. And if it doesn’t work out, I can open all the letters when I head back from the Dragon Kingdom to Myluman.
Whether I’ll last until then is another question, but what other choice do I have?
I’ll have to wing it.
Alright, that’s the important stuff taken care of,
and the major tasks at hand are two.
Find out Bella’s whereabouts and seek an expert to open my letter.
As for what to be careful of… nothing in particular.
If I had to name something, it would be Nerati, who might attack me?
It’s hard to completely subdue without using the holy sword, so I’ll just be moderately cautious.
Ah, and I must also be wary of Nicola.
And not forget to avoid the sparrow dragon.
The two of them are the main dangers within the Dragon Kingdom. I can evade the rest somehow, but if I encounter either of them, I might as well be dead, so I need to keep a low profile as much as possible.
Now, what should I do first?
Inquire about Bella?
Or seek an expert for my letter?
Or perhaps part ways with Valkvogel first.
Ah, that might be a bit too much.
Anyway.
“….”
The deliberation wasn’t long.
And the decision was quick.
Yeah, it’s better to start with that.
Even if Bella is the most important, I should start with what I can prioritize.
Proceed with the tasks that can be finished quickly. That’s my principle.
Well, it’s because of that personality that the emperor is after me… but what can I do?
That’s just how I am.
“Cough.”
Lost in thought, I hadn’t noticed, but the room is cold.
It seems to be because the interior is so spacious and I’m the only one staying here.
Well, it’s gradually becoming autumn, so I guess it can’t be helped.
In this world, there’s no such thing as central heating. To raise the temperature, you have to layer up with clothes the old-fashioned way. Or you could spend a fortune on flame magic. Since houses not made of fireproof materials are at risk of catching fire, you can’t just light a fire inside unless it’s built with those materials, which are hard to come by unless you’re in the Empire or the Country of Magic.
In that sense, I should buy some clothes for heating purposes.
Cecilia has been feeling unwell lately, so keeping her warm should help her recover faster.
I left the room and headed for the corridor.
As expected, the living room was empty. Everyone must be resting in their own rooms.
I was a bit curious about what they were doing, but I decided not to think too deeply about it.
They’ll be taking care of their own business, so I should focus on fulfilling my own duties.
There’s no need for a mask.
But just in case, I’ll bring it along.
There’s always someone looking to make a quick buck, so it’s better to stay hidden. Even if not, I need to keep my face covered to avoid being spotted by the likes of Nicola.
I hope this last journey ends safely, without any incidents.
With that thought, I left the lodging.
* * *
“This can’t go on,” I heard as soon as Flan left.
The voice came from the room next to Flan’s, where Cecilia was staying.
Her face was visibly agitated.
She also seemed anxious.
Pacing and clenching her fists, she seemed unable to calm down.
Cecilia, with a voice of urgency, looked at Valkvogel and said,
“If things continue this way, my body won’t hold up.”
“I even used my horn, and now you say this all of a sudden?”
Her conversation partner was Valkvogel.
The topic of their conversation was about Flan’s physical condition.
If things stay as they are, she won’t last.
That was the implication regarding Flan’s health.
Cecilia had been keeping her voice down at the start of the conversation, wary that Flan might overhear, but she couldn’t hold back that one sentence and ended up shouting it.
Worried that Flan might have heard, for now, she just glared at Valkvogel in silence.
To summarize their exchange:
Flan’s health could deteriorate once again if they’re not careful.
The reason being that the medicine Flan had been taking wasn’t actually medicine at all.
What Flan had ingested was a medium that transferred his illness onto her own body. While it did have some effect in alleviating health issues to a degree, its main function was not that.
The ability of the drug that Cecilia was most concerned about was to transfer the disease of the person who ingested the liquid to herself. That was its true effect.
Normally, this would be impossible. It shouldn’t be possible.
But it should have been.
However, the power of the saintess that she possessed made the impossible possible.
The ability to read memories.
And the side effect that came with it, memory assimilation.
Using the side effects of her own abilities, she made what was impossible possible.
Of course, there was a price to pay.
Cecilia’s own health deteriorated.
It was an inevitable outcome.
If Cecilia transferred Flan’s illness to herself and remained unscathed, it would mean the concoction was a failure. Although Flan’s condition had improved due to the basic effects of the medicine, the health she had taken on was far from good. It wouldn’t have been surprising if Cecilia had barely managed to hang on.
If that had been the extent of the side effects, it would have been fortunate, but regrettably, there was more to it.
It was about the medicine’s efficacy.
If Cecilia couldn’t hold on, there would be a backlash on Flan.
The moment Cecilia’s health reached its limit, Flan’s condition would revert to its previous state, or perhaps worsen even more.
If they were lucky, the illness would return slowly, giving Flan time to cope.
If they were unlucky, it could come back swiftly, leading to sudden death.
Cecilia’s original plan was to travel to the Dragon Kingdom as quickly as possible by carriage.
Only then could she endure.
She believed she just needed to hold on until Flan finished all his tasks.
The estimated time was three months.
She thought that would be enough to endure.
However, time had passed unexpectedly, and now Cecilia was at her limit, facing the possibility that the medicine’s effects could wear off.
And Valkvogel couldn’t believe Cecilia’s words.
Could the effects of the medicine really wear off so quickly after just this much time?
That was the thought.
Naturally, Cecilia had her own questions.
“…I didn’t know it would take this long. Plus, too much strain came all at once. And the reason for that might be.”
She had thought three months would be sufficient if they traveled by carriage. Even though it was a considerable distance to The Great Forest, it hadn’t taken that long. The carriage Cecilia had borrowed played a significant role, but she hadn’t taken that into account.
If we just keep riding the carriage, we’ll move quickly.
That was her only thought.
Perhaps that’s why Cecilia trailed off.
Instead of continuing, she looked somewhere else.
Her gaze landed on Valkvogel, specifically where her horn used to be.
The horn of a dragon.
A cure.
And the effects of the medicine.
“…I am a dragon. My memories are hazy now, but I was the child of the Dragon King.”
Was Valkvogel reminded of the words of her kin, who denied her claim to dragonhood, as she asked in a small voice? That timid voice seemed to assert her rightful dragon lineage.
Of course, Cecilia appeared skeptical, but that changed nothing.
And so, the conversation came to an abrupt end.
“Is there no other way?”
Cecilia, her nose bleeding in her agitation, used a cloth to stem the flow. Valkvogel approached her as she did so.
“…Well, if nothing else happens, I can hold out for a few more weeks. That’s why we must avoid any fights from breaking out. If Flan’s body takes on any more strain… Honestly, I’m not sure what will happen. I can’t move right now, either. So you need to hold onto Flan tightly and keep his movements to a minimum, and if a fight does break out, please don’t let Flan fight.”
Since she couldn’t move herself, it was up to Valkvogel to restrain Flan.
That was the best course of action.
Having finished speaking, Cecilia lay down on the bed.
It was to stabilize her condition.
Cecilia wouldn’t be able to be active, right? It was already tough enough dealing with Flan’s illness, and if she overexerted her body further…
Valkvogel watched Cecilia for a long while before leaving the room.
The first thing to do was to keep Flan from moving.
If there was a need to go out, she would have to take action herself.
With that resolve…
──It was a little later that she realized Flan had disappeared.
