Usato-kun was taken away.
I calmed myself down for a moment, then turned my attention to King Lloyd.
“But Usato is an average guy who has nothing to do with this!” shouted Kazuki.
I also chimed in. “Where is Usato-kun going? And what did she mean when she said she’s going to ‘turn him into a healer’?”
Even if I wanted to run away and save him, it was sure to fail. First, I had to get all the information I could out of King Lloyd.
“Welcie, please explain the situation,” said King Lloyd, falling back into his seat with a thud. He was too exhausted to explain anything himself, so he asked her to do so in his place. This Rose lady must have really worn the king down.
“Yes, your majesty. Umm, you see . . .” started Welcie, taking a few steps toward us, “she is taking him to a place that houses the rescue team—not too far from here. It is managed by Captain Rose, along with her five assistants and two healers. The eight of them run the organization.”
“Are there only eight of them? Does that mean they’re shorthanded?”
Doesn’t it take a much bigger party to fight actual monsters?
“They have enough. Mages can use basic first aid, regardless of aptitude. Therefore, they can heal their own wounds and those of their allies. But graver injuries cannot be healed so quickly. In those cases, we need mages who have the same aptitude as Usato.”
So their real ability is to heal people who can’t heal them themselves, meaning that Usato-kun may be a very important healer to the kingdom.
“Why didn’t you want Rose to look after Usato-kun?”
“May I, Your Majesty?” asked Welcie.
“You may,” he said.
Seems pretty complicated.
“Rose-sama is a healing expert. It’s just, oh, how do I put it . . . the way she educates her subordinates is a little . . . eccentric.”
“Eccentric? In what way?” I asked.
“Well, I don’t know too many details, but I hear that she is quite strict. She tells her trainees that being in the rescue team means that they will have to stare death in the face, so she gives them grueling exercises that she claims will teach them techniques to survive the impossible. Most cannot handle such taxing training, so trainees are constantly running away. Originally, the kingdom’s knights and the rescue team were supposed to undergo Rose-sama’s training together, but the knights couldn’t endure it. Now only the rescue team trains under Rose-sama.”
“Your knights couldn’t take it? Is this Rose person freakishly strong?” I inquired.
King Lloyd rubbed his chin as if he were reliving a fond memory.
“Oh,” he answered, “she may be with the rescue team now, but before that she . . . well, we can talk about this later. In any case, the average knight is no match for Rose. When the Demon Lord’s army invaded, the rescue team saved a great number of lives. In fact, we couldn’t have staved them off without her assistance. As her successes confirm, her training methods are not mistaken. However . . .”
“Yes?” I asked.
Lloyd heaved a heavy sigh, staring into the distance.
“Completing that training comes at a price.”
The king clearly couldn’t catch a break, and I couldn’t help worrying about Usato-kun’s safety.