I did notice, however, that he was wearing a black glove on his right hand but nothing on his left.
“It is an honor to make your acquaintance. My name is Bazack, and I am in charge of the town of Ebiza.”
“Bazack?!” Lionel exclaimed. “What is the Abyss Sorcerer doing here?!”
The “Abyss Sorcerer”? Was that man a powerful mage or something? Either way, it didn’t look like he and Lionel were on friendly terms, based on the way Lionel looked like he was ready to stab him. I guess it was at least better than Brod, who had already drawn his sword.
“An acquaintance of yours?” I asked Lionel.
“He gave me a hard time back when I was still a general for the empire,” he replied.
“I see you still remember me, General Lionel of Illumasia. Hmm? No, it cannot be. You are much too young to be him. Who are you?” Bazack asked.
“Did all those years as a war slave make you senile?” Lionel shot back.
“You!” Bazack pointed his staff at Lionel, radiating killing intent from his entire body.
The mercenaries and adventurers followed suit immediately, drawing their weapons and bracing themselves for a fight. Ketty and Kefin stood back-to-back, weapons ready, while Estia watched the scene unfold in confusion.
At this rate, things would absolutely turn into a fight, so I decided to intervene. “Let me introduce myself once again. I am Luciel, an S-rank healer. And this right here,” I gestured at Lionel, “is a follower and companion of mine. We haven’t come to fight. We’re here to have a discussion with you all.”
“The S-rank healer? Rumors claim you cannot use your magic anymore, but I am glad to see these stories were baseless. We would welcome you with open arms if you were alone, but we cannot let you into our town accompanied by a general of the empire,” Bazack said.
“Let me correct what I just said: I am not an S-rank healer anymore. I am a sage now. As for Lionel, he was set up by the empire two years ago and sold to me as a slave. I freed him, but he isn’t a general of Illumasia any longer.”
“A slave?” Bazack repeated before chuckling derisively. “Impossible. We know that the Lion of War is currently residing in the imperial capital, preparing for battle...” He paused as if struck by a revelation and stroked his goatee with his left hand.
A silence fell over the group. If I spoke and broke the silence, there was a possibility Bazack might label me as someone who lacked confidence or assume I was trying to be deceitful.
I glanced at Brod, and he said, “If they come for us, I’ll aim at their necks. You focus on supporting me.”
“Yes, master.”
The silence stretched for what felt like an eternity, and when the adventurers and mercenaries began running out of patience, Bazack hit the ground with his staff, his gaze fixed on Lionel and me. This must’ve been some sort of signal, as the adventurers and mercenaries immediately put their weapons away.
“When I heard that the Lion of War had to leave the battlefield, I rejoiced, thinking that your fortune had finally begun to decline, but it was actually a ruse...”
“Mister Bazack? I can tell that you and Lionel have a history, but can you let us into the town?”
“I cannot refuse the S-rank healer passage into my town just because of a personal grudge. However, there is still something I wish to discuss with you.”
“Is it about Lionel again?” I asked.
“While it is true that the Lion of War and I have a history, that is not what I wish to talk to you about,” he replied.
“Then what is it?”
“You said that you have become a sage, yes?”
“I did.”
“May I assume that you can use healing magic, then?”
“I sure can. I can heal someone to prove it to you if you’d like. For free, of course.” I didn’t love the way they were all watching me, but for some reason, it didn’t feel that hostile either.
“Sir, I cut off Bazack’s right arm back when I was a general of the empire,” Lionel informed me.
So, that hand with the glove must’ve been a prosthesis. If their “history” was that Lionel had cut off Bazack’s arm, would healing Bazack ease the tension between them? Probably not. There was no way a grudge like that could be so easily resolved. But it could alleviate it a little. Besides, it might make Bazack more willing to cooperate with us, so it was worth a try.
And so, with that exceedingly simple line of thinking in mind, I decided to heal Bazack’s arm. “Mister Bazack? Having to speak so loudly is taking a toll on me. Can the two of us move a bit closer to finish this discussion?”
“I suppose it is fine.”
I promised to show him my healing magic, and he and I moved a few steps closer to each other.
“I’m going to heal you right now. If you’re wearing a prosthetic arm, could you please remove it?”
“What are you saying?”
A murmur ran through the adventurers and mercenaries. Perhaps it was rare for Bazack to be flustered.
I paid them no mind and waved my hand to urge Bazack to remove his prosthetic arm. “It’s not exactly pleasant to be surrounded by adventurers and mercenaries like this,” I said. “Can you please remove your prosthesis?”
The man was visibly hesitant, but he eventually removed his fake arm, and I immediately cast Extra Heal on him. His body was enveloped in a warm light that faded away just as quickly as it had appeared.
He hadn’t felt my spell and must have assumed that I hadn’t done anything, as he asked, “What was that li—?!” He interrupted himself midsentence, having noticed that something was different about his body. Nervously, he raised his right arm and inspected it before freezing in place.
“Is that proof enough that I can use healing magic?” I asked.
All Bazack could do was nod, speechless. Behind him, the adventurers and mercenaries couldn’t keep quiet any longer.
“H-His arm grew back!” one of them cried.
Those words served as a catalyst, prompting the others to speak up one after the other.
“It’s a real arm!”
“So, that’s the true power of an S-rank healer...”
“He’s just like the sages of old!”
“Well, yeah. He did say he was a sage.”
“We’ll be able to fight again!”
“Go round up all those in need of healing!”
A group of men rushed into the town. Glancing at the rest of the adventurers and mercenaries, I noticed that the wary gazes they had been directing at us had morphed into warm, welcoming looks like the ones they’d given Estia.
Bazack must have returned to his senses after seeing their reactions, as he dropped into a deep bow and said, “Sage Luciel, Ebiza welcomes you and your followers.”
We had finally earned the right to enter the town, but I had a feeling we were about to get roped into yet another annoying situation.
I began to regret having agreed to come here in the first place.