“What...?” we heard someone say. The door had swung open, but no one was there. It was natural to wonder what was going on.
Inside was a twelve- or thirteen-year-old girl on a bed; her presumed parents watching over her in simple chairs; a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy and a seven- or eight-year-old girl, who I figured were siblings; and a doctor. Apparently, it was the father who’d spoken. Everyone else’s eyes also turned to the door and saw that no one had appeared. Then, the door closed by itself; silently, unnaturally, slowly...
“Angel entourage, manifest!” I called out, and we suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
“Aaaaaaaaah!!!” everyone but the bedridden girl screamed.
Yeah, that was a fair reaction. Now, we had to convince them we weren’t robbers before the guards rushed in.
“We are the Angel’s entourage! We’ve manifested to save the girl endangered by the fake Tears of the Goddess. Have her drink this!” I said as I thrust out the potion.
I’d decided it would be better to take charge here rather than gently explain myself. There was no time for dawdling. They’d normally be wary after just being scammed, but there was no room for doubt after that dramatic entrance. Besides, there was no reason for us to take such a risk by coming here just to poison a girl who was already dying. Anyone would reach that logical conclusion, but I wasn’t sure if they were able to think logically right now.
Maybe he hadn’t considered I could be a thief or assassin, or how his action could be considered disrespectful to the Angel, but the earl snatched the potion from my hand, propped up his daughter, and poured it into her mouth with trembling hands, slowly and carefully so he wouldn’t spill a drop.
“Fa...ther...?” the girl whispered.
Color returned to her cheeks, her expression blank and untroubled, free of pain or distress. She was healed; everyone in the room knew it.
“Ah... Ahh... AAAAAAH!”
“Waaaaaah!”
The earl’s tearful cry was echoed by his family.
The girl stared from the bed, bewildered, while the doctor stood stunned.
“My lord, what’s wrong?!” guards and servants shouted as they burst into the room. Seeing us, the guards immediately drew their swords. “Scoundrels!”
“Stop! Sheathe your swords and stand down, you fools!”
The earl stopped them before they attacked, which was good. The guards didn’t have to get hurt...
“Please forgive us for our rudeness! And thank you for saving my daughter...” the earl said, kneeling gratefully. The others prostrated themselves behind him, with the guards who’d drawn their swords trembling. Their faces were probably pale, though I couldn’t tell with their heads bowed low.
“No need to worry about that. It would’ve been one thing if we’d come on a proper visit, but we intruded, basically forcing our way in. That was our fault,” I said. “The guards did their duty. They deserve praise, not blame. We were in quite a rush with no time to spare, but nonetheless...”
I had to cover for the guards, since we were the ones in the wrong.
“Such gracious words... All for our daughter’s sake...” the earl said.
Well, yeah, that was true, but I had screwed up big time, so making them grovel would’ve felt bad.
“Her condition worsened because of the Tears of the Goddess...” I said apologetically.
“No, that was because of the criminals who sold me fake Tears. You bear no blame at all!”
Ah...
At this rate, those scammers were going to get tortured to death. That was a bit too harsh, considering they hadn’t meant to cause misery for others or anything. If we hadn’t caught on, the normal Tears I’d given them would’ve reached the sick girl, making the earl’s family happy, the scammers rich, and me content saving a girl without loss. A win for everyone... Yeah, right!
Still, I figured I’d put in a word for them.
“They...weren’t exactly fake,” I said.
“Wha... Whaaat?!”
The earl, his wife, and even the kids, doctor, and guards gasped in shock.
“They were real Tears of the Goddess they’d gotten through trickery. Of course, I saw through their lies, so I repeatedly pressed them to use it immediately, and made it so it would be ineffective after some time to prevent resale or being passed onto a crime boss. They didn’t give it to the child pretending to be sick, of course, but sold it to you instead. So, they were originally real Tears, and they believed they were genuine. Despite their methods and outcome, you could say they were honest about delivering genuine Tears of the Goddess to save your daughter.”
The earl looks conflicted. One more push...
“Lord Earl, if their Tears had been standard and healed your daughter, only for you to learn they’d scammed me to get them, would you have been grateful to them? And I’m sure you know Tears of the Goddess aren’t meant to be sold or traded. Why post a request for them offering a generous reward?” I asked.
“Ugh...”
Now the earl looked pained. Yeah, that had to be tough to answer. He’d probably have thanked them and paid the reward. They’d fulfilled the terms of the request, and the method of procuring the requested item was up to the deliverer, not him. Plus, that request tacitly allowed breaking the rules. And since the earl was the type to honor contracts, even with commoners, he’d likely have been extra grateful to those risking the Angel’s wrath to fulfill his request. He couldn’t say that to us now, though... Anyway, that didn’t matter. That was all hypothetical, so it had nothing to do with this reality.
“Lady Angel, about the reward...” the earl’s wife cut in, seeing him struggle.
Nice, subtly supporting her husband... What a model wife.
“None needed,” I said.
This wasn’t an act of charity; I was just cleaning up the mess I’d caused. I wasn’t gonna accept anything in return for that. Not that I usually took much—sometimes just a daikon radish or onion if it was a poor family, or I’d even leave a few silver coins instead. Besides, the earl had paid a fortune for a useless unicorn horn, so I didn’t want to kick him while he was down by taking more money from him. He’d spent a ton on his daughter’s illness already.