Chapter 6

Chapter 3 The Demon Lord’s Demon Lord–Slaying Sword “So there’s a sickness spreading?” “Yeah, which is why it’s probably best for the sailors to limit their shore time as much as possible.” Standing on the wharf, Rit and I told Yarandrala about the cold that had been going around Zoltan lately. Ships carried people, but they also carried diseases. “Got it. I’ll let them know.” The sailors who’d rowed to the pier were taking a break on the boat. When Yarandrala told them about the sickness, they grimaced, then went back to the ship without coming ashore. “It doesn’t seem like a serious disease so far, but it is highly contagious, so I’d rather not let it spread,” I said. “I can’t believe this all happened while I was away.” “It seems like it just started spreading recently,” added Rit. “Rit and I only started noticing it the past few days. The symptoms are just like a bit of a bad cold, so at first we didn’t realize it was any different.” As an apothecary, it was frustrating I hadn’t noticed the spread of a disease. I knew there was no way for me to judge whether one disease was the same as another or just similar, since there was no common skill that could determine the details of a person’s symptoms…but making up for that through knowledge and experience was the job of an apothecary. “You be careful too, Red. You might think you’re on the side that’s healing people, but your blessing doesn’t prevent you from getting sick, does it?” “That’s true, but my blessing level is high, so I can handle sicknesses better than most people with a lower resistance.” “Don’t go comparing yourself with people who have lower blessing levels!” Yarandrala chided. Blessings related to sickness were capable of endowing inherent skills that gave resistance to diseases. People who had blessings that used spirit magic, like Rit’s Spirit Scout and Yarandrala’s Singer of the Trees, also received resistances, while soldier- and martial artist–type blessings gradually improved a person’s resistance to things that impaired the body’s physical abilities. Thinking about it like that, there are a lot of different kinds of resistance to disease. The lowest-tier and most common blessing, Warrior, didn’t grant any resistance, though, so it was unlikely the spread of the disease would stop. “Here, take these.” Yarandrala removed her leaf-shaped earrings and gave them to me and Rit. “What are they?” “Magic items made in Kiramin for high elves who travel the world. They ward against misfortune and grant a strong resistance to infection.” I could feel a powerful magic power in the jewel of the earring. It probably used a secret type of spirit magic guarded by the high elves. Items like these were almost never shared with anybody outside of their own race. “These are incredibly valuable, aren’t they? Are you sure you want us to wear them?” “Of course I’m sure!” She’d gotten mad at me again. “But be careful. Those jewels can only resist infection. They can’t help anyone who’s already sick.” “Thank you. I’ll make sure I take good care of it.” I wrapped mine in cloth and carefully tucked it away. “Red,” Rit said from beside me. “How is it?!” She excitedly gathered her hair behind her head, revealing the nape of her neck. Yarandrala’s earring was dangling from her ear. “Does it suit me?” “Yeah, it looks great on you… You look beautiful in a different way from Yarandrala.” “Ehehe.” Rit covered her flushed cheeks and mouth with the bandana around her neck. “Hehe, maybe I should give you both matching earrings for your wedding.” “You want to give me a pair too?” I asked. “Oh, I think they’d look great on you,” Rit chimed in. “Hmmm… Really?” As I pondered that thought, Yarandrala watched on with a kind expression on her face. The three of us left the harbor district and went straight back home. I wanted to ask about Ruti’s New Truth, but… “That’s not something we can talk about with other people around.” “Right.” It was an important topic that touched on the reason why blessings had been created. “I was thinking of going out to the mountain tomorrow to gather medicinal herbs. Would you want to come too, Yarandrala?” “Sure, that sounds great.” There was no better place for a private conversation than in the mountains of Zoltan. No one would think there was some sort of big secret in a remote place like this. Also… “You know more about plants than anyone on the continent, so I’ll be counting on you.” “Trying to find something to make a medicine for this new disease?” “Yeah. For now, all we can do is treat the symptoms…but you might be able to figure something out.” “It’d probably be a good idea to go by Dr. Newman’s clinic before we head to the mountain so I can see someone with the disease.” “In that case, why don’t we go to Mogrim’s place tomorrow before we leave Zoltan? His wife Mink is sick and bedridden.” “She is?! That’s concerning… I’m no doctor, but I do have confidence in my knowledge of medicinal plants, and I’ve seen a lot of different sicknesses in my travels, so I might be able to help.” “Right now, Habotan is helping take care of Mink after she collapsed, so you should talk to her too after the party tonight winds down a bit.” “Party…? You mean…?!” Rit and I both smiled. “We were all just so excited for you to get back.” “It’s only a little get-together tonight, but the people at the Adventurers Guild and the Merchants Guild also wanted to welcome you back!” “It sounds like everyone at the colosseum is looking forward to seeing you, too. Apparently, they’ve all been doing special training to take down the champion. I only caught a glimpse, but a few of them looked pretty good, and it seems like they’re coming up with all sorts of strategies. There might be someone who can finally give you a run for your money when you’re unarmed.” “Yarandrala will probably give you an earful tomorrow for that when you take her out to the mountain,” Rit joked. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” Yarandrala smiled as she listened to us. “…Hehe, that makes me happy. Zoltan really is a nice place.” Yarandrala had only been living in Zoltan since last winter. It hadn’t quite been a year, but she’d already made lots of friends and good memories here. Many people had been sad to hear she’d left to go on a trip, so I was sure they’d all want to talk to her after we got back from the mountain. …Though I guess it only makes sense for everyone to know the star of the colosseum. ““Welcome back, Yarandrala!”” That evening, at Red & Rit’s Apothecary, we all gathered around Yarandrala to celebrate her safe return. Rit and I, Ruti and Tisse, and Habotan and Torahime were all there. “Thank you, everyone,” Yarandrala said, smiling happily. The food on the table was mostly what I had put together yesterday, with a salad and a meat pie to accompany it. I would have liked to make more, but I’d been short on time. So instead… “It’s been a while since I had Oparara’s oden… Mmm, it really is delicious!” We had stopped by Oparara’s stand on the way back and bought some oden. But since we’d gone there before she’d been open and there hadn’t been much ready at the time… “Thanks for going to pick it up, Ruti.” “Your cooking is the tastiest in the world, Big Brother, but I like Oparara’s oden, too.” Ruti had come early after going to pick up the order for us. Thanks to that, we were able to serve some food for Yarandrala earlier than Rit and I had expected when we’d been discussing it during lunch. “Oparara sends her regards. She was hoping to see you, too.” “In that case, I’ll be sure to go and eat at her stand sometime.” “That’s a nice idea. I’d like to come, too.” “Please allow me to accompany you as well.” Yarandrala, Ruti, and Tisse chatted as they ate their oden. It was a relaxed conversation among good friends—the sort of thing that would never have happened while Ruti had been journeying as the Hero. “By the way, Ruti, Tisse…what is this green-colored chikuwa bread?” Yarandrala asked. “Medicinal chikuwa bread, our own creation.” One plate on the table was loaded with medicinal chikuwa bread provided by Ruti and Tisse. “Tisse’s chikuwa bread was popular at the colosseum, but it looks like you started something interesting while I was away!” “We believed it necessary for the sake of Ms. Ruti’s plantation to increase the demand for medicinal herbs, so we began to sell medicinal food.” “Huh…” Yarandrala took a bite out of the new chikuwa bread. “Ooh! That’s really good!! You worked the herbs into it, right? There should be some bitterness, but you did a really good job of balancing the flavors!” “Mhm, Tisse and I tried all sorts of different experiments… Chikuwa even started showing up in my dreams.” “It did?!” “It got mad at me in the dream…demanding I make it more delicious. It was terrifying.” “Hehe, to think you can even have such pleasant dreams now. That’s wonderful.” “It wasn’t a pleasant dream. If anything, it was a nightmare.” Ruti gestured with her body and hands as she explained just how scary it had been having chikuwa angry at her. Unfortunately, however, her best efforts at conveying a terrifying group of chikuwa didn’t really translate, and Yarandrala just laughed happily. Being afraid of nightmares was also a part of being human, though. Back when Ruti had been the Hero, she hadn’t slept, or dreamed, or felt fear. For her to be able to talk about her dreams like this made both me and Yarandrala incredibly happy. “But you managed to make such delicious bread, so aren’t the chikuwa all satisfied now?” I asked. “Mhm.” Ruti nodded. “When we finished it, I had a dream where the chikuwa all praised me.” “Ahaha,” I laughed, amused. Everyone was watching Ruti’s growth with warm expressions on their faces. Time flew by while we were enjoying ourselves. Yarandrala told stories from her trip, and we told her about the Harvest Festival in Zoltan. She had been away from the end of summer through to winter—the blink of an eye in the lifespan of high elves or higher-tier demons. Even in human terms, it wasn’t that long apart, but we still had no end of stories to tell and continued long after we’d finished all the food. We talked about a cute cat she’d seen in a distant land. The children in the neighborhood getting taller. The delicious stew at a snowy mountain lodge. How this year was a good vintage for Zoltan wine. Just simple little scenes of life. “This one has finally learned to bake bread!” “That’s great! Can I try some the next time I come over?” “Of course! Lady Torahime and I bake often!” Yarandrala clapped excitedly for Habotan. Having been raised as the demon lord’s daughter, Habotan had never done any cooking before, but now she could make bread. It wasn’t anything special, just the sort of normal bread that might be made in any house. That was it. Yet that itself was a precious thing. The memories of peaceful, everyday life lasted far longer and were much happier than the violent memories of fighting the Asuras of the demon lord’s forces.