“Well, hello there, my good friend! You’re incredible! I can’t believe you managed to go on a date with Lady Aigis of all people! What magic did you use?” Nyarl asked, surprised.
“Hee hee, Lord Weiss is incredible, so of course things worked out,” Rosalia said proudly—before pouting. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a touch jealous, though.”
Why exactly was she making that face?
I felt bad, but my mind was racing with things that needed to get done, so I couldn’t really focus on either of them. Aigis’s mother was afflicted with a disease that the Hades Church spread themselves, and it was the same illness that would run wild in the hero’s territory in the future.
I had no idea it was already doing the rounds this early. They must have used it as a tool to get powerful nobility under their control.
The Hades Church developed this particular illness, so of course they knew how to cure it. The hero of the game acquired the cure by defeating one of the church’s officers, after all. That meant, as someone who’d played the game, I knew the cure.
“Hey, Rosalia?” I asked. “I’d like to get my hands on mandrake root. Is that doable? I need it immediately.”
“Mandrake root? If you put in a request with the guild, I’m sure they can get you some, but they’re quite rare,” she answered, her face falling. “I do not know how long it would take…”
“Really?”
I groaned after seeing Rosalia’s expression. The hero and his party got their hands on some through an event, so of course this wasn’t going to be easy.
But I needed it sooner rather than later! If the Hades Church got the cure to Lord Reinhard before me, he wouldn’t be able to go against their demands going forward. They’d use and abuse him, then throw him to the dogs, leading Aigis to her dark descent.
“Hm? If you need mandrake root,” Nyarl chimed in, “I have some at my place.”
“Er, for real?” I asked.
“I told you before, my family deals in all manner of medicinal herbs,” he answered. “We also have plenty of rare plants. So…”
“Please, Nyarl. Sell me some!” I begged him.
I grabbed my friend’s hands as I pleaded with him. He looked back at me with wide eyes, then smirked.
“How could I say no to my best friend? Of course I will. But I have a single condition. I do not know what sort of business you’re getting up to, but I wish to be a part of it. I’d rather not be left out.”
Thus, I explained to him that I needed the plant in order to cure a disease.
✦ ✦ ✦
“I never thought I’d get my hands on mandrake root so easily…” I said.
“Hah! You have me to thank for that, dear friend!” Nyarl laughed. “With my help, your plan has made progress!”
“Yeah, I know. I guess you’re not just a pompous advice character.”
“Hmm? I do not know what an ‘advice character’ is, but I can tell that you’re being rude.”
A few days later, I summoned Nyarl to my room after learning he had acquired what I’d asked for. Just as he said, his face as smug as ever, he’d easily managed to get his hands on the mandrake root, a material that was normally quite hard to come by.
The root looked like the face of a human in pain, and, honestly, it was gross as hell. But if I remembered correctly, it had magical powers.
“What are you going to do with this, my friend?” Nyarl asked. “Mandrake roots can grant vitality, but they are also extremely poisonous. You need to know what you’re doing if you don’t wish to harm whoever you will be feeding it to.”
“Yeah, no worries. I’m going to purify it at the Divine Spring and mix it with a potion. With that, the poisonous components should be inverted.”
“Huh. Aren’t Divine Springs places where Divine Spirits and Divine Beasts frequent because the water is so pure?” he asked uncertainly, his brow furrowing. “The nobility in the capital and some of the potion guilds have monopolized such places, and all of them are under the watchful eye of the church. I do not think it will be easy to find an undiscovered one…”
He was right that Divine Springs were incredibly precious resources. Most of them were under the management of someone already, and they wouldn’t let you use one unless you paid up, had significant authority, or had connections to those who did.
But I had played the game, and I knew that there was a Divine Spring in my territory that no one had gotten to yet. Plus, the monsters that lurked there, which I could name by heart, weren’t particularly powerful.
It sounded almost too convenient, but the Hamilton territory would eventually go on to be governed by the hero in the game, so it made sense that the designers would put a Divine Spring there. I was going to make full use of it.
“Hah, going by the look on your face, you know where to find one. When are you going?” he asked immediately. “I must prepare, so I would appreciate being given a heads-up.”
“Huh? Are you coming along?”
“Didn’t I tell you? In exchange for the mandrake root, you’re going to involve me in your plan,” he said. “I don’t want to be left on the sidelines again when you’re in need of help.”
“Nyarl…”
I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. Kaiser and Rosalia weren’t the only ones who thought fondly of Weiss. Nyarl probably wasn’t worth much in a battle, but Rosalia would be able to protect me and one other person, right?
That was when I heard a knock at the door, but it wasn’t Rosalia. It was someone rather unexpected.
“Lord Weiss, Lady Aigis has come to see you. I see the two of you have become quite close.”
“Ooh, Lady Aigis! How are you doing today?” Nyarl said, greeting the young woman with his usual sleazy smile.
“Terrible, now that I’ve seen you. I hate you!” She destroyed him with her words after barely a glance. She was the definition of tsun—no dere!
“So, Lady Aigis. What brings you here today?” I asked.
“Isn’t it obvious?” she said, staring at me dead-on. “It’s about what we talked about. I came to see if you were actually going to keep your promise!”
She was putting on a brave face, but I knew she was worried on the inside. Her small hands were trembling as she waited for my reply. Perhaps there were others who said they would look into trying to cure her mother’s mysterious illness, who then gave up.
I’m not like them, Aigis.
“In that case, do not worry,” I said, smiling in an attempt to calm her down. “I know what needs to be done.”
“You’re…not lying…!” She looked me in the eye. “That’s the truth…”
Suddenly, tears poured down her disbelieving face, and she embraced me in her arms.
Huh? Did she really start trusting me just like that?