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Chapter 3

It doesn’t matter how long it’s been since I used it, I can never forget healing magic.

This young girl’s name is Brenda, apparently.
I’ve seen her face several times before, but I’ve never had a conversation with her, so this is the first time I’ve talked to her.

「Russell, why are you going to the village?」

「Hmm….. It’s just that I haven’t been able to go home for a long time. So I thought I’d show my face once after a long time.」

「Is that so.」

Here, our conversations stopped for a moment.

It’s me who offered to heal her mother, but what I’m going to use is nothing but a normal level healing magic.
So, if she could be cured with it, then that’s good. If it failed, then, well, that’s that.

……Still, I’m impressed she managed to walk this far from the village.

「Were you planning to go to the city?」

「Yep!」

「And what were you going to do after you arrived there?」

「….I was going to find someone who could help.」

「I see.」

As I thought, she really didn’t think that far ahead.
I still think it’s too reckless of her, but since she bumped into me as a result, I guess it’s a good enough accomplishment for her.
Although I’m not sure choosing me, that didn’t play an active role in my former party to help her mother is the right decision.

「……」

When Brenda realized that I was not interested in continuing the conversation, she too became silent and kept on walking.

***

I hadn’t come back to the village in a long time, mainly because the distance is not easy to reach.
I left the city early in the morning, but by the time I met Brenda and arrived at the village together with her, the sun was already setting a little.

There is a commotion around the gate.
Looks like there’s an argument going on.

「She’s not there either!」

「So we still can’t find her anywhere… this is bad. It’s getting dark already.」

「Just so you know, I’m not going to stop to search for her just because— wait, hey, look!」

One of the people at the gate noticed me.

「You… if it isn’t Russell!? Oh, wait, Brenda is with him too! So Russell found her, huh.」

「Rather than found… It’s more like, I just happened to run into her near the city. More importantly….」

I approached the gatekeeper and hit him in the head.
There’s something I need to check with this guy who is holding his head due to the pain caused by my fist.

「The village has high fences surrounding it and the gates are closed at night. There’s even an alarm system and you’re staying in the hut beside the gate…. despite all of this, you still managed to let Brenda slip out of the village. Just how careless you are?」

「Ugh…」

It’s just as I thought.
When the gatekeepers changed shifts, the substitute guard had the nerve to fool around instead of going straight to his station.
Because of this, an argument erupted, and I can only shake my head in exasperation.

「Anyway, I’ve got an urgent business to attend to, so I’m going to go now, but next time, make sure you close the gate tight and keep your eyes peeled when you’re guarding it.」

It might not be the best greeting considering it’s been a long time since I went back, but, well, it’s not like they will give me a triumphant welcome either.
Besides, I have something more important to do than dealing with this right now. You never know when a medical condition might suddenly turn for the worse, after all.

I took Brenda with me, and we hurried up to her mother, who was suffering from an illness.

***

When the sky went from dark crimson to dark blue, we safely arrived at Brenda’s house

「I’m home!」

「Brenda?! *cough* *cough* …where have you been?!」

She said her mother’s illness is quite severe, but she’s standing near the doorway, not lying in bed.
It must be hard for her to stand up, but… I guess that’s just how much she’s worried about her daughter.

「Well, this and that happened. More importantly, I can see that you’re in pretty bad shape.」

「You are…… if I’m not mistaken, you’re one of the kids in the orphanage in the village, right? The ones that always play with Vince.」

「…..It’s Russel.」

Even this person knows his name too.
As one would expect from someone who approached someone like me, his social circle is big.
I never approach anyone else myself, so I guess it’s natural.

But I am more concerned about her physical condition right now.
She looks as if she might collapse at any moment.

「Let’s go back to your room first. I’ll try using healing magic on you, though I don’t know if it’ll work or not.」

「W-Wait! Russel-kun, we don’t have…… the money….. to afford treatment.」

「I don’t really mind if you don’t pay me and if you still want to pay me anyway, you can pay me later when you have more money. It’s not like it’s a high-level healing magic or anything and I don’t even know if this will work or not.」

For the time being, I persuaded her and asked her to lie down on the bed.
She must have been pushing herself too hard because she started sweating the moment she lay down.
Her complexion went pale at once and her breathing became shallow.

「You’re really in a serious condition right now. Why did you push yourself this hard? Even if Brenda managed to bring back a priest from the city, it would be all for nothing if you lost your life by then.」

「B-Because… I can’t find Brenda anywhere…」

「……Good grief.」

「Uu….*sob* I’m sorry mom… I’m really sorry.」

「Anyway, let’s try and see how it goes. 《Cure》」

This is a simple magic to remove poison.
It’s a magic I’ve been able to use since I was level 2.
……And it’s a magic that the 【Sage】, Jannett, learned after she mastered 《Heal》.

——Surprisingly, her condition changed drastically.

「….Oh my.」

Brenda’s mother got up spontaneously right after receiving the magic.
She then moved her body around as if to check her condition.

「I’m… healed…」

「I see. I thought it was a serious illness, but it seemed it was a simple poison that could be cured with basic level magic.」

「No, that shouldn’t be possi—!」

「Uwaaaaaaaa! Mom!」

Brenda leaped at her mother while crying loudly.
As a result of the impact, the mother, along with Brenda, fell down on the bed once again.
The mother must have understood from her reaction how much she had worried her daughter. She cried while holding Brenda in her arms 「I’m sorry, I’m sorry」.

「Brenda, your mother has not fully recovered yet, so don’t be too rough with her.」

「Ah! You’re right! I’m sorry Mom.」

「Yeah, it’s okay. …… Ah, um, Russell-kun, thank you for helping me. I don’t know how to thank you……」

It’s really just a basic level magic, so you don’t have to, but…… well, if you really want to thank me, if you would cook a light meal for me, that will do.

「If it’s only that much, then I’ll prepare it right away!」

Healing magic and Curing magic that never played an active role in a party that never needs them in the first place.
What happened to me was never my fault or theirs.

It’s just that my synergy with them is bad. That’s all.

My tattered heart gradually feels calmer as I look at Brenda’s smiling face.
Maybe spending time as a priest in this village isn’t so bad of an idea after all.

Her mother, who had recovered and regained her vigor was cooking a dish using dried meat that was brought by her neighbor who came to visit.
So that’s how she was able to keep herself fed for a while even though she was not feeling well.

「That healing magic was really amazing. Did you receive some kind of special job at the selection ceremony, Russel-kun?」

I see, so the result of the selection ceremony that had even caused an uproar in the center of the village back then didn’t reach her ears, huh.

「….I’m just your run-of-the-mill healer mage. I’m different from that guy I often had a sword match with, Vince, who got the 【Hero】 job when we were there together. My job is more of a support type one.」

「Something like that…」

「No, it’s fine. So please don’t mind. There’s no need for a 【Priest】 if no one gets hurt. That’s why it’s a good sign if they don’t need me.」

I didn’t say that because I wanted her to tell me that I was wrong.
I was just trying to reaffirm the fact that compared to the 【Hero】, my job is a plain one.

Yes, it was as if that guy was always the main character.
That’s why his name is known even by the old widow in a house so far from the center of the village.

「Even so… I wonder how I got this disease.」

「Do you have something in mind that might be the cause?」

I casually reply with another question, not expecting an answer.
However, the moment I heard her reply, I felt as if time had stopped.
My heart, which had almost calmed down, was about to start rampaging again.

Is this also one of the so-called fates that had been set by the Goddess?
If that’s true… Then the Goddess must be a very nasty being.

「There’s a dungeon that suddenly appeared near the village. So I went to check it out and got injured. It was after I got attacked by a monster there that my health started to deteriorate.」

I was kicked out of the party I’d been together with for a long time for not playing an active role in our dungeon exploration, and when I returned to my hometown after a long time…. a new dungeon was waiting for me.