18 Lesson 18: The Past and Sickness (1/2)

”Um, can I have a minute?

When I returned from the Warcraft Forest in the morning, I slept until daylight, and now I was eating breakfast and lunch at the Guild Tavern.

And Mr. Liliera, who would have come to eat there as well, came.

”Go ahead, it's lunchtime, so your seats are crowded.”

”Yes, no, I didn't ask for a seat... excuse me”

Looks like Mr. Liliera tried to say something, but he stays in the opposite seat.

But oddly enough, for some reason, Liliera didn't even try to put her mouth to the meal and just stared at this one.

”What's wrong with you? The rice will be cold.”

”Yeah, yeah. Right!...... HOT!?”

Mr. Liliera burned his tongue for eating in a hurry.

Shit, was Mr. Liliera a cat tongue?

So you stayed put until it cooled down.

You've done something wrong.

”Mr. Liliera, can I have a word with you?

”Huh?”

”Heels”

I cast healing magic on Liliera's tongue.

”Now it's okay”

”Oh, thank you”

Is that it? For some reason, Mr. Liliera turned bright red on his face and shut up.

What's the matter with you?

”Ah, it's hot.”

”No, not at all.”

”If it's so hot, I'd like to drink some cold wine.”

Then, for some reason, the adventurers around me got hot.

I wonder if it's that hot?

”Oh, you know...”

And Liliera speaks to me.

”Yes?”

”The... thank you”

”Huh? What is it?

”Uh, healing magic now... not that you helped me yesterday...”

”Oh, is that so? You're the same adventurer, so you don't have to worry about it.”

Oh, did you come all the way here for that?

He's a man in law.

”That's not true!

And, Mr. Liliera stands up as he slaps the table.

”I don't know much, on the contrary, you came to help me with a terrible tantrum against you, but it's dangerous... even leading adventurers don't want to go into the Warcraft Forest of the Night! There's no way that's such a thing!

”I thought you were a phony, and you were one of the worst adventurers to fool people even though you didn't have the strength! Don't even know your true strength, make your own decisions...”

Lie down on your face as Mr. Liliera has a crying eye.

”Uh, did Mr. Liliera get caught up in something terrible by people called phony adventurers?

Hi Liliera seems to have a strong anger for the word fake adventurer.

I'm pretty sure that's what caused this mistake, right?

”Huh!”

Oh, yabba, there's tears in Liliera's eyes!?

Could this have been a problem you shouldn't have asked!?

But Liliera started talking about herself without crying.

”My hometown is... deceived and destroyed by men named A-rank adventurers...”

”What!?”

A ranked adventurer fooled me!?

No way, I can't believe adventurers fool people......

”My hometown was a village near the Warcraft Forest. It wasn't a particularly rich village, but it didn't freeze to death in the winter, and no one starved to death.”

You're remembering the old days, just a little bit. Mr. Liliera's eyes get tender.

”But when I grew up, I learned that adults were worried that the Forest of Warcraft was approaching the village. The Adventurer Guild had requested logging as a permanent request to keep the forest from expanding, but that's also a story near a big town. There was no adventurer to come to logging from a large town to a remote village. The grownups were always holding their heads about what to do with the woods that were getting closer and closer.”

Indeed, the forest of the Warcraft is vast.

Even I, seen from the sky on my way to Hexi town, was surprised by its size.

Besides, all the trees in the woods are demons, and the number of adventurers is finite even in an attempt to fellow such woods.

It is not hard to imagine that logging operations were a watery situation for burning stones.

”The adults decided to collect less money and make a request to the Adventurer Alliance. Trying to stop the forest progression at all.”

I see, instead of relying on a permanent request, you tried to make a direct request to the Alliance.

Sure. Then adventurers will also come away from town.

”It took a lot of money to make a B-rank request, but we managed to get together. He said this would slow the progress of the forest. It was small and I didn't know what was going on, and I was happy because everyone seemed happy.”

But Mr. Liliera's eyes get rough here.

”That was the time. A demon has appeared that I have never seen from the woods. The demon attacked the village. A large number of people were attacked and they all fled desperately to the next village. My father was murdered by demons.”

Does mere remembrance remind you of the remorse of the time, when Mr. Liliera grips his fist hard?

”The adults who were safe never turned to the Adventurer Guild. I tried to get the demons exorcised with the reward of a request to cut the woods... but the request was not accepted”

”Why not!?”

I couldn't accept the request I applied to the guild!? That's stupid!?

”The demon that attacked the village was an A-rank demon. But B-rank rewards were the limit that we could prepare from the village. After all, we were forced to live in the corner of the neighboring village.”

Mr. Liliera groans heartlessly.

”But that wasn't the end of the tragedy. Those attacked by demons suddenly suffered. The doctor said it was a disease caused by demonic poison. Many of the villagers were unable to work because of it. And not only did your father get killed by demons, but now even your mother is sick and unable to work. I thought it was the end of the world.

Just listening conveys Mr. Liliera's spiciness.

”And finally, the worst of them came. They said they were adventurers who stopped by the village on their way home from work. And they think they're A-rank adventurers. They heard from all the villages in need and said they could defeat the demons. But the grownups told them that they couldn't offer A-rank rewards very much. Then they said,” What? ”

Mr. Liliera looks up and turns her hateful eyes.

”I'll keep it a secret from the guild, so he says I'll get you a job with a special B-rank reward”

Blood drips from his fist, which clenches hard and hard.

”We're all delighted. What good people they are. And I paid him well in advance. Say you never had a chance like this again... I'm sure you were all in a hurry. I couldn't help but hope for convenience. But there was no hope.”

Mr. Liliera sighs, sitting in a chair. It's more like falling down than sitting down, somewhere self-inflicted.

”The adventurers were gone the next morning. I ran away with nothing but a reward. The rushed adults headed to the Adventurers Guild, but they told me they couldn't take responsibility for the request they didn't make through the Guild. Now I think he came because he knew we had been denied a request. No, I don't even know if he was really an adventurer in the first place.”

Ha, and a big sigh.

”Here's what I thought, little one. Oh, we were fooled by a phony adventurer. I was already too sad to know if I was sad.”

Liliera's eyes, speaking of which, were no longer sorrow or anger, as if they were inorganic crystals.

”Little I couldn't even work much, but fortunately my mother's brother was in the next village and I took care of her there. I was treated like a pretty troublemaker back there though. But I was grateful. She also fed her sleeping mother.”

Haha, and Mr. Liliera makes a dry laugh not looking fun at all.

That was so sad and a laugh that made it harder to listen.

”So, here's what I thought when I was little. He wants to cure your mother's illness, everyone in the village. That way, your father didn't have to come back, but he thought we could all go back to the village and have a good life.”

Only a little power returns to Mr. Liliera's eyes.

”And I became an adventurer. To make money, to get medicines to cure everyone's illness, to get the power to reclaim the village. To be a real adventurer who can protect us all.”

That was the point where Liliera chose to be an adventurer.

”So, um, I've talked to you for a long time, but thanks! Thanks to your help, I'm still alive! I didn't have to give up my dreams!

That said, Mr. Liliera holds my hand.

”Thank you so, so much!

That smile is so blind...

”Uh, you're welcome”

What a careless reply I could only give.

……

……

The conversation is interrupted as it is, and I don't know what to tell you.

Looking at Mr. Liliera, she couldn't think of any words to follow, either, blushing and pulling mojis.

”Uh, the... I'm sorry! Suddenly!”

You're embarrassed, Mr. Liliera hurries to let go of her hand.

Then the bright red blood swept from her hand and flew to the table.

”Hands, you're hurt!

I rush to open Liliera's hand and cast the magic of recovery.

Apparently my nails ate into the palm of my hand and bled.

Looks like we were eating this pretty deep.

”Huh? Oh, I'm sorry. I surprised you. When I think of the old days, I follow them.”

So, there's quite a bit of blood, and is it such a hard memory for her that she squeezes her hand until she remembers it so much every time?

”Maybe you went looking for Zenso grass to get that medicine?

”Yeah, because if we had Zenso grass, we could make drugs to cure the disease.”

I know, but was it a disease that could be cured with Zenso grass?

”Well, what's the name of the disease that Mr. Liliera's mothers hang on to?

”Huh? Sick name? Yeah, it's definitely Alsa's disease.”

”Alsa disease! Oh, yeah, that!

I remember, Alsa's disease? Surely Zenso grass can cure Alsa disease.

Is that it? But I seem to have forgotten something...

”Hmm?

I dig up my memories desperately wondering what I'm forgetting.

”Hey, what's going on?

”... ahhh!! That's right!

”What!? What!?”

That's right, that's right! I remember!

”It'll heal, Alza's disease! Even without Zenso grass, it will heal!!”

”Yes!? How!?”

Suddenly I hear that the illness that was afflicting my own mother can be cured, and Mr. Liliera asks me with her eyes round.

”Let's go to Mr. Liliera's village right away! Which way is the village?

”Yeah, from this town of Hexi, it's a village about two days southeast, bypassing the Forest of Warcraft.”

”All right, let's go now!

”Yes!? It's lunch now!? It'll be midnight to reach the relay village when we leave!

”It's okay! Let's go!

I pulled Liliera's hand and jumped out of the Adventurer's Alliance.

◆

”Hey, why are you out of town!? If you're riding a carriage, it's the other way around!?”

”I'm not getting in the carriage, because we're gonna keep going.”

”Yeah!? But it'll take you almost a week on foot!?”

”It's okay, I'll fly away”

”Ha!? Fly!?”

Flying around town is a violation of manners. If we're going to fly, we need to get out properly.

”Flight Wing!!”

I hold Mr. Liliera and activate the magic of flight.