Chapter 52

A light was visible.

My body wouldn't move. The fact that I could see the ceiling meant I was indoors somewhere.

Where am I? From the sensation, I was lying on a thin cloth. Beneath it, there was probably straw.

“Hey, you’re awake.”

The golden hair that peered down at me. As my blurred vision focused on the golden hair, Reshid’s face became clear.

“...Where am I?”

Just as I was about to ask where I was, a sharp pain shot through my chest.

“Cough, cough!”

Again, a clot of blood appeared in my mouth. This time, it wasn’t mixed with vomit. Hemoptysis. So, there must be an injury somewhere in my respiratory system.

“Are you okay?”

I waved him off with my hand, feeling that I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it, and swallowed the blood.

“...I’m fine, just a bit of choking.”

As I tried to speak, a wheezing sound mixed in, and I was sure I would be doubted. I needed to get better quickly.

“Where are we?”

To divert attention, I asked a question. While talking, I let my magic spread throughout my body.

“It’s a shed on the outskirts of the settlement.”

“Outskirts?”

What does that mean? If they were going to take care of me, they could have taken me to the village. And they could have left me where I was.

“I refused, but Dena... carried me here.”

“I see.”

If Dena carried me, it makes sense. I couldn’t be left there in front of Reshid, and I didn’t want to cause a commotion by bringing a blood-covered me into the village. That’s probably what happened.

I rechecked my body.

My whole body was in pain, but the internal injuries were particularly severe.

Several ribs were broken. Because of this, my right lung was filled with blood. My spleen was almost ruptured, and there was free gas in my abdominal cavity... which means some part of my digestive tract was also damaged. There it was. A hole in my stomach...

Still.

“I seem to have quite serious injuries, yet I’m still alive...?”

Moreover, my injuries were much lighter than they were before I lost consciousness. They were starting to heal, I suppose. And the pain was also less intense compared to the severity of the injuries.

“That’s...”

“It’s because I did some massage earlier, you know.”

Suddenly, that carefree voice echoed in the room. At the entrance, Dena stood, having just entered.

“Ah, Dena. Thank you for your help...”

Interrupting my words of gratitude, Dena said with a smile.

“It’s fine. If a terrifying monster like a demon had invaded the village, it would have been a disaster. This was the least I could do.”

Smiling, Dena placed a bundle of birds, which she had just hunted, on the ground.

“...If it’s Dena, you can handle it, right?”

“Yeah, well.”

Her smile, as always, gave no hint of what she was thinking.

“Still, thank you for lending us this place.”

I bowed deeply while sitting. I intended to show proper gratitude.

“You really don’t look your age.”

Dena muttered, seemingly impressed. I didn’t respond to her words.

“Well, Reshid, shall we go?”

I slowly stood up and brushed the sand off my undergarments.

By the time the conversation was over, the treatment was already complete.

“No, wait. You’re still seriously injured, right?”

“Not really.”

I demonstrated by hopping around. Seeing this, Reshid’s eyes widened.

“You’re crazy! You!”

“It must be thanks to Dena’s massage, right?”

Turning to Dena, she nodded meaningfully.

Reshid, judging from my condition, stood at the entrance of the shed.

I was about to follow, but Dena stopped me.

“Ah, wait, just a moment... Crow, was it? I need to talk to you. Reshid, could you go outside for a bit?”

It was a question, but the pressure was such that there was no room for refusal. Whether Reshid felt the pressure or not, he gave a quick response and obediently closed the door. As he left, he looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Is there something else?”

“No, no, I just wanted to clear up your suspicion.”

The suspicion must be about the dragon rampage. So, I was still suspected.

“Wasn’t that already cleared?”

“It was, wasn’t it?”

Tilting her head, Dena confirmed. Then why?

“But you can use fighting spirit, right? I’ve never seen a mage who can use fighting spirit.”

“!?”

Unconsciously, my body tensed. My gaze wavered.

Right, Dena saw the battlefield and couldn’t have missed it. This is bad. I’ve lost the evidence to prove my innocence.

“It’s fine. I already said there’s no suspicion.”

“Why is that?”

“Well... I forgot. I only showed it to Reshid.”

As I said this, I pointed outside with my thumb. Is there something outside?

“The demon’s corpse is lying outside. If you look at the wounds, you’ll understand.”

“Were they that distinctive?”

“I thought, ‘He’s not used to it, is he?’ The dagger wounds are clearly different from the internal injuries on the dragon’s neck.”

“I’ve never used a dagger as a weapon.”

It was for dissection, and killing animals could be done with magic or bare hands. I hadn’t done any sword training since my time in Shium.

“So, I thought, ‘He’s too inexperienced to be the one.’”

“You don’t have to say it so clearly.”

“It means you have potential!”

Dena patted my back vigorously. I choked a bit again.

“Next time, come as a guest.”

Waving goodbye cheerfully, Dena sent us off. We started running.

I’m tired of trouble.

“By the way, I have something to give you.”

“What is it? Suddenly.”

As if remembering, Reshid searched through his bag and pulled out a small cloth bag.

“Here.”

While running, he skillfully threw it to me. I managed to catch it and peeked inside. There were some fangs, pointed bones, and something wrapped in bamboo leaves.

“The valuable parts taken from the demon. The rest could be made into a taxidermy, but that would be too much trouble, so I didn’t bring it.”

I see, that’s why the corpse I saw earlier had cloth wrapped around various parts.

“This is... fangs and horns? And this... is it internal organs? Eyes?”

There was no blood, but the fresh meat inside smelled fresh.

“They’re the eyes and gallbladder. They’re apparently medicinal, but I don’t know much about their uses.”

“I see...”

I’ll sell them to Gustav later and ask about their uses then.

“By the way, I said I was massaged by Dena earlier, right?”

“Yeah. You were using fighting spirit even while carrying you, but once we got to the shed, you also used acupressure. You really can do anything, can’t you, legendary explorer?”

“What is this ‘massage’?”

“You’re so unbalanced. You can do so much, but you don’t know so much...”

“What can I do? I’m still a young street kid.”

“Kids don’t say that.”

Reshid gave me a disapproving look, then moved away to avoid the trees. He soon ran alongside me again.

“Massage is a treatment using fighting spirit. It’s not as effective as a healer’s immediate cure, but it has its effects. It’s an important first aid for us explorers without magic, but not many can do it.”

“Can’t you do it, Reshid?”

“To do it, you need to be proficient in the circulation of qi and blood in the body and be able to channel fighting spirit into others. I can’t do it. I can’t learn it.”

Reshid denied it with a sullen look. There was no hint of embarrassment in his profile. It must be that difficult.

“Ask the old man for more details. He can probably introduce you to someone knowledgeable.”

“I’ll do that if I get the chance.”

But if I understand the principle, I’m sure I can use it. I had that confidence.

“Here we are.”

“Thank you for your hard work.”

We arrived at the entrance to Iralin before evening. On Hak, I could run for about an hour, covering a distance that would take more than half a day on horseback. This speed should be worthy of praise.

“Now, all that’s left is to report to the old man.”

“Right.”

I walked alongside Reshid, who was patting my shoulder, relaxed.

“By the way, thank you.”

“What for?”

Caught off guard by my sudden words of gratitude, Reshid was taken aback.

“You didn’t run away and brought Dena back, didn’t you?”

Considering safety, you could have run to this city. But you went back to the demon with Dena.

Reshid turned away.

“If you weren’t there, I would have lost a gold coin.”

His words, said without expression, sounded cool.

Not pointing this out was probably a kindness.