Chapter 30

The day after treating Fran and Sera.

While gazing out the window of the clinic, I was thinking about something.

Depending on how I handle this, my life from now on might change.

It's a serious matter.

"Yuel, I baked some cookies. Do you want to eat them?"

"......! Thank you, Ellis!"

Looking around the clinic, Ellis, who apparently made some snacks for the three o'clock snack, and Yuel, who took them with a full smile and ran over to me, were there.

Taking a bite, the cookie crumbled in my mouth.

It's delicious.

However, this has nothing to do with my worries.

"Yuel, are they tasty?"

"Very yummy!"

Today, the size of the chest area of the nun's habit Ellis is wearing seems to be a bit off.

The way Ellis' chest is bulging because she continues to wear it, even though it doesn't fit, is also very concerning.

Yuel, who is munching on the cookies with a full mouth, looking very happy and enjoying them, also has nothing to do with my worries.

My worry is just one thing.

The simple gate of the clinic, visible from the window.

A green-haired woman in armor is peeking from behind it.

A woman I don't recognize.

I was racking my brain about how to deal with that woman, whom neither Yuel nor Ellis had noticed.

If the woman at the gate was just a woman, it would have been fine.

I could have thought, "Oh, she's a fan of mine."

However, while I don't recognize her face, I do recognize the armor she's wearing.

Sometimes I see her guarding the city gates.

Sometimes I see her apprehending unruly criminals.

I've also seen her leave the city gates in formation, presumably to go and slay monsters outside the city.

...That is the armor of the city's knight corps.

Why is a member of the knight corps peering at this privately-run clinic?

And in a way that seems like surveillance.

The first thing that comes to mind is that the female knight came to the clinic for treatment.

However, that's unlikely.

The knight corps should have their own dedicated healing mages.

And they should be skilled enough to use High Heal.

While I am recognized among adventurers as a skilled healing mage who can use High Heal, I haven't shown anyone that I can use Ex Heal.

Except for Ellis, Yuel, and Eito, I should only be seen as a healing mage who can use High Heal.

I did say I could use Ex Heal at the slave market, but it wasn't really believed.

And they would choose to get free treatment from a healing mage of similar skill within their own ranks.

Moreover, she's just peeking from the gate and not even entering the clinic.

If she came to the clinic, her purpose is not for treatment.

So, it should be considered that she came here as a knight, not as a customer.

That is, to apprehend a criminal.

This is what knights do in the city.

Who did she come to apprehend?

There's no need to think about it.

It's me.

Ellis and Yuel are not the type to commit crimes easily.

Unless it's a dire situation where they have to weigh the law against their lives, they don't usually do anything criminal in their daily lives.

But what about me?

I'm the kind of person who gets kicked out of a clinic for sexual harassment.

I've peeked at a pure nun's bath and groped a barmaid's butt.

I've also fondled an adventurer's chest and lifted a skirt.

If you add all the small things I've forgotten, I've done many similar things.

...It wouldn't be strange if someone reported me.

However, it's unlikely that a knight would come to apprehend me for such things.

It's probably still at the level of a stern warning, I think.

But in addition to that, I've also tried to make money by going to illegal gambling places.

Though I did hide my face at the time.

I do have a reason to be suspected.

In fact, I can't think of any other reason why a knight would stake out in front of the clinic.

No, there's still the possibility that she's a personal acquaintance of Ellis.

The possibility that she's my stalker is not zero.

If a knight is really trying to catch me, I can't run anyway, so I'll stay positive.

As I was thinking about this, the female knight at the gate started to move.

The female knight shook her head vigorously, made a determined pose, and advanced inside the gate with a resolute expression.

Then, the door to the clinic was opened by the female knight.

Despite the focused gazes of me, Yuel, and Ellis, she opened her mouth—

"Umm, I'm Marrietta of the Merhach Knight Corps! I came here today because I heard there's an excellent healing mage here!"

She stumbled over her words.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Ah, no, that's fine."

Ellis, who was puzzled about why a knight had come to the clinic, sat the flustered Marrietta in a chair and served her tea. She kept glancing at me, but it seems Marrietta wasn't an acquaintance of Ellis. Marrietta also didn't seem to know me, and it didn't seem like she was a stalker.

"Hey, Marrietta... why were you looking at the clinic from outside for so long?"

"Well, I'm very shy. It's hard to time when to enter an unfamiliar place... and, you can call me by my first name."

...

I see.

It seems that Marrietta, the knight, wasn't staking out the clinic but was just waiting for the right moment to enter. How misleading.

"So, what's the knight's business here? You're not here for treatment, right?"

Ellis asked.

Indeed, there were no visible injuries on her body.

It also didn't seem like she had come to apprehend me. There was no tension in Marrietta, and her attitude was clumsy and nervous. She seemed like a weak girl who had been given a menial task.

"Well, I heard there's a healing mage named Shiki here..."

She said timidly, looking at me.

"Me?"

"Yes. I'm not sure where to start... Ah, have you heard that monsters have been appearing more frequently around the city recently?"

"Ah, yes."

That's what Ruruka mentioned before. Come to think of it, the extermination request was issued by the knight corps.

"Well, this morning, the cause of the increase in monsters was identified. To resolve this, the captain ordered us to gather as many skilled healing mages as possible. According to the information provided by the adventurer guild, Shiki is a skilled healing mage who can use High Heal multiple times, despite having a penchant for young girls. ...You have a lot of mana, right?"

Marrietta said hesitantly. It seemed like she wasn't sure of the information. She probably followed a rumor, and it seems like she also heard some baseless and cruel rumors. Ellis' gaze was a bit painful.

However, the fact that she came to the clinic suggests there might be a reason.

"Hmm... yeah, I do have a bit more mana than others... but the knight corps has healing mages too, right? Skilled ones who can use High Heal. Why are you gathering healing mages now? And I'm not a pedophile, by the way."

"Ah, well, the cause of the increase in monsters is a special monster called the Crankheight Turtle. It's a large turtle monster that, when it detects prey, releases a special toxic mist over several dozen meters, and in some cases, over a hundred meters. This mist weakens the prey. To deal with this, it's necessary to use Heal regularly to suppress the symptoms, but the current number of personnel in the knight corps is not enough to keep up with the treatment, according to the captain."

Crankheight Turtle.

I've never heard of it, but it sounds troublesome. In a game, it would be a boss monster that uses area-of-effect poison attacks. It seems to be the cause of the increase in monsters, so it's probably because this monster is approaching the city, causing other monsters to flee from the forest.

"If it comes to the city, it could be disastrous. Ah, but if that's the case, then the customers...! No, never mind."

At Marrietta's words, Ellis' eyes widened as if she had an idea, but she immediately shook her head vigorously, as if blaming herself. She might have imagined an increase in customers. ...Maybe because of the financial struggles she had until recently.

As I watched Ellis struggle—

—suddenly, one of the buttons on Ellis' chest popped off with a "patsu" sound.

The button flew in a gentle parabola.

One button off, and her chest slightly opened.

Ellis, who was wringing her hands and twisting her body, fighting a sense of guilt, didn't notice.

In that fleeting moment, my eyes were drawn to the delta zone that appeared between the layers of clothing, but then I saw Yuel in my field of vision.

Yuel, staring at the flying button... opened her mouth wide and touched her chest area, looking dazed.

For a moment, our eyes met.

I don't want to be looked at like that.

It's no good.

No matter what, it's impossible.

I can't console her.

...I'll pretend I didn't see it.

I'll pretend I didn't see anything and get back to the conversation.

"Ah, it sounds like a troublesome monster."

"Ah? Ah, yes. The poison of the Crankheight Turtle is slow-acting but very powerful. If it comes to the city, the treatment won't keep up, and the city will suffer significant damage. The Crankheight Turtle is slow, and it's still deep in the forest, so there's no need to worry about that."

Marrietta, glancing at Ellis' chest for a moment, continued.

She's a good girl who can read the room.

I'll take a good look at the gap in Ellis' clothes after Yuel calms down.

"Even though it's deep in the forest, are you going to go and exterminate it? Do you know where it is?"

"Ah, yes. This morning, some adventurers came to the guild, saying that their party members got a strange disease when they entered the forest and wanted the treatment costs to be covered as expenses. They were exposed to the Crankheight Turtle's toxic mist, so if we go to the place where they were exposed, the monster shouldn't be far."

It sounds familiar.

It must be Ruruka.

Her audacity sounds like Ruruka.

It's probably Ruruka.

So, the fever Ruruka and the others had was caused by the Crankheight Turtle. They were exposed to a small amount of the toxic mist, and the slow-acting poison affected them. Ruruka, who came to me for healing magic as soon as she returned from the forest, didn't suffer from the delayed effects of the poison.

As I was thinking this, Marrietta straightened up and spoke.

"The movement speed of the Crankheight Turtle is not fast, but if we take too much time, we might lose it in the vast forest. To deal with the toxic mist and ensure a safe extermination, I would like to ask the skilled healing mage, Shiki, to come with us."

Then, with a sincere expression, she told me—

"......And, um... the button on your chest, it came off. That's, um, impressive."

She said this to Ellis.

Ellis, blushing and trying to cover her ample chest, was stared at in shock by Yuel.