Chapter 92

"Let me just say this, I don't want to monopolize patients or anything like that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. And while I'm at it, I can imagine why patients don't come to you."

"...If you know, could you tell me?"

From Yuri's attitude, I thought that although the treatment fees might be high, she wasn't the type to be arrogant just because she was a healer. If I could find out why patients don't come and improve on it, I thought, that would be good.

"It's because my treatment fees are low, and yours are high."

"Huh? That's it?"

"It's not the only reason, but I think it's a big one. If you're the same healer, people usually go for the cheaper one, right?"

Yuri, who usually doesn't show much emotion on her face, looked surprised.

"...Is that how it works? I see. Then, I'll lower my treatment fees from today."

"Huh? Wait—"

"Could you tell me how much you charge for treatment? Oh, but maybe it would be better if I helped out at your clinic as your apprentice, considering the number of patients you get from the Adventurer's Guild?"

"Wait, wait, wait. I have no intention of taking an apprentice! Besides, you've only been a healer for a short time. How can you take an apprentice? You can barely handle your own stuff!"

It seemed that being an apprentice was a done deal in Yuri's mind, and the conversation was progressing on its own, so Reta hurriedly tried to stop it.

For a moment, the girl looked dissatisfied.

"Then, I'll be an employee."

She said this as if she had just come up with a good idea. Reta's head started to hurt again.

"Look, I can't just decide whether to hire you or not, and even if I did, it would cause trouble with the Recovery Guild, so it's not possible. No way, no way."

"Then, what should I do?"

"I don't know!"

"...I see. I'll go to the Adventurer's Guild and ask them to hire me at the clinic."

With that, she turned on her heel and started walking in the direction of the guild.

"Whaaat... You're so proactive. But, somehow, you're different from the healer I heard about."

Reta was worried about letting Yuri go to the Adventurer's Guild alone. What would happen if a healer with a less-than-ideal reputation suddenly appeared? There are adventurers who don't think highly of healers.

The adventurers in this town that Reta knows are all nice people, but he doesn't know everyone. He doesn't think anyone would do anything to a young girl, but he can't just leave her alone.

"Millett probably wouldn't be happy if that girl suddenly appeared and said she wanted to work at the clinic. She's a bit laid-back, so I should go with her to explain the situation."

In his heart, he thought he might have gotten involved with a troublesome kid, but he wanted to believe that Yuri wasn't as greedy as the healers he had heard about, given how easily she was willing to lower her fees.

"Hey, wait up. I'll go with you."

"Will you recommend me to the Adventurer's Guild?"

"I can't do that, but I'll go with you to avoid any trouble there."

"Okay, thank you."

Reta smiled along with the girl, who smiled happily. It would be nice to build a good relationship with the first healer he met in this town. If that happens, it might create a better environment for patients to see healers. Reta and Yuri started walking towards the Adventurer's Guild. That's when it happened.

"Kyaaaaa!"

A scream echoed from the middle of the town.

***

The young man leading the bandits known as the "Black Wolves" — Jiru — was grinning twistedly in front of the town of Amrus.

"Leader, the others are already surrounding the town."

"Tell them to invade. Kill anyone who resists, and after taking supplies and any women and children who can be sold, withdraw immediately. Don't touch the lord. We don't want to anger the nobles."

"Understood."

The man who had been waiting ran off to deliver the message. Jiru had his followers call him "Leader" and himself "Black Wolf" because he didn't want to admit he had become a bandit. He called himself a righteous thief and even took on a name that was too grand for a bandit because he couldn't forget his past as an adventurer.

"What about you, Leader?"

"I have something to do, so I'll act alone. Got it?"

"Sure. We'll do our best even without you. You just go wild and take what you want."

"I'm counting on you. Lately, we've been getting complaints about the quality of our prey."

"By the way, what do you have to do?"

"Yeah—The guy who ruined my life is apparently living a very happy life. I can't forgive that."

Jiru's target was Reta and his family, who lived in Amrus. He wanted to destroy and trample their happiness. The raid could have been on any other town. The territory of the Baron of Rodenvalt had several towns. There was no need to attack a developing town, especially one where the lord lived.

In other words, Jiru's target was Reta. The raid was secondary.

"Reta, you're wrong if you think you can be happy alone. I'll make you take responsibility for turning my life into this."

His former party members were no longer around. The male swordsman had died during a raid. The female member had abandoned him when he became a bandit, and he didn't know where she was or what she was doing. The new members had quit in anger over Reta being fired.

Jiru believed that all of this was Reta's fault. If Reta had been more obedient to him, none of this would have happened.

"I'll mess up your family, your friends, and your new town."

No one could stop Jiru, who harbored such selfish anger.