Chapter 4

A full-time healer gradually becomes stronger.

(3)

Young master Ereb von Ahental, of the Ahental family, tilted his head in confusion while chatting idly with the knights.

‘Wasn’t that guy the herbalist? What was his name again?’

There was no need to remember the name of a commoner. However, he was puzzled.

Not long after the half-breed had boarded the carriage and thoroughly mocked Ramon, he had rushed into his house and brought something out.

‘It seems he fetched some cloth and water. Did he give specific instructions? But how could he communicate when he couldn’t even speak properly?’

He felt something was off.

Ereb was usually very sensitive to such matters.

An unpleasant feeling, as if insignificant ants were gathering to cause some trouble.

As a noble, he prided himself on his keen senses.

Ereb got up from his heavy seat and walked towards the wagon where the patients lay, grabbing the neck of the healer Boyle, who was loitering nearby, and dragging him along.

When he got on the wagon, the half-breed was trying to do something, his hands close to the wound.

‘Could it be magic? Is the half-breed using magic?’

When he pressed for an answer, the reply was the same. He said he was using a heal spell.

‘Well… some monsters can use magic. It’s not strange. However, this half-breed is from the Forest of Resentment we’re heading to… If there are many half-breeds there who can use magic, it could be quite dangerous.’

Especially if their magic is superior to that of humans?

The healer Boyle he had brought along was a seasoned veteran in the manor, not someone he had hired on a whim. He was particularly skilled in detoxification and trauma treatment.

This was an injury that such a person had firmly stated he could not treat.

However…

Boyle’s face was filled with shock.

“This… This is impossible. This shouldn’t be happening!”

At first, Boyle had inwardly mocked the half-breed.

‘You fool! I’ve seen hundreds of patients die from internal organ damage after using heal on such wounds. Experience is important, you know.’

A healer with ten years of experience. It meant he had treated thousands of trauma patients. In other words, he had witnessed thousands of deaths.

Thus, Boyle knew very well the limits of the heal spell.

Gaston’s wound was far beyond that level.

As Messi used his ten fingers to draw a magic circle in the air, a white light began to flow from his hands.

‘Come on, die! The mercenary must die to prove my worth!’

However, even as the heal spell was cast, the wound was not healing. Healing magic usually seals the surface wounds immediately upon casting.

Something felt wrong. Boyle leaned forward to get a better look. And he saw it.

The torn internal organs inside the abdomen were slowly being restored to their original form.

“It’s working, it’s working! The healing is really working!”

A woman couldn’t contain her joy and shouted. The village chief, with a smug look, shrugged his shoulders as if to say, “See, I told you.”

Seeing this, Messi almost lost his concentration. His mind was filled with questions: ‘Why…?’

‘Indeed, worthy of my brother’s disciple.’

Reto smiled subtly. The child Barcelo had brought one day had grown up to show such remarkable skills.

These skills were enough to shock the noble family’s dedicated healer from the capital.

“…Boyle.”

“Yes, yes! Young master, something is wrong. This half-breed is definitely using some trick! This is impossible! I have so much experience…”

Snap.

Boyle’s words were cut off as Ereb’s hand, near his sword, made a snapping gesture. This was the start of the Ahental sword technique, the high-speed draw, a habit of knights who had mastered it.

“Shut your mouth.”

Boyle, like a turtle, pulled his neck in at Ereb’s icy words.

“…I’ll cut your salary by 50%. Do you have any complaints?”

“No, no. Thank you for sparing my life.”

“Can’t you even feel a sense of defeat or frustration at being inferior to a half-breed? Is your life just about existing, you scum?”

“No! I will definitely show you better healing skills next time!”

“I’ll cut it by 70%. If you show improvement, I’ll reconsider restoring it.”

“Thank you, thank you!”

Leaving the miserable Boyle behind, Ereb got off the wagon. There was no word of congratulating the mercenary for surviving.

‘Are the half-breeds’ magic really that advanced? I need to be careful… I should warn Sir Ramon too. I don’t like the man my father assigned as a supervisor, but it’s necessary for the success of this expedition.’

‘And I need more information about this half-breed. If he has hidden skills, he could be a danger to us if we need to use him as a guide.’

Ereb decided to extract information from the female mercenary who had been close to the half-breed when she came to his quarters that night. A woman in the throes of pleasure tends to be more talkative.

* *

The next day, the knights and the mercenary group were busy from early morning.

Following the young master’s suggestion to start as early as possible to see results, Sir Ramon hurried to set off.

As a result, the villagers were also pressed into service, carrying luggage from early morning, frowning and muttering, “What the hell is this?”

“Do they have no parents?”

“I can hear you, village chief.”

“Huh. Make some noise, Reto! You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“You should have spoken up earlier.”

“Damn. Have you talked to Messi? If he doesn’t go, we’ll all be dragged along. Didn’t you hear what the young master said yesterday?”

“I know. Messi has agreed to go. But it’s strange that the knights won’t tell us the destination.”

“It must be a secret place. And even if they tell us where they’re going, what can we do? We’ll just be dragged along…”

“Knowing that, did you introduce Messi?”

“Well, should we all go along happily and have a good time? It’s a sacrifice for the greater good. If you’re in a position of leadership, you should be aware of this.”

“You’re quite the talker.”

While Reto and the village chief were engaging in a verbal spat, the preparations for departure were steadily completed.

Messi, who was going as a guide, was checking his luggage and boots separately. The Forest of Resentment was vast, dangerous, and difficult to navigate.

The more basic things you prepare, the better, he had learned from his master.

“Hey…”

At the unfamiliar man’s voice, Messi looked up. It was a man and a woman he had seen before. The man was Gaston.

“Thanks for saving my life.”

Confused, Messi tilted his head. The woman smiled.

“It’s okay. Gaston heard our agreement yesterday. He was somewhat conscious even in that state.”

“Still, you should act it out. There are many eyes watching us.”

Messi’s observation was accurate. Ereb and Ramon were watching from a distance. Ereb had been suspicious since yesterday, and Ramon seemed wary as well.

Messi couldn’t miss this.

Bang!

“Hey, be careful there. You’ll ruin all the spare weapons!”

Just then, someone dropped the luggage they were loading onto a horse, drawing Ramon and Ereb’s attention.

“Thanks for the kind words. The captain has already paid the price, and if you keep your promise, that’s all that matters.”

“Still… the gratitude of the person saved is not light. Honestly, the captain’s promise is based on the benefit of my survival. If I had died, my family would have received a living support fund for a while. Besides, a mercenary is like the property of the mercenary group. So, you ended up taking the reward without actually saving my life.”

Gaston was a large man in his thirties. Although his face was still pale from the blood loss yesterday, his condition didn’t seem bad.

Thanks to Messi’s heal spell, which had perfectly restored all his wounds, and the red herb prescribed by Reto, which had helped generate blood, he could move around so freely after just one day.

Messi thought that saving a person wasn’t a bad decision, especially since he had saved someone with a sense of gratitude.

Especially when he learned that Gaston had a family to look after.

“I just got married… I have many expenses, so I can’t give you money. But if it’s okay, I can give you this.”

Gaston offered a one-handed sword.

“I noticed your waist seemed empty.”

“I don’t know how to use a sword.”

“A man should have a sword. You could learn this time. I can teach you.”

“I’ve heard it’s too late to learn a sword at my age…”

“That’s for people with advanced mana training and superior sword techniques. For us, who need to learn quickly to put out immediate fires, it’s never too late. I’ve only been a mercenary for three years.”

He even offered a leather sword belt to attach the sword, showing his thoroughness.

“Hey, Gaston. That’s the one you’ve been saving and never even swung?”

“Captain, I may be a mercenary, but I received a good family education. My father used to say, ‘You must know how to give valuable things to others to receive valuable things in return.’ I’ve already received something valuable, so I’m giving something I’ve cherished.”

“Still, it’s a pity. Honestly, I don’t even know what the letters on the blade mean. You should know its value before giving it.”

“I don’t want to know and feel regret.”

When he drew the sword, there were indeed unknown letters etched on the blade, like a doctor’s prescription.

“Thank you, I’ll take it.”

“It feels good to give it.”

As he put on the sword belt and sheathed the sword, the departure horn sounded. Messi intentionally kept his distance from Gaston and the woman as he followed behind.

The sun was slowly rising, and the knights were standing in a tight formation, exuding a well-organized aura. In contrast, the mercenaries looked like a ragtag group.

The difference was even more apparent when he stood on the outer edge of the knights in the front and the mercenaries in the rear.

‘Why are they bringing these mercenaries along?’

Messi wondered. Wouldn’t such subpar mercenaries be a hindrance in battle?

As he was thinking, Reto and the village chief approached. The village chief subtly slipped a bag into Messi’s hand. Opening it, he found well-dried jerky.

‘A well-fed ghost is a good ghost, I guess.’

“Hey, hey. Don’t look at me like that. I’m giving you a gift for a safe journey. Treat the knights well and come back safely. Got it?”

“The village chief is right. Though, his intentions are not good…”

“Tsk!”

Without a word, Messi nodded and attached the bag to his sword belt. It would be convenient to eat a piece while walking.

As they were about to leave, Sir Ramon and young master Ereb approached.

“Village chief and herbalist. I noticed you two got along well with the half-breed yesterday?”

Ereb’s words were laced with malice. Reto and Messi pondered his intentions, but the village chief didn’t catch on.

“Oh, yes. He was like a child I cherished. Of course, he’s different from us, but I treated him like family.”

“Is that so? Then it’s good. You two will also come along as guides. There are communication issues with the half-breed… I can’t just rely on him alone to enter the forest.”

Half of the village chief’s face was filled with shock, like a tree split by lightning. The other half managed to maintain a smile, thanks to decades of superhuman patience as a village chief.

“About ten minutes until departure. Both of you, quickly pack your things and come.”

Ramon’s tone was relaxed, indicating this wasn’t a sudden decision by the young master.

‘Perhaps this young master is more calculating than I thought.’

Ereb’s suspicion of Messi sparked a similar suspicion in Messi’s heart.

The village chief, with moist, red-rimmed eyes, hurried home.

Reto, walking the same path, felt a punch in the chest from the village chief’s words.

“What? A sacrifice for the greater good… What?”

“Shut up!”

The End

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