Chapter 3

The journey continued smoothly after that, and since this place was unlikely to be visited again, I also collected medicinal herbs. Since the herbs would need to be dried before use, I dried them immediately after collecting and put them in bags.

Barry had several bags and kept them sorted by species.

"Since Sonia has dried them and reduced their volume, we can collect a lot."

"Medicinal herbs have stable prices, and since I can make beginner potions, it’s reassuring to have them. I think it’s better to sell them to the Adventurer’s Guild."

Barry twisted his neck, saying, "Hmm… There might be adventurers who left me for dead in the nearest town after we leave the forest. I want to move on without stopping at the guild and just restock supplies."

There are carriages connecting towns, and the prices are set for the common people. Still, I don’t have any cash.

"I’ll cover it."

The comfort of living changes depending on the noble managing the territory in the Rozvalt Kingdom.

Barry’s hometown is a duchy with little discrimination or poverty.

"In the second-largest city, Marca, in the Fitzam Duchy, we’ll make Sonia’s identification. There are citizen benefits, you see."

Benefits like sweets distributed at New Year, and bonuses for marriage and childbirth are attached to the identification.

"Wow, it’s a good town."

"Once we enter the duchy, I don’t think even the earl will cause trouble. Duke Fitzam is a fair person and will protect Sonia, I believe."

I think there are decent nobles even in the Brodnitzana Kingdom. No, the princes weren’t extremely evil either. They just lacked imagination and were too accustomed to being served.

"We’ll sell the Rock Lizard skin and medicinal herbs in Marca. It’s less likely to cause a commotion there. Probably… I’m considered dead anyway."

Barry said he would cover the cash needed for travel, so we would only stop in town minimally and prioritize entering the Fitzam Duchy as soon as possible.

---

The second-largest city in the Fitzam Duchy, Marca. At the entrance to the large town, there was a checkpoint. When Barry showed his identification, he was surprised.

"I got a report that you died. Are you really the real deal? Undead aren’t allowed in town."

"Of course, it’s me. Don’t forget the face of your childhood friend."

"Well, people who knew you didn’t really believe it. What about the young lady?"

"She’s my savior. I haven’t made her identification yet, so I’ll pay for it."

"The young lady, please place your hand on this magical device."

When she placed her hand, words appeared on the paper.

"Healer, physician, nurse, pharmacist, perfumer, alchemist… Wow, how many job skills do you have? Level 75 for Healer is unusually high. Most of the other levels are in the single digits… How many do you have? You have a full set of combat skills too. Hey, can you really use swords, bows, and spears?"

She can use them, though not perfectly. She learned basic combat skills and used them in actual battles.

Why?

The knights protect the 'party led by the prince,' not the commoner caretakers. Being close means automatic protection, but the priority is the lowest… or rather, they are the first to be left to die.

If she spaced out, she would get in the way of the battle, and if she stayed far away, she would be scolded for being late to treat the injured.

At first, it was really dangerous, and she learned weapon handling and body techniques to avoid dying.

It was so routine that she forgot, but hearing her skills recorded made her a bit happy. In her homeland, she was seen as a 'caretaker who can use healing magic,' and her job skills were never checked, just treated as a 'general helper.'

"Hmm… There don’t seem to be any dangerous jobs like theft or fraud. I’ll issue a temporary identification."

She received the identification and entered Marca.

"Then, I’ll show you to my place. Let’s have a good meal and a comfortable sleep tonight."

I agreed and headed to the inn run by Barry’s family.

---

Barry’s family… His mother and sister and her husband were very happy.

"I didn’t think you were dead, but seeing your face is reassuring."

"If I hadn’t met Sonia, I would have died for sure. She’s my savior… and I plan to marry her, so please take care of her as a family member."

Marriage… Is he serious? I hurriedly greeted them.

"I’m Sonia. Nice to meet you."

"Oh, what a cute girl. Hehe, call me Mom."

"I want to be called Sister too, even if it’s a bit early."

"Then, I’m your Brother."

Mom is Ousa, Sister is Selina, and Selina’s husband is Riku. But, I’ll call them Mom and Sister.

That night, we got a bath and went to bed early due to travel fatigue. Barry in his room, and I in Mom’s room.

"Since we keep the bed in case guests stay, it’s still here."

Her husband… Barry’s father, was an adventurer who was injured in a battle with a monster, managed to return to town, but died despite treatment.

"I was against him becoming an adventurer. But he had talent and his rank kept rising… Then, I suddenly heard he died."

I was thanked many times for saving him.

I realized something after being thanked many times.

I’ve never been thanked so sincerely and seriously before.

It’s not that it never happened, but the higher the status, the more it was treated as 'obvious.'

I didn’t heal to hear thanks.

It’s a job.

A job… Wait, but I don’t get paid. The church pays, and I receive 'necessary expenses' from them. It’s strictly necessary expenses, and I couldn’t even afford snacks from a street vendor.

Come to think of it, am I too naive?

This feels like it will end badly if I keep thinking about it.

---

Despite feeling conflicted, I fell into a deep sleep. The futon was the best.

After the inn’s guests left, I had breakfast with Barry in the dining room. The freshly baked bread was delicious, the egg soup was delicious, and I was happy.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. How about you, Barry? Are you still tired?"

"I’m in my own home and my own room. If Sonia is okay, let’s go to the guild and get a guild card."

"Can you accompany me?"

"Of course."

I don’t think I’ll be cheated at an official guild, but there are many people. I thought I would definitely run into trouble if I went alone, and my bad feeling turned out to be right.

"Huh? Why can’t Sonia register?"

"It’s the Adventurer’s Guild rule. If you’re twelve or younger, you can register with beginner skills, but if you’re thirteen or older, you need intermediate skills, and if you’re eighteen or older, you need advanced skills."

All my job skills were beginner level.

"But my healing level is 75, and in reality, Sonia’s healing is not beginner but expert level."

The guild receptionist sighed and shook her head.

"It’s the rule. Even with Barry’s recommendation, it can’t be changed. Besides…"

She glanced at me.

"Sometimes there are girls who join all-male parties just to be pampered. When such girls join, the discipline is disrupted, and quests don’t progress due to quarrels, causing trouble for the guild."

They are called 'princess play' or 'party crashers.' I thought such girls existed but remembered one from my surroundings. A girl who liked being pampered by men.

"Please calm down, Barry. She is indeed a bit cute, but does she really have that much skill?"

I lack confidence when asked that. Because… I can only use beginner skills.

"Barry, can’t we get a guild card from other guilds?"

"Huh? Oh, right…"

He nodded.

"Commercial Guild or Pharmacist Guild… Since we have herbs from Lake Irene, let’s go to the Pharmacist Guild…"

"Huh?"

The guild receptionist and the male staff at the adjacent delivery counter stood up, making their chairs rattle.

"What herbs do you have from Lake Irene!?"

The male staff asked, but Barry shook his head.

"I didn’t collect them. Sonia did, so I can’t deliver them here."

"No, but if you say you collected them…"

"Huh? Guild rules are absolute, right? So Sonia can’t register at the Adventurer’s Guild. I don’t want to take credit for someone else’s work. It’s the rule, after all."

The staff mumbled, "But…"

Barry sighed.

"I participated in a collection quest at Lake Irene through the guild’s recommendation and was left behind to almost die. This can only happen if the guild staff are involved, right?"

"That’s… not our branch. If you really want, we can ask the guild master to investigate, but…"

"You’re not willing to listen to our concerns, but you want us to leave the items? That’s robbery. I’ll avoid trouble and try other guilds."

He said, grabbed my shoulder, and walked away.

"Is it okay?"

"Don’t worry. Marca is a big town. There are four Adventurer’s Guilds in this town. If we really need to go, we can visit other branches. I could have tolerated being refused, but I can’t forgive insulting Sonia. I don’t want to go there as long as that receptionist is there."

I see. He got angry for my sake, and I felt warm. But I shouldn’t be feeling warm.

Marca is a big town, and I have no idea how large it is. There seem to be many guilds and branches.

Besides, a guild card is the easiest to obtain, but an identification can also be made at the government office. But that’s the government office. Registering as the first child of someone is easy, but for immigrants from other countries, the review is strict and takes time.

"Thinking about it, I don’t want to take dangerous quests anymore. If Sonia and I collect herbs nearby, we don’t need to be part of the Adventurer’s Guild. Let’s try here."

Barry pointed to a sign with a medicine bottle.

"Welcome to the Pharmacist Guild!"

Compared to the Adventurer’s Guild, this building is smaller, and the receptionist is much friendlier.

The receptionist at the Adventurer’s Guild was a strong and beautiful woman, but this one is cute and relatable. Her age is unknown.

"What brings you here? Oh, are you newlyweds? Hehe, I’m sharp at such things. We have various good medicines and convenient items…"

"No, no, not newlyweds, but I’m here to get a guild card and make a buyback request."

"Registering at the Pharmacist Guild? But… you’re registered at the Adventurer’s Guild, right? And you’re a special S-rank. You’re a famous person in this town."

"I was refused by the Adventurer’s Guild."

After explaining the situation, I was told, "At the Pharmacist Guild, there’s no rank requirement."

"Of course, we’ll do an appraisal. If you entered the town without a guild card, you’ve done it once, right?"

When I placed my hand on the appraisal device, words filled the paper.

"Wow, what an incredible number of job skills. Oh, you have Pharmacist. Can you make medicine?"

"Beginner potions, at least."

"That’s the most in demand. Please make them. We welcome beginners. Of course, we’ll check the quality, but even low-quality items are used in the slums. We’ll buy everything. They sell well at a reasonable price to reduce children’s fevers."

High-quality items are sold at the standard price, but low-quality items are sold at less than half the price. The effect is halved, but they can reduce a slight fever or alleviate fatigue and pain.

Not only did Barry get a guild card at the Pharmacist Guild, but I did too.

"When the inn is free, let’s go collecting together. With me, we can go to more difficult places."

"You both have excellent skills, don’t you? Oh, outstanding, outstanding. This will be fun to buy back."

When I showed the herbs from Lake Irene, the staff went wild. They even started dancing, and the staff working inside came out, saying, "Guild master, why are you dancing!?"

"We got a good price."

"Yeah. It was good to get a good price for the Rock Lizard skin too."

"Yeah. It would have been troublesome to go to other Adventurer’s Guilds."

When I told the Pharmacist Guild about the Rock Lizard skin, they called a Commercial Guild staff and negotiated the buyback.

"There are medicines that use Rock Lizard skin, but we don’t need this much."

"The Commercial Guild wants to use this size as a rug. It’s very impressive. We’ll give the leftover pieces to the pharmacists for free since they would be discarded."

"Hehe, I knew you’d say that. The Commercial Guild is flexible, unlike the Adventurer’s Guild. Or rather, everything is resolved by profit."

"Is that clear?"

According to Barry, there isn’t a big difference in the buyback price, so we decided to mainly operate through the Pharmacist Guild.

"Now that we have money, let’s get Sonia’s living supplies."

"Really, is it okay?"

"You need clothes and daily necessities, right? Also, it’s better to visit the church. If it’s found out later that you can use healing magic, it might cause trouble."

The local church helps with weddings and children’s births. A school for commoners and an orphanage are also attached.

It’s definitely easier to live if we get along well.

"If you volunteer to heal at the church once a week, you might be able to do business at the inn too."

"Business?"

"Sonia’s healing magic might be beginner level, but it’s divine. I think it can be a business."

Healing magic as a business… Can it work?

I thought it wouldn’t work, but when I greeted the priest at the church, he said, "If we know you have this power, we can give permission."

"Even with Barry’s recommendation, we can’t give permission without confirmation. Let’s observe for a month once a week. In the Fitzam Duchy, standard fees are set. Depending on the location, it’s five copper coins for a beginner healing magic session here."

Five copper coins can buy a simple lunch, so it’s a bit luxurious for a commoner’s dinner. It’s affordable for commoners.

"If you want to do business at the inn, it’s better to greet the nearby healing clinic. If the times don’t overlap, it would help the townspeople if you operate at night."

"That sounds good. I might go out to collect herbs during the day."

The talks progressed smoothly, and we decided on various tasks.

The basic is helping at the inn, and during free time, I’ll go collecting with Barry. If I can’t go, I’ll make potions.

Once a week, I’ll volunteer at the church, and twice a week, I’ll accept healing magic requests at the inn.

There are many tasks, but I get a day off after five days of work, and mostly, I’m with Barry, so I won’t be working non-stop alone.

And I get paid for the work I do.

I can go to a fancy dessert cafe with Mom and Sister or watch a popular play with Barry. I have such leisure time.

As I continued healing magic, my reputation gradually spread, and I was asked to teach at a nearby healing clinic.

The healer there is an older man, but he bowed respectfully, saying, "Gender and age don’t matter when learning techniques."

It was heartwarming that several healers said this, and we decided to have a monthly study session.

Every day was fulfilling, and before I knew it, a year had passed.

Thank you for reading.