Ossan Saikyō Chapter 8 Part 16
The following day, we decided to do only our training and spend the rest of the day resting.
From early morning, Sphenia had been summoned by the village chief and gone to the mansion.
She was probably being consulted regarding how to handle the situation going forward, but...
Just what kind of standing does she hold among the elves?
It was something I could simply ask, but there was an oddly difficult atmosphere surrounding the topic.
If she ended up saying something like, “I am actually of a very distinguished lineage”, like Freynil, I wouldn't know how to react.
Incidentally, when I returned to the inn last night, Freynil had latched onto me and refused to let go.
I had explained everything beforehand, but apparently she had been far more worried than I realized.
As a result, I spent the day walking around the village with Freynil.
If anything, it only made us look even more like parent and child.
In the afternoon, as we happened to pass near the village chief's mansion, Freynil suddenly looked up at me.
“Come to think of it, I wonder how Hofena-san is doing?”
“Ah, now that you mention it, we haven't seen her even once since then.”
The apothecary Hofena was supposed to be treating patients at the epidemic quarantine ward.
Apparently she had been there continuously.
Visiting her felt awkward, since we'd probably just be getting in the way.
“Wouldn't it be good to go check on her? My «Absolution» might be useful.”
“Hm, I hadn't thought of that.”
Come to think of it, if «Absolution» could even remove airborne paralytic poison, it might serve as a kind of air purifier.
Since it was unusual for Freynil to be this proactive, we decided to visit the quarantine ward.
The quarantine facility was a large building with a high roof.
It looked as though it had originally been a warehouse or something similar.
A sign on the door read [Authorized Personnel Only], but since we technically qualified, we entered without hesitation.
Inside, beds and mats had been laid out across a wide open space, with many patients resting on them.
People resembling nurses in white coats moved around tending to them.
Near the entrance was a doorway leading to another room.
A faint medicinal smell drifted out from within, so that was probably where the medicines were being prepared.
When we entered, we found ourselves in what looked like a small office.
As expected, Hofena was there, mixing medicines with a mortar and various other tools.
“Oh my, Soushi-san and Fray-chan. Did you come to check on me?”
Noticing us, Hofena turned around.
The faint dark circles beneath her eyes were painful to see.
“Sorry to bother you while you're busy. Fray thought her «Absolution» spell might be helpful, so we came to see if there was anything we could do.”
“«Absolution»? Well, yes, I've heard it has some effect. But this quarantine building is quite large, so I don't think it would accomplish much.”
“Um... if I use my【Crucible】skill together with this staff, I think I can reach the entire building.”
When Freynil said that, Hofena immediately replied, “Then could I trouble you?”.
(E/N: Reply basically means, please do help out.)
So we returned to the large room where the patients were resting.
Looking around again, it really did seem to have been a warehouse originally.
There were hardly any windows.
As an environment for recovering patients, it felt terrible.
Though I wasn't an expert, ventilation seemed pretty important.
Since Hofena accompanied us, we moved to roughly the center of the room.
She informed several nurses that Freynil would be casting «Absolution».
“Here I go.”
Freynil raised her staff and began concentrating.
Because she was using【Crucible】, it took around 20 seconds before the tip of the staff began to glow.
A gentle light spread throughout the room.
The next moment, I felt as though the air itself had physically changed.
The air even seemed to taste better somehow.
“This is... such a noticeable difference. Or perhaps the conditions before were simply that bad?”
A bit of life returned to Hofena's exhausted eyes.
Could it even reduce fatigue?
Several patients let out sounds of admiration.
“Ahh...”
“Ooh...”
Maybe it really did have that sort of effect.
Freynil had always had a strong saintly aura, but between this and her『Divine』attribute, maybe she really was a Saint.
“Amazing, Fray. I think that had a significant effect.”
“I'm glad if it helped... Sorry, Hofena-san, for doing something like this so suddenly.”
“No, Fray-chan. I think this magic was truly meaningful. Even I feel more energetic now. If possible, would you mind doing it again tomorrow?”
“Soushi-sama, would that be alright?”
“Of course. We can come first thing in the morning.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps because she was happy her magic had proven useful, Freynil nodded with a radiant smile.
That saintly quality of hers seemed to overflow naturally, and even I found it dazzling to watch.
◇◆◇
When we returned to the inn shortly before evening, Rani immediately greeted Freynil with a grin.
“So, how was your date?”
Freynil's face instantly turned bright red.
“It wasn't like that... at all!”
The sight was oddly heartwarming.
“Hey, Soushi. Next time, take me on a date too.”
“It wasn't a date... but sure, if the opportunity comes up.”
“Yes! That's a promise.”
As I brushed off Rani's teasing, Sphenia entered the room.
“Welcome back. Have they decided how to handle things?”
“Yes. A decision has been made regarding the adventurer from Ozu.”
Sphenia sat down on her bed while directing a meaningful glance my way.
“On that note, a request has come from the village chief. He would like your entire party to come see him later today.”
“The village chief wants to see us?”
“You are the heroes who saved the village. He wishes to formally express his gratitude.”
“I see... Alright. Let's head over after you've had a chance to rest. You two are coming as well, right?”
“Yes, Soushi-sama.”
“Gotcha. I wonder what kind of reward we'll get.”
“By the way, I heard you visited the quarantine ward on your way back. Hofena couldn't stop praising Fray's «Absolution» spell.”
When Sphenia said that, Freynil looked both embarrassed and delighted.
“I'm just happy that I could help.”
“From what I heard, most of the patients said they felt much better afterward.
…
As I mentioned before, Fray's magic hardly seems like something belonging to an E-Rank adventurer. Do you have some sort of secret?”
“There isn't any secret. I only gained a few skills thanks to Soushi-sama... and this staff as well.”
“Yes, that's certainly part of it. The《Mourning Staff》is something many magic users would dearly love to possess.”
“Wait, Fray's staff is really that good? I always thought it just looked plain and kind of didn't suit her.”
Rani's comments remained as blunt as ever.
To be fair, the《Mourning Staff》did look rather plain.
“Soushi-sama and I obtained it when we defeated the Lich. It's my treasure.”
“Ehh~ So lucky~ Soushi, you'll get me a good weapon too, right?”
“If we find a powerful sword, of course I'll want you to use it. That depends entirely on luck, though.”
“If it's luck, then we'll probably get one soon. Assuming you really care about me.”
“Please stop putting weird pressure on me like that...”
When I gave her a pained look, Rani burst out laughing.
“Ahaha! Hey, Sphenia, what do you want? A bow, I guess?”
“Yes. I would certainly like a powerful bow. And a staff as well... though it would need to be a short one.”
“You hear that, Soushi? Better work hard.”
“What exactly am I supposed to work hard at?”
If anything was going to work hard, it would probably be my【Bad Luck】skill.
Normally, weapons and armor were crafted by blacksmiths and the like.
However, items such as the《Mourning Staff》could occasionally drop from monsters.
Because such items were difficult to obtain, they often came with special effects, and acquiring them was considered one of the marks of a high-ranking adventurer.
Thanks to【Bad Luck】, our party had a much higher chance of encountering rare monsters, which should give us an advantage in that regard.
Whether the skill was actually linked to my personal wishes, however, was something only the gods knew.
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E/N:
Bad Luck-sensei needs to work harder, yeah? Else… the girls will attack Ossan 😏 iykyk!
Stay tuned!
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