“And that concludes my journal for tonight, Miss Renne.” Nathan said, closing the notebook in his hand. “Tomorrow shall be the beginning of the thirteenth day, counting from the morning after we landed on this planet.”
In the rented bedroom, there were two other people besides Nathan and Renne, the latter of whom was sitting on her bed with one leg crossed over the other and arms folded. Anton, one of the aforementioned people, seemed to be busy writing on his own notebook. Meanwhile, Storm Four looked busy with his tools and devices on his own bed.
Renne then looked straight at Nathan. “It seems Silver rank quests are already highly lucrative, huh? Just in two days you have already earned back the entry fee and got the rest of us registered.” She said while holding her Rock rank guild card and staring at it for a bit.
“We’re financially back to square one, but yes. Common citizens would normally need at least one entire month to earn that much, often two.” Nathan said.
“Do you think the quests you have taken so far are dangerous?”
“To be perfectly honest, Miss Renne.” Nathan folded his arms. “Not really, compared to what we experienced back then on the island.”
“Good to hear.” Renne said. “At least that’s a good sign that the dangers around this region are still manageable for us. Still, don’t let your guard down.”
“Naturally, Miss Renne.” Nathan nodded.
Renne then turned her head to Storm Four, who was still sitting on his bed meticulously tinkering with some of his tools and devices which Renne naturally couldn’t recognize. “Chris, are you doing fine there?”
“No worries, Miss Alphen.” Storm Four replied without looking. “We should see the result in a couple hours.”
“Oh, nonono. Nope.” Renne shook her head with her index finger raised in front of her own face. “Get some sleep. That’s an order.”
“What? But I’m nearly done.” Storm Four said, not wanting to stop.
“You heard the mission leader, Storm Four.” Nathan said with a slight grin.
Storm Four let out a little sigh before speaking. “Fine... Affirmative, Miss Alphen.” He then shut off all the tools and devices, put them away, and went lying down on his bed.
“Seriously,” Renne said with her head lowered, eyes closed, and one hand covering her forehead. “Do any of you ever get a proper night’s sleep? Don’t answer that, it’s rhetorical. Just sleep.” She said right before lying down on her bed and pulling up her blanket.
“Good night, Miss Renne.” Nathan said before going to bed as well.
Anton closed his notebook and gently called Renne. “Umm, Leader. I think I missed the news. What has Storm Four been trying to do?”
“Martin Alphen launched one Probe Drone unit before the thing happened, so Chris there had the idea of accessing it.” Renne replied from under her blanket.
“Oh, I see.” Anton said with a slight nod. “But none of us have the engineering tablet.”
“Precisely.” Renne said. “Which is why he was trying to get around that hurdle. Anyway, you should sleep too.”
“Hmm.” Anton replied. “Good night, leader.” He then deactivated the floating wisp of light above his head and went to sleep like the others.
The night passed peacefully, and morning came. The group as a whole woke up after the sun had left the horizon a little bit, and the first thing they did upon waking up was to gather in Renne’s room and do a morning briefing.
“Alright.” Nathan said after looking around and clearing his throat first. “Taking into account that Storm Four will be continuing his effort in gaining access to the Probe Drone unit, the ones who will go questing today shall be Storm One, Storm Two, and Storm Three. I shall stay to be the active escort of Miss Renne and her crews. Any questions?”
Storm One looked around to his subordinates briefly before replying to Nathan. “No, Vice-Captain sir! I have no questions.”
“Alright, then. Godspeed.” Nathan said.
Soon after, Storm One’s group left the inn. Hilda, Sandra, and Audrey went to one of the other bedrooms, and therefore this bedroom had the same set of people as the night before. Storm Four resumed his business with the tools and devices, while Renne and Anton went to compare notes. Nathan just stood by the door with his arms folded and no words to say.
“Alright, now I put this here and...” Storm Four mumbled while fiddling with the devices.
Beep! Beep!
“Is that a good sign!?” Renne asked upon hearing the beeping sounds, not hiding the fact that she was audibly excited.
Storm Four smirked as he replied. “I think it is.” He then pressed a few buttons in front of him, and a large map was holographically projected above his bed. The viewing range was limited so it was currently impossible to determine which part of the planet the drone was viewing right now.
“Woah!” Anton exclaimed. “You did it, Storm Four.”
“As expected of Chris.” Renne said with a smug grin. “How much access did you gain?”
“Not all of it, sadly.” Storm Four replied. “But I managed to gain authority over its positioning and certain actions. I can command it to come over if you’d like me to.”
“How far is it currently?” Renne asked.
“One second...” Storm Four said. “If I compare these numbers and the sun’s current position, and then this photo of the kingdom’s map... I got it. The drone is currently hovering above the land far south. With its speed it will get to our position in two hours tops.”
“Great! Call it over!” Renne said. “And before you ask why, there’s something I need the drone to analyze.”
“Affirmative, Miss Alphen.” Storm Four said before he began fiddling with the devices again. “Drone called. It’s heading this way.”
“Nice! Now what should we do while waiting...?” Renne put her index finger over her cheek while rolling her eyes. “I know! Anton, come with me!”
“Huh? What do you need me for, Leader?” Anton asked while pointing at himself.
Renne stood up from her bed and grinned. “We go to the other three and discuss our research, of course! Bring all the data you have!” She then left the bedroom to join Sandra, Hilda, and Audrey.
“Oh, right.” Anton said. “Coming!”
Soon, Anton also left the bedroom, leaving Nathan standing by the door and Storm Four sitting on his bed surrounded by his tools and devices.
“What are you going to do now?” Nathan asked without moving from his position.
“Well...” Storm Four looked around himself. “I think I will reconstruct the turrets that were lost back then while I have some free time.”
“Good idea.” Nathan said before opening the bedroom door. “I’ll stand guard in front of their room in the meantime. Godspeed, Storm Four.”
“Yes, Vice-Captain sir!” Storm Four replied, and Nathan left the room.
Two hours later, the drone arrived and was now floating high above the city, away from any human eyes. Renne had recently returned to the bedroom along with Anton, while Nathan remained standing guard in the corridor.
“What would you have the drone do, Miss Alphen?” Storm Four asked with his makeshift controller device in hand.
“Have it go to the island and analyze the strange cloud.” Renne replied.
“Roger that, Miss Alphen.”
Storm Four pressed a few buttons on the controller while Renne looked at him with anticipation. Meanwhile, Anton stared at his own open notebook with one hand covering his chin.
“Leader, are you sure this is going to be a good idea?” Anton asked. “What if that cloud turns out to be actually sentient and capable of inflicting harm? If the Probe Drone gets destroyed we’ll lose our advantage in reconnaissance.”
“I know, Anton.” Renne replied. “It’s a risky move. But we will never move forward if we don’t take risks from time to time.”
“You’re right, Leader.” Anton said, slightly sighing with his head lowered and arms folded. “But I still can’t help feeling worried.”
“Don’t worry. The Probe Drone won’t go down easily.” Renne said while giving Anton a pat on the back. “It’s made to survive the most hostile kinds of environment, including the deadly atmosphere of gas giants. A mere magical cloud won’t even put a scratch on it.”
“And now you’ve jinxed it, Leader.” Anton said with a wry smile.
“Heh, bring it on!” Renne said while grinning full of confidence.
Storm Four then spoke out. “Miss Alphen, the drone is closing the distance to the cloud above the island. Shall we commence analysis?”
“Yes, of course.” Renne said. “But be ready to call it off if you think it’s in danger.”
“Affirmative, Miss Alphen.” Storm Four replied, pressing a few buttons on the controller. “Commencing analysis on the cloud.”
“And now we wait and hope for the best.” Renne said, falling down into a lying position on her bed. “By the way, Nathan.”
“What is it, Miss Renne?” Nathan asked as he came in through the door and closed it behind him.
“Do you think me and my crew can go out by ourselves now? All of us finally have valid identification cards after all.”
“While it is true, I frankly don’t recommend it. We have no idea how ruthless the criminals are in this city and their numbers.”
Renne sighed. “You have a point and that makes me a little upset.”
“Well, assuming that Miss Renne is intending to go out without any escort, I can make a suggestion.”
“Let’s hear it then.” Renne went up into a sitting position and looked at Nathan intently.
“Only go out in at least a group of three, and Anton has to be one of them.”
“Huh? Me?” Anton said while pointing at himself. “Oh, right. I’m the only man among us.”
“Yeah, this planet’s civilization probably still holds the archaic view of men being the stronger and more dependable gender.” Renne let out another sigh as she went back into a lying down position. “Well, so be it then. How about we do just that now?” She turned her head towards Anton.
“What? Right now?” Anton asked in a slight surprise.
Renne got off the bed and stood up with her hands on her hip. “Yup! The drone will need some time to analyze the cloud anyway! Why don’t we all walk around town while waiting?”
“Excuse me, Miss Renne.” Nathan chimed in. “I won’t stop you, but please try to come back before sunset.”
“As if we have the energy to walk around for that long anyway.” Renne smirked while rolling her eyes.
Soon after, Renne along with Anton went to fetch the rest of her crew. It didn’t take long until Nathan heard the footsteps of the group leaving. Just in case, he went out of the bedroom to check on the other two, and as expected both rooms were empty. Renne had taken all four of her crews out for a walk.
Before returning to the previous bedroom, Nathan picked up Hilda’s suitcase and carried it with him. After all, the monetary value of this suitcase was probably higher than Martin Alphen itself, so keeping it in close watch would be a given.
“So it’s just the two of us now.” Nathan said as he entered the bedroom and put the suitcase down nearby.
“Yeah.” Storm Four replied without taking his eyes off the displayed projections.
“You have any concerns?”
“No, sir.”
“Well, alright.” Nathan put one hand behind his head. “But know that I’m right here if you need someone to talk to, either as Storm Four, or as Christopher Hill.”
“Can we really behave as if we’re off-duty, though?”
“You never know.” Nathan shrugged. “All things considered, we may end up being stuck on this planet till the day we die of old age. In that case, our ranks and duties as soldiers of Columbus no longer means anything.”
Storm Four squinted hearing Nathan’s words. “That’s... not like you.”
“Hey, you seriously have been thinking that I’m just a stiff, by-the-book Vice Captain?” Nathan rolled his eyes as he spoke.
“Well... yes.”
“Damn straight!” Nathan laughed, but the laugh was short-lived. He soon quickly reverted back to a dead serious facial expression. “But that doesn’t mean I never consider such a possibility, however unlikely it is.”
After Nathan finished speaking, both he and Storm Four went silent. None of them looked at the other, and the only audible sound in the room was the typical noise of civilization coming from outside through the open window. The silence in the room lasted for slightly over a minute until Storm Four spoke up.
“Vice-Captain sir. Is there an official policy for when a reconnaissance mission gets into something like our current situation?”
“You should know how painstakingly meticulous the higher ups in Columbus are.” Nathan replied. “Yes, there is. Let me recite it for you.” He cleared his throat before resuming. “In the case where participants of a reconnaissance mission are absolutely unable to return to Columbus and, with a high degree of certainty, believe that no rescue or extraction will arrive within the time of their remaining lifespan, the person bearing the highest rank among the participants will lead the others according to their own discretion while carrying the will of Columbus.”
“...” Storm Four didn’t immediately respond to Nathan’s words. It took him a few seconds before he started speaking. “In short, live until we die?”
“Basically, yes.” Nathan said. “With Miss Renne as our official leader. And she may release us all from our duties if she wants to.”
“Will she, though?”
“Well, I don’t wish to gossip about other people, but it’s indeed possible.” Nathan said. “We both have known her for long enough.”
“Right...”
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Both Nathan and Storm Four went silent once more, and hours went by uneventfully in nearly complete silence. The sun was already not too far from the horizon by now, and nobody had returned yet. Nathan let out a sigh, lowering his head and putting one hand on the forehead.
“As if we have the energy to walk around that long, my foot.” Nathan mumbled.
“Want me to send out some scouting drones, sir?” Storm Four asked.
“Not now. Just focus on your monitoring of the Probe Drone.”
“Affirmative, sir.”
Nathan continued standing guard by the door, but it was noticeable that he constantly tapped the floor with his feet, and his posture wasn’t as straight as before. Fortunately, his anxiousness soon ended once he heard the footsteps of several people along with familiar voices talking.
The door opened with a click, and a group of five people led by Renne entered.
“We’re back!” Renne said with her right hand raised and a smile on her face.
“Welcome back, Miss Renne.” Nathan said.
“Were you anxious, Nathan?” Renne asked with a grin. “I bet you were! Here!” She handed a paper bag to Nathan. It felt warm to the touch and there was a bit of steam coming out of it.
“What’s this?” Nathan asked while holding the paper bag.
“Some freshly baked bread! Share them with Chris over there!”
“Where did you get these?”
“I bought it of course!” Renne said with her hands on her hip. “It was cheap so don’t worry about our money. You should taste local food once in a while!”
“Then, you have my gratitude, Miss Renne.”
Renne rolled her eyes with a wry smile in response to Nathan’s words.
“Oh, Miss Hilda.” Nathan said.
Hilda reacted with a slight twitch. “Y-Yes?”
“I moved your suitcase here for safekeeping.” Nathan said, gesturing towards the Space Suitcase near his feet.
“Oh, R-Right! Sorry!” Hilda nervously said while bowing.
Sandra sighed while giving Hilda a pat on the back. “Come on, what’s there to be sorry for?”
Most of the people in the bedroom laughed merrily, but it didn’t last for longer than a few seconds because suddenly...
“Wait, what!?” Storm Four spoke out, sounding audibly surprised. His eyes were fixated on the makeshift control device.
“What’s wrong?” Renne asked. “Something happened to the drone?”
“The drone...” Storm Four said. “It just aborted its analysis procedure and moved away without me giving any orders.”
Everyone instantly went wide-eyed the moment they heard Storm Four’s words. Some of them looked at each other with varying expressions on their faces, but all of them had the same thing coming into their mind, and that was a fleeting moment of hope.
“Any information you can get?” Renne asked, hurriedly walking to Storm Four with her breath going short. If one could hear her heartbeat, they would notice it going faster than its normal pace.
“Give me a minute.” Storm Four said as his fingers danced over the makeshift controller device with projected interface displays floating above.
The next single minute passed with complete silence, and that particular minute felt like the longest minute ever for everyone watching Storm Four doing his work. They were anxiously waiting for any answer which they would hear at any second.
“I got the records.” Storm Four said, breaking the silence. “According to the logs, the drone was given an order to return to the person giving the order. There is also a logged nanomachine signature, and it belongs to... Elana Mayer.”
Another silence covered the room, with all the people freezing up and some of them having their mouths agape. It took a couple more seconds until the information finally sank in and someone broke the silence.
“YESSSS!!!” Renne shouted while jumping, immediately followed by tightly hugging the person next to her, who happened to be Nathan. “SHE’S ALIVE!! LANA LIVES!!”
“Yes, yes. I’m happy for you, Miss Renne. We all are.” Nathan said with a somewhat wry smile from being overwhelmed by Renne’s excitement. At the same time, all four of Renne’s crews also expressed their happiness together in their own way, mainly by hugging each other in excitement.
In addition, it was hard to miss the smile on Storm Four’s face. He kept reading the logs over and over again, and his facial expression remained the same. It was definitive proof that at least Elana survived the crash of Martin Alphen.
“Think you can contact Captain Mayer somehow through the drone?” Nathan asked while spinning along with Renne thanks to the latter’s excited hug.
“Let me try in a moment.” Storm Four replied, and his fingers immediately danced over the makeshift control device. However...
Beep!
“Ah, crap...” Storm Four said with a frown on his face, and then he tossed the device away followed by a dispirited sigh.
“What happened?” Renne asked as she let go of her hug on Nathan.
“The drone’s system caught my technically illegal access and cut it off completely.” Storm Four replied. “It also walled itself off now, so I can’t make any more attempts.”
“Ah, shame.” Renne said with her hands on her hip. “But now we know for sure that Lana survived the crash! And maybe others too!”
“Yes, you would be right, Miss Alphen.” Storm Four said. “Captain Mayer normally doesn’t have any direct authority over the drone, but now she does. This is a strong implication that someone with the authority handed it to her. In that case, at least one of the five engineers also survived.”
“Great! Now we only have to find a way to get to them!” Renne said.
“Please don’t be too hasty, Miss Renne.” Nathan said with his arms folded. “We need information and plans. And probably money too.”
“That’s why I said ‘find a way’, my dear Nathan.” Renne said with a grin. “Anyway, let’s discuss this with everyone once Joseph and the others return.”
Right after Renne finished speaking, a sound of multiple footsteps was heard followed by a familiar voice.
“What was it about us?” Storm One said as his head peeked from the door.
“Ah, Joseph! You’re back!” Renne said without hiding her excitement.
Storm One entered the bedroom as Renne’s four crews gave way, and then he replied. “Yes, we’re all here now. So, what was it that you wanted to discuss?”
Storm Two and Storm Three stepped into the room without saying any words. All eyes now were at Renne, who walked to her bed and sat there before she began speaking.
“First thing first, we just found out that Lana is alive!” Renne said while grinning ear to ear and doing a fist pump with both hands.
Storm One smirked hearing Renne’s words. “Heh, I knew it.” At the same time, Storm Three was visibly smiling delightfully. The same applied with Storm Two.
“Chris!” Renne called. “You remember where the drone was before you called it?”
“Yes, Miss Alphen.” Storm Four replied. “If I cross-reference the position with the image data of the kingdom’s map Storm Two took from the library, the most likely position is Arxhige Capital City.”
Renne nodded before turning back to Storm One. “Lana must be somewhere in the city living like we do. Therefore I want to set a new primary objective, which is to get there and reunite. What do you think?”
“Hmm...” Storm One said. “The distance from Arstjipta to Arxhige is not something to be taken lightly.”
Right after Storm One finished speaking, Storm Three used her wristwatch to project a picture of the kingdom’s map in the middle of the room for everyone to see. Storm Two then stepped forward and put his index finger on a particular part of the vertically projected map.
“This is Arstjipta. We’re here, of course.” Storm Two said before moving his finger to a different spot quite far beneath the previous. “And this is Arxhige Capital City. To cover this much distance on foot we’ll need one month, give or take.”
Nathan chimed in. “Of course we won’t actually walk all the way there. We can ride a carriage, for example. That would only take about three weeks.”
“True, but with the size of our group we can’t simply hitch a ride.” Storm One said. “The best course of action would be to rent at least two carriages for a trip all the way to the capital city.”
Storm Two then followed up after Storm One finished. “Or, take an escort quest that goes there or somewhere close.”
“As if such a convenient quest will appear when we want it.” Renne laughed a bit. “Anyway, going to Arxhige will be our primary objective from now on. Take your time gathering the necessary information and resources, but try your best to get them as quickly as possible. After all, we don’t know if Lana will always remain there.”
“Roger that, Miss Alphen.” Storm One said.
“Affirmative.” Nathan said.
“Alright!” Renne said, standing up with her arms on her hip. “Now that it’s out of the way, how did your questing go today?”
“We got a bodyguarding quest today, and nothing bad happened. The client was satisfied and we got our pay.” Storm One replied. “But then we got this letter when we turned in the quest at the guild.”
Storm One then pulled out an envelope from his suit pocket. There was a seal, but it was already torn off. Storm One took the letter from the envelope and handed it to Renne, who took it and began reading it. Her eyes went wide in less than a minute.
“The duke!?” Renne said without hiding her surprised tone.
“Yes.” Storm One said. “We’re invited to the duke’s residence. All ten of us.”
“What’s the reason behind the invitation?” Nathan asked. “Is it written in the letter?”
“Sort of.” Storm One replied with his arms folded. “He wants to hear from us about his son, whom he had never seen for over a decade.”
Hilda, while visibly shivering, asked. “Y-You mean... Lory?”
“Who else? And why are you shivering?” Audrey said, giving Hilda a light smack on the back.
“Audrey, don’t be so hard on her.” Sandra said with her arms on her hip. “It’s the duke after all. Won’t you be nervous if say, you’re suddenly invited to the grand admiral’s home?”
“Oh, right.” Audrey said with one hand behind her head.
“Okay, so...” Renne said, looking over to Hilda’s suitcase. “Do we have our ceremonial suits in there?”
***
In the area where the entrances into the iron mines of Lunavond Viscounty were, a large group of Rock and Iron rank adventurers were running a campsite. There were tents for various purposes such as infirmary, resting area, kitchen, and war room. Some other adventurers of Silver and Gold rank were patrolling the area, guarding it from possible attacks. Currently, most of the higher rank adventurers were away, venturing inside the mines to exterminate the red centipedes which had infested the tunnels.
Groups of adventurers came in and out of the mines periodically through various open entrances, methodically exterminating any red centipedes they encountered. Due to the somewhat unpredictable nature of the red centipedes, there were still some who didn’t escape injury, and therefore the infirmary tent still had activities as time went by.
“So, what happened?” Doctor Kai asked as he looked at the male adventurer sitting in front of him. There was quite a nasty cut on the upper arm which was stained red all over.
“I got unlucky.” The adventurer replied with a grin. “A stray spit blew up some rocks near me and some sharp pieces got through my arm.”
“Hmm...” Doctor Kai mumbled as his scanner device examined the injury. “Thankfully it missed your artery.”
“Arte... what?” The adventurer tilted his head.
“Artery. How do I put it... anyway, you’d be bleeding badly if it got damaged. Possibly to death. Anyway, some disinfection and bandage should do.”
“No healing magic?”
“Well, too bad. There’s no healer assigned to accompany me. They’re trying to save their strength after all, in case someone with a much more serious injury comes.” Doctor Kai said as he applied treatment to the wound. “There. Try moving around a bit.”
“Eh? Already?” The adventurer stood up and looked at his bandaged arm, and then he tried moving it around in increasingly fast movements.
Doctor Kai folded his arms and sighed a little. “Don’t exert yourself too much.”
“Wow. Thank you, Doctor!” The adventurer delightfully said before leaving the infirmary tent.
“Are the people here just that tough?” Doctor Kai asked himself in bewilderment before looking over to Randy and Albert. “Hey, how’s it going there? Need help?”
“I’m doing fine.” Albert replied.
“All good, Doctor Kai.” Randy replied as he bandaged a female adventurer’s knee. He then looked over to the robed male healer next to him. “You can apply the spell now.”
“Alright.” The healer said before moving his hands in a pattern. “Regeneration Boost!”
The adventurer girl’s knee briefly glowed in green, and then she moved her leg in several motions.
“Much better. Thank you.” She said as she put on her thigh-high sock.
“Don’t push yourself.” Randy said as the adventurer girl left the tent. At the same time, Albert’s patient also left and now there were no more patients in the infirmary tent.
“Well,” Sedhoust, who had been sitting at the corner of the infirmary tent, spoke up. “I must say that Elana’s decision to bring you along was a good one.”
None of Doctor Kai, Randy, and Albert responded to Sedhoust’s words of praise immediately. However, Doctor Kai was the first to reply after turning his head towards Sedhoust.
“Thank you for your kind words, Your Excellency.” Doctor Kai said in a visibly nervous expression.
Sedhoust briefly looked at Doctor Kai before letting out a small sigh and averting his eyes. “I heard that you insisted on coming along despite your circumstances. Would you tell me your reason? Also, for the last time, speak to me as an equal.”
Doctor Kai gulped in an attempt to muster his courage, and then he cleared his throat before replying. “Captain Mayer was concerned about the small number of healers participating, so I decided to volunteer. I’m no healer, I mean... not a magical one. But I figured that I should do this to prevent loss of lives.” He said, looking at his own hand towards the end of his speech.
“With what happened back then, you were reckless.” Sedhoust said. “But at the same time, you have a noble cause and that is commendable.”
“Y-Your praise is wasted on me, Your Excellency.”
“With your skills, I think the three of you can run a clinic.”
“Wait, what?” Albert asked. “But aren’t there healers?”
“Healing Weave isn’t as potent as you might think.” Sedhoust replied.
Randy turned his head towards Sedhoust and asked. “Would you tell me more about it?”
“I shall let the guy over there have the privilege of explaining.” Sedhoust said, looking straight at the robed guy next to Albert.
“A-Ah!” The guy was visibly startled, but then he regained his composure and cleared his throat. “Alright, so here’s the thing. Like what I told the doctor back then, my healing spell merely boosts the person’s natural regeneration. Therefore something like Jean’s case could happen. In addition, the boosted regeneration takes its toll from the person’s stamina so if the wound is too heavy the person will likely pass out on the spot, or worse.”
“Ah, I see.” Randy said. “We have something that works similarly in our homeland. Indeed, it’s only recommended for use on minor wounds.”
“So the technology of your homeland has advanced enough to make something that works like magic, eh?” Sedhoust said with a slight smirk and folded arms.
“I guess so.” Doctor Kai said. “Pardon me, but are there more advanced healing spells that work differently and better?”
“Yes.” Sedhoust replied. “To elaborate more on this, Healing Weave is a form of advancement from either Intensification Weave or Water Weave. The former is generally easier to learn, and that is the type that guy over there is capable of.”
“Yes, indeed.” The robed guy said.
“Meanwhile, the latter is more difficult to learn and more prone to mishaps, but if properly mastered it is better. In addition to healing wounds, it also cleans them up. All without taking the toll on the healed person’s stamina. It also can remove foreign objects, on the note that the caster knows that there is one.”
“What kind of mishaps can happen with that type of healing magic?” Randy asked.
“Put it this way.” Sedhoust said. “For Intensification Weave healing, you simply let the person’s boosted natural regeneration do the actual healing work. But when you use Water Weave healing, you need to control the healing water and tell it what to do.”
“O-Oh, I see now!” Albert said, sounding audibly excited, akin to someone having an eureka moment. “It’s like surgery! Without sufficient skill, mistakes are more likely to happen and that would potentially be fatal on the patient! Did I get it right?”
Sedhoust smiled and nodded. “Precisely. Since you need to study both medical science and Water Weave, entirely different subjects mind you, to master Water Healing Weave, there are not many people delving into this field and their existence is highly valued.”
“Oohh...” Randy, Albert, and Doctor Kai nodded in a mixture of astonishment and understanding the topic.
“By the way,” Sedhoust said, turning his head towards the girl who was sleeping on one of the infirmary’s beds. “Juliana is one of those few Water Healing Weave users.”
“That’s awesome!” Albert said. However...
“No, I’m not.” Juliana spoke as she buried herself under the blanket. “I’m just a good for nothing.”
“Juliana.” Sedhoust said. “I have no way to know how you feel, but are you going to anguish over one mistake forever? I know it was no small mistake. It was a mistake which cost the life of a person, and there is neither denying nor sugarcoating it.”
Nobody else said a word as Sedhoust briefly stopped to take a breath. Juliana was still buried under her blanket and there was no motion visible other than her breathing.
“However, think about the lives you have saved. The wounds and suffering you have relieved people from. The gratitude of those you have healed definitely means a lot, no? Would you let one mistake in your life render the great deeds you have done meaningless?”
There was no immediate response from Juliana. She was visibly curling herself beneath the blanket, but there was no word coming out.
“I...” Juliana started speaking from under the blanket. Her voice was partially muffled but still intelligible enough. “I wanted to be a healer, because I was inspired by my father.”
“Your father is Baron Sebastian Brancott, right? He is indeed an exemplary one.” Sedhoust said.
“It’s true...” Juliana said. “Father used to be an adventurer, until he married mother and opened a clinic instead. Ever since I was little, I have been watching him work. Looking at how his hands danced with his magic, and the smiles and gratitude of the patients he cured, it felt so... delightful. That was why I decided to become a Water Weave healer like him, to follow in his footsteps.”
Juliana briefly stopped. She came out of her blanket and went up into a sitting position on the bed. Her head was still lowered and her eyes were averted from everyone else in the tent.
“I know it was not all smiles...” Juliana resumed. “I have also seen those who were clearly too far gone for father to heal. But despite that, he never gave up. He would still put his utmost effort to the very last bit of hope they had. Fate would often say no regardless, and every single one of that was... devastating.”
Once again, Juliana stopped. This time, she visibly began sobbing.
“But nobody among their relatives ever blamed him. They knew, I knew, that the problem was simply beyond father’s capabilities.” Juliana stopped as her sobbing got more intense. “But I...! I killed a person! I used my magic and someone died because of it!” She put both hands over her forehead, and one could only imagine what kind of anguished expression was on her face.
“So, are you going to quit as a healer?” Sedhoust asked in a straight tone which didn’t show any sign of empathy.
“Lord Grasmord, that’s...!” The robed healer guy spoke, but he stopped after seeing Sedhoust’s hand raised towards him, which was a clear signal not to interfere.
Juliana didn’t respond. She only continued sobbing, and it was noticeable that she was trying to suppress it. The silent scene continued for half a minute until Sedhoust stood up and spoke, breaking the silence.
“Let me ask you once again. Are you going to let your guilt overwhelm you to the point of quitting from your job as a healer?” Sedhoust asked with a serious tone of speech.
“...No.” Juliana replied weakly. “I will never quit from the job I aspired to. That’s my resolve, and I will not waver.” She stood up and looked at Sedhoust in the eyes. Her tone of speech gradually became stronger as she spoke. But then she quickly lowered her head again and averted her eyes. “But... I will need some time to emotionally recover from this. It’s overwhelmingly hard, and the nightmares I have been having every night didn’t help.”
“Take all the time you need.” Sedhoust said, sitting back down on his seat. “I know it has not been easy for you. I can refer you to someone you can consult, if you like.”
“Thank you for the offer, Lord Grasmord.” Juliana said while bowing. “But please allow me to politely decline.”
“Well, so be it.” Sedhoust said while shrugging. “But I have a hunch that he will approach you himself anyway, if he hasn’t already.”
Before Juliana could respond to Sedhoust’s words, there was a sudden loud cheer coming from outside followed by war cries sung in delightful harmony. Sedhoust stood up with a satisfied smile and put his hands on his hip.
“It seems the quest has been completed.” Sedhoust said as he walked towards the entrance of the infirmary tent. “Be prepared. Some injured ones will come soon. But this time they will come in triumph.”
“Y-Yes, Lord Grasmord!” Juliana said. “And thank you!”
“I did nothing to be thankful for.” Sedhoust replied as he walked out. What immediately came to his sight was a bunch of adventurers cheering and celebrating, probably after hearing Kurt announcing the end of the quest.
At a distance, Sedhoust could see Kurt and his partners along with Elana and her heavy armor squad. They were visibly dirty with dust from the tunnels all over their body, but the expressions on their faces displayed nothing but triumph as expected.
“Hmph.” Sedhoust smiled seeing all the celebrations, and then he looked over to the sky. The sun was already nearing the horizon and the day would soon turn dark. The adventurers would camp for one more night before departing home, but Sedhoust had no intention to spend the night outside his own comfortable bed.
With that in mind, Sedhoust activated his flight spell and flew back home. His observation visit hadn’t gone quite exactly as he first intended, but he was still happy with what he had seen. The spacefarers were really a bunch of interesting people.
***