Due to the emergency request, our reward was put on hold, which annoyed my mother even further, but she came around once she found out that our friend was in danger. Naturally, the four of us agreed to take the quest, and the guild staff looked visibly relieved that they wouldn't have to go out there themselves. Crystie insisted on coming with us and Guildmaster Kaz reluctantly agreed, knowing she wouldn't be able to work with the worry nagging at her anyway.

The wounded man, who turned out to be the party's scout, led the way once his injuries had been healed. He looked exhausted after running all the way back, but seemed to have recovered some of his stamina. I couldn't help but be impressed by his professionalism. So this was what a real adventurer was like.

We ran at his pace, making sure that Crystie didn't lag behind, since she had the lowest Level among us. I could tell she was pushing herself due to her anxiety, but we made sure to rest often so she wouldn't wear herself out before we arrived. My mum also insisted on a short lunch break where we shared some fruit and energy bars with both Crystie and the scout, who looked surprised at the nutty bars.

"No wonder Daryl was complaining about our food," chuckled the man. "I'm afraid we don't have these in our stores though. Any adventurer would pay quite a bit for something as tasty and nutritious as this."

"I see," said my mum calmly, but I saw that the look in her eyes had turned calculating. I glanced at my dad, but he and Masa were chatting nonchalantly, either ignoring her or completely unconcerned.

I knew the gears were moving in my mum's head though. She was either thinking of selling such bars here or teaching the shops how to make their own, and charging a fee for the knowledge, of course. I reckoned the latter would be more sensible, since they could then produce more on their own without us supplying them constantly. And with Conjuration magic, maybe increasing the supply would be cheaper than expected.

We were on the move again once our lunch was over, and we went at a slower pace for now since we didn't want to get indigestion. Crystie had been silent all the while and I suspected she was chaffing at the delay, but it couldn't be helped.

The scout kept saying that we were almost there, that we would reach the others in two minutes or so, but we hiked for about half an hour after that and there was still no sign of the party. I was beginning to doubt his abilities as a scout but gave him the benefit of the doubt. He was probably just trying to encourage us. Nevertheless, Crystie was clearly getting annoyed. It was a good thing she was too out of breath to scold him.

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The narrow path through the trees finally gave way to a clearing, and a horrific sight greeted us. Large branches of trees and even saplings had been broken and were strewn randomly around, and in the centre of it all were Daryl's party. Some of them were resting on the ground, but two men were doing something to a large, presumably dead thing on the ground. So they had been hunting an animal instead of one of the game monsters. I was curious to see what manner of creature it was and approached them.

The moment I could make out what looked like feathers, I froze and glanced at Masa. The boy's expression had turned grim with his eyes narrowed and his mouth in a thin line. His clenched fists were shaking, but he did not say a word. He simply went to a corner of the clearing and sat down. My parents glanced at him and then turned to me. I simply pointed at the dead bird and they seemed to understand.

I was pretty shocked to see such a large dead animal myself, but we had a request to fulfil here, so I went to see if I could help to heal the wounded people. Dad accompanied me while my mum and Crystie went to the two plucking feathers from the dead bird. One of them turned out to be Daryl. Crystie rushed forward, but I had already turned around, so I didn't witness their tearful reunion.

The scout was already with the three injured members and was offering one of them a potion he received from the guild. Of the other two, one was unconscious and the other seemed to be meditating. The latter was dressed in lighter clothing and a cloak, so I assumed he was a mage. Was that really necessary in a world where everyone could use some magic? Or maybe he just chose to specialise in it rather than learn a physical attack skill.

I started to heal the unconscious one, who had broken his right leg and right arm. I was no doctor, but his party members had done first aid by tying a splint, so I assumed that was what the injury was. This time, I tried keeping my eyes opened as I healed. It was harder to concentrate, but gratifying to see the healing actually taking place. Offhand, I wondered whether this healing aspect speeded up the body's natural healing or somehow simply work like…magic.

Once the man's leg was healed, I turned to heal his arm, but the mage guy stopped me and asked me to tend to their leader, who seemed to have internal injuries. Ah, so he was a healer too, I thought as I saw him put his hands over the other man's broken arm.

I turned to the leader, who was a large man with an axe beside him. He was breathing shallowly and barely seemed to be conscious. Uh oh, his condition seemed to be worse, so maybe I should have started with him first? The scout was hovering worriedly beside him, wringing his hands. My dad gave me a glance, then gestured for me to go ahead while he put an arm around the scout's shoulder and pulled him to where the others were plucking the bird.

Meanwhile, I gave Masa a concerned glance and took a couple of deep breaths before settling down to heal the party leader.