Riding under the moonlight while sitting on Kaiser’s back 6 days have passed since we left for the Emeraldorr.
We traveled through many ruins, plains, and vast deserts, all filled with vicious monsters. They were formidable, but compared to the foes I’ve faced in the palace, they seemed... not weak, but inexperienced like they hadn't yet reached their full potential.
Afterward, we came across another desert filled with desolation, or perhaps our speed couldn’t let us see anything as Rogrendria was casting a protective barrier around us. Yet it felt weird for not being able to see a single human so far.
I wondered if it was the fear of Rogrendria or something else that didn’t let even heroes come near it. It was something I could never understand or imagine…
And so another night had passed and the day had arrived as we began riding on horses.
Yet something felt wrong…
Whroooooom!
Causing tremors within the surface a herd of large sandworms appeared ambushing us as they circled around while surfing in the sand.
Sigh…
It never ends does it…
Devour!
…
At the same time, looking at Belle and Rogu I felt a bit of annoyance as they kept arguing with each other the whole way without resting even once or perhaps they were already relaxed and it was just me doing all the work.
So I said, “Sheesh look at you two arguing like kids instead of imagining how many things we’ll get to see in Emeraldorr.”
And so they both yelled at me with a “Huuuuuuuuh!?”
But then Rogu continued just to make Belle mad, “Well I’ve been seeing the world through my dreams so I don’t have to be excited since I know what’s going to come but Belle-chan hasn’t seen the current world in eons and yet she’s busy arguing with someone as cute as me.”
“Ara~ Look at Rogu-chan how he’s so carefree thinking that he has all the freedom without forgetting he’s Kazuma-kun’s pet and our maid,” Belle replied in response to piss Rogu off right back.
And as usual, Rogu went into his frozen shock mode.
(I guess that gets him every time she says… I mean it is kind of funny how one of the most feared beings in this world, tried to possess my body but ended up becoming a literal familiar and losing all his invincibility.)
After a while, Rogu gains back his composure as he comes back at Belle bragging about him being a mythic beast.
Then Belle just said something along the lines, “You’re just a twerp and a failure of a fox who couldn’t outsmart a human…”
Sigh…
(This isn’t ever going to end, is it?)
…
[Two Hour Later]
We’d come so far from the second desert that we were at its end there was a lot of greenery beginning to be visible.
Yet their rant had never stopped not even once and my stomach had been growling.
…
[Another Two Hour Later]
After coming through all the way we finally detected the presence of several life forms far ahead as we began seeing farms.
It was a human village! Yet something horrid was ongoing as we all felt it.
When we arrived there were 3 wagons outside, and a lot of noise coming from inside the village. We saw the people trying to get into the camp-like shelters while a few soldiers who were present there tried to hold them back. But at the same time, the screams could be heard coming from the shelters.
So Athena began assessing the situation…
(( "Kazuma-sama, I’ve assessed the situation... This is Olivine Village, and it’s plagued by the disease known as Bloodirflu, or more commonly the 'Black Calamity.' As the name implies, it’s highly contagious, spreading through physical contact or even by breathing the same air as an infected person. The disease rapidly decays blood cells, leading to fever, chills, and eventually stroke, with the victim vomiting blood that turns black. In the final stage, death occurs within an hour." ))
(I see, so the village has been plagued, wait does that mean… we could be infected right now?)
( ( “Yes but thankfully Rogrendria’s barrier is protecting us.” ) )
(I guess he isn’t just a force of nature for show… bet he already knew about this.)
(Damn it this carefree twerp didn’t tell us.)
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
But Isabelle needs to know about it I guess and so I said, “Beware guys this village is plagued with ‘Black Calamity’ Rogu keep maintaining your barrier.
Isabelle came to a shocked realization after hearing the word ‘Black Calamity’ as she immediately rushed into the village.
A royal soldier was there covered in sanitary equipment near the wagons as he said, “Hey! You can’t go to this place! it is Infected with an unknown disease! If you’re exposed to it you’ll die within an hour!”
But she flew into one of the sheltered camps.
We were behind following her and the royal soldier also tried to stop us but I told him, “Do not worry about us, we’re here to help.”
As he stood in confusion, Rogu and I went inside the camp where Belle went in.
The sight was horrific—people were writhing in agony, screaming as they coughed up thick, black blood. Their veins had turned a dark, swollen shade, threatening to burst at any moment.
Then I saw Isabelle talking to someone in a rather saintly robe who turned out to be one of the high-ranking priests of Emeraldorr. I guess it also explains why there are wagons outside.
The high-ranking priest said in a rather frustrated tone, “Wha…!? Black Calamity!? Don’t be Ridiculous! There has been no case of Black Calamity in hundreds of years or sighting of Sanguine Rats! They are a legendary creature it’s impossible for one to be around here.”
Isabelle yelled in anger. “Are you stupid! You can literally see their symptoms match the exact description of Bloodirflu!”
“No! It could be one of many diseases, it could be a curse by demons, it’s preposterous to think it's one of the world-ending plagues!” The priest replied.
Hearing them arguing like this it was about time Belle would explode, so I chose to intervene.
“Hey! What seems to be the case?” I said.
The priest responded, “Another one? Why are guards letting them come in let the professionals do their work.”
This lame priest had begun getting on my nerves but I chose to ignore him and asked Belle “What to do?”
But instead, she replied with a worried face, “Kazuma! Kazuma are you alright? Humans are very vulnerable to Black Calamity regardless of how strong they are.”
My heart skipped a beat knowing she was worried about me but that only made my desire to protect all these people even more so I responded to her saying, “I’m alright Belle, just tell me what can I do for you.”
Then she said, “We can slow down the spreading of infection with Rogu’s barrier but we need to find Breeticule Leaves to make a cure and we also need to find the source (Sanguine Rats).”
Preparing a barrier and finding the source would be an easy thing to do but the big problem was the heck is a breeticule leaf?
So I asked her, “What is a Breeticule Leaf, and where we can find it?”
She responded, “The Breeticule leaves are grown on the fruit tree Breeticuli, it’s red leaves are said to cure any form of disease, so we need to hurry and find a Breeticuli tree or its leaves.
Hearing our chat the Priest grew restless and irritated as said, “Preposturous! There is no cure for Black Calamity, Breeticuli is nothing but a fictional fruit from children’s stories.”
“What the hell are you saying? Have you lost your mind!?” Isabelle yelled at him…
“Me!? You said? You’re the one talking about an ancient disease and its cure from a children’s book.”
And the squabble continued…
(God, this is so fucking confusing. We don’t have enough time for this. I get that Belle wants to help and she seems to know the cause and solution but she has no clue about the modern world. Heck, neither do I. And now this high-ranking priest is sitting here with all his "modern knowledge," convinced the disease is almost non-existent and that the cure is some fictional material.)
They needed to take a breath so I shouted, “SHUT UP!!!!! YOU ALL!!!!”
“Even though there are like a hundred people suffering in agony you guys are squabbling like kids, look at yourself you’re both gasping. I’ll cure them myself and I don’t need a professional or a leaf!” Those were the words I had to say so they could all shut up for once.
And then I called for Rogu.
Rogu!
“Yes sir!?” he said.
And so I told him, “Go find the cause of this plague.”
He replied, “I already did! While those two were quarrelling I sneaked behind you and found this hideous creation of my brother.”
Then he said, “Here take a look, it seemed to have eaten its own and now it looks like that.”
A bloated rodent with ruby-red eyes and razor-sharp claws, its dark, grotesque body looked as if it was drenched in festering decay. Its horns and tail shimmered with a sickening, blood-red glow, giving it a nasty, almost cursed appearance.
"Ahh! That thing... I can't believe it. It's dangerous! Keep it away! It could infect us all and kill us within less than an hour!" the priest shouted, his face pale with fear as he caught a glimpse of the grotesque rodent. "Who would do such a cruel thing? Releasing such a plague-bearing creature upon a small, peaceful village like this..." His voice trembled, eyes wide with horror.
I guess he finally came back to his senses, but on the other hand, Belle looked more terrified.
But before I could say anything she shouted in a rather anxious tone, “Kill that thing right now! Before it kills everyone again!”
“Please hurry and kill that thing! I don’t want to watch something like that happening all over again!”
When she said those words, I realized that she had faced something like this before and it most likely ended in some gruesome way…
“Kazuma do the honors!” Rogu said in a carefree tone.
Alright.
Devour!
(The priest was just standing there not being able to comprehend anything, but the biggest hurdle still remains which is to find the cure… and there isn’t much time left, a few of them already had a stroke.)
(And I bet the actual perpetrator might still be here among us the one who released the rats.)
(But still, this is troublesome I said that I’d cure them without leaves but my plan was to kill them and use the White Phoenix Feather but the way things look now it’s impossible…)
( ( “Kazuma-sama, I’ve realized something... The main ingredient used in one of your god-given items, the ‘Divine Blessing,’ is actually made from Breeticule Leaves.” ) )
I blinked, caught off guard.
(...)
( ( “Kazuma-sama…?” ) )
I remained silent, my mind spinning from Athena’s words. The realization was... overwhelming.
(...Honestly, I’m lost for words. After hearing what you said, Athena, I can't help but wonder. Is this life just a dream, or is it a blessing? It feels so... easy, so much so that it actually feels wrong.)
( ( “As far as I can tell, Kazuma-sama, you're not in a dream state.” ) )
…
(Yeah I know…)
So I brought out 200 Divine Blessings and told the priest to call back all the soldiers and ask for their help in order to make every patient drink starting with the ones who have the worst condition.
The Priest was still standing dazing but then Belle came and administered the Divine Blessing to one of the patients and to everyone’s surprise the patient had awoken in an instant feeling vigorous.
Everyone around us was in awe after they saw the patient recovered and was healthy.
I wonder if it was his pride that had crushed him or if a curtain that blinded him was lifted. He immediately called back all the soldiers and then we administered all the patients.
Despite our efforts, many had already succumbed to the disease. But I had another idea that might bring some semblance of peace to this tragic scene. I turned to a few soldiers and instructed them to gather all the deceased into a single shelter. Once they had done so, I asked them to leave the place. At first, I thought of conjuring them but I’m not heartless so I revived them with White Phoenix Feather.
Around the same time, Rogu’s nose picked up something…
Sniff… sniff… he’s using it again…
…