Uh, do you have a minute?

　After returning home from the Forest of Demonic Beasts in the morning, I slept until noon and was currently having breakfast and lunch at the guild's tavern.
　Then Liliela-san, who would have come to eat as well, came over.

''Please come in, it's lunchtime, so the seats are crowded.

'No, no, I didn't ask you to sit with me... excuse me.

　Rieliela-san seemed to be trying to say something, but she just sat down face-to-face.
　But strangely enough, for some reason, Liliera-san just stared at us without even trying to eat her food.

'What's wrong?　Your rice will get cold.

'Yes, yes. Right!　.........Hot!

　Liliera-san ate the food in a hurry, which caused her tongue to burn.　
　It's a good idea to have a good time.
　I'm going to have to wait until it was cold.
　I'm sorry about that.

"Can I have a word with you, Liliella?

What?

"Heels.

　I cast a recovery spell on Liliella's tongue.

Now it's safe.

Oh, thanks.

　Huh?　For some reason, Liliera's face turned red and she shut up.
　What's going on?

It's so hot.

I'm afraid not.

I need a cold glass of wine in this heat.

　Then, for some reason, the adventurers around me started getting hot.
　I wonder if they were that hot?

Oh, you know...

　Liliella speaks to me.

'Yes?'

Well thank you.

'What?　What is it?

'Well, well, you know, that's not a recovery spell... but what you helped me with yesterday...'

'Oh, is that what you mean? We're all adventurers in the same boat, so you don't have to worry about it.

　Oh, you came all the way out here for that.
　You're a very conscientious person.

I didn't mean that!

　Liliera-san stands up, slamming the table.

''I don't know you very well, on the contrary, you came to rescue me, who I don't even know, and on the contrary, I came to rescue you from a person who lashes out at you in a dangerous... a forest of demonic beasts in the night that even the best adventurers wouldn't carelessly enter!　There's no way that's a 'thing'!


'I thought you were an impostor, one of those lousy adventurers who deceive people without the ability to do so!　You don't even know what you're really capable of, you just assume that...

　Liliera-san looks down with teary eyes.

''Well, Liliera-san, did those people, those imposter adventurers, do you have something bad happen to you?''

　Apparently, Liliera-san seems to have a strong anger towards the term "imposter adventurer".
　I'm sure that's the reason for this misunderstanding, isn't it?

Huh!

　Oh no, oh no, Liliera has tears in the corners of her eyes!
　Could this be a problem that I shouldn't be asking?
　But Liliera-san didn't start crying, she started to tell her story.

''My hometown, you see.......was tricked by men who claimed to be A-ranked adventurers, and it was destroyed....

"What?

　Being tricked by an A-ranked adventurer?
　I didn't think an adventurer could deceive people like that...

''My hometown was a village near the Forest of Monsters. It wasn't a particularly rich village, but even so, we didn't freeze to death in the winter because of the cold, and no one starved to death.

　Liliella's eyes become a little kinder as she remembers the old days.

''But I've learned that the adults are troubled by the fact that the forest of demonic beasts is getting closer and closer to the village as I grow up. The Adventurer's Guild had sent out a logging request as a permanent request to keep the forest from expanding, but that was near a large town. No adventurer would come to a village far from the larger town to cut down the trees. The adults were always wondering what to do with the forest that was getting closer and closer.

　The Forest of Demonic Beasts is indeed large.
　Even I was surprised at the size of the forest when I saw it from the sky on my way to Hexi town.
　Moreover, all the trees in the forest are monsters, and there are only a finite number of adventurers trying to cut down such a forest.
　It's not hard to imagine that felling the trees was a very pitiful task.

The adults decided to scrape together some money and ask the Adventurer's Guild to do the job. We wanted to stop the progress of the forest as much as possible.

　I see, instead of relying on a permanent request, you tried to make the request directly to the guild.
　Surely that would bring adventurers to places far from town.

''I needed quite a bit of money to submit a B-rank request, but I managed to gather it. He said it would slow down the progress of the forest. I was too small to understand what was going on, but everyone seemed happy, so I was happy.

　But here's where Liliera's eyes turn stern.

''It was at that time. A demon appeared out of the forest, a demon that I have never seen before. The demon attacked the village. Many people were attacked, and all of them fled to the next village. That's when the demon killed my father, too.

　Just remembering the regret of those days, Liliella clenched her fists tightly.

''The adults who were safe headed to the Adventurer's Guild at will. We tried to get them to exterminate the demons as a reward for the request to cut down the forest... but the request was not accepted.

What's going on?

　Your request to the guild wasn't accepted?　How is that possible?

The monster that attacked the village was an A-ranked monster. But the village could only offer us a B-ranked reward. In the end, we couldn't pay them, so we were forced to live in a corner of the next village.

　Liliera muttered, sounding deeply disappointed.

''But that wasn't the end of the tragedy. The people who were attacked by the demons suddenly began to suffer. According to the doctor, the illness was caused by the demon's poison. Many of the villagers were unable to work because of it. And not only was my father killed by the demon, but now my mother was also sick and couldn't work. I thought it was the end of the world.

　Just listening to it, you can feel the pain Liliella is going through.

And finally, the worst of the worst came. They said they were adventurers who stopped by the village on their way home from work. They said they were A-rated adventurers who stopped by the village on their way home from work. They talked to everyone in the village who was in trouble, and said they could defeat the demons. But the adults told them there was no way they could pay for an A-ranked adventurer. So they said," he said.

　Liliera-san looks up and turns her eyes full of hatred.

''I'll keep the guild in the dark and they'll accept the job with a special B-grade reward.

　Blood dripped from his tightly clenched fists.

'Everyone was happy. What good people they are. And I bypassed them and paid them all in advance for what little money they had. They said they never had a chance like this again and I'm sure they were all impatient. They were desperate for some kind of expedient hope. But there was no such hope.

　Liliella sighs and sits down in her chair. It's more comfortable to say fall down than sit down, somewhat out of desperation.

'The next morning, the adventurers were gone. The next morning, the adventurers had disappeared, taking only their reward with them. The panicked adults went to the Adventurer's Guild, but they were turned away when they were told that they couldn't be responsible for requests that didn't go through the guild. Now that I think about it, those guys came because they knew we had been denied a request. No, I don't even know if they were really adventurers in the first place.

　'Huh,' he lets out a loud sigh.

'The little me thought, "Oh, I'm sorry. 'Oh, we've been tricked by an imposter adventurer. I was so sad I didn't even know if I was sad anymore.

　There was no sadness or anger in Liliella's eyes, they were like inorganic crystal.

I was a little girl and couldn't do much work, but fortunately my mother's brother was in the next village and he took care of me there. Behind the scenes, they treated me like I was a nuisance. But I was grateful to them. They even provided for our bedridden mother.

　Haha, not looking happy at all, Liliera-san let out a dry laugh.
　It was a very sad laugh that made it painful to listen to.

'So, when I was a little girl, I thought. I thought that I could cure my mother's illness and everyone else's. Then my father would come back. Then we could go back to our village and live a happy life together again, even if my father didn't come back.

　A little strength returns to Liliella's eyes.

'And I became an adventurer. To earn money, to get the medicine to cure everyone's illnesses, and to get the power to take back my village. To become a real adventurer who can protect everyone.

　That's what you chose to become an adventurer, Liliera-san, and that was the starting point of your decision to become an adventurer.

So, you see, I've rambled on for a while, but thank you!　I wouldn't be alive today if it weren't for you!　I didn't have to give up on my dream!

　Then Liliella shakes my hand.

''Thank you so, so much!

　That smile is so dazzling...

Uh, you're welcome.

　What a witless reply I could only give.

''.........''

....

　As it was, the conversation was cut off and I didn't know what to say.
　Looking at Liliera-san, she too couldn't think of a word to continue, or maybe she was blushing and puzzled.

'Um, well I'm sorry!　Suddenly!

　Feeling embarrassed, Liliera-san hurriedly removed her hand.
　Then bright red blood flew from her hand as a splash onto the table.

''Your hand, you're hurt!

　I hurriedly open Liliera-san's hand and cast a recovery spell.
　It looks like the nails dug into her palm and she's bleeding.
　This one looks like it was bitten in pretty deep.

''Eh?　Oh, I'm sorry I scared you. I tend to do that when I think back to the past.

　There's quite a bit of blood, and is it such a painful memory for her that she clenches her hand until it's this bad every time she remembers it?

''Could it be that the reason you went to find the zengso grass was to get that medicine?

Yes, all you need is zenzos, and you can make a potion to cure the disease.

　I knew it, but what's the disease that can be cured with zenso grass?

So, what's the name of the disease that Liliella's mothers are suffering from?

'What?　Name of the disease?　Let's see, I think it's Alza's disease.

"Alza's disease!　Oh, yeah, that's it!

　Now I remember, Alza's disease. You can cure Alza's disease with Zenso grass.
　Huh?　But I think I'm forgetting something....

'Hmm?'

　What am I forgetting, I struggle to dredge up the memory.

'Hey, what's going on?'

...Aah!　That's right!

What?　What?

　That's right, that's right!　Now I remember!

There is a cure, Alza's disease!　It can be cured without the zengso weed!

"Yeah!　How?

　Liliela asks with a roll of her eyes, suddenly hearing that the disease that was tormenting her mother can be cured.

''Let's go to Liliera's village immediately!　Which way is the village?

''Well, from the town of Hexi here, it's a village about two days southeast of the village, bypassing the Forest of Demonic Beasts.

Okay, let's go now!

Yeah?　It's noon now!　If we leave now, we won't arrive at the relay village until midnight!　

'It's okay!　Well, let's go!

　I pulled Liliera's hand and ran out of the Adventurer's Guild.

　◆

Hey, what the hell are we going out of town for?　"If you're getting in the carriage, you're going the other way!

I won't get in the carriage. We'll go on up.



Yeah?　But that's going to take us nearly a week to get there on foot!

I'll be fine. I'll fly over.

What?　Flying!

　It's bad manners to fly in the city. If you're gonna fly, you might as well get out of the city.

Flightwing!

　I take Liliera-san in my arms and activate my flying magic.

"Huh?　Floating, caaaaaah!

Surprised by the fact that I soared into the sky, Liliera-san hugs me tightly.
.........hmmm, it's so soft. And it smells somehow good.
　..................No, no, no, no!　Don't even think about it!

''Liliera-san, we're going to plunge over the forest to the village, so I'll leave the detailed directions to you.

What?　And it's flying!　It's flying.

Yes, they fly. It's flying magic.

"Flying magic?　What is that?　What is that?

Flying magic is the ability to fly.

'That's not what I meant!

　What in the world are they screaming about, Liliella?

"Well, it was in the southeast direction, I believe.

　After checking the direction, I began to fly towards Liliella's village.

"Whoa!　It's moving!　It's moving!

That's because it's flight magic, so it can move!

What kind of person do you think you are, that you can use attack magic to wipe out demons, use incredible warding and recovery magic, and can even fly?

I'm just a B-ranked adventurer.

It's a lie!

　It's true.

　◆.

Lie, we're really here...

　When the evening sky was beginning to darken, we arrived at Liliela's village.
　The distance to the village was three days, but as long as we didn't bypass the forest of monsters, we arrived at the village surprisingly quickly.
　Liliera-san may be tired of the air travel, but she's slumped down.
　We took a few breaks along the way, but she kept holding onto me the whole time.

Let's go fix up Liliela's mother.

　When I hold out my hand, Liliera-san looks at me with anxious eyes.

''Hey, can you really fix it?''

　Liliera-san asks in a voice that sounds like a mixture of anxiety and anticipation.

'It's okay, let's go!'

Yes.

　Determined, Liliella grabs my hand and stands up.

'My house is this way,'

　You're not going to be able to do that.

　Liliella leads us to a relative's house where Liliella and her son are having trouble.

　When Liliera knocks on the door of the house, it opens with a clatter.

"Who in the world at this hour........is that Liliella?　It's been a while!''

　The person who greeted me was a woman who looked like Liliella.

'It's been a while, aunt.

It's very unusual for you to come home, isn't it? You said you wouldn't come back until you found a way to cure yourself, and all you did was send money and letters.

Yeah, I think I've found a way to cure the disease.

'Really?!'

　Liliera's aunt rolls her eyes in surprise.

'He says he knows how to do it.

　With that, Liliera-san turns her gaze towards me, and Liliera-san's aunt looks at me too.

''Who is this girl?''

You saved my life. He's a great adventurer who can defeat powerful demons all by himself. If it hadn't been for him, I'd be dead by now.

Well, isn't this little boy?　Appearances can be deceiving.

　
　But, well, it's better than being made fun of behind my back.

But still, duh.

　Liliera's aunt stared at Liliera with a jittery glare.

''What do you mean you're dead by now, you stupid girl!

　Thump!　With a tremendous sound, a clunker was swung down on Liliera's head.

''Ouch!

Ouch!　Not that, you stupid girl!　Be thankful it doesn't hurt!　If he was dead, it wouldn't even have hurt!

　Liliera-san is being scolded by a tremendous swordfight.
　Yeah, I'm not going to interfere with anything unnecessary at a time like this.
　If I get involved poorly, it'll fly over here!

Well, looks like you've got this idiot on your case.

　And then I turned to me.

'Oh, no. I don't mind.

'I'm Elysia. I'm this stupid girl's aunt.

Oh, my name's Lex.

　Then Elysia bowed deeply to me.

'Lex, I'm so grateful to you. Thank you for protecting this boy.

　From Elysia's words, I can tell that she's worried about Liliella from the bottom of her heart.

''Don't worry about it. Liliela-san is a fellow adventurer, you are a fellow adventurer.''

So that's how it goes.

'But more importantly, would you mind letting me see Liliella's mother?　If the disease is Alza's, I'm sure it can be cured without the zenith grass.

'Oh, I remember you saying something like that!　The stupid girl was so stupid, I forgot about it!　Come on in.

　Elysia urged us into the house.

'It's a small house, but give me a break.

　It's rude to say this, but Elysia's house was indeed small.
　Well, a farmer's house is just like this.
　Our house used to be like this too.

Liliella's mother is over here. Marielle!　Lilliera's back with her boyfriend!

What?

What?　What are you talking about?

　Elysia suddenly says something weird and we are confused.

'I'm just kidding, I'm kidding. Here it comes in, here it comes in.

　Elysia pushes us into the room where Liliella lives.
　However, the room is dimly lit and it's hard to see where Liliella's mother is.

Is it Rieliela?

　A slightly muffled voice comes from the back of the room.

'Mother!'

　Even if you can't see it, you probably remember the arrangement of things, and Liliera moves dexterously through the dimly lit room.　

''I'll get the lights ready now, just wait a minute.

　With that, Elysia turned on the light, and the entire room was revealed.
　In a word, it was a storage room.
　A bed had been placed in the small storage room and used as a room.

'I feel bad about it, but we're too small for that.

　Elysia mumbles apologetically, feeling guilty about being squeezed into a small space.

'Mother, you've lost weight again...'

　As we turned our gaze to Liliella's words, we saw a woman hugging Liliella on the bed.

''This person........''

Oh, this is my sister, Marielle, Liliella's mother.

　What a horrible sight it was.
　Marielle was terribly thin and her hair was shaggy.
　But what caught my attention more than anything else was her pale purple skin.
　Definitely a symptom of Alza's disease.
　If that speck completely covered her entire body, Marielle-san would lose her life to the demon's poison.

''Oh, you're Lilliera's lover?''

　Marielle, who noticed my presence, asks me.

'What?　No, no!　I'm a friend of Mr. Liliera's!

　Hmmm, are you a friend?　Fellow adventurers?　Or not.
　What the hell does this have to do with anything?　I don't know what I'm talking about.

Yeah, you do!　He's my friend!

　If you deny it strongly, that's what I miss.

'Well, my name is Lex. Mr. Liliella told me what happened, and I'm here to help Marielle with her illness.

Well, I'm sick?

Yes.

　What a not very incurable reaction.
　Nevertheless, I know that it is an act.

　Because once a patient with Alza's disease gets sick, she will continue to suffer until she dies.
　In fact, her breathing is very heavy and her body is sweating fat.
　She must be in considerable pain, but she pretends to be fine for Liliera-san's sake.

'Lex-san, hurry up and get your mother well!

Yes, I'm aware of that.

　Liliella-san stares at me with wistful eyes.
　I won't say it in words, but Elysia-san beside me is also giving me a strong look.
　You can really heal me, right?　And.

'I'll leave you to it, then.'

　I knelt down beside Liliella and took Marielle's hand and activated the magic.

''Elder Heel!''

　A magical light enveloped Mariel-san's body.
　And in an instant, the purple stain that had been eating away at Mariel-san's body disappeared.

''Yes, I'm completely cured.''

　Elder Heel. It's a universal cure spell that I developed in my previous life because I didn't want to bother developing different medicines and spells to deal with the demons that cause various poisons and diseases.

　It's easier to cure all of them with the same medicine than to change the type of medicine every time.
　Same with magic. Let's see, what was the magic that cures this disease? And it's a pain in the ass.
　Well, that's why it consumes a bit more magic than other magic, though.

"..........

　Liliella, Marielle, and Elysia are looking at us in silence.　
　Huh?　You're not pleased?　You're healed.

I mean, it's better now, right?

".........

　Oi, please respond!

""Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?　Already?!

　Oh, I responded.