Part 1: Saintess Candidate Arc

21. Village in the Sea of Trees (1)

Translated by: S3

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With her mouth covered, Lily was carried by the large man and transported through the darkness. The cloyingly sweet scent of flowers, along with the accompaniment of a flute and drum, could be heard faintly in the distance, and she knew they were moving by warping space, just like during the Black Market.

If so, no one would be able to come to her rescue. She would have to return on her own. With a sliver of hope, she looked at Gin who was beside her, but he was looking down, and their eyes did not meet.

「If you are captured by the enemy, do not resist unnecessarily. Obey them with a submissive attitude, without attacking or retaliating.」

She recalled what her father, Adam, had said during soldier training. He had told them that if they were captured, they should just not get killed and wait for an opportunity. Following that advice, Lily relaxed her body and adopted a posture of non-resistance.

The place she was taken to was a small settlement. It was surrounded by tall trees, and the moonlight, the brilliance of a sky full of stars, and the fire from a wood-built bonfire stand illuminated the ground at her feet. Since there were no other lights, the distant scenery was dark and difficult to see, but houses with thatched roofs and earth walls were scattered sparsely.

When they reached the front of a large house of the same construction, Lily was set down on the ground.

「Can you understand our language?」

She nodded without speaking.

「There are injured people in this house. We want you to heal them.」

She nodded again. Since there were other adults around, she would be caught immediately if she tried to run away. For now, she decided to pretend to be obedient and comply.

When the door was opened, mats were spread out on the dirt floor, and about twenty people were lying on them. They were wincing painfully and groaning. Lily observed the situation calmly, without changing her expression.

For Lily, who had assisted in Emma's medical team at the Western Fortress, this was a familiar sight.

「Our medicinal herbs couldn't cure them.」

「I understand. Can you prepare some water for me? And dry cloths, please.」

「— Ah, ah. Understood.」

The man flinched at Lily, who neither cried nor screamed.

In the meantime, Lily checked the condition of the injured people at her feet. The symptom where a part of the body was stained black was something she had seen and treated before. She frantically touched their whole bodies with her hands, looking for the cause, but the object she was looking for could not be found.

(...What does this mean?)

「Well? Do you think you can do something?」

When the man who had returned asked her, Lily voiced what she was thinking.

「They are showing symptoms that appear after wearing cursed weapons or armor for a long time. The symptoms should stop progressing if those are removed and the curse is lifted. But they aren't wearing anything. Do you know what happened?」

「I don't know about cursed weapons or armor. Everyone was attacked by a monster we've never seen before.」

「A monster we've never seen before?」

What is that, she wondered, wanting to examine the real thing, but seeing it wouldn't cure the symptoms of the people lying in front of her.

(...Well then, let's assume the weapons or armor were removed and try to remove the curse.)

Removing a curse from a human body is an application of uncursing magic. She was used to it, as she had been using basic uncursing magic every day recently.

「Release. Clear. (Kaijo. Jōka.)」

Light overflowed from her held-up hand and rained down on the injured person. After a while, the black stain on the body began to float in the air and sublimate, so she patiently continued to pour Light Magic onto the spot, and somehow the original skin color returned. The injured person was exhausted, but the look of suffering was gone.

Oh, the man standing beside her and the people tending to the others around them murmured amongst themselves.

「He's cured!」

「Ah, that's good.」

「Now we'll be saved.」

They were making a fuss, but this was not the time for that.

「Excuse me, but please take care of this person. Their stamina must be quite low. You, over there, please slowly give this patient some recovery potion to drink.」

She made eye contact with a nearby female beastman and gave instructions. She was surprised but immediately replied and started moving.

「And you. What is your name?」

「I am Ryo.」

「Ryo-san. Please separate the injured people into those who are critically injured and unconscious, those who are injured and cannot move, and those with minor injuries.」

「Why should I separate them?」

「I will prioritize treating the critically injured. If the critically injured are treated last by mistake, it might be too late, and they could die.」

It took a considerable amount of time to treat even one person, so it would take a long time to examine everyone. It was easy to imagine that the critically injured would die if they were put off until later.

「If I do that, what if I make a mistake?」

That's right, if the order was mistaken, people would die. An extremely heavy responsibility would fall on him. Lily didn't want to accept that. If Lily, a captive, made a mistake, they would condemn her without hesitation.

「Always value yourself first. Sharing what is left over with others is kindness.」

These were the words Emma constantly repeated to her daughter, who always got involved in things. Her heart wavered between the feeling that she must prioritize her own safety and follow instructions, and the feeling that she also wanted to save the people in front of her.

「It would be better for me to concentrate on the treatment, wouldn't it? If so, please ask someone with authority to do it.」

Driven by the groans of the injured, she wanted to treat them quickly, but she endured. This was not the world of humans, so she shouldn't assume that they would easily understand.

「I will do it.」

The silence was broken by a low, heavy voice. When she turned around, a particularly large and imposing beastman was standing at the entrance.

「Ryo. You will properly explain later how you brought this young woman here.」

Ryo gave a small yelp, and his ears and tail stood straight up.

「I apologize for treating you roughly, young lady. What is your name?」

「My name is Lily. Who should I treat next?」

After having him decide the next person, Lily decided to forget everything else and concentrate solely on the treatment in front of her.

The lattice built with wood resembled the iron-barred prison cells used to lock up prisoners at the Western Fortress. Since the beastman who had guided her here locked the door and left, it must be a prison.

After finishing the treatment for all twenty people, Lily collapsed onto the spot. Although the beastmen were cooperative during the treatment, they didn't offer a helping hand to the exhausted Lily and only whispered amongst themselves from a distance.

Eventually, one man spoke to her, and the place she was guided to was here.

The cotton-filled cloth placed in the back seemed to be bedding, so Lily lay down on it and focused on recovering her strength. She needed stamina even to escape.

— It's strange that I'm not hurt, even though I worked so hard to treat them and wasn't thanked.

When she was alone, unpleasant thoughts popped into her head. The events at the castle had hurt her so much that tears wouldn't stop, but when dealing with the beastmen, she felt it was to be expected and didn't mind it.

(...Then, if I just think of the people in the royal capital as being like the beastmen—unable to understand each other—will I not get hurt?)

When she imagined it, the pain in her heart dulled. She felt like she was drifting further and further away from people, but she felt that it couldn't be helped.

(...Oh. It was such a simple thing. After all, His Highness, Daniel-sama, and Cousin Noah are all nobles, and I am from the Western Fortress.)

Their ways of thinking must be very different. She was never in a position to be liked or to understand them from the beginning.

「I was the one who made the mistake. It was my fault.」

Lily tried to distance herself emotionally from her surroundings, protecting her greatly weary heart.

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