Editing/Standardisation: Medicine Melancholy
Original Translation: Medicine Melancholy
Strange.
Incomprehensible.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Those were the only thoughts circling in their primitive minds.
Their prey were small in size, but there were so many of them.
Just the right size to swallow in one gulp, they had no scales, no thorns, no shell. Very easy to eat.
And so the wyverns gleefully attacked, but what awaited them was barrages of thorns that pierce through scales, stones with lethal power hidden within, and flashes that incinerated their bodies.
As it turned out, the small creatures inhabiting this intensely incomprehensible terrain weren’t the easy prey the wyverns expected.
Doubts began to rise.
Wyverns are no different from wild beasts.
What they desire is not the blood of their hated enemies, but meat to fill their bellies. It’s a survival instinct. Therefore, it’s only natural that they want to avoid fruitless hunts.
Unfortunately for them, their choice of prey proved to be a big mistake.
If it had been their males, whose duty was to venture out to obtain food… they might not have considered attacking in the first place. Centuries worth of experience baked into their instincts had taught them to avoid attacking “humans” lest they receive harsh retribution.
But alas, they had all vanished without a trace.
Despite it being breeding season, they never returned, even as seasons passed.
Without the males’ food offering, the remaining females had to exhaust the prey in their vicinity to the last, but they still couldn’t find enough food.
If that’s the case, they would be forced to leave their territory. The surrounding areas weren’t welcome, as they were already under control of powerful beasts and dragons.
They had to venture further, into the unfamiliar outside world.
However, in the direction where the sun sets, there was literally nothing.
Thus, they aimed for the direction where the sun rises, crossing deep and vast forests, in search of new hunting grounds.
And so… they came across a territory without owner.
No powerful rivals nearby, only mindless beasts that were more feeble than themselves.
The female wyverns had found themselves a paradise… or so they thought.
Strange.
Incomprehensible.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
No matter how much they’d come to regret their decision… in the end, it all came down to their lack of experience, being creatures that knew nothing beyond their own habitats and picked the wrong fight as a consequence… It would take some time for them to understand and leave.
Iris
“…?!”
I jerked my head up and frantically scanned my surrounding.
I felt like I was looking at something, but I could only vaguely remember it now.
Did I just fall unconscious mid-combat?
The surroundings seemed to have skipped ahead while I was out.
My last memory was engaging in combat with a new wyvern.
But at present, that same wyvern was entangled by the legs by the huge bolas thrown by the mercenaries and soldiers, its wings caught in a net, and anchored to the ground, immobilized.
…Suddenly, our gazes intersected.
“Ah…”
For some reason, I found its figure pitiful, making me involuntarily reaching out my hand…
…but its neck was then immediately pierced by numerous swords and spears.
Even the robust skeletal structure of a wyvern was helpless against countless sharp blades thrust into its spinal joints.
The wyvern let out one last pitiful cry and went limp, its eyes rapidly clouding over, turning white.
Shrinking back at the sight, I closed my eyes tightly…
No, I shouldn’t be absent-minded in the middle of combat like this.
Shaking my head, I pulled myself back together.
As I lifted my gaze… there’s another wyvern peeking its massive body from around the corner.
Some time had passed since we descended into the city.
Everyone was showing signs of considerable fatigue from relentless fighting… but still, we’d managed to come closer to the city center.
While our progress was by no means swift… we’d successfully repelled one wyvern after another, securing the eastern gate and expanding the space for people to evacuate.
On the other hand, the frequency and density of wyverns attacking the city seemed to be gradually decreasing.
Perhaps due to seeing many of their kinds being defeated, the numerous wyverns overhead appeared to have lost their hunger-induced frenzy and slowed down their movements.
Some of them even took off from the city and fled from the battle.
Please, if you’re going to leave… do so as soon as possible Let no more lives be lost…!
Gripping my staff tightly until my hand turned white, I silently offered a prayer.
Suddenly, something else reached my ears, faintly carried by the wind.
“Was that… a child’s scream?!”
I snapped my head up and looked for the source of the sound.
There was nothing visible in sight… but I definitely heard it.
However, right now we were busy dealing with a new wyvern, so there’s no room to go and investigate.
But I just couldn’t leave it be.
Determined, I tugged on the sleeve of Zeltis-san, who was taking command nearby.
“Zeltis-san, may I ask you to take care of things here for a bit?”
“Miss Iris? Did something come up?”
“I heard a child’s voice. I’ll be back as soon as I investigate it.”
“But you shouldn’t go alone… Ah, I see.”
“Yes, this little one’s coming with me.”
I glanced at the white furball at my feet… the Sirius cub, and smiled.
I have an escort with me.
I won’t do anything reckless if this child’s around.
Zeltis-san, who seemed to understand my intentions, relaxed his expression and nodded slightly.
“Please be quick about it. There shouldn’t be any more wyverns around that area, but don’t let your guard down.”
“Thank you very much!”
I bowed my head, and accompanied by the Sirius cub who ran ahead to protect me, I rushed toward the direction where the scream came from.
“There…!”
I turned around two, then three streets before I finally found it.
In the direction my gaze fell upon, there stood a lone soldier. And nestled beside him for cover… was a small girl crouched at his feet.
Further ahead of them, were several wolves clad in white fur… White Fangs, if I recalled correctly.
Should I try to incapacitate them with Divine Spear?
As I pondered and prepared to act, I felt a gaze upon me.
It came from the Sirius cub. If I wasn’t imagining things, her gaze seemed to say, “Leave it to me”, and I nodded in agreement.
“Please!”
At the sound of my voice, the Sirius cub who had been running ahead of me quickened her pace, and…
GAAAAAAAAOOOOOW!!
Her roar reverberated through the air with intensity that seemed inconceivable to have come from such a small body. It was a roar that sent shivers down the spine, invoking an unbearable instinctual fear: death.
The special ability of Sirius the Phantasmal Beast, even in its infancy, was able to make its targets experience visions of death.
All of the White Fangs succumbed to the fear and froze up on the spot.
Wolves weren’t supposed to appear in a city like this either. Perhaps they, too, were driven out of their home and fled here in confusion due to the turf war that’s going on in the mountains. Exposed to their primal fear of death, they had completely lost their will to fight.
“…Go. And never come back here again.”
With those words, they turned tail and fled like their lives depend on it.
I breathed a sigh of relief at their departure. Then, looking at the Sirius cub who seemed to be proudly looking at me as if seeking praises, I smiled.
“Yes, you were very helpful. Thank you.”
The Sirius cub wagged her tail and let out a joyful bark.
I ruffed her fur as thanks, then turned my gaze elsewhere, as my work here wasn’t done yet.
The soldier and the little girl hadn’t moved from their original spots.
Squatting down beside the girl, who looked no more than ten years old, I met her gaze.
“Are you hurt?”
“Saint-…sama?”
Being called that felt somewhat embarrassing, but I nodded.
If that made the girl feel a little safer, it was a small price to pay for such peace of mind.
I quickly assessed the girl’s condition.
There were abrasions here and there, and blood was seeping out, so it looked very painful… but other than a badly bruised fingertip, there didn’t seem to be any major injuries.
The water that was spreading on the ground beneath her… well, I couldn’t blame such a small child surrounded by wolves. I’m just glad that wasn’t blood.
“It’s okay now, let me tend to your wounds…”
“*sobs*… Uwaaaaaah!!”
“Kyah?!”
However, the girl’s face twisted, and burst into tears. Before I could react, she suddenly leapt into my arms, causing me to lose my balance and almost fell.
That reaction didn’t come from relief. It was something else, much more urgent.
“Mom… she’s… under…”
Amidst her sobs, I followed the direction the girl pointed to and held my breath.
…There was a collapsed house.
“Is it that house?”
As I asked, the girl nodded.
So the girl’s mother was trapped inside that house’s rubbles.
If that’s the case, how am I going to save her?
First, I had to somehow clear away the rubbles.
But if I moved them around too much, I might worsen the collapse and further trapping the girl’s mother…
As I struggled with what to do, suddenly, a tingling sensation flared at a spot on my forehead.
At the same time… sharp pain surged through my head, as if a massive amount of information was being flooded into it, leaving me with a strange sensation that I couldn’t put into words.
It wasn’t something I could see. Yet, I could sense it like it was were a dot on an invisible radar within my mind.
Said dot… was right under the collapsed house the girl pointed to.
She’s still alive!
The color and the rate of the dot’s blinking indicated that she was in a dangerous situation, but not fatal… I could feel it, not through logic but through intuition.
And if I could pinpoint her location, I now had a way. I hurriedly began chanting magic.
Back in the game, this spell was learned along with resurrection magic at the end of my primary class, and was used to pull incapacitated players into a safe zone where they could be revived.
Since there was no resurrection magic in this world, I had almost forgotten about this spell, thinking that it was only in the game.
But now, in reality, it manifested as a divine miracle… the “magic” to save people.
“Come to my side… Rescue!”
My surroundings were enveloped in light.
In the dazzling light, the weight of a single person appeared in my arms.
Immediately, a warm, slightly viscous sensation seeped into my clothes.
Quickly, I checked her whole body.
All limbs were intact. However, apart from large lacerations here and there, and the bleeding from the wounds where the rubble had pierced through or compressed the body, there seemed to be no major injuries.
Her body was cold, her breathing shallow and rapid… indicating hemorrhagic shock.
But she’s still alive!
Fortunately, my biggest concern, that being her head and brain, seemed unharmed. With a relieved sigh, I began preparing for my next spell.
“…Mom?!”
The girl beside me gasped, perhaps because her mother had suddenly appeared in front of her, or because of her injuries, or both.
Smiling to reassure the girl, I spoke.
“…She’ll be alright. As long as she’s alive… I can definitely heal her!”
With that, I began chanting again.
But as it is, the girl’s mother had lost a lot of blood.
The normal Heal spell would only close her wounds, but wouldn’t do much more. Therefore, I cast my higher level healing spell.
“Ares Heal!”
The woman in my arms was enveloped in light.
Her injuries vanished from existence, and color returned to her face.
“……It’s beautiful.”
The girl murmured something I couldn’t hear, but I had to devote my full attention to controlling the magic.
Soon, the light subsided… and the completely healed woman seemed to regain consciousness, faintly opening her eyes and struggling to sit up.
“Thank goodness… How are you feeling now?”
“…Saint-sama? Am I… alive?”
“Yes, you’re in no danger now. Your body might be weakened for a while, but please don’t rush and slowly make your way toward the evacuation point.”
The girl’s mother, reminded of her current situation, staggered to her feet.
“Mom looked so hurt earlier, and she’s all healed up… You’re so awesome, Saint-sama.”
“Thank you. You should go with your Mom now, please.”
Saying that, I put my hand on the girl.
The small scratches disappeared from her body, the dirt on her clothes and the liquid that had soaked her thighs were all cleaned up.
I took my gaze away from the girl, who was looking all around her body in bewilderment, and turned back toward the remaining person at the scene, the soldier.
“Can I leave the rest here to you?”
“Y-Yes!”
I was mildly surprised by soldier’s younger than expected voice.
When I looked at him, he seemed to be a new recruit, of the age between a boy and a young man.
His expression was a little downcast… maybe it was due to his frustration at not being able to fight off the wolves with his own hands. But… if it weren’t for his work, the girl would have long been torn apart by the wolves, and finding her mother would have been impossible.
“…I have to thank you as well. Thanks to your perseverance, I was able to save both mother and daughter.”
“Me…?”
“Yes. You should be proud of yourself. I’m going to leave those two in your care.”
I stood up, brushing off the dust from my robe.
Then I realized my hood had come off, so I hurriedly fixed it back in place.
It was at that moment when a voice called out from the direction I came from.
“Miss Iris, we’ve repelled all the wyverns from this area. We’re moving on to the next!”
“I’m coming! And please beware of small monsters as well! I saw some of them breaking into the city earlier!”
After answering Zeltis-san’s call, I quickly scanned the surrounding.
The heat still lingered on my forehead, and that uncanny radar-like ability still remained.
There were no other heavily injured individuals to rescue. Feeling relieved, I dashed towards Zeltis-san, who was waiting for me.
“Sorry for the inconvenience. My work here’s complete.”
“It’s fine by me. Everyone’s gone on ahead to the craftsmen’s street, so I’m here to pick you up.”
“Once we get there… we’ll be in the city center.”
“That’s correct. I’ve received words from Uncle to rendezvous there. Now, if you please.”
Taking the hand offered to me, I was swiftly lifted up.
Grateful for the help, I allowed myself to rest a bit and assess my condition as I surrendered to the vibrations of being carried and closed my eyes, even if just for a brief moment, for a bit of rest until the next engagement…
APM - Translation 