The village they arrived at after riding Shanly’s wagon was one that had traveled quite a distance by carriage.
Perched on Miyako’s shoulder was Umi, who had completely transformed to look like an ordinary cat.
Along the way, several villagers had cast curious glances at the unfamiliar pair of girls, but Shanly paid them no mind as she drove the wagon onward.
By the time they arrived, dusk had deepened considerably.
“Alright, we’ll be arriving soon!”
Gone was her usual overly-friendly merchant demeanor—instead, Shanly was simply frantic.
The wagon stopped in front of a perfectly ordinary house.
“Is this…?”
“It’s Shanly’s home~”
“It’s surprisingly normal, I thought it would be more—”
“Were you expecting a continental-style house? Or perhaps something more like a mansion?”
As the two hesitated with their words, Shanly let out a soft chuckle.
But even her expression lacked its usual composure.
“Ordinary is best. If you stand out, people think you’re rich and you end up in trouble~”
So said the shrewd merchant who looked like a young girl but was actually thirty years old.
Miyako thought to herself that this must be her way of navigating the world.
“Alright, this way!”
They were led to a room on the second floor.
Likely a bedroom.
Even before the door was opened, the sound of someone coughing violently could be heard from inside.
And it was Umi whose ears twitched in response.
“Meow, the scent of plague… Miyako, Fuuka, stay close to me!”
“Huh?”
Shanly didn’t react to the girlish voice—apparently, she couldn’t hear Umi.
“Only the contractor and their family can hear Umi’s voice.”
“F-family…”
Miyako’s face flushed bright red.
“Here I go. …Meowgh!”
Umi’s tail swayed.
“Eh…? Protect!?”
“Whoa, somehow I feel a bit more energetic?”
From the tip of Umi’s tail, a sparkling light-blue glow spread out like snow.
Breathing it in made them feel somehow revitalized, as if purified.
“Hmm? So you can use Protect, as expected of a white mage~”
“Eh? Ah, w-well, of course!”
Fuuka hastily played along with Shanly’s mistaken assumption that she had used white magic.
“Then, please, oh great white mage.”
With that, Shanly opened the door.
Inside lay a girl.
She was lying in bed, terribly emaciated.
Her sunken eyes looked toward them, but there was no light in them.
Her constant, hacking cough sounded agonizing.
“Th-this is…………”
Upon seeing her condition, Fuuka seemed to immediately recall something.
“Um, Miss Shanly. This child is—”
“She’s Shanly’s daughter. I’m what you’d call a hardworking single mother. She started suffering last night and hasn’t gotten any better! The doctor said he didn’t know what was wrong!”
“I see…”
Fuuka hummed thoughtfully.
Shanly probably remembered Fuuka mentioning a few days ago that she had some knowledge of white magic as one of a young lady’s accomplishments.
White magic is a magical system focused primarily on healing, enhancement, and the creation of tools and medicine.
In contrast, the magic established by one of the founders of sorcery, the Dragon’s Youngest Daughter—the great witch Laplace—which centers on offense and debilitation, is simply called “magic.” Meanwhile, the magical system originating from the magic practiced by the Maiden of the Spring is, for convenience, called “white magic.”
Among white magic, those who specialize in mastering healing arts are called healers.
The creation of medicine, in particular, is often considered an accomplishment for noble young ladies.
But.
(…Such a serious illness—wouldn’t it require calling a renowned white mage or healer from the royal capital?)
At the level of a young lady’s “accomplishment,” one might handle minor injuries or slight ailments that occur at home, but dealing with an illness that leaves someone bedridden like the girl before them is usually impossible.
“This is…”
“Ugh, uuugh, stay away, stay away!”
As Fuuka approached, the girl suddenly began to struggle.
“Hey now! This person is a white magic teacher!! You can’t be selfish!!!”
“Miss Shanly, it’s alright! This is a symptom of the illness.”
Hurriedly stopping her, Shanly reluctantly stepped back.
When Fuuka gently distanced herself, the girl’s breathing calmed.
Miyako, an amateur, could only watch intently while holding Umi in her arms.
Fuuka, who seemed to be deep in thought, whispered quietly to Umi.
“…………Miss Umi. Please remove the Protect you’ve cast on me.”
“Meow? Are you insane? This could be a contagious disease!?”
“I understand, but there’s something I want to confirm.”
Pressed by Fuuka’s intensity, Umi let out a sigh, “Mewah…”
Simultaneously, the light-blue veil covering Fuuka faded away.
Fuuka approached the bed.
This time, Shanly’s daughter showed no signs of distress.
Miyako watched, holding her breath.
“Fuuka-chan…”
Miyako noticed.
No, she knew.
Fuuka had a stronger sense of responsibility than anyone, and was truly kinder than anyone.
For example, she couldn’t possibly leave a sick child unattended.
“…This texture.”
Fuuka’s hand touched the girl’s cheek.
“The cloudiness in her eyes.”
Next, her eyelids.
“And, this smell…”
Fuuka let out a breath.
“Miss Umi. Please cast Protect.”
“Meow.”
Once again, she was enveloped in the light-blue glow.
The great water spirit could activate an effect equivalent to magic that humans cast after long incantations—with just a flick of her fluffy tail.
To Shanly, who was watching with a worried expression, Fuuka carefully chose her words to convey her thoughts.
“I’ve only memorized about eight medical texts, but…”
“F-Fuuka-chan, you’re as ridiculously hardworking as ever.”
“This is undoubtedly self-miasma poisoning. A magical disease where toxic mana… miasma begins to generate within the body.”
Fuuka spoke matter-of-factly.
The troublesome aspect of this illness is that since miasma generates inside the body, even if healing magic is cast, it won’t take effect. In fact, the blessing of healing turns into direct damage to the body.
For a normal illness, the water-attribute healing magic of the water spirit Undine should cure it instantly.
But given how she suffered just from a protected person approaching earlier.
“Most likely, the symptoms have progressed quite far… I’m afraid if things continue like this, your daughter won’t make it.”
“Th-that can’t BE!!”
“She probably won’t last until tomorrow morning.”
“Th-the doctor didn’t say anything like that!”
“As it’s an extremely rare case, he may have misdiagnosed it. There’s only one cure.”
Ah.
Miyako realized a certain possibility.
“Moonlight Grass?”
Fuuka gave a small nod.
Moonlight Grass.
An extremely rare alpine plant said to be effective against all ailments.
According to Fuuka.
It’s the only thing effective against self-miasma poisoning.
“If it’s Moonlight Grass, then on the mountain path to the hot springs—!”
Miyako and Fuuka nodded at each other.
Shanly clenched her small hands tightly and stared at the two.
At the very least, even if she was a bit pushy at times there was no reason to abandon the merchant from the continent who always cheerfully delivered delicious goods.
Absolutely not.
“Miss Shanly, please bring out the wagon!”
A mountain path in the darkness was surely terrifying.
Monsters might even appear.
But—.
Squeezing Fuuka’s hand tightly, Miyako started running.