Having watched the female thief with the broken neck collapse, her Magic Armor dissipating from her entire body, I slit her throat with a knife, finishing her off completely.
“…Cough.”
A little cough escaped my lips, and blood trickled out. Had I damaged an organ when I was stabbed in the stomach, or was it the poison taking effect? As I collapsed to my knees and fell backward, I heard a scream-like voice.
“Aria!”
Turning my gaze slightly in that direction, I saw Elena, the poison having weakened considerably but still unable to move properly, crawling towards me.
Elena is safe…. I don’t see any major injuries. Exhaling, relieved that the mission was complete, I used [Heal] to struggle to the very end, restoring at least a little of my probably near-death stamina.
Considering the Magic and Combat Arts I used, my remaining Mana is about half. Using [Heal] here further reduced it to about 30-40. That’s the same as my remaining “life” force.
“Aria, what terrible wounds…”
Elena, having reached me, changed her expression upon seeing my injuries.
“…Are you safe?”
“More than that, it’s you! Fighting so recklessly… With the depth of these wounds, [Heal] won’t work. I’ll use [Cure] immediately…”
“That’s… okay. More than that… can you use [Treat]…?”
“I can, but… it’s impossible! If I don’t know the type of poison, I can’t eliminate the foreign substance!”
Elena shook her head with a pale face, knowing that I was poisoned.
“…Kilig grass… Rock Serpent venom gland… Sakual fruit… Shigure tree flower…”
“…Eh?”
“Probably… one of these is… being used…”
I had read the ‘Handwritten Herb Book’ that the woman had stolen from my master over and over again to learn to read and write.
I was planning to learn alchemy someday, so I read it so thoroughly that I memorized even the fine print.
According to it, these four poisonous materials are likely to be found in the southern part of the continent in this country, with poisons that cause such pain. There are other types, but I figured that if she was coating her dagger and keeping it ready for use at all times, she wouldn’t be using rare materials that take a lot of work.
One of those materials… or several… is being used. I think she’s probably mixing other materials to increase the effect, but if I eliminate the root poison material, it should be resolved over time.
“I know Kiri Grass and Sakual fruit, but I’ve never seen Rock Serpent venom glands or Shigure whatever flowers!”
“…Then… imagine… Sajua seeds… and lavender flowers… and use Magic. That’s… the counter material…”
“Aria… where did you get such knowledge…”
“Hurry…”
“O-Okay. But even if I eliminate the poison, those wounds…”
“Pochette… search it…”
“Yours? Is it this…”
Elena takes out two ceramic potions from the pochette on my waist.
“The pretty… bottle is the cheap one… the old bottle is… the strong potion…”
“You can use this one.”
Those were also stolen by that woman from her Magic master. I thought I would return them if I could, but I can’t return them if I die in the first place.
Elena cuts the seal with unsteady hands, removes the wax-hardened stopper, and pours it directly on my wound, and I feel a sharp pain that makes me groan involuntarily.
“This potion alone won’t heal you! I still need to use [Cure] first…”
“Elena… use [Treat]… [Cure]… I’ll use it.”
The expiration date for the potion is about half a year. Some of them are nearing their expiration date and their effectiveness is waning, but in the first place, healing potions have an effect closer to “recovery” rather than “regeneration,” so I didn’t think it would heal me in the first place.
I haven’t succeeded in using the [Cure] Magic yet, but even so, in my current state, the only way to survive was for Elena to eliminate the poison and for me to use [Cure] on my own.
“–[Treat]–”
“…[Cure]…”
Elena chants the spell and uses [Treat] on me. I also use the [Cure] by chanting the spell, keeping my fading consciousness connected with the pain, but it only shines slightly and then disappears immediately.
Elena looks at me anxiously. But I shook my head and had her continue the [Treat] Magic.
[Treat] is not a Magic that shows immediate effects. It requires concentration to understand and eliminate foreign substances, and it takes even more time, especially in cases like this where it is not fully identified.
I had been thinking about why [Cure] didn’t activate after my previous failure… and why there were so few users.
The [Cure] spell is ‘Rityshwarl Bolde An Ostry Sten’… generally known to mean ‘restore the body to its original state’, but when the spell is expanded, the words ‘regenerate’ and ‘true form’ were hidden within it.
Perhaps there is not enough “knowledge.” Biological knowledge, at that.
Those who have mastered [Cure] know the structure of the human body well, like Sera, who breaks people, understands their vital points, and knows the structure of the human body well, don’t they? That woman should have learned it in her previous life, but even if she knew the location of the heart and brain, she didn’t know the exact location of the internal organs.
But there is a way to supplement that “knowledge.”
I failed once. Considering the remaining Mana, I can’t fail again.
Earlier, I used the reflection of the Mana Particles of Night Vision to draw the structure of my body in my brain. But that wasn’t enough.
“–[Feel]–”
Instead of flying Mana Particles to ‘give the sensation of being touched’, I use the original method of flying Mana Particles to ‘get the sensation of touching’, drawing the structure of the internal organs in my brain and comparing it with that woman’s knowledge.
The injured parts are the internal organs… the stomach and liver.
“–[Cure]–”
Finally, the Magic is activated and begins to regenerate the imagined internal organs to a state without injury.
To activate this spell, it was necessary to identify the injured part to be treated and regenerated, rather than using it vaguely.
The range of [Cure] is quite narrow. When I changed the position of my hand so that it hit the internal organs drawn in my brain, the pain began to subside, and as I listened to Elena’s voice calling my name, my consciousness sank into the darkness.
The next time I woke up, I was on the bed that also served as the infirmary.
Apparently, about three days had passed since then, and all the injuries had healed without a trace, but even so, Viro, who came to visit me with meat again, told me to rest for a while because my internal organs were injured.
Don’t bring meat to a child with injured internal organs… but I ate it.
I received words of praise and scolding from Sera. That female thief was a famous “kidnapper” specializing in nobles in this area who used Magic, and it was good that I noticed and stopped her, but it seems that the correct thing to do was to leave a mark and track her until the senior butler arrived, rather than challenging an opponent with a high probability of losing.
Even so, it seems that the senior butler, who was still an apprentice and could not notice the existence of the underground, will take responsibility, and I will receive a reward.
This time, the superior scout escort could not be attached to Elena’s side due to her selfishness, so in a sense, there was an unavoidable aspect, but it seems that it is not such a problem.
In the first place, a siege network by Sera’s companions had been deployed from the moment she was kidnapped, and they had a plan to retrieve her, although it was only a matter of time.
So, Viro secretly told me that the reason I received a reward in this case was not because I risked my life to retrieve Elena, but because I ended the situation before it became too big and avoided the problem of responsibility for the Margrave of Dandole, who was in charge of the security on the surface.
But Sera highly appreciated that I minimized the burden on Elena, who was physically weak. But Theo seemed dissatisfied with that, and scolded me while crying for being reckless and getting injured.
…Well, I’m alive, and Elena seems to have erased the scars, so it’s okay because there’s no problem with being an Escort Maid, right?
I haven’t been able to see Elena since that day.
Even though Elena is a Princess of this country in disguise, and I am just a maid apprentice who came from the streets, there is no reason for her to care about me, nor is there any reason for me to meet Elena.
Elena will be staying in this area for about two more weeks.
My body will be back to normal in a few days and I think I can return to my mission, but Elena, who is the target of my surveillance, seems to have become completely quiet, and I was ordered to rest for about two weeks, which is the remainder of my term.
It would be a lie to say that I don’t care, but I’m resigned to it and working hard on my training and repairing my damaged equipment when Sera hands me a memo and orders me to burn it immediately after reading it.
“…………”
On the eve of Elena’s return to the Royal Capital, I stick to the castle walls in my maid uniform and head to my destination.
The designated time was midnight, when the clock tower’s first bell would toll.
As that bell rang, I wound the pendulum’s thread around the terrace railing, reinforcing the thread with Mana as I descended onto the terrace. There, a girl in her nightgown, seated at the terrace table, smiled faintly with a slightly surprised expression.
“Right on time. Welcome, Aria.”
“I’m here, Elena-sama.”
That note was an invitation from Elena.
To come and meet her from outside, unseen by anyone, at midnight tonight.
I sensed Sera’s companions outside, but they seemed to know I was coming and let me pass without incident.
I didn’t sense anyone in Elena’s room. Sera might be hiding somewhere, but if I started worrying about that, there would be no end to it, so I decided not to bother.
“First, thank you for helping me. Thanks to Aria, I was able to stay in good health until the end.”
“No problem. It’s a mission.”
“You would say that.”
For some reason, Elena chuckled. She stood up and placed her hands on the railing, just like I did, leaving a few meters between us as we faced each other.
“…Aria. What are you?”
Elena’s serious eyes reflected me, and the me reflected in them shook her head slightly.
“Just an orphan, just an Adventurer, just Aria.”
“I see…”
She looked a little lonely, as if she had been expecting some other answer.
“Aria… you won’t come under me, will you?”
“I don’t intend to serve anyone.”
“Not even as a mere guard?”
“I’m just an Adventurer.”
A gust of wind blew for a moment, dancing with Elena’s golden hair and my own, which was starting to grow out in a peach color.
“Aria. We’re not ‘friends’.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m a Princess, and you’re just an Adventurer. We can never stand on equal footing.”
“I know.”
“Then…”
Elena’s voice rose slightly, and she paused as if searching for words. Instead, I opened my mouth.
“We are… ‘kindred spirits’.”
“Kindred spirits…”
Possessing an unusual knowledge unsuited to our youth, we continue to fight against fate and loneliness.
Whether she understood the meaning or not, Elena’s expression shifted to that of a composed “Princess” in the next moment, and she looked straight at me.
“Then, Aria, my comrade in kind, I swear as a Princess that I will use all my power to become your ‘ally’ just once, no matter what position you are in.”
“Then, I swear that I will ‘kill’ anyone that Elena, my comrade, wishes, even if that ‘anyone’ is the ‘King’.”
Elena’s words were a vow to help me, even if it meant rebelling against the King and being executed.
That’s why I swore that if she wished it, no matter how dangerous it was, even if it was the King of this country, even if it was the “Evil Lord,” I would definitely kill them.
“Just one thing… tell me your real name.”
“…If it’s okay for me to call you by your given name.”
Elena laughed a little, as if to say it was too late for that now.
“Alicia.”
As I carried my real name on the wind, Elena nodded softly.
“…Goodbye, Aria. And my very own Alicia.”
“Goodbye… Elena.”
Elena turned her back and disappeared into the room without looking back once. I silently watched her go, then vanished from the terrace without a sound.
＊
The next morning, Elena departed for the Royal Capital without losing her composure as a ruler, and I saw her off as one of the maid trainees, standing at the end of the line of maids.
I don’t know if she and I will ever meet again. But we are comrades, and even when we are apart, that vow lives on.
And so, my job that Viro had brought me to was over, but for some reason, instead of Sera, I was summoned by the Head Butler and assigned a new mission.
“Aria. Your new mission has been decided.”
A seven-year-old…
The Heroine and the Villainess. How will that vow change their destinies?
I didn’t have a chance to put it in the main story, so I’ll put the Status here.
[Aria (Alicia)] [Race: Human Female] [Rank 2]
[Mana Capacity: 135/135] 20 Up [HP: 80/80] 16 Up
[Strength: 5 (6)] 1 Up [Endurance: 6 (7.2)] 1 Up [Agility: 7 (8.4)] [Dexterity: 7] 1 Up
[Dagger Arts Lv.1] [Martial Arts Lv.2] 1 Up [Throwing Lv.1] [Thread Manipulation Lv.1] New
[Light Magic lv.1] [Dark Magic lv.2] 1 Up [Non-Attribute Magic Lv.2] 1 Up
[Utility Magic x6] [Mana Control Lv.2] [Intimidation Lv.2]
[Stealth Lv.1] [Night Vision Lv.1] [Detection Lv.1] [Poison Resistance Lv.1] New
[Simple Appraisal]
[Overall Combat Strength: 98 (Body Enhancement in progress: 111)] 37 Up
She’s gotten quite strong. Compared to the average person, that is lol.
I’ll talk about the explanation of the Status in the next main story.
Next time is the job that was forced on me.
I would be happy if you could give me your thoughts and bookmarks.