Incurable Disease (1)
“A disease?”
I asked in bewilderment. He’d suddenly shown up asking me to cure an illness, and since I wasn’t a doctor, I had no idea what I could possibly do to help.
Caesius then gave me a brief rundown of everything that had led to this. Why this dragon named Gergius had contracted with the Legion in the first place, and how, in order to persuade him, she had taken it upon herself to promise that I would help.
“I’m sorry. I went ahead and made the arrangement without asking you…”
“No, it’s fine. Helping out is something I can do.”
When I answered so readily, Caesius looked at me with a touch of surprise. It was true that the whole thing had been decided without my knowledge, but I couldn’t very well get angry or act put out over something like that.
“Besides, that was probably the only way, right? Honestly… we didn’t have the strength to stop this guy at the time.”
If Caesius hadn’t held this dragon back, we might never have even gotten the chance to take down the Oblivion Legion Commander. If anything, I ought to be thanking her for what she’d done.
“And I told you to fight freely, didn’t I? If that was your call in the moment, then that’s that.”
Hearing my answer, Caesius dipped her head slightly.
“…Thank you for understanding.”
“You’re not the type to go around thanking people. It doesn’t suit you.”
I looked from Caesius to the Elder Dragon standing beside her—Gergius—and asked the one question that still bothered me.
“But… what I’m wondering is whether I can actually help. I’m no doctor. Can I really cure a disease?”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“Huh?”
How could she be so sure?
As the doubt rose in me, Gergius spoke up.
“The illness my daughter suffers is less a simple disease and more a rare affliction that appears in dragons born with vast amounts of mana.”
“Vast mana is the cause?”
“Indeed. Her body cannot contain the overflowing mana, so surplus mana forms, crystallizes, and causes pain throughout her entire body.”
Hearing that mana was the culprit, I began to understand, at least a little, why Caesius had come looking for me.
“But all I can do is temporarily bind mana. I can’t permanently strip it away…”
“That will be more than enough.”
Caesius explained.
“As I said a moment ago, this is mana her body can no longer handle—mana that has already slipped beyond her control. So, Albrecht, if you simply peel that mana away, the mana that leaves its owner’s body will scatter into the air.”
So that was it. No one else’s mana could do something like that, which meant it was a job only I could handle.
Still, one point of curiosity remained. If this was something I could do, then there was a certain type of magical beast whose nature was similar to my own mana.
“But if that’s the case… wouldn’t it be fine to just have a Mana Eater devour it?”
“That, too, had its limits. The amount a Mana Eater can consume is restricted, and the mana my daughter produces… frankly, it defies imagination.”
That much? If an Elder Dragon like Gergius was saying so, then his daughter’s mana reserves might truly be on an absurd scale.
“If you remove my daughter’s surplus mana, I will take measures with a spell that suppresses her mana.”
There was a spell like that?
“If such a spell exists, then why not use it now…?”
“At present her mana volume is far too vast. Even with the Lord’s power, there is nothing that can be done.”
…It was even more extreme than I’d expected.
The Lord—meaning the most powerful dragon among the green dragons. If even a being of that caliber couldn’t handle it…
…In terms of pure mana capacity, she might be one of the greatest dragons of all time.
In that case, it was only natural that such an illness would appear. Her body hadn’t finished growing yet, but her mana already surpassed that of most ancient dragons…
“…I see. I understand.”
“If you help, I will reward you handsomely.”
“Helping isn’t difficult. But… I’m worried my companions may not be able to move right now. If it’s all right, may I ask their opinions first?”
“Very well. I only ask that you decide quickly. Now that the Oblivion Legion Commander has been annihilated, my daughter’s suffering will already have begun anew.”
“Ah…”
He’d said the curse of oblivion had been keeping her from feeling the pain. With the one who had cast that curse gone, of course it would return.
“That makes sense. Then we’d better move fast.”
“I leave it to you.”
“Would you come with me for now? I’ll need to explain things to my companions as well…”
“Understood.”
I led Caesius and Gergius out of the tent and headed for the one where my companions were resting. At the entrance, Freya and Letisia were deep in conversation.
“The imperial court found out we joined the battle on our own.”
“We did earn merit, so His Majesty probably won’t say much. If we just show a suitably apologetic attitude…”
I wondered what they were talking about, but it seemed the Dern Empire’s imperial court had learned that we’d entered the fight without authorization.
It was only natural. This wasn’t some minor skirmish—we’d wiped out one of the Demon King’s pillars, the Oblivion Legion, and its commander. How could word not get out?
“Freya, Letisia.”
“Ah, Albrecht?”
“Do you need something?”
Freya, who had examined me earlier and left, seemed to think I’d come because I needed something. I gave a small shake of my head.
“It’s not that. I need to talk to you.”
“Yes?”
“Are the others awake right now?”
“Clara’s up. Erinn and Aria are still asleep.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
Erinn really needed to hear this.
“Sorry, but… could you wake them for a moment?”
“What’s going on? And more importantly, the person behind you…”
“I am Gergius, a green dragon.”
“…!”
Freya and Letisia’s expressions stiffened slightly. They had clearly recognized him as the dragon who had faced off against Caesius.
“Why is he here?”
“Hold on, Freya. Just hear me out first.”
To the two of them, who were openly wary, I explained everything from the beginning. When they heard that Caesius had made a promise in order to stop Gergius, both let out soft sighs.
“…So that’s what happened.”
“I thought it was strange that Caesius was holding back a dragon of that caliber.”
“…What is that supposed to mean? Do you take me for some weak little lizard?”
Caesius started to protest in an offended tone, but I cut her off for the moment and continued.
“So I think I need to go take care of this… Right now the only ones who can move are the three of us, correct?”
“That’s right. The others need more rest.”
“But Albrecht, helping a dragon’s daughter means… setting foot in their lair. Isn’t that far too dangerous?”
When Letisia spoke with clear worry, Gergius answered.
“No one acts freely in my lair. I will of course prevent any accidents, so do not concern yourselves.”
Freya, however, did not seem ready to trust him so easily.
“…It’s not easy to believe the word of someone who was our enemy.”
“…I suppose not. I understand.”
Gergius spoke on.
“It was not a choice I desired either. We dragons serve the Dragon God Zergius; we do not bow to the likes of a Demon King. Yet I had no other option. Can you understand what it is like to hear your daughter scream in agony every single day, crying that she is in pain, and be able to do nothing but listen?”
“……”
Freya flinched. Letisia, as if she could imagine the scene, furrowed her brow.
“That… sounds truly horrible.”
“I had no choice but to make a decision that would lessen that child’s suffering.”
The two of them fell silent for a moment, thinking. Freya was the first to speak.
“…Haa. Albrecht, what do you plan to do, then? Going alone is obviously not an option.”
“Huh?”
“I’m asking who you’re going with. The patients are out of the question, of course.”
“I could just go with Caesius…”
“No. Caesius is coming, obviously—but one more person.”
“I’m not exactly weak, but…”
“You are weak.”
Faced with Freya’s flat declaration—coming from someone who could practically be called an anti-dragon superweapon—Caesius had nothing left to say. Poor thing.
Then Letisia spoke up.
“In that case, wouldn’t it be better if I went? Everyone else needs rest, and Freya has to look after the patients.”
“What?… The holy power treatments for Erinn and the others are already finished. So it wouldn’t matter if I went along. If anything, Letisia, you should be resting more. You can move right now, but…”
“No. There’s no need for that. I’m perfectly fine right now.”
For some reason the two of them suddenly started bickering over who would go.
“What if someone’s wounds reopen? Freya needs to stay.”
“They won’t reopen. I treated them with holy power—how could they reopen? All that’s left is for them to get enough rest…”
“Then Freya, do you want to go?”
When I asked that, Letisia looked at me as if to say why her?, while Freya regarded me with mild surprise.
The reason was simpler than it seemed. We would have to leave the injured Clara behind, and going off with Letisia—who I knew full well had feelings for me—felt a little awkward in terms of appearances.
Even if that sort of thing didn’t matter in the era of Dungeon in Evil, I was still someone who had lived in South Korea, and it bothered me a bit.
So Freya, who harbored no real affection for me—only some rather strange desires—felt more comfortable. Besides, as Freya herself had said, Letisia had pushed herself far too hard in the last battle. She needed rest. And if something went wrong, Freya, who could display absolute strength against dragons, would also be the safer choice.
“I… I want to go too…!”
“Someone should stay behind to look after them, don’t you think?”
“Ugh…”
Letisia pouted. Then she said,
“I worked hard this time too…”
“Mm…”
Just then—
“…Both of you go together. That way the chances of Albrecht coming back safely will be higher.”
Clara had come out of the tent. With a bandage wrapped around her head, she looked at me and gave a soft, shy smile.
“I’m glad you look all right, Albrecht.”
“Clara, why are you out here? You should be resting.”
I’d planned to tell her once things were decided, but it seemed the conversation had carried and she’d come out of curiosity.
Worried, I stepped closer. Clara spoke again.
“I’ll look after Erinn and Aria.”
“…Clara, you can’t overdo it either. You’re the one who needs nursing, not the one who should be nursing someone else.”
“She’s right.”
When I agreed with Freya, Freya let out a small sigh.
“It would be better if I stayed after all. There are still plenty of wounded soldiers as well…”
“Huh?”
“…That seems a bit dangerous.”
At Clara’s single remark, Letisia’s shoulders gave a small twitch.
“W-what are you talking about, Clara? What’s dangerous? If it comes to it I’ll just call the Spirit King…”
“…You know that’s not what I mean, Letisia.”
“……I really don’t know what you mean?”
Watching Letisia answer a little too brazenly, Clara narrowed her eyes. Freya, however, showed no sign of changing her mind.
“It can’t be helped. Albrecht, go with Letisia. And be careful not to let her do anything strange to you.”
“Uh…”
“What kind of strange things do you think I’m going to do…!”
Letisia protested with a touch of injustice in her voice, but Freya and Clara still hadn’t dropped their guard.
“…Well, either way, that settles it, right?”
I turned to Gergius.
“Since it’s decided, it would be best if we moved right away.”
“Thank you for deciding. Then let us depart at once.”
“Yes—how will we travel…?”
Just as I was about to ask about the method of travel, Gergius gave a light snap of his fingers. A magic activation message appeared before my eyes.
Green Dragon Gergius has activated [Spatial Transfer].
“…!?”
Spatial magic without even a chant…?
And in the next instant, Letisia, Caesius, and I vanished from the spot.
“…Is it really all right to send only Letisia, Clara?”
Freya asked as she stared at the empty space where Albrecht, Letisia, and Caesius had vanished in an instant. Clara answered.
“…No. It’s not really all right. I know what kind of feelings Letisia has for Albrecht.”
Clara went back into the tent. Freya followed her and asked,
“Then why didn’t you try harder to stop it?”
“…It’s like Letisia said.”
“What?”
Clara remembered. Back when they had faced Eris, Letisia had fought until her mana was completely exhausted, pushing herself past her limits.
Part of that had been for the sake of defeating Eris, but part of it had also been to protect Albrecht, who had been pushing himself just as hard beside her until his own mana ran dry.
In fact, thanks to Elysia’s power, Eris had been unable to do anything about the most troublesome enemy for her curse-breaking. The opportunity she had finally seized had been cut off by Erinn as well.
So Clara could feel, at least a little, just how sincere Letisia was. Wanting Albrecht all to herself was only Clara’s personal greed.
Letisia—or anyone else—pursuing Albrecht and becoming connected to him… that wasn’t a problem at all. Clara herself was a person of an era where polygamy was ordinary, and she thought the same way.
So…
“Letisia worked hard too.”
For the sake of the man Clara herself held so precious, Letisia had given everything she had. Giving her a chance at least once didn’t seem so wrong.
And…
“Is that so… Then I wanted to go too.”
“…Not you, Freya.”
“What?”
Between spending time alone with this destructive saintess and going with Letisia, Letisia was definitely the better choice.