I'd been dragged along to take on what looked like a seriously shady quest, and it led me to a detached wing beside a noble's sprawling estate. There, a blond boy younger than me lay sprawled across a bed.
He looked absolutely terrible.
Deathly pale.
I couldn't even tell if he was still breathing.
A large man wearing a mask spoke to me.
"You understand what this quest entails, don't you?"
"Of course. It's to lift a curse, right?"
"That's right. But this is a case that even the high-ranking priests of the church have
given up on.
Don't disappoint us any further, adventurer."
Come to think of it, I never even asked about the reward.
"What's the reward if I succeed? The quest posting just said 'at your discretion.'"
Honestly, just that phrasing alone made it almost certain the client was a noble.
A thrilling commission — deliver results and the pay is priceless; fail, and your life is on the line.
"That depends entirely on the results you produce."
Well, yeah, obviously.
"*Cough, cough*... it hurts... *hah, hah*..."
The boy broke into a fit of coughing.
"Young master! 'Grant this soul repose through your sacred breath — [Holy Magic: Extra Healer]!'"
The person wearing a different mask from the one who'd been talking to me rushed over to the boy and cast a high-level healing spell.
But it barely made his breathing any easier — he still looked just as much in pain.
I figured I'd give it a try too.
"Extra Healer."
A soft, healing light enveloped the boy.
His coughing stopped, and the color returned to his face.
Or so I thought — the improvement only lasted a moment before his complexion turned bad again.
This might be a bit troublesome.
Let me check with [Divine Eye] first.
"Hah! He was cured, even if only for an instant! The same spell cast by a high-ranking priest hadn't made a difference at all! And without even chanting!"
The masked man who could use healing magic was surprised, but the same spell can produce different results depending on who's casting it.
That wasn't a scorching spell… it was fire magic… yeah, I can do that kind of thing in this other world.
"…Looks like you've got some real ability."
The big masked man apparently revised his assessment of me.
"So, what's the pay?"
"I would need to consult with my master, but I imagine most things could be arranged."
"So you can't guarantee anything right now."
The big masked man's voice turned sharp.
"You trying to take advantage of me? Can you not imagine how this is going to end?"
But I didn't flinch and fired back.
"I'm a day-to-day adventurer, you know. I never know if tomorrow's coming, so I want something guaranteed. For starters, would you take off that blindfold for me?"
"…Fine. Wait here a bit. I'll remove the blindfold for you. But there's no turning back after this."
"Understood."
◇◇◇
After the big masked man left.
The man who could use healing magic asked me.
"Just how much training have you put in? Even if it was only a brief time, to suppress the little master's symptoms like that… That level of skill doesn't match your age at all. And those looks — are you actually using some kind of rejuvenation magic or something…"
"That's a secret. It's how I make my living. But my age is exactly what I look like. Oh, I guess I do get taken for younger a lot. Speaking of which, why don't you take off that mask? It's not like it matters anymore, right?"
"Still, I haven't put my full trust in you. I am impressed by your abilities, though."
While we were having that conversation, the big man who had left earlier came back in with his master.
The big man had removed his mask.
His master was a white-haired old man.
He spoke quietly.
"So you're the adventurer, Alan. I'm told you can break the curse placed on my grandson. What do you want as your reward?"
"One hundred million gold coins."
◇◇◇◇◇◇
Skills: [Reverse], [Divine Eye], [Sword God], [Fist God], [Spear God], [Scorching Heat Magic], [Frozen Ice Magic], [Clear Gale Magic], [Rock-Iron Magic], [Holy Magic], [Dark Magic], [Space-Time Magic], [Thunder God Sword], [Gentleman Thief], [Ninja Master], [Seeker of Truth], [Monstrous Strength], [Pain Dulling], [Complete Status Ailment Resistance], [Dark Spirit's Protection], [Super Intuition], [Heaven's Gate], [Pact Bearer of the Abyss], [Magic Hand], [Treasure Search], [Seduction], [Eloquence], [Fortune], [Growth Speed x10]
Rank: Orichalcon
Thank you for reading!