That night, we camped outdoors.
"Managed to offload all that troublesome surplus food at a decent price, at least."
It wouldn't sell down south since the famine there had resolved, but up north, we finally found buyers.
There was still one cart loaded with food remaining, but that was for our gluttonous bird's feed.
"Munch munch!"
The bird shoved its head under the cloth covering the cart and devoured the contents.
"Soooo yummy!"
That annoying catchphrase—I'd heard it somewhere before.
This bird never stops eating, even though it's done growing. The daily food bill is no joke. On the plus side, it covers ground absurdly fast.
But all that strain means the carriage breaks down constantly.
Repair costs have been piling up considerably, too…
"What to do?"
Maybe this time I should go for a metal frame instead of wood. Filo keeps whining about wanting it lighter, but factoring in durability, it'd probably cost a fortune.
Raphtalia had gotten over her motion sickness, but at Filo's full speed, passengers tend to reverse their last meal pretty spectacularly.
Maybe installing some springs would help absorb the shocks.
Lately, I'd been saving up a decent amount of money. I looked forward to seeing the old man at the Weapon Shop.
One thing I'd learned traveling through this country was that the Weapon Shop in the Castle Town—the heart of the kingdom—always had the best gear.
I didn't know where the other Heroes bought their weapons and armor, but in every town and village I'd visited, nothing beat the old man's shop.
"My master…"
*Fluff…* Filo's feathers pressed against me.
It was a bit chilly up north. That made Filo's feathers, warm from its body heat, all the more pleasant.
"Hehehe…"
"Mm…"
Raphtalia scooted over and sat pressed against me for some reason.
"Hehehe, we're all nice and toasty!"
"I'm already overheating…"
Why did being a little chilly mean we had to huddle together like this?
"Filo, move away. If you leave, it'll be just right."
"No way—Raphtalia big sis should be the one moving. It's not fair to hog Master all to yourself."
"I'm not hogging him!"
So noisy!
"Go to sleep, both of you. Now!"
"Aww…"
"Let's sleep together, Masterrr…"
"I have to make medicine before we reach the eastern region."
Anticipating that my stock of Healing Potions wouldn't be enough, I'd been hard at work brewing new ones from the massive haul of herbs we'd obtained.
But I still wasn't sure it'd be enough—that was the real problem with peddling.
"Hmph…"
Filo pouted and moved away from me to sleep.
At the same time, Raphtalia climbed into the carriage. Probably because sleeping inside beat the ground.
"All right then."
I kept watch over the fire while continuing to brew potions.
"Naofumi."
"Hm?"
I turned toward the carriage at the sound of Raphtalia's voice.
She was waving at me from inside.
"What is it?"
"…Would you like to sleep together?"
"You too… honestly."
She looked like an adult but was still a child inside. She was probably lonely.
"Just have Filo shift into human form and cuddle with you."
"It's not about being lonely… it's just…"
Raphtalia mumbled something, looking down and blushing.
Come to think of it, she'd stopped crying at night a while back. It felt like a long time since that had happened.
"Naofumi… do you have someone you like? Back in your original world?"
"Huh? No, not really."
What was she suddenly getting at?
I couldn't follow her train of thought.
"Why the sudden question?"
"I was just wondering… what you think of me."
Huh?
Hmm… some awful woman popped into my head for no reason, which irritated me, but I had no reason to be upset with Raphtalia.
I had no idea why that wretch chose this moment to show up.
"I've been putting you in a difficult position because of your status as a Slave."
"Other than that… what do you think of me?"
"Is there something else?"
I tilted my head as I answered, and Raphtalia made a complicated expression.
"You trust me, and I trust you in return. I treasure you."
"Y-Yes! …Wait?"
Raphtalia smiled and nodded, but she tilted her head as if something didn't add up, then retreated back to her bed inside the carriage.
"Right."
I got back to work preparing for the next stretch of peddling.
Incidentally, the fights during our recent peddling trips had raised our levels somewhat.
Me — Lv 37
Raphtalia — Lv 39
Filo — Lv 38
Even Filo had surpassed me. Was my leveling really that slow?
No—the two of them were attackers. Filo especially was swifter than Raphtalia and finished off enemies in seconds.
That meant faster gains. Raphtalia fought methodically, which kept her steadily climbing as well.
We arrived in the eastern region of the country.
How to describe it… the trees were withered and the air felt heavy.
Even though it wasn't supposed to be particularly cold here.
The ground was black too—like a land of darkness, if I had to put it that way.
Looking up, the clouds were thick, and a massive mountain range loomed closer with each passing moment.
An incredibly ominous feeling.
"Let's see."
The road was split, so I checked the map.
"Filo, head toward the mountains."
"Okaay!"
"Both of you—cover your mouths with cloth, just in case. Apparently there's a plague spreading through this area."
"Okay."
I covered my mouth with cloth too, and after taking what minimal precautions I could, we reached the target farming village.
If I had to describe the village's impression in a word, it was dark. Gloomy clouds hung overhead, and the entire village had a sinister, pitch-black quality.
"…Are you… the peddler? I'm sorry, but this village… the plague has spread here… *cough*… you should evacuate…"
A villager explained to us between painful coughs.
"I know. That's exactly why I've come to sell Healing Potions."
"R-Really! You've saved us!"
The villager took off running to spread the news that a potion peddler had arrived.
…Things were tense.
At this rate, I was worried my stock wouldn't be enough.
My fears were confirmed. Voices demanding medicine echoed from across the village.
"The-the famous Divine Bird's carriage! Now the village can be saved!"
Wow… that's a lot of pressure.
If my potions turned out to be ineffective, my credibility would plummet in an instant.
Nothing I could do about it.
"Who needs to take the medicine?"
I decided to administer the potions myself, in order of priority starting with those who had purchased them, using the most effective method.
"This way. Saint."
People had been calling me "Saint" for a while now, and it still made me uncomfortable. Better than being glared at as the Shield Hero, though.
I was led to a building where the most severely ill were gathered together.
It was essentially an isolation facility.
Behind it lay a cemetery with several brand-new grave markers.
…I don't know if saying it smelled like death conveys the feeling, but I was certain it was that distinctive, unpleasant atmosphere unique to hospitals and graveyards.
I was anxious about whether Healing Potions alone would be enough.
I shouldn't get cocky just because I'd deciphered an Intermediate Recipe.
If my potions proved ineffective here, I'd be out of options.
No… it'd be expensive, but if I administered the high-grade potions from my personal supply, that should work.
Still… I wanted to be able to handle situations like this on my own. Even if the recipes were hard to decipher, and even if they were costly, having something was better than having nothing.
Next time I visited the Potion Shop, I'd ask if they could get me a book of advanced recipes.
"My wife, please!"
"Right."
I helped the woman—who couldn't stop coughing from her illness—to sit up and, little by little, gave her the Healing Potion.
*Aaah…* Light spread outward from the woman.
There was at least some effect, right? Her complexion seemed to improve. Good. The potion worked.
"Next!"
When I looked up, the villager who'd guided me here was staring at me in stunned silence.
"What's wrong?"
"A-Ah…"
He pointed to a child lying next to the woman.
The child had been coughing just like the mother moments ago, but the coughing had stopped.
Hm?
Dead…?
I checked the child's breathing.
…Thank goodness. Still alive.
But the child had been coughing violently just moments ago and now looked remarkably stable.
"What's going on?"
"The moment the Saint gave the medicine to his wife, the child's breathing seemed to ease at the same time."
Hmm… could this be what the "Extended Healing Range (Small)" effect meant?
An expanded range—that was absurdly useful.
From what I could tell, it covered about a one-meter radius, applying the same effect to anyone near the person who took the potion.
What kind of specs was this Shield hiding?
Though in combat, anyone outside that range would be unaffected. If you bunched up within a single meter, you'd be an easy target for any decent enemy.
"Then this is simple! For anyone the potion works on, have them take it within a one-meter radius of each other. Move it!"
"Y-Yes!"
Short on hands, I had Filo and Raphtalia carry the patients and had them take the potion nearby.
It conserved our supply, and the treatment of everyone in the isolation facility finished surprisingly quickly.
But… some time had passed since then, and the fact that we'd only alleviated symptoms without bringing about a full recovery was frustrating.
"So my Healing Potions really can only do this much…"
"Thank you so much!"
I received their gratitude, but I couldn't honestly say I was satisfied.
There was still a risk of infection, and I couldn't eradicate the disease.
"Come to think of it, where did this plague originate? An endemic disease or something? No, usually it's an epidemic."
If my Healing Potions only had this much effect, the illness had to be fairly serious.
We were at risk of infection too.
Worst case, I might have to decide to leave this place immediately.
"Well… actually, the healer explained that it comes from the winds blowing from the mountain where the monsters live."
"Tell me more."
"Then, please speak with him…"
A healer was roughly equivalent to a doctor in my world—a specialist versed in both recovery magic and pharmacology.
This particular healer had been brewing medicine effective against the disease in this village, and he'd happened to come to the isolation facility while we were treating patients to lend a hand.
"You—can you make a potion of higher potency than mine?"
"Yes. I'm currently working on one. Since the Saint's medicine produced a large-scale improvement in symptoms, I set it aside for the moment."
"Get back to work immediately. If it's not fully cured, the disease will eventually relapse."
"Y-Yes!"
"Hold on."
I called out to the healer as he turned to rush back to his work.
"You said the cause of this disease is the wind from the mountain. Why?"
"Ah, yes. About a month ago, the Sword Hero defeated a massive dragon that had made its lair in the mountain range."
Come to think of it, I had heard rumors about that.
"Dragons typically make their nests in remote wilderness, but this one seemed to be a stray."
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
"For a time, adventurers gathered in this village to witness the Hero's great deed. They climbed the mountain and brought back materials from the dragon the Hero had slain."
You could make some amazing weapons and armor from dragon materials… Kind of jealous.
"And?"
"Now for the main point. As long as the materials were being stripped, things were fine. It actually brought prosperity to this quiet little village. But… problems arose when the dragon's carcass began to rot. Around the same time, an adventurer who went to check on the carcass came down with the disease."
"…I'm starting to see. That carcass is the source of the plague?"
"Most likely…"
They'd stripped it for materials, and yet… I could easily guess what would be left on a dragon carcass. Meat, probably. No matter how tough a dragon was, the flesh would be the first thing to rot.
Some gourmets might want it, but most adventurers wouldn't touch meat that was already decomposing.
In stories, dragons were supposed to be useful down to the last scale, and their meat supposedly tasted delicious—but how did that hold up in this world?
Then there were the innards. The liver and such especially rotted quickly.
Ren had probably stripped the valuable materials and ignored everything else.
At best, he might have taken the heart or something—parts that likely held significant magical properties.
"If you know the cause, just dispose of it quickly."
"That's the thing… the mountain range is inhabited by vicious monsters, and ordinary adventurers wouldn't dare enter. Local farmers can't manage the removal either."
"So hire some adventurers, then."
"By the time we realized the problem, the mountain's ecosystem had changed dramatically. The air is contaminated, and with the plague's influence, even regular adventurers can't get in. On top of that, adventurers are staying away because they're wary of the epidemic."
Ugh…
That Ren kid—at least dispose of the monster carcasses properly.
Ren was the youngest among the Heroes.
When I was in high school, the idea of rotting meat being a problem wouldn't have occurred to me either.
More importantly, he was the most experienced with games among the Heroes.
And not just any games—VRMMOs, that science-fiction product.
If you said he was the furthest from understanding the difference between games and reality, this result was practically inevitable.
"Saint, what should we do?"
"Have you reported this to the country?"
"Yes. Medicine is expected to arrive soon."
"…What about the Hero?"
"He's a busy man, so it's quite possible the matter was deprioritized."
Both Motoyasu and Ren—infuriating beyond words.
"Have you already paid the commission fee to the country?"
"Yes…"
"Would they refund it if you canceled?"
The healer stared straight at me, eyes wide.
"Is the Saint going to handle it?"
"The medicine won't be ready for a while anyway, right?"
"Yes… about half a day more."
"Understood. I'll go dispose of the dragon's carcass in the meantime. Hand over the commission fee in exchange."
"V-Very well."
And so, we set off toward the mountains to dispose of the dragon's carcass.