Passing through the training ground and walking down the main street of the city for a while, the scenery gradually changes, leading to a promenade lined with green trees.
Residents are leisurely strolling around the area.
After walking for several tens of minutes, we arrived at a desolate scene beyond the promenade.
It was an eerily quiet space.
Piles of rubble lined the edge of the promenade.
Collapsed and abandoned houses.
In front of us, a large wall loomed over us as if blocking our way.
It was the wall that separated the “Reconstruction Area.”
Eve approached the gatekeeper near the gate, exchanging a few words or so. After the gatekeeper nodded and stepped back, the gate slowly opened.
“Let’s go.”
With just that, Eve began to walk through the gate, her white mage robe fluttering behind her.
Our destination was a run-down clinic.
The walls and floors were dirty and unsanitary, with only the bare minimum of chairs and desks, and the spacious room was empty. The ceiling was reinforced with boards in places, and water buckets were placed under the unreinforced holes for rainproofing.
As soon as we arrived, Eve and Maya were welcomed by the staff, who seemed to be beastfolk women.
“Hey, what’s this?”
I tried to ask Eve, but she and Maya went into the back of the clinic with the staff.
However, they quickly returned with large baskets in their hands.
From these baskets, they took out large pots, paper dishes… and arranged them neatly on the tables. Finally, Maya took out ingredients from the “storage” magical tool tied to her waist and began to cook.
For the next few minutes, understanding the reason why we came here, I didn’t say anything, nor did I help, so I just watched them work with my arms crossed.
After Eve and the others finished preparing, a staff member unlocked the front entrance.
There was a crowd gathered there.
The staff guided them, and the clinic suddenly became noisy.
There were people of all ages, including elderly people staggering along and small babies being carried by their mothers.
And there was one thing they all had in common.
Beast ears, tails, sharp fangs—beastfolk.
Moreover, they were the beastfolk of the area where the reconstruction work was still slow, and the damage caused by the demons remained prominent.
They lined up without causing any disturbance, standing in a single line.
Smiling parent-child pairs could be seen receiving steaming hot soup.
The soup was filled with plenty of vegetables, cooked until they were soft and melting, making it a nutritious and delicious soup.
The line moved on one after another.
As soon as there were only a few people left in line, Eve, holding a white mage staff, began to move towards the people gathered in one corner of the clinic.
Beside me, Maya, who had suddenly appeared, said while looking at Eve.
“I hate you.”
She said to me with a sulky face.
“…I don’t think I’ve done anything to you.”
“Eve is really amazing. She works so hard that she’s even nominated as a candidate for the ‘Water Saintess.’ I’ve been trying to keep up with her efforts, looking at her back all this time.”
Maya puckered her lips in dissatisfaction.
At the end of her gaze were the people gathered—beastfolk who had lost limbs and had their skin burnt by the demon’s attacks—receiving treatment from Eve.
“This, Eve consulted me about it, and I opposed it. ‘Providing free meals and treatment in the Reconstruction Area’ is ridiculous. It might be fine for just an ordinary white mage, but for a white mage belonging to a hero party to go there is definitely suicidal.”
Maya shrugged in disbelief.
“The first time, we were suspected and ignored. The second time, we were laughed at and had stones thrown at us. The third time, the fourth time… they never accepted us, even though we came with good intentions.”
She should have stopped there, but Maya continued.
“But, Eve never tried to stop.”
“…?”
“She’s such a fool. Can you imagine? Being on the verge of being attacked by a grown man, and still bowing your head and saying, ‘Please let us treat you’? Even though it’s not beneficial to herself?”
“The magic of healing was already difficult enough. The amount of magical power it consumes, the complexity of manipulating magic… Simply casting it all over the body doesn’t necessarily heal everything, and exercising it on healthy parts can even cause harm. Therefore, the ability for a practitioner to precisely and efficiently treat only the damaged parts with precise magical manipulation is required.
But would someone who doesn’t like her accept it willingly?
“…I wouldn’t do it if I were her.”
“Exactly? I wouldn’t either. I’d rather just punch the person.”
That seems too extreme…
“Eve is a kind girl. Eve know more than anyone else about people’s pain, and she’s always the first to act when someone is hurt. It was only natural that Eve was nominated as a ‘saint candidate’.”
While watching Eve, who is being thanked by the beastmen, Maya proudly puffs out her chest as if she were proud of herself.
“I’ve heard that Eve likes you. I’ve been told so many times it’s become like a broken record. I’ve listened and supported her as a friend. …But, that’s why I can’t forgive you.”
“Huh? Why?”
I can’t recall anything even after thinking about it.
As I tilt my head, Maya speaks.
“Because you’re a womanizer, right?”
“Huh?”
“I’ve heard it. You’ve been confessed to by other women, and it seems like you’re keeping both of them without making a choice. You’re a real enemy of women. Wouldn’t it be better if you died?”
“That’s a massive misunderstanding.”
It was terribly misunderstood. Well, it might look like that just by looking at the situation, but it’s different. Seriously, I didn’t choose to be like this.
“I want Eve to be happy. There’s no way I can forgive such a scumbag of a man.”
“…It’s a misunderstanding. I’m not keeping them.”
“Then what? I can’t think of anything else.”
“No, it’s really different…”
I try to explain the misunderstanding, but I can’t come up with a good explanation.
Um, how do I say this? Even if I say that I accepted Eve and Rafine’s challenge… wouldn’t it sound incomprehensible? It’s likely to be misunderstood as just keeping them.
I scratch my head, pondering.
Seeing me struggling, Maya quickly hugs herself.
“Are… are you trying to take advantage of me too!?”
She recoiled like a wary cat. There’s no way that’s true, idiot.
“Stop it. Focus on Eve instead.”
“Hmph,” she snorts disdainfully. And then, with a disgusted look on her face, she says,
“If you make her cry, I won’t forgive you.”
Her eyes, like those of a swordswoman, seem to say she’ll never forgive me.
I replied softly.
“…I understand.”
“I’ll beat you to a pulp if you make her cry.”
“Huh!? W-what, does ‘not forgive’ mean that? Physically?”
“I’ll chase you to the ends of hell even if you run.”
What a scary person.
Maya’s glaring eyes were resolute. It didn’t seem like she was joking.
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The misunderstanding remained unresolved, and Eve, who had finished most of the treatment, returned.
“It seems like you two got along well. That’s good.”
Seeing the two of us talking, Eve happily declared that. How did she misunderstand that? It’s definitely not a good relationship. It’s clearly tense.
“Is it over? …Oh, by the way, why was I called here?”
As I watch the beastmen leaving one by one, I ask.
Come to think of it, I didn’t do anything. I just watched.
Then, with her eyes wide, Maya said.
“What are you talking about? This is just the beginning.”
“Huh? But the others are leaving.”
What’s going on? But before I could ask…
“It seems they’re coming.”
At the same time as Eve’s voice.
The beastmen poured into the treatment room as if to replace those leaving.
Their number is more than double that of before. …Huh?
“Could it be that I was called…”
A bad feeling crosses my mind. No, that’s not it, right? Right?
“Today we’ll be treating until evening. We don’t know how many will come, so we called you.”
“I, I have something to do after this.”
“You said you were free. With someone like Ray who has more magic power than me, you’re as strong as a hundred people.”
I try to escape, but I’m stopped by being grabbed by the hand.
I understood. So that’s why she seemed hesitant at first.
“…Is it still no good?”
Eve slumped her shoulders in dejection.
Maya, right beside her, glared with an intense expression.
…Hmm, this isn’t going well.
“Come on! Bring it on, all of you!”
I agreed, with a desperate resolve.
In the end, the treatment that day lasted until literally night, even deep into the late hours.
Beastmen kept crowding in one after another.
Despite feeling like I was dying from the endless onslaught, I continued the treatment.
Eve eventually tried to stop them halfway through due to the unexpectedly large number, but at that point, I was determined to see it through no matter what and cast healing spells on every single one who came, even those who hadn’t shown up. I gave it my all. I really did.
And then the next day came.
As expected, I ran out of magic and ended up bedridden.
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