False Sage’s Heroic Tale

Therium is a small village in a remote area to the east of the Holy Kingdom.

　Fortunately, the village had not suffered any serious damage during the war with the Demon Kingdom, but three years ago, a tumultuous situation occurred.

　When Mathis Lutius, the Hero-killer, and a great criminal, was sent here.

Although he was a commoner, he was not stripped of his baronet’s title, but was fitted with a magical device for surveillance around his neck and took up residence in a hermitage in the woods a short distance from the village.

　The villagers were puzzled.

　After all, he was a great criminal who had killed the Hero. He would normally have been sentenced to death, but he must have used his cunning to receive a reduced sentence. The peace that had finally come would be disturbed.

At the same time, they were terrified.

　Even though his sword and magic skills were below par, he was a man who had risen to power through his brains. If he was offended, who knows what kind of harm he might do?

　The villagers had been scared of him for the past six months, but…

The barrier protecting the hermitage reacted.

Seig smiled kindly at her, who was on close guard.

“Don’t worry, no one with hostile intentions can come in. It looks like someone from the village visited us.”

Seig stood up, put the book back on the shelf, and went through the transfer magic.

“Doctor Sage!　Grandma has a fever!　Please, can you check on her!”

A young man with a good physique slammed the hermitage door violently. His face and clothes were covered in dirt as if he had come in a hurry after interrupting his farm work.

“Connie-san, first of all, please calm down.”

Seek opened the hermitage door and answered.

　Since he moved into the hermitage, he has been studying magic and acting as a doctor at the same time.

　The villagers had been put off their guard, and he had become an indispensable presence in the village.

The young man – Connie – lead Seig away and points to the back of the wagon.

　An old woman was wrapped in a thin cloth, looking distressed.

“Did you give her the medicine for her fever?”

“Yes, I did. But the fever hasn’t gone down at all…….”

“I understand. Let’s treat her right away. Feri, will you carry the old woman?”

“Understood.”

Feri, who had been standing behind Seig before he knew it, responded. She easily lifted the old woman and carried her to the hermitage.

“Looks like she was probably poisoned somehow.”

“Poison ……?　That can’t be, though, because our family eats the same thing and we’re fine, right?”

“Some people can get sick from reactions to small poisons, even if they are harmless to others. And the symptoms can be particularly severe in the elderly.”

He smiled back at Connie, who seemed anxious.

“Don’t worry. She’ll be fine as soon as she takes the medicine. You can wait inside.”

Seig returned to the hermitage with Connie in tow.

　The hermitage was divided into two rooms. Seig and Feri’s living space and a small medical examination room.

　He made Connie wait in the other room and entered the examination room.

　The old woman was lying on a bed.

“Master, what herbs should I prepare?”

“No, don’t bother spending time infusing the herbs. I will do it here.”

　It also takes time for the medicine to take effect.

Even if he did not deal with it right now, it would not kill her, but he did not want to cause her any more suffering.

Seig put his hand on the old woman’s forehead. A small ball of light appeared from his palm. The ball of light was absorbed into the old woman’s forehead.

　The old woman’s face became calm and she began to breathe softly in her sleep.

“?　I understand that this was a detoxification, sleep, and strength restoration spell……., perhaps ……”

“Yes, it’s the composite magic I told you about earlier.”

“I was surprised. It was as smooth as if you were using single magic.”

“It’s not that difficult once you get the hang of it. You can master the combination of low-level magic in no time.”

Feri eyes fluttered. 　

(Recovery and mental interference magic are high-ranking on their own, though…….)

Seig left the room and told Connie, who was wandering around restlessly, with a smile.

“The treatment is over. She’s all right now.”

Connie’s face lit up and took Seig’s hand with tears in his eyes.

“Thank you, Doctor. Thank you so much!　If only the doctor hadn’t been here, uuuh……”

　No doctor who can make a proper diagnosis and prescribe medicine would come to a rural town like this.

And there were very few people who could handle recovery magic, including detoxification, because of its high level of difficulty. Naturally, ‘Mathis’ could hardly use magic, so he made no secret of the fact that he had been cured by magic.

“She will soon wake up. When you return, keep her on a diet that is easy on the stomach and let her rest for a while.”

He had Connie sit down and served him tea until the old woman woke up.

Seig had holed himself up for the past few days doing magical research, so he chatted with him and asked him how things were going in the village.

“Well, it’s peaceful. Thanks to the doctor’s medicine, everyone is in good spirits. This time, though, Grandma’s fever didn’t go down, which was a bit chilling.”

Seig decocted the medicine and brought it to the village, giving it to the mayor as a regular remedy.

He also repairs and makes farming and hunting tools, and is a handyman in any way he can be.

Unbeknownst to the villagers, the village is surrounded by a barrier similar to the one that surrounds the hermitage.

It’s for malicious people and harmful beasts. The wards prevented such intruders from entering the village, and at the same time, they also functioned to alert Seig and Feri.

“Since the doctor hasn’t been around for a while now, everyone’s been missing you.”

　Connie continued in an easygoing tone, but with a sincere look in his eyes.

“Better idea, why don’t you live in the village?　Ah, but I’m not talking about just using you for convenience, everyone in the village has already accepted you.”

　Connie hurriedly added, and Seig shook his head.

“But I am a criminal, you know. I don’t think it’s a good idea to get too friendly with me.”

“That’s not true!”

　Connie slammed the table hard.

“S-sorry, I got excited ……. At first, I thought you were suspicious too. We were looking at you like you were a nuisance. But now, no one believes that Doctor has betrayed the hero. It must have been the aristocrats of the Holy City who set you up.”

His clear eyes made his heart prickle.

　He felt that the trust of the villagers had been gained on a pretense.

(I just didn’t want to ruin my best friend’s reputation. ……)

　A caring ‘Matthys Lutius’ would have done this. He’s just accumulated that kind of thing.

If he had been sent to this village as ‘Seig Andreas,’ how would he have behaved?

He couldn’t imagine himself in such a situation.

“No, but the doctor is not someone who should be here in the countryside. I look forward to the day when you are cleared of your false accusation and become active in the Holy City.”

As they chatted, the old woman awoke and returned to the village with Connie.

　As the wagon disappeared behind the trees,

“Feri, I’ll ask you to escort them back to the village.”

　It was not far from the village. There were no monsters in the vicinity, only wild boars.

　But Seig’s words carried weight.

“……Understood, sir.”

Feri leaped without asking why. She lightly leaped over the slender branches.

Seig started walking toward the forest in the opposite direction of the village, instead of the hermitage.

He walked leisurely as if he were going out for a stroll.

“Well, I guess I’ll go attend to another guest.”

　He smiled wryly, with his eyes glinting like those of a beast that has its prey in its sights—