The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

A few hours after leaving the hidden village.

We were walking along a roadless path when we arrived at a forest lined with many large trees.

The forest was lined with countless trees so large that they blocked out the sun's rays, and was generally dimly lit and filled with an eerie atmosphere.

"This is the entrance."

"That's an amazing forest. ......"

He let out an exclamation of admiration at Linka's words.

The forest we had walked through so far had been lit by the sun, but from this point on, we were in such darkness that we had to strain our eyes to see.

Indeed, this is not the kind of place one would normally think of visiting.

If I were asked to enter alone, I would have to prepare myself for a beating at the hands of my enemies.

Amako looked up at me, her face naturally scrunched up.

"I know it's creepy, but it will lighten up soon.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's how they're made."

Made, huh?

Is there some kind of magical tool, or something similar?

I heard that beastmen have a different culture from humans, so that's a possibility.

Let's move on. From my point of view, if we enter from here, we will reach the back gate.

I follow Rinka into the forest.

We walked with only the light coming from behind us, but it was difficult, as we almost ran into a tree or caught our foot on a root.

If you continue on this path, you will reach the back entrance of the beastman's country.

...... just in case we should take precautions.

Neah.

What?

You're in beastman country, you're an owl.

"...... yeah, okay."

"Thank you for being so perceptive."

In such a case, we can make good use of our position as a messenger.

Since humanoid demons are very rare and rarely used as messengers, we put Nair in the beastmen's kingdom as an owl's messenger and keep her on reserve as a trump card in case of an emergency.

As I was walking in the dark, relying on Rinka who was walking in front of me, Amako grabbed the sleeve of my troupe uniform.

"Hmm?"

"I don't want it to slip off."

It would certainly be troublesome if they got separated.

But when I'm like this..,

"I feel like a father with his child. And Nair's the same way.

Impact to the calf and back of the head. It didn't hurt, but it was sudden and startling.

It seems that Amako kicked my leg and Neah hit my head with her wing.

I didn't expect Nair, but I didn't expect Amako either. .......

"I'm not a child."

"Sorry, sorry."

I apologize to Amako, who lets out a sullen sound.

He may be childish in some ways, but his energy is as strong as any adult's.

"...... Usato, I have something to tell you now."

"What's the matter, out of the blue?"

"I'll believe in you, no matter what happens."

You sound just like Nair.

Is that what this is about, that we both talk about the same thing?　Do they think you don't trust them if they don't put it into words?

"I trust Usato's training stupidity, his brains, his insensitivity, his good-naturedness, and his bad-naturedness, good and bad, more than I trust ...... Nea."

"Nah!"

A scream emanates from my shoulder that I don't know where it came from.

Either they heard me talking to Nair, or ...... I underestimated Amaco's ear for a moment. But there's a part of you that doesn't want to trust him.

What's with the trusting the brains. I almost let it slide when you said it so casually.

"That's all I wanted to say."

"I trust you, too. After all, we have traveled together.

Of course, the same goes for Mr. Aruk, Nair, and Bulrin.

I have traveled so far that I can say with certainty that if any one of them had been missing, I would not be here.

But one day that journey will come to an end.

After the Land of the Beastmen, we must return to the Kingdom of Lingle.

......Will Amako remain in the Land of the Beastmen then, or will she return to the Kingdom of Lingle? .......

"What will Amaco do if he saves his mother......?"

"......"

A breathtaking reaction next to me.

After a moment of silence, her voice was somewhat anxious as if she was trying to squeeze it out.

"If I could, I'd like to go to the Kingdom of Lingle with my mother. It's too suffocating for me to live here.

"...... I'll help you as much as I can if that's what you want to do."

"Yeah. ......"

My hometown is suffocating me.

It should be abnormal for such words to come out. The circumstances surrounding Amako are so difficult that they do not allow her to lead a normal life.

"...... Whoa!

With a thoughtful expression on my face, I stumble over a tree root and almost fall down.

Nea laughs at me and Amako grabs me by the sleeve of my trousers so that we don't get separated.

As we continue down the dark path, the light finally brightens in front of us.

"It's so bright! ......"

The sudden light blinds me.

As I adjusted to the light, I looked again in front of my eyes, which were now brightly lit, and saw a huge wooden door and a stone wall filling my field of vision.

These man-made structures were unlike anything I had seen in the forests I had walked through.

And a wall that was built to cover something.

"At last, we're here."

"...... Amaco?"

Amaco muttered heavily.

She continued to squeeze the words out of my hand as she gripped the hem of my trousers.

"A country whose name was not even allowed to be revealed to humans. The land of the beastmen, Hinomoto. ...... Here is where my mother is."

"......"

Until now, I had thought that the land of the beastmen did not have a name. Even the people in the castle called it the Land of the Beastmen, and so did Amako.

However, the name revealed by Amako's mouth now was something that I ......, Inukami-senpai and Kazuki could not ignore.

"Hinomoto...... Hinomoto, Japan?"

The sword, the name given to the beasts, and the name of the country Hinomoto.

The person summoned before Senpai and Kazuki was Japanese, which means that he came to this world from a time when swords existed.

No, it is possible that they are modern people who are familiar with such things, but I am sure that they are Japanese.

"Hmm, Amako. I came to the back gate.　I don't see anyone."

"Sure."

Amako tilts her head at Rinka, who wonders why there is no one around, even though there is a door.

At that moment, the large door began to open slowly with a heavy thud.

"......!"

Surprised by the sudden opening of the door, he moves in front of Amako and takes a stance.

The door opens completely, and out of it comes a man in his thirties, with wolf ears like Linka. There were two other beastmen and two women with spears, who were staring at me and Mr. Arc as if they were wary of us.

The man who looked around at us finally turned his attention to Amako behind me and smiled softly, his shoulders relaxed as if in relief.

"We've been waiting for you. My name is Hayate, and I am the assistant to the chief.

"...... Oh, let's see. My name is Usato Ken. Thank you very much for allowing us to come here.

In case you are wondering, I am the leader of this trip, so I will introduce myself.

I am embarrassed by his faltering honorifics as usual, but the beast man, Hayate-san, is surprised by my words and immediately smiles back at me as he did before, giving instructions to his subordinate who is waiting next to him.

"Both of you, you can lower your spears now."

"But they are human. And blue grizzlies are ......."

"She's not hostile and she misses you. The blue grizzly there will not be harmed.

"...... understand."

The two beastmen lowered their spears with unconvinced looks on their faces.

The tense atmosphere softened a little, and Hayate-san walked toward Amako and me.

For the time being, I took a cautious step backward behind Amako and moved to make it easier for her and Hayate to talk to each other.

"The last time we saw each other was when you were four years old. ...... Do you remember me?"

"I'm sorry, I don't remember ......."

Seeing Amako apologizing apologetically, Hayate hurriedly waved her hand to the side.

"No, no, you don't have to apologize. I'm old enough to not remember."

Hayate-san, looking happy, bends down to make eye contact with Amako.

Hayate looked her over from head to toe and nodded.　

"Yes, yes, I'm glad you came back. I'm relieved to see that you haven't changed since I last saw you. ......Yes, you look exactly the same as you did two years ago. You look exactly the same as you did two years ago.

"......usato"

"Bear with me, I'm sure you won't take offense. ......"

Probably because this guy is really happy to see me.

Hayate-san, who is holding his hand at the height of Amako's head and looking deeply moved, gives me a shiver. I admire his guts to keep smiling without noticing even after stepping on many landmines.

As I stop Amako, who is looking up at me with swallowing eyes, Rinka, who was watching Hayate from the side, kicks him in the shin.

Hayate fell to the ground with a loud "gyaan" and looked at Rinka with tearful eyes while pushing his shin.

"Rinri, Rinca!　How dare you do this to a father you haven't seen in a long time!"

"You're still so sensitive!　Amako is concerned about your height!　And you're trying to make him feel taller than he is!　You know what? Dad, Amako's just getting started!"

"...... Usato, you're gonna lose your temper!"

"No, no, no."

He is saying this while putting his hand on Amako's head, which is the most delicacy thing he can say, but I am sure he is angry for Amako's sake.

So, Amako, please don't clutch my uniform to the point of tearing it to shreds. The uniform, which had never been torn even after the battle with the evil dragon and Mr. Karon, is now torn to shreds.

...... But though they don't look alike, they have similar personalities at the core.

As I watched the exchange between Hayate and Rinka, one of my men standing behind me coughed deliberately.

"Kohon, kohon, Hayate-sama."

"What?　I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Let me cut to the chase.

He brushed off the sand and stood up, pointing toward the door.

"Let's talk while we walk. We want to avoid the eyes of the people as much as possible, so please cover your heads, Usato and the others.

"Okay."

I put on the hood of my group uniform, and Aruk-san put on a white cloak from his horse's baggage.

It looks very suspicious from the outside, but I'll put up with it because it's more important that they know we're human.

Oh, as always, I have to ask if Bulrin can come in.

"Would you mind if we let the blue grizzly in too?"

"Yes. As long as they don't get too wild.

With almost no fear of a violent attack, we step into Hinomoto, the land of the beastmen, while petting Bulrin.

The scene beyond the door was very different from the other places we have visited so far.

"Wooden architecture, you say?"

Beyond the door, there was a row of wooden buildings that made me feel as if I had stepped back in time to a time long ago in Japan.

Perhaps it was because we entered through the back gate, but even so, I could understand that the buildings were fundamentally different from those in other countries I had visited.

Hayate-san saw us looking around and spoke to us proudly.

"The structure is different from the buildings you know, isn't it?"

Yes, I was surprised.

"All the buildings where the beastmen live are made of wood. The buildings made from the big trees that surround the country are sturdy and even the rain doesn't penetrate them.

"Wow. ......."

As for me, it's kind of familiar in a way. The shape of the buildings in a row is similar to the wooden houses you would see in the countryside, and the larger buildings could be described as mansions.

Mr. Cagalli said that the previous heroes gave knowledge to the beastmen, and I wonder if this is also the case.

"And ......"

Sure enough, it seems we are not the only two people watching us.

I don't know where they are, but I can feel many eyes watching us. I give a quick glance to Mr. Aruk just to be sure, and he gives me a small nod as if he has noticed.

Depending on our actions, we can't be too careless, since he might immediately think that we are hostile to him.

...... I'd like to ask Hayate a few questions just to be sure.　

"Mr. Hayate. Do the people here know that we are coming?

"Yes, of course. We informed them early this morning that you and Amako and the humans would be entering the country. However, the majority of the people do not have good feelings toward humans, so we have to greet them in this way.

"We knew that people would be wary of us, so we don't mind. What was the chief's reaction to our inclusion?

Hayate, who was walking at the front of the group, was puzzled for a moment when I continued the question, but she quickly answered.

"The chief was not very friendly because of his difficult personality, but I managed to persuade him and he gave me permission.

The chief is not friendly to us, unlike Mr. Hayate.

...... is difficult.

We have to meet the chief and negotiate with him to the point of helping Amako's mother, but I don't want things to get complicated.

I don't want things to get complicated. That would be the worst.

At least I hope he is not a hard-headed person..,

"--"

My thoughts are interrupted when I feel a piercing, intense gaze on the back of my neck.

It was what I would describe as a murderous intent. A gaze that chilled me to the bone, a sensation that made my entire body hair stand on end, as if I were falling from a great height.

With a momentary chill, I made a healing magic bullet with the basket hand deployed in my sleeve, and turned around to glare in the direction of his gaze.

"Hee!

But all I saw behind me was a female beastman soldier who had fallen on her back when she saw my face, and a wooden building.

I looked down at the female soldier with her right hand hidden behind her back, which was made of healing magic bullet, and saw her shoulders shaking even more, and the dog-like ears on her head slumped down.

The killing intent came from behind. ...... You don't think it's her, do you?

"?"?"

Don't eat me!"

No, I'm not eating him. What kind of monster does he think I am?

But it's not him who's trying to kill me.

"......"

"What's the matter with you all of a sudden?"

Nair, who is on my shoulder, speaks to me in a whisper, finally breaking the tension and letting out a slow breath.

Hayate and Amako, who were walking in front of me, noticed this and turned their quizzical gazes to me.

"......I'm sorry for startling you."

"What?　Yes. ......"

They must have entered the realm of the beastmen and become too sensitive to their presence.

With a click, he puts his hand back on the bracelet and reaches out a hand to help the person on the ground to his feet. The soldier stands up, looking at me with fear in her eyes, and moves away from me.

"You know what?"

"......!?"

......I'm kind of in shock, even though I deserved it.

The female soldier who was frightened just by talking to him was approached by Rinka who was nodding deeply with a mysterious face.

"I know, it's scary. I don't think they are human ...... I thought so too."

Hey.

I didn't say it out loud, since I was by far the one to blame.

I didn't say it out loud because it was overwhelmingly my fault. I was a complete villain in front of the female soldier who nodded her head in tears at Linka's comforting (?) words.

Hayate-san, who couldn't stand to see me, called out to me.

"Sir, please refrain from that kind of behavior here.

"I'm sorry. I felt a lot of stares. ......"

"Rustling ......?"

As far as Hayate's and Aruk's reactions are concerned, it is directed only to me.

Or rather, why directed at only me?

I wonder if they misunderstood me again like they did with Rinka.

"......I'm worried about the future. ......"

It could be hatred of humans, or it could be that they are just trying to pick a fight with us.

But the fact is that there are people here who would kill me like that.

I hope it will end without a fight, but if it does---I have no choice but to fight back.