The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

Noon on the day I arrived at the base.

I met Rose again, and next I was confronted by a group of tough guys.

They still looked as horrible as ever, but I was relieved to see that none of them had made it back alive.

I was kicked out of the tent by Rose, but that was a familiar sight at the rescue squad, so I guess it was not an unusual sight. ...... Well, after that we almost got into a fight after some agitation, and Rose kicked me out of the tent.

After exchanging greetings with all the members, Sigurth called me to the meeting tent in the center of the base.

When I passed through the banner, I found Mr. Sigurth, my senpai, Kazuki, and Leona in the tent.

"Well, now that Usato-sama is here, let's start talking.

The reason why the four of us were gathered here this time was to discuss our plan to enter the Demon Lord's territory tomorrow.

The general plan was made in the Lingle Kingdom, but at this base we will be discussing other problems that may arise before we enter the Demon Lord's territory.

"The most important issue is about the big river that flows between the territory of the Demon King and the territory of human beings. ......"

"Yes, we already have a solution for this.

Is that so?

The senior staff member replies to Mr. Sigurth's words.

"Leona, a brave woman from Mearaq, magically built a hastily constructed bridge. Then Usato, who has been assimilated by Ferrum, will reinforce the bridge with black magic, and Nair will use magic to make it resistant. With this, we should be able to build a bridge that we can cross.

To be honest, I'm not sure if I need to assimilate with Ferm.

No, if the combination of Nair and Ferrum is to be emphasized, should I be there?

I really wish I could help you.

"It's no wonder that Kazuki and I specialize in offensive magic."

Kazuki's is a light system that makes anything it touches disappear.

Senpai is of the electric strike lineage, which manipulates powerful lightning.

Both of them are powerful magic, but they are not suitable for building bridges.

"Hmm. I understand the theory, but is it possible?　I would like to hear your opinion, Leona.

Sigurth put his hand on his chin and asked Leona.

"We have confirmed the width of the river itself, so it should not be impossible. If possible, I would like to see with my own eyes the proper place to build a bridge once ......"

"So, are you going to see the big river today?　We can leave before dark from now on."

Leona looks troubled for a while at Sigurth's suggestion.

She nodded her head to Mr. Sigurth after a moment to collect her thoughts.

"Yes, that's right. I think I should go and check first. May I borrow your horse?"

"Of course."

...... Leona, are you going to go to the big river now and look for a point to build a bridge?

Then I should check with her, since I will be involved in building the bridge.

I raise my hand and talk to Sigurth who is instructing his knight to arrange horses for us.

"Mr. Sigurth. May I follow you too, Leona?　I want to check on the big river too.

"What?"

I understand. Then I'll prepare a horse for you, Usato-sama.

For some reason, Leona was surprised, but I was more surprised that a horse was prepared for me.

...... No, wait a minute.

I've never ridden a horse before.

I don't want a horse!　I can't ride a horse!

"Hmm?　Then leave the reins to my men and get behind...

No!"

We can't let the knight get into trouble.

And it's not far from here to the river.

I'll run, don't worry!

At that moment, the expressions on the faces of Sigurth and his knights froze.

Then they gave me an enlightened look as if to say "Oh, I see...".

I see...".

Plains.

In front of a wooden barrier, battered from the battle, Leona and I were getting ready to leave.

"I didn't expect you to come along too."

"If it's for tomorrow, I should be there too."

Nair, perched on my shoulder in owl form, puffed out her chest in a good mood.

As I am doing my preparation exercises with a wry smile on my face, Leona approaches me on her horse, perhaps having finished her preparations earlier.

"Usato, we're ready when you are," she said.

"Hush, I'm ready too."

"I'm sure I understand your physical prowess, but ...... it feels strange."

Leona says this with an indescribable expression on her face.

"You'd better get used to it. He's going to start acting even stranger than when he was in Mearaq.

"Uh-huh?"

"When I was in beastman country, I'd take my eyes off him for a second and he'd start doing crazy tricks."

You owl. What did you say to Leona?

Leona replies vaguely to Néa's advice while paying attention to me.

How untrustworthy I am!

...... I'll keep the healing blast a little longer from Néa...

"Leona-san, we should get going.

"What?　Oh, my God!

Let's get out of here before they say anything else.

As soon as Leona's horse starts to run, I jump in front of her.

<>

Leona's horse makes a funny noise when it sees me running alongside her.

"You're really a monster when you have someone to compare yourself to, aren't you? The horse did a beautiful double-take."

"...... I'll bite your tongue!"

Nea mutters to herself as she looks at me and the horse that Leona is riding alongside.

I ignore her words as I ride my horse across the plains.

The plain where the battle took place was in a terrible state.

The bodies of the demons had been cleared away, but the wounds inflicted on the ground by the Demon Lord's last air attack were extensive.

In the worst areas, you could not even tell that the area had once been a grassland, and it was burned to the ground, reminding us once again how powerful the Demon Lord's attack had been.

We passed through a thick forest of trees from the plains, where the effects of the battle remained strong, and soon arrived at our destination, a large river.

"...... Is this the place, I see?"

"Yes. You guys have seen a similar river when you were on a boat, right?"

"We didn't come this far, though, because we met Suzune on the way."

A river flows beneath the cliff of a certain height.

I looked down at the wide, fast-flowing river and talked to Leona.

"Did you find a good spot?"

"......If the current is this strong, we should be able to prop it up with ice. The question is where to hang it. ...... The foothold is unstable here. Let's move."

"Yes, sir."

She dismounts and I follow her.

I have to watch my footing so I don't accidentally fall off.

"...... now that I think about it, it's a strange thing."

What?

I remember the first time I saw you. Not on a river, but on a frozen lake.

The first time we met was when I fought with the runaway Mr. Karon for the first time.

At the time, I mistook Leona for a man. .......

Looking back, it was really rude of me.

"At that time, you didn't have a cage hand yet, and you were just an ogre with a monster mental resistance.

"It's not an ogre, okay?"

"...... Oh, and before that, you knocked an ogre unconscious with a single punch, so it's not an ogre. I'm sorry."

What's that?　He apologized, but I don't feel he apologized.

He seems genuinely sorry, but somehow his words don't seem to mesh.

"You two are as close as ever."

"Of course. Because I'm his messenger. I'm the only one who can handle his recklessness.

"You're going to say that?"

Nair flaps her wings against my cheeks in a good mood.

No, I'm sure she's been with me a lot of times, but I don't think it's something to be proud of. .......

As I'm bothered by the tickling sensation on my cheek, I notice Leona giggling happily as she walks with her horse in tow.

"Leona-san ......?"

"It's been a pleasure talking with you guys."

"What?　Fun is ......."

"It's refreshing for me to have this kind of casual exchange."

I am not aware that I am saying such interesting things, but from the ...... side, it may be quite a pleasant sight.

I think it's quite surreal to see a good-tempered owl on my shoulder, endlessly fasching my cheeks.

"I came on this trip as a brave man, but I could only have made that decision because of you."

"Am I ......?"

When I tilted my head at her words, Leona stopped dead in her tracks and let out an "ah" sound.

She turned her head to me in a slight panic and opened her mouth, moving her hands furtively.

"No, no, I didn't mean anything deep. It's reassuring to know that you've fought with me, or something. ......

"Well, do you mean that you are reassured by my presence as a healing magician?"

"...... that's not true. I didn't make my decision because you are a healing wizard. I can't say it well, but I assure you that.

"Yes, yes. ......"

Leona corrects my misunderstanding with an air of seriousness, and I am overwhelmed.

Can I assume that she joined because of me as an individual rather than me as a healing magician ......?

Either Leona trusts me that much, or she is worried about me. ......When I look back on my behavior, there is a high possibility that she is usually worried about me. ......Yes.

"Thank you. For my part, I'm ...... glad to hear that."

"Oh, yeah!　I'm so glad you feel that way!"

Leona's face brightened from her anxiety and she turned around.　

"Oh, you've stopped. It's time to move on!"

"I guess so. ......"

"Hmmm, you hard-nosed brave and training fool. They're both so clumsy, they don't really mesh well together.

Nair muttered something rude in a whisper when she saw me and Leona nodding to each other and starting to walk away.

What do you mean we don't mesh ......?

I followed Leona, wondering about that.

"...... seems like a good place. Usato, will you hold the reins?"

"Yes, sir."

Then Leona stops and hands me the reins of the horse.

I accept the reins with some trepidation, and Leona squats down and puts her hands on the ground.

"Yeah. This looks like a good place for a foothold. If it doesn't rain today, we can build a bridge here tomorrow.

"Do you want me to mark it or something?"

"Markers. ....... Yes, let's do that.

Leona nodded at my words and stood up, cold air drifting from her palms.

What the ......?　The color of the magic power emitted from her hand became darker and its shape changed to that of a stick.

"--strengthening of the lineage.

As she muttered this, a spear of ice formed in midair and pierced the ground.

......She is a better user than I am, and the process of strengthening the lineage is very careful when I see it up close.

"Okay, I'm sure we'll find it soon enough."

Leona, who had wrapped a piece of cloth around her ice spear, which was covered with a white haze, turned around to face us.

"Won't it melt?"

"It's from the reinforcement of the system, so it should last until tomorrow morning.

"Well, if it's this cold, demons won't be able to touch it, so there's no need to worry about them being defeated.

And now that we've decided where we're going to build the bridge, all we have to do is go home.

Before we do that, I'll look at the other side of the river from the point where the cloth-wrapped spear---flag is.

I'll check how far it is from the flag, although I can only see it visually.

"Looking at it again, it's pretty far away... ......?"

"What's wrong?"

"No, I thought I heard the sound of a beast from the other side of the river. ......

Nair, with a dubious expression on her face, listens as I do, and sure enough, I hear some kind of cry coming from the other side of the river.

It is the voice of a beast, neither human nor demon.

And there are quite a few of them.

"......The voice of a demon..."

All of them?

"The war may have caused the demons to become more active. If we go to the other side of the river, we might be attacked.

"So, should we change locations?"

Nair shakes her head at Leona's words.

"If it's the same here, it must be the same in other places. If that's the case here, then our priority should be to cross safely.

So tomorrow we'll have to pay attention to what's happening on the other side of the river.

Luckily, we have a good buddy, Bulrin, who will drive the demons away if we let him cross first.

...... but the fact that the demons are making noise over there means that they are also affected by the war.

"Usato. Now that we know where to build the bridge, let's go back to the base. We have to report about the demons on the other side of the river.

"Right."

I hand the reins of my horse to Leona and start walking with my back to the river.

Tomorrow, we will cross here and enter the demon king's territory.

This is different from the journey to deliver the letter; it is a journey with a mission to directly defeat the other party. There is no way that I myself can go forward with the same naive thinking that I have had up until now.

I have to keep my head on straight.

"When we cross tomorrow. Maybe we should let Usato go first."

"Hmm, why?"

To keep the demons away. Demons don't usually attack their own kind if they're superior.

"You naturally treat me like a demon."

When I replied in anger, she seemed to feel bad and apologized to me in a light tone.

She apologized in a light tone, "I'm sorry, don't be so sulky. ...... but you're almost like a demon when you've assimilated with Ferrum. That figure is as close as you can get to Kalon in his out-of-control state.

"Yeah, don't be afraid ......."

When you say it like that, I'm usually scared.

Is that it?　Like if I continue to assimilate with the fermions, one day my body won't be human anymore?

Well, it's not that dangerous since I'm close to it.