The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

I carried the wounded demon man, Gref, to a nearby house, and after checking to see if anyone was inside, I decided to put him on a bed close at hand.

"Has it been quite a while since the house was empty ......?"

After lightly brushing the dust off the bed, I put Gref down.

He was a man of about 40 years old, brown with rather large horns, looking a little weak for a demon tribe.

As I wondered why he was surrounded by demons with his children, two children --- a boy of about eight years old called Rose and Ram --- ran up to him.

"Uncle Gref ......"

"......"

Mr. Greff's kid?

...... No, he says uncle, so no?

"Is Gref okay ...... with his injuries?"

"We've taken care of it, don't worry about it."

"But there was ...... a lot of blood, and ...... recovery magic isn't enough ......."

Keira, who was watching Mr. Gref from a step away from Rose and Ram, muttered anxiously.

This girl seems to understand how deep his wounds were.

Perhaps noticing my hesitation, Nair speaks to Keira in a calm tone of voice.

"That's exactly what you need to worry about. He is very good at recovery magic. So he will be fine now.

"...... really?"

"Yes, I'm not lying. See?　Am I right?

"Oh, yeah."

For what it's worth, I'm glad you're here Nair.

I mean, I'm too good a liar.

Keira looks up at me with a determined expression on her face and lets out an "ah" as if she is relieved.

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry!　I didn't mean to call you uncle.

With his horns and brown skin, was he not recognized as a demon tribe?

Come to think of it, I've only shown my back to her except for the first time, so it's not surprising that she might have misunderstood me.

But .......

"Isn't it because they are austere and cool ......"

"Oh, you're lying, you're depressed as usual?"

He smiles at Keira, who looks worried and depressed as usual.

"I'm not mad at you, it's okay. Besides, I don't mind you calling me 'uncle' at all.

"Oh, I see. ......"

"Anyway, why don't you tell me about yourselves?　I don't mind if you tell me as much as you can."

Glancing at Mr. Greff, Keira looked hesitant and then opened her mouth.

"We were all heading to the center of the Demon Lord's territory ......, and on the way there, we were attacked by a demon and got separated from the rest of the group. ......"

"Everyone?　Were they all traveling in groups?"

"Yes. There were about 20 of us, and we were told ...... that the demons were active and it was dangerous, so we had to move where we lived. ......

You were moving toward the center of the demon king's territory to escape from the demons.

Gref was attacked by demons and got separated from Keira and the others, so he came here to find a safe place to stay... but at that moment he was attacked by a pack of hangwolves.

"Do you have a plan to meet up with them?"

"Gref said there's another abandoned settlement beyond the ruins that we're supposed to meet up with them."

Ruins ......?　

No, but you already have a way to meet up with us in case of emergency.

So, should we stay out of it?　......No, but we should ask Mr. Gref directly, too, just in case.

"What is that brother of yours ...... Usato, why are you here?　Are you going to the center like us?"

"Hmm?　Well, it's the same thing. We were just passing by when we heard your screams and rushed over.

We can't tell them our real goal of defeating the Demon King.

However, if we try to deceive them, they will be suspicious of us, so let's just say that we are here for the same purpose as the girls.

...... Kazuki and the others should have arrived by now.

"Neah, watch these girls and Mr. Greff. I'm going to go brief the others."

"Yes, I'll take good care of him, don't worry."

He asks Nair to take his place and leaves the room.

Immediately after that, Keira shouted to me from behind.

"Uh, sir!　Are you a dark magician like me?

"......"

With my back to Keira, I involuntarily stop in my tracks.

What was in his voice was the anxiety that he had called himself a dark wizard, and the joy of meeting another dark wizard just like him.

Ferrum's voice brings me back to myself, and I smile as hard as I can, my cheeks twitching, and turn to Keira.

"......Yes, you're right. I am a dark wizard. We'll talk about this later.

"Yes, yes!"

He turns his back on her happy face and walks out.

"I'm sorry I did that. ......"

<<

"You say that, but ......"

It doesn't feel good to fool a kid like Keira, even if it's just to keep her from finding out who we really are.

"How do you know?　Could it be Mr. Gref's daughter?"

Of all the things to have a hunch about.

There's a guy named ...... Rose who has an almost definite intuition, and you can't deny it.

<

"Why of all people, Coga ......?"

<

I should deny it, but I was convinced by accident.

I imagined Koga smiling at me and hitting me. ......!

While I was thinking about this, I found Senpai and Kazuki and the others outside of the village where we are now.

Everyone except for Bulrin is hiding their heads with hoods, as if Senpai had told them to do so.

"First of all, I have to explain the situation to them.

.

I was a little concerned about Ferm, who was a little listless, but I ran up to them to meet up with my seniors once more.

I was a little nervous about Ferrum, who was a little down in the dumps.

First of all, they were surprised to see me in the form of a demon tribe.

Kazuki and Leona were surprised at the change in my appearance, while Amako frowned and said, "I couldn't prevent it. ......!" Amako looked at me with a frown and muttered in frustration, "I couldn't prevent it.

Well, my appearance will be restored once I am unassimilated from Ferrum, but first I decided to visit an abandoned house nearby and report the situation so far.

In case you are wondering, Bulrin is waiting for me at the entrance of the house.

"...... a demon man and his three children?"

In what seems to be a living room, Leona puts her hand on her chin when she hears my report.

There was a wooden table in the living room.

"They were lovely children," she said.

"......"

"Usato, I don't mean any harm, okay?　So you don't have to keep your distance from me, okay?"

I try to keep my distance from him, but he grabs my arm firmly.

He anticipated my move!　He anticipated my move!

She gives me a fearless smile and calls out to Leona, who is pondering.

"Leona, I want to hear your thoughts.

"Well, there is a risk that the demons will find out who we are. ....... But if you think about it, it is not so bad for us.

"Yes, why?"

Leona replies to Kazuki's question.

"Worst case scenario, we can ask for Nair's help.

"Is it Nair's power as a vampire? ......"

By sucking blood from a target's neck, Nair is able to control the target.

This is an unprecedented power that allows her to control a wide range of things, from behavior to memory.

"However, I do not like to use this power too often. It should be considered only as a last resort.

"Yes, I see. Even if we manipulate them for the time being, there is a possibility that they will be suspicious of us later.

Besides, Nair wouldn't want to manipulate such a young child.

We know that she likes children, judging from her reaction to the child in Hinomoto's Hidden Village and earlier.

This should be considered as a last resort.

"So, what are you going to do now?　Should we leave right away?

"......No, this is a good opportunity in a way."

Leona nodded her head as she replied to her senpai.

"We are a bit tired from the many battles we have fought on our journey to today. Although it is an empty house, we have a place where we can rest our bodies, and we should take a rest, even if it is only for a short time."

"Yes, we've all been fighting all the time. ......"

Amako, who had been watching the attack by the demons, nodded in agreement.

My healing magic can heal the physical body as much as I want, but as I said, healing magic is not as effective as it is when it comes to the spirit.

Leona is right, we need to take a proper rest for our spirit.

"We don't have to worry about water, since there was an undried well nearby. We should also ...... gather some food. We still have some food to spare, but we'll get some on the road in anticipation of future journeys."

"The first amount is not going to be enough."

At any rate, that's enough food for eight people, including Berlin.

We have to get food from somewhere, no matter how much we cut down.

As I was agreeing with her words, Amako raised her hand.

"Well then, when we were coming here, we heard the sound of a river flowing nearby. I don't know if there are fish there or not, but I think it's worth a try.

When I hear the word "fish," I think of my senior who was catching fish in the darkness of Lingle.

"Well, it's your turn now, isn't it?"

"Usato. As for me, I'm happy to be depended on by you, but I have mixed feelings about my role as a fisherman, don't you?"

"That's because I trust you."

"Can we have a quota of a hundred fish?"

Isn't that too much?

As I was smiling at the senior who was filled with a strange kind of motivation, Kazuki spoke next to Leona.

"But aren't you taking too long?"

"Our ultimate goal is to defeat the Demon King. That's why it's meaningless if we are killed by demons on the way to that goal. ...... Usato's healing magic is not perfect either. We should be more cautious than necessary on this journey."

"...... indeed."

Kazuki looks convinced.

Leona looked around at us once more and opened her mouth.

"While we rest in this vacant house, Usato, Ferrum, and Nair will be in charge of dealing with and monitoring the demons here. Kazuki, Suzune, Amako, and I will be mainly responsible for gathering food. Whenever possible, two or more of us should be together when gathering food.

When you say "surveillance," do you mean surveillance in the sense of keeping our true identities from being discovered?

I'm a bit uncomfortable with the idea of wearing the disguise of a demon tribe, but I can't be selfish.

"Ah, Leona-san..."

"Hmm?　What's up, Amako?

"I don't think it'll be a problem if they find out I'm a beastman. I heard that beastmen are closer to demons than humans.

"In that case, I'll leave it to you to support Usato."

Amaco is coming too?

This reminds me of the time when I was on a journey to deliver a letter.

Aruk would be perfect ...... but he is also doing his best in the Kingdom of Lingle.

"I'll do my best too. ....... Ferrum, Amako, we should go to Keira and the others. I have to introduce you too."

"......, yeah."

"Yeah, okay."

Ferrum's body sinks into the shadows and assimilates with mine.

In addition, her assimilation power changes her skin color and hair color, and a horn made of black magic grows on her head.

"Okay, I guess I'm all right now."

"It's really strange when you transform right in front of your eyes. ......"

"An ogre becomes a demon. ...... demonized?"

Kazuki looks at me in amazement and smiles.

Amako's mutterings never reach my ears, but I'll have a little payback later, yes.

As I was checking for horns on my head, the older guy next to me put his hand on my shoulder.

"Usato-kun, be careful not to reveal your true identity.

"Yes. Be careful of demons, too.

"I know. I know, but you tend to accumulate a lot of worries unconsciously. That's why I thought I'd let you know that you have us, your friends. ......

"Seniors ......"

I nodded to my senpai who said, "A little meddling.

After all, I can respect my senpai for some reason...,

"Later, tell those girls I'll make a good impression."

"......"

<

With a sharp look on his face, he told me such a messed up thing.

Ferrum, who has been assimilated into me, is also looking disappointed, if not a little bit.

Ah, yes, yes. This is my seniority too. ...... yeah.

I reply with a slumped shoulder.

I'm not going to do it.

"Then let me touch your horns later."

"No, I don't want to."

Then, next time, use your magic to grow cat ears.

"Of course I don't want to!"

What do you mean, "Then"? You haven't made a single concession, and now you've added a terrible request.

When I was in a state of shock, forgetting even the honorifics I usually use, my senpai, who seemed to have an air of dignity about him, smiled wryly at me.

"You're so defensive ......!　But, Usato-kun, you must be ......!"

"You are more complicated than ever today, aren't you!

I mean, "hard on yourself" isn't something you say to a guy, is it?

Why are you in a position to attack me?　I think he's a bit strong today, and he's pushing me a bit.

If you can't push, try pulling. If you can't pull, push through, Usato-kun!

"Senpai, I don't understand at all. ......"

As usual, I am a little disappointed at Senpai's usual three-step-ahead conversation, but on the other hand, I find myself enjoying such an uninteresting exchange of ideas.

I have some doubts about the future, but with this person in my life, I may be able to remain as I am.