The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

When I returned to the place where Nair and his men were, I found that they had finished checking the surrounding area and that my men had returned and were preparing to set up camp.

As might be expected after a few days of work, Elle and her men seemed to be setting up the camp quickly and efficiently without any need for my help.

"Amako, I'll talk to Neah and Hannah, and you tell Nagi and Koga about the river.

"Yeah. Okay."

As I leave Amako, I see my men magically fortifying the encampment with their magic around the camp.

To prevent demons from entering the camp, Wal built a wall around it with rock magic, and then Kevin reinforced it with wood magic to make it a barricade.

Sein turns the soil around the barricade into mud to protect it from the attack of the demons.

It may be simple, but it is a solid defense.

With these thoughts in mind, I offer some words of thanks to my men.

"Please take a rest when you are done setting up. I will cast a healing spell on you later.

""""Ha!"""

"Thanks."

"Yes, sir."

I nodded at the replies of my subordinates and looked at Ms. Vina, who had been searching for us with her magic sensing.

"You can take a rest, too, Ms. Vina, okay?"

"No, I can still work hard. A demon like me is allowed to be used more..."

"....... Are you going to disobey your superior's orders?"

"Hyun, I will obey. ......"

I don't know. I feel like I'm becoming more and more like a power-harassing boss every time I learn how to handle this guy.

That's not true at all.

With a sigh, I approached the abandoned house that Nair and Hanna were checking out, and I saw Hanna looking at the wall of the abandoned house and twisting her head.

"Hanna-san?　What's wrong?

"Oh, is that you, Usato-kun? I have something interesting to tell you. ......"

Interesting?

I tilted my head and looked at what she was looking at, but all I saw was a plain old wall.

"Well, what's interesting?"

"The structure of this building."

Structure?

If you look closely, you can see that the structure of the visible part of this ruin is similar to a brick structure.

That's all I could make out.

"????"

"Hah ...... I'll explain it in a way that you, silly Usato-kun, can understand. I really can't help it.

I was met with a "Oh dear," kind of response.

"The structure of this ruin is quite similar to ours in the Demon Lord's territory ......."

"So you're saying that this was made by demons?"

"Normally that would be the case, but it incorporates a different building method from that of the demon tribe.

Another, sir?

Look up there.

I looked up just as Hannah said... and was amazed.

There was another remnant of a treehouse-like building on top of the ruins that had been built next to the big tree.

You have to look closely to notice it, since it is almost completely destroyed, but there is indeed a house built as if it were an addition to the tree.

"The demons rarely build houses on trees," he said.

"What if it was built to survive in this environment?"

"It is possible. However, I am a little concerned about ...... the similarity between this tree top living environment and that of the elves."

"Elves?"

...... I believe the Demon Lord said something about the Elves diving deep into the forest to avoid the damage of war.

"The elves are subhumans who live in the deep forest. Their settlements are said to be built not on the ground but in the trees to protect themselves from the attacks of demons. You know them, don't you, Usato-kun?"

"Yes, that's right. She has the same magic as Hannah, and she is also an elf.

The elf I know would be Frana.

I met Frana's father a while ago.

They had the same magic of illusion.

Another one is the only daughter of the chief.

"Why is the only daughter of a chieftain on the battlefields of the Lingle Kingdom ......?"

...... No, wait, why are the demons here, let alone the elves?

The demon king's army led by the demon king must have been quite dangerous at the time.

So why would they build a building that looks like a communal building?

How long has this building been in existence?

"According to Mr. Nair, who is inside the ruins, it was built about a hundred to two hundred years ago.

"......"

...... was built hundreds of years after the battle between the Demon King and Mr. Hisago was over.

I'm even more confused.

What is it?　Demons and elves coexisted in this realm of demons?

Usato...

"Yes?"

Hanna-san calls out to me, making sketches in her notebook.

......Hannah's eyes, which always look like she's tired of her life, are very lively, aren't they?

"I'm in the middle of an important mission,...... but I'm getting a little excited."

<>

Keira lets out a stunned voice at Hannah's words.

I see, the mysterious ruins we found while exploring and the strange relationship between the demon tribe and the elf tribe that should never have crossed paths. ......

"I understand."

<<>

You'd be crazy not to be interested in a mystery like this: ......!!!

I'm sorry I don't have any seniors here. ......!　I'm sure he would have been more than thrilled to be there.

"Now, I'd like you to continue your investigation, Hannah-san.

"Okay. I'll take care of it.

"Okay ......, Hannah, is Nair in the ruins?"

"Yes, she is. I think we should talk to her too. She's made other discoveries than I have."

Another discovery. Then we should go talk to him.

I leave Ms. Hanna and step into the ruins through the half-destroyed entrance.

The ceiling had collapsed to the point that it was barely functional, and Nair was in a place barely large enough for her to find a place to sleep.

"You're here. Did you find the river?"

"Yes. It was a reasonably wide river with a slow current, so you can take a dip in it.

That's the best news I've heard all day.

Did you find anything over there?

Just about.

Even this short time seems to have paid off.

Nair, already in the form of a dark-haired, red-eyed girl, points at the ground with a wooden stick in her hand.

"Here, take a look."

"......They're the remains of a bonfire."

Charred tree branches on the blackened ground.

If there was a fire, there would have been evidence of fire spreading to the surrounding area, and this bonfire is still fresh to begin with.

It's at least three days old.

Is it that new?

"Yes. Someone has definitely been resting here recently, just like us. And...

Nair shows me a cloth-like object the size of a handkerchief in her hand.

"Is this the wrapping used for food preserves in the demon king's territory?"

"Let's check it out, shall we? Keira, may I ask you to take out the preserves inside the cloak?

>

As soon as she says this, Keira pulls out a rectangle-shaped preservative from her cloak.

As I take it, I touch it to Nair's and compare it with it, and see that the material of the cloth is almost the same.

>

I am relieved that the food is in a condition to go down my throat.

It must have been difficult for Shea to get food in a place like this, so it was more than right that Keira gave him the food.

"You might not be so optimistic."

<>

Why?

"You see this rubble around the fire here? Just the right thing to sit on."

Shea probably prepared the rubble large enough to sit on.

They are arranged in "two" rows, with the fire in between.

The fact that the other debris has been moved to the side of the wall indicates that these two debris were left intentionally.

"Was Shea here ...... with someone?"

"I have no idea who that someone is, though. Look, the footprints are different."

One is a shoe and the other is ...... barefoot?　No, they look barefoot, but are they wearing anything?

I can tell the shoe is Shea's, but the other one is about the same size as hers.

"Is that a child or a woman with Shea?"

"Most likely. ...... This is only a guess, but if she ate food here, she must have been reasonably careful about who she ate with, right?"

I'd like to think there was someone there to help Shea.

Maybe the guy who was observing us at the river earlier is ...... or maybe not.

But just in case, I'll tell Nair about it.

"I was at the river just now and I felt someone's eyes on me.

"Oh, so what's up with that?"

"Well, I threw a healing diffuser into the air and tried to detect healing indiscriminately to find out who he was."

Then Nair punched me in the chest without saying a word.

The hand that punched me in the chest was painful, so I cast a healing spell on her as she held my wrist with tears in her eyes.

"Nair, the healing spread was a spur-of-the-moment technique, I didn't hide it from you. So don't be so mad at me. It was my fault."

"Don't you understand perfectly the cause of my anger!　And you know how to apologize!"

That's absurd. .......

I'm sorry, but I can't help it.

Well, I can see that Nair is not really mad at me, so let me explain what happens next.

"As it turned out, there was someone ......, but soon they didn't look like a person anymore and ran away somewhere."

"What do you mean, ...... you don't look like a person anymore?"

"Well, I can't really say for sure, since I'm also on the healing senses, but it's like it kind of swelled up and became a different creature?"

"Is it a humanoid demon like me?　If it was observing me, it could be that it was waiting for an opportunity to attack me.

To be honest, all we know from the information we have now is that someone is aware of our presence.

If they are not our enemies, that's fine, but if they attack us, we will have to deal with them.

I will make sure that everyone is informed about this.

"That's better. Oh, and if we look around, we might be able to find some trace of where Shea was headed, so we should look for that too.

We can do that tomorrow."

At night, demons are more active, so it is difficult to move.

We must rest well until the next move.

We need to get some rest until the next action.

"Is it true that the captain is from another world?"

Before dark.

While the women were taking turns to take a bath, I was resting with my back against the burin at the campsite when one of my men, Kevin, asked me such a question.

Wol-san, a large, lanky demon, was silently stirring the soup that would be today's supper, and Koga was sitting around the campfire, like me, at leisure.

"What, Captain, you've come from another world!"

Sein, the newest member of the group, was surprised by this question.

Unlike the other members, he had come from the countryside, which has nothing to do with the Demon Lord's Army, so he had never heard of the term "otherworldly person.

"Yes, that's right. And the captain is Koga, not me.

"Tell him more, Usato ......."

In the case of me and Koga, our positions as captain and vice-captain are almost completely unrelated.

"Are people from other worlds as strong as you?"

"No, no, I'm not at all ordinary. In fact, it is because I trained here that I am the person I am today.

"I mean, how can you get this far in just one year? How long have you been in this world when you first fought me?"

Hmmm.

The trip to hand over the letter took about three months. .......

Not even six months.

That's too much.

"Well, I've been through that much hell ......."

I only remember bits and pieces.

Maybe he was forced to move beyond his full strength at all times.

Rose's extreme training is the result of such recklessness.

"But the two otherworldly heroes were also extraordinary people, so isn't it natural to think that the otherworldly people themselves have some kind of hidden talent?

"They were found to be heroes in the true sense of the word, you know. In the beginning I was just a student with the ...... potential for healing magic.

"Kevin, this guy has no talent for magic or anything like that."

Coga says with a laugh.

Is he going to follow up with something?

"I'm simply crazy...

I fired a healing finger at the guy who said that, but he evaded my shot.

"What's so crazy about me, you bastard!

"Don't you realize it, you bastard!　Don't you remember what you usually do to me?

The deeds ......?

I can't remember... I can't remember too many of them!

I'm talking to you!　How many times have I been inconvenienced by your raids!　I'm the one!　I've been stabbed twice!　Any normal man would be dead!

"You've been swinging me around like a weapon, and trying to hit me with all kinds of weird moves!　You're not a normal person to begin with!

What the hell did you say!

I have nothing against you!

Don't talk to me like it's a good thing!

Me and KOGA are holding each other's chests and glaring at each other.

"Wal, Sein. I knew it, but you two are just like each other. ......"

"Agreed."

"Including the messed up things you're saying: ......"

To be honest, I am aware that we are both on the same side, so we sigh to each other and return to our original positions.

"That's sterile."

"Yeah, let's let bygones be bygones."

There was a rotten relationship between us, but that changed after the battle was over.

Now he might be considered a bad friend.

"So. Usato. What about tomorrow?　Should we continue our search?"

"As for me, I want to follow the trail of Shea. If Shea's goal is a fragment of the Demon Lord's power, then we may be able to fulfill one of our goals by following her.

We'll definitely have to recover the by-product of the Demon Lord's power fragments. .......

"But you know what? Can you follow the trail?"

"We'll just have to find the footprints and try to go in that direction. The rest can be found at ......."

He pats the back of the burin whose back he is resting on.

"That's where his nose comes in."

"Guru ......"

"I see. A blue grizzly's sense of smell.

It's been days, and I don't know if I can track him, but I think Bulrin's nose might be able to track him to some extent.

To begin with, Bulrin's sense of smell can detect the smell of magic itself, in addition to ordinary smells.

"Finally, I found a clue. We have to find her soon. ......"

We got a lot today, but I'm still wondering who or what was watching us.

We should ...... not hesitate to contact them the next time we notice them.