The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

I was in the center of a large, dark, eerie room.

There was an expensive-looking carpet under my feet and a disproportionately beautiful chandelier overhead, but everything was falling apart, and upon closer inspection, the entire room had been reduced to rubble, and where there would have been a window, it had been entirely hollowed out, revealing a pitch-black view outside.

I did not question why I was here. I just looked closely so as not to miss what was in front of me, and I saw Usato and Aruk-san in the room I was in.

But Aruk-san is looking at Usato with his sword propped up as if he is very tired.

And Usato is standing with his back to me, talking to someone.

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To whom am I speaking?

From where I am, I can't see who is in front of Usato. Someone whose face I cannot see seems to be injured and is leaning his back against the wall.

Upon closer inspection, I see that Usato is in tatters. The uniform he is wearing is not torn, but it is heavily sooted and stained. There are traces of blood from his temple to his chin, as if he had been in a fierce battle.

After saying something to the person in front of him, Usato approaches someone in front of him and crouches down.

At that moment, the person in front of him is slightly visible. For a brief moment, the darkness enveloped him, and he could not make out the face, but when his mouth twisted like a crescent moon and his sharp fangs peeked out, <>'s vision shook dramatically.

>

shouted as I tried to leap forward.

At the same time, , his back against the wall, pulls out a dagger out of nowhere and thrusts it at Usato. Whether he was stabbed or not is impossible to tell from his back.

---I can see drops of blood trickling down to Usato's feet, though I don't know if he was stabbed or not.

My vision blurs.

I reach for the scene that is fading away from my sight as if I'm falling asleep, but my vision is out of reach.

I want to know what happens next.

What happened to Usato?　

Did he get hurt?

Is he all right?

He's alive, isn't he?

Am I going to be ...... alone again?

Terrifying images spin around and around in my head, making me helplessly afraid.

My is always the same. It always ends up at the crucial point, at the important point, always. They ignore my will, they only show the scene they want to show, and then it's over. They never show the next scene or the one before that.

So every time I wake up, I feel helplessly frustrated that I can do nothing but watch. .......

I wonder if my mother had this feeling all the time.

I have to face the irresistible reality and the future...... unreasonableness in the name of fate.......

"What?　Did you dream that someone stabbed me?"

"Yes."

Amako told me about her dream, and I frowned in disgust.

We had been traveling smoothly without encountering any bandits or demons for a few days since we left Lukvis. Amako's prediction was enough to cloud the future of our journey.

Amako's prediction was sure to come true.

The future will never be the same without her intervention. Just like when she urged me to avert a future of destruction for the kingdom. .......

"Is that true?　Amaco.

"I don't know when, but I kind of know it's not far in the future."

Amaco nodded at Mr. Aruk's words as he pulled his horse.

"Where were you stabbed?"

"...... don't know. I think it was in the stomach or the side.

Belly and flanks. .......

"That looks painful. ......"

"...... yeah."

"......"

"......, that's it?"

"What?"

Why would I be scared of being stabbed in the gut?

I had more pain when I fought that snake, and even if you get stabbed, it's a pretty small knife, so unless it's a bad hit, you can heal and fight back right away.

To be honest, I'm more afraid of the commander's fist.

Did you know, Amako, that if a person keeps getting hit beyond his limits, he will not feel anything?

"......No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!"

"It can be cured with healing magic. ......"

We've been through poison before with that snake, so we should be fine.

"There was blood and stuff. ......"

How long?

"......... just a little bit."

A little bit is within the range of a scratch.

"No problem."

"......"

"Wait a minute, don't give me that look."

He looked at me as if he was looking at a foreigner whom he did not understand.

Why is he treated like a monster just because he is resistant to poison and injury?

......,I mean, if you think about it, he looks like a monster, but I think there are ways to say he's even better than that.

"But you might want to be careful. Considering the situation that Amako mentioned, we are sure to be in trouble in the near future.　

"Yes, well, there's only so much you can do because of what's going to happen. ....... Amaco, can you change that prediction like you did with me?"

I ask Amako, who is standing next to me, and she shakes her head.

So I'm going to get knifed anyway, I guess.

"Should I work on my abs while I'm at it? No, I'll break them before I get stabbed?　Wouldn't it be faster to beat up the person who stabs you?　What do you think, Amako?"

"Why are you trying to overturn it when it's been confirmed: ......"

That's true, but if listening to this prediction is part of the process that will lead to the future that Amaco saw, then we should do what we are going to do.

It is much better than not doing it and regretting it.

"Well, training for the time being. You're going to do it, right, Bulrin?"

"Gah!"

You wanna do it, too?

That's my boy.

I look at Amako, laughing at Bulrin, who seems to be happy to see me walking around and punching my leg. I've been thinking for a while now that Amako is a little thin. I've been thinking for a little while now that Amako is a little thin, but maybe she needs to work out for the rest of her journey.

"How about you, Amaco?　"You should get stronger, it will help you if something happens to you."

"Absolutely not."

I didn't think you'd like it that much.

I was mildly shocked by Amako's clear refusal and distance from me, while Bulrin still punched me in the leg.

And Aruk-san smiling at the exchange.

The journey of the three of us and one dog was going well like this.

"Mr. Alc, we haven't reached Samaritan yet, have we?

At night, we sit by the side of the road by the fire and wait for the morning. When it gets dark, the moonlight is the only light we can rely on, and the monsters are more active. And since it would be too dangerous to travel if we fall off a cliff while walking along the road at night, we take turns to keep the fire going when it gets dark.

Amako lies down on her back against Bulrin, who is already asleep.

It was still early in the morning, so I asked Mr. Aruku, who was setting a dead tree on fire, about our future journey.

"We still have a long way to go, don't we?"

Our next destination, Samaria, is still far away.

Well, there are no cars or bullet trains in this world, so it is only natural that it takes time to go to faraway countries. We knew that, but there is another problem.

Food and water are essential for traveling.

Water can be found in the rivers, but food is getting scarcer and scarcer, so it would be nice if we could get it from somewhere. .......

"We are running low on food, so is there somewhere we can get some?"

"Yes. ...... Well, there should be a village not far from here where we can get some food to share."

I nodded at Aruk-san's words as I looked at the map he pulled out of his leather bag.

Stopping by a village is very exciting, just like R!

"Well, if worst comes to worst and we're in need of food, me and Bulrin will hunt some fish or animals for you.

"Guh."

"Don't be a pain in the ass. You're the one who eats the most."

"Ha-ha-ha, I'm counting on you."

He lightly slaps Bulrin on the head.

You're the one who eats the most! You should at least hunt like a former wild Hexenbiest.

"But, umm... ......"

Mr. Aruk looks at the map again and snarls.

"What's wrong?"

"I have heard some strange rumors around this village.

"Mysterious rumor?"

Not in the village, but in the area?　What kind of rumor is it? When I asked him, he turned to me and opened his mouth with a mysterious expression on his face.

"It seems that some skilled knights, adventurers, and bandits have suddenly disappeared," he says.

"Isn't that strange and dangerous rumor ......?"

Disappearing is pretty disturbing.

Is it a case of "godforsakenness" in our world?　Summoning to another world is similar, but there are many possible reasons for disappearing in this world.

Captured by bandits, attacked by monsters, falling off a cliff, etc. .......

No, they disappear, but after a few months ...... or a few years at most, they reappear with a face like a dazed child."

"What's that? Were they all right?"

It sure is strange...... no, it's creepy to me.

I wonder where they were and what they were doing while they were gone.

"I only know rumors, but they all seem to have lost their memories of the period of time they were gone.

"Lose ...... your memory?"

"There is a lot of speculation that he has crossed time, or that someone has stolen his memory. ......"

"Considering the possibility of some rare magic, it seems to me that any possibility is possible.

In the world where he/she used to be, it would be a case of missing or being hidden by the gods, but in this world, there is something out of the ordinary called magic, so it's not impossible.

To tell the truth, I am not good at this kind of stories.

I am not good at horror stories in general, such as ghosts. I'm afraid of ghosts because I feel that there is nothing I can do if they appear in front of me. And I can't hit them.

Aruk-san noticed my slightly pale face, and with a reassuring smile on his face, he slowly waved his hand to the side.

"Well, I haven't heard any rumors of anyone disappearing in the last few years, so I think you'll be fine, don't you?　As far as I'm concerned, I think it's just a rumor spread by merchants and bandits for the fun of it.

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

Good. If it hasn't happened in the last few years, we're okay.

I was imagining that we were caught in a "godforsaken" situation when we were passing by, but if that's the case, there's nothing to be afraid of.

There is no need for horror in a fantasy world, and there shouldn't be.

Ghosts, in general. ----.

"Gu ......"

A sleepy-looking Bulrin lets out a small groan and looks into the bushes.

"Mr. Aruk!"

"Yes. ......"

He stands up, making eye contact with Mr. Arc, who has taken the sword from beside him.

There is something in the bushes just beyond Bullein's view.

Either it is a monster or someone who tried to attack us in our sleep. ...... Either way, it doesn't seem to be trying to be friendly with us as it hides and listens to us.

Leaving Amako, who is still sleeping, in the hands of Bulrin, Mr. Ark and I slowly approach the bushes with our hands on the hilts of our swords.

"......"

When you find one, hit it with a healing punch anyway.

If they are not hostile, I apologize later.

If it's a monster, I just stun it and leave it alone.

If it is a ghost, carry everyone and run away.

I put healing magic on my fist and go ahead of them, then quickly put my hand on the bush and...,

"Ho, ho, ho!"

"Whoa!"

---Just as I was about to do that, a black object came flying out of me.

You pull your fist and look at it as it flies away upward.

"An owl. ......?"

With large wings and a round silhouette, the black owl disappeared into the forest with a very high pitched hooting sound.

Aruk-san, who was watching the owl as I was, lowers his hand on the hilt and smiles.

"......It seems I was a bit overconcerned."

"Ha-ha-ha ...... I see."

Perhaps because I am still new to traveling, I was too tense as Mr. Aruk said.

Maybe I should move with a little more composure. It would be a real shame if we were so tense all the time that we let our guard down at the most important moment. .......

As I sat down at the place where I had just sat, I was thinking about this, and something that had just occurred to me.

"I mean,...... do owls sound like that?"

And why did it fly from the bushes, or rather from the ground?

I don't know what a real owl sounds like, nor do I know its habits, but for some strange reason, it bothered me, and I stared casually at the dark forest where the owl had disappeared.