The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

The first thing I did after meeting up with Nair was to negotiate with the knight on guard.

It was not that difficult to negotiate. I told him that she was my messenger, transformed into a small owl, and as long as I proved that she was harmless, he let me through without any suspicion.

I entered the ward with Néa on my shoulder, who was still a bit dazed and confused, and found Eva tending to the flowerbeds inside the ward.

Eiri is probably indoors, but in a way it's a good thing that he is not here.

I talk to Néa, keeping my voice as low as possible, since she does not seem to have noticed me yet.

"Nair, I'll tell you what's going on later, but I need you to check on her for me, okay?"

"What?　Why would I do that?

It's important. It's important.

"...... Okay, I get it."

Nair nodded grudgingly.

Nair knows magic, so she must know something about it. I nod to her and walk up to Eva, who is humming and playing with her flowerbeds.

Eva notices my footsteps and turns her head to look at me and Néa on my shoulder with a flowery smile on her face.

"Welcome back, Usato-san. Who is she?　...... No, sir?　You can't pick up a living thing so carelessly and send it back to where it belongs."

She sounded like a mother gently telling off a child who had picked up a cat.

The reaction was somewhat different from what I had expected.　I responded with a somewhat different reaction than I had expected.

"Ha-ha-ha, how good it would have been if I could have let you go home.

"!!!?"

Why did you say that?　Nair turned to me with a look as if to say, "Why did you say that?

No, you almost forced me to follow you.

......Saving the jokes for now, let me explain to her about Neah.

"I didn't pick her up, she's my messenger."

"A messenger?　The boy?

Yes, he got attached to me a while ago and we made a contract for him to be my messenger. I left him with my friends in town while I was here, but he seemed to miss me so much that he came here.

It's more like being followed than being missed.

"Um... A messenger demon is a demon, right?"

"?　......Yes, they are, aren't they?"

"Wow. ....... I've never seen a demon before. Wow, they are totally different from ordinary birds, aren't they?"

Eva's eyes light up and she bends down to look at Nair.

Neah, too, stretches her round body proudly, as if she is not satisfied. If an eagle or a hawk had done so, they would have looked cool, but the almost egg-shaped Neah looks cute even when she stretches out.

But, it's the first time I've seen a demon, huh?

It's probably an unusual thing for a person living in this world. .......

Humans and demons are far from each other. Powerful demons are only found in places with a high concentration of magical elements, but ordinary demons are closely related to humans as messengers like Huberd.

She's been living here all her life, but she's never been exposed to them.

What's your name?

Her name is Nair. She's a little shy, but she's a quiet girl.

It's just the opposite of my nature!

I let out this thought in my mind, but kept my expression.

"So your name is Neah-chan..."

"Do you want to ...... touch it?"

"Are you sure?

I was so happy that she came close to me, and I looked at Néa, but she was still leaning over me.

I haven't told her about the curse yet, but I'm sure she'll notice if there's something wrong with Eva.

She speaks to Eva, trying to keep her voice down so that Eva does not hear her.

"Neah, I'm counting on you."

"Haw."

Nair slaps me on the cheek as if to say, "I got it," and jumps on Eva's shoulder.

Eva looks ticklish, but as soon as she sees Nair on her shoulder, her mouth breaks into a smile.

"She's a very quiet girl, isn't she?"

"Ho."

"...... Okay."

Hmm?

Eva takes off her long, dirt-covered gloves and holds out her hand to Néa, who is standing on her shoulder. She looks somewhat nervous, and Néa lets out one more squeal, then jumps up and down lightly, and rests her hand on top of Eva's. Eva's hand is now on Eva's shoulder, and Néa's hand is now on Eva's shoulder.

Eva exclaims, "Wow!

"Cute ......"

If I didn't know who Nair is, I would feel at home in this situation.

But seeing her usual disappointment and cheekiness, I can't help but think otherwise.

"Are you going to live here too, Neah?"

"I was thinking of asking you and Eiri for permission. ....... If not, I'll just..."

No!　No! No problem at all!　Eiri will forgive me!　I will!

"Oh, oh..."

I'll let you go, princess.

Eva laughs as she says these words with a force that doesn't match her appearance.

Maybe Eiri won't say no, and we can let Néa stay here without raising any suspicion.

"Yes. What does she eat?　Is she a carnivore because she is a demon? ....... Neah, would you prefer meat?

Eva asks Neah with a thoughtful expression on her face.

Neah is here as an owl's messenger. So, she doesn't react too bluntly when he speaks to her...

"Ho!　Ho-ho-ho!"

"Well, you want meat!　I understand!"

---He takes back his words. What a cash cow. He reacted like a fish taking the bait.

Nair, who flapped her wings, seemed to be pleased with Eva's reaction and let out a small guttural sound, then turned her head to stare at me with a glare and let out a smile mixed with a sneer.

"......"

"?　Usato-san, I hear a strange sound coming from your hand. ...... is everything okay?"

"Hm?　Oh, I'm fine, I'm fine."

He seemed to have unconsciously raised his fist and made a noise.

She looked at me suspiciously as I lowered my fist to deceive her, then looked down at Nair on her palm again and smiled dazzlingly.

"I hope you're looking forward to dinner today!"

"Ho!"

"I'll catch lots of rats for you, Neah!"

".........E,ho?"

"Oh, but do owls eat insects?　I'll catch them just in case, fortunately I saw a lot of them in the flower beds just now. ......"

Nair's body, which had been mocking us, stiffened like a stone.

---Yes, owls are birds of prey.

In the wild, their food is nothing but small animals. Common sense tells us that she would not feed human food to owls, so her next step is to "forage" for food.

And this princess always does what she says she will do. She will catch rats and insects that she decides to feed Neah by any means necessary. ......In that case, Eiri will stop her from catching rats, or the knight outside will have to work hard to catch rats in the castle.

But I feel sorry for them that they are made to eat rats and bugs even if they are in a good mood. I'm going to give him a helping hand since he's my messenger and my friend, even if he's such a good-natured one.

Eva, she eats everything, so she'll be fine on the same diet as us.

"Oh, really?"

"They're owls, but they're demons. Sometimes they eat different things than normal animals.

I guess they are vampires, but they ate fruits during our journey, and when they invited us to their village dressed as village girls, they ate normal human food.

She turns her eyes to me and gives me a moist look as if to say thank you for saving her life. I let out a sigh and put my arm out in front of me as if to come back to her.

"Come on, come back here."

"Ho."

Nair moves from Eva's hand to my shoulder.

From the looks of ...... her, it doesn't look like there's anything wrong, but I'll ask her about that later. For now, I need a place and time to explain the situation to Neah.

I'm going to go to my room to rest for a while. Is it okay if I bring Neah inside?"

"If she gets dirty, she just needs to be cleaned up, that's all. Is there anything you need for Neah? If so, we can get it for you. ......"

"Thank you. But I don't think I need it at the moment."

An owl might need a perch or something, but this guy doesn't.

He enters the house with a light wave to Eva. Nair, who had moved to her shoulder, closes her eyes in relief.

"Whew, what a b*tc*."

"That's what you get for getting carried away. You got what you deserved, you got what you deserved."

"Who thinks they're going to feed you insects and rats when they say 'meat'?　No, no. That's not the point!

No?

No? - No, that's not what you just said, is it?

As I walk down the street to my room, keeping my voice as low as possible, Nair says a few words to me in a languid, unimportant way.

"That girl, she's disappearing," she says.

"What about ......?"

Is it fading?

It's not being eroded, it's disappearing.

I couldn't help but stop and look at her sideways as she was absentmindedly stretching out her mouth, and I was bewildered by the inexpressible emotion I felt.

I was puzzled by the inexpressible emotion I felt.

"I came here because, as you said, Aruk asked me to."

In her room, Nair, who had returned to her human form, sat leaning back in the chair provided in her room and said these words.

But was it because of Mr. Fagunis' sword that Amako and Nair disappeared when I was taken to the castle? A magical tool to reveal Néa's transformation, I'll have to be careful while she's here. .......

"......What have you been doing since I went to the castle?"

"The guys from the castle got in touch with me right away and took me to the inn. I was suspicious at first, but now that you're being treated so well, I think the king here might be genuinely welcoming.

"As Master Lucas told me, or ......."

I had heard from the people at the castle that everything was fine, but I was relieved to hear him say so.

"That little fox ...... Amako was looking a little worried out of character, wasn't she?"

"I see. ....... But I'm glad to hear he's doing well.

"It's not good here. Why have you been here for three days?　You don't look like you've been captured, but you're trapped in this elaborate magical ward. And that girl---...... you don't think she's involved in some kind of trouble, do you?"

No, no. It's not that she's involved, it's more that she's about to get involved. ......

"Huh?"

I rest my chin on the back of the chair, look away from Nea's questioning gaze, and explain how we got to this point.

He accepted the letter so easily.

That I have been recruited as a healing wizard of Samaritan.

That I will be living in the castle for a little while.

Meeting Eva, Princess of Samariat.

That she is under some kind of curse.

I explain the main points briefly and Nair lets out a sigh of exasperation.

"You are a real softy, you know that? It's one thing to be loyal to this country, but to try to save a troublesome girl like that ...... is honestly stupid, barker."

I don't know, it annoys me a lot when he calls me an idiot.

I suppress the reflexive urge to retaliate with a bump, cross my arms, and look at Nair, who is smiling at me.

"Usato has a tendency to get himself into trouble, doesn't he? I had just appealed to his emotions and he fell right into my trap.

"I didn't go into it myself. People get into trouble from over there. I mean, you're the only one who can tell me anything about how you set me up. That was mostly your screw-up that got us into trouble. You got what you deserved."

"Shut up!　I don't care!　I'm good!"

What an arrogant son of a b*tc*.

But whether it's Nack or Nair, trouble always comes from the other side.

Are we destined for trouble?　Or am I about to get myself into trouble without realizing it?

"I know, but you'd better stay out of it this time."

"......Why?　You know what's eating her?"

I think she said something quite meaningful earlier, but I wonder if there is a deeper meaning to it.

But Nair raises her hands lightly and lets out a small sigh, as if she can't help herself.

"No, you can't possibly know."

"...... is!　You were acting so confident when you don't know!"

"It's not possible to know just by making contact with them!　...... Okay?　She's not under a curse or anything, she's disappearing. That's all you need to know."

The word "cease to exist" was uttered by Nair before he came to this room.

I thought it was just a metaphor, but did she mean what she said?　No, I don't understand.

"...... Wait a minute, she was right there. What do you mean by cease to exist?"

"Huh. ......."

At my question, Nea raised herself up from her chair in a tedious manner, raised her hands to the level of her chest, and made small fists.

"The soul and the body are strongly connected. Without the body, the soul cannot stay in this world. Without the soul, the body cannot move in this world. The exception to this rule is necromancers like myself, but the soul and the body are the most important elements in the matter of "life".

Nair with his hands clenched into fists, hands folded.

Body and soul---but what does this have to do with Eva?

"But she is suffering from a strange phenomenon that deviates even from the rules.

"Is that what you call disappearing?　But from what you say, it sounds like Eva has nothing to do with the curse at all. ......"

"I didn't go that far. There are different kinds of magic. ...... that girl, her soul and her body --- both are disappearing."

I don't understand more and more.

What could have caused such a disappearance of soul and body?

"This is an anomaly. No, it's not an anomaly. The realm of the soul and the body is a realm in which no ordinary human being should meddle, and that is exactly the field of witchcraft that I deal with."

"Witchcraft ......"

"Moreover, these types of phenomena can be 'cursed'. If that happens, it's not worth the trip, is it?　I'm interested in it myself, but I'm not stupid enough to fall into a trap I can see.

Are you trying to say that the phenomenon of the curse shifting --- that Eva's existence disappears --- could happen to me as well?

"...... can't you do something about it with your liberation spell?"

"I doubt that the curse is even cast by magic in the first place, and most importantly, I can't see the formula, so I can't use it."

The magic of liberation was more difficult to handle than I had imagined. No, I knew that, as I had expected it to be.

At present, even Nair can't do anything about it ....... This is a different kind of trouble from that of the evil dragon.

"Why is Usato trying to save that girl?"

What?"

Nair suddenly asked me such a question.

The unexpected question made me, who had been lost in my thoughts, let out a dumbfounded voice.

"We've only seen each other for about three days anyway, so we're almost strangers, aren't we?　Why do you have to go through all that trouble for her?　I don't want to.　I even signed a contract with her to be her messenger, and now she's gone because you messed up."

The reason I'm going this far, huh?

To be honest, I have no obligation or obligation to help Eva.

But the reason I went to such lengths to help her was simple.

"Because I wanted to help her. That's all."

"Huh?　That's it?"

"I'm not saying it's because we're a rescue squad or anything. I felt sorry for her, and I felt sorry for her, and I wanted to help her.

This world is big.

There are magic, demons, people, subhumans, and many natural environments.

It is a strange thing to have to disappear without knowing such a world, without being allowed to know it.

As a person from another world, I was "glad" to have come to this world.

When I cried at her words after the battle against the demon king's army, I thanked from the bottom of my heart for meeting the people of this world.

But she is doomed to disappear in such a small and suffocating place, without knowing or being allowed to know the outside.

How can such a crazy story be?

Nair rolls her eyes at my words and shrugs her shoulders in disgust.

"...... huh? You really are a strange and selfish person. I can see why the little fox is worried. You never know what he'll do if you let him out of your sight for a moment.

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child in need of help."

"If anything, you're worse than a child. That's what I see, isn't it?　You look like you've fallen for a crazy woman.

That's a misleading way of putting it!

It reminds me of what Amako said to me one day about being cheated by women.

"Well, I've been the victim of such a person too, so I guess we're the same. ......"

"......nea?"

"I'll help you for a little while. Usato is too dangerous to watch alone.

Nair turns away shyly, and a smile naturally breaks out on her face.

"Ha-ha-ha, thank you. That's reassuring."

He's not a bad kid, even if he's not always honest.

Once again, I am relieved to be able to join her, and I lean back against the door behind me and relax.

"Speaking of which, why have you been leaning against the door all this time?　Why don't you just come inside?"

"No, I have to do it this way so I don't see Eva approaching. Basically, she's so absent-minded that it's not uncommon for her to be caught behind you before you know it. Worst of all, I can feel her eyes on me even when I'm resting in my room, so it's quite difficult.

"What kind of life have you been leading for the past three days, Usato!　What has Usato been doing for the past three days?

Maybe.

But even if that's the case, the scary thing is that she doesn't know it.

Well, once you get used to it, you won't have any inconvenience.

Nair's face turns pale when I continue to say this.

I laugh at her and think about what I should do with her from now on.