The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

We arrived at the inn where we would be staying in Mearaq, and after putting our luggage in our respective rooms, we headed for the inn where Hayate was staying.

Nair and Ferrum had said they would rest at the inn, so it would be me and my senpai who would go.

"Double room or ......"

"I guess it's more efficient to have two people together than one person in a room. ......In my case, I'll be sharing a room with Amira since I'll be acting as a lookout, right?"

Do I have to keep an eye on Koga? ...... Well, I'm used to it since I shared a room with Tong in the lifeguard squad, so I don't mind.

I don't mind it, though. Ferrum and Nair were in the same room, so I guess it's no different than at the lifeguard station.

"Usato-kun, what kind of person is Hayate-san?"

"She is a kind person. He is the chief of the beastmen tribe, and he is also the person who helped us on our journey to deliver the letter.

"I see."

We had exchanged letters several times, but it had been several months since we had seen each other.

"There is a friend of Amako's named Rinka, and she is Hayate's daughter.

"He's so small and cute!"

"I never said anything like that."

"He has wolf ears!"

"I didn't say anything about it!"

Wait a minute, how do you know?

I've never said anything about Linka being a wolf beastman!

"Well, Amako is a fox beastman, isn't she?　Then her friend must be a wolf beastman, right?

"I'm sorry, I don't understand at all.

"I mean, it's only natural that I, who bear the name of a dog, should be mixed in there."

Don't distort the laws of nature."

What kind of super-theory is this guy spouting?

He is saying extremely unreasonable things, but this is normal for him.

Well, it's good that he doesn't get bored, but I can't let him embarrass anyone but me by showing him such an eccentric behavior.

"Well, if you're about to do something, I'll do my best to stop you.

"Usato-kun, your eyes are not smiling. ......?"

I would not mind a little, but if things were about to go out of control, I would have to take the responsibility of stopping them.

As we are exchanging such words, we arrive at the inn where Hayate and the others are going to stay.

I arrive in front of the building that is almost the same as the one we were led to, and after talking to the knight guarding the inn, I am allowed to enter the inn.

"I'll leave the first step to you, since you know each other so well.

"Yes, sir. I'll knock anyway.

A light knock on the door--before it is opened, the door is thrown open.

"At last, Usato."

Amako's face appeared through the gap in the door, and she looked somewhat relieved.

We are invited into the inn, and the interior of the inn does not seem to be much different from ours.

In the center of the room, there is a space where people can gather and talk together, and there are some familiar beastmen soldiers there.

"Usato!

"Yeah?"

A gray-haired girl with beastman hair comes charging toward us at a high speed.

Feeling a sense of déjà vu, I catch the girl---Linka---and take about three steps backward to cushion the impact.

"It's been a long time!"

"It's been a while!" "Yes, it has. You've been fine ......, haven't you? I know. Did you come here, too?"

"Yeah!　My mom said I should support my dad."

Her near-white hair color and wolf ears make me chuckle at her words.

At any rate, I introduce her to the senpai next to me, who is about to run off without saying a word, while I restrain her with my hand.

"Rinka, this is Inukami Suzune. She is a friend of mine and a brave warrior of the Lingle Kingdom.

"Nice to meet you!　Suzune!　I'm Rinka!

"......!?"

Rinka smiles at her senior, who is as flustered as if struck by lightning.

With a slight tremble in her voice

"Rinka, you can call me big sister, okay?"

"What?　I'm an only child, I didn't have a big sister!　Wow, you're my big sister!"

"---"

I don't remember this girl having such a low mental age. ......? No, is this normal for a 14 year old?　I can't compare them because Amako is more calm than I am.

The senior who was called "big sister" by Rinka looks at me with a blank expression on her face.

"Usato-kun, please call me Suzutan."

"Why really, ......?"

"I can't believe there is a girl in real life who would smile and call me 'big sister' when we first met. ......"

Everything you do and say is too sudden.

Not only me, but even Amako and the soldier are surprised.

"Don't think I'll do anything for you if it's just a dream, okay?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'll go get your father!" After seeing Rinka off to the upper floor with her usual energy, she and Amako walk up to the center table, where Nagi-san is sitting in a chair and beckons us to come.

"Oh, Mr. Nagi!

"Oh, Mr. Nagi!" "I see you have arrived safely. Have you come to see Hayate-san?

"Yes, I heard you arrived here first.

Nagi urges me to sit down at the table, and I can see some beastmen soldiers who are probably escorting them.

They are Hayate's men who fought with Amako when she was captured by Jinya at Hinomoto.

"Didn't the Demon King do anything to you?　I hope he hasn't annoyed you guys because he's still got a bad personality. ......"

"No, I talked to him and stuff, but he didn't do anything suspicious.

What about Usato?

"Amako, isn't it strange that you think I'm doing something suspicious in this situation?"

Amako, don't you think it's strange to think that I'm doing something suspicious?

"Because he's Usato. Well, he could be stuck to the wall if you take your eyes off him."

"......"

"Are you kidding me ......?"

It's not a wall, it's a ceiling.

"Are you stupid ......?"

d*mn, I can't talk back. ......!

Nair said the same thing to me. ......!

"Hey, how was it, Mr. Nagi?"

"Well, me?　Mearaq has changed a lot and the people here are very surprised by me.

Nagi-san laughs and the guards nearby shake their heads.

"They look almost the same as the statues, that's why they are surprised. ......"

"I am a student of the Kannagi-style, and I would like to learn from you."

"...... this is what I mean."

"I see. ......"

Ms. Nagi nodded her head, her cheeks tinting with embarrassment.

It is natural to be embarrassed if a school with your name on it continues to this day.

I am Master Kannagi's disciple. Does that mean that you are my disciples?

Senpai, here are some snacks.

"Yes?　Thank you?

I hand the wrapped sweets on the table in front of me to the senior who looks like he is about to do something.

I continue my story while looking at him curiously tilting his head to the side.

"Nagi-san, how was your meeting with Hayate-san?"

"I was relieved ...... I guess. I had known about him through your Kagote, but after talking to him, I could understand that he is a trustworthy person.

"I see. ......"

I am glad that Mr. Nagi seems to be accepted by the beastmen, although he doesn't say so in words.

Above all, she is about the same age as the next senior.

That is why I hope from the bottom of my heart that the beastmen's country will become a new home for her.

"Actually, there was something I wanted to tell you.

You want to talk about it?

What's wrong?

I tilted my head and listened to Mr. Nagi's story.

"Did you find anything strange when you entered this city?

"......?　No. ......Eh, was there such a commotion?

Nagi shakes his head with a grim expression on his face.

"No, if there was a commotion, Falga-sama would have sensed something was wrong. I don't ...... mean that, I was just wondering if you didn't feel any kind of discomfort."

"I'm sure there was nothing that would have made you feel ...... uncomfortable in the current situation."

"I'm the same as you, Usato. At least there were no people who wanted to harm me."

For a moment, a boy waved to me with a friendly expression.　But I shake off the thought because I feel that it is not the same as a feeling of discomfort.

"If it's killing or malice or something, I can kind of understand it. ......"

"I think that's pretty funny."

Amako is easily tipped off.

I can tell by the way it makes my skin crawl.

"It's all right if nothing happened. Maybe I'm just too nervous.

"...... No, we'll be careful."

If Ms. Nagi, who has precognition magic and has keen senses, is on alert, there is a high possibility that something will happen.

As I try to be careful, Rinka comes down from the upper floor.

"Usato!　My father is calling for you!

"I know..."

It looks like I'll have to talk to Hayate upstairs.

Rinka comes downstairs in a flurry and runs up to us.

Senpai saw her and turned to us with a straight face.

"Usato-kun..."

"Senpai, here are some snacks, okay?"

"What a mess!　I'm not sure if I should be the one to tell you this, but I'm not the kind of girl who can be caught with a candy bar..."

"Suzune, the snacks here are really good!"

"Delicious!"

She fell in love with him instantly.

Hearing Rinka's words, who points at the table, Suzune throws the sweets into her mouth with a big smile on her face.

"Usato!　My father is just up the stairs in the front room!

"Thank you, Linka. Can I ask you to play with my senpai for a minute?

Yes!

"Why are you acting like Usato is Suzune's protector ......?"

"Don't nod your head too, Linka. ......"

Overhearing Nagi and Amako's muttering, I head upstairs to Hayate's room.

"Hey, it's been a while. Usato."

"It's been a while. How are you ......?

Hayate's complexion, which I hadn't seen in a long time, was not good to say the least.

No, it wasn't a sign of illness or anything like that, but simply a sign of exhaustion or something like that.

"Anyway, ......"

"Yeah?"

"Shall I cast a healing spell?"

He probably had a lot of heartache on his way here.

I immediately sensed this and decided to do my job as a healing magician first.

I was so happy to see him.

After performing a healing spell on Hayate, we sat down facing each other at the table and talked about what had happened so far.

The path from the time we left Hinomoto to today.

When I told him as briefly as possible, Hayate let out a deep sigh of emotion.

"I remember when you first came to Hinomoto."

"Ha-ha-ha, I was pretty reckless then, too.

"But I think ...... that it is because of that recklessness that we are where we are today."

When I came to Hinomoto, I was in turmoil from the very beginning.

I was shot with an arrow by Rinka, and after that I became friends with the beastmen of the village, and so on.

"......What's happening to Toi now?"

A magical tool that transfers precognition magic to others.

In order to prevent his daughter, Amako, from living a life bound by precognition magic, Mr. Kanoko tried to create this magical tool.

It failed, and Mr. Kanoko lost her precognition magic to Jinya, the former chief of the clan.

Now, he used Twa in reverse and restored Kanoko's precognition magic, but he still does not know what happened to Twa after that.

"Now I've disassembled it and put it in storage. I should probably get rid of it, but Kanoko, of all people, stopped me."

"Mr. Kanoko, are you trying to complete Twa again?"

"He doesn't know. At least, Hinomoto doesn't think that precognition magic is that important now.

Not that I need it?

Isn't it still as important to Hinomoto as ever?

"For a time, Hinomoto was on the verge of chaos because of the prophecy magic. Of course, I understand that it was not Kanoko and Amako's fault. But it was a chance for Hinomoto to change its perception of precognition magic.

"......"

"We can't just rely on predictive magic. We are living in the present, not just the future."

It's a bit of a cliché," Hayate says with a bashful smile.

I don't know how the magic of prediction will be handled in the future, but I hope it will be in the best possible direction.

Unlike Jinya, Hayate is a moderate person, so there is nothing to worry about.

"How is Kanoko-san doing?　I heard that you are feeling much better.

"Yes, she is. Yeah, she's fine. In fact, she's so fine that she's too fine to be bothered. ......"

He instantly looks exhausted.

The expression on his face made me let out a "ah" sound as if I had guessed it.

"She still has a tendency to be too free as she used to be. ...... Whenever I took my eyes off her, she would wander off and make a big fuss. ....... Well, that's a sign that she's getting better, so we should be happy about that. ......"

Then he breaks off and raises his face.

"Can I complain about something now, after all this time?"

"Yes, if it's okay with me."

"Thank you ......!　Thank you ......!"

This man has been the chief of the beastmen until today.

He is in a position where he cannot say anything weak to his subordinates, and the heartache that befalls him must be tremendous.

Well, for now, let's enjoy our first conversation with Hayate after a long time.