The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

A girl I met at the castle of Samaliar.

When she realized her mistake by the maid's words, she bowed her head and ran into the white house.

The maid led me to a wooden table and chairs in front of the building and asked me to sit down.

The maid went back to the castle right after that, but should I wait until the girl came?　

I don't think she's going to come out anytime soon, given her earlier flustered state. .......

"It's a pretty big place, isn't it? ......

If you look around, you will see a white house, a pond, and trees. The semi-transparent boundary covering the surrounding area does not seem too oppressive.

I guess it means that this place is both outside and inside.

"An inn where you can feel nature" is an exaggeration. It's a very relaxing space.

I lean back in my chair and relax while I wait for the girl.

I have successfully delivered the letter, but it looks like I will have to stay here for a little while. It's not an unnecessary ...... hassle, after all, it's my job to keep Samaritan in a good mood.

"...... solicitation, huh?"

I have my own unit in Samaria.

In my current inexperience, I can't imagine that at all.

But if I defeat the Demon King's army and the Demon King by a few years from now, and if I am accepted by Rose and become a full-fledged member, what should my next goal be?

"......"

I know that not everything will turn out the way I imagined, but I can't help but imagine a future where we, the lifeguard corps, and Kazuki and his senpai, the heroes, will no longer have to fight.

Right now, I'm busy with the letter and the Demon Lord's Army, but after everything is over, I'll have to think for myself and move forward, not on the path dictated by the mission or by my girlfriend.

When I think about it..,

"...... is a possibility. Maybe we can go to Samaritan's Alley."

Of course, that's not now.

Only if the Demon Lord's army is defeated, the Kingdom of Lingle is at peace, and Rose is recognized as a full-fledged healing wizard.

......I can also think about the idea of creating a Samaritan's Rescue Mission in the sense that I would be on my own.

I can't do it now, but I can pass on my experience and knowledge as a healing magician that Rose taught me in this world to other oppressed healing magic users like Nack....

It is an ideal that Rose would probably dismiss with the word , but it somehow fits in my mind.

"To do that, I have to make this world peaceful. ......"

I looked up at the sky with a wry smile, and before I knew it, the sky had turned to the color of sunset, and in a few moments, it would be night.

I casually get up from my chair and stretch my back.

The light coming in from outside of the warding illuminates the white house, turning it orange.

"Woo...... hmm?"

There is something in the shadow of the house.

I was somewhat curious about it, so I decided to leave the place and move closer to the shadow.

As I got closer, I found a stone built on the ground. It was a pure white color with not a scratch on it.

Is this a ...... grave?　It looks like a monument. But there is no writing on it. The surface is so smooth that it looks shiny, and there is no writing anywhere on it.

"......I'd better not touch it too much."

I'm curious, but I probably shouldn't touch it without her permission since she lives here.

Especially if it's a grave.

"Oh, there she is!

!"

I hear a voice from behind me and turn around to see a white girl with her hands on the wall of the house, breathing a sigh of relief. ......The more I look at her again, the more I get the impression that she is <>. She is probably a little older than Amako.

She put her hands behind her back as if to hide something. I questioned her and apologized to her for walking out without permission.

She puts her hand behind her back as if to hide something. I'm sorry for moving around without permission. ......"

"No, no!　It's my fault for keeping you waiting ...... for so long.

A girl peeking at me while her hands are intertwined with my hands.

Her behavior reminds me of the image of Nair, a former village girl who used to be a bit of a b*tc*.

"My name is Eva Urd Samariar!　I'm so sorry that I mistook your name earlier!

"...... No, it's okay, I don't care anymore."

Oh, you mean your name.

It's not an easy name to get wrong, but it happens once in a while, doesn't it? No, I've never been called Uzato.

But I don't want to be a pain in the ass for getting a name wrong.

"You may already know my name, but my name is Usato Ken. I'm like an emissary from the Kingdom of Lingle ....... From your ...... name, are you the daughter of Master Lucas?"

I'm not used to using honorifics, so I feel like I'm saying "sir" a lot.

The girl who frowns slightly at my honorifics, which may or may not be correct---Eva-sama.

Inwardly, I regret my mistake ......, and she opens her mouth with a slight tone of dissatisfaction mixed in.

"...... Yes, I did. I am your father's daughter. But I have no power as a princess, so you don't have to speak to me in honorifics, do you?　If anything, your father has asked me to entertain you."

No power?　You're a princess?

Or, more importantly, did Mr. Lucas ask her to entertain him in advance?

...... I feel like I'm dancing on his hand.

If possible, I'd like to draw the line at respectful speech at the very least, but from the looks of her, I'm not sure that's possible. .......

I understand ....... I'll stop using honorifics. Let's see, Eva ......?"

"Eva is fine. Usato-san!

She gives me a big, carefree smile, and I can't help but flinch.

This is the type of smile that shows innocence and heartfelt joy in a single-minded way---this is a girl with a personality very close to Kazuki's. ......!

A girl who doesn't try to cheat like Nair, just pure and innocent---honestly, she's not easy to deal with for a skeptical and dirty-minded person like me.

And besides. I've been wondering what I've been seeing behind her since a while ago.

"Um, I've been wondering... ......"

"Yes?"

She tilts her head cutely and points to an object slightly visible from behind Eva's back.

"What is that rope behind you used for ......?"

"What?　Oh, uh, that ......."

When I asked her this, she put a rough rope in her hand in front of me as if she had just been discovered.

It is a moderately thick rope. It's the kind of rope that hostages are often tied up with in movies .......

"I thought that Usato-san had run away because of my misbehavior."

"......"

"But I don't need this anymore. Because you're here, Usato."

She tosses the rope at my feet with a plop and puts her hand on her cheek happily with cloudless eyes. I smile at her.

What's with that elementary school kid's idea of trial and error to keep a little cat from escaping when it wanders into your yard by accident? It's still cute when it's a cat, but when it's a person, it turns bizarre all at once.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha. Don't tell me you're trying to catch me with that?"

"No way!　You would never do such a thing to your friend!

Wait a minute. It's one thing if you've been designated as my friend, but we hadn't even been introduced before we met here, right?　At that point, you could have tied me up!　

I want to ask him about it, but I'm afraid of what kind of answer I'll get.

Natural?　Natural?　Or is she a woman with one or two quirks?

I'm not a woman with a history of trouble with women, am I?　Of course not in a sweet way, but in a distressed way.

"Well, don't talk about that. Let's have dinner. I've prepared a lot of delicious food for you tonight, so please look forward to it!"

"Yes, yes. I'm hungry!

Let's not think about this any more.

This girl is not evil like Nair.

I told myself as I walked through the darkened garden with her hand in mine.

I returned with Eva to the table set up in front of the building, where there was a light from a magical tool that had not been lit before, and a man preparing plates and cups by the table.

When he noticed Eva and I, he bowed reverently and went back inside the house. He carried what looked like a square piece of food on a rectangular plate in both hands and placed it in the center of the table.

"Princess! Your dinner is ready.

"Thank you, Eiri. Please feel free to sit down, Usato.

She sits in the chair that the butler has pulled out for her, and I follow her words and sit in the chair in front of her.

In front of me is a white square of food, just like at home, and around it are these bite-sized pieces of fruit.

Could it be a cake?　This?　Cakes have existed in the original world for a long time, so it is not impossible, but it is surprising to see something so similar.

While I was surprised by the sweetness that I was not familiar with in this world, the butler came up to me.

I apologize for the delay in greeting you. My name is Eiri, the butler.

"Oh, thank you, it's my pleasure."

"We would like to welcome you to Samariat, and as the Princess asked us to welcome you here, we have prepared a very special dinner for you.

"Thank you very much."

Eiri, the butler, offers me a cup of tea.

He does not look like a butler in his cook's outfit, but I thought it was strange that he wears a butler's uniform when he cooks, so I did not mind so much.

But then again, I didn't care that much. .......

"It's all about sweetness, isn't it? ......"

Cake, fruit and tea.

There are only a few kinds of cakes, but they are not whole cakes, but big rectangular cakes that are often seen in foreign countries.

Excuse me. Do you have anything else besides cakes?　Vegetables, for example. ......"

"?　Usato, we don't eat cake and vegetables together, do we?　Vegetables are for breakfast and cake is for dinner.

Is it called cake in this world too?

Or is it a translation spell that was applied when I summoned the brave men to reproduce the word in a language I am familiar with? ...... Well, it doesn't matter.

"...... for lunch?"

"Meat. For good health, we must eat a well-balanced diet.

Isn't that biased in many ways ......?　I don't think that way of eating is balanced.

Besides, if you eat such a big slice of cake with max sugar content for dinner, your stomach will be in trouble. As a member of a rescue team, I don't like to have extra flesh on my body, and I don't really have a sweet tooth to begin with.

I don't know what I should do, it would be bad to disrespect her good intentions. .......

"What's wrong?　Feel free to eat it."

"......Bon appétit."

At first, I just take a bite.

The sweetness spreads in your mouth, and it is the first candy you have ever eaten in this world. An inexpressible feeling of euphoria wells up inside me, as if my travel-weary body is being soothed.

"Sweet ......"

It's good, but the quantity is a problem.

The cake on the platter, which is so generously presented that a mere scoop with a fork does not diminish it at all, has a tremendous presence. The amount of cake is almost giving me heartburn, but I can't leave it behind, so I silently take it into my mouth.

Unlike me, Eva is eating her cake with good manners.

Looking at her, I wonder why this girl is here. This place is not reserved for me by any stretch of the imagination. This place is for her.

Is she trapped here?　

Or is there a reason she has to be here?

With her sickly white hair and skin, I wonder if she has some kind of disease. Maybe the quickest way to find out is to ask her directly, but her carefree smile makes it impossible for me to do so.

"?　What's wrong, Mr. Usato? Look at my face."

"Hmm. It's nothing."

She tilts her head at me, and I move my fork, which had stopped, again.

I finish all the cake on my plate, meeting Eva's smiling gaze.

"It was delicious!"

"I know, I know. There's plenty more to go around, so eat up!"

She looks at Eiri and he tries to put a larger slice of cake on my plate.

I refuse to eat more than this, as it would be too much for my heartburn and calories.

"No, I'm full," he says.

"I see...... there's so much more...... to come."

Eva shows her palm to Mr. Eiri and refuses his offer.

However, she immediately looked at the cake on the table and my face alternately with a look of shock, and then turned her head down as if she were depressed.

"I'm sorry. I can't eat so many cakes, can I? I was so excited that I didn't think about you. ...... This cake is a specialty of Samaritan and my favorite food. So I thought I would ...... give it to you too, but the thought just got ahead of me. ......"

The voice gradually becomes quieter and quieter, and I feel incredibly guilty.

Oh my God, this girl is directly tormenting my conscience. ......!　She has a pure heart just like Kazuki. I can't feel any evilness in him, which sets him apart from Inukami and Nair.

--- Can I get at least one more plate of food? .......

"Eiri-san. Can I have another one, please? ......"

"What?　Usato-san ......?"

"On second thought, I wasn't full yet."

For some reason, Eiri looks at me with sympathy, and while tilting her head, she puts a new serving of cake in her mouth. A sweet taste spreads in my mouth, but I wash it down with a cup of tea.

Ah, why am I so easily influenced by emotions? Maybe it's Japanese nature that I can't say NO clearly. .......

"You are very kind. Usato-san.

"Well, in moderation."

But I'm really glad it seems to suit your taste. I was worried about the people who come here because they leave right after we serve them dinner. I guess people outside don't like sweets so much. ......"

It is natural that some people are surprised by the intense sweetness of the cake, since they seldom eat cake, although they don't say so.

"I don't dislike it so much. I haven't eaten something this sweet in a long time."

Specifically, not since I was in my world.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm glad you like the taste of this country's specialty. ......"

Ha-ha-ha. What if I don't like sweets? Would you have served something else in that case?"

Let me ask you something that's been bothering me, just to be a little mean.

How come the people who visited here before I got here left right away? If it's a food problem, it would have been enough if they served something else.

If they still left after that, it might be safe to assume that there was something wrong with the food, or perhaps, if I may be so rude, with Eiri's cooking.

Well, what kind of a problem could there be with such a kind girl..,

"Of course, you'll eat until you like it."

"What?"

I must have misheard, but I think I heard some pretty crazy words coming out of his mouth.

No way, no way, there was no way she would say something about forcing him to eat with the same smile as before.

"Do not leave food behind. Do not like or dislike. Do not forget to be grateful for food. This is common sense. And also---I want you to like Samaritan, the country that your father made so big."

Eva stared at me with her unclouded--no, too unclouded--eyes.

I felt something insane in her eyes, and it took my breath away.

"That's why I'm going to do my best. Even if you don't like me, I'll do my best until you like me. That's the least I can do as the princess of this country.

"......"

"But you don't have to!　It's not like you don't like cake!"

"Yes, ......, that's right."

I know why you left. .......

Eva, no. No, no. That's not you trying, that's the person telling you to try. Pure madness... that's what I sensed in her at that moment.

She is pure.

Because she is pure, she accepts words and situations as they are. With such a girl in front of me, all I could do was to quietly pick at the mountain of cake.

In the end, I ate all of my second helping of cake.

The last one was almost stuffed by my own strength, but after I ate it, I realized how much I had messed up.

I imagine what would happen to my body after a week of eating like this---I imagine how fat I would get, and at the same time, how I anticipate Rose's reaction to the sight of me.

--- You will be shown all kinds of hell on earth. ......

"I have to burn......I have to burn......"

The sight of me doing push-ups with all my might while muttering like a gibberish is probably the most bizarre thing I've ever seen. In any case, even though Eiri has led me to my room, I'm still doing muscle training in the garden inside the boundary.

The only way to burn the calories I have taken in is to exercise.

I don't know how much exercise I should do, but if I do three times as much as usual, I should be fine.

"Ugh ......"

I'm doing push-ups at a faster pace than usual, which is putting a tremendous load on my whole body, but it's still not enough to burn off the calories from the cake I just ate.

Slightly out of breath, he switches from push-ups to sit-ups.

"So this is what Lucas-sama wants ......."

He's trying to make me mentally hunt me down...to get me to give up by means of picky eating.

It's a very roundabout trick, but the fact that Eva, the instigator, is doing it with the best of intentions makes it all the worse.

"Um, ...... Usato-sama..."

"Hmm?　What's up, Eiri?

Eiri-san appears before me doing sit-ups with a somewhat puzzled look on his face.

He looks outside when it is completely dark and calls out to me in a concerned tone.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed. ....... It seems like you have been repeating the same thing for more than two hours already. ...... Were you really tired from your trip?"

"...... As for physical exhaustion, for me it's almost non-existent. I'm still fine."

I'm not lying.

Healing magic can take away physical fatigue so that we can keep moving as long as our magic lasts.

"Eiri, you can take a rest without me too, right?"

"I appreciate your concern, but ...... I'm afraid I can't rest until you return to your room, Usato-sama.

"Huh?　No, you don't need to worry about me...

"Look over there."

Eiri shakes her head slowly and puts her hand behind my back.

I turn around and see Eva, a girl peering at me in the shadow of a white house---lit by the light of a magical tool. Her eyes sparkle with curiosity, and she stares at me without moving closer to me.

Her blank, horror-movie-like appearance scared me out of my wits.

"......I didn't notice it. ......Have you been watching me from there the whole time?　You should have talked to me. ......"

"I guess he thought he shouldn't bother you. She is modest and very kind."

Gentle, she certainly is a gentle girl.

But even with all that, she's still a different kind of girl in my eyes.

"Usato-sama. You may have been irritated with the princess. But could you please stay here for a little while longer?　The princess is a curious person, ...... but she doesn't mean to offend you."

"I understand that. But even if she doesn't mean to offend, her words and actions are too ......."

Out of line, you say?

"......, well, yes."

Perhaps it is more accurate to say that they are out of step than out of the ordinary.

It might be more correct to say that they are innocent children who try to do exactly what they are told.

It might be more accurate to say that he is an innocent child who tries to do exactly what he is told to do. But this is the only place she knows.

"Is this the inside of this ward?"

Yes. It always has been and always will be... There are reasons why we have to do this, and she accepts it. But for her, who only knows this small world, all common sense and values are not acquired in life, but only through the process of education..."

......I see, what we learn in our daily lives by interacting with others, we are forced to learn in a way that makes us deviate from the norm.

Then, it may be natural for them to be like that.

No wonder they are so innocent.

I grew up without any exposure to malice, so I don't know the meaning of right and wrong.

"---I ...... wanted her to be free from such a small world. The rest of her ......."

Eiri?

I'm sorry. I can't say any more.

Eiri's face turned sour and she kept her mouth shut. It would be difficult to get any more information about Eva from him. I should ask someone who might know later, or maybe I should ask Mr. Lucas. .......

And why she has to be here. Is she sick or something?　That's the first thing I think when I see her gray hair. ...... Maybe Master Lucas let her in here because he wanted me to heal her?

I turned around again and saw Eva looking at me the same as before and waving her hand in a small gesture.

"The princess likes to write in her diary," she said.

"Oh, really?"

Eiri suddenly muttered something like that when she saw Eva.

Hearing the word "diary", I felt a little familiarity with her.

She writes in her diary every day about her daily joys and new encounters, wishing to record the proof of her life so far. She is so healthy and ...... so fragile that I want to do something about it, but I can't do anything ......."

...... Oh, what's that?　The purpose of the diary is totally different from mine. It's not for escaping reality. .......

It has a weight that makes me feel as if it's something serious.

While I was puzzled by the difference between her diary and mine, Eiri-san walked up to me and grabbed me by both shoulders.

"Whoa!　What?

"Usato-sama. Please stay here for a little while longer. No, if you can, will you stay here for the rest of your life?

What?

For the rest of your life?　We obviously just skipped a few steps, didn't we?

The butler just asked me to do something more out of the blue than what Master Lucas suggested!

Eiri-san, who had lost her iron mask and changed her expression to a devilish one, as if she couldn't see my astonishment, squeezed her voice urgently.

"It's very rare that you don't shudder at the princess. ....... All my colleagues can't keep up with the princess, ...... but even the guests I invite to the hotel leave without staying a night because they can't stand the princess's hospitality... A blunt person like that is extremely valuable!"

"Will you stop casually calling me insensitive!

It's true that I'm insensitive to pain, but I'm not insensitive to anything else.

And I can't be insensitive for the rest of my life. But I'm willing to stay for a week or so, as Lucas said. Before I do that, I'll have to ask Master Lucas about the situation with Aruk and the others, and if I could meet with them.

"Oh, you two seem to be having a good time!　What were you talking about?　May I join you?

How do I look like I'm having fun in this exchange ......?

Eva couldn't stand to watch the exchange between me and Eiri and jumped out of the room.

Seeing her like that, I expected the next few days to be intense in many ways.