Chapter 58: Deterioration

Chapter 58: Deterioration

“Ugh, ughhhhhh!”

A scream escaped my lips involuntarily.

What in the hell is going on?

As the wheelchair I was in tipped over to the side, Scarlett immediately snapped her fingers.

Shiiiik-

Simultaneously, the wind swirling around us.

The wind enveloped the carriage, absorbing the impact like a cushion.

It’s quite amazing.

“Cecil! Are you okay?!”

As I was having some rather carefree thoughts, Scarlett urgently asked about my well-being.

I’m fine. Thanks to the good timing, I didn’t fall out of the wheelchair.

“I-I’m fine!”

“Hoo..”

Scarlett sighed once my safety was secured.

She frowned for a moment.

“Euston.”

She called the Knight Commander in a low voice.

“Yes, Young Lady.”

Strangely, Euston didn’t seem very surprised by the situation.

Neither Scarlett nor Lucy.

Both of them were startled by the fact that I ‘could get hurt,’ but they didn’t seem afraid of the situation itself.

My head went blank at the incomprehensible behavior.

“How long will it take?”

Dududududu-

While we were having this conversation, the sound of horses’ hooves echoed from all directions.

At the same time, the voices of the knights taking combat stances could be heard.

“Hmm… I think it will take about 5 minutes.”

As Euston replied, Scarlett took out something like a pocket watch from her pocket.

Click.

Then she pressed a button that popped out of the watch.

“That’s too long. Make it 2 minutes.”

“Well, since Young Lady is waiting… I’ll finish quickly then.”

‘Is this right…?’

If I understood correctly, we are being attacked right now.

Clang, clang!

“Kuaaaaaaaak!”

Screams and the chilling sound of flesh being torn, whose they were unknown, reminded me of the scenery outside.

But how can they smile so nonchalantly?

“Oopcha.. Then, I’ll be right back.”

Creak-

Euston, who opened the carriage door, said very casually.

“Go ahead.”

Scarlett nodded, watching him.

I felt a floating sensation and wore a blank expression.

Then, the air around us changed.

Nothing happened inside the carriage.

The anomaly probably occurred outside.

I didn’t know what was happening, but I could feel it instinctively.

Everyone is dying.

Gugugugug-

At the same time, a sound like a storm raging was heard.

And then, screams of unknown men erupted from all directions.

Kagagagak!

A sound like something being horribly shredded echoed.

I didn’t bother trying to understand what was being shredded.

About 3 minutes passed according to my internal clock.

Creak-

Euston, with a very composed expression, re-entered the carriage.

There wasn’t a single drop of blood on the sword he sheathed.

But it became very quiet outside.

Clatter, guguguk-

At the same time, the carriage began to turn back to its original position.

Hearing the voices of a few men, it seemed the knights were turning the carriage around.

“You’re 2 minutes late.”

“Please be lenient. I’m getting old, you know.”

“Since Young Lady wasn’t hurt, I’ll forgive you.”

Scarlett, speaking a bit primly, readjusted her slightly slumped posture.

And then closed her eyes, looking a bit tired.

Clatter, clatter.

The carriage, which had stopped, started moving again.

I didn’t know what happened earlier.

I decided to pretend I didn’t know.

****

“Hehe.. Please sit here. Young Lady, would you prefer black tea or coffee?”

“Um… Coffee would be g-“

“Understood! Now, please wait a moment. I’ll serve you delicious coffee.”

I nodded, suppressing a slight feeling of discomfort.

Scarlett glared at the man bustling around beside me.

He seemed to notice that I felt uncomfortable.

But the man, whether he knew it or not.

“Here, we have cookies too.”

He kept bringing things and setting up snacks in front of me.

As Scarlett had told me earlier, he was an underground market dealer named ‘Carlson.’

I expected him to have a rough or scary appearance, being an underground market dealer.

But in front of me was an ordinary-looking middle-aged man smiling kindly.

Auu..”

Lucy also seemed to feel burdened.

For some reason, Carlson seemed unable to hide his excitement at the presence of me and Lucy.

What is it? Is this what they mean by ‘like my child’?

Anyway, regardless of our discomfort.

He treated us with utmost kindness.

“..It’s been a while.”

Perhaps she disliked this burdensome atmosphere.

Scarlett sighed faintly and spoke first.

Carlson, who had just finished setting up the snacks and coffee, nodded with a bright smile.

“Is it two weeks since we last traded herbs? Wow, I didn’t know you had such beautiful family members.”

His gaze fell on me.

Then on Lucy.

Although the gaze itself was burdensome, it didn’t seem to contain any impure intentions.

What is it? Shouldn’t an underground market dealer have some dark and impure aspects?

But this man, as if looking at his own daughter.

He gazed at us both with a very upright and warm look.

‘I can’t get used to it..’

The first person I saw in this world was a bandit.

Perhaps that’s why.

The fact that I didn’t feel any malice, unlike what I’ve seen so far, felt awkward instead.

“Yes, both are the pride of our family. May I see the items for trade?”

And unfortunately, this conversation didn’t last long.

Scarlett deliberately cut off the conversation.

Lucy and I were introduced to Carlson under the guise of Scarlett’s sisters.

“Ah, dear. I seem to have talked too much. I apologize. Let’s get straight to the point and look at the items first!”

I felt a bit sorry for Carlson, wondering how little he must have been talked to, to not react much to being interrupted.

I placed Lucy on my lap while sitting in the wheelchair.

I’m a little scared in unfamiliar places like this.

It’s partly because I can’t walk.

Hugging Lucy somehow calms my mind.

“Here… these are the items you requested last time. You’ve been giving me a lot of tips lately, so I added a little extra.”

“Oh my. You didn’t have to. I’ll use them well.”

Then Carlson brought out a large leather bag.

He gently placed the bag on the desk.

And smiled widely, showing all his crooked teeth.

“I was lucky. They don’t usually appear this season, but I found a habitat near the forest.”

Carlson added a brief explanation.

He didn’t mention the exact name of the item.

He kept glancing at me and Lucy.

He seemed to be conscious of us.

‘How can I get information from here?’

Honestly, I came along wondering if there was anything to gain.

But I never imagined Carlson would block information like this.

Thus, Carlson and Scarlett’s transaction proceeded swiftly.

Without getting anything or digging for information.

“Here, this is for the next person. May I ask for your help again?”

“Oh, thank you! Of course. Young Lady is our store’s number one customer..!”

From what I heard, Scarlett seemed to have been trading with this store for quite a while.

She probably procures the ingredients for the medicine I take here.

‘What should I do about this..’

It’s quite disappointing to go back without gaining anything.

And I can’t create a situation.

As I was agonizing over it for a moment.

“Just a moment.”

Rattle-

Scarlett suddenly got up from her seat.

I looked up at her, wondering what was happening.

“I’m going to the restroom, Cecil. Please wait a moment?”

Scarlett added, “I’ll be right back after I go to the restroom.”

Creak-

With those words, Scarlett left the room where the transaction was taking place.

Silence momentarily filled the room.

I glanced at Lucy for a moment, then shifted my gaze to Carlson.

What should I do?

What should I do?

My mind went blank when faced with the situation.

I can’t waste this precious time.

“Would you like to try this too? These are cookies I bought from a faraway region for guests.”

Carlson spoke first in that situation.

He handed me a white cookie.

And smiled brightly.

“Ah, thank you..”

My tension significantly eased with his kindness.

I chewed on the cookie and took a sip of coffee.

And then I opened my mouth.

“..The Young Lady.. You’ve been trading with my sister for a long time, haven’t you?”

Although there was no preamble and the question came out of the blue.

Carlson nodded with a gentle expression.

“It’s been quite a while. About 2 years, perhaps?”

2 years.

I didn’t think Scarlett would maintain such relationships for long.

She seems to have been quite active outside.

“I see. My sister doesn’t talk much about the outside world.”

I put on my brightest smile and delivered the lines I had prepared.

I didn’t forget to add, “My legs are like this.”

Carlson glanced at my legs, seeing my expression.

Is the strange emotion that flickered across his face just my imagination?

“Judging by your expression, is this your first time going out in a while?”

“Yes. It’s been… a long time. So I’m very happy. There are so many amazing things outside.”

“It seems your sister is a bit stricter than I thought.”

Carlson made a playful expression, as if gossiping a little.

“Yes. And yet, she’s been away from home often lately… I’m so bored I could die.”

I acted as a bright Young Lady with a physical disability.

And searched for any information I could gather.

“Haha… Come to think of it, Young Lady has been very busy lately, hasn’t she?”

“Busy?”

“You probably wouldn’t know. There are rumors that she’s been visiting the Kingdom frequently… and that she got scolded by the King.”

‘The King…’

This overlapped with the information I heard from the chef before.

If so, this is not just a baseless rumor.

I swallowed dryly and smiled brightly.

“She’s been looking very tired lately, maybe that’s why.”

“It’s no wonder she’s tired. There are widespread rumors that the King has been dabbling in dark magic lately.”

Dark magic?

I clenched my fist at the unbelievable news.

I made sure not to show it on my face.

No matter how much I searched my memory, there was no information about the King resorting to dark magic.

The current time period is about 2 to 4 years before the main story of the game begins.

Could it be that the game developers’ unassigned stories are automatically filled in by some mechanism?

The more I think about it, the less I understand.

Carlson sighed deeply.

“There are many rumors, such as the resurrection of the late Queen… but what would we common folk know?”

He said in a weak voice, as if complaining.

And, just as he was about to continue speaking.

Creak-

“I’ve kept you waiting, haven’t I? Phew… I got lost looking for the restroom, so it took a little longer.”

Scarlett entered the room at the perfect timing.

I smiled faintly at her and then smiled brightly.

Scarlett stared intently at my face for a moment, then busily gathered the items they had traded.

We said goodbye to Carlson and left the trading place.

What happened afterward was surprisingly normal.

As promised, we walked around town, ate delicious food, and returned to the mansion by carriage.

I deliberately ignored the heavy bag behind the carriage.

I gathered information and got some fresh air.

It was a better outing than I expected.

****

Crash!

“Ugh, kkeuk..”

I trembled and clutched my throbbing head.

“Ugh, ugh..”

Lucy looked at me worriedly.

Lucy helped me up and bit her lip.

My forehead was throbbing, probably from hitting it on the drawer when I fell.

But the pain of falling was not important right now.

Haah, haah.. Ha..”

I gasped for breath and stood up again.

Crash!

And I fell again, spectacularly.

“Why, why… why isn’t it working…”

Gritting my teeth, my hands trembled with rising sorrow and fear.

About two weeks have passed since I started consuming Lucy’s elixir.

Oli had told me that the treatment was expected to take about a month.

She said that by then, the tendons would be slightly attached, and I could use installed healing magic to fully reconnect them.

But.

Now that two weeks have passed.

My feet’s condition has not improved at all.

In fact, the function of my arms and legs has deteriorated.

In the midst of this confusion, only one thing came to mind.

Scarlett.