episode_0007

After sending Killua, who couldn’t pull his weight due to a shoulder injury, back to Rai’s house first, I finished the ordinary evening routine just like yesterday.

Then, I received the hard, dry bread and soup that was no different from plain water, provided for dinner, and returned to Rai’s house.

Opening the door, which exuded the strong scent of fresh herbs, and stepping inside, Killua, who was managing the household’s herbs in place of Rai, who had gone out on an afternoon patrol, greeted me.

“I’m home.”

“Good job.”

She had told me not to use honorifics in front of the villagers or Rai to avoid unnecessary suspicion, but when we were alone like this, she allowed me to speak to her respectfully.

Having been under her for three years, it was more comfortable for me to use polite speech than informal speech, and she had shown consideration for that.

“This is dinner.”

I placed the dry bread I had received from the square and the plain water soup, which had already cooled to lukewarm on the way, onto the table.

Just then, as if she had expected it, Killua plucked about three leaves from the brown-tinged fragrant herbs hanging from the ceiling to dry.

Crushing the three leaves she had plucked with one hand, she approached the table where the bread and soup were placed.

“Still a mediocre meal, less than expected.”

The lunch soup had at least a few pieces of bird meat in it, but this time, it was a paltry soup that seemed to have been made by steeping grain crumbs.

The bread, too, was savagely hard, as if it were just a lump of flour crudely kneaded and baked without any spices or butter.

Killua, after checking the state of the dinner, scattered the crushed fragrant herb leaves from her hand over the plain water soup, as if she had expected it.

As the fragrant herbs, crushed in her hand, were sprinkled over the plain water soup which had no scent, a pungent, spicy aroma began to waft.

“By the way, Killua-nim. How do you plan to handle the ‘hospitality’ the village chief mentioned?”

“Oh… that?”

Killua forcefully struck the rock-hard bread against the table edge, splitting it in half.

Then, she dipped the split side of the bread into the soup with the sprinkled crushed herbs, and while waiting for it to soften, answered my question.

“Isn’t it just about bringing drinks or snacks to the merchants visiting the village and batting your eyelashes a few times?”

Hospitality.

In its simple dictionary definition, it meant serving guests.

As Killua said, one could think of it as serving alcohol, snacks, tea, or refreshments with a kind and friendly attitude.

However, judging by the village chief’s serious demeanor and grave expression, it was clear that the hospitality he requested was not such a simple and wholesome matter.

Furthermore, the fact that the village women welcomed Killua, a stranger from outside, without suspicion, was a decisive piece of evidence.

A more valuable, attractive, and younger woman had arrived than themselves… it was clear they were confident that through the “hospitality” the village chief spoke of, they could extract more goods from the merchants.

“The ‘hospitality’ the village chief spoke of won’t be such a simple matter.”

Hoping she would grasp the gravity of the situation, I indirectly warned her in a serious voice.

But Killua, ignoring my warning, merely stared at my face and took a bite of the bread that had softened slightly in the soup.

“Yes. Hospitality isn’t as simple and easy as one might think. It requires adequate social skills and keen perception to make the other person comfortable.”

As if it were no big deal, she chewed on the bread she had bitten off and began lecturing me about hospitality, as if teaching me.

Perhaps it was because, despite being the strongest mage, she had absolutely no experience in human society.

At her frustratingly naive and immature attitude and reactions, I bit my lip.

“Killua-nim!! The ‘hospitality’ the village chief spoke of… it means prostitution!!”

Ultimately, unable to endure her naive attitude, I raised my voice in front of Killua, as if spilling out the frustration knotted in my chest.

Then Killua stopped chewing her bread and blinked her widened eyes, looking at me as if surprised.

“Are you angry at me right now?”

“No… I… that… I’m sorry.”

Realizing belatedly that I had lost my patience and raised my voice in front of her, I quickly bowed my head and apologized.

Killua, who had been staring at me as if she couldn’t understand, started chewing again and asked me a question.

“You live your way, and I can live comfortably just by being a little charming, batting my eyelashes, and occasionally swaying my hips… I don’t understand why you’re getting angry about such a rational and efficient division of labor?”

As expected, she fully understood the true meaning behind the village chief’s ‘hospitality’.

I, who had presumptuously thought she was naive and immature, had disregarded her efforts to not outwardly reveal the uncomfortable truth of prostitution.

“I… I’m sorry.”

Blaming my own ignorance and lack of perception, I apologized to her once more.

“No. An apology isn’t what I want to hear. I’m just curious about why you’re angry.”

However, Killua had no intention of ending it easily after hearing my apology.

Swallowing the bread she had been chewing, she dipped the bread into the soup again and persistently pressed me for the reason for my anger.

“That… the fact that the White Mage would engage in prostitution and sell her body… I simply couldn’t accept it.”

“Oh, really?”

Knowing that her interrogation wouldn’t end until I revealed my honest feelings, I cautiously confessed my true thoughts to her.

Killua, hearing my honest feelings, let out a small laugh, as if amused.

“Of course. You mean you can’t accept the fact that you’d be a common prostitute’s assistant rather than the White Mage’s assistant, right? Hahaha, a prostitute with an assistant… it’s funny even hearing myself say it. A pimp would suit you better, wouldn’t it?”

“N-no! That’s absolutely not what I meant!!”

Terrified by Killua’s strangely twisted interpretation of my words, I frantically waved both hands, strongly denying it.

However, despite my strong denial, Killua merely curved her lips slightly, as if she already knew my true feelings, and took another bite of the bread soaked in soup.

“Even if you’ve lost your power… Killua-nim, you are the White Mage! It’s impossible for someone like you to resort to simply selling your body without considering other methods or solutions!!”

In a hurry to clear up her misunderstanding, I haphazardly blurted out my honest feelings that tumbled into my head.

Killua, who had been calmly listening to my words, suddenly had her expression darken at my calling her the White Mage.

But as if to hide that darkness, she offered a bitter smile, swallowed the bread she had been chewing with difficulty, and began to speak.

“Since ancient times, a woman’s body has been a truly efficient commodity for trade. It doesn’t disappear when sold, and it can be resold continuously, almost permanently. What else can I, a normal injured woman, do?”

“No! Killua-nim!”

At Killua’s question, which seemed to be leading me to a desired answer, I expressed strong denial in a firm tone.

Even though she had lost her power, Killua was the White Mage who, in the past, had made demon lords and empresses bow their heads and commanded this entire continent.

Having witnessed her feats and overwhelming power firsthand, I could not accept a situation where she had to sustain herself so meaninglessly as a prostitute.

“That power wasn’t all of the Mage-nim. I’ve never seen anyone as wise and intelligent as the Mage-nim. Even without that power, the Mage-nim can accomplish more than I can imagine.”

What spilled from my flustered mouth was truly explicit, incoherent, and baseless flattery of the lowest quality.

Killua, slowly chewing the soup-soaked bread as she listened to my obvious flattery, swallowed the bitter smile lingering on her lips with the tough bread she was chewing, with difficulty.

“Hmm… if you could give such a positive and wonderful answer, why didn’t you do so from the start?”

“Ki… Killua-nim?”

Had my low-quality flattery provided even a small bit of strength? Killua, as if nothing had happened, erased her dark and bitter smile and displayed a smile characteristic of her usual self, mixed with a hint of playfulness and liveliness.

Startled by her change in attitude, I stared at her with a dumbfounded expression.

But Killua, ignoring my gaze, calmly dipped her bread into the soup once more and took a bite, as if nothing had happened.

Clank.

“I’m home.”

Just then, the front door opened, and Rai, who had been out hunting in the forest until later than usual, returned.

He hung the reed-woven coat, made to prevent slime mucus from seeping in, on one wall, then walked in with a deep sigh.

“Good job.”

As Rai passed in front of me, I brushed a small leaf off his shoulder.

Then Rai, as if thankful for my consideration, gave a slight nod with a smile in his eyes.

However, a clear shadow of great worry was cast across his face.

“Are you okay?”

The returned Rai first approached Killua.

And without hesitation, he grabbed her right arm and carefully touched her shoulder.

“Ouch, ouch!! It hurts!! Don’t press it!!”

Rai, who had touched it here and there and lightly pressed the wound with his fingertips, had his face darken considerably at Killua’s pained reaction.

It was clear that something had gone wrong with the wound.

“The fact that the pain is still severe means an infection has developed inside the wound…”

He muttered softly, then walked with urgent steps into the herb storage room inside the house.

He was so urgent that he didn’t even take off his hunting clothes, just walked into the herb storage room and rummaged as if searching for something. Killua and I simply exchanged glances, as if we couldn’t understand.

“Rai. Why don’t you change into comfortable clothes first, then search?”

On Killua’s behalf, I entered the herb storage room and asked Rai, who was frantically searching for something.

But without responding to my suggestion, he continued rummaging through the herb storage room, then walked out with a small leather pouch stuffed full of herbs.

“Here. Take this.”

Walking out of the herb storage room, he placed the leather pouch, stuffed full of herbs, on the table in front of Killua.

We simply looked back and forth between the leather pouch he had brought, stuffed full of herbs, and his face, with bewildered expressions.

But Rai, without detailed explanation, unfastened the belt-like leather bag from his waist and handed it to Killua.

“What? Can you explain what’s going on?”

Killua, who had accepted both the leather bag and pouch Rai offered, frowned and demanded an explanation, as if she couldn’t understand his actions.

Only then did Rai take a deep breath, and as if calming his frustrated emotions, rubbed his face hard with his hands, then began to explain his actions in a calm tone.

“I’m sorry for getting you involved in something sordid.”

“Something sordid?”

At Rai’s incomprehensible explanation, we both tilted our heads simultaneously.

Then Rai, taking another deep breath, carefully began to speak, frowning as if the truth was too unpleasant to mention himself.

“The ‘hospitality’ the village chief mentioned actually refers to prostitution.”

“Ah…”

“That?”

Rai revealed the truth in a heavy tone, as if speaking of something terrible.

However, we, who had already fully understood the meaning, accepted his words with an “it’s no big deal” attitude.

But unlike our calm reaction, Rai looked directly into Killua’s eyes, which were watching him with a resolute expression, and said:

“Killua. I don’t want to see you entangled in such sordid work.”

“W-wow…”

With a serious and resolute face, he unhesitatingly uttered earnest words that, in some ways, could be misunderstood by a third party.

Even Killua seemed not to have expected such bold, serious words thrown in front of her, and let out a gasp with a flustered expression, covering her mouth with her hand.

“No, no… Wait, wait!!!”

At Rai’s earnest remark, which had momentarily flustered even the White Mage-nim, I instinctively flared up and interjected between the two of them.

“Killua and I already knew very well what ‘hospitality’ meant. We’re not idiots who can’t read the room like that. But what do this leather bag and this herb pouch mean then?”

“This is emergency rations. I was secretly making them all afternoon. If you ration them, they should last about 5 days.”

At Rai’s explanation, Killua opened the leather bag she had received from him.

Just as he said, inside the leather bag were portable rations made of minced bird meat and grains, clumped together and smoked dry.

Perhaps he had just finished smoking them, as the portable rations inside the bag still retained a warm temperature.

“And these herbs?”

“Those should prevent Killua’s wound from worsening and alleviate the pain until you reach a village with at least minimal medical facilities.”

Listening to Rai’s explanation, I opened the leather pouch and checked the herbs he had stuffed into it from the herb room.

My knowledge of medicine and herbs was shallow, so I didn’t know the efficacy of the herbs he had stuffed in, but I could at least confirm that he had packed about 3 kinds of herbs.

“This one is for disinfection, this one has pain-relieving effects. And this one… it’s a bit potent, but it’s a strong fever-reducing herb.”

Killua, leaning her head slightly beside me to check the inside of the opened leather pouch, briefly explained the herbs’ effects for my ignorant self.

According to Killua’s explanation, the herbs he had prepared were more effective at preventing symptoms from worsening or progressing than at fundamentally treating the cause of the wound.

“Right… once inflammation has developed inside the wound, it’s impossible to treat it with just herbs.”

Killua touched her bandaged shoulder with a reluctant expression.

Her expression tightened slightly, as if even a light touch caused strong pain.

“So what do you want us to do with these two? Surely…”

A sufficient amount of portable rations and herbs to prevent Killua’s injury from worsening.

Rai’s intention in generously providing these to us was clear.

“Run away from the village. My house is on the outskirts of the village, so even if you leave, the villagers won’t notice until tomorrow morning.”

Rai spoke in a somber voice, as if there was no other good option.

Killua and I alternately looked at the portable rations and the herb pouch he had brought.

And then we looked back at Rai, who was still gazing at Killua with a serious and grave expression.

“What about you?”

If we were to escape, Rai would undoubtedly have to bear the responsibility, resentment, and blame entirely by himself.

To Killua’s question, tinged with worry, Rai replied with a broad smile, as if telling her not to worry.

“I’ll certainly hear complaints. But they’ll forgive me soon enough. Everyone here is good-hearted.”

“Wow…”

At Rai’s genuinely concerned answer for her, Killua let out a small gasp, as if truly surprised.

“What should we do?”

Hearing Rai’s answer, I first brought the portable rations and herb pouch he had prepared closer to me and waited for Killua’s decision.

Honestly, his suggestion wasn’t bad.

Taking sufficient food and herbs for any contingency, and leaving this desolate Eaton Village, where the Lime Forest had been ruined and the future vanished, to settle in a better-situated village would not be a bad choice for the future.

“I won’t leave.”

But Killua’s thoughts seemed entirely different from mine.

Killua, still touching her shoulder where pain lingered deep within the wound, firmly refused Rai’s consideration.

“There must be another way.”

“Another way?”

At Killua’s words about there being another way, Rai and I both stared at her simultaneously.

But under our gazes, Killua shrugged lightly, as if asking what we expected, and said:

“From now on, let’s all think about it together. They say there’s always a way out, even if the sky falls [a proverb meaning there’s always a solution no matter how dire the situation].”

“There’s no basis for that—!!”

At Killua’s absurdly optimistic attitude, which had no basis, Rai, worried about her, tried to coldly refute her words.

But just as he opened his mouth to argue against her words.

Killua shoved the bread, which she had been soaking in soup but couldn’t eat due to Rai’s arrival, into his mouth, cutting off his words.

“Alright, alright. First, let’s fill our stomachs, and we can think and worry slowly. There are still 5 days until the merchants arrive, right?”

Killua, having silenced Rai with the bread she was eating, smiled brightly at him, as if telling him not to waste precious time with unnecessary worries and concerns.

Rai, who had been blankly staring at the brightly smiling Killua, eventually took a bite of the bread she had put in his mouth, as if he would follow her decision.

“How is it? Is it tasty?”

“Fragrant herbs… you mixed in a bit of chipole leaves.”

Rai, after chewing the bread a few times, noticed the subtle scent of fragrant herbs infused in it and widened his eyes.

“Oh. Your tongue is quite sensitive, isn’t it? I could tell it was plain water soup at a glance, so I added some aroma. Do you like it?”

“Yes. It’s delicious. It’s my favorite fragrant herb.”

Chewing the bread Killua had put in his mouth, the two, with their gazes locked nose to nose, forgot their current worries and concerns and smiled innocently like children.