I Said Make My Abilities Average! (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 49

Chapter 49:

The House of Aura 

“Are you all right, Mavis?” 

“Yeah. It’s no big deal, really!” 

What she was claiming to be “no big deal” was the aftereffects that she was still experiencing. 

Mavis had been in bed—and in intense physical pain—since the end of their three days of special training. She was young, so it was not as though the pain had merely reared its head on a three-day delay. More than likely, the aches had begun following the very first day of training, but she had powered through by sheer force of will. As soon as she had attained her goal, and that momentum of motivation was lost, the effects of her training had knocked her out. 

For the whole day following her moment of enlightenment, Mavis had not risen from bed even once. 

This was not something that they could use magical healing on; the muscular pain had to mend itself naturally. So Mile had explained. 

Sinews that had been damaged by vigorous movement would regrow themselves into stronger muscle. Using healing magic to negate the muscular pain that resulted from this process would simply put things back to normal, thereby nullifying the results of any training. 

Plus, as far as Mile was concerned, using recovery magic every time you were a little tired, and healing magic any time you were a little sore, was something of an affront to the human experience. 

And so Mavis’s fate—three days of bed rest—was sealed. 

Three days later… 

Though the other three members of the party had suggested extending their vacation even further, Mavis had insisted that she could be a burden no longer, telling them not to trouble themselves on her account. So, half-heartedly, they set out for the guild hall. 

Of course, they took their time, not heading out as early as usual. 

Even Mavis had no objection this time, as she was clearly in no shape to be pushing into the scramble that was the morning rush of hunters competing to snatch up the best-paying jobs. 

“Now what could that be?” asked Pauline. 

The other three followed her gaze, spotting some manner of crowd gathered before one of the local shops. 

This area was something of a small business sector, filled with shops that catered to individual buyers. The shop that the crowd was swarming around was one such modest affair, which appeared to be an apothecary. 

Or in less antiquated language, a drugstore. 

Even though healing magic existed in this world, one could not always be expected to have a capable mage on hand. Beyond the fact that there were already very few mages of any considerable skill, performing healing spells was incredibly difficult, unlike simply making fire and water. Indeed, it was just like with combat spells… 

The difficulty of combat spells came from having to make several different images concrete at once. The issue of healing magic, conversely, was having to tangibly visualize an image when people had so little understanding of the workings of the human body. Though the degree and type of difficulty of these spells varied quite a bit, this did not change the fact that they were both high-level art forms. 

Because Mile had taught the girls of the Wonder Trio and the Crimson Vow about things like the structure of the human body, including cell division, nerves, and blood vessels, they were able to form a far more concrete image of the healing process (which was then unconsciously transmitted to the nanomachines). As a result, their efficiency rose greatly. For a normal mage, however, who could do little more than pray, “Heal!”— a spell might simply stabilize a broken bone or close up the exposed portion of an open wound, while still leaving nerves, blood vessels, and tendons severed. 

Furthermore, in the case of illness rather than injury, it was not unusual for someone to use a healing spell incorrectly and actually stimulate the root of the illness, causing the patient’s condition to deteriorate even further. Therefore, excluding the cases where a person’s illness was so severe that they had nothing to lose by trying magical healing, healing spells were typically avoided in the case of patients who were sick. 

In addition, using magic to heal an illness meant that the body did not have the chance to build up the appropriate antibodies, so the rate of relapse from any remaining virus within the body was high. Healing magic simply was not an all-purpose discipline—unless, of course, you were Mile, who had a decent knowledge of medical science. 

Even Mile had not taught her fellow party members about how to cure illnesses. She only nagged and lectured them on fundamental health protocols, such as “Make sure you wash your hands whenever you get back to an inn,” and “Don’t eat food that’s fallen on the ground.” Should someone become ill, Mile would much rather wait until they got back to an inn and deal with it herself; she feared what deadly outcome might occur if a spell were handled wrong. 

Mile judged that the danger of this was incredibly high, and in this case, that judgment was probably correct. Promoting the cellular multiplication of cancer cells with magic in the name of healing would be missing the point entirely. 

Plus, except in the case of mid- or large-scale mercantile operations, travelers were not always going to have a mage with healing abilities traveling with them. Then there were those with chronic illnesses and generally frail constitutions. 

Therefore, even in a world like this, with healing magic available, the medical and pharmaceutical industries were still thriving, and it was not doctors who prepared drugs. If one wished for medicine, one went to where the materials were gathered, prepared, and sold: an apothecary. 

It was just such a place around which the townspeople were now gathered. 

It was party policy for the Crimson Vow to stick their noses in whenever it seemed that something interesting was going on. Furthermore, though they had been headed to the guild to look for a new job at Mavis’s insistence, the other three still believed that Mavis ought to rest up a bit more, so any distraction was a godsend. 

Quickly, before Mavis could catch on, the three exchanged a knowing look. 

In a stilted voice, Pauline proposed, “Let’s go find out what’s going on!” 

“Excuse me,” Pauline asked a young man of around seventeen or eighteen who was standing nearby, “What’s all the fuss about over here?” 

The young man was not about to complain about a cute, buxom girl talking to him. “Ah, it’s those three over there. They’re the owner of this shop, the head of a large trade operation, and the butler of a baron’s household, apparently,” he explained, pointing to three people who appeared to be quarreling. “It seems like the baron’s daughter is ill, and the butler was here waiting for a shipment of medicine, but when it got here, that merchant swooped in and tried to buy it all!” 

“Huh…” 

That couldn’t be it, the members of the Crimson Vow thought. All the shopkeeper would have to do was say, “These goods are already spoken for,” and that would be that. Pauline expressed as much to the young man. However… 

“You would think so, but the problem is a little shop has no chance of standing up to a big guy like that. There are a lot of internal politics over at the Merchants’ Guild.” 

“Still, it would be one thing if this were a normal citizen we were talking about—this is an emissary of a noble! Would he rather go against a noble?” Pauline asked. 

The young man, however, could only shrug. “Even if he’s a noble, it’s not too surprising that a poor baron would have less influence than a powerful merchant. It’d be one thing out in the baron’s own lands, but here in the capital he’s got nothing to hold over us commoners. Plus, when you’re talking about someone that rich, people tend to overlook the fact that they’re essentially killing in the name of profit and just wave the whole thing off. Anyway, it’s not even the baron himself, just his butler. He hasn’t got a leg to stand on.” 

“………” 

Pauline thanked the young man and turned back to the others. There was clear displeasure upon her face. 

Ah, there it is… 

The others had seen this look on Pauline’s face a million times. It meant the same thing as when Mile’s face went blank. 

Apparently, this had offended Pauline’s “pride as a merchant.” However, given that Pauline tended to her own mercantile excesses, the others still had yet to grasp quite what the criteria for such a violation was. And in truth, Pauline was not actually a merchant herself, only a merchant’s daughter. 

That said, there was never any telling what Mile’s criteria for evaluating a situation were—and Mavis was always judging things from the standpoint of a knight, even though she was nowhere near one yet. 

It was a topic not to be broached. None of them were prepared to go down that road with one another. 

“I am telling you, that medicine is for the household of the baron of whom I am an employee and whose daughter is quite ill!” 

“Sure, you had a contract, but it’s not like you paid ahead of time, right? It only makes sense for a merchant to sell to the one who gives him the best price. Ain’t that right, sir?” 

Both sides pressed him, but the weak-willed, if honest, apothecary had neither the bravery to make an enemy of an influential merchant nor the nerve to flat out refuse a request from a noble household. Thus, the only thing that he could say was: 

“I-If you two could settle this among yourselves…” 

This was the seller’s repeated reply, which left them all at a stalemate. 

Pauline locked eyes with the other three members of the Crimson Vow, and received their nods as confirmation, before cutting into the conversation between the three men. 

“If I may?” 

Normally, the chief merchant would reply with something like, “We don’t need any busybodies here,” but perhaps because the conflict was in a deadlock, or perhaps because he was feeling confident in his superiority, or maybe even because he had a vested interest in the comings and goings of four beautiful young girls, he replied unexpectedly. 

“Sure, that’s all right. What can I do for you?” 

Pauline was a little taken aback, having expected to have to butt her way in by force, but with this fortuitous reply, she spoke. “Um, well I can understand why the butler here should want those goods—it’s for his master’s sick daughter, after all. But why might it be that you would like to get your hands on those goods, sir? Do you have someone ill waiting on you as well?” 

The merchant laughed and replied, “Of course not, nothing of the sort. I’m a merchant, and so I like to stock lucrative goods. That’s all there is to it.” 

“What?” 

There was a resounding sound of shock and bewilderment, not only from Pauline and the rest of the Crimson Vow, but from the butler, the shopkeeper, and the crowd of spectators as well. Everyone had assumed that the merchant had only gone to such overbearing lengths to try and intercept the medicine because he had some extenuating circumstances of his own. 

Was this truly about profit alone? 

That was the reason why he would take the medicine away from a sick young noble who needed it? 

And for him to declare it so brashly, not even trying to hide his motivations… It defied common sense. 

“Would that medicine really sell for all that much?” Pauline asked, this time addressing the shop owner. 

“N-no. I mean, there’s something of a shortage of it because we haven’t been able to collect very much, but it doesn’t sell that often. And these are unprocessed, so they really aren’t all that valuable. This whole week’s shipment is worth maybe five gold.” 

Five gold pieces for unprocessed medicine that might not be effective—the equivalent of around 500,000 yen in Japanese money. Of course, any commoner would not think that amount very cheap at all, but for a noble or a wealthy merchant, it was a pittance. 

“You’d pick a fight with a noble household over as little as that? And now you’re boasting about it? Wouldn’t that be bad for your company’s reputation? I don’t see why you’re bothering with all this…” 

The merchant calmly explained, “Honestly, not really. We specialize in bulk transactions and wholesale operations. Except for merchants like this fellow, we don’t really do individual retail, so our reputation among the common folk doesn’t matter much. Plus, that five gold that the owner here mentioned is only the price in standard circumstances. If there’s a buyer that absolutely needs to get their hands on something, then the seller can ask for whatever they like. 

“Take this baron’s servant, for example. Even if he placed a new order now, who knows when he’d get it? Because he absolutely needs it, I could sell it to him for ten times the standard price. Or say some other noble wanted to stick it to the baron. Why, I could sell it to them for even more. I don’t know what such a challenger would do with all the medicine they bought, but honestly, that’s none of my concern.” 

Hearing this, the color drained from the butler’s face. 

Pauline replied, “Th-that’s true… But for a merchant, that’s practically…” 

“Heresy?” the merchant preempted. “I mean, what do you think an auction is? It’s nothing but a way to extort as much money as you can from whomever wants to get their hands on something the most, regardless of actual cost or value. No one comes kicking in an auctioneer’s door, do they?” 

“Er…” 

Pauline found herself lost for words. 

Reina nudged Mile in the back, urging her to do something, but for once even Mile could think of nothing to say in response. While she was still deep in thought, the merchant put forth a proposal. 

“If we keep on like this and neither side yields, then this isn’t going to go anywhere. How about this: Since we’ve brought up auctions now, why don’t we call it just that—an auction? Goods go to the highest bidder. That way there’s nothing objectionable, and the owner here is guaranteed to make a little extra as well. How’s that? Of course, the payment will be expected up front and in full, with no deferments.” 

As he spoke, the merchant pulled his purse from his breast pocket. 

The butler stared at the merchant’s purse with sharp eyes. Judging by the size of that purse, he couldn’t possibly be carrying that much money, even if it’s all gold coins inside. Yet it would be impossible for him to have any less than what he intended to buy the medicine with, along with some extra rainy day emergency funds, and whatever he needs for himself, so… 

“Very well. I accept your proposal!” 

Oh no… 

Pauline smacked her hand to her forehead, and Mile shrugged her shoulders. 

Reina and Mavis had yet to realize the truth of the matter, but naturally Mile and Pauline had grasped it immediately. The merchant before them was not one to take on a challenge that he had no chance of winning. Judging by the look on his face, he most certainly had something up his sleeve. 

Most of the surrounding spectators, particularly the ones who looked like merchants themselves, grimaced as well, looking at the butler with pitying eyes… 

“Is this fine by you as well, good sir?” the merchant asked to the shop owner, who nodded approvingly. 

This solution allowed him to avoid the enmity of both a merchant who was incredibly influential within the guild, as well as that of a noble household—and plus, his profits seemed like they were about to go way up. Naturally, he had no objections. 

“Well then, let’s begin. I’m the one who proposed this, so I’ll start the bidding. Five gold pieces.” 

With that, the merchant drew five gold coins from his purse and placed them on the table in front of the shop. 

“Seven gold pieces!” 

In turn, the butler shoved his hand into his purse, pulling out seven gold coins. Rather than inching the price up bit by bit, he made a bold increase that he hoped would see his opponent quickly crushed. 

“Eight gold pieces.” 

The merchant increased his bid by only one, prompting the butler to move boldly again. 

“Ten gold pieces!” 

The price went up and up, until it finally passed 25 gold pieces. However, the butler showed no signs of agitation. 

Judging by the size of that purse, he couldn’t have had more than thirty gold pieces in there. It was probably only 27 or 28, and that’ll soon be spent. I, on the other hand, was provided 20 gold pieces by my master for the sake of obtaining the medicine in case a large amount should come into stock, as well as an extra ten gold pieces in case any unexpected situations should arise. On top of that, I myself have another three gold and five half-gold on my person. His coins should be running out soon… 

The price had ended up running higher than expected, thanks to this merchant, but even for a lower-ranking noble, twenty or thirty gold pieces was no enormous matter. 

“Then I’ll bid 27… Oh?” 

The merchant made yet another two-gold increase to the bid, but what came out of his purse was only one gold coin. Apparently, he had reached the bottom of his bag. 

I won! 

The butler was thrilled. 

“Hm, I could have sworn I packed at least one more coin in this purse before I left, it should have been here…” the merchant said, rummaging in his pockets. 

Even if he pulls out one or two more, it doesn’t matter. I’ve won! the butler thought, with a sigh of relief. However… 

“Oh, there it is! This should make it 27 gold!” 

With that, the merchant placed one coin down on the table, picking up nine from the existing pile and slipping them back into his purse. 

“Wh…?” 

The eyes of the butler, the Crimson Vow, and the rest of the spectators went wide. 

There, on the table, was one more coin. It was an orichalcum coin. 

In this world, white silver—in other words, platinum—had very little worth. It looked like silver, but as it had a much higher melting point, manufacturing equipment could not melt it down, so it was treated as nothing more than “false silver,” a rubbish material. What took its place as the most-prized mineral was mithril, also known as holy silver, or orichalcum. 

Items made of mithril, or even better yet, orichalcum, which were both rare metals, were out of the reach of most common folk. On Earth, this would be the equivalent of having a sword made of platinum. 

And so, an orichalcum piece was worth ten gold pieces. It was such a hefty currency that no one would just walk around with it on their person or use it for day-to-day transactions…normally. 

“What do you think? That’s 27 gold, isn’t it?” 

The merchant grinned smugly. 

“S-so it is…” Pauline said begrudgingly. 

The merchant’s trap had finally been revealed. However, this move wasn’t underhanded enough to invite criticism. It was customary for merchants and travelers to have some extra funds stashed away in case of a dire emergency. The butler’s reading of the situation had simply been too naive. 

The butler’s face twisted in shock, confusion, and anguish. 

If he could just say that this defeat would be a good lesson for the future, that would be one thing, but this was a matter that involved his master’s daughter. Plus, there was the possibility that someone could now hold that medicine hostage, to make unreasonable demands of the baron’s household. 

It was a match in which defeat and humiliation were not an option. And he had lost. 

The butler’s face was now colored deeply with despair. 

“So, how about it? Will you forfeit?” 

“Nh… Uh…” 

The butler was pale as a sheet, sweat pouring down his face. 

“At this rate, that butler’s gonna have to slice his own stomach open to take responsibility…” Mile uttered, though she had no idea whether the practice of seppuku was commonplace around these parts. 

Of course, Reina and the others had already had this explained to them in a story Mile told about a group of individuals who had become unemployed after their employer attempted to murder someone in the palace and then broke into that person’s home and perpetrated a massacre. 

Suddenly, the other three noticed Pauline, and how her face spasmed, a glare in her eyes. 

“Here she goes, huh?” Mile asked. The others nodded. 

“Might I have a word?” 

At Pauline’s further intrusion, the merchant, whose victory was already assured, gave a nonchalant nod. 

“Sure thing, miss. It’s thanks to your prompting before that I thought of this auction to settle things, after all. Now, what can I help you with?” 

“Ah, actually if I could get you to wait right there a moment, that would be perfect. Miley, a sound barrier, please!” 

“On it!” 

“Huh? What is…?” 

After the merchant gave his consent, Pauline had Mile erect a sound barrier. This put Pauline and the butler in a separate sphere from the merchant so that neither side could hear the other’s words. The merchant had been put in his own sphere at Mile’s discretion so that he could neither issue a complaint nor try to butt in while Pauline and the butler were speaking. 

From the outside, all anyone could see was the merchant wordlessly flapping his mouth, and Pauline and the butler deep in some sort of conversation. 

Gradually, the butler’s eyes began to open wider, in some sort of surprise. 

And then, the butler bent his back toward Pauline; it was much less a bow than an almost-military salute. His upper back was angled deeply, at almost 45 degrees. 

To give an uncapped salute in the Japanese SDF, one normally bends about 10 degrees. 45 degrees is unheard of outside of bowing to the emperor himself or to the casket of a comrade killed in the line of duty. Was Pauline truly someone worthy of such a deep show of respect in the butler’s eyes? 

Pauline then turned to Mile and gave a twist of her wrist. That was the signal to dissolve the sound barrier. Seeing this, Mile complied straight away. 

“Wh-what was that just now…?” asked the merchant, who, judging from his tone of wonder, had surely neither seen nor heard of such a thing before. Pauline ignored him. She had to press on before any of them could change their minds and object to Pauline’s intervention. 

“Everyone!” she shouted loudly to the surrounding onlookers. “All assembled, you are well aware of the situation. In the name of the house of the Baron Aura, I entreat all of you here to invest your funds in this butler!” 

“Huhhh?!” 

The crowd’s voices rose in confusion, unsure of what she meant. 

“In other words, I’m asking you all to lend this man your money. Whosoever lends him a coin now shall receive it back double with interest as soon as he can go back to the estate to retrieve it. Double your money, just like that!” 

“All right!!!!” the crowd roared. 

“And also!” Pauline continued. “If the young mistress should recover thanks to your help in obtaining this medicine! Then! All those who made a contribution will be invited to the party to celebrate her good health! You’ll be invited to the baron’s mansion as a benefactor and perhaps even have the chance to shake the young mistress’s hand in thanks! For we common folk, this is the dream of a lifetime! 

“This is an honor you’ll be able to remember for the rest of your lives! We’ll be accepting contributions until we’ve collected ten gold pieces—first come, first served! Please, everyone! Lend us your money! Whatever you can give!” 

“Yeaaaaaaaahhhh!!!” 

There was a mad rush. 

Pauline’s face twitched. The response was far greater than even she anticipated. Reina and Mavis rushed to Pauline’s side, to keep her from being swallowed up in the tidal wave of bodies. 

And Mile muttered, dumbfounded, 

“A m-money bomb…” 

*** 

And so, it was settled. 

This was a city of commerce, so there were many other shop owners among the spectators. Naturally, every shop owner around kept one or two extra gold pieces on their person at all times, separate from their coin purse, just in case of an emergency—an emergency like that merchant’s orichalcum coin. 

Thus, the ten gold pieces were collected in short order. 

Even if this proved insufficient, it was obvious that they could collect plenty more if necessary. Already there was no way for the merchant to win. 

“28 gold pieces!” 

The butler made a scant one coin increase to the bid, but anyone could see that the match was already over. Continuing the fight any longer was futile. 

“I fold.” 

Just as the owner of a large business should, the merchant dutifully recognized his defeat and gave up the fight. 

“You really got me there. I am completely defeated. Well done, well done…” he said with a smile, gathering up all the coins that he had piled on the table. “I look forward to next time!” 

The Crimson Vow and the butler stared agog as the merchant left in unexpectedly good spirits. 

“He’s up to something. We should be careful…” Reina said, glaring at the merchant’s retreating form from behind. 

“No need,” came a voice from the nearby crowd. 

“Huh?” 

Reina looked suspicious, but the man who had spoken explained, “That guy likes to put on a show, but he really is a good person when you get down to it.” 

“Wh-what are you talking about?!” Reina shouted in confusion, having never heard of oxymorons such as “a mini monster truck,” or “an honest liar.” 

“What I mean is that he likes to push the limits of what’s allowed within the rules of business, but he never does anything truly unreasonable to actually cross that line. Even his crude way of speaking is just to teach his opponents a lesson or to have a bit of fun himself. Even if he’d won that auction, he probably would have just sold the medicine to the butler for a few gold more. The whole auction was probably mostly for the sake of giving the apothecary a larger profit. That, and…” he trailed off as he looked toward the owner of the medicine shop. “Anyway, it seems like he had a lot of fun this morning, so I don’t think he has any animosity toward you. On the contrary, he seems to have taken a liking to you all. He might even come to your aid sometime. Man, am I jealous!” 

The man laughed. Some of the other mercantile folk in the crowd laughed along with him, as if they were in the know as well. 

The Crimson Vow and the butler were stunned. 

“Wha…?” 

“B-but then why would you all help us out with that loan?” Pauline asked. “If you all already knew that, then even if you hadn’t bothered…” 

Another man who had contributed to the loan piped up. 

“That’s because we’re merchants. Did you really think we were gonna pass up the chance to instantly double our money? Plus…” 

“We wanna shake a young noble maiden’s hand and hear her thank us!!!” they all shouted. 

The Crimson Vow and the butler all slumped their shoulders in disappointment. 

Pauline, however, was quick to recover. There was still something that she had to do. 

“Mister Apothecary, what do you intend to do with all that gold?” 

“Uh…” 

The shopkeeper, who had been gazing at the mountain of gold that the butler had piled upon the table, looked blankly at Pauline. 

What did she care? Whatever he planned on doing with it, it was his money, won fairly at auction. 

“Imagine a shop that, despite having made a prior agreement with a noble family, failed to refuse someone who tried to snipe their goods and forced them to compete for much needed-medicine, causing them to pay almost six times the original asking price for said goods. If such a precedent were set under the watchful eyes of an entire crowd, do you think that anyone would continue to place orders at that shop from that day forward?” 

“Um…” 

The owner was speechless. He finally seemed to realize what it was that he had done. 

Merchants who dealt in goods where the competition was high, such as clothing and foodstuffs, had experience and knew their markets, and there were some sly devils among them. However, for an apothecary, as long as you were knowledgeable and had a knack for putting out well-made goods, it didn’t matter if your personality was a little rough around the edges. It wasn’t the sort of sector where you had to scramble for customers or even talk very much. 

This is precisely the kind of shopkeeper this apothecary was… In other words, as merchants went, he was a little estranged from the intricacies of human nature. 

“N-no, I… That wasn’t what I…” 

“Whether or not you intended to do it, that doesn’t change the facts. Plus, it’s not even as if you didn’t know or that this happened by accident. You allowed the intervention and the competition while fully understanding the circumstances. So there is no arguing with the fact that you are the sort of person who would do such a thing, and that this shop is the sort of place that allows those sorts of practices, with no regard for anything except for turning a profit. I want you to take a nice long moment to think about what you’ve lost, all for the sake of earning twenty-odd gold coins.” 

Truthfully, the spectators probably would have given him some leeway, understanding that his failure to refuse the merchant came from a place of fear. But now that that merchant was gone, leaving everyone with only the reality that the shop owner was willing to take 23 gold coins beyond the original price of his goods, the spectators, merchant and consumer alike, were uncertain that such a thing was just. 

“………” 

Cold stares from the crowd all focused upon the owner. 

When he considered his shop’s lost reputation and customer base, 23 gold pieces was as good as dirt. 

The owner’s face went pale, and sweat dripped down his brow. 

The reason that the man who’d been explaining the merchant’s nature to Reina earlier had trailed off was probably because he anticipated this. The merchant had not only been having a bit of fun—he was testing the shop owner as well… 

“Wh-what are you saying there? I did not want to come on too strong because angering the leaders of the Merchants’ Guild would be very bad for my business’s longevity, but naturally my intention was to give the medicine over to the butler no matter what. The auction was just for the sake of holding a bit of a competition, you see! The sales price of the goods was settled from the beginning. Come now, that’s reasonable, isn’t it?!” 

The weak-willed merchant had suddenly become overly formal. This was understandable, of course; if he made the wrong move now, his business would be ruined for certain. 

“Oh, is that so? My goodness! Pardon me, then, for throwing such accusations…” 

“No no, it’s no bother. Hahaha…” 

“Ahahaha…” 

“Ahahahahahahaha!” 

It was a refreshing little farce. Blessedly, everyone around, the onlookers included, were kind of enough to realize that the shop owner was not a bad person at all and ignored the awkwardness, with winces all around. 

*** 

“I truly must thank you all for this. Despite what that man and the shop owner said, I’m not sure how things would have turned out had you not been here. When it seemed the worst was at hand, you helped me safely obtain the medicine without even sullying the Baron’s name…” 

After packing all but the initially promised five gold pieces back into his bag, the butler extended his thanks to the Crimson Vow with yet another deeply humble, 45-degree bow. As far as the butler was concerned, the Crimson Vow were as good as gods in the form of young women, or the spirits of legend incarnate. 

“Don’t mention it. We only butted in on a lark in the first place. Now, Mister Butler, I’m sure you’ll be wanting to get that back to your mansion as quickly as…” 

Hearing Pauline address him thus, the butler suddenly realized that he had yet to give his name. 

“Ah, I still have yet to properly introduce myself! And to my benefactors no less, how rude of me… My name is Bundine! I am the butler of the house of Baron Aura.” 

“Oh! My name is Pauline. I’m with the C-rank hunting party, the Crimson Vow.” 

“And I’m Mavis, likewise.” 

“Reina here.” 

“And I’m Minami Haruo… Wait, I mean, Mile!” 

Seeing the exhaustion on Reina’s face, Mile quickly corrected herself. 

However, a singular thought was running rampant through Mile’s head: 

O-oh my God, it’s the Aura Butler, Bundine!!! 

*** 

“We would formally like to invite you, as most honored guests, to the Aura family’s capital residence,” said Bundine to the Crimson Vow, after preparing a message to the residence for the purpose of repaying those who had lent their money to his cause. 

“You sure that’s all right? I’m not really good with nobles,” said Reina. 

“Huh?” 

The other three were bewildered. Hearing their confusion, a realization suddenly spread across Reina’s face. Now that she thought about it, among their party were individuals from the lines of viscounts and counts, which were even more highly ranked than a baron. In the case of the viscount, not only did their number include his daughter, but at this juncture, the viscountess herself. 

“Oh, uh, never mind…” 

One out of every two members of the Crimson Vow was noble. Among hunters, parties with such a percentage were exceptionally rare. 

“We will humbly accept your invitation!” Mile replied. 

“What?” 

The other three were momentarily stunned at hearing such a quick acceptance from Mile, who they had assumed would want nothing to do with any other nobles. However, since Mile wished it, they all readily agreed. 

No matter how low-ranking a baron might be, if the steward of a noble household was going to go out on an errand for his master, he certainly was not going to do so on foot. No matter how walkable the distance may have been, it wasn’t seemly. And so, though it was not as nice as the one that would have been used for the members of the baron’s family themselves, a carriage carried Bundine, with the Crimson Vow in tow, toward the capital residence of the house of Baron Aura. 

Though Bundine had ridden in the passenger’s box on his way out, he allowed the Crimson Vow to take the seats on the return journey, while he himself rode up beside the driver. There was plenty of space for him back in the passenger seats, but he probably felt it improper to ride alongside his guests. He could have had no way of guessing that half of them were nobles, from households that were more highly ranked than his own, so the decision probably just showed a bit of courtesy on his part, as he assumed the girls would be more comfortable riding along with just their companions. “Okay, so what are you after?” Reina asked. 

There was no way that Mile would have wanted to do something as bothersome as visiting the household of a noble without reason. Indeed, her reply was direct and immediate, with no attempt at all being made to mask the truth. 

“I wanted to learn more about the daughter’s illness… Since those herbs were mostly raw medicinal ones, I’m sure that they would strengthen anyone’s constitution, but they aren’t some sort of magical panacea that would cure any illness in a single swig. Also, I was thinking that the illness might be something that they’ve already found a treatment for back in my country…” 

“All right. I thought it might be something like that.” 

Mavis and Pauline nodded as well. 

“Don’t tell me, Miley. Have you got some magical treatment…?” 

“Mm, well, that depends on the illness. Since if we messed something like this up, we could be hung as murderers.” 

Indeed, unlike with injuries, applying healing magic to a sick person, if done poorly, could cause their status to deteriorate even more rapidly, urging the patient on to their death. This was another reason why magic was rarely used for illnesses. 

Plus, fevers and coughs were necessary responses to one’s body trying to combat an illness. If a fever began to approach 40 degrees Celsius, it was important to lower it to protect the brain and reproductive functions, except in the case of serious illness, when it was generally better to try and leave the symptoms alone. 

Because Mile had taught her some of the fundamentals of basic medical knowledge, Pauline knew that it was possible to treat illness with magic to some degree, if you were careful about how you used it. However, this still was not something you could embark upon carelessly when it involved other people, particularly not a noble. Even if your spell did show some results, if you failed and the patient did not heal entirely, the mage could end up shouldering the blame for it. 

“Anyway, I was just thinking I’d look in and see how things were…” Mile said, grinning sheepishly. “Oh right, Pauline—that reminds me. Why did you bother with all that, with the crowd? If you needed ten gold pieces, we could have just lent him that amount…” 

“What? No, we couldn’t have done that,” she swiftly replied. “If we just gave him money out of pity, that’s not a negotiation—that isn’t business. In times like that, you have to keep fighting, in a proper negotiation, to maintain the norms of proper commerce. Besides…” 

“Besides?” 

“If he up and ran with the money, that’d be a huge loss. You never lend money to family or friends, much less total strangers! No matter what circumstances they might have going on!” 

Wah… 

In the end, Pauline was, after all, still Pauline. 

“Come in. Please wait here a few moments.” 

After leading them into the parlor and serving them tea and sweets, Bundine vanished from the room. Naturally, he needed to explain the situation to his master and persuade the man to come and see them. 

“This is so good…” Reina mumbled through a hurried mouthful of sweets, slurping down tea. 

“These are really good…” Pauline agreed. 

For Mavis, who had grown up the beloved daughter of an affluent count, and Mile, who had eaten many delicious things in both her previous life and in this one before her mother had died, such treats were standard fare. However, for Reina, a peddler’s daughter, and Pauline, whose merchant father had detested luxury in spite of his financial success, the cuisine before them was the height of class. 

“They gave us all this food—it’d be rude to waste any.” 

Reina’s words were highly reasonable, but it was clear that she was attempting to take more than a quarter of what was on the table for herself. 

“Hey, wait a minute!” 

Mile leapt to protect her own portion. No matter how much delicious food she had eaten in the past, she had become somewhat estranged from tasty treats these past few years. Plus, Mile had a very quick metabolism and had already started to grow hungry. Though she was typically kind and giving to all people, this was the one area where she would not yield what was hers, particularly not to Reina. 

“Hang on, now. I was about to…” 

“What are you talking about? This one is mine…” 

“You’ve already eaten more than a quarter of it, Reina!” 

“Grrrrrrrrrngh…” 

With Pauline jumping into the fray, the atmosphere now grew dangerous. 

“Um, pardon me, but I can bring some more in, if you desire…” 

“Huh?” 

Mile and Reina turned to see a maid standing in the room, a troubled look upon her face. Naturally, no veteran butler would leave his honored guests unattended for so long. He had directed a maid to remain with them. 

“Please forgive us. I-If you would…” Pauline, who had thought that her portion was going to end up wholly depleted, requested bashfully. Reina’s cheeks began to redden as well. 

“Please, you guys,” said Mavis, “Try not to embarrass us. I’m begging you…” 

Apparently, as the daughter of a noble, she could not bear to witness such shameful behavior. 

Yet Mile, another noble’s daughter—or rather, at this point, a titled noble herself—appeared to have no such qualms. 

“I’m so sorry to keep you. Baron Aura wishes most sincerely to meet with you young ladies and extend his gratitude…” 

Once the Crimson Vow had finished up their second round of sweets, Bundine finally reappeared to lead them to a separate room. 

“Kindest regards and thank you for making the journey. I am Harval von Aura, head of the House of Aura. I must thank you most profoundly for your assistance. With your help, we were able to secure the medicine that my daughter, Leatoria, most desperately needs, and you saved our household from having shame brought upon it by the likes of a merchant. Instead, I should say, besting a greedy merchant has in fact brought honor upon the Aura family name. Please, I would like you all to join us for a luncheon as my thanks.” 

“Gladly!!!” replied the members of the Crimson Vow—all save for Mavis, who was grimacing. 

For Reina and Pauline, getting to eat the same food as nobles was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the sort of thing that one normally only dreamed of… Well, there had been the time after the so-called “bandits incident,” when they had eaten at the lord’s manor, but that was not the food of nobles so much as it was a banquet prepared for commoners, so it didn’t count. 

As for Mile, though she had enjoyed plenty of truly upscale cuisine, those delicacies were now just memories left over from her time as Adele. She had yet to taste such a thing in her current life as Misato—er, Mile. 

And so, for all of them except Mavis, who had had plenty of years to grow weary of such food—and who, furthermore, as a knight, found virtue in a more abstemious life—this was an experience not to be passed up. 

“Oh, yes, of course. Please don’t think that we intend to reward you with nothing more than a meal for all that you’ve done. Such appalling behavior would be a shame on the Aura name. Please rest assured that you will receive a more proper reward as well,” the baron said. 

This time, the reaction from the Vow was a dull one. 

Seeing how his guests were relatively unmoved by the promise of rewards, despite being so eager to enjoy the family’s delicious food, the baron’s smile deepened. 

“In that case, could we ask you to call this a personal request, post-completion?” Mavis asked the baron in place of the other three, whose heads were too filled with thoughts of lunch to react in a timely manner. 

“Ah, certainly! If you desire…” 

“Then please, that is what we would like.” 

A direct, personal request from a noble. Even if it were labeled as such only retroactively, that would give them a great number of points toward their promotion. Processing it through the guild meant that they would have to pay a commission, but to the Crimson Vow, who were not hurting for living expenses and who valued reputation more than wealth, this was no issue. (That is, save for Pauline, who most certainly valued wealth over reputation.) 

The baron knew all about the Hunters’ Guild. Thus, all it took was Mavis’s request for the baron to grasp that despite being a party of young, female hunters, the Crimson Vow were not wanting for money and would be aiming for a promotion soon. 

“Well then, let us discuss it at lunch. My family will be joining us as well. If they found out that I had kept the chance to hear of the exploits of a group of young lady hunters all to myself, I would never hear the end of it! Now then, Bundine, I’m counting on you to tend to them until then.” 

With that, Baron Aura left the room. 

“He was incredibly polite toward us common folk, wasn’t he?” said Mile. 

“Yeah,” Mavis agreed with a nod, “He seems like a good person.” 

Reina and Pauline felt the same way. 

From then until lunch, they passed the time with Bundine, hearing tales of the House of Aura. 

*** 

Because the Vow had left the inn fairly late to begin with, it was not long until the lunch hour was upon them. When the maid came to give word that the dining room had been prepared, Bundine, who had been keeping the Vow company, led them to the table. Though they had gobbled down not one but two helpings of sweets, the girls were all famished. 

Upon entering the dining room, they found the baron, his wife, a young man and woman of around seventeen or eighteen, and a girl of around fifteen already seated. All of the baron’s family, or at the very least, their three children, all looked incredibly healthy. There was no sign of a sick young maiden anywhere. 

“Thank you most kindly for having us here today.” 

As they entered the room, Mavis gave a noble’s greeting. As she was in breeches currently, she gave not a curtsy but a nobleman’s bow. She was not yet a knight, so she could not greet them as a knight would. 

Mile, however, did give a curtsy. In truth, the motion was originally nothing more than an incidental one, intended to protect one’s dress from touching the ground while executing the true intention: to lower one’s body. As Mile was not wearing a full-length skirt, the action was unnecessary. However, as was habit from her time as Adele, she plucked at her skirt as she bowed… Anyway, it was cute enough that surely no one minded—so long as she didn’t show too much leg. 

Reina and Pauline, meanwhile, only bowed their heads normally, as commoners might. 

Seeing this, the family looked rather shocked. 

A commoner should not be greeting a noble as nobles did. Such behavior was, in fact, highly offensive. Greeting the family in the manner normal to commoners, as Reina and Pauline had done, was what was expected. Yet, here were two who had greeted them in the manner of nobles, in natural, practiced form no less. 

What could possibly be the meaning of this? 

Of course, there was no shortage of former nobles among the hunters or even current nobles who were enjoying a bit of freedom until they had to succeed their parents. There were still others who joined a party for self-improvement. Plus, it was not unheard of for second sons and other younger brothers, who had no chance of succession and didn’t have the constitution for a difficult job like municipal clerk or knight, to take up life as a hunter… However, this was somewhat more unusual for girls. 

Still, though they were shocked and a little concerned, the baron knew better than to press into a hunter’s personal history, so the family’s questions went unasked. 

The baron concealed his shock and bade them to sit. “Y-yes, welcome. I thank you most humbly for your efforts in aiding my daughter, Leatoria, and for saving the House of Aura from the disgrace of being belittled by a lowly merchant. Please, take your seats and enjoy the meal.” 

In another surprise, though they remained seated, the baron’s wife and children all bowed their heads to the girls as they took their seats. 

Even if their family was a lower ranking one, and even if they were rather fond of someone who did not happen to be in their employ, it would normally be unthinkable for such a family to bow their heads to commoners. Perhaps this was because the girl called Leatoria was so greatly adored by her family? 

Of course, it was equally likely that this was because the family was now certain that Mavis and Mile were nobles as well… 

The food was top-notch. 

Even if they were nobles, a baron’s household could not possibly have enough food to feast like this every day. They weren’t royals or even highly ranked nobles, after all. Plus, if they were to eat such rich food in such quantities on a daily basis, they would grow plump and unable to serve as soldiers in a time of war, and they would not live very long. 

Today, however, though they had not had the time to shop for new foodstuffs, the chef had clearly pulled freely from the ingredients in their stores. A great deal of food had been laid out before them. Reina and Pauline, even while trying to be hyper-aware of themselves and their manners, gobbled it down. Mile, minding the manners instilled in her previous life, as well as those she had learned from her mother in this life before she passed away, ate her meal silently—albeit with abnormal speed. 

“Ha ha…” 

Mavis alone ate her meal at a normal pace and with normal, noble manners, while sharing conversation with the Aura family. 

“Oh! So you have three elder brothers, Lady Mavis, but no sisters?” 

“Ah, yes. That’s correct.” 

While the other three continued to eat in a trance-like state, the baron gathered what information he could from Mavis, the easiest target. Of course, Mile was paying attention even while she inhaled her food, but she kept out of the conversation. There was really no reason to conceal this sort of information, and as long as they did not reveal their names or their countries of origin, it didn’t really matter who knew that she and Mavis came from noble households. Naturally, they would not let such information slip around lowlifes—or even other hunters—but other nobles, especially those who were indebted to them already, would be very unlikely to try any funny business with nobles from another country. If they didn’t want their rank and status to be known, Mavis and Mile wouldn’t have greeted the family as nobles in the first place. 

In fact, there was a particular reason why Mavis and Mile had not attempted to hide their noble status. They had come to examine the condition of young Leatoria, who was taken with illness; depending on what they found, Mile might like to intervene, and for that she needed the baron to trust her. 

What head of a noble household would entrust his precious daughter to the hands of a commoner whom he had only just met that morning, after all? 

After eating their fill, the other three, finally feeling more personable, joined in the conversation with the baron. 

Mavis had already told the family the gist of what they had experienced since arriving in this country, so after dramatizing a few episodes from their lives as young hunters, with jokes that would tickle a young noblewoman, Mile told the baron about the recent trends regarding the elder dragons as thanks for their meal. Word would be spreading soon from the guild and the palace, after all. Naturally, she played it off as but a rumor, not divulging that they had been party to the incident themselves. 

At a lull in the conversation, the baron began to press Mile on her background, getting her to reveal that she was an only child. 

Then, finally, they came to the matter at hand. 

“So, about your daughter, the one who needs that medicine…” Mile began. 

“Ah, Leatoria takes her meals in bed, back in her room. We would hate to make her eat all alone, so our meals come at a slightly different time from hers, and we join her to dine on tea and sweets while she eats. Leatoria eats different meals from us, and she eats little, so it wouldn’t do for us to have a full meal there when we get together, of course…” 

The baron’s gaze drifted downward and his demeanor shifted, his face clouded with a father’s anguish. 

Seeming almost thoughtless, Mile asked, “Might we join you for that, perhaps?” 

“What?” 

The whole family was stunned. Bundine, who had been standing quietly by the whole time, cleared his throat. Bundine was a veteran butler and not the sort of man to do such a thing without reason. As the baron glanced Bundine’s way, the butler gave a big nod. 

This was Bundine’s way of saying, Honor her request. The baron, having understood this, decided to have faith in his butler. 

“Very well. Perhaps if someone from a foreign land sees Leatoria’s condition, they might be able to spot something that we haven’t. Please, do accompany us.” 

An hour later, nine people—the Crimson Vow and the whole Aura family—were assembled in the room of Leatoria, the youngest daughter of the Aura household. 

Sitting up in the bed, only her top half visible, was Leatoria, a slight, ephemeral beauty of thirteen or fourteen. 

Because it was common for nobles to wish to make partners of only the most beautiful people—by marrying attractive commoners and making them the adopted daughters of noble households, and even bringing the children of mistresses into their line of inheritance—naturally there were many beautiful people among noble households. Indeed, they were an elite breed. 

A meager spread was set out before the bedridden girl. Even that small amount was more that Leatoria could possibly eat. Plus, she had already consumed a cupful of the prepared medicine that day, so much of the food was fated to remain on the plate. Placed before the others were baked goods and a teapot with cups of black tea. 

Bundine had already told Leatoria about the Crimson Vow ahead of time. 

“Thank you for all that you have done for me,” she said to the girls. 

Pauline shook her head and hand, indicating that it was no big deal, and told her the amusing tale of the exchange with the merchant. As she never left the residence, Leatoria never spoke to anyone other than her family and servants, and she was often bored. Hearing her laugh for the first time in ages, her family smiled in relief. 

I’m so glad I listened to Bundine… the baron thought, but this was perhaps premature. 

“Baron,” said Mile, “I have a request. Might we break rank for a moment?” 

“Break rank? Why, whatever do you mean?” The baron tilted his head in confusion. 

Breaking rank. The phrase itself implied something broken, such as trust or respect, but naturally that was not what it actually meant. 

Breaking rank referred to what happened after gatherings where people were bound by etiquette, indebted to certain rules and manners by the standing of those in attendance. Breaking rank was when people said, “Let’s put aside our differences in status for a while and all just let our hair down.” In other words, it did not mean, “We no longer respect one another,” but rather, “Let’s just have fun without worrying about rank and rules.” 

Of course, at times in modern day Japan, you would have, say, some new employee who overdid this a bit and got into a fight with their boss or decided to dab the division manager’s bald head—but in such cases, one reaped what one sowed. 

As this was not a party, perhaps “breaking rank” was not the correct phrase, but Mile could think of no other term for it. Of course, the baron—and the rest of the people of this world—had never heard such a term, so even that had no meaning, here or otherwise… 

Finally, Mile awkwardly explained herself as simply as she could. “I mean, please forgive us if we do anything rude.” It was not the same as the Japanese meaning at all, but the baron cheerfully agreed. 

And then, Mile sprang into action. 

“May I taste that food there?” asked Mile, pointing to the plate set before Leatoria, which, due to her slow eating, was mostly still full. 

“Huh…? Oh, u-um, sure, go right ahead!” The girl was perplexed for a moment but swiftly agreed. 

“M-Mile! I know that you’re greedy, but this is too far even for you! What are you thinking, snatching food from a sick person?!” 

“I-I-I-It’s not like thaaat!!!” Mile roared in response in Reina’s absurd accusation, her face turning red. “It’s important to confirm what’s in someone’s food when investigating an illness! That’s the very first step!” 

“Huh? I-Is that true?” 

Judging by Mile’s rage, Reina determined that she must be telling the truth and backed down. 

“Jeez, honestly… Anyway, please let me taste a bit of that,” Mile said as she stood from her seat, approaching Leatoria’s bed. “Um, now this is beef, right? Just plain meat, boiled, not grilled, the juices discarded, and… Here’s an egg, and here’s some mushroom. There’s vegetables cooked in, too… And, what you’re drinking with this meal is watered down wine, and milk afterward? Hm…” 

Mile tasted each part a bit at a time and then thought. 

“Miss Leatoria, do you have any food preferences?” 

The baron, from behind Mile, was the one to answer. 

“Preferences aside, this is generally what we serve her. Leatoria can’t eat very much, so if she filled herself on bread and such, then she wouldn’t be able to eat other things. We figured it’s best to put aside other staples like grains and serve her meat, eggs, vegetables, mushrooms, and milk, so that she gets a balanced meal. Also, the water quality around here isn’t very good, so we serve her wine diluted with water to accompany the meal. Wine is good for blood circulation, after all. And of course, we have her drink milk as well. Is there anything wrong with that?” 

“Hm…” After thinking for a while, Mile finally said, “Well, at least we can be sure there’s no poison in it.” 

“Well, obviously!!!” the whole Aura family roared. 

They seemed a bit hurt that anyone should have any doubt in their management of their servants and the affairs of their estate. 

“This is why I warned you I would be breaking rank…” Mile muttered, but at least now that that preliminary investigation was complete, she could return to her original duty. 

This duty was, of course, to entertain Leatoria with tales of fascinating things that had happened during their lives as hunters while the girl slowly finished her food. No one had asked Mile to do so, but there were few people who understood the loneliness of being shut away, with no one to talk to except your own family, better than she did. 

When Mile got caught up in the moment—seeing how Leatoria, so starved for entertainment, was eating up her stories—and broke into her Japanese Folktales, the food that was in Leatoria’s mouth went flying in a splendid display, but that could not be helped. 

When Leatoria finally finished eating and everyone stood to leave the room, Mile said, “I would like to examine Miss Leatoria a bit more, so I’m going to stay behind. Oh, I’m sure that sounds worrisome, so if your wife or one of your daughters would like to stay with us…” 

In for a penny, in for a pound, the Earth saying went. There were similar idioms in the language of this land. 

“I’ll leave you to it then. Wilomia, if you would…?” 

Leatoria’s older sister, Wilomia, a girl of fifteen or sixteen, nodded and retook her seat. The other three members of the Crimson Vow departed as well, leaving only Mile, Wilomia, and Leatoria alone in the room. 

“Now then, please strip.” 

“Whaaaaaat?!?!” 

The two sisters screamed, shocked at the sudden request. 

“What’s going on?!” the baron shouted, flinging the door back open at the commotion. 

“Nothing’s going on, sir! And also, please consider that conducting a medical examination might mean that Leatoria could need to open her nightgown. Even if she’s your daughter, rushing into her room without knocking is incredibly rude!” Mile raged. 

“Oh, s-sorry…” 

The baron apologized sheepishly and retreated from the room. 

“Now, anyway, I didn’t mean anything weird! So, if you would…” 

“Forgive us.” The sisters sincerely apologized for their shocked reactions. 

“Now then, let’s continue. I need to check your body for any swelling or discoloration. Please don’t think I have any strange intentions…” said Mile. 

Leatoria unbuttoned her gown, and Mile examined her closely. 

Mile, of course, did not have the same level of knowledge as a medical professional. She knew only as much as the average high school student—or perhaps a little more because of her fondness for reading. Despite all that, she was still practically a layman. However, with at least as much knowledge as the average Japanese person, she still might be able to determine something. There was nothing to lose here by trying. And so, Mile asked Leatoria a number of questions as she carried on her mock exam. 

“What kinds of symptoms do you have now as compared to when you were in good health?” 

“O-oh, um, well…” Leatoria meekly replied. “I’ve always been thin, but when I got sick I lost my appetite, and now I can barely eat anything. I feel drowsy all the time; I have palpitations and shortness of breath. My legs feel numb, and I barely have any strength in my limbs…” 

Unfortunately, loss of appetite, drowsiness, fatigue, and weakness were common symptoms of most illnesses. These alone told Mile almost nothing. 

“Now then, please remain seated on the bed and lower your legs down over here.” 

Leatoria complied, dangling her legs off the side of the bed, while Mile scrutinized her lower half. 

“Oh? They’re a bit swollen, aren’t they?” 

“Ah, yes, I suppose they are…” 

Mile drew a bit closer to get a better look. 

Thunk! 

“Eek!” 

Mile smacked Leatoria’s knee with the hilt of the sword strapped to her waist, and the resulting thwack resounded throughout the room. 

“Th-that hurt…” 

“Oh no! I-I’m so sorry!!” 

Mile quickly pulled back, apologizing. 

“Hm…” 

However, something felt off. 

“Oh? There’s something…” 

Actually, Mile suddenly got the impression that there was not enough of something that should have been there… 

“Aha!” 

With a shout, Mile drew the sword from her waist—still within its scabbard, naturally. She gripped the sword by the scabbard, and once again struck Leatoria’s knee with the hilt. 

Thwack! 

“Aah!” 

Leatoria gave another—almost too adorable—cry. 

“You’re just messing around now!” Wilomia protested, but Mile was too preoccupied to notice. 

Thwack! 

“Ngh!” 

Thwack! 

“Eep!” 

Finally, Wilomia seized Mile by the shoulders. “Stop it!” 

“Aha, sorry! I got a little carried away there…” 

“So you really were just messing around?!?!” the sisters roared in unison. 

“N-no, I think I’ve found it! The name of your illness and the cause of it!” 

“Whaaaaaaat?!?!” 

Indeed, in a most blessed turn of events, this illness was one that even a normal high school girl, with almost no practical experience in examining patients, would be able to easily name and diagnose. 

It was an illness that had made so many casualties of Japanese people in the distant past that it was called a “national disease.” 

And, for some reason, it was a disease to which affluent people very commonly fell victim. 

Indeed, that disease was beriberi. 

That said, Mile was not able to summon up the name just from observing the symptoms. However, most people knew that you could diagnose beriberi by checking the reflexes of the knees, which was something that almost everyone did just for fun as children. Even Misato and her sister had done so in their youth. 

Mile gave Leatoria the okay to return her clothing to normal and exited the room, leaving her to Wilomia. 

“Sir Baron, I have another request!” 

Hearing her call, the baron, Bundine, and the Crimson Vow, who had been waiting in another room, reappeared. 

“I would like to meet with your chef. I would like to know the process by which he prepares Leatoria’s food.” 

“Huh…? Well, sure, that’s fine. Come right this way.” 

Soon, they arrived at the kitchen. 

The kitchen staff stood nervously as they faced the whole Aura family (minus two) and the Crimson Vow in a row. 

It would have been one thing had they been called to an audience with their employer, but it was unthinkable that the baron himself would come bursting into the kitchen unannounced, his whole family and his guests in tow, unless it was to issue a complaint. Moreover, the way that they were arranged, the one who had come to complain could be none other than one of said guests. 

A noble might bring terrible shame upon himself as a result of the food he served to his invited guests. There was no way that the kitchen staff could not have known how grave a circumstance this was. 

“Er, u-um…” The chef could not even form words. 

Mile bowed her head. “Pardon me. I was hoping that you could tell me how it is that you prepare Miss Leatoria’s food.” 

“What?” the kitchen staff all asked as one. 

“There’s no need for you to actually remake the food now. I was just hoping that you could talk me through the process, step by step. If you could just outline it for me, like, ‘Then I cut this part into cubes,’ or, ‘Then I peel the skin off of this…’” 

“Ah, y-yes, most certainly!” 

That much was simple. Until mere seconds ago, the chef had been quaking with fear that they had come to condemn him, so this was a task that he would gladly undertake. 

“…then, I boil the vegetables until they’re soft, drain them, and then soak them in the prepared broth…” 

“Mm-hmm…” 

“Then I wash the thinly sliced beef with water…” 

“What? You wash it?” 

“Ah, yes. Lady Leatoria has a weak constitution, so we wash it clean and make sure that it isn’t overly seared…” 

“………” 

“I thought that the food we ate had pork in it, so why is Leatoria eating beef?” 

“Ah, well, to tell you the truth, when the family moved from our home territory to the capital, she happened to witness pigs being slaughtered at one of the villages where we stopped along the way. Since then, she’s been unable to eat pork.” 

“I see. Are there any other foods that Lady Leatoria dislikes? Or rather, that you avoid serving to her?” 

“Well, yes, since we’re so far inland, we don’t serve seafood to anyone. Other than that, the lady mustn’t have bread, corn, or anything with strong flavors or smells, such as garlic, chives, scallions, or onions. What she can eat is small amounts of beef, vegetables, eggs, mushrooms, and milk…” 

“Mm-hmm, yes, I see. Thank you very much!” 

And so Mile left the kitchen, with the others in tow. 

“What in the world was all that about?” The kitchen staff breathed a collective sigh of relief. They had no idea what was going on, but at least they knew that they were not being rebuked for some mistake on their part. 

This relief was short-lived, as soon after, the silver-haired girl from before poked her head back through the door once again. 

“Um, I’d like you all to come with us, too.” 

“Huhhhh?!?!” 

The whole group squeezed into Leatoria’s room: the entire Aura family, including Leatoria, Bundine the butler, the Crimson Vow, and the three members of the kitchen staff. Bundine and the kitchen staff were on their feet. 

Mile, who had been sitting, stood and regarded the whole assembly. 

“Now then, it looks like we’re down to the last ten minutes of the show. Time to solve this mystery!” 

Outside of the Crimson Vow, who had heard her use the term many times before, no one in the room had any idea what she meant by a “show,” but no one there was dense enough as to bother questioning her at this point. 

“I know exactly what is ailing Lady Leatoria.” 

“Whaaaaaat?!?!?!” 

Everyone shouted in surprise, their eyes open wide. 

“M-Mile, you’ve studied medicine, too?” Reina asked. 

“W-well, to a fair degree, at least…” 

Clearly, Mile could not answer her question with, “I’m just an amateur,” or “I just happen to know a few things,” so she did her best to play it off. 

“I-Is that true?! And c-can it be cured?!” the baron cut in, his eyes bloodshot. 

“That depends. Now, please allow me to explain,” Mile pacified. “First off, I believe this illness is one that, back in my country, is called beriberi.” 

“Beriberi?” 

“Yes. It is an illness caused primarily by what we eat.” 

“Wh-what?!” the baron shouted. 

“Uh…” 

The kitchen staff went pale again. 

“J-just what have you all been feeding my darling Leatoria?!” 

As the baron raged at them, his face like a devil’s, the kitchen staff collapsed to the floor. 

“Say it! What are you scheming?! What did you make her eat?! Who’s paying you to do this?!?!” 

Mile put out a hand to halt the baron, who appeared ready to throttle the staff. 

“Please wait. I did not mean that those fine people fed anything strange to your daughter.” 

Realizing that the silver-haired girl who they had thought was going to condemn them was in fact on their side, the kitchen staff looked to Mile with pleading eyes. 

“On the contrary, you could say that they haven’t been feeding her the things that she should be eating…” 

“Huhhh?!?!” 

Was she blaming them or defending them? They couldn’t tell. Confusion spread throughout the room, as neither the baron nor the staff could be certain of what was going on. 

“Now, allow me to explain things in order,” said Mile. 

“Why didn’t you do that from the start?!” Reina exclaimed, but Mile ignored her and began her explanation. 

“First of all, for a person to live a healthy life, one needs to eat a balanced, varied diet. I’m sure you all know this, correct?” 

While this world was still lacking in things like nutritional science, they had determined at least that much from experience. And so, everyone present nodded. 

“The reason that you need to eat a lot of different things is that, even among vegetables and meats, each one has different proportions of the components that the body needs.” 

“Hm? Then that means—don’t tell me…” 

That was the head of a noble household for you. This was all that the baron needed to hear, and already he had come to the appropriate conclusion. 

“Indeed. Leatoria’s diet has insufficient variety. Plus, the already scanty nutrients in her food, which break down easily in water and are finicky and weak to heat, barely remain once they’ve been meticulously washed, thoroughly heated, and separated from the water in which they’ve been boiled. Besides, she dislikes onions and other alliums, which help you to absorb those components… 

“If she changes her eating habits, then her symptoms should start to improve. There’s nothing wrong with what the rest of the family is eating, so after you have her on a special diet for a little while, and she recovers from her illness, then all of you can eat the same food together again.” 

“Ohh! Oh goodness! Is that so? Please tell me it’s so!” 

“Yes, well, I can’t say with absolute certainty, but I’m fairly confident about this…” 

Tears flooded down the baron’s cheeks. Moisture was welling up in the corners of his wife’s and children’s eyes as well. And on the bed, Leatoria, who was certain that she was doomed to steadily deteriorate until she perished, was dumbfounded to hear that her own preferences had been the cause of all this. 

“Th-that can’t… Th-this slow, creeping death that was paralyzing my body and sapping all my strength was all because of my preferences in food? All because of what I liked to eat…” 

“Please, Miss Mile! What should we do?!” 

The baron pressed Mile forcefully for a solution. 

“Umm, well, first, for her menu: you can’t have fish, so she needs pork, beans, corn, and two slices of bread or so, and then onions, chives, scallions, and garlic as well. Don’t wash the meat, and increase the amount of raw vegetables she gets, such as in salads. Oh, and please reuse the cooking broth—don’t throw it away. Also, stop putting wine in her water. It’s not effective at sterilizing it, and alcohol’s no good when you’re already sick.” 

“Of course! You got it! Please do as she says!” the baron shouted to the kitchen staff. 

“On it, sir!” 

Reinvigorated, the staff rushed immediately back to their posts. 

“Whaaaaaaaat?!” Hearing the menu that Mile had listed, Leatoria let out a cry of despair. 

“You don’t get to complain!!” her parents and siblings exclaimed. 

Opposed by her entire family, Leatoria crawling under her blanket, sulking. 

Leaving Leatoria, now a lump in the blankets, behind, the group relocated to the parlor. 

“I don’t know how to thank you enough… You rescued Bundine from his quandary, saved our family from having our name dragged through the mud, and secured Leatoria’s medicine. And now, somehow, you’ve even given us a cure to her illness itself!” 

Bowing one’s head to a commoner was something that a noble simply did not do. And yet, here the baron was, bowing his head to Mile. Even if Mile and Mavis could be assumed to be nobles, officially they were all commoners, professing themselves to be naught but humble C-rank hunters. 

“Well, I would say it’s still a bit early to be thanking me. Though I think what I’ve told you is probably correct, in truth it’s nothing more than the opinion of a novice. You might wish to withhold your gratitude until she’s safely recovered…” 

The baron was momentarily startled, but seeing that the look on Mile’s face clearly said, ‘I’m saying this just in case, but in truth I’m confident that she should be fine,’ he regained his calm. 

“Well then, how about this: I’ll place a direct request with the guild for you all to provide us with the cure to Leatoria’s illness?” 

“What?! Are you sure?” 

Mile was shocked, but the baron shrugged off her surprise. 

“It’s only natural. There’s no way that I could let such a great—such an enormous deed go unrewarded. If anyone else found out about it, the name of the House of Aura—nay, even if no one ever found out about—my own pride would be sullied!” 

The baron really was a good person after all. 

“It will, of course, be best to treat this as a post-completion request, as the matter is already settled, but there’s no point in running back and forth to the guild to do the processing, and I’m sure we would all feel better if there were some results to confirm. So once Leatoria’s condition has improved, I will do the deed and arrange for a direct request to be filed with the guild. What do you think?” 

“Please and thank you!!!!” 

A direct request from a noble, with a huge reward! As far as promotion points were concerned, this was quite the juicy morsel. It was an achievement that few C-rank hunters could hope for, a testament to their skill and credibility. This would be a political boon for the guild as well: proof that a noble family had come to rely on them. 

“By the way, forgive my changing the topic, but besides all of the things you listed earlier, what else should we be having Leatoria eat? It would be so dull to have her eat the same thing every day.” 

“Er…” The baron’s question was an entirely reasonable one, but Mile was lost for words. 

It was not as though Mile was a trained nutritionist. Her knowledge was only slightly greater than that of the average high school girl, as she had read up on the topic a bit for fun, expanding her knowledge beyond what had been covered in school lessons. Really, all that she happened to know was that you could identify beriberi from diminished reflexes, that the cause was a deficiency of vitamin B1, and that there were a handful of foods that were and were not rich in this vitamin. 

However, the only examples of foods that she knew were ones from textbooks and other instructional manuals, and the only ones she could think of were eel, bream, salmon roe, and other such seafood. In other words, they were all things that it would be impossible for these people to come by. 

The only other information that Mile could recall about beriberi was that the Japanese navy had found and implemented a solution to combat the illness in its early stages, but that the author Mori ?gai, who was primarily the surgeon general of the army, violently opposed this practice and spoke out against their nutritional theories, instead subscribing to the contagion theory of the disease, and needlessly sentencing many soldiers in the Japanese land forces to death… 

In other words, what Mile remembered was useless trivia, utterly inapplicable to the situation at hand. 

“I think that there are probably a lot more foods that have the necessary components in them, but unfortunately those are the only ones that I know. Truly, as long as she just eats a normal diet, she should be fine. There’s nothing wrong with the rest of you, after all… It was just by random chance that her diet ended up so imbalanced this time. But, well, just in case…” 

Nanos! 

FINALLY! 

What’s that mean?! It’s not good for me to come calling on you for every little thing, so I really don’t like to rely on you guys too much, but a person’s life is at stake here, so I guess I can’t worry about that just now…Well, whatever. Please confirm for me that I made the right call here! 

Diagnosing it as beriberi was just my judgment as a layperson, but now that I think about it, there could have been a thousand other reasons why her knee didn’t react like it should—like maybe it’s an illness that affects her nervous system, or maybe she has too much fat under her skin and the reaction was dulled, or I hit her in the wrong spot, or maybe I even hit her too hard and fractured her knee. If I got too carried away in my snap judgment, then the solution I gave them might not even help her. 

So please, tell me what the correct diagnosis is! 

Indeed, though previously she had made the call with confidence, Mile was struck with a sudden sense of anxiety. She had finally realized how reckless it was to make such a judgment based only on the lack of a reaction from Leatoria’s knee. 

UNDERSTOOD. NOW THEN, PLEASE CONCENTRATE SUCCINCTLY ON THE MATTER OF THE ILLNESS. FROM YOUR THOUGHTS, WE CAN DETERMINE THE NECESSARY INFORMATION ABOUT THE ILLNESS AND ANALYZE WHAT WE FIND. AND ALSO… 

And also, what? 

THERE IS NO NEED FOR YOU TO HESITATE TO RELY ON US. HONESTLY, NOT IN THE SLIGHTEST! NO, IN FACT, WE SHOULD SAY, YOU SHOULD RELY ON US! PLEASE RELY ON US! 

I’ll think about it… Now then, here I go! Grnnnnnnnnnnnh! 

WE HAVE RECEIVED AND ANALYZED THE INFORMATION. THE ILLNESS IS EXACTLY AS YOU DIAGNOSED IT, LADY MILE. SPOT ON. 

Thank goodness… Now, I would like to move some foodstuffs from my inventory into “storage” and extract the vitamin B 1 from those. Since that is the deficiency, I’d like to condense it into vitamin supplements. Can you do that? 

DON’T ASK IF WE CAN DO IT, JUST ORDER IT! 

Got it. Then, please! 

NOW THEN, WHEN I GIVE THE SIGNAL, PLEASE PUT INTO STORAGE ALL THAT IS IN A THIRTY-CENTIMETER SPHERE CENTERED THIRTY CENTIMETERS IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE. THAT IS WHERE THE PROCESSING NANOMACHINES WILL BE GATHERED. THE WORK WILL THEN BE COMPLETED INSTANTANEOUSLY, SO YOU MAY TAKE THE PILLS, ALONG WITH THAT THIRTY-CENTIMETER SPHERE, BACK OUT OF STORAGE. IF YOU DON’T, THEN SOME OF US WILL END UP TRAPPED IN STORAGE. 

Okay! Oh, I do have some various containers stored away too, so please put it in one of those. Only make as much as will fit inside it. Also, I’ll have to discard these nutrient-stripped ingredients, so please put whatever you don’t use off to the side. I don’t want to eat any nutritionless food myself. 

UNDERSTOOD! NOW THEN, THE STORAGE! 

Roger that! 

“What’s up? You’re spacing out again…” 

“Miley’s always spacing out like this…” 

“H-hush!” 

After the usual exchange… 

Heave ho! 

A tiny jar suddenly appeared in Mile’s hand. 

ALL UNITS HAVE BEEN SAFELY RETURNED. BECAUSE THE APPROPRIATE AMOUNT FOR A SINGLE DOSE OF THE SPECIFIED COMPONENT WOULD MAKE THE PILLS TOO SMALL, WE HAVE INCLUDED OTHER IMPORTANT COMPONENTS AND AGENTS TO INCREASE INTAKE INTO A SINGLE PILL THAT CAN BE TAKEN AFTER EVERY MEAL. 

THOUGH NO MARKED SYMPTOMS HAVE YET TO APPEAR, THE PATIENT ALSO SHOWED SIGNS OF IMPENDING ILLNESS FROM DEFICIENCY IN OTHER COMPONENTS, SO THIS SHOULD WARD AGAINST THOSE AS WELL. 

It would seem that the nanomachines had concocted a multivitamin—or, better yet, an all-purpose supplement—containing calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc as well. Her nanobuddies really were a conscientious sort. 

Thank you! This is perfect! 

WE ARE TRULY DELIGHTED TO HEAR YOUR PRAISE. 

“Wh—? Storage magic?” 

Mile presented the jar to the startled baron. 

“It’s a medicine that contains the necessary components that Leatoria is lacking. Please have her take one tablet after every meal.” 

The baron appeared truly perplexed. 

“W-well that’s awfully convenient…” 

And incredibly suspicious. A medicine so perfectly suited to the situation that it was as if she had prepared it ahead of time. However, she was not asking for money, so it was nothing but a boon to the Aura household… 

The baron prided himself on having the ability to read most people fairly well. Furthermore, it was inconceivable that anyone in this world could have devised the perfect a trap for them to fall into. 

“It’s an old family recipe—a secret remedy!” she said, shoving it into the baron’s hands. 

Cautiously, the baron opened the jar. 

“And how much are you going to charge us for this?” he asked. 

Mile grinned and replied, “You can’t put a price on seeing Lady Leatoria’s smile!” 

“Huh?” 

In other words, it was free. Or rather, she could repay them with a smile, when the day came. 

“Until these run out, you can work on getting Lady Leatoria to broaden her horizons as far as what she will and won’t eat. If you don’t, there’s a chance she may fall prey to some other dreadful illness down the line. Please figure out something to do about her pickiness—and about getting her some exercise. There’s no sense in someone as slender and beautiful as she is dying before she even has a chance to wed, is there?” 

“I-I understand. We love her so much that I suppose we’ve been rather soft on her. We’ll take care of it,” the baron replied, nodding. 

He seemed serious about this—things were going to be all right. 

*** 

“We really should’ve stayed for dinner, too,” Reina grumbled as they rode back to the guild in a borrowed carriage. 

“It was still five more hours until dinner! We couldn’t just wait around that long. What do you think they’d say about us if we lingered there for no reason, just to get more food out of them, and then ran off afterwards?!” 

“I guess you’re right. But still…” 

Even though it was Mile, herself a bit of a glutton, who had pointed this out, Reina was incorrigible. 

After their discussion had concluded, the baron prepared a slip with the terms of his request to the Crimson Vow and had one of his servants send it along on horseback to the guild. This meant that the Crimson Vow could take their time, and once they arrived at the guild, they would be able to receive their reward and accept the direct request retroactively. Even though their accepting the request would mean nothing until the results were shown. 

Finally, the carriage stopped, and the cabin door opened. 

“We have arrived at the hall of the capital branch of the hunters’ guild.” 

As the four disembarked the carriage, Bundine greeted them with a 10-degree bow. 

“Thank you for the ride. Now then, until another day…” 

Another day, when they would need to return to receive a signature as proof that the job had been completed. Mavis, who had spoken as the representative of the party, had only tipped her head, but Bundine now lowered himself further to a full 45 degrees of the deepest respect. 

“Thank you so very much. Truly, truly I thank you from the bottom of my heart.” 

Dark spots began to appear on the ground beneath his lowered face, but the Crimson Vow pretended not to notice, lightly waving their hands to Bundine as they disappeared into the guild hall. 

For a brief time after, Bundine stood staring at the door of the hall and then climbed into the back of the carriage. 

“To the residence.” 

And so, the carriage set off on its leisurely journey back to the Baron Aura’s capital home. 

*** 

“How did you get a personal request from a noble this soon after arriving in the capital?! And for curing his daughter’s illness at that… Just what in the world are you four?!” 

As she spoke, Felicia’s tone grew less and less businesslike. 

“Well, if you’re gonna ask what we are…” 

“Then I guess we had better tell you.” 

“You see, we are…” 

“Four allies, bound at the soul…” 

“The Crimson Vow!!!!” 

The four shouted the last part in unison and snapped into their practiced pose. 

Of course, they restrained themselves from letting off the usual smoke and explosions, since they were indoors. 

“I… Wha…” 

Even “No-Hope Felicia” could manage no other reply than that. 

“Now, Mile, as confident as you were back there, what do you intend to do if you made the wrong diagnosis and her illness didn’t get better? Do you realize how unforgivable it would be to get their hopes up like that?” asked Reina. 

Though she was fairly sure that it would be fine—because, after all, it was Mile they were talking about—there was still a chance that something might go horribly wrong someday. Concern spread across her face and across those of Mavis and Pauline as well. They weren’t stupid enough to show such concerns in front of a client, so they had held it together until now, but in fact, they hadbeen truly worried. 

“Don’t worry. I’m pretty sure that I wasn’t wrong, and even if that doesn’t heal her, I still have another plan up my sleeve. It’s all good!” 

“Another plan? And what would that be?” asked Reina. 

With a calm and collected look, Mile replied, “Healing her with magic, of course!” 

“H-how are we supposed to ‘not worry’ about that?!?! Isn’t that dangerously reckless?!?!” Reina screamed. 

“Is it?” asked Mavis. 

She truly had no idea. 

“Well, it is Mile, so…” Pauline had given up entirely. 

“Anyway, it’s gonna turn out fine!” 

And so, the Crimson Vow headed back to their home—their temporary home, where a darling little cat-eared girl was waiting for them.