The [Fuzzy Snow Woman] slowly dissolved into black magic particles.
Shane sheathed his sword and let out a sigh.
So much for promises. Demon won really couldn't be trusted.
"Stark, nice work."
He patted the boy on the shoulder and praised him.
Stark scratched his head awkwardly. "Looks like my strategy of grabbing her hair worked. Good thing I didn't eat a mouthful of hair for nothing."
Seeing the proud look on the boy's face, Shane chose to silently agree.
"Yeah, Stark. You were brave."
At that mont—
"Shane, sothing's wrong with Fern."
Frieren's voice ca from behind them. The old mage really had picked the perfect ti to wake up...
"Huff..."
The girl's face was flushed an unnatural red, and her forehead was burning slightly.
Shane looked at her injured ankle. It was swollen worse than a stead bun now, the entire joint purple-red.
"Frieren, do you know a priest's Healing Magic?"
"I already tried healing her earlier. It didn't work. I don't know if the bone's injured..."
Shane frowned. Whether it was bone damage or wound infection, a fever was never a good sign.
Without hesitation, he lifted Fern onto his back.
"We can't stay out in the snow anymore. Let's find sowhere to rest first."
Stark pulled out a map. "There... doesn't seem to be anywhere nearby we can stay..."
Frieren glanced at the map. "If I rember correctly... there should be a village up ahead."
"A village? Didn't they say there were no villages once you entered the Schwer Mountains?"
"It's not an ordinary village. Strictly speaking, it isn't really a village at all. They're the guardian family of the Hero's Sword."
Shane froze for a mont.
Only then did he rember. Right—the Schwer Mountains supposedly contained the Hero's Sword.
The snow fell harder and harder.
Carrying Fern on his back, Shane trudged through the snow one step at a ti.
This ti, it was Frieren walking beside them, wrapping Fern in blankets.
Shane couldn't help finding it amusing.
He really didn't know what kind of luck he had—carrying one after another...
"You two really are master and disciple."
"Hm?"
"Nothing."
After rounding a snow-covered hill, a fortress-like village appeared before them.
Tall walls surrounded the entire place.
Stark knocked on the village gate.
A wary pair of eyes imdiately appeared through a hole in the gate. After examining the group, surprise flashed across them.
Shane could vaguely hear frantic voices passing ssages inside the gate.
Not long after—
The gates swung open.
A tiny pink-haired girl dashed out like a gust of wind.
"We've been waiting for you, Lady Frieren."
Frieren looked at the little girl expressionlessly. "You're the current village chief? You're awfully young..."
The little girl tried hard to stand taller.
"Yes! I'm the forty-ninth village chief. The position is hereditary. Welco to the Village of the Sword."
Following the little girl into the village, the gates shut once more behind them.
"The situation in the mountains has been very dangerous lately. The Mountain Lord keeps causing destruction, so we have to stay vigilant. Please forgive us."
"Mountain Lord? Has sothing like that always existed in these mountains?" Frieren asked in confusion.
The little girl's tone turned troubled.
"Yes, Lady Frieren."
She puffed out her cheeks and placed her tiny hands on her hips.
"'Didn't we agree you'd only co once every fifty years? Your sense of ti is terrible.' Those were my grandmother's dying words—the previous previous village chief."
Frieren imdiately fell silent.
To her, being thirty years late wasn't a big deal. But to humans...
Right then, Fern let out a weak groan.
"I'll deal with the monster matter later. Right now, we have a more urgent problem and need the village's help."
Frieren briefly explained Fern's condition.
The little village chief's expression instantly turned serious.
She quickly arranged for everyone to stay in a nearby empty house and sent soone to fetch the village's only priest.
"Grandpa Priest isn't especially talented. He only knows basic Disease Diagnosis and a little ordinary Detoxification Magic. When people in our Sword Village get sick, we mostly rely on herbs."
While the priest examined Fern, the little chief quietly explained in embarrassnt.
Shane could understand.
After all, this village was tiny to begin with.
Having a priest at all was already rare.
Everyone gathered around the bed anxiously waiting.
On the bed, Fern was covered in sweat. Her face was flushed red, and she looked dizzy and miserable.
Frieren stepped forward, held her hand gently, and comforted her softly.
"Don't be afraid, Fern."
Fern looked at Frieren, then at Shane, and revealed a faint smile.
"The bone is fine, but the wound's inflad." The elderly priest stroked his beard as he searched through a notebook beside him. "I do have a prescription for treating wound inflammation, but... it requires quite a lot of ingredients. Hmm... this should be it."
He spread the notebook open and handed it to Shane.
Shane glanced over it. Sure enough, there were seven or eight herbs listed, along with one specially marked ingredient...
"A mushroom that grows beneath an Icicle Cherry tree."
Frieren leaned over and saw the ingredients as well.
The little village chief jumped a few tis on tiptoe trying to peek at the recipe, but after hearing the ingredient na, she tilted her head imdiately.
"Icicle Cherry... I rember one growing on the mountain near the Sanctuary."
The "Sanctuary" the little girl referred to was the cave where the Hero's Sword rested.
"Huh? You want to stay behind and take care of Fern?"
Stark panicked.
"I-I-I... I've never taken care of a sick person before."
"Didn't Mr. Eisen ever get sick?"
"Nope."
Shane was stunned.
How could soone never get sick...?
"Eisen really might not have." Frieren nodded. "Even after getting shot by poisoned arrows strong enough to kill a dragon, he'd still be hopping around energetically. He was the kind of person Heiter found 'disgusting.' During the ten years we traveled together, I never once saw him get sick."
"Exactly!"
Stark looked horrified.
Taking care of a sick girl! That was terrifying! He'd rather go outside and carry two Lion Boars on his back right now.
"Relax. You just need to make sure Fern drinks plenty of water."
"But..."
"No buts. If I let you and Frieren go gather the herbs together, who knows how long you'd wander around lost."
Stark imdiately deflated.
Clutching the water kettle, the boy quietly muttered to himself, "Drink more water... drink more water..."
Shane bent down again and looked at Fern on the bed.
"Don't be scared. Frieren and I will gather the dicine right away. Once you take it, you won't feel this awful anymore."
Fern's face flushed red as she breathed softly. She nodded obediently.
She tugged weakly at Shane's sleeve and softly reminded him,
"Be careful..."
Shane gently rubbed the girl's head and smiled.
User Comments
0 comments from readers