"I'm fine. A short rest is all I need."
Alfia lifted a hand dismissively, but before she could say more, sweetness welled up in her throat. A mouthful of vivid red blood burst out of her without warning. Her already sickly pallor turned paper-white. Her vision went dark, and her body slackened as she started to crumple.
"Bell! Go to the room—get the Panacea!"
Duncan caught her in time and shouted. He drove his spear into the ground and, ignoring everything Zald had drilled into him, scooped Alfia up and sprinted for the cabin.
With his small body, the sight of him carrying Alfia was almost absurd—but no one had the spare attention to think about that. Bell had already bolted toward the house before Duncan even finished speaking.
The Panacea couldn't cure Alfia's illness, but it could ease the symptoms when an attack hit. A potion worth five hundred thousand valis just to manage symptoms might give most familias pause.
For them, there was nothing to consider.
Even when they were injured during baptism training, they refused to touch that life-saving medicine.
Talent-Disaster Recompense.
A power engraved in Alfia's skill slot—one that granted her an attack potential wildly out of proportion to her level. It let her, as a Level 7, challenge even the captains of Zeus and Hera's familias. And according to Zald, those captains were monsters well beyond Level 7.
But that unreasonable strength came at a price.
Whether hereditary or for some other reason, Alfia—like Bell's mother—was afflicted with a terrible disease. In the end, the disease itself was etched into her very falna, crystallizing into that skill she could never truly abandon.
When activated, it inflicted multiple negative statuses at once and caused permanent damage to her body. The Panacea could remove most debuffs, but it couldn't undo the physical deterioration. That was why Alfia kept getting worse—the more she used her power, the weaker her body became.
Zald suffered the same kind of fate.
"What do we do…? Grandpa and Uncle Zald went out again to buy supplies?"
Bell paced back and forth, frantic, clutching the Panacea he'd retrieved. Tears poured down his cheeks in heavy drops. Becoming an upper-class adventurer had made him far more composed than an ordinary eight-year-old—but in the face of a sudden flare-up like this, he was still a child.
"Calm down, Bell. An adventurer doesn't cry at the drop of a hat. I'm not dying."
With a dose of Panacea down, Alfia's color returned slightly. The tight knot in her brow loosened. She opened her beautiful heterochromatic eyes, stroked Bell's hair, and spoke gently.
Then she turned to Duncan with a faintly apologetic look.
"Sorry, Duncan. I've caused you trouble again."
"That's not—Hermes contacts us regularly. Next time will be good news, I'm sure of it. I heard Orario has a truly incredible healer now. If it's her, then…"
Duncan trailed off, unable to force the hope the rest of the way into words.
"Idiot. If anyone gets that chance, it should be Zald," Alfia said, tapping his head lightly. "I know my condition. Even the most famous god of healing in Orario couldn't do anything about it. What can a mere adventurer do?"
Then her hand rested on his head again—softer this time.
"You keep insisting I treat you like a child. Fine. Zald isn't here, so you'll be the 'adult' and keep Bell training." Her expression steadied. "I know my body. I can still hold on. At least until you two become first-class adventurers, I won't fall."
"And if we never make it?" Duncan asked.
"Then I'll blast your asses with Evangel," Alfia said, squeezing a little harder—threatening words, but her face had grown unusually gentle.
Crash.
A sharp sound of something breaking outside cut through the room.
Duncan's head snapped toward the door. His mind had been in chaos—and in that lapse, he hadn't even noticed anyone approaching the cabin.
"Bell, stay here," Duncan said quickly. "I'll take a look."
He signaled Bell, then took one of Bell's daggers and slid it into the belt at the small of his back. In his rush he hadn't grabbed his weapon; this was all he had.
He moved quietly into the living area. Outside, a noisy chorus of scolding voices rose—at least a dozen people, maybe more, reprimanding someone.
When Duncan stepped out, both groups froze.
"Sorry—this child accidentally broke your—"
"Ah! It's that kid from before!"
Before the red-haired woman could finish her apology, someone behind her shouted.
Even though they'd only met once, Duncan recognized several faces immediately—especially the banner embroidered with a bow.
And most of all, the blue-haired goddess standing near the center of the group. One glance was enough.
The familia of the Moon Goddess Artemis.
"Quiet!" the red-haired leader barked. "And you, Lanti—if you broke someone's things, you apologize properly!"
She grabbed a woman by the arm and shoved her to the front.
"I-I'm sorry, little one!" the black-haired woman blurted, palms pressed together, face burning with embarrassment. "I was thinking about something and didn't notice—I smashed your water jar. I'll pay for it!"
Duncan glanced at the shattered clay container.
"…It's not a big deal," he said. "But what are you doing here? This isn't a merchant route, and it isn't an entrance to the Great Tree Labyrinth. I can't imagine Goddess Artemis bringing her familia out to a backwater like this. And if you're going to tell me you're lost… that's a bit of a stretch."
He did relax a fraction once he identified them. Artemis's familia had been mentioned more than once over the past two months—supposedly helping clear monsters along the outskirts, and the Moon Goddess's reputation as a benevolent deity was well known.
Still, a visit this targeted put him on guard.
"Tch. This kid's got a sharp mouth," an Amazon woman muttered, stepping forward, visibly irritated by Duncan's barbed tone.
"Lia, stop," the red-haired captain said, raising a hand to restrain her. "We're the ones intruding."
Then she looked up at Duncan from below the porch.
"I'm sorry. I'm Letsa, captain of Artemis Familia. As you can see, Goddess Artemis is preparing to enter the Great Tree Labyrinth with us."
"…Okay. I get that," Duncan replied, stepping down from the wooden porch as his tension eased further. Artemis's presence, along with the heaps of supplies carried by support members, matched Letsa's explanation.
But this still wasn't the best place to enter the Great Tree Labyrinth. Even if it wasn't the Dungeon, it was one of the Three Great Frontiers. Adventurers went in often enough that a relatively safer route had long since been established.
"So why come here?" Duncan pressed.
"This time, we've accepted a request to investigate a deep ruin and confirm the status of its seal," Letsa said. "We heard from the coachmen that a powerful local adventurer lives around here. We'd like to ask you to guide us."
....
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