I Secretly Healed the Illness of the Twin Princesses While Wearing a Mask, and Now the Entire Kingdom Is in an Uproar ~Please Stop Trying to Expose the Street Healer~ - Chapter 20

A line of a dozen or so carriages moved along the highway connecting the Xylica Kingdom and the Rudelhardt Empire.

Riding in the lead carriage were a group of boys and girls.

They were students from the Rudelhardt Empire’s Hero Academy, on a study trip to Xylica Kingdom, and among them were the ten top-performing students.

“Studying abroad is such a pain. And where, even, is Xylica Kingdom?”

“It’s an allied kingdom of the Empire. That’s basic knowledge.”

“Does it even matter? Anywhere is the countryside compared to Rudelhardt.”

“I wonder if the food’s any good!”

“I think you can expect good food. The kingdom has magical agriculture, so it can grow high-quality ingredients steadily. Still, any country’s food is probably fancy chef-level compared to the Empire.”

“I hope there are strong people there… but maybe we shouldn’t expect too much. What do you think, Veltica-san?”

The question was directed at a beautiful girl with pink hair and blue eyes, who was gazing out the carriage window at the passing scenery.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Huh?”

“I actually made a new friend in the kingdom recently. I don’t know if they feel the same way, and it’s not someone we can just meet anytime but.”

Her smile made the Hero Academy students’ hearts skip a beat, and their cheeks flushed. She usually smiled gently, but today she seemed even happier than usual.

Just then…

“R-Report!! A dragon on the highway!! A dragon has appeared!! The escort troops can’t handle it alone, we need the Hero candidates to help!!”

One of the soldiers guarding the carriages shouted, panic in his voice.

The students of the Hero Academy shrugged.

“Haah, it’s the countryside. A dragon showing up on the highway, what do people even do here every day?”

“I don’t think it happens every day. Just bad luck, I guess.”

“Wait, asking the escort to fight the dragon themselves is insane.”

“Don’t blame them. They’re normal humans, unlike us Hero candidates wielding holy swords. Facing a dragon is too much for them. So, who’s going?”

“I’ll go.”

Veltica leaped down from the carriage.

“W-Wait, Veltica-san!! You’re number one in rank, you don’t have to go yourself!!”

“It’s fine. Everyone else, please stay and rest.”

“Th-That’s not it! We’re coming with you, Veltica-san!”

A few students followed her off the carriage toward the dragon.

But what awaited them was not an ordinary dragon; it was a terrifying, twisted beast, accompanied by a group clad in jet-black coats and wearing crow-like masks.

“Hyahahahaa!! Strip off the dragon’s scales and turn them into armor!! Take all the meat home!! We’ll smoke it and make travel rations!! Use the bones for soup stock!!”

“Hey, you people over there, I’ve never seen before!! Anyone injured?! If you are, I’ll heal every last one of you until you’re good as new!!”

“Hyahahaha!! Sick people are fine too!! Anyone feeling bad from the long trip?!”

“Oh, did your carriage break? I’ll fix it for you. No, no, you don’t need to pay. I just like doing this.”

“Hey, you!! You’re injured?! What? You’re not?! Shut up! If I say you’re injured, then you’re injured!! Sit still and take the healing magic!!”

Some of them cut up the dragon. Some repaired the broken carriage. Others jumped at the soldiers to force healing magic on anyone who even looked slightly hurt.

The Hero Academy students were completely confused.

They were shocked that the dragon attacking the carriage had already been defeated, but more than that, they were horrified by this masked group shouting strange things while doing whatever they pleased.

Then, the person who seemed to be their leader stepped forward.

“Hyahahaa!! Welcome, students of the Hero Academy!! I’ll blow every one of you to pieces with healing mag ―Ah, Veltica. What are you doing here?”

All the students turned their eyes to Veltica.

Veltica quickly looked away. No, she turned her whole head away as she was sweating heavily.

“Mistaken identity. I’m just a good and normal Hero Academy student.”

“No, you’re Veltica. From the White Church. The one who took over the Magic Academy―”

“Waaah!! Waaah!! Waaah!!”

Veltica panicked and leaped at the masked leader and covered his mouth.

“You’re Faceless-san? Please don’t tell anyone who I really am. If you do, I’ll rip out your heart.”

“Ohh, so Veltica was a kind of person who blends into the humane society of middle-school syndrome, disguised as being.”

“D‑Disguised being?”

“Okay, okay. If that’s how it is, I’ll pretend I don’t know you.”

The masked leader stepped back from Veltica and once again began shouting.

“Hyahahaha!! Welcome once again!! I’ll blow everyone of you to pieces with healing, so stay still!! Hyahahaha!!”

“““Blow us to pieces with healing?”””

The Hero Academy students tilted their heads in confusion.

◆　◇　◆

Time rewinds a little.

“Hey, Garu.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“Do you have any funny stories?”

“Stop hitting me with random questions… Well, I do have one.”

“You do?”

After morning classes, I was slurping ramen in the cafeteria while chatting with Garu.

Huh? I can eat ramen in another world?

The civilization here is below medieval Europe in my previous life. But thanks to magic, some areas match my old world.

Food culture is a big example.

Magic protects crops from cold or salty damage, so harvests are stable. And ice magic lets them freeze and transport fresh food, so we can actually eat it fresh.

For someone like me, who basically lived on IV drips back in my previous life, this is heaven.

“―So, the second-year Baron Netrare had his fiancée basically stolen by the third-year Count Saoyak, and then he got arrested after having his, um, manhood cut off.”

“Oh, sorry. I wasn’t listening.”

“You brought up the topic yourself.”

Garu protested while chewing on a katsu sandwich. Despite his enthusiasm, he ate neatly like a well-behaved Siberian Husky.

I really wanted to pet him all over.

“Sorry, sorry. I’ll give you a noodle for ‘sorry’.”

“That’s lame. And just one noodle? My muzzle makes it hard to eat noodles anyway.”

“Why don’t you just shift into a more human form?”

“Not everyone can control magic that precisely. Only a few beast men can do that.”

“Then, Lucan-senpai must be amazing, then?”

“She’s super amazing.”

Garu said that many beast men struggle with magic. With their high physical abilities, some don’t even see the need for it.

“Hm? You mean me?”

“Oh, Lucan-senpai. Huh? My sister is with you today, too?”

“Lucan was just being persistent in asking me to join.”

For once, my sister was sitting next to Lucan-senpai. Still prickly and not showing her softer side, but I could tell she was excited about lunch with friends.

“It sounds like she’s secretly happy about being invited―”

“Do you want me to sew your mouth shut for saying that?”

“Big sister, you’re too clumsy to even sew―”

“Any last words before I do?”

“You look beautiful today, big sister!! You’re shining more than usual!!”

“Oh, thank you. But I’m always beautiful and always shining every day.”

Ah, I said that wrong.

I need to say something that would make my sister happy. Something, anything…?

Wait.

“Big sister, have you grown a little?”

“…What part are you talking about?”

“Um… I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

“Yeah, as expected from my little brother. Actually, I’ve grown a full one centimeter recently!!”

Oh, she’s grown one whole centimeter.

Huh? I was talking about height. Not her chest size or anything. Well, either way, one centimeter is basically nothing.

“Ahaha, you two siblings get along well.”

“Shut up, Lucan. It’s normal for siblings to get along like this. Right, Asuku?”

“I guess so?”

“See?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded, not wanting to upset my sister by disagreeing.

“Alright, Franc. Don’t pick on your little brother. Even the dog is scared.”

“I’m not a dog, I’m a wolf… No, it’s nothing.”

Garu tried to protest to Lucan-senpai, but froze when he saw my sister standing next to him.

His ears and tail were completely down.

Come to think of it, the last time my sister barged into my room, Garu was scared then, too.

She’s always had that effect on dogs, and now I see beast men, too.

“Hey, hey, Garu. Why are you scared of my big sister?”

“Eh. No, I shouldn’t really say it in front of her…”

“Then maybe you should explain it to me?”

“Ah, yeah. It’s just, she has this higher-ranking vibe, and like a wild instinct kicks in or something.”

“…Oh.”

While the four of us ate and chatted, my sister suddenly brought up a topic as if she had just remembered it.

“By the way, have you heard about that thing?”

“The one about Baron Netrare getting caught after cutting off Count Saoyak’s thing?”

“That’s not the story I mean. I’m talking about the Hero Academy sending exchange students here.”

“Hero Academy? What’s that? Garu, do you know?”

“Honestly, it’s surprising if you don’t. Ages ago, a hero who defeated the Demon Lord founded a school in the Rudelhardt Empire that runs purely on merit. Rumor has it some descendants of the hero are coming this year.”

“Oh.”

So there were actually heroes and Demon Lords in this fantasy world once upon a time.

And now, descendants of those heroes are coming… I kind of want to meet them.

From what I looked up, the Hero Academy’s exchange students will be passing through the Medix Viscount territory. Maybe I’ll drop by under the pretense of giving some quick heals.

It’s been a while since I checked how “Nightingale: Healers With No Restraint” has been doing.

◇　◇　◇

Afterword

One-Point Story

Author: “The ‘Nightingale: Healers With No Restraint’ is slowly expanding its activities. They now appear anywhere in the territories adjacent to the Medix Viscount’s lands. Healing mages who’ve had their work stolen absolutely hate them.”

A: “Oh.”

If you thought, “Veltica is their real name,” “Garu being scared of his sister is cute,” “One centimeter is basically nothing,” please leave your thoughts, bookmarks, ★ ratings, or reviews.