I Wanted a Cute Girl to Cast Healing Magic on Me, So I Kept Protecting My Allies—and Ended Up with an Overprotective Party - 13

Chapter 13: Did Something Come to Mind?

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We left the town of Galiano at 10 in the morning, passed through the grasslands, had an Elixir prepared in town, and then traveled by carriage to the village where Emil lived. By the time we finally arrived at the village, the sun was just beginning to set.

The carriage we rode on during the journey was a commercial one, and compared to the free guild carriage I took to the F-rank dungeon, the comfort level was a world apart. 

Come to think of it, back then I had to listen to that newbie party gush about their love life. Honestly, that part was really rough on me. But now, look at me—Emil and Karinka-san are sitting right next to me. From an outsider’s perspective, would it look like I was popular with girls?

We entered through a gap in the wooden fence surrounding the village, and the first thing that came into view were the fields. They were near every house, and just a glance was enough to tell that agriculture thrived here.

“Oh! Isn’t that Emil-chan? How’ve you been?”

“Well now—if it isn’t Emil-chan! Would you come by again and chat with me sometime?”

An older man and an elderly woman. Even though we were just walking through the village, all kinds of people called out to Emil. She cheerfully responded with things like, “I’m doing great!” or “Okay!” Just from that alone, it was clear that Emil had a good relationship with the villagers. And I believed you could really see someone’s character in things like that.

“This is my house.” 

Emil said. It was a single-story house. To someone like me who had only seen large cities, it looked small, but all the houses around here were about the same size—so maybe this was the norm.

Instead, the yard was large and had many fields. Emil had told me they made their living through farming. If I were to live a slow life in another world, this would be the perfect environment.

“I’m home!” 

Emil called cheerfully as she entered. Greeting her were a man and woman who looked to be in their mid-thirties. Both had the same silver hair as Emil. The man had short hair, while the woman’s hair, like Emil’s, reached down to her waist.

“Welcome home, Emil!”

They said, both embracing her. They had to be her family. If not, then where even were we?

“Oh? And who might these two be?”

“Ah, uh, nice to meet you. I—um, I’m Emil’s, no, Emil-san’s… I’ve been helping with her travels… Or rather, we’re traveling together—”

Right. I forgot I’m terrible with first meetings. Someone please grant me communication skills…!

Sensing my growing panic, Karinka-san stepped in as if to rescue me and began to respond in my place.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Karinka and this young man is Rikuto. We’re both adventurers. We became acquainted with Emil-san through the Adventurer’s Guild and are now traveling together.”

Karinka-san then went on to clearly and politely explain the situation up until now.

“My! So you’ve been guarding Emil for us! And Rikuto-san too, thank you both so much for everything you’ve done for her.”

“Please let me thank you as well. Thank you for bringing Emil back safely.”

“Oh no, we did it because we wanted to. Still, Emil-san really is such a wonderful girl.”

“That’s not true at all! I’m always relying on others, and just the other day—”

“Enough! I’m going to get mad, you know!?”

Ahhh, what a heartwarming scene. Looks like there’s no room for me in this picture.

“More importantly! Is Marie awake?”

“She just woke up a little while ago, but she said she wanted to stay in bed for a bit longer. Wait—Emil, does that mean you got the Elixir!?”

“Yup!”

Then all of us headed to the room in the back right. The furniture—like the bookshelf and a small table—was arranged in a way that didn’t make the room feel cramped. 

The bed was on the left side, as seen from the doorway. Lying in the bed was a silver-haired girl with medium-length hair, on her back.

“Onee-chan…?”

Noticing Emil, the girl sat up and looked toward us. Her younger sister, Marie, was apparently nine years old and, while her condition wasn’t an emergency, she had fallen ill a few months ago and now had to go to the clinic once a week.

That meant she spent most of her day in bed. Potions could only heal injuries. But Elixirs were said to work on certain illnesses. They were technically available on the market, but were so absurdly expensive that only the wealthy could afford them.

Japan had miracle drugs too, so it wasn’t strange for this world to have something similar.

“Papa, Mama… And who are they?”

“These two are Onee-chan’s friends. Also, I brought a really powerful medicine with me. Will you take it?”

“Okay, I will.”

Emil handed Marie a small bottle filled with a translucent, pale blue liquid, and Marie drank it obediently. Karinka-san had confirmed with her appraisal skill that it was, in fact, a genuine Elixir.

Seriously, is there anything this lady can’t do?

“Do you think this will really help her…?”

“Tomorrow’s the day she’s supposed to go to the clinic, right? I’ll go with you.”

“Yes, let’s have the doctor take a close look at her.”

Apparently, they’d know if it worked by tomorrow, so Karinka-san and I decided to look for an inn since we wanted to see the results for ourselves. But before that, Emil said she wanted to talk, so the three of us went to her room.

“What’s up? You sound like you want to talk about something serious.”

“Um… I’ve decided to become a full-fledged adventurer.”

“Really? I thought you just registered as a formality. Is there a reason why?”

“Yes. Even though it was only for a short time, working as an adventurer made me realize just how dangerous the job is. It’s thanks to adventurers that we’re able to live safely every day. When I saw Karinka-san and the others fighting, I thought… if my healing magic could be of any help, I want to use it for that.”

That was unexpected. But honestly, I’d been thinking of asking Emil to form a party with me anyway, so her saying that really helped me a ton.

“So… If it’s okay with you, would the two of you be willing to form a party with me?”

“I’m all for it if Emil is. What do you think, Karinka-san?”

“Emil, are you sure? What about your family?”

“Yes. It depends on Marie’s test results, of course, but I really do want to use my healing for more people, not just stay here.”

“I see. That desire of yours is a noble one. I understand. I’d be happy to team up with you.”

“Thank you so much!”

“A healer is really essential for a party. Even your party had Mint-san, right, Karinka-san? With Emil’s healing, we’ll feel a lot more secure.”

“Huh? Ah, yes… Emil’s healing. That’s right—healing magic is definitely essential.”

“To think you need me that much…I’m so happy! I’ll cast lots of heals!”

“Well, hopefully you won’t have to. Isn’t that right, Karinka-san?”

“Huh? Ah, yes… You mean Emil’s healing, right? Of course. It’s always best if no one gets hurt.”

I thought I was casually tossing the comment to Karinka-san, but her reply felt oddly strained, as if she had just remembered something weird.

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