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Chapter 106: The Second Mission (2)

Tardal adjusted his reading glasses and opened a book on his desk.

“History tells us that just passing by the Aosa can poison an ordinary person. The symptoms of poisoning are blue spots that appear all over the body. If the spots cover half of the body, the person will die within seven days...”

“...You can die just by getting close?”

“That’s true for ordinary people. For adventurers, it might take longer, depending on their resilience. Moreover, you’re a cleric, aren’t you?” Tardal closed the book and looked directly at Kai. “I should mention now that you’re the first cleric to become a member of the Darkness Hunters.”

Even though this was the first time Kai had heard this, he wasn’t surprised.

Considering the difficulty of the test, it’s understandable. Getting the scales through solo play is nearly impossible for a Cleric.

Even for a Battle Cleric, the entry exam was far from easy!

Tardal observed Kai’s calm expression and continued to say, “Go to the clinic in Whitehall. If the residents are poisoned, the clinic will be the first to know.”

“Are you sure Aosa will appear there?”

“The Blue Plague is known for its sudden appearance and disappearance. It moves by blending into the shadows at night, so you might not even realize it’s passed by. However...”

Tardal spread open a large map across the desk. It was a map of the continent that Kai had seen many times.

But what is that?

On Tardal’s map, there were numerous red X marks in specific areas. Starting from the Kingdom of Havier, the marks extended like a train route all the way to the border of the Kingdom of Rashion.

“Are these red X marks...?”

“It’s the path Aosa has taken. In just two months, it ravaged the southeastern part of the Kingdom of Havier and crossed into the Kingdom of Rashion.”

It moved at an absurdly fast pace!

However, as Kai studied the map, he quietly nodded. “The path is quite straightforward.”

The Blue Plague, starting from Radan Village in Havier, was moving straight down.

“As you can see from the path, it will definitely pass through Whitehall. So, go and wait there.”

“Understood. Is there any specific weakness of Aosa?”

“Weakness...” Tardal closed his eyes, pondering over the contents of the book he had read. “It’s vulnerable to Holy Power, and there’s a core inside its body that contains Aosa’s power. That’s all I have.”

“That’s more than enough, thank you.”

Satisfied with the information, Kai immediately left the mansion.

***

Blub, blub.

In a clinic located in Whitehall, a dark liquid in a large jar bubbled continuously.

A girl, barely thirteen years old, stood on a stool that reached up to her calves and stirred the contents of the jar with a huge ladle, nervously checking and rechecking the contents of a small notebook.

“Now, if I just add two big-eared bat wings and three leaves of mint asio...”

Plop, plop!

The girl added the ingredients as instructed in the notebook, then cautiously brought the ladle to her lips after thirty minutes.

Please... please!

After carefully cooling the hot liquid, the girl closed her eyes tight and drank it all in one gulp!

Then, her eyes shot open.

“Bleeegh!”

The girl thoroughly emptied her stomach for quite a while and wore a hopeless expression.

“...This recipe is a failure too.”

She marked an X in her notebook with her small hands, her body sagging. Her legs, which had lost their strength, seemed to mirror her feelings perfectly.

“Ugh...”

This experiment only left her with the knowledge of another failed recipe and a one gold deficit. Just two hours ago, she had been excited, but now only reality stared back at her.

Since this month’s experiment was also a bust... I’ll have to make porridge from the weeds on the back mountain for a while, and I can’t use firewood recklessly.

Given her current financial situation, the next experiment would have to wait at least two months.

With the worsening household finances, a shadow fell across her face.

“I have to succeed in making a recipe and earn a lot of money. That way...”

As she just became determined, someone knocked on the clinic door.

Thud, thud, thud!

“Wh-who is that...?”

Her eyes filled with fear as she stood up hesitantly.

Could it be those bad people again?

The girl covered her mouth tightly with both hands, trying to prevent even the sound of her breathing from escaping.

The tense standoff lasted for about twenty seconds before someone outside the door muttered in a troubled voice.

“It clearly says clinic on the sign...”

The small voice was barely audible, but the girl heard it. She quickly pulled her hat down low and flung open the firmly closed door, shouting, “Yes! This is the clinic! Come in!”

“Huh?”

The adventurer, who had just started to turn away, stopped. He was a man in his twenties, wearing a clean white cleric robe.

“Thank goodness. Someone’s here. But...”

The man bent one knee to match the girl’s eye level and glanced behind the girl holding the door handle, asking, "Isn\'t there anyone else? Like the head of the clinic...?"

"N-no, it\'s just me."

After hearing the girl who answered timidly in a quiet voice, Kai looked around.

They said there were two clinics in Whitehall...

No matter how he looked, this clinic seemed poorly managed. Despite it being broad daylight, there were no residents seeking treatment. Moreover, the head of the clinic wasn’t even there at that hour of day.

Kai slightly furrowed his brows.

This won\'t do.

The reason Tardal had instructed him to take care of the residents here was simple. It was to quickly identify anyone who could be infected by Aosa. Naturally, without residents coming for treatment, there was no way to identify any infections.

Kai, having made up his mind, gave an apologetic look. "Sorry. It seems I might have come to the wrong place..."

Just as Kai was about to apologize, a shadow loomed over him from behind.

"Excuse me, but are you a guest here?"

Kai turned to see the people who had addressed him.

Three men. Are they NPCs?

The men, bearing the emblem of Whitehall on their chests, were likely NPCs. The one who had spoken to him stood in the center and had a goatee, and on either side of him stood two men with enormous muscles, positioned like folding room dividers.

Kai nodded. "I am looking for a clinic."

"Haha, then why not come to our clinic? Our clinic boasts the largest size in Whitehall, with the latest medicines and highly qualified doctors from the capital. And most importantly..."

The man with the goatee rubbed his hands together like a merchant, his eyes curving into crescent moons.

"We are the only clinic officially recognized by Lord Whitehall."

"Is that so? Then this place is..."

"An unlicensed clinic. In other words, illegal."

At the words of the man with the goatee, Kai looked at the girl.

She bit her small lips tightly and remained silent.

Could what he\'s saying be true?

Kai didn\'t really have a reason to ponder this. Whether this place was an illegal clinic or not, as the man with the goatee claimed, he could just follow them as no clinic would refuse a free offer of help from a cleric of the Church of Solaris.

Of course, going to a larger clinic would make it easier to detect Aosa\'s presence.

However, he felt uneasy leaving the girl behind. It was a feeling similar to when he couldn\'t leave Amy alone during the Trial of Helik.

Realizing this, Kai scratched his head.

"Agh."

If only he were a more selfish person, his life would be so much easier!

Aware of this, Kai sighed and said, "Sorry, but I\'ll visit the clinic later. I have business with this girl."

The man with the goatee glanced at Kai\'s attire. "If I’m not wrong, you seem to be a cleric of the Church of Solaris, no?."

"That is correct."

"Then may I ask what business you have at this illegal clinic?"

"I don\'t think I need to explain my personal business to you."

"That is... true." The man with the goatee bowed his head, his smile never disappearing. "Well then, oh devout servant of the divine and merciful Solarian God Helik, we look forward to seeing you at our clinic as soon as possible."

"Thank you."

"We’ll be on our way now."

Kai said to the back of the man with the goatee as he turned to leave, "By the way, what brought you here?"

The man with the goatee stopped in his tracks, slowly turned around, and gave a broad smile.

"Haha, even if you are a cleric of the Church of Solaris, I don\'t see why I should disclose my personal business."

After bowing his head and fully disappearing from sight, a thud was heard from behind.

"Hm?" Kai turned to see the girl slump to the ground. "Are you okay? What happened..."

A loud rumbling from the girl\'s stomach filled the air!

"N-nothing, that was..."

The girl, her ears flushed red with embarrassment, pulled her wide-brimmed hat down further.

Watching her quietly, Kai asked gently, "Well... if you haven\'t had lunch yet, would you mind joining me for a meal? It\'s a bit lonely eating by myself."

"Pardon? R-really?" Her eyes sparkling, the girl sprang to her feet and exclaimed, "Thank you! Just a moment, please!"

She hurried into the clinic.

As she didn\'t come out after a while, Kai slowly made his way inside.

"What\'s that smell...?"

As soon as he entered the clinic, he was hit by the pungent aroma of strong medicinal herbs!

Trying to bear it, Kai shifted his attention to a framed picture on the counter.

Is it a family photo?

In the frame, there was a picture so finely detailed it looked like a photograph, likely painted by a skilled artist. It displayed a beautiful woman wearing the same wide-brimmed hat the girl now wore, holding a young, smiling girl in her arms. Behind them, embracing them both with a smile, stood a large man.

The background suggested the picture was painted in front of a small but tidy clinic, likely the very one they were in now.

"Huff, huff. I\'m sorry. The smell must have given you a headache, right? I usually can’t open the windows..."

The girl suddenly appeared, covered in dust, as if she had hastily cleaned the inside of the clinic.

Kai waved away the floating dust with his hand and asked, "You can\'t open the windows? Why not?"

"Well, that\'s because..." The girl, looking puzzled at Kai, cautiously asked, "... Do you really not know anything?"

"This is my first visit to this town.”

At Kai\'s words, the girl hesitated for a moment before closing her eyes tightly and apologizing, "Y-You really should leave. If you don\'t know anything about this place, it\'s better you leave now."

"How come?"

"Well... if you stay here too long, you won\'t like what happens."

"So tell me the reason. I\'ll make the judgment.”

After hesitating at Kai\'s question, the girl slowly removed her hat. Her lush silver hair spilled out, revealing pointed ears hidden beneath.

With a resigned expression far beyond her age, she explained, "Because... this place is the clinic of a cursed witch."