Chapter 21: Nai nai chin chin Village

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Translator: Soafp

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Night.

I sprinted down the highway leading to the Medicus Viscount.

Thanks to remodeling my body and boosting my physical abilities, I didn't even get out of breath.

Because of the thunderous thud-thud-thud of my footsteps, travelers I passed on the road were sometimes terrified… but oh well.

Anyway, in less than an hour, I arrived at the Medicus Viscount.

And the moment I stepped into the small forest where the members of the “Indiscriminate Healing Magicians— Nightingales” lived—

“Who are YOU!?”

“Hm?”

A girl I'd never seen before suddenly blocked my path.

She was a beautiful girl with bright red hair and reptile-like crimson eyes that were clearly not human, and she had horns growing from her head.

No—not just horns. A scaly tail sprouted from her lower back.

Some kind of beastkin? I'd never seen this race before.

“No entry past this point!!”

“…And you are?”

“I am Luu!”

“I see. Luu, why is it off-limits?”

“Past here is the NaiNai Chin-Chin village!!”

Nainai… what?

She probably meant the “Indiscriminate Healing Magicians— Nightingales.”

“I'm actually connected to this place.”

“…Really?”

“Really really.”

“Proof!!”

“Here you go, proof. The Nightingales' ring.”

“…”

When I showed her the ring that marked me as a member, Luu stared at it hard and then nodded.

“…Real?”

“Real.”

“Then, you're comrade?”

“Comrade.”

“Comrade!!”

The next moment, Luu leapt onto me.

Then she clambered up my back and somehow ended up sitting on my shoulders like I was giving her a piggyback ride—no, more like a shoulder ride.

Something soft and way bigger than my sister's landed on top of my head.

“Comrade!! Comrade!! Comrade comrade!!”

I had no idea what she was so happy about, but watching someone be that joyful kind of makes you feel happy too.

So with Luu riding on my shoulders, I walked deeper into the forest.

Eventually, I spotted several houses and a familiar young man.

He was the guy I bought from the slave traders, modified, and since he didn't “Hyahhaa!!” around, I let him act as the leader of the village.

His name was… oh shoot, I forgot. Well, whatever.

“Hey, Boss!! Comrade!! A new comrade is here!!”

“Luu? What about your watch duty? And I told you many times, I'm not the boss, I'm only representing No-Face—wait, No-Face-sama!?”

“Yo, long time no see. I came to hang out.”

The young man's expression shifted from shock to joy.

Then, overwhelmed with emotion, he shouted loud enough for the whole village to hear:

“Welcome back, No-Face-sama!! Hey everyone!! No-Face-sama has returned!!”

Hearing that, a dozen familiar faces appeared.

They were all people I had bought from slave traders.

The moment they saw me, they lit up like fans spotting their idol and rushed over.

“Hm? Boss, something wrong with this person?”

“Hey—Luu!! Get down!! This person is very important!!”

“Important? More than Boss?”

“Yes!! So get down already!!”

“Hmmm.”

Luu leaned over and stared at my face, squinting.

“Hmmm.”

“What's wrong?”

“Don't know what to call someone higher than Boss… decided!!”

“Decided what?”

“You're higher than Boss, so I'll call you King!!”

“King is above boss, huh? Just call me Ask.”

“Then Ask-King!!”

Ask-King… that sounds difficult to say.

Anyway, I explained my situation to the young man.

“Seems like students from the Hero Academy are coming to study at the magic academy soon. Looks like they'll pass through the Medicus Viscounty, so I figured I'd come see them and check on the village while I was at it.”

“Is that so!! Please stay as long as you like!!”

“I will.”

So with Luu still on my shoulders, I took a look around the village.

“It's gotten pretty impressive since the last time I came.”

“Really?”

The village was surrounded by log walls, and fields stretched around it.

Looks like they cleared out part of the forest to make farmland.

To hunt beasts coming from the woods, ballistae were set up on the walls, giving the place a surprisingly solid defense.

“Hm? What's that building? A ton of smoke is coming out of the chimney.”

“That's the smithy. Someone skilled in blacksmithing happened to be among us.”

“Huh. Also, did the population increase?”

“Haha, No-Face-sama, you're so funny. Everyone living here is someone you rescued.”

“Huh?”

…Right, I had freed a girl who was imprisoned beneath the royal capital’s clinic and sent her toward the Medicus Viscounty.

Now that he said it, their faces did feel familiar.

But…

“Luu is someone I'm meeting for the first time, right?”

“…Yes. Luu has a bit of a story.”

The young man looked awkward as he explained Luu's background.

“Luu was attacked by a dragon and barely managed to crawl her way to this village. We slew the dragon and rescued her, but…”

“And?”

“She had lost all four limbs. She must have crawled on her chin to escape. It was a miracle she was still alive. With our healing magic, we couldn't regenerate lost limbs.”

He looked frustrated.

Well, only my sister and I can regenerate missing body parts with healing magic.

Even though I expanded their mana circuits and gave them knowledge, mastering top-tier healing magic takes time.

So how did they save Ruu?

“We used the slain dragon's bones and flesh to replace the limbs she lost.”

“Smart thinking.”

It's very much possible.

For example, imagine a master swordsman attacked me and cut off my arm.

There are two ways to fix that:

One is to regrow the limb.

But you need healing magic on my and my sister's level to do that.

And the other—

You go pick up the severed arm and reattach it with healing magic.

What they did was essentially the latter: use the dragon's bone and flesh as substitute limbs and attach them.

“But perhaps due to our lack of skill… Luu lost her memories. We couldn't just abandon her, so we welcomed her into the village.”

“…I see. Hey, Luu.”

“Hm? What is it, Ask-King?”

Luu tilted her head when I called her.

“Are you happy living here? Does losing your memories bother you?”

“No!! This village is fun!! Everyone is kind!! Food is yummy!!”

“I see. That's good.”

Memory loss, huh.

If I could use memory magic, I wonder if I could restore lost memories.

…No, thinking about magic I can't use won't help.

“Oh, right. Got any leftover monster materials? I want to repair my plague doctor mask and coat.”

When I said that, the young man's eyes sparkled.

He ordered the villagers to bring something.

What they brought looked exactly like my usual plague mask and black coat.

Actually, the village-made ones had more detailed craftsmanship and looked even cooler.

“Please accept these!!”

“What's this?”

“Plague mask and coat made specifically for you, No-Face-sama!! They're made from monster materials, very durable, and if damaged, you can pour mana into them and they'll regenerate!!”

“That's amazing.”

This was so convenient it made my usual patchwork repairs feel ridiculous.

“How did you make this?”

“We have someone in the village skilled in enchantment magic!! They made it!!”

Wow.

And if I'm going to go meet the Hero Academy students, showing up in a brand-new No-Face outfit sounds perfect.

I was already excited.

So, while I was happily waiting to ambush the Hero Academy students, a dragon appeared and attacked their carriages, so I casually defeated it.

And among the Hero Academy students… there was Belchika.

I didn't really have any business with them; I just healed everyone and went home immediately.

“Do you know why you're being forced to sit on your knees?”

“Nope.”

When I returned to the magic academy, my sister caught me and made me sit in seiza on the floor.