Chapter 10 Sickness
Early next morning, the sun feels warmer today and the guys are messing around by the water. Vanessa goes outside and looks at the scene.
"My, it is hot today and it is only morning," she says with a smile. "The mana is stronger today as well," Noelle says. "You are right," Vanessa says, and they chat for a while.
Liebe walks past the girls to get into the container with beverages.
Millie stands and looks at the sky, and Vanessa casts a glance over to her. "Millie, aren't you warm in a full get-up like that?" Vanessa asks.
"That is all right," Millie says. "Come on, loosen up a little. We must enjoy this as much as we can. It isn't often we get to go out here," Vanessa continues, and Millie looks at Vanessa and back at the sea.
She touches her bell and her clothes change into her black plaid leather skirt with the two leather plates with needles jabbed into it and a black simple bra, while her hair gets pulled up into a ballerina bun with a black feather and a red crimson ribbon holding it in place. The only thing that remains the same is her red belt, which stays on her waist.
"Hmm, now that is a good idea. Don't you feel better now?" she asks, not really looking at her. Millie blushes slightly. "A little, ma'am," she responds, and she sits down in the sand and pulls out a book from her bell and starts to read.
On Liebe's way back, he stops looking at Millie's back, which is covered in scars from whip marks, burn-marks, and stab wounds. A big dark scar goes from her right shoulder blade and down across her spine and ends by her left hip. He slowly walks next to her and sees the scars on her that go along her arms and wrists. And a few distinct ones right above her elbows, which seem to have been made by claws.
And some cuts and scars on her feet, legs, and thighs as well, and she has three scars from claws on her left thigh. And she has dark circles around her ankles from shackles that have worn her skin down.
She still wears her black gloves and flips the page, and then she notices him and looks at Liebe. "My apologies. I did not realize your presence, sir. What may I help you with?" she asks gently, looking at Liebe, who is unsure of what to say.
"Hey, Liebe, are you coming?" Asta yells, and Liebe walks to the group. Millie expresses a bit of confusion before going back to her book.
"This is awesome!" she hears Asta yell. Maybe being here won't be so bad after all. Millie smiles to herself and scratches her ankle next to her scar that goes around her ankles from a chain. Despite her scars and past experiences, Millie is able to find some solace in the present moment.
"Alright, gang, it is time for us to head back," Yami tells the group. "Aww," the group says disappointed.
"Come on, we knew this trip wouldn't last forever," Noelle tells them. "Oh, and before we get back, Gordon, Vanessa, and Asta, take this one," he tells them and hands Vanessa a piece of paper with details of a mission.
"I see. You got it, sir," she says and puts on her witches' hat
Soon, they head out, with Liebe, Millie, and Nero on Asta. They land by Gordon's parents' house to get what they need, then head to a village far out in the Clover Kingdom, near a mountain.
"Do we really need this many for a delivery mission?" Nero asks. "I'm not sure. The details in the report said that the village is in dire need and that we are to help out. Maybe there's a lot that needs to be done as well," Vanessa explains. "Whatever it is, we've got this," Asta says excitedly.
They land by the village, which consists of a bunch of brown wooden huts with a river flowing by the villagers' fields, coming from the mountain, and a small church in the middle of the village, as well as a small market.
"What's with this place?" Vanessa asks. "You're right, the whole place seems almost deserted," Nero notes. "Yes, but I can sense a lot of ki over there," Asta points at the church. "They're all in the church?" Vanessa asks. They walk up to it, and Vanessa is about to knock on the door when it opens.
"Yes, I'll get us some more water," a man in his mid-thirties says and stops as he looks at the four. "Oh, magic knights have come at last," he says and steps to the side to let them pass. "Please head inside. The nun will help you out," he says. "Right, thank you," Asta replies, and the man continues with his bucket in hand, and the friends walk inside.
"Oh, dear, you're all here. Wonderful, I almost started to think the letter never got through. First, I must apologize for troubling the magic knights with this issue," the nun says and bows. Her blond, flowy hair falls neatly into place once she lifts her head again. Her eyes are honey-colored, and she wears a nun's uniform and a necklace with a cross.
"It's alright. Don't worry," Vanessa tells her. Gordon walks up to the nun. "Here's the medicine as requested," he says, and the nun looks at it. "Thank you," she says and takes the box. "Oh, there's quite a lot in here too. I'm sure it'll be enough for everyone," she says.
"Hold on, everyone's sick?" Asta asks. "Unfortunately, yes," the nun says, while she places the wooden box down and coughs. "Even I'm afraid I have it," she says. "That's horrible. What could be causing this?" Vanessa asks. "Is it contagious?" Nero asks.
"No, that is the thing. Travelers who come through are fine," she says. "When did all of this start?" Vanessa asks. "A little over a week ago was when the first one fell ill, Miss Cully over here," she says and brings them over to a woman in her mid-20s with brown hair lying there breathing hard. The nun kneels down next to her and takes a cloth and dips it into water and replaces the cloth on the woman's head. "Hopefully, the medicine will do its thing because we cannot afford another outbreak.
"We have already had plenty of help from neighboring villagers in exchange for some money and food, but as I said earlier, the money is running low," the nun explains.
"We will help you out. Don't worry, we've got you," Asta says. "Thank you, Magic Knights," the nun says. "I can help out in here and give them the medicine," Gordon says. "Right, and Asta and I can start helping out outside," Vanessa says. "Right," Asta says. "Sure," Nero replies, and they walk outside.
They help out tending the fields and do what is most necessary. Millie is helping out a bit too, and she sees the man from earlier head out of the church and gather water from the river. He is coughing hard before he gets up and heads back into the church with more water.
Asta waves at the man who waves back, obviously tired. "It is strange how a whole village is in such peril like this. It is like a plague, but why does it only affect them?" Vanessa thinks out loud while they work.
"Not sure, but hopefully the medicine will do its thing, and once they are on their feet again, we can leave," Asta says and looks at Vanessa. "Agreed," she says, and they keep going.
Vanessa sees Asta running back and forth a lot. "Hey, it is clear to see you are quite good at this," Vanessa tells him. "Yeah, I used to tend the fields back in Hage village, and this isn't much different," he says with a smile.
A while later, they take a break, and Asta takes out his flask of water, as do Vanessa and Nero. Millie looks at the sky, then at Asta as he removes the flask from his face. She looks at the water on his lip before he dries it away and then looks at the sky again.
"Well, break time is over. Back to work," he says excitedly, and they start tending the fields again until dusk. They sit down. "My, that was a lot of work for one day," Vanessa says. "I agree," Asta says and goes to take another sip of water. "Uh, it is empty," he says and gets up. "I will be right back," Asta says.
He runs down to the river, and Millie jumps down from his shoulder and smells the water. Asta fills his flask, and Millie is startled. "Oh hey there, you guys thirsty too?" Asta turns around and looks at the man with the bucket.
"We sure are," he says and looks at the man who is barely keeping his feet underneath him. He coughs into his arm and fills the water bucket. "Hey, I can help you out carrying that. I don't mind," Asta says.
"Are you sure, sir?" the man asks. "Of course, I am sure. You are sick, and you should be resting anyway, but you keep going despite it. I believe you deserve a little break," Asta says.
"Thank you, sir," the man says, and Asta carries the water with him.
Millie watches them leave and then goes back to smelling the water. A bit later, she runs up to the church, and Asta walks out of the door. "You guys take care now," he says, and Gordon comes out behind him.
Millie jumps up on his shoulder. "Hi, Millie. Did you have a nice drink?" he asks, and she shakes her head.
"What, aren't you thirsty though? I haven't seen you drink all day," he says and opens his flask.
Millie jumps and forces the flask out of Asta's hand. "Hey, what's the deal? I was gonna drink that. Now I will have to refill it," he says.
"I must advise against it, Master Asta." "Huh, how come?"
"It seems fine to me, and besides, the villagers have clearly used that river for water supply for a long time," he tells her.
"That is right. I talked to the nun, and there have never been any problems in regards to the river before," Gordin says.
"See, it is totally fine," he says and grabs the bottle from the ground. "But what if something happened like that village that nearly got flooded because the water was distorted the way it was?" Millie says.
"What do you mean something could have gotten into the water somehow?" Asta asks. Millie nods. "The scent is really faint, but it smells like rotten flesh," she says.
"Seriously?" Asta asks, and Millie nods. "Yes, sir."
"We should ask Vanessa what she thinks too," Gordon says.
"Agreed," Asta replies.
They tell Vanessa what is going on. "Really? Well, that could explain a few things," Vanessa says.
"But wait, the nun said that the people who visit didn't get sick," she says. "True, however, I am sure most people do what you do and bring their water in flasks," Millie tells them.
"Well, you've got a point there, and it makes sense," Vanessa says. "Really, we should tell the villagers about this," Asta says.
"Yes, but we have to be discreet about it, to not cause panic or worry. Being sick, they already have enough to deal with," Vanessa says, and the rest nods.
Vanessa goes in and whispers to the nun to throw out the water and wait until the knight figures this whole thing out. "But how do we find out what is causing this?" he asks.
"Well, we should look further upstream. I am certain we will find the answer," Vanessa says, and they start walking, and Millie goes up front, and she smells the water here and there.
"We have walked for a bit now. We should have seen something, right?" Vanessa asks.
"We are, ma'am. The scent is getting stronger," Millie replies.
"Seriously, that is awesome news," Asta says excitedly. They continue a bit more, and Vanessa looks at the plants and grass closest to the water that are dead.
Millie runs and quickly climbs a tree, and Asta stops and looks up. "What is it?" he asks. "I can see it, just a little bit further," she says and jumps down to Asta's shoulder. "Right," he says and keeps going.
They get up a steep hill, and on top of it, he stops. "What is that?" he says. "That is a lot of magical beasts on top of each other," Vanessa says.
"Yes, and each of them is huge," Gordon says. "Oh, and that smell," Vanessa says, and the rest cover their noses. "I know. It is horrible," Asta says. "Look, a few of the carcasses are lying in the river.
"Judging from the big pile of dead beasts, we can safely assume that as they rot and cave together, some pieces must have fallen down and gotten into the river," Gordon explains, as the place is surrounded by flies.
"What do we do about this?" Asta asks and looks at Vanessa. "I am unsure, there are a lot of them," she says.
"The trees. If we build a large cabin-type fire pit and burn the carcasses, it's a good way to safely dispose of them without risking ourselves to disease," Millie advises.
"Good thinking, Millie," Asta says excitedly. "Well, it will take a bit to cut enough wood, though," Vanessa says.
"Heck, just leave it to me," Asta says and brings out his grimoire, slashing down trees. "He truly is strong," Millie says.
"You got that right. Asta will have this done in no time, so we should focus on gathering things to start the fire. We will need a lot of dry wood," Vanessa says.
"That is a good idea," Asta says to Vanessa.
"Oh, and Millie, why don't you fly down to the village and tell the nuns that we found the source of the problem?" he tells her.
"Alright, sir," she says and gets into her human form, bringing out only her wings and flying.
"WAIT!" he yells, and Millie's chain appears around her neck, and she is tugged and forced to the ground with a crash. "What did you need, Master?" she asks.
"Oh, sorry about that. Well, nothing. Just that you were going the wrong way, that's all," he tells her.
"Oh, right," she says and looks around.
"You have no idea of the direction to the village at all, do you?" Liebe asks.
"No, sir," she says and blushes.
"I can fly down there," Nero tells him.
"You can? Great," he tells her, and Nero flies in her bird form to the village.
"Maybe I can fish out the dead beast carcasses from the river?" Millie asks.
"Right, great idea. Well, now that everyone knows what to do, we can keep going," Asta says, and they all start working on their assignments.
Vanessa looks at the pile of beasts while using her thread magic to move the cut-down logs into place to form a structure for the fire. "The question is how these got here in the first place," Vanessa wonders out loud.
"Good question," Asta says. "Well, assuming they are lying in a pile like this, then there must have been someone out there who got rid of these just for kicks," Gordon says.
"And just leaving them here to rot like this," Asta says.
"No matter the case, we should report it so nothing similar will happen again," Vanessa says.
"Yes, that would be best," Asta says. Soon, they have gathered enough firewood, and they set the big campfire ablaze. They sit down and watch it burn.
Once it is done, they head back to the village and explain that everything has been dealt with. They stay there for a little while longer, and Gordon offers to stay behind until the villagers are on their feet again.
"Right, we will tell Captain Yami about it. I am certain he is cool with it, but we better get back," Vanessa says, getting her broom ready to take flight again.
Soon they wave each other goodbye, and they land by the hideout late in the evening.
"Welcome back, you guys. Now here," Yami says, handing them each a paper.
"What is this for?" Asta asks.
"Huh? What do you mean? They are mission details. Since we took a day off, we must make up for lost time. The rest are out working hard as we speak, so hop to it," Yami tells them.
"What, seriously? What was the point of joining the Fair Sea competition if we were going to lag this much behind?" Asta states.
"I was hoping to get the prize money, of course," Yami laughs.
"Right, I should have known," Asta says with a comedic face and tone of indifference.
"Oh well, nothing to do but to get to work, I guess," Vanessa says and hands Yami the report from their mission before they are off.