Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, normally, the punishment for people who break traffic laws; as long as they don’t result in death, or massive damage; is pretty light--but here--they are rather extreme.”

The Baron has sent two horse-drawn carriages to pick us up--both of them are two-seater carriages, the doors are carved with reliefs carved in strange and esoteric designs--I don’t think they contain Magic, but they look impressive. They would make nobles happy, and there are also golden stones that look like jewels embedded in the wood.

Toruma and his family take a separate wagon to Arisa, Pochi, and I.

I originally noticed it when I did a preliminary check on my map, but seeing it now with my own eyes--this city is just too deserted. Even though it’s almost twice the size of Seryuu City--the population is only 1/6^th of Seryuu City.

Houses stand in rows along the road, visible as we enter--but part way along the way, a series of vacant lots that are filled with weeds appear before--beside, us.

“Hmm, there are a lot of vacant lots, eh?” I ask the driver.

Pochi is currently sitting on my lap--leaning back against me and looking around inquisitively. I had my arms wrapped around her slim waist, one hand playing with her flat stomach, causing her to squirm and giggle occasionally. Arisa leaned against me--she entrusted her weight on me, relaxing with a satisfied smile--though the way her eyes darted around, I could tell that she was nervous.

“Sir, are you familiar with the incident that occurred 20 years?” The old driver turned his head as he spoke.

“A little, although I don’t know how much of it is true--I’ve heard the general rumour.”

I heard it from both sides, from Arisa, and from the man who was involved in it himself: Zen--I would believe his side more than any whitewashed side that the nobles spread--Arisa agreed with me when I explained to her what Zen had said.

“Most of it is probably the truth. The vacant lots are the result of the King’s armies setting fires in the city, so as to destroy the many Undead attackers.” His voice was loud, carrying easily of the noise of the carriage wheels on the hard stone street.

“The King’s armies?”

“Yes, after the Undead had completed their revenge by wiping out the entire lineage of the old noble, they remained inside the city, without moving. So, the King wanted to do something before they started moving again--the number of commoners who died because of the fires the armies lit were several times that of those who died because of the Undead; because, for some reason, they wouldn’t get attacked by the Undead if they stayed in their houses.”

Shouldn’t they have found a way to evacuate the commoners before setting fire to the city?

“Because of those heartless actions, a whole lot of people left this territory; now there aren’t even 20% of the original population from 20 years ago.”

“How come the city didn’t disappear--or at least massively downsize, after that?”

“That’s because this city has a wall protecting it--the wall was constructed in the time of the Ancestor King, and was enhanced with Fixation Magic--even if Monsters attack, it won’t even move an inch; a city is virtually impossible to just up-and-move.”

I see, no wonder the wall looks so impressive, even though it is in such a poor territories.

***

I suddenly hear a crashing sound, and then people’s screams coming from the carriage ahead of us.

After a bit of a pause, our carriage suddenly shakes a bit--almost like it ran something over.

“Sir, and Madams, I’m sorry for the shaking. Some poor people were jumping in and--”

“Stop at once.” Arisa interrupts the coachman’s excuse with an order--as expected of an ex-princess, she used to commanding people.

The coachman, on reflex, stopped the carriage.

The horse-drawn carriage had run over a teenage girl--seeing this, I jump out and run to the girl--her HP is rapidly decreasing.

“Make way!”

Even with my footwork, it’s irritating to get through the swarming people and to the girl--I barely made it in time.

Sitting beside the prone girl, I take a HP Potion out of storage and try to make her drink it--but, it seems that she has fainted, and her breathing is laboured; the medicine just spills out of her mouth because of it--maybe because some of it was absorbed by the thinner tissue under her tongue and parts of her inner cheeks, her HP has stopped decreasing.

I wanted to do CPR, but because of how the carriage hit--and then ran over--her, her chest is depressed--It’s impossible.

I take out another Potion, putting a small amount in my mouth, I press my lips to her--using my free hand to open her mouth--and carefully feed it to her mouth-to-mouth.

Maybe because the effect isn’t incredibly strong, her HP fluctuates for a second, before beginning to decrease little by little--much slower than before.

Even though Toruma was fatally stabbed with a sword was saved, but it doesn’t seem to work in this case--maybe she is unlucky enough to have a shattered rib embedded in her heart or lungs, so the damage is continuous.

Arisa, who has finally caught up, grabs the short staff that I keep in a self-made ‘sheath’ on my side, “Let me borrow the short staff, ****** *** ****** ***, Light Healing!”

Oh?

Arisa knows enough Light Magic to provide some healing--good job.

“It’s no good, Light Healing Magic isn’t powerful enough,” I can hear the worry, and sadness in her voice.

“We should take her to a Temple, a Priest should had enough power to heal her.”

The people, still crowding around us, deny those words, “There’s no Priest in this city who can use Holy Magic. They were all thrown in prison after being arrested for made-up crime, like Corruption.”

“Either way, with those wounds--she can’t be saved; just let her go without suffering anymore.”

Not only is her chest crushed, her arm is unnaturally bent as well--her HP is already less than 10%.

As I was beginning to get a little flustered, trying to consider how to save her life, when a memory of when I made the Potions flashes through my mind. The differences between normal Medicine and Potions are the reagent--and the presence of Magic Power.

The reagent is just a catalyst to fuse the Magic Power with the Medicine; the reason that the Potion had an immediate effect, is also due to the Magic Power.

I put some of the new Magic Potion into my mouth once again--but before I feed it to her mouth-to-mouth, I try to pour Magic Power into the Potion--I have the Skill called ‘Magic Bestowal’, so I should be able to do it.

I quickly pour three times of the amount of Magic Power usually in the creation, into the Potion.

“Wah--Wait, is that some kind of Skill? You’re glowing, you know.” Arisa speaks from beside me, saying some words which bother me, but I will think about them later.

Leaning down, I carefully feed the potion to the girl mouth-to-mouth.

Immediately after it made its way down her throat, her body suddenly becomes wrapped in a red aura, which is soon sucked back into her body--she hasn’t completely recovered, but it’s working; her crushed chest quickly inflates, and her broken arm makes creepy cracking sounds as it squirms and twists back into position. Her HP raised, before stopping at 40%, and it is no longer decreasing.

 

>>Skill: Magic Healing Acquired.

 

>>Title: Doctor Acquired.

>>Title: Healing Specialist Acquired.

>>Title: Saint Acquired.

***

“Did you save her?”

“Yeah, she’s alright now.”

“Oh my, Mages are really great--I can’t believe that kind of mortal injury could actually be healed.”

I give another potion to a little girl, who looks like she is the injured girl’s little sister, who’s clinging to her.

“If she doesn’t wake up after 1 - 2 hours, give her this Potion.”

“Okay, I understand.”

An old lady, who seems to be an acquaintance of the teenager and her little sister, talks to me while looking hesitant, “Mage, thank you very much--however, lowly citizens like us cannot pay you back.”

“It was my carriage that ran her over--I’m not expecting any compensation. Rather, it should be her who seeks reparation.”

However, the old lady has a bad expression, “We can’t possibly ask for reparation--it’s a crime to obstruct the path of a noble’s carriage like this.”

“That’s right sir, even if you save her now, she’ll be caught by soldiers and either become a slave or get hanged.” The coachman adds a little more explanation to the old woman’s words.

Umm, isn’t this a little severe, even for a world like this?

I’ve saved her, using so much effort.

If being saved means she’d become a slave, or get executed, let’s make it so that she wasn’t saved--the surrounding people seem like they would side with the girl, the only ‘real witness’ is the coachman.

Let’s coax him somehow.

He might betray me later, but rather than being suspicious of everything, I will try this--there is one more option, but I would only use that if the Baron is a bad person and there is no way to change his mind about how he is ruining his territory.

“Let’s not make the Baron wait any longer, and go.” I gave a silver coin to the coachman as I approached him, “The girl died despite all of the treatment, her name is still unknown.”

“Yes, sir. The girl who was run over is pitiful, but it can’t be help.” He responded with a tip of his hat, pocketing the coin.

The adults also participate in the farce, pretending to cry. The little sister, who can’t follow along, has become flustered--but she soon understands after the old woman whispers something to her.

We get back in the carriage and continue to the Baron’s castle, which is located on a small hill, allowing it to look out over the entire town, like a lone sentinel.

At the same time, the battle between the 1,000 strong army belonging to the Baron and the 3,000 Goblinkin begins--and at the moment, it seems that the Baron’s army is advantageous.

 

>>Skill: Acting Acquired.

>>Skill: Tact Acquired.

 

>>Title: Poor Actor Acquired.

>>Title: Clown Acquired.