All-rounder Healer Chapter 295: Mask

A/N: There is an anecdote that once upon a time, George Lucas was told, “there’s no sound in space,” to which he replied, “There’s sound in my space.”

I followed his example and said, “That’s the way it works in my fantasy world! I could go on and on with the same logic, but…”

Regarding the pollination of fruits, it seems that there is a characteristic of plants called “parthenocarpy”, which means that some citrus varieties produce fruit without pollination.

Of course, this is a story on our planet Earth, so I don’t know how it will work on Tesla!

Please ask Lady Tessretia for more details!

　A few days later. Today, I trained in the morning, then went to the Adventurer’s Guild to accept recovery requests to heal injured adventurers and exchange information with familiar adventurers, and in the evening I decided to go to the church for a visit.

　Since the high cost of living, I always donate a portion of my rewards to the church, or rather, to the orphanage, whenever I receive a recovery request.

　I go into the church, give the donation to the priest, and pray to the gods.

　It seems to be getting a little warmer these days, and I feel the end of winter just a little bit.

　This church, with its drafty air, is no longer as cold as it used to be.

　I stand up and bow to the priest.

“Thank you.” (Rook)

“No, it is the role of the church to welcome those who pray.” (Priest)

　I asked to myself, “What about the big church, which seemed to be off-limits to the general public?” but I decided not to say it.

“I’ll come back later.” (Rook)

“We will always be waiting for you.” (Priest)

　And as I started to walk out of the church…

“Oh, Sir Priest! There you are!” (Voice)

　The doors opened with a bang, and three people rushed into the church.

　I looked closer and saw that it was Sam, Noe, and Bouse, who were party members of John.

“No running in the church, please.” (Priest)

“I’m sorry… No, this is not the time!” (Sam)

　The three of them start talking in a panic.

“John is not back yet!” (Sam)

“Calm down. Where did he go when he didn’t come back?” (Priest)

“He left around noon to go collect Dizzy Mushrooms, and he hasn’t come back yet!” (Sam)

“Maybe he waws attacked by monsters on the way…” (Bouse)

　Dizzy Mushrooms… So, the abandoned mine? It wouldn’t be that far from here, so it would be strange if he hadn’t come back already.

　No, why is he going out to collect them alone in the first place?

“Why did John go to a place like that alone? You used to go there together, right?” (Rook)

“We had a request to shovel snow… but John said he’d collect some Dizzy Mushrooms for everyone…” (Sam)

“Even though we don’t need them…” (Bouse)

　…Come to think of it, that guy was crazy about Dizzy Mushrooms. I guess he liked them so much that he forced himself to go and collect them.

“Sir Priest! What should I do!?” (Sam)

“Well… what could’ve happened…” (Priest)

　The priest puts his hand on his chin and twists his neck.

　When adventurers are in this kind of situation, there is basically no rescue service. The basic rule for adventurers is self-responsibility. However, there are times when adventurers who are close to each other will volunteer to go to the rescue, and there are also times when the Adventurers’ Guild will send someone out in the name of an investigation. Depending on the cause of the disappearance, this could create a bigger problem.

“Recently, the price of food has gone up, so we can’t eat much, so I guess he forced himself…” (Bouse)

　Bouse muttered.

“…” (Rook)

　That being said, I feel a little guilty.

　Even though there was no direct relationship, the aftermath of what I had done caused various things to result to this.

“Then I’ll go and have a little look around.” (Rook)

“Oh, will you go?” (Priest)

　I nodded to the priest and was about to walk out of the church when the three of them followed me.

“Mr. Rook, please take us too!” (Sam)

“We’re going too!” (Bouse)

“…Then follow my instructions along the way. Okay?” (Rook)

“Yes!” (Sam, Noe & Bouse)

　With three members of the Winds of Solmar, the impromptu party left the town gate and headed for the abandoned mine.

“At this rate, we may not be able to return before the sun sets. We may have to set up camp, so be prepared.” (Rook)

“Yes!” (Sam, Noe & Bouse)

“If we can make it back to town, there’s a safe place in the slums!” (Sam)

　Sam says so, and I reply, “If it comes to that, please help.”

　But even if that happens, I can’t decide now whether staying overnight in the slum is really better than camping out. We’ll think about that later.

　I activate [Magi Location] stealthily, walk forward while listening to my surroundings, and on the way, I dash up to the Horned Rabbit coming out from behind a rock in an instant before the three of them notice me, and skewer it with my mithril spear.

“Ha!” (Rook)

“Gyi!” (Horned Rabbit)

　I gave the finishing blow to the Horn Rabbit, which was still flapping around, and quickly pulled out only the magic stone and put it in my bag.

　There was no reason to bother with this level of monster anymore.

　I had no time to waste, so I quickly proceeded onward.

“Amazing…” (Sam)

“Horn Rabbit in an instant…” (Noa)

“So, this is the kind of power the guild expects from adventurers…” (Bouse)

　I hear various things behind me, but I ignore them and move on.

　When we arrived at the rocky back near the entrance to the abandoned mine known as Tunnel No. 4, I felt a strange reaction from the [Magi Location].

　I stopped the three of them with my hand and put my finger over their mouths to stop them from talking. Then, with a light flick of my index finger, I slowly called the three and told them in a whisper what was going on.

“Someone is standing at the entrance to the abandoned mine.” (Rook)

“Can you tell that from here?” (Sam)

“Yeah. I want you to wait here quietly for now.” (Rook)

　The earth is surrounded by rocks and snow. The sky was dark, and the sky was turning red.

　I slowly approached and stuck to the rock so as not to make any noise and peeked out slightly from the rock to check the direction of the abandoned mine.

　At the entrance to the abandoned mine, about 200 meters away, stood a person wearing a black robe. The robe obscured their gender.

“This might be the worst scenario…” (Rook)

　I muttered quietly.

　The face of the figure had a familiar mask attached to it.

　Yes, I have seen this mask before in this abandoned mine. The same mask as the mysterious figure I had seen in the abandoned mine before but had stayed away from because they looked suspicious.

　Slowly, I returned to the three of them and told them about the situation.

“A suspicious person is watching the front of the abandoned mine.” (Rook)

“What does that mean…?” (Sam)

“I don’t know, but if John is in there, he could be in trouble.” (Rook)

“Then we have to go help him!” (Sam)

“Quiet!” (Rook)

　I silence the three of them once again.

　The situation may not be so good.

　The guards in front of the abandoned mine could be taken down… But after that, it’s a problem.

　If there is a guard, there must be others. In other words, a group. But a group does not look like an aristocrat who came to enjoy a masquerade ball, nor does it look like the Royal Capital’s senior citizen who came to play ball, nor does it look like a masked hero who has been turned into an enemy by villains. They must be on the side of the bad guys, even if I don’t think of them as one or the other. There is no way that those suspicious people are decent people.

　In other words, if we stormed into that place, we might be in a hostile relationship with a mysterious group of unknown people.

　I scratch my head and think.

　It’s not as if we’ve confirmed that John is in there in the first place. If we force our way through and John is not in there and those masked men are completely unrelated to it, we could get into the worst of the worst result. But I don’t think they would give me an honest answer if I asked them.

　I summarized my thoughts to Sam, Noe, and Bouse.

“That’s the situation.” (Rook)

“So what will happen to John?” (Sam)

“When it gets dark, I’ll sneak inside. You guys go back first, while the sun is still up, and find a place to hide in the slums.” (Rook)

“But…”  (Bouse)

“How are you going to sneak in? It’s impossible if they’re watching closely…” (Noe)

　I understand the concerns of the three of them. But–

“I’ll be fine. Dark nights are my time.” (Rook)

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