41 – Tradition
[But he’s pushing himself too hard, isn’t he?]
I lifted my head at Pii’s words and looked at Kaia.
Kaia was following the guidance of his subordinates and casting healing magic on the critical patients.
But he looked like he was struggling a lot, as Pii said.
His forehead was covered with cold sweat, his face was pale without any blood, and even his eyes were slightly unfocused.
Kaia was showing clear signs of mana depletion.
“I know. He’ll collapse if he keeps this up.”
I had experienced mana depletion myself, so I could understand the pain that Kaia was enduring.
He would have to hyperventilate to replenish his mana, and that would cause oxygen poisoning, which would be very painful.
No matter how much he breathed, he would feel suffocated, and he would have a terrible headache that would make it hard to stand.
I couldn’t just watch him like that, so I approached Kaia and cautiously spoke to him.
“Hey, it seems like there are no more urgent patients, so why don’t you take a break?”
[Listen to Gaul’s words. You’re going to end up lying on that bed.]
“Yes, yes, sir! We can handle it now!”
As Pii and I blocked Kaia, the doctors around us agreed with us.
It seemed like Kaia had been overdoing it for more than a day or two, and the doctors had also suffered a lot of heartache.
As everyone around her started to stop her, Kaia, who was staggering, found me and opened her mouth weakly.
“Ah… it’s you. Thank you very much for this afternoon. Thanks to you, I was able to save my life.”
Kaia straightened her posture and thanked me.
She was about to collapse from exhaustion, but she had an amazing mental strength.
I pointed to an empty couch and urged her to rest again.
“Yeah. I’ll help you for a while, so don’t worry and rest for now. What are the remaining subordinates going to do if the president collapses?”
The beastmen around me nodded and agreed with me vehemently.
They looked like they were saying ‘Please, take a break!’ to Kaia.
But Kaia ignored everyone’s wishes and showed her refusal.
She had a stubbornness that was unmatched.
“I’m sorry for showing you this ugly sight. But I can’t do that. I have to heal the patients quickly and go out again.”
Kaia smiled awkwardly and turned her body to continue healing.
I sighed with frustration and grabbed her wrist.
Then I gently pulled her and sat her down on the couch and spoke softly.
“You’re going to die like that. You tried to die earlier today, too.”
A flush of embarrassment rose to her face as she thought of Kaa.
She glanced around at her subordinates and opened her mouth softly.
“That, that’s true… But I had no choice. If we don’t dispose of the monster’s corpse in time, the blood smell will attract more demons. I came back briefly to heal the patients, but the cleanup is not over yet, so I have to go out soon.”
“Oh. So leaving the corpse alone will lure more demons. I didn’t pay attention to that. I’m sorry. I thought hunting the monster was enough.”
“Not at all. That was a big help. If it weren’t for you, there would have been a bloodbath tonight. Thank you very much. You are the benefactor of Cheongcheongyeongwol.”
Kaa thanked me again and tried to get up from her seat.
She seemed to think that I would understand and let her go, since she explained why she was pushing herself.
But my hand was still holding her wrist.
In the end, she only wiggled her hips on the seat and looked at me awkwardly.
“Um, excuse me… Can you let go of my hand now?”
“No.”
I answered firmly and sat next to her, leaning my shoulder against hers.
Then I spoke to Pii, who was sitting on my shoulder.
“Pii, cast a stamina recovery magic on her.”
[Hmph! My magic is inferior to Kaa’s, so it’s useless!]
“Hey, why do you keep that in your mind? You’re the best in the forest, so just help me once.”
[hehehe. Fine, I’ll do you a favor this time. Behave yourself from now on. Got it?]
“Of course.”
Pii moved from my shoulder to Kaa’s and cast a stamina recovery magic on her.
Clear natural mana seeped into Kaa’s body, and I felt her mana rise and her vitality return.
Kara, who smiled at me, was cute as she bristled her ears and tail fur.
Ivy also stiffened her ears when she received Pi’s magic, so it seemed that the sense of spirit magic was somewhat unfamiliar to the beastmen.
But was I staring too much?
Kara sat down a little away from me and coughed with a cough.
“Ahem! Th, thank you. This is the first time I’ve ever received spirit magic. It’s a really amazing sensation.”
Pi’s magic didn’t have a dramatic healing ability, but it had an excellent effect on mana recovery and fatigue relief.
If she rested a little while receiving this magic, Kara would be able to recover from mana depletion soon.
I pulled Kara back to my side, who kept trying to get away.
Her snow-white wrist was still in my hand.
“Just rest like this. I’ll let you go when your mana is somewhat recovered.”
“Ha, but there are still problems with the healing of the patients and the disposal of the monster corpses. As the last remaining warrior, I can’t rest so leisurely….”
[Ah! It’s so frustrating to listen to you! Listen to me, you woman! Gaul will take care of everything for you!]
“Yeah, you woman. Just rest if I tell you to. I’ll help you as much as I can.”
“……”
Kara closed her mouth at the cooperation of me and Pi.
Her fluffy ears and tail looked pitiful and very cute.
I wanted to touch them once, but it would be rude to touch them without permission, right?
As I was thinking that and staring at her white tail, Ivy, who had left for a moment, came back with something.
“Kara, ma’am. Here are some simple meat and water. I heard you haven’t eaten all day. Please rest on Gaul’s consideration.”
What Ivy brought was a tray with boiled meat.
I was sure that I would catch Kaa, and she came out with food without anyone asking her to.
I was sometimes surprised by the rabbit girl’s sense and initiative.
As I looked at her with a pleased smile, Kaa, who had been slumped, opened her mouth with a sigh.
“Haah… Yeah, Ivy. You were there too. I got it. Then I’ll take a break for a while.”
In the end, Kaa lowered her tail and accepted the spoon that Ivy had given her.
I finally let go of Kaa’s wrist.
And a little later, Kaa, who had been swallowing her throat nervously, opened her mouth as if she had remembered something.
“Oh. By the way, you were the one who brought the benefactor of Gaul, Ivy.”
“Yes? That’s right, but….”
“Although you deserve praise for the good result, I’m not comfortable personally. I told you not to go, so why did you head to the World Tree again? I heard you almost got hurt by the goblins last time.”
“I, I just thought they needed help….”
Come to think of it, Ivy had a record of being caught by goblins when she tried to visit Eldenore.
The lady had come back to Eldenore alone after having such a scary experience.
I don’t know if she was immune to danger, or if she was that desperate, but it was clear that Ivy’s behavior was careless.
‘Then she deserves to be scolded.’
I nodded and watched the conversation between the two girls.
Kaa put down her spoon and started to scold Ivy seriously.
From Noble mtl dot com
“And you showed up on the battlefield today. Did you try to break the tradition of Blue Moon and join the fight?”
“No, I didn’t! I was just riding a deer, I didn’t fight!”
“That’s a problem even if it’s true. How can you show yourself in front of carnivorous beastmen who are fighting? You could have been in danger.”
“Ha, Haona! Wasn’t it a good result that you brought the druid here?”
“Yes. Thanks to that, I was able to save my life. But the fact that you disobeyed the order and the tradition does not change.”
“Ugh….”
Ibi, who was scolded by Kaa, shrunk like a rabbit in front of a wolf.
She looked at me with shining eyes, as if saying, ‘Please help me.’
I raised my hand slightly and joined the conversation of the two ladies.
I wanted to help Ibi, but there was something that bothered me as I listened to the conversation.
“Wait. What is your tradition that you are talking about?”
Kaa mentioned the tradition of Cheongcheongyeongwol and reprimanded Ibi.
But what was that tradition?
The one who answered my question was Kaa, whose tail was slightly raised.
“It’s the tradition of Cheongcheongyeongwol. Herbivore beastmen cannot participate in battle.”
“What?”
I was stunned by Kaa’s answer.
I turned my head slightly and looked around the field hospital.
Now that I saw it, the injured beastmen were all wolves or foxes, and the ones who took care of them were all cows or rabbits.
I expressed my absurd feeling without hiding it and asked Kaa and Ibi.
“You said you were in trouble because you lacked warriors?”
The two ladies nodded their heads and answered.
“Yes. The warriors have decreased a lot.”
“Yes. There is a severe shortage of carnivorous beastmen.”
I opened my mouth wide and looked at Pii.
Pii also seemed to have the same thought as me, as he slapped his forehead and sighed loudly.
[These idiots!]
I nodded in agreement with Pii’s words.
I felt like I realized what I had to do in Cheongcheongyeongwol.