29: My Mother’s Hand Suddenly Appears
The afternoon of the second day. Since there was nothing to do outside, I lay down in my room and quietly imagined healing magic in my head.
The thing I created to help the Samantha girls the other day was hastily made, and it’s unclear whether it was effective. Perhaps because the concept itself was too vague, it’s not even displayed as a magic name (color rays) in the individual information ( visual record). It would be natural to want to register a magic name for future reference.
However, the definition of recovery is difficult. Healing injuries? What about diseases? What about inflammation caused by bacteria that have entered through lost blood or wounds?
I have no idea how to cure such things.
After pondering and groaning, I reached a dead end. I had no choice but to give up and spend the whole day sleeping.
I’m the best in the country when it comes to sleeping because I can’t do anything. After all, I’ve spent almost five years doing just that.
So, with that in mind, I closed my eyes and went to sleep, but I could sense someone standing outside the door.
I’m always aware of it with [Mana Read], but I don’t display the details, so I don’t know who it is.
When I tried to display it, it was Keith from [Liliano]. He was with the Guild Master, Nail.
Soon, there was a knock on the door and a voice asking if they could come in.
“I heard that Jasper is here, is this the right place?”
“Yes, it is. You may come in.”
“Excuse me.”
The one who came in was Keith and a man who looked like a somewhat tougher version of Keith. Even I could tell that he was strong. Keith is probably the 4th rank, so this man could easily be the 5th rank.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Nail, the Guild Master of [Liliano]. I’ve heard about you.”
“I’m Jasper. Please, have a seat.”
When I prompted them, the two of them sat down on chairs. I remained seated on the bed.
“Does that mean that Keith and the others are participating in the raid?”
“Yes. As Mash may have told you, basically, in the case of a mandatory request, any league of a certain size is required to participate with at least one party.”
“That’s the sad part about leagues.”
Nail joined in on Keith’s words. Perhaps because he was the Guild Master, his words carried a sense of reality.
“So, why are you here? Surely not just to say hello?”
“I’ll tell you that.”
It was Nail who responded.
“Of course, there is that. But the main reason is to ask you, Jasper, to join our league.”
I tilted my head. I thought I had already declined once.
When I looked at Keith, he nodded. What does that mean?
“I thought I had already declined once.”
“Yes, I heard that from Keith. And also about your strength.”
“I didn’t think I showed that much strength. The monsters and thieves that time were weak to begin with.”
“There are things you can tell from someone’s movements when they’re facing something weak.”
“Hmm. But I still decline.”
“Is there no merit (benefit)?”
“No. I don’t intend to become a full-fledged adventurer.”
Nail nodded with an expression that said he had expected my answer.
“It’s true that there are some inconveniences. As Keith said earlier, this time it’s a league obligation, and as a member of the organization, your movements will be restricted. But what do you think? There are also many advantages to being a guild member, especially in a league of our size.”
“For example?”
“First, you get information faster. Leagues have their own information networks. This becomes more pronounced the older the league is. Second, you can form a “party” with excellent adventurers (adbels) and hunt monsters with a high degree of danger. In other words, it becomes more efficient to level up.”
In fact, the term “party” has two meanings.
A party that acts and fights together, and a party that can distribute experience points by having a spiritual or magical connection.
These are often mixed up because “when forming a party, you usually form a party,” but strictly speaking, they are different things. In fact, this time, Neil and I did not form a party.
Indeed, if we were to form a community, we could hunt in groups, which would be much safer and allow us to hunt more magical beasts.
Using the mentioned advantage of our own information network to investigate good hunting grounds and the locations where magical beasts appear, and hunting them all at once with multiple people would be incredibly efficient.
However, none of that holds any appeal to me.
As for the information network, I can obtain it from Journal (a person) who probably has one that is equal to or better than the Alliance’s.
If I were to form a community, the experience points would be distributed, so it would rather be a disadvantage (demerit), and it would be far more efficient to hear about a certain location from Jarnal and use [Eyes of Omniscience] to its full potential to kill them instantly.
Therefore, the conditions he offered me are of no value.
“I’m still going to have to decline.”
“Is that so?”
“I guess I have my own way of doing things.”
“I see. That’s unfortunate.”
Nail closed his eyes, looking truly disappointed. I thought he was thinking of another way to persuade me, but he quickly opened his eyes and nodded.
“I understand. It would be wrong to force you. We’ll leave it at this for today.”
“Today?”
“Today, yes.”
His cheerful smile made me think that he was an adventurer after all.
“Just take this. It’s a token of my appreciation.”
He handed me an Adventurer’s Duplicate Certificate (Adbel Copy Card). With this, I would have received the Adventurer’s Duplicate Certificates of the Alliance Leader and Vice-Leader (Sub-Master) of ‘Liliano’.
“How about we have dinner together with that? Since we’re joining the alliance together this time, why don’t you invite the other party members?”
“Oh, that sounds good. Neil and the others will be happy.”
“Then it’s settled. I’ll come a little early when it’s time for dinner.”
“Got it.”
“See you later then.”
After they left, I headed to Neil’s room to inform him of the situation.
Neil and the others were happy, but when it came time for dinner, for some reason, even Mash and the other alliance members were there, and it turned into a commotion like the time with that escort request. Oh well.
*
“But adventurers are relentless.”
At night, I rolled around on my bed in the inn and couldn’t help but mutter.
I didn’t participate because I was too strong, but they started another drinking contest. What surprised me was that Neil won. He drank a lot, but he kept a straight face and defeated the challengers one after another.
I wondered if he was decomposing toxins like me, but his cheeks were red, so he must have been drunk after all. I thought that maybe that kind of monstrous element was also a condition of being an alliance leader.
I was impressed when Mash, who found out that I had received an Adventurer’s Duplicate Certificate from Neil, exclaimed, “Guaa! I should have brought the Guild Master’s Duplicate Certificate!” It wouldn’t have mattered anyway since he wasn’t going to join.
Anyway, with that out of the way, I let my thoughts wander to my morning dilemma. What exactly are healing and recovery? I can’t possibly imagine it without defining it.
I think about it a lot. Wounds that heal naturally or are healed by magic. Drinking potions or applying ointments. There are many different ways, but each of them has a different effect and plays a different role.
What I want to imagine is something that combines all of them. As long as you’re alive, it will heal any injury or illness. That’s what healing is to me.
But then… I look at my palm facing the ceiling. I turn it over a few times. Then I bring my palm closer to my face.
“–Ah.”
Suddenly, I remember something.
It was when I was still a child. Once, I was running around in the palace garden. I tripped and scraped my knee and face.
At that time, my mother, who had rushed over in a panic, healed me with recovery magic. Even then, she stroked my cheek and forehead, which still hurt. Saying that it didn’t hurt, that it was okay.
My imagination expands. The one that had been closed until now has opened.
Sitting up and sitting on the edge of the bed, I cast [Mana Curing] on the dagger I had taken out of [Colorless Jewels (My Treasure Box)] and lightly cut my left arm. The blood flowed out steadily, and looking at my arm, which was in a bad spot, I muttered.
“[Mother’s Hand (La Mere)]”
Then, the wound healed instantly, the pain disappeared, and a strange warmth and comfort spread through my arm.
As a test, I cast 【Reduction of All Things (Di Jishen Ji Mana)】 to remove the blood, and there was not a single scar on my skin.
For me, my mother’s hand was something that freed me from all pain. Logic and such things didn’t matter. Simply, that hand freed me from all pain and suffering. I tried to create that memory as it was, and it succeeded.
“Mother…”
Thank you. I was able to fall asleep peacefully that day for the first time in a long time, with a sense of gratitude for my mother, who had become distant and whose affection had faded.