My heart raced as I stared at the broken fragments of the Plague stone on the ground.

‘This is bad, really bad!’

I could feel my disease alleviating somewhat, but since this was probably not the Plague stone that infected me, it didn’t go away completely.

Not just that, the fact that it wasn’t broken by performing a certain ritual was really awful for me since the owner of the stones was definitely notified of its destruction.

‘The owner will definitely cover the other stones’ Aura traces. I can’t find them as easily now.’

I took a deep breath to calm myself down. Then, I made my way to where I was before I attacked the old man with my star-linking sword.

“Let’s see, it’s about here…?”

Then, I imagined myself using [Vulpeculae] again.

A step to the right, followed by a step forward. Then, a step to the l—

“Fuck! So that’s why!”

…The stone was in the way of my attack.

I sighed. Okay, this wasn’t that bad. Definitely better than the prospect of someone somehow destroying the stone without me knowing.

But…did my grasp of my surrounding really get that bad?

Shaking my head to rid myself of such thoughts, I approached the old man and let Kirion absorb his blood. Thankfully, he was strong enough for Kirion to heal back his crossguard.

‘Just a bit more and he’ll be back.’

Satisfied, I dragged the man’s corpse into one of the abandoned houses and made my way back to my tent.

.

.

.

.

I managed to get around three hours of sleep before Ria woke me up with a bowl of hot soup in her hands.

“Young miss, your breakfast.”

Unlike before, though, she was all giddy for some reason.

“...Did something good happen?” I asked as I blew on the hot soup.

“Mhm! I found how to halt the disease’s progress! You won’t die, young miss!”

“Really?”

“Yes!”

‘Hmmm…that’s new.’

I didn’t know that you could do that. Well, you could, but only with the stone that the Heavenly king of Plague always carried with him.

Since I didn’t want to die, I asked,

“Then, how can you do it?”

“Fufu, just follow me, young miss.”

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We left my tent and went deeper into the town center. Eventually, we arrived at a building so fancy that it had no reason to be built in this backwater village. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t noticed it before.

I entered the building and observed its interior. True to its exterior, the inside was decorated extravagantly. 

There were definitely sick people in here, don’t get me wrong, but they looked much…happier than those outside.

I glanced over them. Nothing too special about them except for the weird hazy energy that was wrapped around the black spots on their bodies.

‘Huh, looks like it’s the thing that Ria was talking about.’

I wanted to study it more closely, but I couldn’t, as a certain someone caught my attention.

‘Blonde hair, blue eyes, and that face…’

Nah, it couldn’t be, right?

Overcame with curiosity, I tugged on Ria’s sleeve.

“Ria, can I play around a bit?” 

“Alright, young miss. We have to wait for our appointed time with the doctor anyways.”

Nodding, I left her side and made my way toward the one who captured my attention—a girl about six years older than me.

She was completely absorbed into a book, and I didn’t want to disturb her. But…I had to.

“Hello.”

“Ah!” 

The girl fell down to the ground with a squeal of surprise.

Suppressing a chuckle, I crouched down to her.

“Sorry about that. Are you okay?”

The girl stared at my extended hand for a few seconds before grabbing it.

“I’m fine.”

Then, mustering as much childish energy as possible, I said,

“I’m Nova. What’s your name?”

Though clearly overwhelmed by my sudden burst of energy, she still answered.

“I’m Violette.” 

“Hi Violette. You want to be friends?”

“Umm…” 

Well, I fucked up. I overestimated children’s willingness to make friends. Not wanting to be more suspicious than I already was, I turned my gaze toward the book she was reading.

“Oooh, is that the Chronicles of Eric Solstar?”

The girl’s eyes widened at my words.

“Y-You know him?”

“Of course! He’s the Hero! I know him well!”

Too well for my liking, in fact.

Though, i had to thank my familiarity with him for the common interest that Violette and I now had.

So, after sitting together at the table, we began talking about the book.

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.

.

.

“Nova,” Violette suddenly asked. “How do you know so much about the Hero?”

‘Huh, she’s sharper than I thought.’

I didn’t expect a child like her to question where I got my knowledge from. Well, to be fair, me speaking non-stop for the last hour about the Hero did look a bit suspicious.

Thankfully, I had a perfect excuse.

“My Mom’s crazy about the Hero! She basically documented his entire journey!”

“R-Really?” She looked at me with sparkling eyes.

“Of course, I—”

“Young miss, it’s time.”

Ria’s familiar voice interrupted me.

Turning around, I saw my trusty maid looking at me with a regretful expression. I then bid goodbye to Violette and walked away with Ria.

“Young miss, did you have fun?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m glad you made a friend.”

‘Yeah, I’m glad, too.’

Not at the prospect of making a friend, but the information that I got out of her. 

‘She’s really Edward’s sister.’

It seemed that the guard-thief didn’t lie to me. I could rest easy knowing that my money wasn’t wasted. Moreover, Violette was extremely bright for her age. She could notice any inconsistencies that I deliberately made in my story.

‘She’d be a valuable asset when she grows up. I’d better keep an eye on her.’

I continued my line of thought until we arrived at a seemingly normal door.

“Young miss, the doctor is on the other side. I don’t want to say this, but…please be on your best behavior.”

Ria looked restless. It made sense since if I offended the doctor, it was possible that he’d decline treating my disease.

“Of course. You don’t need to tell me twice.”

As the door was opened, I was greeted by an old man who was in white coat. With graying hair and a few wrinkles around his eyes, he seemed to be in his 50s.

“Welcome. I trust that you have the money with you?”

‘This guy…’

I frowned inwardly. He certainly looked like a doctor, but he didn’t act like one. The first thing he did after welcoming us into his office was ask for money.

Unlike me, Ria gave him a strained smile and handed him a Gold respectfully.

“Hmm, yes, this should last the patient a month.”

Then, he led us deeper into his office and sat me down on a bench.

“You might want to grit your teeth for this, little girl. It’s going to be a bit painful.”

‘As if.’ I scoffed.

Then, I watched as he took out…a Plague stone from his pocket. Not just any Plague stone, though. This one had three rings rotating around the orb.

It was at times like this that I really appreciate having the Curse of Expressionlessness. Since I didn’t display any particular emotion, he didn’t know that I recognized the thing that he was using.

Soon, some kind of mist emerged from the stone and wrapped itself around the black patch in my arm.

“This should halt the disease’s progress for a month. Please return with a Gold after that to continue with your treatment.”

Then, he shoo’d us out of his office.

Glancing back at the door separating us from the bastard of a “doctor”, I couldn’t help but shudder.

‘W-Who is he?’

He was beyond suspicious. Aside from being a 3-star individual, he had the Master Plague stone in his possession. Meaning: He acquired the stone that the Heavenly King of Plague always carried with him.

As I was thinking about what to do, I felt Ria’s hand on my shoulders.

“Young miss, about Madam…”

“Don’t tell her.” I immediately replied. “She’ll definitely come here if she knows of my situation. Just tell her that everything is fine.”

“But—”

“Ria, please.” I looked at her with pleading eyes. “I don’t want her to get infected.”

Ria bit her lip and nodded.

I hugged her arm and left the building.