Chapter 26
"Fia?!"
Seeing me collapse onto the ground, the captain rushed over.
He called out to me with concern, but I was in no condition to answer.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!
It huuuurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts—!!
This is wrong. They made the healing potion incorrectly.
The way it works is wrong.
Ahhh, now I understand why Black Dragon Zabiria attacked after using a healing potion—the pain was just that bad. Wait, what is Zabiria doing right now?
Oh no, my thoughts are getting muddled. Who made this healing potion?!
This is a complete failure that must never be released to the public—!!
Seeing me writhing on the ground, the captain murmured with concern.
"Some people just don't react well to healing potions. You called that wound on your arm a scratch, so I don't think you're especially sensitive to pain. You must simply have a constitution that doesn't agree with healing potions."
...Yes, that's right. Healing potions work by forcibly boosting the user's ability to recover, but this one works incorrectly. The more healing magic someone has, the more pain they feel. That's why it hurts so much I could dieeeeeeeee!
"This is a problem. The pain will keep coming back until your wound heals. It would be difficult to send you back to the castle with the Sixth Knight Order like this."
The captain murmured, glancing at the Sixth Knight Order, who had nearly finished cleaning up after the battle with the Flowerhorn Deer.
Even as I was wracked with agony, I somehow managed to speak.
"N-no, I want to go back with the Sixth Knight Order. Today's the meat festival..."
"What?"
"It's all about mastering your mind! If you think it doesn't hurt, then it won't hurt. But no matter how much I want to eat meat, I can't eat any if there isn't any! Even if you master your mind, fire is still hot!!"
"...Fia. Once your wound heals, we'll have a long talk."
The captain made his suggestion with a smile so gentle it couldn't possibly be any gentler.
"N-no, I don't want to. You're giving off the same pressure as my big brother Aldio when he's about to lecture me. I worked hard today. Let me eat some meat!"
I sprang to my feet and put some distance between myself and the captain.
Ah, I think the pain's letting up a little...
"I'm healed! I'm all better! I don't hurt anymore, so I'll go back to the castle with the Sixth Knight Order."
No, really. I may not look it, but I used to be the Great Saint. A wound like this is nothing—I can heal it in the blink of an eye. Well, since taking the healing potion means I also have to cure the status ailment, it takes one extra step, but I can still do it in the blink of an eye.
"Captain Cyril, I apologize for interrupting your conversation."
I turned toward the voice interrupting us and saw Fabian standing there.
"If you permit it, I'll take care of Fia. She's considerably smaller than I am, so I can carry her if necessary. I imagine you need to guard the Commander-in-Chief, Captain. If you don't mind, could you leave her to me?"
The captain considered Fabian's suggestion, but quickly agreed.
"...Very well. I'll leave it to you. She'll likely have several more bouts of intense pain, so carry her when that happens. Make sure you don't get separated from the other knights."
Then the captain hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"Monsters have their own territories and balance of power. We've received a report that one of the Three Great Magical Beasts that rule this continent has disappeared. As a result, monster distribution is in a state of upheaval unlike anything we've seen before. I thought this area would be safe since it's far from where one of them disappeared, but the Flowerhorn Deer emerging from the depths may mean that even this region has been affected. We could encounter monsters we normally wouldn't, so make sure you don't get separated from the other knights."
"Understood."
Fabian answered the captain with a serious expression, then took over looking after me.
Th-thank goodness. Now I can join the meat festival, and secretly use healing magic to escape this excruciating pain.
When we rejoined the Third Platoon, everyone called out to me.
"Fia! You hurt your arm! Come here. I'll wrap it up for you."
I went over as instructed and held out my arm, but for some reason, they messed up my hair.
"You're amazing! How'd you know so much about that weird monster's traits?"
"That thing was seriously nuts! We had to stay close when it made fire, but then it put the fire out and attacked if we backed off, so we had to surround it again! If you'd called out at the wrong moment, I'd be joining tonight's meat festival as the meat!"
"No way! Even if you turned into a hunk of meat, we wouldn't let you join as meat!! You wouldn't be allowed into the festival!"
"Heh heh heh, Flowerhorn Deer is unbelievably delicious!"
With the knights buzzing around me, I proudly shared what I knew.
"It tastes so good, you'll seriously wonder what all the meat you've eaten before was! It's incredible. It melts on your tongue. Everyone fights over it. It turns into a huge brawl."
"Seriously...?"
Some of the knights had apparently already started imagining what Flowerhorn Deer tasted like, gazing dreamily at the monster's corpse.
Woooow, they're tough. They were just fighting that monster while it was alive, and now they can only see it as meat. That's knights for you!
One of the knights wrapped my arm in a sloppy bandage, and I headed back with the others.
We walked for a while, and then I suddenly doubled over from an intense pain.
"Guaaaah!!"
Oh no! I'd forgotten that I'd taken a healing potion!
"Hey, Fia, what's wrong?!"
"Did you hurt your stomach?"
The knights around me called out with concern.
I was in too much pain to speak, so Fabian answered for me.
"I think it's healing pain. She took a healing potion earlier to treat the wound on her arm, so maybe the pain has come back."
"Ah..."
"Yeah, there isn't much you can do about that."
The knights, who had probably experienced healing potions many times before, nodded sympathetically.
Then they took my shield along with Fabian's.
"She's wearing armor, so carrying her over your shoulder will hurt Fia. You should carry her in your arms instead."
Just as I heard one of the knights say that, arms reached out and lifted me from where I was sprawled flat on the ground.
"...Eek!"
F-Fabian, carrying me in your arms is a no-no!!
You might think it's just part of the job, but what if I start having improper thoughts about you?!
And besides...
"Th-this is because of my armor! My armor is cursed to weigh more than normal armor. S-so even if you think I'm heavy, it's absolutely, definitely because of the armor!!"
I desperately insisted on this very important point.
The intense pain was still going, but making sure to blame the armor's weight was more important.
"Ah—yeah, I've never heard of a curse like that, but if Fia says so, maybe it exists."
"Wow, you're amazing. To get a cursed item like that from standard-issue armor..."
The knights' gazes seemed warmer than before, but I decided not to pay them any mind.
The important thing was to get them on record agreeing with me.
You all agreed it was cursed armor. I heard you loud and clear!
After the pain subsided, Fabian set me down. During a break, I hid behind a tree and secretly used my Saint's power.
Naturally, the wound on my arm and the status ailment that caused the pain to return periodically were both cured instantly.
...You get hurt, you heal the wound. It's simple. So why does taking a healing potion make it so complicated?