Doah was startled and caught the falling man with her shoulder and hands.
Drip, drip
He no longer coughed.
Blood just flowed out of his mouth.
Doah quickly laid him down, turned his head to the side to prevent his airway from getting blocked, pressed his chin to open his mouth, and poured in the elixir.
The effect of the elixir was amazing.
The blood stopped flowing almost immediately after it entered his mouth.
His complexion and breathing became more comfortable.
‘Thank goodness. He’s alive…’
Doah sighed in relief.
She laid the man down properly and looked around.
There were no other living people.
‘Alright, then.’
Doah lifted the man.
He was quite heavy, but she could lift him with ease.
‘Mana is the best.’
Doah called Sea King.
Sea King approached, sniffed the man, and then shook its body with a snort.
“Sea King, I’m sorry, but could you carry this person?”
Sea King grumbled a bit but eventually bent its knees.
Doah placed the man on Sea King’s back, then went back to pick up the man’s sword.
Vrrr, vrrr
The sword began to vibrate in her hand, like a vibrating bell.
Doah felt uneasy, remembering the dark energy that surged from it earlier.
“Be quiet.”
She spoke lowly to the sword, and it stopped vibrating.
“It much better.”
Doah exhaled briefly.
“Then Sea King, let’s go back… Do you remember the way? I don’t remember at all. What should we do?”
In response to Doah’s anxious words, Sea King nudged her shoulder with its nose as if to reassure her and started walking.
Doah walked alongside it, smiling.
“Oh, I’m so relieved. Sea King, you’re the best. Awesome.”
“Woof!”
Sea King wagged its tail gently and walked on confidently.
🍒🍒🍒
Subquest complete!
Reward:
▸ You have received 300 World Tree Points!
Reward:
▸ You have received a house elf!
▸ Please name the house elf.
🍒🍒🍒
‘A name for the house elf…’
Doah wanted to give it a fitting name.
“Mrs. Danvers.”
She named it after the most impressive head maid she knew.
⭐⭐⭐
The name has been fixed as Mrs. Danvers.
⭐⭐⭐
‘Good.’
Doah clenched her fist.
Returning with the man, Doah first organized her belongings.
The man was still unconscious.
‘His condition was serious…’
He would likely experience severe recovery pain for some time.
Doah swallowed a sigh.
Potions in Rencia had magical powers even by her standards.
They had abilities that far surpassed modern medicine.
If a limb was severed, you could bring it back, spray the potion, and it would reattach.
Of course, it had to be aligned properly.
But it would attach correctly anyway.
Even internal organs would generally reattach.
So, it should be all better, but it wasn’t.
They talked about mana pathways, and with training, mana accumulates in the body.
So, if the body is injured, does the mana in that part also get lost?
Yes.
Will it reattach with a potion?
No.
So, it takes time for mana or mana pathways to recover, and there’s pain depending on the damage.
The thicker and stronger the mana pathway, the more intense the pain.
This was called ‘recovery pain.’
The intensity and duration of pain were proportional to the injury, and fever often accompanied it.
Still, it was better than losing a limb.
And the pain was less intense than the pain of losing a limb.
It would pass in a few days. Of course, if the mana pathway was thick and strong, it was said to be more painful than losing a limb.
‘But with such a strong poison that needed an elixir and as an S-rank adventurer, his mana pathways must be severely damaged.’
He would probably suffer greatly.
‘It looks like I’ll be nursing this man for a while.’
A hut would be much better than a tent for nursing someone.
It would also be more convenient for using water.
Doah found a good spot to set up the hut, then placed a small hut on the ground and stepped back.
“Open.”
At her command, the hut instantly grew larger.
It was amazing every time she saw it.
Doah took the man inside.
The hut was shaped like an L, with one room, a living room that also served as a kitchen, and a bathroom. The remaining part of the L-shape was extended into a porch.
‘Just 300 more points and I can expand with another room…’
For now, Doah decided to leave the 300 points she received this time as they were.
Instead, she set up a camping cot.
Then she took off all the man’s bloody clothes.
‘Is he allergic to sunlight?’
Despite the warm weather, the man body had been tightly wrapped.
It was almost as if he had an obsession that his bare skin shouldn’t be visible.
She left him in only his underwear, then cleaned his body thoroughly with herbal water.
This was a basic nursing skill she had learned from Rakshasha.
After cleaning his face, Doah was amazed.
‘Wow… This is the first time I’ve seen someone so handsome.’
His eyelashes were long, and his nose was sharp…
He had a very handsome face, so manly.
Lost in admiration, Doah shook her head.
‘He’s a patient, Kim Doah. Set aside your personal feelings.’
She forced herself to say that and laid the man on the bed.
She couldn’t let a patient use a camping cot, so the cot was for her.
After laying him on the bed, Doah left the room.
‘Then the laundry… Huh?’
The man’s clothes that she had piled up at the door were gone, and Doah was puzzled.
“Sea King, where did the laundry that was here go?”
Sea King tilted its head at Doah’s words.
“No, I know you’re cute, but still where did the laundry go?”
Rustle, rustle.
At that moment, there was a sound of clothes rustling somewhere.
“!!”
Doah looked around in surprise.
But there was no one there.
‘What’s going on?’
Doah carefully examined her surroundings, then entered the bathroom to check every corner before coming back out.
“This is strange, huh?”
The clothes were neatly folded on the table.
Surprised, Doah approached the table.
They were the man’s clothes.
They had been washed clean and neatly folded.
“Oh!!”
Doah suddenly looked up.
“Mrs. Danvers?”
A warm breeze gently blew from somewhere.
“Thank you.”
At Doah’s words, she felt someone tug at her clothes.
“Hmm?”
Turning to the side where she felt the tug, she saw the bloodstained area where the man had vomited.
‘She wants me to take them off.’
Doah hurriedly took off her clothes and placed them down.
Her clothes floated into the air and disappeared.
Soon after, they reappeared on the table, washed clean and ironed.
“Whoa…”
Doah covered her mouth with both hands.
Amazing.
She had a thought that the house elf would help with chores, but seeing it actually do them was impressive.
“Thank you, Mrs. Danvers.”
Doah thanked again.
At that moment, she heard a suppressed groan from the room.
Hurriedly, Doah ran into the room.
The man was curled up, trembling as if enduring pain.
‘Oh, my gosh.’
She had heard that recovery pain was severe if the injury was severe, but she hadn’t expected it to be this bad.
Doah spoke to him.
“Are you okay? Your body is healed now, but you’re experiencing recovery pain.”
She calmly explained the situation.
“This place is safe, so don’t worry.”
As she reached out to check his temperature, he grabbed her hand.
His hand was so hot she could tell he had a fever.
‘I need to make a fever reducer.’
Frowning, Doah thought about the herb mixture in her head when he asked.
“My, sword…”
“Your sword is under the bed.”
Doah answered in a quiet voice.
“No, my sword…”
He tried to focus his blurry eyes.
For a moment, he managed to focus.
His expression wasn’t as shocked as before.
But his gaze didn’t leave her, like a hunting dog finding its prey, his emotion disappeared.
Then his expression crumbled.
First, he seemed resigned, then he showed an ambiguous expression that was neither a smile nor tears, and he released her hand and cupped her cheek instead.
His touch was unbearably hot.
But Doah couldn’t move because of his expression.
He frowned and smiled.
“Liar…”
“?!”
She blinked in surprise, and his hand fell.
Doah was stunned, staring at him blankly, then hurriedly stood up.
‘Since the fever is high, I should make an antipyretic first.’
Going outside, Doah took out the herb set from her backpack.
🌬️🌬️🌬️
Item
Herbalist Set Blessed by the World Tree / SS grade
▸ A set of tools any herbalist would have.
▸ It looks ordinary, but each item is made from the sap of the World Tree.
🌬️🌬️🌬️
“Alright.”
Doah rolled up her sleeves.
“Let’s give it a try then.”
❖ ❖ ❖
The man’s condition was severe, and Doah’s expression turned grim with worry.
However, two days passed and he passed the critical point. On the third day, Doah was finally able to rest.
‘Phew, I saved him, but if he had died in my house, it would have been a disaster.’
With dark circles under her eyes, Doah was amazed at herself.
“I stayed up for three nights. I can handle it. Amazing.”
Though she hadn’t slept for three days and felt like she was going to die, she felt she could somehow endure it.
“Thanks to mana, or maybe the coffee.”
Doah looked at the man’s face.
His face, which seemed to have taken all of her vitality, looked soft and peaceful.
Thinking about the hardship, Doah smirked.
The morning sun cast soft light and shadows on his face.
It was a clean and beautiful face, making her want to reach out and touch it without realizing it.
She had touched it plenty when he was in pain, but now looking at him like this felt different.
Maybe it was because his expression was so impressive; his sleeping face looked very peaceful.
Doah gently reached out and stroked his brow and the area above his eyebrows.
His eyelashes fluttered, and she quickly withdrew her hand.
Carefully, she left the room and flopped onto the bed set up in the living room.
“I’m exhausted.”
She said briefly and fell asleep right away.
It was the first sleep she had in three days.
❖ ❖ ❖
Someone carefully picked her up and moved her.
The touch was gentle.
They laid her on the bed and pulled the blanket up.
Even though she was asleep, Doah could tell.
A large hand softly caressed her cheek and lightly brushed her eyebrow.
It touched her hair and then very carefully touched the rim of her ear before withdrawing.
Everything was done very slowly.
Feeling ticklish, Doah curled up.
“Mmm… Elibas… Stop…”
There was only one person who would move her to the bed and touch her like this, so Doah grumbled.
The hesitant hand pulled back.
It didn’t touch her anymore.
Doah fell back into a deep sleep.
She woke up again in the evening.
It was dark outside; she could tell.
A faint light streamed through the door gap.
A faint light, through the gap.
Doah quickly sat up.
“Huh?”
She was lying on her own bed.
Not on the camp bed where she had fallen asleep in the living room, but on a plush queen-sized bed.
Hurriedly, Doah got up and opened the door.
The light was on the table.
Inside a long glass tube, an oil-soaked wick was flickering.
Mrs. Danvers doesn’t turn on the light unless Doah asks her to.
She glanced at the neatly organized camp bed.
‘Then…’
Doah slowly turned her gaze.
In the darkness, barely illuminated by the faint light, the man stood.
Doah reflexively wiped her mouth.
Since she had slept deeply, she wondered if she had drooled.
“Hello.”
She greeted.
The man remained silent.
Doah asked,
“Are you feeling better?”
“……..”
The silence in the darkness was heavy.
The sound of claws tapping came as Sea King stood beside her.
She smiled automatically.
“My name is Kim Doah. You were injured and collapsed in the forest, do you remember?”
The man remained silent.
Wondering what to do, Doah decided to approach him.
‘Maybe he can’t speak?’
Or he might still be confused.
Doahapproached the light. She had seen him several times and knew he was an S-class adventurer.
But from his perspective, she could be an unexpected presence.
So, for the sake of introduction, Doah stepped into the light.
As she stood close to the light, she heard a short intake of breath.
Doah smiled brightly.
Elibas had said it was the cutest smile in the world.
“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Kim Doah. Did you move me to the bed?”
The man exhaled slowly, as if suppressing his intense breathing.
He slowly approached the light.
‘He’s tall.’
She had thought he was tall when he was lying down, but now standing face to face, she realized just how tall he was.
‘Close to 190? Maybe a bit over?’
She had felt it when she cleaned his body; he was really packed with muscles.
Not a single unnecessary muscle, all honed from actual combat.
Doah looked at the man’s hand and his belt.
He wasn’t holding any weapons. Confirming that, Doah finally looked at his face.
The dim light cast deep shadows, creating a strong contrast.
In the midst of it, his eyes shone with a strange light.
He slowly extended his hand.
