For two days, Doah spent time making various medicines using different materials.
Seeing Doah sitting in front of the herbalist set, steadily making potions, Robern wore a look of disbelief.
“Does a B-rank also have to make potions themselves? When did you learn that?”
“From my master,”
Doah replied as she poured the newly made ointment into a container.
Solid potions aren’t something that can be completed in just a day or two.
Moreover, there were still plenty of solid potions left over from the previous dungeon strategy preparation.
For that reason, Doah focused on creating various other medicines that could be made using herbs, rather than just the solid potions used for critical situations.
It seemed like this approach would be more convenient for use later on.
“This one is for Your Majesty,”
Doah said as she handed over the medicine bottles.
“Are you offering tribute to me?”
“Call it a gift,”
She pointed at each of the bottles one by one, explaining their uses.
“This ointment works on any injury—be it cuts, scrapes, or burns. This one is an eye drop. It can be used to flush out poison or pollutants from the eyes, and if you use it at night, it allows you to see clearly—even underwater. And this one—”
After explaining the five medicine bottles and handing them over, Robern made a grimace.
“Shouldn’t a B-rank just focus on being an herbalist?”
“Wouldn’t it be a loss for humanity if someone with this level of skill only became an herbalist?”
“No, that’s not what I mean…”
Robern said seriously.
“If you’d only focused on swordsmanship, you’d have reached S-rank by now, wouldn’t you?”
“Hmm—”
Doah imagined spending a hundred years alone with Josephine.
‘Horrifying.’
“I prefer things the way they are now,”
Hearing this, Robern tilted his head slightly and gave a wry smile.
“Well, it’s better for me too since I get tributes from it.”
“I told you, it’s called a gift. Now, repeat after me: gift,”
Ignoring Doah’s words, Robern pointed to a different set of bottles.
“Then, are these for the Cursed Sword?”
“Yeah.”
“Why does he get one more than me?”
“It’s for purification.”
With that explanation, Doah packed the bottles into a compartmentalized pouch, dividing them up evenly.
For her own share, she planned to use a large medicine box.
Using raw herbs as they were wasn’t the Rakshasha way.
Rakshasha always processed the herbs to maximize their potency.
So, the medicine box was filled only with processed ingredients.
The bottommost compartment held the precious herbalist set.
According to Rakshasha, who often elegantly puffed out clouds of coffee-scented smoke, this herbalist set was something she had designed herself.
After filling the medicine box to the brim, Doah even attached a small sign that read Rakshasha Pharma.
Even with such a busy schedule, Doah still ventured out to attack nearby dungeons whenever they appeared.
She wanted to experience dungeons of different ranks.
The most frequently occurring dungeons, G-rank and F-rank, could be cleared within 30 minutes to an hour.
E-rank dungeons also appeared quite often, but they started to take a bit more time.
D-rank dungeons, however, typically took at least a full day to clear.
‘The difference in just one rank is pretty intense.’
C-rank was much more unpredictable than expected, allowing for a wider range of experiences.
‘C-rank adventurers must also have wildly varying skill levels.’
Doah’s achievements were reported daily in the Gran newspaper.
A headband with the same design as Doah’s quickly appeared on the market, and soon, children with ribbon headbands or novice adventurers wearing them could be seen.
Doah also stopped by the Information Guild to ask if there were any new leads on relics.
Of course, she didn’t forget to ask about ‘Daisy.’
‘I hope Berry’s little sister is found soon.’
One by one, tasks were being wrapped up.
While walking through Gran’s sunset-lit streets, Doah came across a street stall selling headbands.
Since Doah’s headband was red, most of the ones on sale were also red, although other colors were available too.
‘Somehow, it feels embarrassing and awkward. Not that it feels bad, though.’
As she looked at the colorful ribbon headbands, Doah touched her own.
Her headband was the only one of its kind in the world—woven from Rakshasha’s fur, dyed by Josephine, and imbued with magic by Elibas.
“E-excuse me!”
When someone suddenly called out, Doah turned around to see two girls who appeared to be in their early teens, looking at her with flushed faces.
Both of them wore ribbon headbands that made them look like twins.
“C-could we get your autograph?”
“Right here!!”
They quickly held out something resembling a board.
Doah widened her eyes in surprise, then smiled as she picked up a pen and asked,
“What are your names?”
Playing the role of a celebrity quite convincingly, she signed for them.
After sending the two on their way, Doah let out a small sigh.
‘Looks like it’s time to leave Gran.’
It was time to move on.
She had gathered as much information as she could.
She had bought everything she needed.
She could now start working from anywhere, not just in Gran.
So, there was no reason to stay in Gran any longer.
It was a lively, bustling city where even the sound of footsteps on the cobblestone streets felt cheerful.
She might feel like returning once she left, but for now, she wanted to leave.
‘I still don’t know if all countries are like this one or if Gran is just special.’
The grand main quest was, of course, important.
‘But I’m allowed to have fun, right?’
Doah had no intention of giving up her enjoyment in the middle of it all.
Even if it was just a tiny sugar crumb, she would savor every bit of sweetness.
With that resolve, she returned to her home, only to be greeted by a strange smell.
‘Is that… something burning?’
Puzzled, Doah raised her voice.
“Berry? Sea King?”
“Miss Doah!”
“Bark!”
The two of them came running down from upstairs, filled with excitement.
Berry was dressed in brand-new, brightly colored clothes.
A catfolk in brand-new, colorful clothes was so unbearably cute it could make someone faint.
“Did you have a good trip?”
“Yeah, but what’s this smell?”
“It’s Khunak…”
“Khunak?”
“Today, I tried to cook… and failed.”
Khunak sheepishly emerged from the parlor, explaining himself.
Doah stared blankly at him, wondering if it was okay to laugh or if she shouldn’t, biting her lip in hesitation.
“What dish did you fail to make?”
“Just… a bit of this and that… Since Miss Doah always cooks for us.”
“Ah, I see. Thank you for trying. So, you’re telling me the kitchen is a mess right now?”
“It should be usable again by tomorrow.”
Doah wondered, What on earth did he do to render the kitchen unusable for the whole day?
But seeing Khunak’s resolute expression, she figured there was no need to check the kitchen herself.
Still, just in case, she asked in a roundabout way.
“Hmm, what if I make something simple?”
“Let’s eat out today.”
Khunak shook his head.
“Alright.”
When Doah obediently nodded in agreement, his tense expression eased, and he spoke.
“I followed the recipe exactly, but I have no idea where it went wrong.”
“Sometimes, the recipe itself can be at fault.”
Doah chuckled softly.
She then took Berry’s hand and said,
“Then Berry and I will go out and buy something to eat. If we eat at a restaurant, I feel like people will stare too much, and I might lose my appetite.”
“No, I’ll go instead.”
“It’s fine.”
Doah answered confidently and whistled for Sea King.
Without a saddle or reins, she rode the calm Sea King and carried Berry with her as they headed to a nearby restaurant.
It wasn’t quite peak dining time yet, so there weren’t many people there.
Berry guided them to a place he had heard about from the guild master, and it looked quite luxurious from the outside.
Doah praised Berry several times, complimenting how much his pronunciation had improved.
Berry gave a shy, giggling smile.
It was an elegant-looking building.
The entire front was adorned with glass windows.
Buildings with so much glass were rare, even in Gran.
This was because all the glass used here was made from items obtained in dungeons.
There was a bit of a commotion during the packing process.
They even went inside, signed an autograph, and shook a few hands.
The restaurant’s interior was as refined as its exterior.
Holding the packaged food, Doah thanked them.
“Thank you.”
“No, it is our honor that Miss Doah came to our restaurant.”
The branch manager smiled broadly and greeted her warmly.
BOOM!!
Suddenly, there was an enormous explosion.
The glass windows shook violently, almost as if they were screaming.
Fortunately, since the glass here wasn’t the type made by melting sand, it didn’t shatter.
BOOM! BOOM!
The sounds kept coming, one after another.
Startled, Doah rushed to the window and peered outside.
The angle made it hard to see clearly.
At that moment, she heard shouting.
“The cursed sword wielder has gone berserk!!”
“It’s the cursed sword!”
Goosebumps spread all over her body.
She dashed outside in an instant.
“Miss Doah!”
“Berry!”
Doah found Berry and Sea King. Berry shouted,
“Up, up there!”
“The sky?”
Reflexively, Doah looked up at the sky.
A black figure came crashing down again—
BOOM!
Another explosion erupted.
A hexagonal honeycomb-shaped barrier briefly shimmered in a blue hue before vanishing.
‘Unbelievable…’
Doah couldn’t help but mutter to herself, ‘Hajin, you’re incredible…’
The S-rank core floating above the obelisk in the plaza was surely supporting all of this.
‘Who is that?’
Hearing the term ‘cursed sword,’ she had rushed out, but the distant figure wasn’t Khunak.
‘Besides, Khunak isn’t that small.’
Doah squinted her eyes.
The person was riding a pegasus—a winged horse—and was dropping black, shadowy bombs from their sword onto the barrier.
Even from a distance, she could see that the person had black hair.
‘Another cursed sword?’
Doah clicked her tongue in frustration.
The townspeople, seeing that the barrier was functioning properly, didn’t flee but instead gathered, murmuring among themselves.
“What’s going on? Is that really a cursed sword wielder?”
“Is the black dragon Khunak on a rampage?”
“But the black dragon doesn’t ride mounts like that, does he?”
“It’s finally happening! I knew something was off when the guild master kept covering for his younger sibling. Tell the guild master to handle it!”
“Fortunately, there’s an S-rank adventurer in Gran right now, and who else is here? That super rookie is, too!”
“Will the two of them be enough?”
Doah took a deep breath to steady herself.
“Sea King, can you take Berry to Yan? The adventurer’s guild should be relatively safe.”
“What about you, Miss Doah?!”
“I have to stay here and watch how things develop. Now go, quickly!”
At her shout, Sea King let out a disgruntled growl but then darted off.
Bang!
A softer sound followed.
Doah looked up again.
The person holding the cursed sword was now standing on top of the barrier, having leapt off the mount.
“Haha, this is amazing! How does it work? Doesn’t it block humans?”
The cheerful voice belonged to a woman.
“Or is it that a cursed sword isn’t considered human? But then, how come the black dragon can enter? What is it? What is it, huh~?”
Tap, tap
She tapped the barrier here and there with the sheathed sword as she strolled about nonchalantly.
Her carefree attitude left Doah utterly dumbfounded.
‘Ah, I should focus on finding Khunak first. The security forces can handle the rest.’
The woman continued her monologue.
“Aren’t they going to let me in? Well, it’s fine. I’m already this close, after all.”
She spoke softly, her tone playful, as if chatting with herself.
[Resonate, Ksatul.]
Ding-ding!
🍓🍓🍓
Emergency Quest Activated!
Stop the Resonance!
The cursed sword Ksatul has activated ‘Resonance.’
Escape the resonance range before it locates another cursed sword.
Time until the cursed sword wielder goes berserk: 80 seconds.
Reward
▸ 500 World Tree Points
▸ Fairy Seed
🍓🍓🍓
With a sharp ticking sound like a clock hand moving, red numbers appeared in front of Doah’s eyes.
80
79
The numbers started counting down, decreasing one by one.
Doah started running.
She had never been so happy to see the golden guide line.
She sprinted straight ahead, leaping over rooftops and vaulting over fences.
35
34
33
The numbers continued to count down.
Suddenly, the golden guide line plunged underground.
Without a moment to think, Doah grabbed the metal grating of a nearby sewer with her bare hands, tore it off, and jumped inside.
Splash!
Water splattered everywhere.
26
25
“Khunak! Khunak! Where are you?! Answer me!”
She shouted as loudly as she could.
Following the guide line deeper into the sewer, Doah suddenly thought it had disappeared.
But she realized it hadn’t.
A dense, round darkness had filled the sewer.
The guide line had been swallowed up by that darkness.
The surface of the darkness bulged and swelled, as if it was on the verge of bursting.
There was no doubt that Khunak was inside.
Doah took a deep breath.
‘I’m so grateful for Azure Nazac. Mom, thank you.’
Her green eyes were, after all, something she had inherited from her mother.
Doah gave a small word of thanks and reached her hand into the darkness.
‘Ugh, this feels so strange. It’s like going into jelly. It’s heavy, so heavy.’
20
19
The moment she took her final step and fully entered the darkness, someone spoke.
[The girl abandoned by her mother.]
“?!”
Doah flinched in shock.
The voice sounded like it was whispered right into her ear.
Pitch black. Nothing was visible in any direction.
From the outside, it hadn’t seemed that big, but inside, it was disorienting.
A quick glance showed that the countdown had stopped.
She didn’t know why, but she was relieved.
Doah cautiously started walking, feeling her way through the darkness.
[An orphan, aren’t you?]
[You don’t even know who your father is.]
[No wonder your mother abandoned you, looking at how you turned out.]
Hehehe
A burst of laughter echoed.
‘Ah, it’s a mental attack from the cursed sword.’
Doah swallowed a sigh.
If she had to keep hearing voices like this, she’d definitely hate it.
It was like being stuck in an endless state of sleep paralysis while fully conscious.
There was no way to block it out, so Doah pressed on, gritting her teeth.
[Your foster father died because of you.]
[Pathetically so.]
“?”
Doah tilted her head in confusion.
That hallucination had nothing to do with her.
‘Does that mean Khunak is nearby?’
[Everyone who loves you will die like that. You know it, don’t you? You know everything.]
[Just die. Die already. Dying is the best choice.]
[It’s hilarious, watching you desperately try to win love by risking your life fighting dragons.]
‘Ugh, I seriously hate this.’
Doah clenched her abdominal muscles, bracing herself.
“Khunak Shendel! Where are you?!”
She shouted at the top of her lungs.
Grab
At that moment, someone seized her wrist.
