Chapter 28: Smoldering fire after the storm
Translator: Tseirp
The storm approached as the day turned to evening .
Strong winds blew outside as the horizontal rain kept a steady tempo like waves in the sea, leaving transient traces in the puddles .
“There’s no way there would be customers now so let’s close the shop . ”
I closed the shop door and locked it from the inside .
Even though the door was only opened for a brief moment, the floor was already wet .
“Here . ”
“Oh, thanks . ”
I accepted the dust cloth from Lit and wiped the floor .
During that time, Lit checked the account book for the measly amount of medicine sold today .
Both of us ended our tasks in no time .
“We’ll take tomorrow off . I doubt anybody would come by . ”
“It’s a storm, after all, I don’t believe anybody would be walking about outside at a time like this . ”
“Yeah . ”
The winds intensified and the house creaked under the wind .
But a house built by the premier carpenter downtown, Gonz, would not yield even in a storm .
We leisurely welcomed the coming storm .
『Don don!』 Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door .
“Why on a day like this?”
“Red-kun! It’s me! Newman!”
“Doctor Newman!?”
I opened the door and there stood Newman in a cloak . And also,
“Al!?”
Newman was carrying on his back a limp Al with blood flowing from his head . Al was soaking wet and he wasn’t even wearing shoes . His feet were dirty with mud and were pale due to the cold .
“Lit! Blanket and towels!”
“All right!”
Lit had already taken action when I called out to her .
Such a reliable worker .
We laid Al on a blanket placed on the store floor .
Lit had already prepared heated water using Spirit Magic .
I wrapped Al’s cold body due to the rain and loss of blood with a blanket to warm him up .
During that time, Newman got an antidote and hemostatic medicine from the medicine shelf and administered first aid .
“It’s deeper than expected … ”
Muttered Newman .
The gash on the side of Al’s head was bleeding profusely .
“That’s bad . ”
I looked from the side and found that the wound was extremely deep .
Regular treatment would not make it in time .
“Please wait a moment . ”
I ran to the storage and decisively grabbed five Cure Potions .
They were magic potions with the Cure spell contained within them . Even if it was a wound that could not be treated in time with regular means, it could be cured by using magic .
(They might be luxury items for ordinary people but these are copies after all . )
They were Cure Potions duplicated using the Multiplying Potion . They weren’t something I bought so I used it freely .
After investing five Cure Potions one after the other, Al’s condition stabilized .
“We made it, that’s great . ”
I felt relieved .
Even if I possessed the Cure Potions, it would not be able to revive a dead person .
“That was shocking, I didn’t think you would actually use Cure Potions … However, this is hard to say but I don’t think Al-kun’s family can afford to pay the expenses for five Cure Potions …”
“I know . But, this child is a friend . ”
“Friend huh . ”
“So, please keep the fact that I used Cure Potions here a secret . Inform others that we treated him normally . ”
“Understood . Red-kun, you’re a good guy . ”
Newman said that with a smile .
“Leaving that aside, what happened?”
“I don’t know . I was just returning from a call from an idiot who fell down when he was fixing a leak in his roof in this weather when I found this child on the ground . It was obvious that he was injured but Red-kun’s Apothecary was nearer than my clinic so I came barging over even though I felt bad . Sorry for bothering you . ”
“No, I should be thanking you for helping my friend . If Doctor didn’t pass by, Al probably would have died . ”
Al’s body temperature had returned to normal and he had a restful expression .
“There were countless small fragments of rocks stuck inside his wound . I believe he was probably hit in the head by a rock or something similar that was blown by the wind . ”
“I see, but why was he out walking today out of all days and was even headed downtown . Furthermore, he doesn’t have a rain-repellant outer cloak on and is in just his house wear . He isn’t even wearing shoes . ”
“I have no idea . ”
” … There’s no other choice other than to wake him . ”
It wasn’t recommended to wake Al given that he had lost so much stamina but I had a feeling that something serious had happened .
I lightly shook Al’s shoulder and called his name .
“Hn …”
After rocking him back and forth a few times, Al slowly woke up .
“Are you all right?”
“Red-san …”
Al’s eyes swam with relief but the next moment .
“Ah, ahhhhh!”
“What’s wrong!?”
Al’s eyes were wide open with fear and he screamed while gripping my arm .
“It’s okay, I am here . Calm down . ”
“He-help!”
“It’s all right now, this is my shop . Nobody will harm you here . ”
“No!”
Al shouted .
“Home, Ademi came, mom and dad, attacked, holding an axe!”
That memory caused the recently recovered Al to have difficulty breathing due to the fear . Newman quickly tried to calm him .
Ademi, that kid they fought with previously?
And an axe?
I have to hurry .
“Here . ”
I heard Lit’s voice from behind when I stood up .
Turning back, I saw an outer cloak and a bag with two Extra Cure Potions already prepared for me .
“The outer cloak is mine . It is a Shield Cloak with environmental tolerance . ”
“Thank you . ”
I quickly wore the cloak, wore my shoes and ran to Al’s home in the storm .
I’ll start with the conclusion .
Al’s parents were fine . But they were injured .
By the time I reached Al’s home at South March, the entrance to his house was wide open and the rain was being blown into the house .
I passed through the puddles formed at the entrance . The house had a simple structure with just a kitchen and bedroom so I could survey the entire house with a glance .
Al’s parents had collapsed in the bedroom . They were bleeding but the wounds were not slash wounds but more like blunt force trauma .
It seemed like Ademi used the blunt end of the axe instead of the axe blade .
Both of them were bleeding profusely but the wounds were not deep . To the extent that the Extra Cure Potions Lit prepared were not required .
They would be fine once their wounds were washed, their bleeding staunched, given analgesic to ingest and had the broken bones fixed in place .
Newman also arrived a step behind and confirmed that there was no immediate threat to their lives .
We avoided the worst outcome .
However, this incident still had a major root of evil missing .
Let’s move time forward a little .
Ademi was actually the son of the Guard Captain living in the Congress Street .
After the incident, Ademi went missing . However, beginning from the Half-elves, the Half-humans in South Marsh protested that Ademi was being sheltered by the guards .
But, the guards did not give a response .
There was no telling when the smoldering embers would ignite .
Even though the storm had passed through Zoltan, anxiety could be seen on the resident’s faces .