My father taught me about the current state and history of the royal family and the Church of the One God, as well as the history of Louisa.
There was one more thing I had to ask.
“Umm, father. What’s the first great disaster?”
I already knew, but I asked on purpose.
The foolishness refers to the act of killing spirits to extract spirit stones.
I wanted to understand how it was passed down in modern times, and if the technique had been preserved.
“It’s still a mystery,” he said.
If it’s considered a mystery, the technique may have been lost.
However, since father is not an insider of the Church of the One God, I couldn’t be completely at ease.
“…Do you think the church would repeat that foolish act?”
“There’s a possibility, but probably not,” he answered reassuringly.
Father gently patted my head.
“Is that so?”
“Yes, despite how I may look, I have connections within the Church.”
“I see.”
“If I notice they’re trying to repeat such a foolish act, I’ll stop them.”
“That’s reassuring!”
Then for now, I can feel at ease.
I’ll ask Kuro later if the Church of the One God is doing anything bad.
“Luria, is there anything else you want to know? Anything at all.”
“I do!”
“What is it?”
“Is Marion doing well?”
“….”
Father fell silent. I had a bad feeling.
“What’s wrong, father?”
“Well…”
“Has something bad happened to Marion?”
After a brief pause, father spoke in a calm tone.
“Marion is sick.”
“Sick? Is it serious?”
While I was being held on my father’s lap, I turned to look at his face.
Father smiled warmly, as if trying not to make me worry.
“…It’s not trivial. But you don’t need to worry, Luria.”
Looking at father’s expression, I couldn’t feel reassured.
Father was hiding the truth to keep me from worrying.
“What happened? I should go visit her—”
“No!”
Father’s tone was unexpectedly firm.
“Why? Isn’t it okay?”
“Do you know what an epidemic is?”
“…Is it contagious?”
“Yes, that’s why you can’t visit.”
“What are the symptoms? What do they look like?”
“I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know exactly. But it seems like it causes a high fever.”
“A fever… that sounds painful.”
“Yes, it must be tough.”
“Mm…”
I stared intently into father’s eyes.
“What about a doctor?”
“Of course, I’ve arranged for one. But it seems even the doctor is struggling.”
“Will she get better?”
“…Yes, she will.”
Father said it strongly, but despite the words, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes.
“Hmm…”
“You can’t visit, but you should write her a letter.”
“Got it. I’ll write a letter.”
I was really worried.
That day, father held my hand until I fell asleep.
◇
The next morning.
When I woke up, I grabbed Carro, who was standing at the head of the bed as usual.
“Kyuu kyuu.”
“Good morning. Thanks as always.”
“Kyuu~.”
“But Carro, you should sleep too.”
I hugged Carro and tucked her into the blanket.
While doing so, I searched for Daru with my feet.
Recently, Daru had often been lying at the foot of the bed.
“Daru’s here.”
I petted Daru’s fluffy fur with my feet.
In the winter, Daru would stay next to me like a pillow, but with the arrival of spring, Daru had started moving a little.
Though it was spring, my feet could still get cold sometimes, so Daru was really helpful.
“What about Koruko…”
“…Ko.”
I could hear Koruko’s voice from outside the bed.
Koruko was an early riser.
Before I woke up, she would get up and patrol the room.
“Come here, Koruko.”
“Ko~.”
Koruko jumped onto the bed and burrowed into the blanket.
So warm.
“…It’s going to be hot in the summer, isn’t it?”
I wondered if it would be too hot to sleep with Daru, Carro, and Koruko in the summer if we didn’t use blankets.
While thinking this, Daru came to me from the foot of the bed.
“Woof!”
“Yeah. Good morning, Daru.”
Daru made a little whiny sound and snuggled up to me.
When Daru was younger, he used to do the same thing to our nurse, Marion.
“Daru, you’re worried about Marion, aren’t you?”
“Woof.”
As I petted Daru, I thought about our nurse.
Yesterday, father told me about the royal family and the Church of the One God.
But right now, I was more worried about Marion than anything else.
“Kyuu.”
Daru must also be worried.
Just like me, Daru had been taken care of by Marion since he was very small.
The room was now just me, Daru, Carro, and Koruko.
Still, just to be sure, I whispered in Daru’s ear from under the blanket.
“…Actually, Luria might be able to cure Marion.”
“Woof?”
“…Luria has memories from her past life.”
“Woof!?”
Daru barked in surprise, raising his voice a little.
“Shh…”
“…Auw.”
Daru quieted down.
He was shocked to hear that I had a past life. But Carro and Koruko were not surprised.
Even though it was dark in the blanket, I could tell by their presence.
“Carro and Koruko knew, right?”
“Kyuu,” “Ko.”
When I first met Kuro, I talked about Louisa. Daru must have heard that too.
“…Daru was probably sleeping at that time.”
“Wau?”
At that time, Daru had been awake, but maybe he was half-asleep.
Though Daru was bigger than Carro and Koruko, he was still just a baby.
It was okay.
“Well, putting that aside.”
“Wau.”
“In my past life… I healed many people from their illnesses.”
“Waau,” “Kyuu kyuu,” “Ko.”
Daru, Carro, and Koruko seemed impressed.
In my past life, I had been forced to use miracles due to the collar of enslavement.
Among those miracles was the cure for a widespread epidemic.
I was desperate, so I didn’t remember the exact number, but I healed hundreds of patients every day.
I did this for twenty days straight.
By the end, I was on the brink of death.
I had exhausted my magic and strength, and when I was treating patients, I contracted the disease from them.
“That was… really tough.”
Having a high fever and lumps all over my body, I was thrown into a shabby hut, not the animal barn, because I was a holy princess.
It was feared that if I spread the illness to valuable livestock, it would be disastrous.
“Woof.”
Daru, noticing I was remembering the past, licked me anxiously.
“I’ll be fine. The Luria from my past life healed herself.”
Healing myself was harder than healing others.
I had no strength or magic left, and I wasn’t given much food.
The holy princess must have wanted me to die.
“Kyuu.”
“Hm? You want to know how I did it?”
“Ko.”
Carro and Koruko seemed curious about how I healed myself.
“With the help of Roa… I searched for the cause of the illness… and little by little…”
“Woof.”
Daru licked me with affection.
He seemed to be praising me for my hard work.
“That’s why I’m good at finding the cause. Hehe. And even better at healing.”
Since I had almost no magic or strength, I couldn’t heal all of my body at once.
Instead, I found the source of the illness and targeted the most effective spot for the healing magic.
“Though they say magic is forbidden, I was able to heal even when my magic was depleted…”
Even with the little magic I had as a child, I should be able to heal Marion.
I don’t know the exact condition, but if I take my time, I’m sure I can manage.
After all, in my past life, I healed so many patients with various symptoms.
“Woof…”
Daru seemed worried that I wasn’t growing as tall as I should.
“Rather than my height, Marion’s situation is more worrying. Don’t you think so, Daru?”
“Wow.”
Daru seems to be worried about Marion, but also about me.
“I’ll be fine.”
I said, patting Daru’s head generously.
