Chapter 4: A Mysterious Ailment and a Father’s Pride

Harold led me to the back of the caravan. There, a man about my age lay on a cart, his face slick with sweat, gritting his teeth in obvious agony.

Beside him, the caravan’s physician was tending to his wound. However, the physician appeared anxious, seemingly at a loss for how to proceed.

“Ah, Mr. Ken.”

“Hello, everyone. Without further ado, let me take a look.”

I sat on the cart and examined the injured man’s calf. The gash had stopped bleeding, but it had already turned black, appearing far from a fresh wound.

“How long have you been injured?”

“Just a moment ago,” the injured man replied, enduring the pain. “We were attacked by bandits on our way here. Although we managed to escape, I… I accidentally got grazed by an arrow… I apologize…”

“It was just an accident; it’s not your fault. Just lie still now that you’re injured; don’t move around.”

“Yes, Leader.”

“Mr. Ken, have you ever seen an injury like this?”

“Hmm…”

I observed the wound closely, scratching my cheek, but still couldn’t discern its nature. It was clearly a fresh injury, yet it had blackened so quickly. Could it be poison?

If it were poison, using the wrong medicine would be disastrous, which might explain the physician’s helplessness, especially if they couldn’t identify the specific toxin. Still, I wasn’t certain I could cure it either.

In any case, I decided to try. Fortunately, I had some relevant remedies.

“Please wait a moment.”

I went over to Abner’s side and retrieved three different vials from my medicine pouch. I then returned to the injured man.

“This might be very painful. Please bear with it.”

“Alright…”

I opened one vial, pouring the medicine onto a small spoon I carried. I had the injured man raise his calf, then dripped the medicine along the uppermost edge of the wound.

“Ugh!”

The stimulation seemed intense, as the injured man’s entire body trembled. Yet, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to endure.

“Bear with it; there are no side effects.”

I lightly patted his knee, observing the wound for any changes… but there was no reaction whatsoever.

Next, I wiped the spoon clean, opened the second vial, poured out a small amount, and again dripped it along the wound.

This time, the injured man felt no pain. He let out a sigh of relief, his tensed body relaxing. On the wound itself, the black discoloration began to flake away, and blood started to flow anew. The medicine had worked.

“Is this… cured?”

“You could say so. At the very least, the wound won’t worsen. Just clean away the black parts and bandage it up.”

“Yes! Thank you so much! Your medical skills are truly remarkable!”

“It’s not really medical skill; you flatter me. It was merely… a small favor.”

I vacated the spot, allowing the physician to bandage the wound. Harold, standing nearby, stared with wide eyes and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

“Hahaha! I told you you could handle it!”

“Just a coincidence.”

“Don’t be so modest! You just cured an injury our physician couldn’t even understand!”

“I was just guessing, honestly.”

This was no lie. After all, I truly couldn’t identify the injury. With the wound blackened like that, who could possibly know what had specifically happened?

“Then how did you know to use those medicines?”

“I just tried them on a whim. These three vials are all new medicines I’ve recently developed. Ah, don’t misunderstand; I wasn’t planning to experiment on the injured. These medicines have no side effects, otherwise, I wouldn’t dare use them. Rest assured.”

“So, now do you know what kind of injury it is?”

“Indeed. In all my years of practicing medicine, I’ve never seen such an injury. The arrow must have been poisoned, right?”

The physician also appeared extremely anxious. I recalled that he had once studied under the current royal physician. For him not to know such an injury… it could only be said that we were incredibly lucky this time.

“It wasn’t snake venom or insect poison, nor was it an artificial toxin.” I picked up the first vial I had used. “This one is for removing toxins.

Applied externally, it stimulates the wound to directly expel the poison. If it has already seeped into the body, drinking it directly works as well.”

“Oh~ that sounds very potent, but which poisons can this medicine neutralize?”

“It works on common snake and insect venoms. This medicine doesn’t act directly on the poison, but rather prompts the body to excrete toxins itself, preventing poisoning. So, after drinking it, one might feel weak all over, but a good night’s sleep will fix it.”

“This kind of medicine…” The physician seemed utterly astonished, staring at me with wide eyes, forgetting to even bandage the injured man. “Having traveled through the Fahl Kingdom for so long, this is the first I’ve ever heard of it.”

“It’s newly developed by me, after all. Don’t worry, it’s genuine, just use it with peace of mind. And then there’s the second vial.”

I picked up the second vial I had used, holding it up to my eyes.

“This vial was the one that worked. It’s a parasiticides.”

“Like moss or fungi?”

“Precisely. These medicines instantly kill the infecting parasites without harming the person. So, those black patches were likely that type of thing. And this third vial is for killing parasitic worms. Ah, also, these medicines can accelerate wound healing, so he should recover soon.”

“Truly… thank you so much!” The injured man rose to thank me.

“Don’t mention it.”

“But the wound was only just infected, how could it have…”

“Perhaps some kind of agent was used to accelerate the parasites’ growth, I suppose. If that’s the case, those bandits are unusually dangerous.”

If an agent caused these parasites to grow rapidly, it would easily mislead a common physician into thinking it was poison, leading to incorrect treatment or delayed medical attention, with unimaginable consequences.

It was fortunate this time that I guessed correctly; if these three medicines hadn’t worked, I would truly have been at a loss.

In this era, not everyone could use magic, and learning healing magic was an arduous task. Most medical care relied on a physician’s diagnosis and the administration of medicines.

It was impossible to depend on the rare magic healers, who were not to be found for hundreds of miles.

“Hmph…”

Upon hearing this news, Harold’s cheerful smile vanished. He folded his arms, pursed his lips, and his mouth turned downwards, clearly pondering a countermeasure.

“This really is… sigh. It’s possible those bandits are still watching us. If we leave rashly…”

“So, you plan to eliminate them directly?” I handed the medicines to Harold.

“No, it’s too dangerous. We don’t know their strength; I can’t let everyone take that risk.”

“That’s true.”

“Papa!” Just then, Nina arrived from the front of the caravan, looking delighted, holding a small box. “Papa! Look!”

She opened the small box, displaying the ornaments inside before me. They were a pair of silver hair clips, each inlaid with a meticulously carved miniature rose. The craftsmanship looked quite good.

“Ah, these!” Harold explained from beside us.

“We met a couple in the last town who said these hair clips were handmade amulets. They didn’t want them anymore and were going to throw them away if they didn’t sell. I thought it was a shame, figuring another girl might like them, and their asking price was very low, so I traded for them.”

“I see. They do look quite pretty. Do you like them, Nina?”

“Mm! Can I have them?”

“Yes, of course you can. Then…”

“Twenty silver coins,” Harold immediately named his price.

“I think *you’re* the bandit.”

“Then ten.”

“How about as medical fees?”

“They’re calculated separately. I’ll give you something good for that.”

“You scoundrel… Fine.”

I took out my money pouch and handed Harold ten silver coins. Ten silver coins wasn’t expensive, but I felt the hair clips probably weren’t worth that much. However, judging by the craftsmanship, they must have been made with great care.

“Thank you, Papa!”

“Mm.”

Well, as long as Nina was happy. I took the hair clips from the box, brushed aside a lock of Nina’s hair, and helped her put one on. Since it was an amulet, I hoped it would bring Nina some good luck.

“Hehe~ I love Papa the most!”

Nina suddenly hugged me, openly doting on me in front of so many people. I instinctively stroked her head. I felt a strange, inexplicable sense of… pride.

“That’s wonderful; your daughter loves you so much. My son barely speaks more than a few words to me.”

“It’s rare for boys these days to be so quiet; be content with that. By the way, you’re not leaving until tomorrow, right?”

“Ah, yes, we’re spending the night in the village.”

“Then I’ll give you two more vials tonight, as compensation for what we used earlier.”

“No need! Those medicines are expensive, aren’t they? I don’t have extra supplies to trade with you.”

“They are expensive, but just consider them spares. Next time, bring me more materials. Come on, take me to get the goods.”

“Alright!”

“Nina, wait for me here for a moment.”

“Do you need help?”

“Not yet… Hmm… Let me see how much there is first. If I need help, I’ll come find you.”

“Mm!”

Leaving Nina with the physician, Harold led me towards the front of the caravan. Along the way…

“Tell me, old man,” I suddenly said to Harold beside me. “What are you planning?”

“Haha! You really are sharp! You saw right through me!”

“You had such a hesitant expression; I almost couldn’t bring myself to call you out.”

“You understand perfectly!”

Harold changed direction, leading me to an empty space nearby. He tried to maintain a composed expression as he lowered his voice and said to me, “Regarding the bandits, could you lend a hand?”