LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 36 “Beginning with the first mission”
Chapter 36
“Beginning with the first mission”
“I’m dying!” Artemis growled at her in a low voice, as if it pained her to have to lower herself and admit something so delicate in front of a mere human.
“Hmm? What are you talking about? You look fine to me,” commented Kalysto after discovering that time in both worlds did not run at the same speed. Although neither woman was willing to tell her how big the difference was.
“I have the black plague,” she admitted through gritted teeth, and lifted her skirt above her knees, revealing her black-colored legs covered in hard scabs and whose toes almost looked like they were made of stone.
So that was why she wouldn’t get up from the chair! And I had begun to think it was a way of showing her superiority!
Kalysto approached, keeping about a meter away, thinking that perhaps it would be an optical effect similar to what had happened with the torches made of glass, but even at that distance, the tips of her feet seemed petrified. She immediately pulled up the collar of her T-shirt and covered her nose with it.
“Are you the only one in this condition, or is there anyone else whose symptoms are this extreme?” Immediately, her attitude changed.
“There are others who are sick, but I’m the one in the worst condition.”
“And let me guess, this can only be cured by a saintess, right?” So, this is why you need me, although it looks very different from what I had seen before.
“Don’t touch it!” Artemis was alarmed to see that Kalysto was getting too close to her, although the former waitress was only pointing to a spot on Artemis’ knee where her white skin was starting to turn black.
“If you’re saying that because you’re afraid of infecting me, then it would be easier if you just remove the blockade. Or do you expect me to get infected and die too?” She arched an eyebrow and saw the confusion on Artemis’ face. So that possibility had never occurred to them? Really? “I don’t think this is something I can cure with my current level of skill, let alone all at once. I’ll probably need a lot more time and potions to heal you. And maybe it’s a good idea to start with those whose symptoms aren’t as severe to level up my skill first.”
“You sound like my mother.”
“Wise woman then,” she stood up, “remove the sleeves of your dress and let me see your arms,” after Artemis did as she was asked, Kalysto could see that, although it hadn’t spread to her hands, there were already spots starting to appear there, along with a couple of scabs on her left elbow. “What other parts of your body are affected?”
“My legs are the worst part, I can’t even move them,” Kalysto then focused on one of the smaller black spots on Artemis’ forearm.
“Purify! Purify! Dispel! Dispel! Jhil! Jhil! Purify! Purify! Purify! Jhil! Dispel! Dispel! Dispel! Jhil! Purify! Jhil!” After a few minutes, the black spot covering part of the teacher’s skin began to get smaller and smaller. “As I thought...”" she muttered, and summoned her status window, seeing that she only had 15/254 MP left.
Curious about how it would feel to be low on mana, she summoned her ability once more.
“Purify!” But this time she used it on her own shirt, with which she was covering her nose to avoid breathing so close to someone infected. Immediately, a wave of dizziness swept over her and bile rose up into her throat as the usual two warning windows opened before her as the world became a blur.
[Warning: user has less than 10 MP remaining. Please wait a few minutes before attempting to use any skills again or your health will be severely affected.]
“Shit!” she growled as she fell to the ground, hitting her head.
“What the hell, what’s going on?” asked Artemis in panic, as Galatea rushed to Kalysto’s aid.
“I’m out of mana,” whispered Kalysto.
“ Impossible! If you had run out of mana, you would have died by now...! Or at least fainted,” commented Artemis in a know-it-all voice.
But until this morning I lived my whole life without mana. thought Kalysto.
“I have only 5 points left...” she whispered, checking her status window,“and I already feel like I’m going to vomit... or faint any moment...”
“Galatea lay her down on the couch, and bring one of the mana bottles. One gulp will be enough to get her back on her feet.”
And so they did. As soon as Kalysto felt better and her mana recovered, she purified herself, just as a precaution.
“So tell me, how does someone get sick with the plague? Is it contagious orally or by what means?”
Artemis thought a bit about her answer before speaking.
“If you breathe in the miasma or are injured by a monster that is infected, then you become contagious.”
“So you can get infected if there is an open wound?” Artemis frowned before answering the question.
“Usually it’s the monsters that cause the wound, so I wouldn’t know, since it always happens at the same time as far as I know... but the contagion happens in a much slower way when you breathe the miasma. And you need to be exposed for several minutes, after which it can take days before symptoms start to show on the skin.”
“Interesting…” commented Kalysto stroking her jaw, while thinking-, “it would be good to purify your room, just to be sure.”
“What?” Artemis asked with a frown.
“Your room? The place where you sleep? What do they call that here?”
“Yes, yes... I understand what you mean. What I don’t understand is why you mention it.” Kalysto found her question very strange.
“Because your sweat and your very clothes can contain small traces of your disease and you can unknowingly become a source of infection for others,” she commented, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Also, being exposed to the same environment that has already been contaminated can help to worsen your situation even faster.”
“I... I never thought about that... I didn’t know.”
“It’s normal. From what little I’ve seen of your world, it seems much less developed than mine when it comes to medicine.”And not only in medicine. Who would think of attacking a city at the point of a horse and swords? “Tell me, do only fairies live here?”
“Yes, it is. This is the kingdom of the fairies, although occasionally we have visitors from other races.”
“As a precaution, from now on, keep your distance from others. And constantly check your body for new wounds, and do not allow anyone to touch the water you bathe with. It must be discarded immediately.”
Artemis’ body immediately tensed up.
“You say that as if it were my intention to infect others,” Kalysto blanched her eyes at her dramatism.
“It may sound that way, but it is possible that your negligence has already infected others. I’m just asking you to take preventive measures.”
“What?” She became alarmed, and her face turned pale. “I have never...!“ But Kalysto interrupted her before she could continue her diatribe.
“Tell me something, all the others who are sick, did they catch it from the miasma or from the monsters? Or are there at least a couple of cases where some of them caught it after being in contact with you or something that is yours? Like washing your clothes or changing the water you bathed with, either yours or one of the other sick people whose disease has progressed quite a bit?”
“What... how would it be... but... then...?” Artemis was now even paler than she already was.
“Even a small wound on the hands of people who have been in contact with you, if coupled with another wound in any area of your body, could spread infection, and you didn’t even realize it.”
“Oh, by the gods... I...” guilt flashed across her face.
“I never said you knowingly exposed them to danger. You’re just not taking all the necessary care. Did it really never occur to you to notice the patterns followed by those who became infected? Investigating that sort of thing is important, not just settling for blaming the miasma and the monsters.”
“So...?” Artemis opened her eyes wide, fear reflected in them ”.... My daughter, too?” And at that instant, the fairy’s face was filled with terror. “Please! You have to check her! She has been close to me and today she was not feeling well!... Maybe...” -tears flooded her eyes. Artemis raised her hands and covered her mouth, unable to finish the sentence as loud sobs escaped her lips.
Kalysto’s heart softened at the scene.
“Of course I’m going to check her out. That’s what I’m here for,” she replied calmly. “The sooner we get started, the better.”
“Oh, but she’s asleep at this hour!”
“Then we’ll have to wake her up. Take me to her and show me to your room,” then Kalysto took two bottles of mana and another of revitalizing potion from the table and while the guard pushed the chair Artemis was in as if it were a wheelchair, Kalysto stopped near the white needle-pointed double door that led to a long corridor.
“I think I’d better bring at least one health potion as well,” she commented.
“Why? Those don’t work against the plague, even holy water doesn’t work against it,” Artemis questioned.
“Because my head hurts already,” Kalysto replied, knowing full well that a health potion wouldn’t take it away, but at least it would help lessen the pain while she found a time when she could take a sip of holy water while the other two women weren’t watching her.
“Oh!” Uncomfortable at the answer, and realizing for the first time that perhaps Kalysto was right in saying that the kind of training she had planned would be too hard on her human body, Artemis looked away as her guard led them to her room, where her daughter slept.
And her hands trembled at the thought of what she might discover once they got there.