SPLASH—
A sudden downpour descended upon Green Shade Territory.
Rain hammered on the roof of the Blackberry Tavern, but the downpour was shut out by its closed doors.
Anna had closed the tavern doors and was waiting for the guards to arrive.
Seeing the growing anxiety in the crowd, Lian openly admitted his identity.
"Yes, I am your Lord."
"Lord, what do we do? Are we going to die?"
The young women asked nervously.
Lian reassured them, "No, you will all receive healing from the church. Don't worry."
Hearing Lian's words, the patrons and the women felt a strange sense of calm, their panic subsiding.
"Lord, please follow me."
The stout bartender lowered his head, his brow furrowed, and led the way into the back of the tavern.
Lian, Annie, and Riel followed.
At some point, Riel had grabbed a wine bottle.
"Riel, what are you doing?"
Lian asked.
"I have to protect you. Please don't worry, I'll do my best."
Riel said with a serious expression.
Lian tapped her on the forehead. "Knights wield swords. Brawlers wield wine bottles. Please respect your profession."
"Ah? But I don't have a sword."
"Now you do."
Lian unfastened his own sword and handed it to Riel.
Riel clutched the sword, her face full of emotion, and struggled to follow behind.
Having lacked physical training all her life, wielding a real sword was a struggle for her. It felt like carrying a twenty-pound sack of rice, and she quickly fell behind.
On the way there, Lian had already gotten the details from Riel.
Riel had been frequently traveling to the outer city recently because of her sister, Bella. Bella had fallen in love with a commoner.
Bella loved music. She met Ansel, a commoner musician, at a charity music performance. The two fell in love at first sight and were swept into a romance. However, Bella knew her father would never allow her to love a commoner, so they could only express their longing through letters.
But recently, Bella hadn't received any letters from Ansel, so she had to ask her brave little sister, Riel, for help in finding him.
Because Riel was young and utterly lacked artistic talent, she was largely ignored by her family. Her parents wouldn't stop her even if she wanted to go out.
Riel, moved by the love between her sister and Ansel, agreed to Bella's request. Following the return address on the letters, she found the Blackberry Tavern and, with it, Ansel.
She conveyed Bella's feelings to Ansel. After learning of Bella's affection for him, Ansel asked Riel to be their messenger.
Through these frequent trips back and forth, Riel came into close contact with Ansel, which is how she contracted the Red Itch.
Therefore, to find the source of the Red Itch, they had to find Ansel, the one who had infected Riel.
The big, burly bartender shoved open the door to the backyard cabin and bellowed,
"Ansel! I took you in as a friend, but you deceived me!"
Ansel lay on the bed, wrapped in a black cloak that hid most of his face. A linen blanket was pulled over him, yet he was still trembling as if he were freezing.
"Sorry... I don't have the strength to apologize properly. Can you close the door? I'm afraid of the light."
Ansel said weakly.
He didn't seem to notice that the bartender had brought Lian and the others in.
His hearing was also failing.
"Photophobia, sensitivity to cold, and problems with sight and hearing... these are all late-stage symptoms of the Red Itch."
Annie whispered in Lian's ear.
Lian nodded slightly, seeing the red entry [Severely Infected] swaying above Ansel's head.
'Looks like Ansel isn't the true source of infection either.'
'But the only way forward is to investigate the people he's been in contact with.'
Lian sat down next to Ansel. "Ansel, you are under arrest. The charge is spreading the Plague and endangering the safety of Green Shade Territory."
"Ansel, the one speaking to you now is the Lord,"
the bartender said.
Because their voices were loud enough, and they were close enough to Ansel, he heard them clearly.
He pulled the linen blanket tighter around himself and said, trembling,
"I'm sorry, my Lord. I didn't want to be Infected with the Plague. I never meant to spread it to anyone. I just want to live."
"A murderer might also say he didn't want to kill anyone. That's meaningless."
"I'm truly sorry. I really didn't want this to happen. My Lord, please don't get any closer. It's easy to get infected."
"If you can tell me who infected you, I might consider saving you."
Lian looked at the [Business Acumen] and [Unrecognized Talent] entries above Ansel's head and felt a pang of pity.
'Green Shade Territory needs people like him for its development.'
Ansel said hesitantly, "Save me? I'm beyond saving."
"Ansel, the Lord can save you! He's a miraculous healer. He's the one who cured me,"
Riel said earnestly.
Ansel froze, then poked his head out from under the linen blanket, revealing half of his face. That half was a bloody, mangled mess, without a single inch of intact skin. It was a terrifying sight.
'Even if he fully recovers,' Lian thought, 'his face will probably be scarred.'
'I wonder if Miss Bella will still want him then.'
"Can you really cure me?"
"I'll give you one minute. If you can't think of who infected you, or if you try to deceive me, I'll have you taken outside the city and buried alive."
Lian took out his pocket watch and started timing.
Ansel racked his brain, analyzing his memories, trying to figure out who had infected him.
"5, 4, 3, 2…"
Lian began the countdown.
"I remember!"
Just at the last second, Ansel exclaimed, "Giovanni Keegan!"
Lian put away his pocket watch. "Explain."
"Giovanni Keegan, he's the one who infected me. A month ago, we had a gathering here. He had just fled from Blue Moon Territory. He said the Guardian Witch of Blue Moon Territory might be losing control, and that many people had escaped from there,"
Ansel said.
Lian looked at Annie. "Who is the Guardian Witch of Blue Moon Territory?"
"The Disease Witch, Dora."
Annie said, "When she loses control, she unconsciously spreads diseases."
"So, what Ansel is saying is most likely true."
"Yes, Lord Lian."
"Ansel, how many people were at your gathering in total?"
"Thirty-three people. We were all in a circus together once. Old friends."
Ansel hesitated for a moment, then continued, "And we called for ten girls… and three young boys."
Lian broke into a sweat. 'You guys really know how to party.'
"Write down a list of all their names."
Annie handed Ansel a piece of paper.
Ansel shook his head. "I can't write anymore. But I remember their names."
Annie wrote down all the names as Ansel recited them.
"All of you, go outside. I'm going to treat Ansel."
"Okay."
Annie led Riel and the bartender out of the room, closing the door behind them.
This time, Lian's eyes and hands were quick. He snatched the red entry, giving it no chance to escape.
After crushing Ansel's [Severely Infected] entry, his condition instantly improved. He was no longer afraid of the light, nor did he feel so cold.
[Entry Points +200]
'The Points from a severe infection really are higher.'
This time, Lian didn't feel Ansel's pain, just like when he had treated Riel. Perhaps it was because his own Physique had been enhanced, or maybe it was because the Entry Points were too low.
'Maybe I only start to feel their pain when the Points exceed 500.'
As Lian speculated this, he took out a sharp knife and pricked Ansel's finger.
"What are you doing?"
"Bloodletting treatment."