The traveling party finally grew from two to three members.
There was no helping it; having accepted Bernardâs assistance, Lady Silver Dragon couldnât just turn her nose up and fly away with Garrett, let alone grab Garrett with one claw and a barbarian with the otherâ
That would be impossible!
I am a noble Silver Dragon, the shining princess of the Glittering Light family! Carrying Garrett alone is already my limit!
Itâs definitely not because my nails havenât grown back yet...
However, this meant that our journey was significantly slowed down. From the Dwarf Kingdom to the Dragonâs Nest, itâs a straight distance of eight hundred miles, and Princess Moonlight could fly it in two days with Garrettâconsidering slowing down due to Garrett not being able to withstand the wind. But now, with three people ambling on the ground...
"So slow..."
Seraina complained for the hundred and first time. A straight distance of eight hundred miles, winding along mountain roads, turning this way and that, it amounted to more than sixteen hundred miles. Just walking, even multiplying two days by ten and then doubling it, wouldnât get us there.
Garrett looked apologetically at Lady Silver Dragon. He truly understood how she felt. Serainaâs current state was akin to being capable of reaching the destination in one leap of ten thousand eight hundred miles but having to accompany someone on the ground for years on endâ
Without being dug out from under a mountain, without a tight band around oneâs head, how could one possibly endure?
He tried to comfort her:
"Running so fast is pointless anyway! Donât you want to see me heal people? To heal, there must be patients! As we travel, if we encounter any new patients, Iâll heal them for you, alright?"
"And... what if there are no patients?"
"How could there not be? People eat grains; how could they not get sick?"
Garrett confidently replied. No patients? What a joke! With our medical outreach, just a single tour around any place could uncover dozens of patients; how could there not be any?
Besides, in this area, literacy rates are pitiful, and the barefoot doctor policy doesnât exist. Whether a village has a healer is entirely up to fateâeven a herbalist trekking over mountains and through valleys to treat patients with herbs is a rare resource!
As a fourth-level priest, dressed in a burlap robe, leaning on an oak staff, I could certainly travel from the southern tip of the Black Gate Peninsula to the north and back again without spending a penny!
âEh, why did "eating" come up?
But the confident Garrett was soon faced with reality. The first night, no patients; the second night, no patients; the third night, from check-in to bedtime, the small village remained quiet. Until the middle of the night, a scream pierced the silence:
"Ahâ"
Garrett immediately jumped out of bed, clumsily putting on his clothes. As he dressed, he shouted:
"Whatâs happening? Iâm a healer, does someone need help?"
"Itâs nothing! Mind your own business!"
A gruff voice yelled back. Garrett frowned but didnât argue, sitting back on the bed to listen closely. However, Lady Silver Dragonâs crisp and bright voice shouted back:
"What do you mean by that! When a caster offers help, is this your attitude?âGarrett, letâs go take a look!"
...So, continue getting dressed. Garrett hurriedly put on his coat, and sure enough, the door was already being hammered on:
"Garrett, are you ready? Letâs go check it out together!"
"Iâm coming!"
Garrett and Bernard rushed out, one after the other. Lady Silver Dragon, controlling a light orb in front, led us directly to the source of the trouble: the landlordâs neighborâs house, a somewhat low, but flower-filled wooden cottage.
Torches flickered, and in the small village, seven or eight households had been awakened, yet none stepped forward. They just gathered around, listening to the rough voice cursing:
"Disgraceful! Canât learn anything good! I leave home for a few months, and youâre doing this with some wild man!âSpeak! Whose child is in your belly!"
Garrett frowned. The girl in the room didnât speak, only sobbing softly, even trying to stifle her screams. The man became angrier, smashing and hitting, cursing non-stop. Suddenly, there was a loud "boom" from the room, and the girl screamed long and loud:
"Ahâ"
"Stop!" Garrett instinctively shouted. He stepped forward, and Bernard immediately followed, loudly saying:
"Stop!"
"Mind your own business!"
The room roared back. Another boom, and Garrett hesitated no longer, pointing at the wooden house door. Bernard stepped forward, and Lady Silver Dragon had already rushed in, kicking open the
wooden door:
"Whatâs all this noise in the middle of the night! Having a child is a good thing, why are you scolding her? And hitting her?!âGarrett, come and see if sheâs in danger!"
Garrett stepped inside slowly. The wooden house, all told, had only one room, with a clay pot hanging over the central hearth, the fire underneath already covered, only a faint red glow visible; on the left were hunting bows and machetes, and both the front and right sides were laid with felt, likely where the occupants slept.
A man and a woman were inside, the man a middle-aged, strong-built fellow with silver streaks in his beard, pinned to the ground by Seraina, unable to struggle free, only able to curse; the girl on the right curled up in the blankets, crying, her face tear-streaked, and under the light spell, her complexion was abnormally pale, forehead covered in fine sweat.
âClearly, something was wrong.
But to intervene now would clearly make things worse...
Garrett silently sighed. He gestured to Bernard:
"Bernard, take over for Seraina, let this gentleman go out to cool off; Seraina, come and comfort the girl, help her sit up so I can examine her."
"Sure thing, boss!"
Bernardâs large hand reached out. With a press and a twist, he pinned the middle-aged manâs arms behind his back and dragged him out the door. Soon after, Garrett heard a splash not far from the door...
Thatâs not how you physically cool someone down!
Well...
Garrett pretended not to see or hear. He closed the wooden house door, turned his back to the girl, and allowed Seraina to softly comfort her. Behind him, the magical fluctuations of ăBewitching Humansă gently rippled, and Serainaâs cheerful voice soon followed:
"Garrett, you can come over now!"
Alright... then...
One providing physical calm, the other magical comfort, you two really are in this together... Garrett turned around to approach the felt, and at first glance, he saw the girlâs prominently swollen abdomen.
Fully distended.
Ehmm... No wonder her father was so furious.
But, thereâs a saying in clinical practice: if it looks like pregnancy, it might not be pregnancy; if it doesnât look like pregnancy, you must consider the possibility of pregnancy. Letâs see whatâs actually going on...
Garrett knelt on one knee, clapped his hands together, and began to rub them quickly.
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