I Became My Healer Elf Character - Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Cure for a Poisoned Sha’kin
“Master, it looks like my estimation was accurate.”

Hikari smiled and petted the head of her little dragon. “I never doubted you.”

The dragon hummed into Hikari’s hand. “It seems like they are heading to the same place as we are. What should we do, Master?”

Hikari placed a thoughtful hand on her chin. “Was there any peculiarities about the group?”

“Master, it looked like they’d been chased away from somewhere. One of them was referred to as high status, and there was an injured one among them. Though, it seems like the injuries are internal.”

The elf nodded and sighed. “Let’s go peek together. I’ll decide then what to do. Whether we will help them or not. Regardless, it would be wise to follow them even if we don’t help them as they can lead us to our destination.

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Shazir looked at the injured man on the ground once more. In truth, the general had second thoughts about not simply leaving the sod. If one doesn’t understand the bounties of the forest, one gets poisoned easily. That should have been enough reason to leave him.

It was the princess and a few of her other trusted guards that ended up being the decider. Of course, the Sha’kin weren’t brutes. Unlike how the humans perceived beastkin, each one was different than the next.

For the black spotted panthers known as the Sha’kin, looking after your own was normal. Had it been a member of a different clan, perhaps this man on the ground would already be dead. No less by Shazir’s own hand if that were the case.

Princess Shamala was not to be disobeyed either way. Now would be the absolute worst time to lose cohesion. Panthers were dwindling in number, and it was even worse recently.

Their home in the northeast had been abandoned. They were driven out of the swamp lands by rough competition with crocodilians—the monsters and the lizardmen. It had become too much for them. Many of the panthers scattered to join other tribes. Some ventured into the human kingdom further down south.

This task force was the last remnants of the royal family. As of right now, the King and Queen were missing, and there was likely no one who could know where they went. Shazir could only pray to Shazaal that they weren’t dead.

The Sha’kin had no other choice but to seek council with the wise elves. If possible, they wished that some Elder would seek pity on them. Shazir no longer wanted to see his princess cry. He’d seen it far too often recently.

A rustling in the bushes nearby caught Shazir’s attention. He shouted and grabbed his spear in the same instance. Soon, all of the task force were pointing their spears at the same spot in the forest.

Though, what came out shocked the Sha’kin. A stunning elf stepped out of the undergrowth. Her long silver hair cascaded down past her shoulders. Her purple eyes glittered in the sunlight. Her unmarred skin was no less impressive than the white robes flowing down her small body.

Everyone in the clearing stared in awe with their mouths agape. It was as though a goddess had stepped down from her domain. Shazir couldn’t help but wonder if the woman was an illusion because the sun pierced the trees, planting her in a spotlight, and highlighting her seemingly divine nature.

The first one to make a move was the princess. Shazir tried to stop her by reaching out, but he was too late. Princess Shamala knelt before the woman.

“Lady Elder, we require your guidance.”

The elf squinted and looked past the princess. The woman pointed with her finger, the sleeve of her robe lifting with the movement. Everyone looked back at the injured man.

“He’s poisoned,” she said, “are you all venturing to Elderwood?”

Though the elf asked, it sounded like she already knew the answer. Nobody questioned it. Spotting an elder in the middle of nowhere was already a potential boon depending on her temperament.

Shazir had seen an elder once. When he was a young brat. At that time, the princess was merely a kitten. However, the other elder looked nothing like this one. And remembering the temperament of that elder made Shazir less than hopeful that this encounter would be to their benefit.

The princess finally lifted her head slightly and nodded. “We have no where else to go…Miss…”

“It’s Hikari. There’s no miss anything. Also…” She gestured to her side, and at that moment a woman appeared. It was as if she had been there the whole time, yet no one had even noticed her. “This is Kurayami. You don’t have to bow or anything like that.”

The princess smiled and stood up. “Well, then, I am Shamala. Lady Hikari, are you also venturing to Elderwood?”

“I am. Therefore, I have a proposal. I will heal your friend, and you will allow us to travel with you.”

Shamala’s eyes seemed to almost pop out of her sockets. “Is that all!?”

“Is that not enough?” Hikari asked, taking several gold coins out of thin air.

The Sha’kin princess shook her head, flailing her arms around. “No! How could I possibly ask for more. If that is the price we can pay, that is the price we will pay. I meant, wouldn’t it be a disadvantage to you?”

“What’s a disadvantage? This will take like half a second.” As if to prove her words true, the woman produced a divine golden staff from thin air. A heavenly bell chimed in all of the Sha’kin’s ears. “[Cure]”

A golden light descended on the fool stupid enough to eat poison berries. The darkness in his face faded instantly, and the moment it did, his eyes flew open in surprise.

“I’m alive!?” Shaqull checked his body in disbelief. His hands patted his chest and tears filled his eyes. “I’m alive! I’m alive! And I feel better than ever!”

At his exclamation the elf spoke in a small voice. “Maybe I should have used a lower version of that spell? His stats have even increased? And is this a buff?”

Though all of the Sha’kin looked at each other, none of them seemed to know what she was talking about. The princess in particular was most astonished about this turn of events.

How could she not be. By all means, even she likely thought that the hope of saving Shaqull had become almost none. Yet, here they were witnessing his revival as if he was one of the legendary Phoenix of the far east.

Princess Shamala bowed deeply in gratitude. “Thank you so much, Lady Hikari!”

Elder Hikari waved her off. “Don’t mention it. It was part of a deal after all. You need to fulfill your end.”

“Of course!” Princess Shamala turned back to the tribe. “As you all have just seen, Lady Hikari has healed Shaqull and will join us on our expedition. Are there any objections?”

Shaqull was the first to exclaim. “No, Your Highness! I would never forsake my savior!”

Following his exclamation, several others echoed the same tune. Even though Shazir had done the same, he was still not fully comprehending the situation. Not only had an elder randomly shown up in their time of need, she also healed one of their companions at the lowly price of accompanying them?

The Sha’kin man felt like his head would explode. His reason told him that this should not happen. The best they could have expected was making it to the elven capital and paying a serious amount of coins or favors for the small chance that Shaqull would live. Yet, reason was in conflict with reality. In the end he could only chuckle dryly.

Moreover, the other girl—Kurayami—was no ordinary woman. She had horns and a thick scaly tail. While it was true that there was a tribe of lizardmen with horns that Shazir had heard about, he’d never heard of them being so big. Most of the time they would be small stumps, but these were reminiscent of the full horns of dragons—almost giving credence to the belief that lizardmen were their descendants.

The elven woman scratched her cheek. “You all don’t need to look so serious. Just think of us as passing travelers. I am a traveling healer, and this is my traveling companion.”

“Actually, Master and I are lovers,” Kurayami said as she patted her chest in triumph, smugly lifting her head. “We’ve even…”

Lady Hikari’s small hand shot up faster than Shazir’s eyes could follow to cover Kurayami’s mouth. “Don’t listen to whatever this one tells you! We’re just normal people, after all!”

Once again, the princess looked around at everyone as if to ask ‘what is going on here?’ They were all speaking the same language, but none of the Sha’kin had any idea what they were talking about. Shazir wondered if this was the difference between someone who was well-taught and scholared in the capital versus the beastmen living on the fringes of society.