New chapter of World Teacher is out! (1/1 chapter)

 

 

First Errand (Extreme)

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“Erina!” (Sirius)

I ran out with a voice that surprised even myself. I hurriedly approached and checked Erina-san’s condition.

The first thing I noticed was her abnormally high body temperature. Her entire body was hot, her breathing was rough, and she kept sweating uncontrollably. It was a clear abnormality, but I could not leave her lying in the kitchen. I called out to her several times, but perhaps she had no consciousness as there was no reply. I did not want to move her much, but there was no choice.

I slipped under Erina-san, took a deep breath, and lifted her body. I do not think a three-year-old can lift an adult woman, but my trained body responded. It was an awkward movement, carrying her on my back while dragging my feet, but I walked step by step carefully not to drop her. Honestly, it was tough, but fortunately, Erina-san’s room was right nearby. After safely arriving, I moved her onto the bed and then returned to the kitchen.

In my previous life, I had studied medicine, but this was another world. Even if the symptoms looked similar, it did not mean it was the same disease. I decided to postpone investigation and first gave her fluids. With that much sweating, dehydration would set in. I poured the water prepared for tea into a wooden cup and minced the Apu fruit with a knife. I squeezed the minced Apu with my hand and mixed it with the water in the cup. I put water and cloth in a nearby bucket and carried everything I prepared back to Erina-san.

When I returned, Erina-san had woken up. However, her complexion was poor, and she seemed unable to raise her upper body, looking at me apologetically.

“Sirius-sama… I am sorry…” (Erina)

“It’s fine! Here, drink some water.” (Sirius)

I brought the cup to her mouth and tilted it slowly. She was able to swallow, so I carefully let her drink without choking. After letting her drink about half, I took the cup away and wiped Erina-san’s sweat with the cloth soaked in the bucket water, squeezing it again and placing it on her forehead.

“Ah… I feel much better. Thank you very much.” (Erina)

“Don’t mention it. More importantly, what happened? Is this illness?” (Sirius)

“Yes, probably… it is Magic Water Disease.” (Erina)

Magic Water Disease? I thought I had seen that somewhere… Ah, the Albert travel diary!
If I recall correctly, the book mentioned that many people died from Magic Water Disease in a certain village… That is a dangerous disease! Since it’s not a medical book, it only mentions the disease name and the result, so I don’t know the details.

“Please don’t worry. If Dee and the others return tomorrow, everything will be fine.” (Erina)

Maybe noticing my panic, Erina-san spoke to calm me.

“Magic Water Disease can be cured with medicine. We ran out, so I sent the two to buy some.” (Erina)

“I-I see. If it can be cured, that’s good.” (Sirius)

“Yes. You only need to endure until tomorrow. This disease only infects those with the water attribute, but I do not know about Sirius-sama. So please avoid getting close to me until the two return.” (Erina)

“Understood. But I want to nurse you, even if just a little, since you need fluids and such.” (Sirius)

“I have no choice. Thank you… please…” (Erina)

Relieved, Erina-san lost consciousness like a switch had been turned off.

Hey, hey, will she really make it until tomorrow in this condition? I’m not relieved at all.

I searched her room for anything useful. Erina-san had knowledge of pharmacology and had mixing tools in her room. Maybe there was medicine to help recover strength. Unfortunately, there was none, but instead, I found a book. The title was long but simply translated it was Encyclopedia of Illnesses.

This world primarily treated with magic, so medical knowledge was underdeveloped. Because of that, the book was thin, but just right for the current situation. I opened it and searched for the symptoms of Magic Water Disease. Without an index, it was troublesome, but I quickly found it with a quick skim.

Magic Water Disease. A strange disease where the body naturally emitted mana. At that time, the body overheated abnormally and became immobile from the high fever. Curiously, this disease only affected people with the water attribute and had high infectivity. The cure was a medicinal concoction made from Water Magical Grass. If not treated within half a day, the patient died from depletion of mana and high fever. It was because of this speed, it was known worldwide as a terrifying disease despite being curable.

It is not okay at all! If Erina-san was infected around noon, Dee and Noel would return tomorrow afternoon. Half a day’s margin, waiting for them would definitely mean death. What “please don’t worry”… She said it to calm me, but screw that. I don’t care about restraint. I will do what I want to do.

Once decided, act quickly.

I flipped through every book in the room and found one about medicinal herbs. It was to search for the necessary ‘Water Magical Grass’. The preparation method was written in the previous book, so all that was needed was the material. I calmed my racing heart and searched for the word Water Magical Grass, turning pages until I found the target page.

Water Magical Grass. A type of medicinal herb that absorbed mana from water and grew, possessing a distinctive shape. Used in various concoctions, it greatly enhanced effects for those with the water attribute. It grew naturally in mana-rich watersides and was relatively easy to harvest.

The page also had a picture of Water Magical Grass, so I engraved its distinctive shape into memory. I threw the book aside and prepared to collect it. A knife from the kitchen sufficed as a weapon. Since it was a cooking knife, its strength was questionable, but it was better than nothing. I didn’t need armor that would hinder movement. This time, my strategy focused on speed, collect and return. I took a small backpack and, just in case, placed fresh water and cut Ap nearby Erina-san.

With preparations complete, I dashed out the front door and checked the sky. The sun had already set. It was the time when night began. The moon was much larger than in my previous life, but fortunately that night was a full moon and bright.

My destination was the forest opposite from the front door. Erina-san had scolded me before for going too deep, so I had never been far, but I remembered hearing the sound of water flowing from that direction. If I investigated there, maybe Water Magical Grass would be found.

In a world with monsters, it was madness for a child alone to enter a night forest. But there was no time, and if I abandoned Erina-san here, I would regret it forever. I wanted to save who I could save. Resolute, I charged into the forest.

The forest was full of obstacles, making footing unstable and requiring more stamina than expected, even at a walk. I had experience growing up in the forest, so I could minimize exhaustion, but with the body of a three-year-old, that wouldn’t last long. I dodged Horabies that suddenly leapt out and proceeded while conserving my stamina.

Soon I found a small river and began searching for Water Magical Grass.

“…Nothing.” (Sirius)

Although harvesting is supposed to be easy, is it difficult near a flowing river? Since it is said the herb grew in mana-rich watersides, I should head upstream rather than downstream.

I stuck a piece of wood as a marker in the ground and hurried deeper into the forest along the river.

After crossing what looked like a fence and about twenty minutes later, the narrow river widened, and I reached a large body of water that could be called a lake. With such a wide water area, Water Magical Grass would probably be here. The lake had clear visibility under the moonlight, unblocked by trees, making it easy to search. Just as I was about to start, I sensed something and stopped.

Wild beasts would not normally give off such an obvious presence, so I hid behind a tree and shifted my gaze toward the presence.

As expected, it was there.

—Goblin.

A humanoid monster with horns growing on its head, entirely green in color. Its height is about one meter, measured in the units of my previous life, wearing a crude cloth around its waist and wielding a stick as a weapon. Its strength is comparable to an adult man’s, its movement is not very fast, and its intelligence is low. Instead, its reproductive ability and growth are abnormally rapid, and it has a habit of forming packs, so hunting parties are often formed to exterminate them.

They are omnivores and even eat humans. In the case of females, they kidnap, violate, and make them bear children. If one can defeat a goblin wielding a weapon alone, they are called a fledgling adventurer.

Excerpt from Albert’s Travelogue.

In other words, goblins are not opponents for a three-year-old to challenge. On top of that, there are three… no, since they are not humans, three of them. But I dare to challenge them. They are obstructing my gathering. Those bastards are sitting firmly on the ground, with no intention of moving anywhere. There is no time, so if they do not move, I must eliminate them.

Gripping my knife, I picked up a stone at my feet and threw it over the goblins’ backs, making it land behind them. Distracted by the sound, when they turned their backs, I leapt at them. My posture was low, moving swiftly into close range.

The goblins turned around at the footsteps, but I was already at their feet. They momentarily lost sight of me, who is shorter than them. It was a position visible if one lowered their gaze even slightly. In that instant of opening, I plunged the knife into a throat.

Bright blood sprayed, dyeing my body red. The remaining two goblins froze with wide-open eyes. To stand still during a fight like that, as a former educator, I couldn’t help but want to instruct them on their pitifulness. With a twist of my body, I pulled out the knife and cut the second goblin’s throat… halfway through, the knife broke. But it did not stop moving. I pressed the broken part with the palm of my opposite hand that came late. Feeling the grip, I did not lessen my forward momentum and rolled forward three times to create distance. Looking back, the two lay dead, trembling slightly.

Only one remained. But it had no weapon, and the palm pressing had caused a slight cut and pain. The goblin seemed to recover from its shock and shouted angrily. Just now I noticed, this one’s weapon wasn’t a stick but a sword. The blade was short, so I think it was some kind of short sword, probably picked up from humans and used.

As I observed, suddenly the goblin stopped moving and laughed with a filthy voice.

Is it mocking me as a child? Does it understand that this child had taken down two of its kind in one breath? Ah, that’s right, it has low intelligence. If it were a complete beast, I wouldn’t let my guard down, but halfway intelligence becomes deadly. Well then, I will make use of that.

This time I charged without lowering my posture. The laughing goblin swung an obvious vertical slash. I tilted my body to avoid it and concentrated, chanting. My image was a magic sphere the size of a baseball with a grenade launcher.

“From the depths, the sleeping principle, the magic breathing within me…” (Sirius)

Ah, damn it, this is annoying!

“Impact!” (Sirius)

At point-blank range, I fired the magic sphere at the goblin’s face. It was hit with a shock strong enough to lift its body briefly, screaming while clutching its face and writhing. In that moment, I picked up the dropped sword, thrust it with my weight into its throat, and finished it…

Thus, my first killing of a monster ended.

After the fight, confirming no enemies were nearby, I exhaled a breath. No, one breath was not enough. I was more exhausted than I imagined; my once ragged breathing did not settle. Though my mind was accustomed, my body was that of a three-year-old forced to march this hard, so it was no wonder. Supporting my body that almost collapsed, I calmed my breathing. Once settled, I closed my eyes and counted slowly to three.That was a kind of suggestion, a switch to change from combat awareness to normal awareness. By the time I opened my eyes again, I had regained composure.

Now, let’s look for the target item.

Still, approaching the water’s edge, I easily found it. One was enough, but just in case, I harvested five and put them in my bag. Staying longer might attract other monsters with the blood. Washing the blood-stained face, I hurried back the way I came.

Though I almost fell several times from exhaustion, I arrived home without encountering monsters. It had probably been about two hours since I left.

 

—

 

Checking Erina-san’s condition, she was breathing harshly, and her consciousness was faint.

There was no time. I opened a book and began preparing a concoction with the equipment in the room. I put the water magic grass into a mortar and ground it until there were no lumps. Adding the Kurmesia, a nut-like fruit always kept on hand, I ground it until smooth. When it became a green paste, I put it into boiling water.

Oh no, I need boiling water!

I went to the kitchen, threw firewood into the stove, and channeled mana into the magical apparatus installed there. Normally this would light a fire, but nothing happened. Even after several attempts, the result was the same; checking the magical tool, a part of the magic circle was missing. I remembered hearing it broke this morning.

Then, I looked at the box with the fire stones placed in the corner, planning to light a fire with them, but the box had fallen over, and all the stones were cracked. Probably when Erina-san fell, but it was fortunate the stone floor prevented a fire.

Still, no fire… no, I have to light it myself.

Pieces of fire stone remained. I sharpened the firewood’s tip with a spare kitchen knife and struck the tip against the fire stone piece. Using the primitive method of rotating the wood to create friction heat, I lit the fire. This method requires quite a bit of strength and technique, but as expected, the stone pieces acted as kindling, and the fire caught easily.

Blowing air to increase the fire, I boiled water and added the concocted herbs. Adding the herbs clouded the water green, but after a while, the surface cleared. This clear layer was said to be the special medicine for the magic water disease. Finally, I poured the clear part into a cup and finished.
The finished product was colorless and emitted a faint light as described, so it seemed to be made well.

Cooling the medicine, I dashed to Erina-san.

“Erina-san, here is the medicine. Please drink this.” (Sirius)

“Ah… ah…” (Erina)

She seemed conscious but confused, staring vacantly and murmuring something.

This is really bad. I have to make her drink it forcibly.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… it’s me… it’s me…” (Erina)

Then, why are you apologizing!? Damn! I need to stay calm, but maybe my mind is dragged by my body, my emotions are exposed. Adrenaline is flooding and I can’t control myself anymore.

“Just drink it! If you don’t drink it, I absolutely won’t forgive you!” (Sirius)

At my angry shout, Erina-san’s body trembled. Looking into her eyes, I saw she firmly caught my gaze, so I brought the cup to her lips. Over several minutes, she finished the cup’s contents, and I gave one final order.

“Sleep.” (Sirius)

Though my tone was rough, Erina-san quietly closed her eyes and began breathing peacefully. Tears fell from her eyes, but at this point, I no longer cared. Placing the empty cup on the floor, I felt the sense of accomplishment. I had done all I could. Now I only had to wait for the result. Reaching my limit, I lost consciousness while clinging to Erina-san’s bed.

 

—

 

A soft touch brushed against my head.

Caressingly stroked, it is the usual… the usual?

“Erina!” (Sirius)

I woke instantly, my face snapping up.

“Yes, I am here…” (Erina)

There was Erina-san with her usual smile. Though sweat had disheveled her hair and clothes, her complexion was not bad, and she was sitting up, stroking my head. Outside, it was fully bright, probably before noon. The worst was over.

“…Thank goodness.” (Sirius)

Finally calm after seeing Erina-san’s face like this. It seemed the magic water disease was cured. Now she only needed to recover her strength. I thought about food and stood up, but my legs lacked strength, probably because of the strange posture I slept in, and I fell toward Erina-san.

What am I doing, making a recovering person take care of me?

Feeling embarrassed, I tried to get up but couldn’t.

Erina-san hugged me.

“Erina?” (Sirius)

“Thank you. I only… want to express my gratitude.” (Erina)

Buried in Erina-san’s chest, it was a bit suffocating, but I decided to let her be for now.

Wait, hold on. After running and fighting so much, I haven’t changed clothes.

“Um, Erina? If you stick so close, you’ll get dirty…” (Sirius)

“It doesn’t matter. The dirt of the one who saved me is of no consequence.” (Erina)

“Uh, yeah. But, well, I’d rather not have blood get on you…” (Sirius)

“Blood!? Are you injured somewhere!?” (Erina)

Whoa, she broke the hug like it exploded.

Then, she scanned my entire body with her eyes.

Well, it’s obvious. My clothes are soaked red with goblin blood. Just as I got healthy again, Erina-san’s face turned pale again.

“Calm down, this isn’t my blood.” (Sirius)

“Then, what is this blood?” (Erina)

“Um…”

Yeah… whatever, I’ll tell the truth. The schedule for one year later was just brought forward.

“This is goblin blood. I killed them because they were obstructing the gathering of water magic grass.” (Sirius)

“Goblins!? And you killed them while gathering water magic grass?” (Erina)

“Yes. With a kitchen knife, like this…” (Sirius)

I gestured the stabbing motion into a goblin’s throat. As expected, Erina-san was stunned, but I looked at her seriously. Understanding my earnestness, her shaken expression calmed a little.

“Sirius-sama, who exactly are you?” (Erina)

“I think we both have many things to say. Me too, and you as well, right?” (Sirius)

“…Yes.” (Erina)

“But let’s calm down a bit. It’s not too late to take care of our bodies first.” (Sirius)

“Right… I behaved embarrassingly.” (Erina)

It would probably become a heavy and outrageous story, so I should calm down for a moment and have a proper conversation. I handed the change of clothes to Erina-san and left the room, returned to my own room, and finished changing. Looking again, the blood splatter was really bad. I thought to myself how clumsy my fighting had been.

After going outside and wiping my body with water from the well, I decided to make a light meal. I cut the bread into bite-sized pieces and soaked them in a mixture of egg, milk substitute, and sugar. After that, I just lightly grilled it until it got a bit browned, and thus the otherworldly version of French toast was complete. It was strange to call it toast since it wasn’t bread, but I didn’t care about that. The taste was fine. I prepared my favorite black tea and then headed to Erina-san’s place.

I knocked and waited for a reply before entering the room. I had told her not to move from the bed, but as expected, she had properly tidied herself up. Before talking, let’s have her eat first.

“This is what, I wonder? It is a food I see for the first time.” (Erina)

“It’s called French toast. It’s sweet and delicious.” (Sirius)

“Then, I will partake.” (Erina)

Honestly, I wanted to make rice porridge because she was just recovering from illness, but since there was no rice, this was soft and easy to eat. After taking a bite, Erina-san nodded a few times and smiled with a full face of joy.

“…It is delicious. I feel Sirius-sama’s kindness.” (Erina)

“I see. Since you’re just recovering, don’t push yourself.” (Sirius)

“It is not flattery. To be cared for like this, I am happy.” (Erina)

I felt happy watching her continue to eat with such a look of happiness. In no time, she finished everything and after pouring the tea, took a breath.

Well then, shall we talk about the matter that decides life?

“Erina, shall we get to the main topic soon?” (Sirius)

“…Understood.” (Erina)
“Well, about myself–…” (Sirius)

“Please wait.” (Erina)

I thought I would say it straightforwardly, but she stopped me.

Give me a break. Even if I’m an old man, this kind of thing takes courage.

“Please let me speak first. About Sirius-sama’s mother.” (Erina)

Oh, finally it’s about my mother.  But Erina-san’s expression was stiff, so it must be something difficult to say.

“Sorry, but inside the desk there is a picture. That is–..” (Erina)

As she said, I checked inside the desk and found one A4-sized picture. The person drawn was a woman.

So, this person is–…

“Mirialia Eldland. She is Sirius-sama’s mother.” (Erina)

It was not a photograph, but a very well-made picture with colors. Looking at her flowing black hair and gentle eyes, I strangely felt calm. I instinctively understood that this person was definitely my mother.

“And at the same time as giving birth to you… she passed away.” (Erina)

 

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