Please No

"M-Me?" Asked Aria, confused.

"…Come here for a second." Rei said while walking a bit away from Feny. Only after confirming that Aria was following him did he again say, "That town is not far from here and I heard that there is an outbreak of plague there. Some kind of adult fever or something." He explained.

And because Arina was silent, he continued. "The Kingdom was worried that the disease would reach the capital, so its alert status has been raised to level 3. Which means they will give a golden emblem to those who can handle it. So this is a perfect opportunity for you."

But Aria was still silent. "...Why? Healing magic is your specialty right? Don't tell me you're going to argue and say you don't want to go there."

"T-That, b-b-but…" Aria finally answered, but in a trembling voice. "That plague… Don't tell me it's a ghost plague…"

"Oh? You think so too?" Rei replied, a bit amazed. "I didn't think much of it when I heard it a few weeks ago. But since they say it hasn't healed yet, I'm starting to suspect that it's a ghost plague. You've read about it in the book too?"

"...Back when I was little, my city actually got it too."

"That's great then!"

"Absolutely not! That plague… It's not a plague at all. It's a devil's curse!" Said Aria, who was reminded of the bitterest memories she had.

At that time everyone always thought that the problem came from either a sick animal or their polluted water source. But after weeks of no progress and constant casualties, a group of adventurers who happened to be passing by suddenly said that they had sensed a demonic aura in their city.

And sure enough, it turned out that there was indeed a mushroom demon monster that has been hiding underground and is spreading disease throughout the city.

"And even after realizing that, nearly half of my city had to lose against it." Aria said again. "In the end they could only kill it when a magician from Luxen came to help us."

"…Well, you're technically a Luxen candidate too, so…"

"Rei, I'm serious!"

"..."

"I-I mean Mr. Rei…"

Rei almost wanted to comment on that. But since he himself was also feeling awkward, he ended up choosing to just ignore it. "How old were you then?"

"Five, I think…"

"And you still remember how the magician from Luxen killed it?" Asked Rei, and Aria could only remain silent.

Never mind knowing, she just had the faintest idea that everyone was just saying the wizard used great magic or something. Plus, at that time Aria was still sad about losing her mother, so she didn't really have time to care about anything else.

"I'll bet he's definitely using a special weapon." Rei said again. "Demons that spread diseases like that are usually only class 2 or 3. And monsters like that are usually not very good at attacking and only know how to defend themselves."

"So as long as you use a good weapon, I'm sure even a weak Crimson like you who can only use a little magic will also be able to take care of it."

Beginning to be affected, Aria returned to silence with uneasiness. But as soon as she realized that there was something odd in Rei's words, she protested again, "Wait, does that mean I have to take care of it myself? You're not coming?"

"No, I have other business. So if possible I would like Mr. Bishop to accompany you." Rei replied. "But if he doesn't come back, well, I guess you can just take the kid."

But of course Aria immediately shook her head. "Please no."

'Don't protest!' Rei almost screamed at her. But since he already knew that Aria was the type who was not fit to be scolded, Rei thought again, finding a better sentence.

"But I mean, the outbreak has been going on for more than a month, you know. If we wait for someone else, who knows how many more people will have to die because of that demon."

"..."

"Don't worry, if it's just good weapons, I have plenty." Rei said again, who immediately knew that Aria clearly couldn't refute that. "So all you need to do is come over there and sort it out."

"..."

"The city is also small, so within 2-3 days the results should be visible and everyone will be healthy again."

"B-But I'm not good with weapons. I never even--"

"And I've counted them, but we only need 1 day to get the last emblem. So as long as you come back quickly, we can get everything before the exam starts next week."

"...Rei, you're really mean."