As a Reincarnated NPC, I Want to Live a Peaceful Life - Chapter 26

Gloomy clouds filled the sky, leaving little light visible. The previous elven wrath – where could it find release? Yet, it’s none of my concern, though my guilt is already decided.

Endless droplets fell from above, striking us relentlessly. It wasn’t about duty or fiery emotion. Useless struggles were useless here – not my business, no need to worry.

Breaking through the water’s interference, countless ice spikes rapidly formed a firepower net supported by the cold current.

The scene was truly fantastical, so much so that I felt heavy anger and threat – on the floor not far away, lay a female player. A spike of ice had pierced her left abdomen, and she was slowly losing blood.

And before me, the “cat” elemental spirit, burning with rage and incessantly attacking me, was named Pat Michul. It kept creating and hurling chunks or shards of ice at me, some thrown even before fully forming. One could see how much it valued that girl.

Constantly dodging left and right, leaping up and down to evade the ice spells, I remained unscathed. For now… The ice shards and chunks kept brushing past my body, grazing my long hair, and falling powerless to the ground.

Naturally, to cast spells, you need a certain amount of mental focus. To cast spells with precision and power, you need to stabilize your spirit, lest it be disrupted. The overwhelming rage filling its mind was likely affecting the spell’s force and accuracy.

I understood perfectly well why Pat Michul was so furious – when an important companion is threatened and injured, who wouldn’t be blinded by anger? Unless they’re someone excessively calm, like me.

“Your breathing is disordered. Letting Mana flow wildly won’t do you any good.” My attempt at a kindly reminder only earned me a fierce retort.

‘None of your business! You… you… how dare you do that to Dell!’ Completely overcome, it seemed. At a time like this, you should check if your partner is alright before seeking trouble with your opponent.

But, what happened earlier? Why was that ice spike controlled by another force, one even stronger than me? Was it [Mage Hand]? Or perhaps a telekinetic spell?

In short, someone nearby was watching this fight and interfered. If what Pat Michul said earlier was true, then it should be acutely aware of the Mana flow across the entire area – well, it’s too enraged now, probably wouldn’t listen to a word.

On Pat Michul’s body were straight, linear wounds, as if scratched by something. Looking at those azure blades I had made “grow” from the ground, I noticed they were stained with blood…

Did it force its way out through the gap? This fellow, really throwing caution to the wind for revenge.

It kept positioning itself in front of the girl, neither letting me leave nor allowing me to advance a step. This pursuit battle instantly turned into its exclusive machine gun shooting contest.

The guards nearby, seeing the cold current zone had actively dissipated, gripped their longswords and rushed towards me. Unfortunately, their armor was heavy, their bodies sapped of strength by the rain, and they collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, before even getting close.

So persistent. That determination is commendable. But if that girl doesn’t get treatment soon, she might really kick the bucket, and I’d be branded with the criminal hat of “murdering a noble,” never finding peace again.

“If you don’t help save that sister soon, you might lose her forever.” The moment these words left my mouth, Pat Michul froze. Inside, I was desperately hoping –

‘What… Dell, she, Dell…’ Just as I expected, it turned its head… And in that instant, I sharply snapped my fingers –

[Time, Stop For Me]

[Normal Mode On]

Like an iron rod jamming a clock’s gears, accompanied by the grating screech of gears, the world, rippling, once again took on the hue of a black-and-white photograph.

Only I retained my own color. As before, [Time Stop] activated smoothly.

But no time to hesitate. Five-second countdown –

5 seconds… Step forward, grab Pat’s body, apply firm pressure to its neck.
4 seconds… Move to the side of the injured girl.
3 seconds… Use my right hand to lift the girl, sling her over my shoulder.
2 seconds… Slam my feet down, shattering the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust intended to block most lines of sight.
1 second… Mentally visualize the location of the alchemy shop –

[And then, time resumes its flow]

With the familiar prompt sound and turning gears, as time started again, I was swept into a blue light wave…

A few moments later, I opened my eyes. My field of vision was the familiar corridor.

Success! It worked! [Impression · Teleport] was successful! I thought it might get stuck midway due to insufficient range! (Don’t ask, let’s just say I’ve tried before.)

I was so tense my blood felt like it was boiling, my breath came in trembling gasps, and cold sweat streamed down my cheeks.

That was close. If I had been just a second slower, the secrets of [Time Stop] and [Impression · Teleport] might have been discovered.

No one was in the room. There was no sign the main door had been opened. Everything was just as it was in the morning, only not as lively as yesterday.

I was alone.

Realizing my hands still held “guests,” I let out a soft laugh –

Pat in my left hand was already unconscious. The girl over my right shoulder still had some life left.

Without delay, I took them to the bedroom that originally belonged to Elf.

Let me see, this… The left abdomen was pierced by the ice spike, leaving a thin but deep wound.

Gently placing the girl on the bed, I checked her injury – Fortunately, the ice spike hadn’t hit any vital spots. It seemed due to our height difference; the trajectory when it shot towards my shoulder and ricocheted back happened to land here.

As for Pat? I placed it to the side. Even though it was attacking me mere seconds ago, I couldn’t just leave it. Without its Spirit Tamer, an elemental spirit can’t maintain its form in the present world for long.

“Just this level of injury, it’s no problem… Even if it’s a serious injury for a girl her age, it’s still no problem.”

I had great confidence in my healing skills, even though I didn’t know proper bandaging, standard instruments, or even medicine at all – Thinking carefully, isn’t this very troublesome?

That is, unless I didn’t have the skill [Seven Spirits Divine Might].

I stretched out my hand, hovering it over the wound, then silently chanted [Green · Mercy] in my heart. Simultaneously, green magical power emanating from my palm wove into verdant healing threads, drilling into the girl’s wound.

The last time I used this, I healed the alpha of a wolf pack passing through the Spirit Light Woods. They kept licking me, and at the time I thought I was about to be torn apart and eaten.

The healing process usually isn’t too painful. With meticulous control, the patient should only feel an itch. Of course, in an emergency, a few rough pulls might heal the major parts, but I can’t guarantee no aftereffects – I’m not sure if it’s truly effective, as that’s the answer from my heart.

Shaking my head, I refocused on the healing…

Whether there would be sequelae or scars depended entirely on my control now.

“May God bless I don’t make a mistake with my hands.”

…..

“What happened here?”

“Your Highness, look at the marks on the walls and floor – there was a fight. You there, why are you sitting on the ground? Report the situation immediately!”

“Y-your Highness! We… we don’t really know what happened either. We were pursuing the fugitive together with Miss Dell’s elemental spirit, but then they suddenly vanished without a trace. Miss Dell is gone too.”

“What? Two people disappeared right before your eyes? Dell Mi Lopat is an important guest of the [Kolorfort] royal family! How could you be so careless? This… this this—! Your Highness…”

“Benjamin, enough. They are guards, not superhumans. Don’t be so hard on them. You, explain the course of events to me in detail, from beginning to end…”

“Y-yes, Your Highness. Let me summarize.”

…

“Such a thing? Confronted the spirit fearlessly, used strange magic, and harmed Miss Dell? Are you certain?”
“Certain, Your Highness. But after that, we don’t know. It happened in an instant.”
“Hmm, alright. You may all return to your posts or log off. I will handle the aftermath. Benjamin, we’re leaving immediately.”
“Your Highness, that’s it? Just like that?”
“What else? Stay here and chat with them until evening?”
“Understood… You there, continue searching for any trace of the target, and locate Miss Dell’s whereabouts. Go.”
“Yes, we understand.”
“Strange magic… Her magical talent is truly high. It’s a pity I have to take her to find Alec.”
“Your Highness, from your words, you have a reason to take her out of the city?”
“No problem. Even if she’s a wanted criminal, I believe she has her reasons… Moreover, Mr. Alec requested this of me. How can I go back on my word?”
“Your Highness, if I may be so bold, this nature of yours will harm you one day.”
“Oh? Then let’s talk about it when that day comes. For now, I’ll just train harder.”
“… This subordinate is beginning to understand the Mayor’s feelings.”
“Hmm? What did you say?”
“Nothing, Your Highness. I said nothing.”

…..

The drip-drip-drip sound echoed from the roof, making the interior exceptionally damp. Evening approached, and the room gradually darkened. In the gloom, only the shimmering green threads of light darted and weaved.

I carefully knit the damaged internal organs and cellular tissues back together, hoping to achieve a perfect healing effect.

Yet no matter how I repaired them, the damaged organs would split open again, the tissues would once more stain bright red… Then I’d repair again, they’d split again, a cycle repeating, the losses outweighing the gains.

As if the wound was permanent.

And it wasn’t that I hadn’t considered a quick, rough healing first to stabilize the girl – but if meticulous healing proved useless, the riskier slapdash repair was even more dangerous.

This contradiction – unable to advance, unable to retreat – made my already drenched self break out in a nervous sweat, unsure what was rain and what was sweat.

Since she’s a player, I could just leave her be… But I can’t do that. If she goes back like this, my charges will only get much worse.

Suddenly, a chill from behind – I sidestepped slightly, and an ice shard embedded itself in the windowpane below.

‘You! What are you doing to Dell!? If anything happens to her…’

“…..” I had no time to care about its temper. My attention had to remain fixed on the healing, not a single misstep allowed.

Dell Mi Lopat? I think I heard that name about a year ago. Well, since I forgot, it probably wasn’t important.

But why was her HP continuously dropping? I’d already taken measures.

“Hey, Pat Michul, what’s the deal with your Miss Dell?”

‘Dell….. what to do… what to do… if…’

Doing nothing, Pat just sat there muttering self-recriminations. How was this any different from a useless man?

“Pat Michul! Rather than wallowing in self-blame, tell me now if your Dell has any physical constitution issues! Or are you waiting to visit her amnesiac self in the hospital tomorrow?”

After yelling at it, I hurriedly turned back to maintain the wound, preventing further deterioration.

Pat was clearly stunned by my shout, dazedly processing the words. If it just stayed dazed, that would be pointless.

After a good while, it asked warily.
‘You’re the wanted criminal, right? Why are you helping Dell…’

“….. Keep wasting time like this, and you’ll be preparing her funeral.”

‘Alright, alright! I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Just stay calm.’ Please recognize the situation. Who’s the one being agitated here? You’re the spirit who’s probably several generations older than me.

Then, it blabbered on and on about this girl… until I was nearly mentally numb, and it finally got to the key point.

‘Dell… since childhood, her wounds have been very difficult to heal, and they worsen easily. It seems to be a constitution inherited from her mother. That’s why her mother didn’t survive.’

This… If you had said so earlier, I wouldn’t have wasted all that effort – Wait a minute, she’s a player, but she had a childhood? Probably inherited memories. Better not overthink it.

What to do? Use that? But if I do… Never mind!

“Pat Michul, in that case, I have one method. Hear me out first. You must promise me that after I heal this Miss Dell, you won’t cause me any more trouble and leave immediately. Understood?”

Although hesitant, considering the gravity of the situation from all angles, Pat finally nodded.

Using “healing confidentiality” and “female secrets” as reasons, I made Pat leave the room. Only later did I realize the female identity had some conveniences after all.

Now, let’s begin.

[Blue · Honesty] coalesced on the back of my hand. Then, steeling myself, I made a cut across my left palm –

Blood instantly welled up, then, as I turned my hand, dripped slowly down, falling onto the severe, yet remotely inflicted wound……