Chapter 129: I’ll Uncover the Cause Myself

We followed Shifa to the house with the orange roof.

“Oh! Who do we have here? If it isn’t Shifa!”

“Yeah, it’s been a while.”

Then, unbelievably, an elf man emerged from the depths of the house—and without warning, he wrapped Shifa-san in a warm embrace.

Wha…? Get away from her…!

“Good to see you, my dear. You’ve grown so much…”

“Grandpa looks well.”

Huh? Grandpa…?

He looked like nothing more than a dashing man in his thirties, yet this elf apparently was Shifa-san’s grandfather.

Come to think of it, I’d heard that elves live far longer than humans and age much more slowly. That would explain it.

“Shifa, who are these people?”

“They’re members of my party.”

We quickly introduced ourselves.

“I’m Anii.”

“I’m Sena!”

“Sa-Sarassa.”

“Geo.”

…I’m neither an adventurer nor a member of her party, but there was no need to make a fuss over that.

“So… what about Mom? Is she unwell?”

Shifa-san asked with obvious concern.

Her grandfather’s expression turned apologetic as he explained,

“Even the doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong… The potions only help for a short while… and she grows weaker day by day…”

“…I see. Can I see her?”

“Yes, please. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

“Yeah. Maybe I can help cure Mom’s illness.”

“Is that true?”

“There’s a potion that works extremely well.”

We hadn’t come just to visit Shifa-san’s mother. We wanted her to try the potion Merlin-san had made.

It wasn’t just for wounds—Merlin-san’s potions could treat illnesses too. We didn’t know what kind of disease had taken hold of Shifa-san’s mother, but this potion might heal her.

…And if that didn’t work, we could always use an Elixir. That’s the ultimate cure—capable of even healing congenital diseases. We’d just need Merlin to make it for us…

Since it wasn’t appropriate for us to enter her bedroom, we waited in the living room.

“Mom, are you able to move around okay?”

“Yes, thankfully, I feel much better physically.”

A woman who seemed to be her mother stepped out of the room, Shifa-san at her side.

She looked so young. Being a half-elf probably helped, but she could easily pass for Shifa-san’s older sister. And she was stunningly beautiful, her features strikingly similar to Shifa-san’s.

“Everyone, thank you for coming all this way… I’m sorry to greet you like this.”

“N-No! You’ve always helped Shifa, so it’s nothing!”

“I’m glad you’re getting along well with Shifa.”

Shifa-san’s mother, Sheena, smiled gently—but her complexion was still a little pale.

“The potion helps temporarily, but after a while, my condition worsens again…”

“Maybe it’s the air,” someone suggested.

“The air?”

“Yes. It’s felt suffocating for a while. It wasn’t like this the last time I visited the village.”

“R-Really?”

Apparently, her grandfather hadn’t noticed at all. …Maybe he was just oblivious—or perhaps elves had some natural resistance.

“Could this be the cause of Sheena’s health issues?”

“…Considering we humans are affected, it might be because she’s a half-elf.”

“I’m fine, though—?”

“You just haven’t noticed because you’re foolish, that’s all.”

Wait… Sena’s sword had been imbued with all sorts of magic by Miranda, including natural healing and various resistances.

That would explain why she alone remained unaffected. She wasn’t actually foolish… well, maybe a little, but not in this case.

“Now that you mention it, I do feel a little short of breath ever since my condition started to worsen…” Sheena said.

“Speaking of which…”

“Grandpa, do you recall anything?”

“I seem to remember the young men who went deep into the forest for hunting said something strange upon returning. They mentioned that the air in the deeper forest had grown heavy and tainted. Several fell ill, and ultimately they couldn’t venture any further and had to return.”

So the deeper parts of the forest were even worse, and even elves would be affected there.

“I’ll find the cause myself.”

“S-Shifa…? You don’t need to risk yourself…”

“It’s fine. I’m an adventurer. Besides, I want to save Mom.”

Her words left her grandfather flustered, but Shifa-san reassured him that she was fine.

“I’ll help too!” I said immediately.

“Hey, are you just trying to score points?”

“N-No, it’s not like that.”

The moment we left the protective barrier, we felt the suffocating air. That meant as long as we stayed inside the barrier, we’d be safe.

“Of course, I’ll help as well.”

“Yes, me too.”

“Geo, everyone, thank you.”

“But… what exactly should we do?”