Chapter Eight: Journey With the female healer

After reuniting with her dragon, the girl suddenly became conscious of time and hurriedly got on its back while stretching her hand to me.
I hope she’s not thinking of making me ride that thing, was what I thought as the dragon charged toward me at full speed.
I almost fainted watching it get closer, and before I realized it, I was behind the girl on the back of the dragon.
How did I get on top of it? She must have pulled me up when I spaced out.
My buttocks were now pressed against the dragon’s back, and with every movement it made I could feel a vibrating sensation.
I was too stiff to move a muscle as the dragon— incredibly fast—ran through the empty fields as if it were enjoying itself.
I had never been on an animal before, and I grew dizzy from looking at the ground as it moved.
Trying to regain my composure and assess my situation, I initiated a conversation with the girl who was right in front of me, holding the saddle.
My mind had been so taken by the dragon that I hadn’t paid attention to what was in front of me.
A girl, in front of me… a girl, in front of me… Oh my god, there’s a girl just centimeters away from me!
My heart, which had been pounding in fear, changed its rhythm to nervousness. When I felt a soft sensation under my hands, I realized they were stuck to her waist, which made me even more nervous.
I quickly let go of her, only to feel dizzy again.
“You’ll fall off if you don’t hold tight!” With the wind and sound of the dragon’s steps, she had to yell before I could hear her.
Without thinking much of it, I grabbed her waist again like my life depended on it. I was going to fall if I didn’t, which gave me a very good reason to do so.
After about forty minutes riding on the dragon, I continued the conversation I had wanted to start earlier.
“Hey, what’s your name?” Since we were traveling together, it would be best if we at least knew each other’s names.
Her name was Milta Randarakuz, as she said it. She had left her hometown—about six days from here in the human city—to become an adventurer in the capital.
She had never been to the capital, but the merchants she followed told her to keep going east until she reached the town of Maknawa, just an hour’s ride from the capital.
While on our way to Maknawa, we talked about many things, and I was shocked to find out that I knew a lot about this world—more than I could remember.
After a while, we met some merchants in a wagon. The driver was not a normal human; he had animal-like ears and patches of hair on his body. But strangely, that didn’t catch much of my attention, which confused me.
Anyone else would have gotten excited after seeing a new species of humans, but it didn’t seem to bother me that much.
As we kept meeting more and more people in passing villages, our journey was constantly delayed because Milta kept helping anyone she thought needed it. From tending the injured, fetching water for the old, to carrying their belongings—it was one thing after another. And because I didn’t want to be left alone on the dragon, I helped out whenever she stopped.
We did get some fruits and other things as thanks, so it worked out well in the end.
After about three hours from the start of our journey, we finally arrived at the town of Maknawa.
The town was very big and unlike the villages we had passed. One thing was immediately clear: the number of sick and injured people was enormous.
“The towns close to the capital are constantly under attack by monsters and demons,” Milta explained as she asked for the location of the hospital.
“Are you a healer?” many people asked after seeing her outfit.
When she told them, “Yes, I am,” everyone wanted Milta for themselves so she could heal their families.
In seconds we were surrounded, and people pleaded from all directions.
“The healers in this town only attend to powerful adventurers that are wounded. Please save my children!” an old woman cried, clinging to Milta’s leg from atop the dragon.
“I understand. Please bring all the injured to one place.”
Without hesitation, she offered to help, but the looks on the people’s faces were not what I expected. They stood in denial.
“You can’t heal everyone! I’ll give you everything I have if you heal my husband!” and so on, and so forth.
It seemed they didn’t believe she could heal everyone. The people became angry and were about to drag us down from the dragon.
“Please stop!!” Milta yelled.
“I didn’t say that to offend you. I promise I’ll heal everyone, so please bring them all here!”
The crowd went silent. In a flash, everyone vanished back to their homes to fetch the injured.
Minutes later, about two hundred people—men, women, and children—were laid out surrounding us.
They had all kinds of injuries, and the smell of blood filled the air. Some had arms or eyes missing, others with broken bodies.
Seeing all that, Milta took a huge breath and, after exhaling, said to me, “I’ll leave my body in your care.”
I didn’t understand what she meant, but even I was curious to see what she was going to do.
She brought out her staff and pointed it to the sky while leaning completely on my chest.
“Divine Healing!!!!!” she yelled.
I felt a sudden warmth as her body glowed brightly. The light spread throughout the area, blinding me.
In about a minute, it disappeared.
Opening my eyes bit by bit, I was surprised to find all the injured on their feet, their wounds completely healed.
Those with severe injuries were whole again, and those who had brought torn-off limbs now had them reattached.
It was a godly sight, and smiles filled everyone’s faces.
“Milta, you did it!” I yelled in excitement, but Milta, leaning against me, didn’t move an inch.“What? What happened!?” I panicked.
Had she given her life to save these people? She had spoken to me about her dreams… was this how it ended?
Then, an old man who had been healed walked up to us.
“Young man, don’t worry. If this girl is who I think she is, then she’s absolutely fine. She has only exhausted her magical power. She will wake up when she rests. On that topic, why don’t you come to my home? I’ll give her a place to—”
“No!! She’s coming to my house!!!” Before the old man could finish, others interrupted, fighting over who would take us in.
A wise-looking elder with long gray hair and a beard finally calmed the ruckus and led us to a small house not far from the center of town.
“The bed is dusty, but it’s still in good shape. It hasn’t been used in a long time.”
The dragon was tied outside. As I sat beside Milta, the old man brought me bread and soup.
“I hope you’ll be able to eat this. Many of us here don’t have much to offer. Because we are so close to the capital, strong adventurers protect this place, but in return, they rob us of our food.”
I felt sorry for them, but I still took the bread and ate it all.
After about an hour, Milta finally woke up as if nothing had happened.
“Milta, are you alright? You scared me!” I rushed to her side, but she only smiled.
“It always happens when I exhaust my magical power. Now that I’ve recovered some, I’m perfectly fine.”
For someone who had just woken up, she looked refreshed and happy, as though she had saved the world.
After sitting up properly, she asked how long she had been out. When I told her about an hour, she hurried out of bed.
“Oh no! If the week ends, we’ll be in trouble. We have to leave now if we want to make it to the capital without incident!”
With that, we left the old man’s house with a parting gift of bread. Outside, many of the people she had healed earlier were waiting with gifts—money, food, anything they could spare.
It was a heartwarming sight, but we had to leave before time ran out.
We were given directions to the capital, and like lightning, the dragon raced through lands and forests until we reached a huge gate.
For some reason, a massive gate stood before us, surrounded only by vast fields of trees and rocks.
“We’re here! We made it in good time. I think we still have about ten minutes before the time runs out, but don’t let your guard down. We never know what could happen.” She spoke excitedly, staring at the gate.
“Is it really that dangerous when the week ends?” I asked.
“How can you say we’re here? All I see is a huge gate. Where is the capital?” Unless the gate itself was the capital, I didn’t see anything.
“Don’t be silly. Haven’t you heard stories about the capital? It’s surrounded by a very powerful transparent barrier to keep monsters and demons out. Of course you can’t see it until you get inside.”
So that’s how it is…
As we got closer, guards in metal armor with stern faces waved their hands, signaling us to stop at the checkpoint.We slowed down and dismounted the dragon as our belongings were checked.
They asked our names and race, then told us to sign a piece of paper. The writings looked like a war between noodles, but I understood it as if it were my own language.
After a while, we were cleared and given a copy of the paper, signed with our blood, before being led to the small entrance by the gate.
My heart raced for some reason. I felt as though everything would begin once I crossed the black line to the other side.
“Hey, hurry so we can go to the guild and register our names.” Milta had already crossed, and she turned around, urging me on.
But I could barely hear her over the pounding of my heart.
Almost as if I didn’t want to set foot in the capital, my body froze. Sweat ran down my neck.
“What’s wrong, are you sick?” Milta looked worried, but I couldn’t move.
A guard came up behind me and shoved me. “Hey, move! How long are you going to stand there!?”
Before my foot could cross the line, a deafening sound—like an elephant’s trumpet—filled the sky. It echoed everywhere, impossible to pinpoint. After thirty seconds, it finally faded.
“Oh no! The Mighty Week has ended. We made it just in time!” From the other side of the line, Milta jumped in celebration.
“Tch! Back to that nightmare again. If you don’t move, I’ll kick you out and you’ll never enter the capital again.” The impatient guard glared at me.
Milta grew more worried. “Why won’t you enter? You said you wanted to come to the capital, right? Or is there something else you must do in another town?”
Even though our journey was short, she looked saddened at the thought of me leaving.
What am I doing, making her worry like this?
But everything changed. The moment I set foot inside the capital, a loud noise like a bell filled the air. Within a minute, the skies darkened—not by clouds, but by something else.
People of different races, in huge numbers and ready for battle, swarmed the place. From rooftops to the ground and behind me, all their weapons were pointed straight at me.