Neneva and Graymond finally accepted me as a guest. The reason, predictably, was my [Herbalist] Job. I didn't know exactly how many Jobs God Karia bestowed upon the world, but there was no doubt that [Herbalist] was one of the most well-regarded vocations a person could have.
What Neneva specifically wanted from me was a way to treat Graymond’s lower back pain. While I occasionally felt an inexplicable, intimidating pressure emanating from him, Graymond usually seemed like nothing more than an ordinary old man.
In other words, his back simply ached with age.
Out of concern for the man, Neneva had adopted a ridiculous, high-society tone when she made her offer: "If you were to provide a remedy effective against back pain, I suppose it might not be entirely impossible for me to permit you use of the guest room...!?"
I stood there blankly for a moment, not quite sure what she’d just said.
"Treat the Old Man’s back!" Neneva blurted out, dropping the act. "If you do, I’ll let you stay in the guest room. You wanted to collect Herbs around here and research medicine, right?"
I laughed and readily accepted her proposal.
And so, I began my life as a squatter in Neneva’s house, but...
"By the way, Neneva. Where do you get your food and water?" I asked.
We had moved to the dining room, and I spoke to their backs as they began preparing a meal. From what I could see, Neneva’s house sat in total isolation. It was a three-day walk to the nearest town. If they only had enough supplies for the two of them to scrape by, I’d feel guilty about casually sitting down at their table.
"Eh? We just get it from around here, obviously," Neneva replied nonchalantly, glancing back at me. "Though we do have wheat for bread delivered periodically from the nearest town."
"From around here...?"
"Yes. From around here."
I wondered if it was even possible to find edible food in the Dusk Hollow Wetlands, a place known as the Poison Swamp. For that matter, did they even have drinking water?
"What about water?"
"We have a well."
"And that water... is it actually drinkable?"
Neneva knit her brows, looking a bit miffed. "Of course it is!"
"I see... My apologies."
The information I’d gathered beforehand suggested that the Poison Swamp was uninhabitable for humans, but it seemed those reports had been a bit hyperbolic.
The two of them went about the cooking with practiced ease. Left with nothing to do, I felt a wave of awkwardness. Sitting alone at the dining table felt too much like I was putting on airs as a guest, which I hated.
"Is there anything I can help with?"
Neneva spun around at my question. "In that case, go fetch some water in that bucket! There’s a well behind the house."
"Understood."
I grabbed the empty bucket from the corner and headed out. I walked briskly to the rhythm of the knife hitting the cutting board behind me, stepped out the front door, and landed on the ground with a wet squelch. It was definitely a swamp. The surrounding mud reeked enough to be a health hazard.
I rounded the house, wondering if it was truly safe to eat anything harvested from this environment.
Sure enough, a small, solitary stone well stood exactly where Neneva had said it would be. I sat on the edge of the stonework and lowered a small bucket tied to a rope. The pulley creaked and groaned until the bottom of the bucket finally slapped against the surface. Once it felt heavy, I hauled the rope back up.
"God, it reeks..."
It was foul. The water smelled exactly like the swamp—a stench so offensive it felt like a personal insult. Holding my breath, I poured the water into the larger bucket.
After repeating the process a few times, the bucket from the kitchen was full. I put some muscle into my right arm and hoisted it up.
"It really stinks..."
There was no way this was drinkable. Anyone who drank this would surely fall ill.
The water sloshed in the bucket as I navigated the muck. The ground was slick, and a fall would be a disaster. I picked my way carefully back to the entrance, wiped the mud off my boots, and went inside.
"Good work, Walt! Put the bucket over there!"
Neneva gave the order with unusual enthusiasm. I set the bucket down and immediately backed away to escape the odor.
Neneva stepped up to the brim and hovered her hands over the water. I watched, wondering what she was up to.
"Hah!"
As she shouted, Neneva’s hands erupted in a blue-white glow. The light rippled across the surface of the water, enveloping every inch of the bucket in a faint radiance before dissolving into the air.
"Phew. That does it. It’s all clean now!"
"What?"
"I said it’s clean!"
Neneva puffed out her chest with pride. Behind her, Graymond watched with a gentle smile.
What did she mean, "clean"? And what was that light? Was she telling me that a girl who hadn't even received her Job yet could use magic? That should have been impossible.
"Why are you making such a scary face?"
"Oh, sorry..."
"Ah! It’s going to burn!"
Smoke began to rise from the pan sitting on the Stove Magic Tool, and Neneva scrambled back to her cooking.
I leaned in toward the bucket of water she claimed to have "cleaned."
"The smell... it’s gone."
"It is indeed," Graymond said, appearing by my side as if to explain. "The Young Lady possesses a Mysterious Power. The water in that bucket is now perfectly pure and safe to drink."
I froze.
The "person with the potential to seal the [Fragment of the Evil God]"... it was Neneva.
Sasha must have caught wind of Neneva’s Mysterious Power somehow. She had sent me here specifically because she knew Neneva was the key to sealing the artifact.
"Neneva is..."
Just who is she? I started to ask, but the words died in my throat. Graymond’s expression had turned cold and stern for a fleeting second.
Left with no choice, I stayed silent and watched Neneva’s back as she finished the meal.
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