Wand Enhancement
Checking on Dontas's condition was the priority.
Just what kind of state was he in?
I hoped he wasn't too badly hurt.
Some might say it was an overreaction.
That even though we met on an adventure, our connection wasn't that deep, so I shouldn't worry too much.
But to me, it was a precious bond.
He was practically the first comrade I made after coming to this other world and living like a beggar.
He couldn't be anything but precious.
So I followed after Violet as quickly as I could.
And a short while later.
"This is it, the place where Dontas is."
"Whew..."
I felt a little nervous.
In what state would Dontas be lying there?
Thinking such thoughts, I knocked on the door.
Knock, knock.
As I knocked, someone opened the door from inside.
"Let's go in."
"Yes."
And so, Violet and I entered the place where Dontas was.
Then-
"What brings you here, Mr. Mage?"
I saw Dontas lying in bed.
He was sitting up, using a mechanical device to open the door.
He had said he used to be a master craftsman, and his skills were certainly impressive.
With that thought, I approached Dontas.
"...I heard you were badly hurt."
"Well, I got a little banged up, that's all."
Dontas wasn't the type to complain much about injuries.
So for him to say this much?
It meant he was seriously hurt.
It was only natural for me to feel anxious.
"Excuse me for a moment."
Normally, I would ask for consent before examining someone's body, but now was not the time.
I was a bit too worried.
[Lightning Bolt]
I used Lightning Bolt, running electricity through his body to find any abnormalities.
Bzzt-
How long had I been searching?
"...His leg..."
No wonder he hadn't gotten up even after we arrived.
His leg was severed.
If it had been a clean cut, it might have been better, but it was mangled horribly on purpose.
As if to taunt me.
"...Ha."
Rage welled up inside me.
Normally, I would try to maintain my composure even in this situation, but right now, it was difficult.
All I wanted was to catch that thief and kill him.
But I couldn't kill him with just my thoughts.
So, I decided to heal Dontas first.
Originally, using Heal on others took a considerable toll on me, so I rarely used it, but I felt it was alright to use it on Dontas.
[Heal]
I had just grasped the structure of his body with Lightning Bolt, and I had examined it before, so it wasn't that difficult.
Woong-
The sound of Dontas's leg regenerating reached my ears.
Normally, reattaching a severed limb was the standard procedure, but seeing the state of the cut, I figured it would be difficult to reattach even if we had the leg, so I decided to regenerate it completely.
"...I'm always indebted to you, Mr. Mage."
Dontas apologized to me.
But I had no intention of accepting his apology.
In the first place, Dontas had done nothing wrong to me.
So, I shook my head and said,
"There's no need for you to apologize, Mr. Dontas. It's not like you did anything wrong."
"...Even so. Thank you. I thought I would spend the rest of my life as a cripple."
Dontas knew better than anyone what it meant for me to use Heal on him.
Mages who could use Heal were extremely rare.
And among those few, those who would use it on others were almost nonexistent.
It was an incredibly taxing act.
"It's nothing. You're not just anyone, Mr. Dontas. You're my adventure companion."
As I spoke those words, trying to lighten the mood, his leg was fully regenerated before I knew it.
I wondered what it felt like.
To lose a leg and then have it grow back.
"It's a newly regenerated leg, so it'll take some time to get used to it. Just like when I regenerated your arm before."
"I understand. Thank you, Mr. Mage."
To Dontas, I might just be a passing encounter.
But to me, he was precious.
That's why I used Heal on him.
With that thought, I said my goodbyes.
I had a lot to do."Well then, I'll be on my way. Take care and get some rest."
"I will. You be careful too."
"Yep."
"Bye bye, Shortstack~"
Violet was always playful, no matter the situation.
It helped to lighten the tense atmosphere.
And so, we opened the door and stepped out.
"I'll be going ahead then. Let's grab a meal together next time."
"...Don't push yourself too hard. Your opponent is more cunning than they appear."
"Of course."
There was no way I could have been defeated by someone like that in the first place.
The me back then and the me now were completely different.
With that thought, I cast a spell.
[Haste]
My body became swift, and I set about what I needed to do.
First, I had to go to Amelia's General Store.
I needed to sell all the milk jugs I had and ask if she could enchant my current wand with a magical effect.
As much as I wanted to rush off and catch the thief without any preparation, I figured it was better to be prepared.
It would be a pointless death if I let my thirst for revenge cloud my judgment and get myself killed.
It was better to be appropriately prepared.
After all, if he had escaped from prison, it meant he had likely made ample preparations.
Tada-dak.
I moved quickly, my steps swift.
Before I knew it, I arrived in front of Amelia's General Store.
I opened the door and went straight in.
And then-
"Oh my..! Hello there..."
"Hello. By any chance, would you be interested in purchasing this?"
I got straight to the point.
I took out the Griffin Milk I had stored in my subspace pouch and handed it over.
And then-
"Ooh... This is Griffin Milk...? This is incredibly rare to come by.."
"I have my ways of obtaining it."
I had no intention of revealing that I was raising a Griffin at home.
Especially since I was raising it without a permit.
Getting a permit was a very troublesome process.
They rarely granted permission.
"Hmm... Of course, I'll buy it..!"
"Could you tell me the price per bottle first?"
"Huh..? You don't just have one bottle..?"
"I have more here."
I had about 30 bottles more.
So, I took out all the Griffin Milk I had.
And then-
"Gasp..!"
Amelia's eyes sparkled as she examined the Griffin Milk.
Anyone could see she was very interested.
It felt like a sure sale.
As I watched Amelia-
"Ahem, how about one platinum coin for all 30 bottles..?"
One platinum coin?
All the money I had painstakingly earned was about one and a half platinum coins.
To think I could earn this much just from milking a Griffin.
It was clearly an absurd situation.
So, I asked,
"..Is it usually this expensive? I've never heard of Griffin Milk being so valuable."
"It's originally expensive..! In the first place, milking a Griffin is a difficult task, so even domesticated Griffins will resist if you milk them more than once a day.."
"...Hmm."
I felt a pang of sympathy for the Griffin at home.
But wasn't it the life it had chosen?
Die by my hand, or be captured and milked.
This was the result of the Griffin's choice.
Thinking such thoughts, I said,
"Then, by any chance, could you use this Griffin Milk to enhance this wand?"
As I spoke, I took out the wand from my subspace pouch and handed it over.
And then-
"Hmm... It seems like such a waste to use Griffin Milk for something like this..."
"..Is that so?"
"Yes, Griffin Milk contains potent magical energy, so it's usually used for top-tier weapons."
I didn't think I could produce Griffin Milk indefinitely.
It was amazing that the Griffin was being milked three times a day, but there was a chance I wouldn't be able to milk it like that in the future.
'Then this would be good.'
I thought of a perfect solution.
"Then, please use just one bottle on this wand."
"Well... I'm not exactly a specialist in this field... I've only mentioned it before, buut..."
"But you can still do it, right?"
"I suppose I can..?"
"Then please do."
Enhancing the wand was a necessary task.
Just by holding the wand, the power of my magic increased, and the deployment of spells became faster.
Since I would be using this wand for the time being, it was worth investing one bottle.
When I told her to proceed, Amelia carefully took a bottle of Griffin Milk and-
Woong-!
She sprinkled the Griffin Milk into the air.
Amazingly, the Griffin Milk stopped mid-air.
Amelia began to mutter something under her breath.
A moment later, the Griffin Milk attached itself to the wand.
It slowly started to be absorbed.
The wand continued to absorb until-
It had absorbed all of the Griffin Milk and returned to Amelia's hand.
"It's done..."
The preparation was complete.
It was time to find the bandit who had attacked Dontas.
"Thank you."
As I expressed my gratitude and opened the door-
"Payment, please..!"
Amelia requested the enhancement fee.
'Ah, right.'
It was common sense that enhancements required payment.
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