Ryuk was immersed in thought when a silhouette slowly moved behind him, nearing his ears, and whispered, "Are they both your girlfriends?"

'....' Hearing her voice, he turned towards her, glancing blankly before turning to leave, "Let's go, he is already dead."

"Seems I overdid it; shouldn't have punched him," Esme chuckled while teasing Ryuk, trying to lighten the mood even though her mind was filled with a surge of emotions.

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"What do you know about Heindal?" While walking towards the town gate, after already covering the long distance, Ryuk inquired, remembering her sudden reaction upon hearing the name Heindal.

"...." Esme, upon hearing his words, stopped, making him also halt in his way, turning towards her. He noticed her hand's subtle clench in her dress and the slight persuasion of her lips, making him narrow his gaze.

"If you don't want—" Ryuk understood that this could be a sensitive topic for her, prompting him to postpone it.

Of course, he wasn't going to leave her without knowing the reason, but maybe that bloodshed had some impact on her, prompting him to hold patience.

"....My mother went there four years ago," Esme's eyes turned downward, holding her dress with eyes filled with slight pain.

"I see." Not acting insensitive, he closed the distance before hugging her.

"What?!" Suddenly feeling his touch, her isolated demeanor broke, prompting her to exclaim while her hand pressed between both of them, trying to distance herself but futile.

"Calm down, you can tell me." Ryuk's amber eyes looked down at the silver hair, eyes calm while not wanting to ignore this fact. At least it could give him some lead about the changes happening in Heindal.

"....I left my home three years ago in search of her, but grandma didn't let me have any long-distance ship, so I am stuck here." Esme's hand loosened, burying her face inside his firm chest, not lifting her gaze due to already scratched memories bombarding her mind.

'Isn't it three years ago?' He wasn't sure, but the timing he knew about the event happening three years ago regarding a young woman killing the head of the Blair-Devereaux Family matched with her.

But looking at her, he rejected this thought.

After all, wasn't she just ADEPT level with an Illusion ability?

How could she defeat a LEGENDARY Ranker?

"So, you are healing patients to earn money." Ryuk could understand that the reason for her staying here was due to this place being safer than others and having somewhat sources to recharge her ship. But realizing something, he inquired, "But what's with that house?"

Seeing the state of this place, he was sure that even if Esme arrived here, specifically choosing this town and that house which seemed better than any nearby was slightly confusing.

"It was my father's house; he was a doctor here." Esme's memories resurfaced in front of the man whom she had not met for longer than a few months, her fingers clenching his cloth.

'Did she get her bloodline from the maternal side?' Ryuk could come to the conclusion that if her father was a doctor here and could only possibly be a Dariant, then she must have gotten her bloodline from her mother's side.

"But why did your mother go to Heindal?" He inquired while understanding that he was just interrogating and hurting her by reminding her of some buried memories.

"....When I was little, mother brought me out of there while leaving my sister with Aunt Els—" Before Esme could complete her sentence, suddenly a scream reached their ears from the town gates.

"AAHHHH! THIS IS CURSE!"

'?!'

Suddenly, Ryuk too turned towards the town, hearing the screams vividly, prompting him to swiftly lift Esme in a princess carry before dashing towards the town's gate.

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"Ahh, Mom, my hand hurts," a small boy looked at the blister formed on his hand, appearing to contract and relax as if alive.

"No, no, what is happening?" Another person carrying his child ran towards the direction of a house, their eyes fixed on the sight.

It was an epidemic.

Suddenly, the whole town was infected by the same parasitic creatures that were dealt with a few months ago, but none of them cared where it originated from since it was common on Titanora.

Due to their physique being able to utilize mana swiftly, these parasites grew faster with more mana supply, paralyzing their whole body.

"Young Miss, please help!" A woman arrived at the house crying, while holding a child whose legs had red marks, indicating the early stage of infection.

SWISH

Swiftly, two figures materialized outside the house, one woman without a mask and a man wearing one, unwrapping her hand and swiftly hurling towards the crowd.

'System, analyze and give me a solution this time,' Ryuk was already frustrated after hearing how the system became useless when curing curses and diseases, but also aware that the system couldn't be omnipotent.

DING!

[Host, I have already been working on it for two months. There are potions to heal it, but the healing will initiate a chain reaction, since the cause of this disease is a system.]

'!?'

'Didn't you tell me about it being caused by some curse?' Ryuk inquired, trying to understand the sudden information he got from the system.

[Host, initially I had scanned the symptoms and based on this world's norms, reached the conclusion of this being a curse or disease. But on further analysis, this parasite seems to be mutated using the System's power, added in a negligible amount, just to make it adapt with curing methods.]

'...' Ryuk understood that healing them would make the other side aware of him, but looking at the crying women and men holding their children, he felt uncomfortable.

Seeing them in such a state, he could only take a risk on himself.

It was a foolish decision, but by remaining cautious, he can't sacrifice the lives of these people, after thorough thinking, he came to a single decision: 'System, purchase the potions.'

He would just handle the upcoming problems or whatever chain reaction was going to initiate.

[Purchasing 100 Potions × 10 Kill points = 1000 Kill points]

The system didn't doubt his decision and instantly purchased the potions, not caring a bit about triggering some other system, it just wanted to confirm thoughts from its host.

"Wait, why is this scattering like this? Shouldn't you all be taking the medicines?" Esme inquired, touching the blister which was beating like a heart, appearing repulsive yet the pain of those people was visible.

"Sob, Young Miss, we kept taking it, don't know how this happened." The woman clenched her son, seeing him quivering and coiling due to intense pain.

'Should I change the medication?' Esme had already tried to provide everything from her side, but even after changing the medicine timely, the disease seemed to adapt itself with treatment and once again resurface.

"Purchase this potion with only 1 copper coin, it will heal him"

A voice caused Esme's gaze to turn towards the young man who arrived beside her, kneeling and coming at her level, holding a crimson red vial with bubbles forming within, making it clearly visible to everyone there.

"...Y-young Miss? Please heal my child." The woman ignored the man and focused on the white-dressed woman beside him, not wanting to trust the man who wanted to sell his medicine by taking advantage of their helplessness.

"...."