"Yeah, we will give you two a ride." Said the leader of the caravan currently passing though the town Nick was resting in with the girl he had rescued.
"Thanks. The first caravan that came through here refused to give us a ride." Nick said with a sigh of relief.
"No problem. I have a daughter about her age, I couldn't deny giving a ride to a young girl who has been through so much. We have a few people in our caravan who can use medical magic, I will have a couple of them help you out and help heal the girl on our way back to the capital. Hop in the back cart, it should be mostly empty, I will have them meet you in there in a few."
Nick nodded, walking over to the girl he rescued. "Dahlia, I got us a ride. Let's get going." Dahlia had started talking not long after Nick returned to this world, though she has not said much. In fact she has only said two words, she said her name and she said "hungry" at one point as well.
She had been through a lot, as evident by the scars and wounds all over her body. Luckily the people in the town were very understanding and supportive, giving her fresh clothes, food, and medical treatment for free. The clothes aren't very flattering but they are way better than the rags she was wearing before. Nick was surprised at the hospitality of the people in this world, though he imagined people would do the same on earth for a girl in her situation. It is just human nature to want to help those in need.
Dahlia was in peasant-like clothes, a simple white t-shirt and brown rough-looking pants. Her legs and arms were completely bandaged, she was also wearing a blindfold-like bandage around her head to cover her eyes. Or rather the space where her eyes used to be. Overall however, after being bathed, clothed, and bandaged she looked normal except for her missing fingers and hand. There was not much that Nick alone could do for missing limbs, he was not good enough at medical magic to regenerate limbs yet.
Dahlia slowly climbed into the back cart of the caravan, moments later two more people entered and the caravan began to move. "My name is Stanley Wood and this is my wife, Lauren." Said the man that entered the cart. His wife just gave a slight bow before realizing the girl she was bowing to was blind.
"Hello." She said with a surprisingly soft voice.
"Hey. As you will be able to tell when you use your magic I have been able to stop most of the bleeding but I have kind of reached the limit of what I can do alone. I'm taking her back to the capital so she can get the proper care for her injuries." Nick fought the urge to let out a sigh as he looked at Dahlia.
"We understand. Believe me, you have done more than enough for this girl." Stanley said. "I heard from Carter that you found her in pretty bad shape after taking the quest to exterminate that Billy guy who lived around here. You look so young, I can't imagine doing what you did at such a young age."
"Heh, believe me when I say if you told me what I would be doing a year ago I would have laughed in your face."
"Life is unpredictable, but you have done a good thing. Who knows what might have happened to this girl if you had taken a different path through life. Every action you take has consequences, good and bad, no matter how minor. That is why we decided to travel with this caravan, we figured we could do the most good with our talents if we traveled." Stanley said with a smile.
As Stanley touched Dahlia's arm she jumped in surprise before settling down. "Wow, I had no idea the damage was so extensive. I never support taking a life but if there was one person that had to die I'm glad it was the man who did this."
"Yeah, I had never taken a bounty quest before but when I read what this guy was doing to people It made my blood boil. Once I got my hands on him I was kind of on auto pilot, killing him without even thinking about the gravity of taking a human life. It helps to think of him as a monster instead of a human, because that is what he was. A monster who had no place in our world."
"I understand how you feel," Lauren placed her hand on Dahlia's arm as well. "but taking a human life is never- Oh, my god..." Lauren's tone and expression completely changed once she used medical magic and saw the extent of Dahlia's damage. She even began to tear up a little once she was able to understand what had happened. "You are right, he is a monster."
"He's in the underworld where he belongs, he was going to end up there one way or another but I'm glad we don't have to waste good food feeding someone like that." Nick said, watching them begin to heal Dahlia. Normally Nick would help but he had already used up a lot of his mana on healing her injuries. So much of her body was covered in wounds that it took a lot of mana to make even the least bit of progress.
"Well, I'm sure nobody is mourning his death." Lauren sighed, going silent as she continued to heal Dahlia.
Well, somebody is going to miss him. If for no other reason than a noticeable dip in income. Nick pulled out the dragon ring and looked over it. It wasn't anything special, it seemed to be made of bronze which was a common metal so the chances are good he wasn't a high ranking member of the syndicate. Still, Nick knew Billy's death would not go unnoticed. He could very well become a person of interest to the syndicate after this.
The hours slowly passed by, going with a caravan was a lot faster than walking but it still felt like ages before they got to the capital. It would be getting dark soon and there was still a bit of a walk to get to the castle. As the caravan came to a stop Stanley began to speak. "We took care of most of the more serious injuries to lessen the pain she feels, she will need serious medical attention and rest if she wants any hope of a full recovery."
"Thank you. For both the free ride and help." Nick stood up and helped Dahlia do the same. He took some comfort in the fact that the walk to the castle would not cause her too much pain. Though, he was sure she would still be in an intense amount of pain.
"Don't mention it, just get her some help. It might be a bit costly but you can't put a price on a person's happiness." Nick nodded to Lauren as she spoke.
"I know. I have a few connections that can help me out so money shouldn't be a problem." By connections he mainly meant Alyssa. He didn't want to ask too much of her but he imagined she wouldn't have much of a issue helping Nick get permission to have Dahlia treated in the castle medical ward. If nothing else he could pay with information to have her treated there.
He waved to the rest of the caravan as he made his way back to the guild with Dahlia following close behind. He had to hold her hand the entire time to comfort her as well as guide her around. He got a lot of strange looks, he had spots of blood all over his shirt and pants thanks to healing her and cutting Billy's fingers off. The woman he was guiding around being visibly injured just compounded the problem. He was not sure how he got to the guild without being stopped by the town guard.
As he entered the guild building he took a look around, nobody had noticed him yet but he knew it would surely become a bit awkward if someone confronted him about the girl. Though he wasn't looking around to see if anyone noticed him, he wanted to notice someone else. Particularly the girl leaning on the reception table seemingly waiting for the payment from her latest quest. Well, that's convenient. Nick smiled and began to walk up behind her.
"Been a while." Nick said, Alyssa nearly jumping out of her skin before turning around.
"Uh, yeah... It has." She had a hesitant tone in her voice until she saw the girl who was following behind Nick. "What happened to her?"
"Oh, this is Dahlia, I met her on my last mission. It was a bounty for this guy who would kidnap nobles and torture them until their families would pay a ransom. This girl's family was unable to pay the ransom so he kept her as a kind of test subject." Nick explained without realizing it was a bad idea to talk about this in front of the victim. Dahlia just hung her head and kept quiet as he explained.
"Oh... What do you plan to do with her?"
"I'm glad you are here actually, that saves me a step. I was thinking about taking her to the castle to get healed but I don't know if I will be able to negotiate something like that on my own. I was also thinking we could go on a quest together once we drop her off at the medical ward." Nick could feel Dahlia's grip tighten when he mentioned leaving her at the castle. He reassuringly squeezed her hand.
"Oh, uh... I think it would be best if we quested alone for now. I-I just think we can both grow more as people if we take on quests alone for now. Once we learn how to handle ourselves we will be more effective as a team." Alyssa had a slight nervousness to her voice as she spoke.
Nick frowned. "Oh, sure... I guess that is fine, I suppose it would be best if we learned how to handle ourselves before we have to worry about looking out for another person." He knew that wasn't what she actually meant, he could tell she was a bit uneasy to travel with him now that she knew he had demon blood. He could respect that she would need time before feeling comfortable around him again.
The sound of a door opening brought both of their attention to the returning receptionist. "Alright, here is you payment miss." As he approached the desk he noticed Nick. "Oh, that's right, he was looking for you." The receptionist said as he pointed at him.
Nick just glared at the receptionist for a second before sighing and putting the bounty poster on the table. "I took care of him. I brought back his ring as proof that he is dead." He took out the dragon ring and held it up before putting it back in his pocket. "But I assume the people in the town have already confirmed it and sent word."
"Ah, right, I will return with your ten gold in a moment." The receptionist returned to the back room after giving Alyssa her payment.
"Ten gold? For a C rank?" Alyssa raised a curious eyebrow.
"Ah, I got some more training at the castle this past month while learning how to control my demonic energy. According to my trainer I am easily B-rank without even having to use that extra power."
"Oh... Seems you have grown a bit too much for me to follow you anyway. I would just slow you down on a B-rank quest."
"Hardly, I could have used your help on the last quest. You could have probably taken care of the man who I had to fight." In hindsight he realized Billy was kind of a pushover. He wouldn't have had much of an issue winning a fight against him had he not been locked in that room and force to use all his mana to escape. He was feeling good about B-rank bounties.
"Well, regardless, we can catch up later. I got a new quest and if I head out now I can be back in a few days." Alyssa quickly made her way out of the guild, seconds later the receptionist came back out with a small leather pouch in hand.
"Ten gold. Have you found another quest you would like to take?"
Nick took the pouch and put it in his pocket. "No, I have a couple of things to do before I take another quest."
The receptionist just nodded as Nick began to make his way out of the guild. Surprisingly almost none of the adventurers had noticed or paid any mind to him. They were mostly a bunch of meatheads talking to their buddies and getting drunk, they were pretty oblivious. They had also probably seen weirder than a guy leading around a blind girl while covered in blood. There was no shortage of bloody clothes in the guild house.
Over the next hour Nick made his way to the castle, a couple of guards gave him nasty looks but did not try to stop him or question him. It seemed the guards in this city were actually pretty lazy unless someone was committing an obvious crime right in front of them. Or it could just be that the guild house was nearby and they saw stuff like this all the time, or at least that was Nick's reasoning. He could stop and ask them why they hadn't stopped them but he decided that would be a waste of time. He had places to go and people to see.
"Hey, I've returned. Can I go in?" Nick was not exactly sure of how entrance back into the castle worked. He had not actually come back of his own will yet.
"Uh, what is your purpose?" One of the guards asked, obviously a bit caught off guard by the group seeking entry to the castle.
"I live here, I left to go on a quest for the guild. My name is Nick Anderson, you must have heard of me." Huh, that came out sounding a lot more pretentious than I wanted. "I have come to negotiate medical treatment for this girl. I believe I have information that the king and his staff would be glad to hear about."
The guards looked at each other, as if discussing without actually saying a word. "Uh, I will tell Captain Draper of your arrival and purpose. Please wait here until I return." The guard that spoke entered the castle as the other stood there and looked at Nick suspiciously.
Great, Captain Draper. He is a fucking ray of sunshine. "You don't have to look at me like that, you can keep an eye on me without glaring at me." The guard coughed and looked away for a moment to regain his composure. He obviously wasn't used to being called out.
After a couple dozen minutes the door to the front of the castle opened and the captain stepped out with the door guard in tow. "Ah, Nick Anderson. What business do you have here?"
"Did he not tell you? Whatever. I have information I would like to exchange for medical treatment and a room for this girl. I will need to speak with an engineer of some kind for him to tell you if it is a good deal or not. If he decides it isn't then I will come back with something a bit more substantial."
The captain nodded. "Very well. Follow me, I will escort you and your companion to a room to wait for the royal engineer."
Royal engineer? What the hell kind of a title is that? "Alright." Nick followed as Captain Draper lead the way.
"What happened to her anyway?" He asked.
"Ah, she was the victim of a bounty I took from the guild."
"What scum. I hope you showed him a painful end." The captain said with a surprising amount of emotion in his usually monotone voice.
"Don't worry, I had him begging before I let him die."
"Good job." In a weird way Nick could tell that the captain was smiling as he said this without actually being able to see his face.
Time passed and eventually Nick was left sitting in a completely closed off room as he waited for the royal engineer. Him and Dahlia were the only people in the torch-lit room. That is until the captain returned with the royal engineer and another guard. The royal engineer sat across from him at the table and looked at him expectantly. "So? What is this thing you want to tell me about."
"Ah, well, I'm not sure If you are aware of my origins, but-"
"I am aware. I am the royal engineer after all."
"Right... Well, my idea is for a mobile clock. It is called a pocket watch, a clock that is small enough to fit in your pocket. You have to wind it once every day but it is extremely convenient when you are like me and are often on the road. I can stay here for a few days while I draw diagrams and explain how it works but it will be an extremely useful device for military personnel especially."
"Hmm, it is an interesting idea. I am interested to see the specifics on how such a devise works. We had thought of something like that a few years ago but we couldn't think of a way to make it work." The man looked over his shoulder to the captain. "It is indeed a fair trade for something as minor as medical treatment and temporary dwelling."
"Very well. I will report to the king." The captain said, giving a slight bow before exiting the room with the other guard.
"Now, I assume you understand the basics well enough. Can you explain in detail how such a device functions?"
Nick spent the rest of the day explaining and drawing simple diagrams of how a pocket watch works, at one point a couple of nurses came to take Dahlia for treatment. It took nearly twenty minutes for them to be able to convince Dahlia to leave Nick's side. After a long time Nick eventually returned to his room in the castle and waited for his alarm clock to wake him up. He had a lot of research to do.