Everyone busied themselves clearing the battlefield and treating the wounded.
In the latter half of the night, the commotion in the forest gradually died away. The frenzied magical beasts seemed to suddenly regain their senses and quietly retreated deep into the woods.
By the bonfire, the people who had toiled through most of the night finally had time to catch their breath, collapsing on the ground in every direction to rest.
Near dawn, a bluish light gradually appeared on the horizon.
No one noticed Aunt Susan, the broad-shouldered, burly cook, returning from the forest with a "barbarian" clad in animal hides slung over her shoulder. She quietly entered the steel cabin and tossed the unconscious person onto the floor.
Inside, Canossa was already fully dressed, though it was unclear whether she had not slept or had risen early.
She glanced at the brown-skinned barbarian before her. A knowing look flashed through her beautiful eyes as she asked flatly, "Did you find out what happened?"
"Yes."
Aunt Susan nodded. "I followed the disturbance to investigate. The Beast Tide was caused by barbarians from the Ashen Forest ambushing another group. Both sides suffered heavy casualties, and the battle line stretched over a long distance. Judging from the equipment on the corpses, the group being pursued should have been agents from the Oma Royal Family's secret intelligence organization, Blackwater Platform."
At that, suspicion appeared on Canossa's pretty face. She muttered, "Blackwater Platform? Why would they be reaching into the City of Radiance?"
At that moment, Aunt Susan pointed at the hide-clad barbarian on the floor again. "I traced the source of the Magical Fluctuation and found this living 'barbarian.' There was a temporarily constructed magical altar there. She appeared to have suffered magical backlash and remained unconscious. The totem on her body was also unusual, so I brought her back."
She continued, "Just now, the old butler used a secret technique to probe her. He sensed several emotions: 'pursuit,' 'something important,' and 'recover.' I suspect Blackwater Platform seized something important from the barbarians, which was why they chased them here."
"I see."
Canossa's eyes shifted as she asked, "How did these barbarians get here?"
Aunt Susan said, "We found traces and feathers of large birds of prey in the forest. They should have ridden snow eagles and flown directly over from the Alkoron snow mountains."
Canossa's brows lifted slightly as she considered it. "Flying directly over the snow mountains is extremely risky. After all, the summit is that evil dragon's territory. It seems they really lost something important for these barbarians to risk flying over from the sky."
After pondering for a while, she asked, "What about the cause of the Beast Tide? Did a High Priest from the barbarian tribe come?"
"The cause is unknown. But it probably wasn't a high-ranking barbarian priest."
Aunt Susan shook her head. "If a High Priest had come through the air, the evil dragon would have been easily alerted, and the mages of the City of Radiance would certainly have noticed. I suspect the Beast Tide may have been created through some kind of secret sacrificial ritual."
Canossa asked, "You think it was this little barbarian?"
Aunt Susan said, "It is highly possible."
Canossa's gaze shifted, and she nodded thoughtfully. "Mm, I understand."
Aunt Susan asked again, "President, how should we deal with this barbarian?"
What she really meant was, if she was no longer useful, should they dispose of her while they were at it?
"Keep her for now. We may get an unexpected gain from her."
After thinking for a moment, Canossa added, "After all, barbarians never abandon their companions."
"Understood, President."
Aunt Susan nodded and turned to leave.
Then, as if remembering something, Canossa added, "Oh, right. Send Sam in for me."
Not long after, Uncle Sam entered the cabin as well, listening respectfully as Canossa gave him instructions.
A moment later, he accepted the exquisitely patterned sterling silver case, his face full of astonishment. "President, have you really decided to give him this secret technique?"
Whatever order he had heard made the honest-looking uncle appear deeply troubled, as though the matter was of great importance.
Canossa did not seem to care and instead asked, "What do you think of his martial talent?"
"Uh... at the very least, I have never seen anyone with such monstrous learning ability. Even those famed martial geniuses of the two great empires are far inferior."
Sam did not deny it. Naturally, he recalled what had happened the night before.
Turning back, he still looked somewhat troubled. "But... he is Princess's man, after all. Wouldn't that be inappropriate? And the chief president..."
Canossa wore an expression that said her mind was made up. She waved a hand. "Just do it. Don't tell the old man for now. I'll find an opportunity to explain it to him personally later."
"Oh."
Sam's face twitched. He looked weakly at his president, as if wanting to say something, but swallowed the words in the end.
After a night of rest.
Sunlight spilled across the land, and the thick fog in the forest gradually dispersed, improving visibility. The area around the camp was a complete mess. Massive trees lay scattered everywhere, and the air still carried the lingering smell of gunpowder and smoke.
Early that morning, Rein was summoned to Canossa's room.
"Madam, you wished to see me?"
Rein had assumed the Countess would be curious about his Iron Mountain Lean from the night before.
But unexpectedly, she did not mention it at all. Instead, she pointed at the unconscious stranger who had appeared in the room and said, "This morning, Susan picked up a barbarian while gathering mushrooms in the forest. She is probably connected to last night's Beast Tide. See if you can heal her."
"A barbarian?"
Rein's curiosity was piqued as well.
As for Canossa's claim that Aunt Susan had "picked up" a barbarian as though she had found mushrooms, he did not ask further.
Neither of them liked prying into the other's secrets. That was also one of the most important reasons they got along so well.
The "boy" on the floor had a thick head of short chestnut hair. His features were delicate, with a hint of childishness, and he appeared to be quite young. His entire body was thin and frail, while his dark brownish-yellow skin made him look somewhat malnourished.
His face bore an inverted triangular totem painted in red and white mineral pigments. He also wore a large animal hide draped over his body, crudely stitched together like a huge burlap sack.
The image was rather similar to the primitive tribal people Rein had seen in his previous life.
"So this is a barbarian from the Ashen Forest?"
Rein asked curiously, then crouched down to begin examining him.
There were no bloodstains, and no obvious external injuries could be seen.
He squeezed the bones in all four limbs. Mm, no fractures.
He pressed on the chest cavity. The ribs were intact as well. Huh, why did it feel a little soft? This barbarian's chest muscles did not seem very developed.
Then Rein moved naturally down to the abdomen, hip joints, and finally the area near the pubic symphysis, where he noticed something strange.
"That's not right..."
At last, he understood why something had felt off.
Normally, shouldn't there be a protrusion near a man's pubic area?
"Fuck... no little brother! Th-this is a girl?!"
Rein looked as though he had seen a ghost. The little boy he had assumed this was turned out to be a little girl?
Canossa, who seemed to have known all along, had deliberately said nothing. Seeing Rein suddenly pull back his hand as if shocked by electricity, a mischievous smile appeared at the corner of her brow.
"Examine her properly. If you can save her, then try. If not, it doesn't matter. I'll go out for some air first."
The beautiful Countess left with a smile, seeming to be in quite a good mood.
"So she really is a girl."
Rein recovered, and the strange look vanished from his face. He had only been embarrassed because he had been made into a joke. After all, he was a doctor, and such examinations were perfectly normal.
He then checked the barbarian girl's eyelids and examined her internal breath.
Very quickly, he found descriptions of the corresponding symptoms and treatment methods within Mind Core's vast knowledge repository.
"Deep coma, black tongue coating, dilated pupils, chaotic internal breath, and traces of magical burns on the skin... These symptoms should be magical backlash."
Rein frowned. Clearly, these injuries were beyond what an apprentice like him could treat.
"Magical backlash" belonged to a relatively advanced field of medical knowledge, something ordinary full-fledged doctors would encounter.
If Pasha, the nun outside, handled it, she might have been more capable.
But since that lady had summoned him, she clearly did not want anyone else taking over. From what she meant, it seemed fine if he could heal her, and it did not matter if she died.
Rein was not under much pressure. He muttered, "Looks like I can only give her two bottles of Exorcism Potion first and see what happens."
Since he could not solve it himself, he could only rely on the finished potions left behind by Piscis and Baron Morin.
Exorcism Potion was a common medicine for dispelling and restoring negative conditions. It had some effect on hysteria, nervous disorders, illusions, and magical backlash.
After thinking it over, he pried open her mouth and poured in a bottle of potion.
Uh... although this barbarian girl's skin was a little dark, her teeth were quite white, and she did not have the strange smell he had expected from someone who lived among beasts.
Rein felt that she did not seem all that different from an ordinary person.
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