Conditions Are Yours to Name

"Andy, Apothecary Link and Sir Enzo are here to ask for your help."

Uncle Darby saw Andy coming over and explained with a smile, a hint of pride in his voice.

From how politely the two men were acting, he could imagine just how highly they regarded Andy!

"Help?" Andy narrowed his eyes and looked toward Sir Enzo.

Link picked up the conversation. "Andy, Sir Enzo's Luxray has been poisoned. He'd like you to see if you can cure it."

After Link finished speaking, Sir Enzo lowered his head, afraid to look at Andy. His heart was in his throat.

Luxray, and Poisoned State... He must have figured it out... Sir Enzo screamed inwardly. He wanted to say something, but couldn't bring himself to speak.

He cautiously raised his head, only to find that Andy hadn't answered right away. Instead, he slowly walked over to the Ironclad Rhinoceros pulling the carriage.

The Ironclad Rhinoceros stood rigidly, the carriage's heavy body and its thick, chainlike harness pressing into its flesh and leaving a deep indentation.

The iron hide covering an Ironclad Rhinoceros was incredibly tough. That indentation couldn't have gotten so deep without years of wear and tear. On top of that, the whip marks on its body were still fresh.

Clearly, the other party had been whipping the Ironclad Rhinoceros mercilessly to hurry the journey along.

"Andy?"

Seeing that Andy hadn't answered directly, Link looked puzzled.

"An infected Luxray, is that right?" Andy came back to himself and fell into thought.

Sir Enzo kept his head lowered. From beside them, he added, "As long as you can cure the Luxray, Mr. Andy, you can name any condition."

Any condition I want... After falling silent for a long moment, Andy nodded. "Let's take a look first. I may not be able to cure it."

Hearing Andy's words, Sir Enzo jerked his head up, his face alight with joy. He can do it. He definitely can!

"Then let's get in the carriage right away," Link said happily, thinking that Andy was a good friend to agree as soon as he asked.

"Okay."

Andy nodded, then patted the Ironclad Rhinoceros and murmured, "You'll have to work hard again. Drink this."

He took a Healing Potion from his backpack and poured it into the Ironclad Rhinoceros's mouth, which watched him with a numb gaze.

A moment later, the Ironclad Rhinoceros felt a warm current spread through its body, easing its fatigue and the pain in its skin. A glimmer of life returned to its eyes.

"Andy, you're as kind to Monsters as ever," Link remarked. He remembered that when they'd been at the baron's estate, Andy had come to save Petilil.

Andy didn't explain. He climbed into the carriage, but instead of going into the carriage compartment, he sat beside the coachman. "I'll drive."

The coachman looked bewildered and glanced at the equally bewildered knight, who nodded to him.

Don't ask questions. Just do whatever he says... Sir Enzo screamed inwardly. He was terrified Andy would bring up the Luxray and its poisoning.

Whatever happened, they needed to get Andy back first. Once they were home, they'd have more leverage to negotiate.

While they were talking, little Andy came running over, panting, with Petilil and Mukkuru. He spotted Andy sitting on the carriage.

"That Petilil..."

Sir Enzo's heart tightened again. It was that very Petilil that possessed an uncurable deadly poison!

In the knight's eyes, Petilil had long since become the most poisonous thing in the world.

Even if he really had a chance to steal Petilil now, he wouldn't dare use it to make a Panacea.

Who knew whether the potion he brewed might also turn into that uncurable poison? Just thinking about it made him shudder!

Then he glanced at Mukkuru. He felt relieved, but also somewhat fortunate.

Fortunately, I kept something in reserve back then. If anything happened to this Mukkuru, that young apothecary would definitely become my sworn enemy!

"Petilil, Petilil."

When Petilil saw Andy climb into the carriage, it jumped in after him, startled, not wanting to be separated from him.

"Okay, I'll take you along this time," Andy said with a smile.

Petilil was already very different from before. With its Deadly Poison Technique, it had become quite a capable fighter.

"Ironclad Rhinoceros, let's go."

After saying goodbye to Uncle Darby and little Andy, Andy held Petilil in his arms and spoke to the Ironclad Rhinoceros in front of him.

Perhaps because of the Healing Potion, the Ironclad Rhinoceros was very obedient. It pulled the carriage forward at a brisk pace.

As it started moving, the reins could be seen sinking completely into the indentations on the Ironclad Rhinoceros's body, pulled taut as the carriage began to move slowly behind it.

Andy sighed softly, took the whip, and went into the carriage compartment, leaving the empty-handed coachman looking dazed.

The carriage rolled along slowly. Inside, the atmosphere was heavy, as if the air around them had congealed.

Link gradually sensed that something was off. He glanced at the two silent men in the carriage and scratched his head, unsure how to break into the conversation.

After a while, he decided he should explain the Luxray's condition to Andy first.

As Link spoke, Andy nodded. He had already confirmed that the Luxray was the same one that had attacked the farm yesterday.

Still, he was surprised that no one in City of Ambition had been able to cure the Deadly Poison Potion he had prepared.

But then he thought it over. The Deadly Poison Technique could inflict the Deadly Poison State, which was much harder to cure than the Poisoned State. In that case, it wasn't so surprising.