Meanwhile, in Kazdel—
Vera frowned deeply at the messages in the group chat. Vane's questions were hers as well. Something seemed off about Gregor.
"She's crippled?!"
The startled cry pulled Vera from her thoughts, and she turned toward the speaker.
The startled cry pulled Vera from her thoughts. Frowning, she turned to see a mercenary standing before a young girl with a strange look on his face.
The girl remained silent, utterly unresponsive to the mercenary's interrogation, as though she were in another world.
Seeing that the mercenary seemed ready to get physical, Vera suppressed her irritation and stepped forward.
"What's going on?"
The mercenary hastily stepped aside when he saw Vera and pointed at the girl on the ground.
"Boss, this one's apparently crippled. She can't walk at all!"
"Can't walk?"
Vera looked at the girl sitting on the ground. The first thing she noticed was a delicate face whose beauty even the dust could not conceal.
After a momentary pause, Vera quickly collected herself and examined the girl's limbs.
"What's crippled about her? All her limbs are intact, aren't they?"
"She can't walk!" the mercenary stressed.
"Other people were carrying her the whole time earlier. She wouldn't move on her own at all!"
Vera froze, then looked at the girl again. She remained as unresponsive as a doll.
Vera beckoned to the figure timidly watching them from a distance—Rice.
"Come here!"
"Yes!" A flicker of delight crossed Rice's face, and Rice hurried over at a jog.
The sight of that face made Vera's temper flare again. She took a deep breath and forced it down.
"What's wrong with her?"
Rice looked at the girl and scratched their head.
"The slave trader threw her in as a freebie. The owner said she knew healing Originium Arts, but didn't tell