Seeing me collapse on the ground, the captain rushed over.
He asked me with concern, but I was in no condition to respond.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts!!
It hurts! It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts―――!!
This is wrong. I must have made a mistake in the potion.
The effect is going in the wrong direction.
Ah, I understand now. When the black dragon Zabiria used the healing potion, she attacked because of the unbearable pain. I wonder what Zabiria is doing now?
Oh no, my mind is getting confused. Who made such a healing potion?!
This is a complete failure and should never be released――――!!
Seeing me writhing on the ground, the captain murmured with concern.
"Sometimes, people don't react well to healing potions. Given that you called your arm injury a minor scratch, I don't think Fie is weak to pain, so it must be that your body doesn't react well to the potion."
...Yes, that's right. Healing potions work by forcibly enhancing the user's healing ability to heal wounds, but this one is working incorrectly. The more healing magic power you have, the more pain you feel. That's why I'm in excruciating pain!
"But this is a problem. The pain will occur regularly until the wound heals. It will be difficult to return to the city with the Sixth Knight Squadron."
The captain glanced at the Sixth Knight Squadron, who had almost finished cleaning up after the battle with the Flowerhorn Dia.
Despite the intense pain, I managed to speak.
"No, I don't want to. I'll go back with the Sixth Knight Squadron. Today is the meat festival..."
"Huh?"
"It's true that if you extinguish the fire in your heart, it will cool. If you don't think it hurts, it won't hurt. But even if you think you want to eat meat, you can't eat it if there's no meat! Even if you extinguish the fire in your heart, the fire is still hot!!"
"...Fie, let's have a serious talk when your wound heals."
The captain smiled as kindly as possible and suggested.
"No, I don't want to. I feel the same pressure as when Aldio gives a lecture. I worked hard today. Let me eat the meat!"
I got up and put some distance between myself and the captain.
Ah, the pain is starting to ease a little...
"It's healed! It's healed! There's no pain, so I'll go back with the Sixth Knight Squadron."
Really, it's true. Despite appearances, I'm a former Great Saint. This kind of injury is nothing. I can heal it in the blink of an eye. Yes, the potion caused some status abnormalities, but it still only takes a blink of an eye.
"Captain Cyril, I apologize for interrupting."
Turning to the voice, I saw Fabian standing there.
"If you allow it, I'll take care of Fie. She's much smaller than me, so I can carry her if necessary. I assume the captain has to guard the chancellor, so would you let me handle it?"
The captain showed a thoughtful expression but quickly agreed with Fabian's suggestion.
"...Yes, that's a good idea. She will likely complain of intense pain several times, so please carry her when that happens. Make sure she stays with the other knights at all times."
After a moment's hesitation, the captain continued.
"Monsters have their own power dynamics. We've received reports that one of the three great beasts ruling this continent is missing. This has caused the distribution of monsters to become unstable. I thought this area was far enough from where the beast was missing, but the appearance of the Flowerhorn Dia suggests that we might be affected. Therefore, there's a risk of encountering unstable monsters. Make sure she stays with the other knights at all times."
"Understood."
Fabian answered the captain seriously and took me with him.
Good. Now I can participate in the meat festival and secretly use healing magic to escape this intense pain.
When I joined the Third Squad, everyone greeted me.
"Fie! Your arm is injured. Come here, I'll bandage it for you."
I approached as instructed and extended my arm, but for some reason, my hair was messed up.
"You're amazing! You knew that weird monster's characteristics so well!"
"That thing is seriously dangerous! If we surrounded it, it would spew fire, so we had to keep our distance, but if we stayed too far, it would extinguish the fire and attack, so we had to surround it again! If your timing was off, you would have been the meat at tonight's meat festival!"
"No, even if you became a meatball, you wouldn't be allowed to participate as meat!! You don't have the right to participate as meat!"
"Hehehe, Flowerhorn Dia is delicious!"
In front of the excited knights, I proudly shared the information I knew.
"What was the meat we've been eating until now? It tastes so good, it's surprising. Your tongue will melt. It will turn into a fight. A big fight."
"Really...?"
Some of the knights seemed to be imagining the taste of the Flowerhorn Dia and were looking at the dead monster with a dreamy expression.
Wow, you're tough. To see a monster you just fought as nothing but meat, you truly are knights!
I had my arm bandaged by one of the knights and set off with them.
After walking for a while... I suddenly crouched down in intense pain.
"Ughhhhhhh!!"
Crap! I forgot I had taken the healing potion!
"Hey, Fie, what's wrong?!"
"Did you get sick?"
The knights around me asked with concern.
Unable to speak from the pain, Fabian answered for me.
"I think it's recovery pain. She took a healing potion earlier to heal her arm, so the recovery pain must have come back."
"Ahh..."
"Yeah, there's nothing you can do about it."
The knights, who had likely experienced healing potions many times, nodded in sympathy.
Then, Fabian and I were given a shield.
"Since you're wearing armor, carrying you on my shoulder would be uncomfortable for Fie. It's better to carry you in my arms."
Someone said that, and then an arm reached out and picked me up from where I was sprawled on the ground.
"Ah!"
F-Fabian, carrying me in your arms is not okay!!
You might think it's just part of the job, but what if I have impure thoughts?!
And...
"T-This is because of the armor! My armor is cursed to be heavier than normal. So, even if you think I'm heavy, it's definitely the weight of the armor!!"
I desperately tried to explain the important point.
The pain was still intense, but it was more important to assert the weight of the armor.
"Ahh, yeah, I've never heard of such a curse, but if Fie says so, it might be true."
"Wow, you're amazing. To get a cursed item from standard-issue armor is something else."
The knights' gazes felt warmer than before, but I ignored it.
The important thing is to get their acknowledgment.
Everyone, you've acknowledged the cursed armor. I heard you clearly!
After the pain subsided, Fabian let me down. During a break, I hid behind a tree and secretly used the power of the Saint.
As expected, the wound on my arm and the status abnormality causing periodic intense pain were instantly healed.
...I got injured, so I healed it. It's a simple matter, so why does taking a healing potion make it so complicated?