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Chapter 357: Choosing the Selfless Maid
🕑 Added 2024-10-29 11:01:01 +0000 UTCRem didn't fully understand what "Emperor-level" or "Divine-level" meant, but she could understand the general idea behind Wood's words.
In other words, Wood hadn't yet exerted his full power, meaning that her sister Ram still had a chance of regaining her oni powers!
Among the magic that Wood had mastered, healing magic was one of the most advanced.
However, in the world of "Re Zero," healing magic was also the most difficult form of magic, as even Roswaal, who possessed an overwhelming amount of mana, couldn't master it easily.
Generally, those who could use healing magic were either people with rare affinities or had received specialized training.
Wood, who possessed both exceptional talent and affinity, was able to learn healing magic, and he had reached the level known as "Saint-tier."
At the "Saint-tier" level, healing magic could repair old injuries and remove scars, much like how Wood had healed burns he had received from an attack by a Mabeast in the past.
Ram's broken horn could be considered an old injury, and theoretically, Saint-tier-level healing magic should have been sufficient to heal it.
However, due to the fact that Ram's oni horn was of a higher-level existence and far more complex than simply healing a burn, Saint-tier-level magic could only have a partial effect and was unable to fully restore it.
"Stronger than the healing magic you just used? I suppose that wouldn't be a power that comes without a price, right?"
Ram, feeling her strength partially returning during Wood's earlier treatment, could already tell that he had been doing everything in his power when using the magic.
If he had an even greater magic at his disposal, it would surely come at a significant cost—possibly through some secret art or dangerous ritual.
Regardless of what it was, it was undoubtedly valuable, and with what they currently had, they wouldn't be able to pay for it.
Hearing Ram's words, Rem also turned to look at Wood. In reality, they had no strong connection to him and certainly had no right to demand that he help them at such a great cost.
However, Rem, from her personal desire, wished that Wood could help her sister.
Caught between conflicting emotions, Rem eventually spoke to Wood, saying, "If Sir Wood could really help my sister regain her powers, I would follow you for the rest of my life, even if it means becoming your servant."
Although Rem and Ram were maids in Roswaal's mansion, their true allegiance to Roswaal wasn't absolute.
Ram had chosen to follow Roswaal because he saved them after the destruction of their oni village.
Rem, on the other hand, simply followed her sister Ram wherever she went.
"You have a good sense," Wood said with a slight smile. "To fully restore your broken oni horn, the power I need to use would indeed require a significant price—perhaps even a bit of my lifespan."
"This power is basically my final trump card, so if I do use it, I'd like you to keep it a secret from others."
"As for following me, there's no need. I'm helping because I want you to be freed from your sister's burden, not to make myself a replacement."
As Wood spoke, a gentle silver light began to emanate from his chest. The ancient runes of the 'Heart of God' began to shine through his shirt, becoming visible to Ram and Rem.
Though they could not read the runes, they could sense the immense magic power radiating from them.
The moment the mystical silver runes appeared, Ram and Rem could feel Wood’s magic power grow dramatically.
The entire room was enclosed in a barrier that Wood had set up beforehand, but the sudden surge of magical energy caused everything in the small space—paper, chairs, and more—to start floating.
"Emperor-Level Healing Magic: Holy Mother's Embrace!"
The ferocious magic filling the room abruptly calmed down, concentrating into a holy woman clad in white robes and holding a staff.
The aura she exuded was pure and holy, so much so that it made both Ram and Rem feel incredibly small and insignificant.
However, the holy woman didn't recoil from their oni heritage. Instead, like a kind mother, she gently reached out her hand to touch Ram's head.
To be more precise, her hand touched the area where Ram’s horn used to be.
Massive amounts of mana formed a vortex, concentrating at an incredible speed within the Holy Mother's hand.
Ram felt her oni blood surging through her veins as the tiny broken horn on her head began to grow again, at a visible rate!
The process took several minutes, and when it ended, the Holy Mother smiled gently and vanished into thin air. Ram was enveloped by an enormous burst of mana.
Uncontrolled wind blades surged out from her, instantly wrecking Wood’s room—tables, chairs, even the bed were shredded into pieces!
When everything finally settled down, Rem’s face was filled with emotion as she tightly hugged her sister.
Ram, still catching up to everything, touched the newly restored horn, feeling the abundant mana coursing through her body, a look of disbelief on her face.
"Thankfully, the Emperor-level healing magic was able to restore your horn. If even that hadn't worked, I wouldn't have had any other way to help."
Even using the life-draining 'Heart of God,' Wood could only cast Emperor-level healing magic.
Divine-level healing magic, however, was still far beyond his reach. Healing magic was fundamentally different from other types, and Wood had never heard of anyone in their world being able to wield Divine-level healing magic.
According to the clergy of the Dragon Kingdom, Divine-level healing was a gift granted by the gods themselves, capable of bringing the dead back to life.
"I really can't thank you enough for this. I have sworn loyalty to Lord Roswaal, otherwise, I would dedicate myself to repaying you, Sir Wood," Ram said.
She looked at the slightly weakened Wood and remembered the extraordinary healing power he had just used. Ram realized he wasn't lying—he really had risked his life to help her.
For this, even the proud and sharp-tongued Ram knelt down on one knee before Wood to express her gratitude.
"Alright, alright, I helped you because it was a promise I made earlier. No need to go overboard with the thanks, and I don’t expect loyalty from you."
"However, if you care about your sister, I advise you to keep her away from Roswaal. That guy is more than he appears."
"Of course, given your loyalty to him, you may think I am trying to drive a wedge between you two, so it's entirely your choice whether to believe me or not."
"I'm just trying to make sure that those I’ve helped don’t end up dying for no reason."
Ram did indeed have complicated feelings toward Roswaal. He was the one who appeared when they were most vulnerable and saved them.
Moreover, for years, Roswaal had been providing her with magic, allowing her to continue living comfortably.
Wood had just made a major sacrifice to help her, so Ram didn't want to contradict him, but she still felt compelled to weakly say, "Lord Roswaal might be a little strange, but he's a good person. Maybe you just don't know him well enough."
"Good person or not, I can't say. But at the very least, he’s deceptive."
"The Bowel Hunter who attacked Emilia in the slums, and the Beast User who terrorized Arlam Village—both were hired by him."
"If I hadn’t taken the Beast User away, the resulting Mabeast attack would have endangered Rem as well."
"It’s obvious that Roswaal has another goal, and for that goal, he won’t hesitate to sacrifice those around him."
"As I said, believe me or not, that’s up to you. Or you could investigate it for yourself. Now, I need to rest."
After saying this, Wood pushed the still-stunned Ram and Rem out of the room to prepare for a good rest.
But when he turned around to look at his room, he realized that, due to the chaos from earlier, it was no longer inhabitable...
Sleeping on the floor wouldn't have been a problem, but there wasn’t even a bed or bedding left intact.
"Tsk, am I really going to have to sleep outside tonight...? Maybe I shouldn’t have rushed the two sisters out earlier.
I mean, after giving them my room, surely they wouldn’t refuse me if I asked to stay in theirs for one night, right?"
At dawn, sunlight shone through the leaves like sharp blades, waking Wood up.
Peeking through the foliage, he saw Subaru teaching Emilia some morning exercises in the courtyard.
Indeed, after struggling with his thoughts last night, Wood decided against going to the oni sisters’ room and instead settled down on a tree branch in the courtyard.
As they saw Wood jump down from the tree, Emilia and Subaru walked over to greet him, curious.
"Did you sleep in the tree last night, Sir Wood? Was it because you weren’t comfortable in your room?" Emilia asked, clearly pleased that Wood had stayed but also worried about whether they had treated him properly.
After all, Wood was the young master of the Hoshin Trading Company, and their accommodations were certainly not as luxurious as those of the Anastasia camp.
"No, that wasn't it. I just tried out a new spell in my room last night, and it ended up causing a bit of a mess."
"And honestly, I had a good rest in the tree. I have a blessing related to moonlight, so sleeping under the moonlight isn't all that bad."
Hearing this, Emilia relaxed a bit, though she was soon intrigued by the new spell Wood had practiced, causing Subaru to become a bit jealous.
Was it his imagination, or had Emilia become less reserved with Wood since he became her knight?
"Lady Emilia, Lord Wood, and Barusu, breakfast is ready," Ram, now in her maid uniform, approached them and informed them that it was time for breakfast.
Initially, there was nothing strange about it, but Subaru—always sharp-eyed when it came to beautiful girls—noticed something different about how Ram addressed Wood!
Subaru may not have been the best fighter, but his ability to observe and analyze was definitely noteworthy.
After living in Roswaal’s mansion for some time, he had gotten a grasp of the personalities of those in the household.
Roswaal was still hard to figure out, given how little he appeared.
But there was also the tsundere librarian, Beatrice; the sweet, innocent Emilia; the ever-dedicated Rem; and lastly, the sharp-tongued and proud Ram.
Unlike Beatrice’s tsundere demeanor, Ram’s arrogance was the genuine kind—something that she couldn't completely hide.
In the Roswaal mansion, aside from Roswaal and Rem, Ram didn't seem to care about anyone else.
Even though she called Emilia "milady," Subaru could never detect much respect—it was merely because Emilia was useful to Roswaal.
But just now, Subaru had been stunned to hear Ram, typically so sharp and arrogant, call Wood not "Sir" but "Lord Wood."
And the tone she used was completely different from how she addressed Emilia—full of genuine respect!
Before Subaru could even begin to figure out what had happened, they reached the dining area, and Subaru was stunned further by Rem's attitude toward Wood.
In theory, Emilia held the highest position, followed by Roswaal, and then Wood as her knight.
Yet Rem ignored everyone else and pulled out a chair for Wood, arranged his utensils, and stood beside him like a personal maid, indifferent to those around her.
