Ball of Nothing

After Brutus left to find out the prices of the corpses that Zero handed over, Zero thanked Dwayne and Brutus. The innkeeper lent Brutus his spatial storage ring to keep all two hundred and fifty killer bee corpses while offering to bring a basin of water for the mole beast girl to wash up.

Zero led the blind mole beast girl upstairs carefully and Dwayne watched as the young elf treated her with more care than anyone else ever had. The innkeeper started to think that there was perhaps more than met the eye for things regarding the two brothers. One was like the moon, cold and merciless while the other was like the sun, warm and welcoming. He couldn't understand why they would go on a hunt then bring back a slave. It wasn't uncommon for children to be kidnapped in the lawless zone after all.

Zero must have been the one to rescue her but Truen must have been the one to take care of the dealers. A beast folk slave wasn't uncommon but Dwayne could not understand why anyone would want a blind slave. Also, slave traders usually brought in slaves by the wagon. What happened to the other slaves? The innkeeper couldn't help but be curious.

At the same time, he was a little miffed by how two people could manage to kill three hundred killer bees all by themselves. No matter how strong the archer was, there would always be a limit. He heard that Truen was now at the Dirt Ring, smashing his opponents without even breaking a sweat. Could the bowman be an S rank adventurer as well? Was he simply hiding his strength? Dwayne would believe it. However, something that Truen said on the first day disturbed him greatly. He said that his younger brother was stronger than him.

Watching Zero help the blind girl up the stairs made Dwayne wonder how much stronger Zero truly was. The water would be brought up to their room after they settled in but Dwayne wondered if Zero was also going to ask for some medicine to treat her wounds. She must have gotten stung by killer bees as well because of the monstrous swelling on her limbs.

Medicine was rare in Deadman Town like it is in any lawless area. The terrain didn't do well for plants and Dwayne wondered if they would be able to buy any for the poor child. If not treated, the poison would kill her before the elven brothers could get to the nearest city even after all that they've done to save her.

Upstairs, Zero closed the door and helped the girl get onto his bed, not minding that she got dirt all over the sheets. It wasn't anything cleaning magic couldn't solve. However, he had to keep it a secret for now. He didn't know this girl or why the adventurers had kidnapped her. It would be terrible if she turned out to be someone who also hated elves.

"It's ok," he told her. "You're safe now. I'm going to treat your wounds and poison, let me know if it hurts or if you feel unwell."

The mole girl nodded and thanked him in a timid voice.

As Zero slowly removed the rags from her to check on the more serious stings, he grimaced. The flesh was starting to fester in some places beneath her fur but Zero knew it wasn't from the killer bee attack. This was a whip wound several days old. The wound was still fresh and bleeding but because it hasn't been attended to on time, it had started to rot.

Although Zero didn't see anyone carrying a whip, he was still furious. How could they whip such a small child?! This wasn't something Zero could treat with the girl still awake. He needed to put her to sleep and perform surgery. Still, he didn't think that he could simply cast a sleeping spell on her. She would freak out too much if he did it. Instead, he told her to stay put and went downstairs to look for Dwayne.

"Can I have a cup of tea together with a basin of water and some cloth? Brutus will be buying clothes so I will wait for them. Also, do you have anyone else working here that I can borrow for a few hours?"

Dwayne frowned and looked at Zero as if he'd grown another head. "Why do you need to borrow someone for a few hours? A bath will only take twenty minutes at most."

The doctor shuffled uncomfortably. He didn't want to lie to the nice innkeeper but Truen told him to lay low. As if sensing his predicament, Dwayne sighed. This elf was certainly good at tugging people's heartstrings for some reason. If he was a girl, there would have been many troublemakers. No wonder his older brother was so overprotective. Dwayne couldn't blame the archer at all.

"There isn't anyone else in the inn except for Brutus and myself. I won't be able to leave the counter for long but I suppose once Brutus gets back, I can assist you myself. How's that?"

Zero looked conflicted. Having Dwayne help him would be a lot easier than having Brutus help him out because the ex-mercenary wasn't very knowledgeable or quick-witted when it came to things outside of his normal tasks. In short, he wasn't very smart and Zero needed someone level-headed to assist him with the surgery. It would be great if Truen was here but the elf was busy at the Dirt Ring. Zero couldn't possibly wait for him to return and start his treatment on the mole girl. Time was critical when it came to saving lives so Zero weighed his options.

"C-Can you please give me your vow that you will not tell anybody what you will be seeing if you help me? My big brother made me promise to keep my abilities a secret but I cannot hide them from you if I require assistance. Please don't let my big brother or anyone else know?"

With such a sincere and adorable plea, how could Dwayne refuse? Without even knowing when he did it, the innkeeper gave Zero his word and watched the elf beam before running back to his room with a cup of tea that he helped himself to. Still dazed, the innkeeper can only wonder how this kid managed to charm a veteran like him without effort.

Zero was dangerous indeed but since he was sworn to secrecy, he wasn't going to go back on his word. Once Brutus returns, he will assist the child with what he needs.