I Became My Healer Elf Character

Kai entered the cellar of the loot house. Immediately, his nose was attacked by the smell of sewage. The worst thing about this place was the sewer channel that ran directly below them. All of the water ran through the tunnel below and exited through a grate at the wall of the city.

It was the perfect way to describe this village of gutter rats. They were just like the smelly water below. A bunch of stinky people unfit to join in on those clean rivers. Kai had seen noblemen and women, but he didn’t understand what was so different about them. Was it just because they were born with a golden spoon in their mouth?

Either way, Doenel was kind of like a noble rat. He was a rat man in the literal sense, and he wore a black tuxedo. The aura of his clothing contrasted nicely with his long face and the sludge pool below them.

Horace grabbed Kai by the collar and thrust him forward, sending the boy sprawling to his knees. "I brought this little rat. Boy said you had him steal this." Horace pointed at the blue potion in his other hand.

Doenel’s nose twitched, and as his mouth opened, Kai could see his large buck teeth. The rat spoke with a nasally voice. "Is that so? Bring it over here, Horace."

As Horace handed the rat the potion, Doenel began to inspect it with a hand on his chin. His whiskers wiggled in the murky air. He narrowed his eyes at the content. "Indeed, this is a nice little fetch. The quality is very good as well."

Kai stared at the rat hopefully. He grinned. "Does that mean…"

The rat put a hand up. "One moment boy." Doenel reached behind his chair into a small satchel. His furry hands rummaged through a coin pouch, and he counted a few of those bronze coins on his fingers. "4...5...how does 5 bronze coins sound?"

"Huh?"

"Did you lose your hearing or something, boy? I said 5 bronze coins. That should be good for someone your age, right?"

Kai jumped to his feet. "That wasn’t the deal! You said you would heal my sister with that!"

"The deal was for you to deliver the goods safe and sound, boy." The rat pointed it at a small scratch in the tincture. "This could hardly be considered sound."

Kai grit his teeth and clenched his fists before pointing at Horace. "That’s because of him!"

Doenel shook his head in exasperation. "You shouldn’t blame others for your own failure. Did I not teach you the rules of thieves?"

Kai felt the world around him getting more and more blurry as tears filled his eyes. He crinkled his nose and bit down on his lip. "Please...please…please…" He choked down the vitriol threatening to erupt.

Doenel sighed and placed a tender hand on Kai’s shoulder. "I understand your pain, boy." The rat leaned in close to Kai’s ear. "Your sister can still be saved."

Kai looked up with teary eyes. "She can?"

The rat nodded and wiggled the blue vial. "My sources told me of a new target just now. If you steal from them, I will let you have this vial and a silver coin, how about it?"

"Really? Will you really give it to me?"

The rat smiled through yellowed teeth. "Of course, you can always count on me."

"Who is it?"

"This one appears to be an elven priestess."

As Kai accepted the request, little did he know that the rat’s fingers were crossed behind his back.

///

Hikari noticed the gross smell upon landing first. No doubt, this place was the true dregs of society, and she could see it from the faces of people around her. Many hung out around the corners or kept their doors shut. The people eyed their arrival with weariness, and others eyed them as prey.

The buildings were a mix of metal sheets and wooden structures, hardly fit to stand for long periods of time. If it wasn’t for the smell, the elf would find excitement in a place like this. After all, every one knows that games with places like these usually had the most interesting quest lines.

"Mistress, I suspect that the people around her have rotten attitudes," said a certain vampire. "Also, this smell is unfit for someone of your stature. Should I take care of this place immediately?"

"Wait!" Hikari stopped the vampire before looking towards Kurayami. "Want to do something about this smell?"

Hikari definitely had some spells that could deal with the smell, but light spells were too conspicuous for better or worse. Kurayami naturally had many spells that targeted the senses as a master of subterfuge.

The dragon nodded and held out her hand. A black stream of magic channeled into the soil below them. "Hide the smell of rot beneath the smell of flowers. [Petal Veil]."

It wasn’t just the group of four that noticed the change. Many people around looked surprised by the new smell. The sewer below began to smell like a sweet peony.

Hikari did have the worry that people would go down there to look for the source of the scent, but she hoped people weren’t dumb enough to dive into sewer water.

Regardless, she noticed that the information channels here traveled fast. She could hear the whispers of people. Upon their arrival, several scouts stationed on rooftops jumped down relayed messages to each other. The elf was a bit surprised that no one approached them, but she understood it in a way.

Imagine you are standing on top of a building and observing. All of a sudden four girls appear in extravagant clothes, leaving you without any clue how they got their in the first place. If you were supposed to be a thief would you try and steal from these people?

The answer in Hikari’s mind was no. Only stupid people would try to rob a group like that in broad daylight. It was better to try and get on the newcomers good side, or…

Mizuko held out her hand and stopped the group as they began walking. "Someone is watching us with malicious intent, my mistress."

Hikari tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. "How did you know that?"

"I can feel the blood of the people around us. If someone has any malicious intent, I will know it by the small changes from within. Their heartbeat will quicken, and their magic signature changes slightly."

Hikari’s eyes widened. Of course, it made sense that a vampire would be granted that. In the game, Mizuko had a similar ability that served as a passive. Basically, it was another way for Hikari to tell if there were nearby monsters when she formed a party with Mizuko. "Do all vampires have this ability?"

Mizuko shook her head. "Only the progenitors would have this ability. Of the younger orders, it’s possible that the ones classified as [Ancients] have this ability."

Hikari nodded. "By the way, how old would that make you?"

Mizuko smiled, but her eyes were definitely not smiling. "My mistress, there are some questions you aren’t supposed to ask, you know….Besides, you are definitely much older than…"

At that the elf, covered the vampire’s mouth with her hand. "Alright! I get it." Instead, she changed the subject back to the matter at hand. "Where is the one with malicious intent?"

The one to answer wasn’t Mizuko, but Amelia pointed to a small staircase. The shadow cast by the building barely hid the face of a young boy who must have been no older than 10.

The boy definitely noticed Amelia pointing at him. His eyes grew as wide as saucers before he took off running in the opposite direction down a narrow alleyway.

Hikari sighed and narrowed her eyes at Amelia. "Look, now he ran off."

Amelia smiled wryly and scratched her cheek. "It’s not my fault this place has such bad public order. Maybe if they believed in a real goddess…"

"Does a real goddess hide away from her responsibilities and shove them onto someone else?"

Amelia squeezed Hikari’s cheeks. "Will you let that go already! I am here, aren’t I?"

"Don’t fret, Mistress," Mizuko said, "I tagged that boy the moment I found him. No matter where he runs I can end him at any time as long as you give the order."

Hikari shoved Amelia’s hands away and glared at Mizuko. "Hey! Don’t go ending the lives of children just because they are a little rambunctious!"

"Master, this is exactly why we should not bring this vampire here. She has no idea how you think or how to treat humans."

"And you’re any better!? Weren’t you the one trying to kill anyone who looked at me the wrong way before?"

Kurayami looked away awkwardly, choosing to plead America’s fifth amendment.

"Mistress, it looks like the boy has stopped off about 400 meters to the west."

Hikari sighed. "Let’s go see what’s up with that kid." Then the elf looked at Amelia. "Don’t startle him."

"Me? I am a goddess of order!"

"Well, consider this an order."