TERNLF Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 8

Full title: The Exiled Reincarnated Noble Lives Freely

Note: If you found any typos/mistakes, pls write them in the comment. Thanks.

Translator: Canon

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Nikka had first discovered her ability to use healing magic when she was ten years old.

The catalyst had been a butterfly—with delicate, beautiful wings—that had accidentally wandered into her room.

However, only one of its wings retained that beauty; the other had been tattered, likely the result of a bird attack.

It hadn’t entered her room of its own will, it must have been swept in by the wind.

Moved by its condition, Nikka gently cupped it in her hands and carefully placed it on the desk inside her room.

Stripped of the ability to fly with only one wing, the butterfly flapped frantically atop the desk, struggling in vain to take off.

But with a single wing, flight was impossible.

Time and again it nearly toppled off the edge of the desk, and each time, Nikka scrambled to save it.

They repeated that dance over and over.

“That’s when I remembered the little chant my mother used to say whenever I got hurt.”

“A chant? Was your mother a healer too?”

“No… My mother couldn’t use magic at all. That’s why I called it a ‘chant’ rather than a spell.”

It was likely akin to the phrase “pain, pain, go away” from my previous world.

At any rate, Nikka recalled that comforting memory, and just as her mother had once done for her, she whispered the same healing chant to the injured butterfly nestled in her palms.

“And then… I felt something warm welling up from deep within my chest, flowing into my hands—”

Startled, she slowly opened her hands…

And to her amazement, the butterfly’s torn wing, cradled gently in her palms, began to mend; gradually but unmistakably.

From that day forward, she began casting her “chants” on all sorts of things.

“Like flowers that were wilting… or vegetables in the garden that looked less lively than the others.”

The moment her talent became known to others was when she healed a minor injury on her mother.

While cooking, her mother had accidentally nicked a finger. Nikka had instinctively taken her hand and performed her usual “chant.”

At first, her mother simply smiled and thanked her, touched by her young daughter’s imitation.

But then, she gasped as she watched the small cut slowly yet clearly begin to heal.

It was then that the villagers came to realize Nikka possessed the gift of a healer.

“There was someone else in the village who could use healing magic, and I ended up learning a lot from them. But as you saw, Toa, my healing magic takes a really long time to show any results, and even my teacher found it puzzling.”

“That’s because 【Resurrection】 works differently from ordinary healing spells.”

Typically, healing magic worked by enhancing the recipient’s natural recovery abilities through magical energy.

However, 【Resurrection】 was said to restore health and cure ailments by generating and renewing cells using infused mana.

Because of this, it lacked the immediacy that most people associated with healing spells.

“That’s why no one in the village needed my magic anymore.”

In the end, it seemed Nikka had been labeled a failure as a healer in her village.

Rather than wait for her slow recovery spells, people naturally preferred the other healer who could provide immediate results.

By the time Grassa arrived with her parents after leaving the capital, Nikka had already been stripped of her role as a healer and was treated as an ordinary village girl.

Eventually, as she grew close to Grassa, their bond deepened, and after many twists and turns, Nikka resolved to become an adventurer alongside her.

But in truth, her decision wasn’t based solely on the tales Grassa always shared or the words, “Let’s become adventurers together.”

Some time after Grassa moved into the village, a certain adventurer party passed through.

They weren’t there on a mission; they had simply stopped by to rest on their way to a work site.

In an isolated rural village like Nikka’s, far from the trade routes, the only visitors were usually traveling merchants who came at regular intervals.

Still, from time to time, adventurers would pass through on their way to monster-hunting grounds.

For those rare cases, most villages had some kind of lodging prepared.

Of course, no one could run a full-time inn just for the occasional guest, so the standard practice was to rent out an empty house.

Nikka’s village was no different; there were no innkeepers, so each family took turns hosting travelers.

That day, it was Nikka’s family’s turn, and Grassa had volunteered to help.

“There was a healer named Amol in that adventuring party.”

While talking with her, Nikka started to wonder if, as a fellow healer, Amol might know a way to improve her magic, and so she opened up about her struggles.

Nikka had known that people in the village secretly referred to her as a “fake healer.”

Because of that, she’d tried all kinds of things to prove herself, like increasing her mana reserves, or rushing to treat anyone who got so much as a scratch.

But no matter how much effort she put in, her healing speed never improved.

“Miss Amol told me that she used to struggle with healing magic too. She said it was only after she became an adventurer and gained experience that she finally learned how to use intermediate-level healing spells.”

Hearing her story, Nikka began to wonder, maybe if she gained experience as an adventurer, she could stop being a “fake.”

That feeling had taken root in her heart and lingered there, even long after Amol and her party had left the village.

And so, she made the reckless decision to leave the village and become an adventurer.

But—

“In the end, I guess I was never really a healer... no matter how hard I tried, it was pointless.”

As she spoke, Nikka seemed to recall those earlier days, and for a moment, a complex expression crossed her face. But it lasted only an instant.

“But... 【Resurrection】 can heal Edra’s hand, right?”

“Yeah. From what I saw earlier, your magic definitely worked. I can’t make any promises yet, but if the treatment continues, I think there’s a chance her hand could return to normal.”

“I see... that’s a relief.”

“And all the effort you put in wasn’t meaningless. Your mana reserves are incredible for a beginner adventurer. It might be precisely because you poured all of that into Edra’s hand that we saw any change at all.”

If Nikka hadn’t gone that far, I might not have even noticed the change in Edra’s hand.

And if her mana pool had been any smaller, that much magical energy probably wouldn’t have accumulated in Edra’s hand to begin with.

“So let me ask again, what do you want to do from here, Nikka?”

“Of course... I want to heal Edra’s hand.”

“And after that?”

“After that...?”

Nikka tilted her head, unsure. I took the opportunity to explain in detail how those who wielded 【Resurrection】 had been treated throughout history.

I also reminded her that, while we’d asked Grassa and the others to keep it secret, it was entirely possible that someone could discover she was a 【Resurrection】 user at any time.

“...”

After hearing all that, Nikka fell silent.

“It’s not something you can decide on the spot.”

Maybe I’d pushed her too hard for an answer.

Facing someone with a rare and powerful ability for the first time, I may have gotten a little too worked up.

Nikka was still young. Legally an adult in this world, but by my old world’s standards, she’d still be in high school.

“I think it’ll take several more days for Edra’s hand to fully regenerate. Use that time to think things over.”

“...Okay.”

She responded in a small voice.

I gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder—

“Alright, let’s head back to the others and have a strategy meeting on how to heal Edra’s hand.”

—then held out my hand to her.

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