TERNLF Vol. 1 Chapter 2 Part 7

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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“—That’s enough. Any more and you’ll collapse.”

Redroal called out to Nikka, who looked on the verge of losing consciousness from continued spellcasting and mana depletion.

Anyone versed in healing magic knew that even 【High Heal】 couldn’t regenerate lost limbs. So surely, Nikka, who could only cast 【Low Heal】, must have understood that no amount of effort on her part would restore what was gone.

“Just a little longer. Please—just a little more.”

Even so, she continued to pour magic into Edra, desperate to save the friend who had been injured protecting her.

“I can’t stop. Not when it’s for Grassa’s sake too.”

Grassa, who had inadvertently caused the end of Edra’s adventuring career, would likely carry the guilt of that moment for the rest of her life. Nikka didn’t want to stop, not just for Edra’s sake, but to help heal Grassa’s heart as well.

But no matter how hard she tried, everyone present knew it was futile. Worse, at this rate, she herself would collapse from mana exhaustion.

So, despite how heartless it might seem, I had no choice but to speak the truth.

“Even my 【High Heal】 couldn’t restore what she lost. There’s no way your beginner-tier magic could do what mine couldn’t.”

Despite the harshness of my words, she shook her head firmly.

“Even so, I don’t want to give up.”

She continued casting regardless. While her mana capacity was impressive for a novice adventurer, it wasn’t limitless.

“Ugh…”

“Nikka! Are you okay?!”

As Nikka staggered slightly, Grassa rushed to steady her.

“I’m fine… I still have mana left.”

It was a brave front, but it was obvious to everyone that her reserves were nearly gone. I silently resolved to intervene—by force, if necessary—before she fully depleted herself.

After all, while running out of mana wouldn’t kill her outright, I’d heard that completely exhausting one’s magical reserves could result in lingering side effects.

“If things get truly dangerous, I’ll stop you, no matter what it takes.”

As I had in that alley before, I placed my hand on her shoulder and “saw” the flow of her mana. I needed to monitor her magic directly and be ready to act the moment I detected any irregularity.

“…Huh?”

But then—

“Something’s wrong.”

There was a distinct irregularity in the flow of her mana. I closed my eyes again and focused intently on that specific point.

The mana released from Nikka’s healing spell was indeed being poured into the wound where Edra’s hand had been severed. But after that, something strange occurred.

Instead of dissipating, an unusual amount of mana was stagnating at the site of the lost limb.

“What in the world…?”

Normally, channeling magic into a wound that had already closed would be meaningless. The mana would simply vanish without effect.

Yet now, I could clearly see it, mana pooling at the end of Edra’s arm and flowing in a way I had never seen before.

“Nikka! Stop the spell!”

I grabbed her arm and forcibly halted the casting.

“Ow!”

In my haste, I’d gripped her too tightly. At her cry of pain, I quickly let go.

“Sorry… There’s something I need to check.”

I gave a brief apology, then turned to Grassa.

“Could you look after Nikka for a while? Just let her rest for a moment.”

Grassa nodded faintly and led the dazed, nearly mana-drained Nikka away to a nearby spot.

“Redroal, could I ask you to keep an eye on them?”

“Understood.”

With the two of them in his care, I turned back to Edra.

She still hadn’t regained consciousness. I gently lifted her right arm in both hands and brought my face close to the severed end.

“Now then…”

I narrowed my focus once more to examine the strange mana I’d sensed earlier.

“…!”

And that’s when I finally noticed the anomaly in the wound.

“No way…”

The site that my 【High Heal】 should have completely sealed—

It had changed. Even if only slightly, the shape of the severed area had clearly shifted since the last time I’d looked.

“Could it be…?”

I quickly activated my vision again, pouring power into my eyes to observe the mana’s movement.

And what I saw—

“There’s no mistaking it. That’s not a healing spell.”

It was a phenomenon I had only ever heard of before from Klyne, my former master in healing magic.

“This is 【Resurrection*】!” (TL/N: I think “Regeneration” would be a better term here, but the text explicitly uses リザレクション (Rizarekushon), which is “Resurrection” in English.)

I had heard of it, but this was my first time witnessing it firsthand.

Unlike 【Heal】 and its derivatives, 【Resurrection】 was said to be impossible to learn through normal means.

In fact, within this entire kingdom, only a handful of people throughout history had ever been confirmed to wield it.

Of course, there could have been more; users who never realized their gift, never attempted to use it, and passed through life unaware.

Given the tremendous power of 【Resurrection】, perhaps that ignorance had been a mercy.

Because in the past, those known to possess the ability were inevitably “protected” by governments and global religious institutions alike, treated like saints or divine envoys.

But that so-called “protection” was, in truth, little more than gentle imprisonment.

“Healing lost limbs and even life-threatening illnesses with regenerative power... no wonder everyone covets the ultimate recovery magic.”

Back when I was newly reincarnated, I naively believed that magic could easily cure injuries and diseases in this world. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. Even the people at the frontier outpost—who seemed to think every kind of magic and technique was at their disposal—had never seen anyone capable of using 【Resurrection】.

“…So, what should I do?”

I gazed at Edra’s hand, which showed faint signs of regeneration, unsure of how to proceed. If anyone found out about Nikka’s power, it was almost certain that she would be “protected”, just like those who had once wielded 【Resurrection】 in the past. If that was what she wished, then so be it. Perhaps life as a bird in a gilded cage could still be a happy one. But in exchange, she would lose her wings, the freedom to fly.

“No point in me agonizing over it. The decision belongs to Nikka.”

One’s fate should be chosen by oneself, not imposed by others.

“It’ll still take time before Opos and the others return with reinforcements. I’ll just have to talk with Nikka in the meantime and figure out what to do.”

I pulled a cloth from my inventory and cast 【Cleaning】 to disinfect it. Then I wrapped it carefully and thoroughly around Edra’s wrist, concealing the end of her arm. This way, anyone unaware of the situation wouldn’t realize her hand had been severed. After laying her arm gently down, I headed over to Nikka and the others to discuss our next steps.

“Are you alright, Nikka?”

“…Mr. Toa…”

Still lying down, Nikka’s expression remained blank, clearly not in any state for serious conversation.

“You still haven’t recovered enough mana. You should rest a bit longer.”

“But… I have to heal Ms. Edra…”

Even as she spoke, Nikka tried to force herself upright.

“If you collapse before Edra’s hand is healed, who’s going to finish the job?”

I spoke to her gently, like I would to a small child.

“That’s why you need to recover your own mana first.”

I softly guided her body back down into a resting position. Technically, I had a last-resort method to restore her mana immediately, but there was something I needed to do first.

I stepped away from her and motioned for Grassa and Redroal to come over.

“Mr. Toa, did you discover something?”

Redroal’s question gave me pause. I wasn’t sure how much I should say about 【Resurrection】. If the information slipped from either of them, it could endanger Nikka. But then again, everyone here already knew about Edra’s injury. And Redroal, being a healer himself, surely understood that no ordinary recovery magic could restore a missing hand.

If it was going to come out eventually, there was no point in hiding it. In fact, it would be better to make them accomplices, people who shared the secret.

And my gut told me that if anyone could be trusted, it was these two. Grassa, of course, and Redroal as well. I hadn’t spoken with him much, but even in that short time, I could tell he was trustworthy. He hadn’t panicked after seeing Edra’s condition, nor had he lashed out at Grassa. That was enough for me.

So I decided to tell them about Nikka’s power.

“There’s a chance Edra’s hand might heal.”

“What?”

“Is that true?”

They both looked shocked, but I continued.

“I can’t say for sure that it’ll fully recover, though.”

It was true that her wound showed signs of regeneration. But that didn’t guarantee a full restoration. After all, I’d only ever heard of 【Resurrection】 in stories. For all I knew, the process could stop midway. Better to be cautious than make promises I couldn’t keep.

After laying that groundwork, I explained what I had discovered.

“【Resurrection】, huh… It’s hard to believe,” Redroal muttered, clearly familiar with the name.

Meanwhile, Grassa—unfamiliar with the spell—welled up with pure, unfiltered joy.

“As I said, we don’t know for certain if it will fully regenerate, and more importantly, we can’t yet be sure that Nikka’s magic really is 【Resurrection】,” I reiterated, carefully managing their expectations.

After repeating the disclaimer, I moved on to the heart of the matter.

“There’s something I’d like the two of you to promise me.”

“A promise?”

“We can’t agree until we know what it is.”

Grassa tilted her head in confusion, while Redroal remained cautious. The contrast between them was stark.

I laid it out plainly.

“I want both of you to never speak a word of Edra’s injury or Nikka’s 【Resurrection】 to anyone. Not ever.”

“Huh? But why? Isn’t that an incredible power?”

“Exactly. Because it’s such an incredible power.”

Unlike Redroal, who understood the full implications, Grassa had yet to grasp the dangers of possessing such a gift.

“That kind of rare ability spreads like wildfire. Tell one person, and it spreads to another, and another, before you know it, everyone knows.”

“I… I guess that makes sense…”

“Now imagine someone hears that story, someone suffering from an illness or injury that ordinary recovery magic can’t cure, or maybe someone who knows such a person. Desperate people will flock to Nikka in droves. But the reality is, just regenerating a portion of Edra’s hand was already an enormous strain on her.”

Grassa turned her gaze to Nikka, who lay there with a pained expression.

Then, as if finally grasping the implications of my words, her face stiffened.

“She would still try to save them all… no matter how many came to her for help. But doing so would inevitably shorten her own life.”

“…”

“Of course, I think it's fine if she helps others without overexerting herself—so long as she doesn’t exhaust her mana. But not everyone in desperate need of salvation will be willing to wait patiently.”

I went on to explain that if things continued, the only way to ultimately save Nikka might be to place her under tight supervision, even if it meant restricting her freedom.

“I don’t want that… I don’t want that girl to be treated like some tool!”

Tears welled up in Grassa’s eyes as she cried out, her voice fierce with emotion.

That glint of conviction reflected in her eyes was real.

Once I confirmed her sincerity, I turned to both of them.

“That’s why I want to keep Nikka’s power just between us. Please, I’m begging you.”

And so, I earnestly entreated them.

—

“Something so rare and valuable… thank you.”

After the two agreed to become co-conspirators in keeping the secret, I had Nikka drink a treasured mana recovery potion.

That was the method I’d referred to earlier.

What astonished me was how uncommon mana potions were in this world.

I had learned that from a woman named Rentlet, whom I’d met at the frontier outpost.

She was an Elf—a rare sight in the Kingdom of Preasole—and when I met her for the first time, I could hardly contain my excitement.

She was, after all, the first Elf I had ever seen in person since arriving in this world.

But I digress.

Rentlet was well-versed in herbs, working at the outpost primarily as an apothecary.

She crafted potions for illnesses and poisons that couldn't be cured with healing magic alone.

Naturally, she was also skilled in brewing standard recovery potions, and she possessed knowledge of secret Elven recipes that allowed her to create high-grade potions completely absent from the marketplace.

I myself had been dragged into the monster-infested forest and forced to study all sorts of herbs and toxic plants under her guidance.

Because of her deep knowledge of herbs, I secretly referred to her in my heart as the “Herbal Elf.”

In any case, as Nikka thanked me, I shook my head.

“You don’t have to thank me. If I held on to it any longer, it’d just expire unused.”

The scarcity of mana potions on the market was due to several reasons.

First, the ingredients were exceedingly rare.

Second, mixing them required advanced techniques.

But most of all, their shelf life was far too short.

Even the high-quality ones crafted by Rentlet lasted, at most, a month.

Lower-grade variants found in limited circulation barely retained their effectiveness for a few days.

Because of this, during military operations or when adventurers took on requests, it became common practice to place small custom orders with local apothecaries as needed.

Of course, even those low-grade potions were exorbitantly priced, well beyond the reach of low-ranking adventurers.

“So, how do you feel now?”

“Yes… much better.”

“I see. Now that you’ve stabilized, there’s something I need to tell you. Will you hear me out?”

I stood and offered Nikka my hand.

Tilting her head in confusion, she asked, “Something you want to tell me?” as she took it.

Leaving Edra in the care of Grassa and Redroal, I led Nikka a short distance away.

It wasn’t that I had something to say that the others couldn’t hear; Grassa and Redroal were already informed.

But I wanted Nikka to be the one to choose her path, uninfluenced by anyone else.

Besides, Edra would likely wake up soon, and I thought it best that the other two were there when she did.

Once we stopped, I began with a question.

“Did you hear what I was discussing with Grassa and Redroal earlier?”

“No… My head was so foggy, I couldn’t make out what you were saying.”

“In that case, I’ll start from the beginning.”

I then explained what I had seen, and the theory I had formed about her abilities based on that.

“【Resurrection】, huh…”

“I’m fairly certain that’s what it is.”

Even after hearing that, Nikka didn’t seem surprised.

Instead, as if something had finally clicked, she opened her mouth to speak.

“I knew something was off about my magic.”

“You suspected it?”

“Yes. Even back in the village, I always had a feeling… that my Healing magic was different from everyone else’s.”

And so, Nikka began recounting the day she first used her Healing magic—

—

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