Although She is a Blind Saint, She Can See

#6. The Black Plague (1)

It’s already been a month since I was left on this godforsaken ship.

At first, my body was bound up like a caterpillar, but now it’s been freed.

“Do you think a blind kid can escape? It’s getting annoying feeding her, so just untie her.”

Thanks to that, the only remaining restraint was a single wrist tie.

At this point, it’s enough to give it a try.

‘But the real problem is the plague.’

Listening to their words, an event came to mind.

“My mother was a victim of Haotian’s plague ten years ago. That bastard will pay with his life, and I’ll be the one to end him.”

Liliana is a member of the protagonist’s party and the princess of Jigu.

In the original story, she says this during the Haotian subjugation event, explaining just how cruel and dangerous an enemy Haotian was.

‘Come to think of it, the timing fits.’

In the original, Cedric meets the protagonist when he turns twenty-four.

Now, he’s exactly fourteen, so the event Liliana mentioned would have happened exactly ten years ago.

“I’ve decided.”

I have to solve the plague event.

I might not be able to do it perfectly, but at the very least, I have to save Liliana’s mother.

‘Changing the life of a main character earns a huge amount of points.’

If I solve the plague, I could immediately increase the number of “people saved.”

High risk, high reward.

Even though it’s risky, it’s worth trying.

No, I must do it.

‘But first, I need to escape.’

Thanks to the stupid men who misunderstood me as blind, I’ve gained some physical freedom.

I looked around cautiously. Fortunately, I could see a sharp object sticking out of a box.

“Alright, I’ll use that…”

After struggling a bit, the rope was cut with a clean snap.

Phew, finally free.

Next up is an ambush.

‘Let’s see what they do.’

About two hours passed while I hid my body between the boxes.

The small ship seemed to have docked at the harbor, gently rocking.

“Hey, bring that girl out.”

Soon after, a rough voice was heard.

“Damn brat. Always acting like the boss.”

He grumbled, opened the ceiling door, and climbed down the ladder.

“Huh? What’s this? Where’d the kid go?”

“Here!”

“What the—cough!”

I threw a brick from inside the box with all my strength, catching his attention.

As expected, even an adult man couldn’t remain unharmed by a rock, and the man collapsed, his eyes rolled back.

There was some blood on his head… but he shouldn’t be dead, right?

“What’s going on?!”

Soon, the man’s stupid companion came down the ladder. I quickly hid.

“You idiot! You went off on your own?!”

Did he?

“Ugh!”

The second man was dealt with in the same way.

While they were unconscious, I grabbed the purse I had hidden in the box earlier and quickly climbed up the ladder.

There were no other crew members on the small ship. I scurried across the deck like a squirrel.

A crew member from the opposite ship saw me and asked.

“Hey, kid. Did you come with your dad?”

“Yes!”

I smiled brightly as I answered, and the crew member chuckled, waving his hand.

“Have a fun trip! Terra is such a great country!”

Sure, it is.

The monarchy is unstable, illegal slavery is traded in the shadows, and soon a plague will spread, but it’s a great country, alright.

I muttered inwardly as I jumped off the ship.

‘The clothes are fine for now. Today, I’ll find a room nearby.’

I’ll take my time to think about what to do next.

***

“One room, please. Also, dinner.”

“Oh my, we have a shy little guest. Did you come alone?”

At an inn near the harbor.

I deliberately avoided making eye contact and spoke clearly. The landlady, thinking I was just shy, chuckled softly.

That’s not it.

I just wanted to hide the fact that my eyes weren’t focused. From the men’s reactions, it seems like it’s noticeable if you get close.

“Normally, dinner would be 3,000 pesos, but I’ll charge you just 2,000 pesos. A special service for a young guest.”

“T-thank you.”

Still, service is always right.

I still avoided eye contact and handed her the money.

“This is the key. Be careful not to lose it. Dinner will be served soon, so come down to the first floor right away.”

“Yes.”

After receiving the key, I followed her advice and just dropped my things in the room.

As I was about to leave again, a mirror in the corner of the room caught my eye.

‘Come to think of it…’

“That kid, there’s no focus in her eyes.”

Suddenly, the crew members’ words came to mind.

‘What’s wrong with my eyes?’

If it was due to the sparks that caused blindness, I must have received serious burns in my eyes. In that case, my eyes would have been bloodshot or my pupils could have become cloudy and ugly.

…That sounds terrifying.

But I couldn’t avoid looking.

I moved toward the mirror almost instinctively and then stopped.

“…Ah.”

The girl in the mirror looked shabby.

Her hair was grayish. Her face had small scars, and the clothes she wore, which had been rolling around in the fire, were covered in ashes.

But she was still beautiful.

The dirt didn’t cover her beauty; rather, it made me wonder how cute she would look once she was cleaned up.

Moreover, the thing I was most worried about—the eyes.

‘…They look like glass.’

They were completely different from the typical appearance of a blind person.

Rather than rolling around aimlessly from not being able to focus, her eyes were fixed straight ahead, perfectly still, without moving at all—a completely unmoving state.

If I had to describe it, they were like pretty glass marbles.

Or maybe like the eyes of a finely made doll.

That kind of feeling.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t move my pupils. It seemed that the optic nerves weren’t simply damaged.

There was something else strange.

‘They’re too fine.’

Until now, I had assumed that the reason for my blindness was the sparks hitting my eyes.

But if that were the case, I should have had serious burns in my eyes. Yet, my eyes themselves were perfectly fine, I just lost my vision—like a congenitally blind person.

It was truly bizarre.

This was something beyond the understanding of any knowledge I had.

‘…I should go downstairs.’

I couldn’t stay here just blankly staring forever.

I dusted off my clothes, still covered in ashes, and made my way downstairs. It was a fairly popular inn, and I could hear the lively chatter.

“Here’s the soup! If you’re still hungry, feel free to have more.”

“Thank you!”

“Oh my! You’re so cute. Here, eat this too. You’re so skinny, it’s making me feel sorry for you.”

She even served me pickled peaches as a bonus before heading back to the kitchen.

What generosity!

‘This is so delicious!’

The soup was even tasty!

As I devoured the food, a mercenary sitting at the nearby table, heavily intoxicated, slammed his fist down on the table.

“What?! Your daughter collapsed from illness?! That’s a huge deal! Where’s the doctor?”

“Sigh, the doctor said it’s a completely unknown disease. Her hands are already completely black.”

At those words, I froze my spoon in mid-air. I quickly walked over to their table and asked.

“Could you tell me more about that story?”

“Ah, go away. This is something a kid shouldn’t hear.”

…Rejected as soon as I asked.

He waved his hand dismissively in a very firm gesture, telling me to go away.

This is troublesome.

Isn’t it a mercenary’s virtue to drink and then spill information?

I suppose it’s because he has a daughter that he’s being kind to me, a child.

‘I guess I have no choice.’

It’s a hassle, but I’ll have to make an excuse.

“I’m an apprentice doctor. I’ve heard of a similar case when I was training under my mentor.”

“Really? You’re an apprentice doctor?”

No.

But I do know what the disease is.

“At first, there’s a fever and headache, then after a day, they suddenly start feeling pain in the chest or vomiting blood. After that, the extremities begin to turn black and the skin starts to die.”

“Ugh!”

Upon hearing my words, the mercenary jumped to his feet.

“Do you know how to cure it? You can cure it, right?!”

“Yes. I can cure it. But we need to hurry.”

I said calmly.

“That disease has a very short time until death. In severe cases, you could die in just six hours.”

The man’s eyes wavered.

Honestly, it would be easy to dismiss the words of a twelve-year-old child, but seeing him not reject my words made it clear that he was desperate.

After all, the medical standards of this era were truly pitiful.

“If my daughter recovers, I’ll give you anything, anything at all. If you can, come to our house tomorrow… No, even today, if possible.”

“Hey, Mars. You’re going to believe that kid’s words? Wouldn’t it be better to go see a real doctor?”

“All the doctors are idiots! They tried to feed Amy boiling molten metal, claiming it would stop the bleeding in her lungs!”

Wow. That’s pretty extreme.

It seemed the other mercenary shared my thoughts. After hearing Mars, he scratched the back of his head.

Mars, fist clenched, turned toward me.

“Is there anything you need to treat her? I’ll go get the herbs myself if I have to. I’ve never heard of someone knowing the disease she’s suffering from.”

“I don’t need herbs… Ah!”

While following behind Mars, I tripped and fell.

“Are you okay, kid?”

Even in a hurry, Mars still worried about me. I smiled at him reflexively.

“I’m fine.”

“Huh? Your eyes…”

What? Why does he look like that?

‘Ah, right.’

I got so caught up in the conversation, I forgot about my eye condition.

I’m such a klutz.