After handing over the demihumans and humans to the nobleman, Jason didn't bother to manage them anymore.
I wondered where Raphtalia had gone and why she hadn't returned for so long.
With nothing to do, I waited idly, watching the nobleman settle the conflicts between the demihumans and humans.
I had to admit, this nobleman was quite capable. In a short time, both the demihumans and humans were smiling.
It was clear that they had all received some sort of promises from the nobleman.
As for the details of these promises, Jason didn't bother to care. Politics is always complicated, and as long as the nobleman could handle things, that was good enough.
At that moment, Raphtalia finally appeared. She and Kiel were walking slowly, carrying a simple stretcher. Both had smiles on their faces and seemed to be in a good mood.
On the stretcher lay a frail little girl—Rifana, of course.
"Master Jason, Rifana has survived!"
Before they reached us, Raphtalia called out excitedly to Jason.
When Kiel saw Jason, he turned his head slightly and avoided eye contact. He seemed embarrassed, knowing how much he had said earlier and was now unsure how to face Jason.
"Really? Put Rifana down first, let me check on her."
Seeing Raphtalia's genuine smile, Jason couldn't help but smile back. He stood up from the steps and walked toward them.
Raphtalia and Kiel carefully placed Rifana on the ground.
Although Rifana had opened her eyes, she was still extremely weak due to the long period of malnutrition. She couldn't stand or even raise her hands.
"Are you the Shield Hero? Thank you for saving me, and also for helping Kiel and Raphtalia."
Rifana tried to get up as she spoke, but couldn't manage it. She apologized, "I'm sorry, Shield Hero, I can only lie here to thank you. Please forgive my rudeness, cough cough..."
Her voice was soft, and it seemed as though she was summoning all her strength to speak. Before she could finish, she coughed painfully.
"It's alright, I understand. You should speak less for now. Come, let me check on you."
As Jason spoke, he squatted down, placing his hand on Rifana's forehead and lightly squeezing her muscles.
She flinched from the pain, but didn't make a sound.
"What a strong girl."
Jason was impressed. It was likely her resilience that had kept her alive.
Afterward, Jason transformed into the shield and examined Rifana's personal status information.
Neither Jack nor Raphtalia said a word as they waited anxiously for the results.
"Hmm… no fever, that's good. But her prolonged malnutrition has caused anemia and muscle atrophy. Thankfully, her nerves seem fine, since she can feel pain. Also, she appears to have the same panic disorder that Raphtalia had."
Panic disorder was a difficult illness in this world. Fortunately, after treating Raphtalia, Jason had kept some supplies. As he spoke, he took out several bottles from his storage shield and handed them to Kiel.
"This is a blood supplement, a nutrient, and medicine to help with panic attacks. Make sure she takes them every day. Start her on semi-liquid food, like porridge. Her body will absorb it better and it'll help her stomach adjust. When she gets stronger, she can start eating normally again."
At this moment, Jason thought he might make a decent doctor in this world. But considering the complicated doctor-patient relationships that could arise, he decided to leave it as just a passing thought.
"Hmm."
Kiel stood by, memorizing which potion was which.
Jason continued, "Also, find a female demihuman to help Rifana turn in bed daily, massage her muscles, and prevent further atrophy. It's better for a female to help with that. As for the panic disorder, I can only treat the symptoms; Rifana will ultimately have to overcome it herself."
Kiel seemed like he wanted to say something, but simply nodded. "I understand."
"For now, you can stay here to recover. I'll tell the nobleman to keep an eye on you. We should be leaving soon."
Jason took a deep breath after saying this.
"Master Shield Hero, where are you going?" Rifana asked.
"Jason and I are heading back to the capital. The Wave of Calamity will arrive soon. Rifana, Kiel, rest and recover here for now," Raphtalia explained.
"Yes, if you want to see Raphtalia, come to the weapon shop in the capital. You can find us there or get news about us," Jason added.
"Wait, please, can you come closer for a moment?"
As Jason and Raphtalia were about to leave, Rifana summoned the strength to speak again.
"What's the matter?" Jason asked.
Jason bent down and moved a little closer to Rifana.
"Could you come a bit closer?" she asked softly.
"Like this?" Jason responded, leaning in further.
"Closer," Rifana insisted.
Just as Jason was about to close the distance, Rifana suddenly kissed him on the cheek.
"I can't believe I just got teased by a little girl!"
Even Jason was taken aback for a moment.
"Master Shield Hero, I'm so sorry. Right now, I don't know how else to express my gratitude other than this. Please don't take it to heart, but once I've recovered, I'll come find you and properly thank you again," Rifana said with a sweet smile. Despite her frail appearance, she looked incredibly beautiful and cute at that moment.
"Alright, I'll be waiting. See you soon," Jason replied, his emotions quickly stabilizing as he smiled back.
After standing up, Jason took Raphtalia to speak with the nobles before slowly walking out of the city.
"You're not jealous?" Jason asked, noticing Raphtalia's content smile. Knowing her well enough by now, he was almost certain that she had a jealous streak.
"If it's Rifana, well... it's fine. We could always..." Raphtalia started, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.
"Stop, don't talk about such things! It could lead to... complications," Jason quickly interrupted.
"Master Jason, what do you mean? There's nothing wrong with what I'm talking about. In fact, I think you'd be quite happy," Raphtalia said, a hint of teasing in her tone.
"Wait, why does Jack's smile look so suspicious? And why is he holding a flower?"
Jason, fearing the conversation was heading toward dangerous territory, hurriedly changed the subject. He wanted to avoid triggering any "black room" scenarios with rules that might make him vanish suddenly.