The Only Healer, Ruela (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 10

She wracked her brain, trying to stay calm, and forced a smile first. As an added measure, she let her dress fall to cover her bare feet.

“I’m just a traveler, so I don’t really know much.”

The shopkeeper’s expression softened slightly.

“Are you from Elab?”

Ruela glanced quickly at the map on her screen and nodded.

Elab, the country across the sea, was only accessible after reaching max level, so she’d never visited it in the game.

She’d raised several characters, but had abandoned all of them midway. The only one who’d come close to level 90 had been a healer—and now, she was about to hit max level not in the original game, but here.

Lying was a bit risky without proper information, but given her current status—unable even to buy water—she had no choice.

“Yes, that’s right. I’m from Elab. Anyway, you said an order was issued. So, didn’t they check kingdom IDs before?”

“Not in all the time since this place was the Kingdom of Helane until now—never anything like this.”

Hearing the shopkeeper’s reply, Ruela asked with disbelief.

“Has it changed recently, then?”

“Yes. The Balder Guild issued an order not to sell anything to a woman named Romannin or Rominin. Miss, you said you’re a traveler? Show me your pass, and I’ll give you bread.”

“I didn’t bring that either. I didn’t expect something like this to happen.”

“Well, it’s unfamiliar for us too, so it must be even more so for travelers.”

The shopkeeper pondered for a moment, then spoke.

“I’ll sell it to you just this once. Don’t tell anyone else.”

“Yes, yes—I’ll buy this round bread. How much is it?”

“One lueur. Here.”

Ruela took the bread the shopkeeper had wrapped and pulled out a single coin from inside her cloak, holding it out.

“What’s this?”

But the shopkeeper’s face twisted as he took the coin.

“What do you mean? It’s money.”

“Where did you get this?”

The shopkeeper’s expression looked ominous. Ruela tried to calm her anxiety and frantically searched her mind.

“Uh, I received it…”

Under his fierce gaze, she instinctively omitted the word “reward” from what she’d originally meant to say.

“You received it as change?”

“Yes, yes.”

Ruela quickly nodded vigorously.

“You’ve been scammed. Ever since the fortress opened, travelers trying to exchange their home currency for ours have often fallen for scams like this—but I never thought I’d see it with my own eyes. This is counterfeit money.”

“Counterfeit money?”

Her shocked expression wasn’t feigned.

It wasn’t exactly what the shopkeeper assumed, but she genuinely felt cheated. Being unable to use the money she’d earned from a quest was nothing short of a disaster.

“Miss, are you alright? Just take the bread—it’s yours. And from now on, stay alert so you don’t get scammed again. This isn’t a properly functioning country like Elab, after all.”

“I-I’m fine. Thank you for your kind explanation.”

She handed the bread back to the shopkeeper and hurriedly left the spot.

Money—her money was fake.

Staggering in shock, she walked on when suddenly a commanding shout rang out.

“Master Balder is passing through! Clear the way! Hey, move aside at once!”

The bustling marketplace fell silent in an instant.

She wondered why Guildmaster Balder was here. She’d clearly visited the Kamun Mansion just the day before.

Yet somehow, he was already in the capital?

Well, if she herself had arrived here on foot, it wasn’t strange at all that someone who could ride a horse or carriage was already here.

‘Surely he didn’t come chasing after me?’

Why wouldn’t he? A chill ran down her spine as she felt certain he must have. Somehow, she sensed that running into him now would spell big trouble.

Ruela ducked into an alley between buildings and pulled her hood lower. Then she watched the approaching group of people.

Even without anyone pointing it out, she could instantly tell which one was Guildmaster Balder.

A man of average build, flanked by burly guards with swords, barking orders from the front to clear the path. The way he strutted down the street made him seem like a show-off.

“Ugh, ptooey!”

Suddenly, a man ahead spat on the ground as the guildmaster’s group passed by.

“Be careful! What if they use that as an excuse to drag you off?”

“Do I need permission to spit now? Why does life keep getting harder every day?”

Another person quietly chimed in with the spitting man’s grumbling.

“That’s right. The high and mighty keep getting more and more oppressive. Haven’t they announced they’ll raise all taxes starting next month?”

“Raise them even more here? Are they trying to starve us to death?”

The murmuring crowd, voicing their complaints, fell silent as Balder’s group drew near.

Guildmaster Balder’s face was quite handsome, but his shifty eyes and slightly twisted mouth completely ruined the impression.

“Oh my, he’s handsome.”

While she was silently judging Balder’s appearance, admiring voices suddenly came from somewhere nearby. A group of women walked along the roadside, cheering as they followed Guildmaster Balder.

“Look at those sharp eyes—aren’t they truly charming?”

“Huh?”

Though no one had spoken to her, a protesting “Huh?” slipped out before she could stop herself.

Startled, she shrank deeper into the alley—but Balder’s gaze turned in her direction.

Worried he might have recognized her, she retreated further into the alley, only to see him waving at the group of women from earlier.

“Whew, that really scared me.”

Even if ordinary people wouldn’t recognize her, Guildmaster Balder surely would—so she had to be careful.

After catching her breath, she looked back at the group.

About a dozen or so followers trailing behind Balder were scattering something among the gathered crowd.

“Here’s a portrait of Ruela Rominin. If you see anyone resembling this person, report immediately to the Balder Guild.”

“A portrait?”

She wasn’t even a wanted criminal, yet they were distributing her face all over the place. She was furious at such a cruel act—did he really want her dead?—yet she also felt curious about how accurate the likeness was.

Still, it was just a drawing, not a photograph. She’d naively assumed no one could possibly identify her from that scrap of paper. So, to check for herself, she stepped out and peeked over people’s shoulders at what they were holding.

A portrait drawn with thin black lines.

‘It’s way too accurate…’

Moreover, below it were written physical traits: light pink hair, blue eyes, and fair skin.

She quietly stepped backward, unnoticed by anyone.

This wasn’t the time to wander around. Even if just her hood slipped off, she’d be discovered immediately.

Ruela quickly snatched up a fallen portrait from the ground, slipped into the alley, and headed toward the opposite side.

If caught, would she be dragged straight to prison?

She thought she recalled something about a trial in Guildmaster Balder’s announcement.

She tried hard to remember every detail of the poster, but since she’d only skimmed it, the memory was hazy.

Giving up on recalling it, she practically ran out of the alley when a notification chimed—she’d received a new quest.

She didn’t feel particularly out of breath, yet her breath caught in her throat and exhaustion overwhelmed her. Finding a spot in a corner of the marketplace, she sank down, massaged her aching leg, and opened her quest log.

[Notice Board Discovered]

She clicked the title to read the details.

[In the central district of Moel, capital of the Kuran Kingdom, there is a notice board for exchanging information. Visit the board to acquire new information. Reward: 10,000 XP, 45 luers.]

Annoyed by the mention of monetary reward she couldn’t even use in reality, she closed the quest log.

Now she didn’t know where to go.

As the thought that all her plans had gone to waste hit her, intense fatigue and hunger surged together.

She’d originally intended to stay at a decent inn and start clearing easy quests. But because of the counterfeit money, she’d become a penniless beggar—and now they were even distributing wanted posters.

What should she do?

No matter how much she thought about it, there was only one option. Ruela pulled a note from her cloak pocket.

33 Linion Street, Ferose Mansion, Moel.

Even though she’d visited the capital many times in the game, she couldn’t know the location of places that weren’t major buildings or landmarks.

She pulled up the screen and zoomed in on the map, searching every which way. But she couldn’t even guess which direction Linion Street might be.

Just in case, she entered the address into the coordinate search field.

In the game, buildings wouldn’t have real addresses, so she hadn’t expected much—but perhaps because this was the real world, it was confirmed instantly.

“An expensive neighborhood.”

Ferose Mansion was situated near Kuran Castle, on a street lined with noble estates. That man apparently had quite a bit more money than she’d thought.