The Herb King

Chapter 31: Leric the Actor

The group stopped by Vale City, a city that was made like a fortress. Tall stone walls about a hundred meters in height surrounded the entire city. There were even large ballistas sitting on top of the walls.

Vale City was a large fortified city South of the capital. Its main task was to act as a natural barrier in the Southern part of the capital.

Looking at the tall walls, Leric was inwardly surprised. He came from a modern world so the sight of the medieval structure made him feel a bit excited. His face still looked normal on the surface, but a plan was already being formulated in his mind. ‘Now that I have the identity of Aethelwolf, I have to make use of this to my advantage. The imperial family should know about me by now. They might even send a messenger to the Reynolds Household and offer an olive branch. How should I deal with them? Hmm.’

“By the way, Miss Samira. Can you tell me the condition of your grandfather? I don’t have any herbs on me right now so it would be great if we can stop by this city to buy some herbs. I’m an Alchemist, but I’m more confident about my skills in handling herbs and herbal medicine.” Leric explained in a clear voice. In truth, he didn’t have anything on him right now. Going inside the Reynolds Household without even an herb on him would make him feel unpleasant. As a man who was revered as the ‘Herb King’ in his past life, only the smell of herbs can make him feel more confident and at ease.

Samira immediately nodded her head when she heard this. “Whatever herb you need, I will purchase it for you, Sir Aethelwolf. About my grandfather... He would be eighty-three years old next month, but it seems like we would skip the celebration again this year. His condition has become terrible. His skin has turned darker with red and purple spots all over his body. He could barely open his eyes now, but some time ago, I saw that his pupils were murky yellow. Grandpa could barely lift his arms and legs so we have maids tending to his needs twenty-four hours a day.”

Leric’s expression became serious as he listened closely. “Darker skins with red spots and murky yellow pupils... Does the area where purple spots are located swollen?” He asked as he looked at Samira’s face.

A look of surprise flashed in Samira’s eyes as she nodded her head. “That’s right. Grandpa’s right leg where most of the purple spots are located started swelling. How did you...”

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Leric shook his head and cut off her words as he pondered. “I can’t be sure without seeing the patient myself, but based on your description, it should be symptoms of Necrotizing fasciitis. If I’m not wrong, your grandfather has a wound on his right leg, most likely caused by a sword cut or an arrow.”

Samira immediately nodded her head while feeling stunned in her heart. How did Sir Aethelwolf guess it? “Your guess is spot on, Sir Aethelwolf. My grandfather received a sword wound in his right leg about a year ago. At first, there were no issues, but his condition worsened as time passed. We asked Lord Karman to check his condition, but even he was stumped.

Leric nodded his head and frowned.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a type of bacterial infection that slowly eats up the tissues in one’s body. It can be treated with advanced medical equipment through surgery and antibiotics. However, the infection in Samira’s grandfather might be in a worse state by now.

If not for being a Level 4 Esper, Julius Reynolds’ right leg would have to be amputated to remove the bacteria in his system. However, Leric had a specific herb in mind that can kill this type of bacterial infection. This herb didn’t exist in his past life and he had only read about it in his mother’s Book of Medicine and Herbs.

“Miss Samira, I won’t explain the medical jargon since they are quite complicated to discuss. We will skip this part and jump straight into the herbs we need for your grandfather’s recovery. First, we need a stalk of Blue Mountain Ivy, one piece of Manyana Tree’s flower, one stalk of...”

Leric named twelve herbs without even blinking. Among the twelve herbs he mentioned, he only need five of them to treat Julius Reynolds’ disease. As for the remaining seven, he would use them for something else.

Samira asked Kathlyn to list down the herbs on a piece of paper.

Samira checked the list of herbs and read it carefully twice. “Sir Aethelwolf, do you want me to send someone to buy these herbs?”

Leric shook his head right away. “There is no need for that, Miss Samira. I have to do it myself since some of the herbs I need have to be of top quality.”

He was telling the truth. For instance, the Blue Mountain Ivy has to be one hundred years old and there should be dark blue coloration on the edges of the leaves. The dark blue coloration was the sign of a century-old Blue Mountain Ivy. The two maids and the guards might not know of this so it was better to purchase the herbs personally.

“In that case, please use this card to purchase the herbs. I would be embarrassed if Sir Aethelwolf uses his own money to buy the herbs.” Samira handed a gold-plated card to Leric.

Leric glanced at the golden card with a calm look on his face. He stared at Samira as if he wanted to decline the offer, but the young lady immediately panic when she noticed his hesitation. She grabbed his right hand and placed the golden card on his palm. She did not even give him the chance to reject the card.

Leric laughed in his heart, but he continued his act with a faint sigh. “Since you’ve already given this to me, I will accept it.” He said while forcing out a smile. He looked like someone who had received a gift reluctantly.

This golden card was worth ten thousand gold coins when exchanged to a bank or a trading firm.

The currency used by this world was bronze, silver, and gold coins. Their value goes like this.

1 gold coin = 100 silver coins

1 silver coin = 100 bronze coins

One meal for a commoner family with four members only costs around ten to twenty bronze coins.

The value of one gold-plated card was enormous and most commoners haven’t even seen such luxury in their entire lives.

‘Is this a bribe? Even If I use the perspective of a Level 4 Alchemist, this amount of money is still huge. I didn’t think that the Reynolds Family’s young miss is actually this rich...” Leric thought in his heart.