Ball of Nothing

Ginger and cinnamon suddenly became very important for Magnus Hilda. The moment Queen Rosalind sent the word out, the news attracted merchants from all over. Schaf was no exception. Zero did tell him to try and compete for a business deal with Magnus Hilda and build more relations with the giants to be Half Moon village's future ally. However, the village head told the goat merchant not to pressure Camie too much about the relationship she had between her country and the village.

"Let Camie decide," was what he said in his letter but there were no further directions.

Schaf thought about it. Surely the giants would need more than just ginger and cinnamon. Hence, the merchant went to find out more while Zero worked his butt off for the next week, observing the recovered maid and monitoring her for any other side effects after his treatment.

While Half Moon village prepared to make its trip to Magnus Hilda, Zero felt as if he had aged tremendously. Over the last week, other than taking care of the maid, the doctor was busy with copying talismans and performing offering rituals. He was also in charge of training the attendants and soldiers how to deal with the plague.

Zero taught the soldiers how to use the dehydrating talismans and how they could collect the mushrooms safely to be offered to the goddess for disposal. After that, Zero had to teach them how to get rid of all the possible spores in the area by cleaning and wiping everything down with acidic water then dusting a coat of cinnamon powder on everything. Thankfully, it wasn't the rainy season so things progressed smoothly. Zero found out that the cinnamon powder didn't stick very well to surfaces so he had to trouble the cooks to create something that would help. Eventually, they created something using flour and cinnamon powder. The paste stuck well onto surfaces but cleaning them away was difficult. Zero was also alerted about concerns that the 'cleaned' areas would be affected by mushrooms again if the paste was removed so the doctor had to come up with another solution.

Truen suggested isolating parts of Magnus Hilda using barriers and seals so that the spores cannot pass through those rune barriers and Zero wanted to cry. It was a great idea but the main issue was how everything seemed to fall on his frail shoulders. Seeing that Zero was severely distressed to the point of breaking down from the stress of managing so many things, the elf offered his services.

Now, Truen was in charge of copying talismans and setting up rune circles to isolate areas. The wood elf might have tutored under Merlin but he was nowhere near as proficient with magic as Zero was. Zero had to spend two days in the mindscape teaching Truen how to draw the rune formation circles correctly and the wood elf practised it many times to get it perfect. He had to admit that Zero right just be as good as Merlin if not better. The barrier spell wasn't a simple barrier spell like the ones Truen read in books. It wasn't an advanced spell either. Instead, it was customised. Zero added value to the spells and they would continue to do their job of protecting the area even after the plague has disappeared.

Truen didn't know if he should applaud Zero for going the extra mile and putting in so much effort for a job that originally wasn't his. However, the doctor did mention that Hua Tuo told him to not start a job if he didn't want to finish it. Since Zero had decided to help Magnus Hilda out, he would have to take care of everything from the plague to the land's problem and even the protection against possible threats in the future seeing that he was already going through the trouble to create barriers for areas.

"Hmm, you've got it all correct. I didn't think you'd be able to master drawing such a complicated array with ancient runes but you did well. I doubt Merlin would be able to complete the task as quickly as you did, he didn't really bother to help me look through the runes I created for the golems. This array might not be as complicated as the ones I wrote for the golems but it is harder than even the most advanced rune arrays."

The wood elf blushed at the praise. He had to admit, it took him all his parallel minds to keep up with Zero's explanation and even so, he had difficulty remembering everything exactly until he practised drawing it step by step a few hundred times. Zero had created this complicated sixty-step rune array or a few purposes. The first was to offer a magic barrier that will be triggered when faced with anyone having ill-intentions or hostile intentions from a five-kilometre radius. This will act as the first line of defence and give the soldiers enough time to get ready. The second function was purification. Zero created the arrays to allow Freya's power to continuously nourish the land and keep it stable. Any toxic, poison and harmful substances will be purified instantly and constantly including paralysing poison spores. The third function that Zero included in the complicated rune array was a minor healing blessing. This blessing prevented people from getting sick and recovering faster from their wounds. The sneaky doctor also added a contract condition that the minor healing blessing's power will come from Freya and in return for the healing power, the power of their prayers and thoughts will constantly be collected from the giants.

Once Truen was assigned his tasks, Zero went back to the other things that required his attention. Aside from teaching the soldiers how to deal with the spores and mushrooms, Zero conducted lessons for everyone who needed to become a caregiver to coma patients. Over his week of observation, Zero understood that the most crucial part of the recovery was during the first four hours after consuming the cure potion.

"Ginger and cinnamon baths must be prepared beforehand. Before letting the patient consume this cure potion, let them sweat it out in the medicine bath for fifteen minutes. The water has to be hot but not scalding. Continue to heat the water and replace it if it gets dirty, don't worry about the colour changing. It's just the body dispelling impurities and toxic. Change the bathwater every half an hour until the water's colour doesn't change. This should take four to eight hours depending on how long the patient has been in a coma. Once the patient regains consciousness, rehydrate them and feed them soft food until they regain strength."

The maids and housewives listened intently to Zero as he gave them his lecture. Beside the doctor, Madeline and Camie handed out handwritten notes for distribution. Educating the public was a method that Zero thought about. He couldn't possibly be there to cure every single one of the seven thousand patients. He didn't have time for that when he was so busy. Also, he had to leave quickly to find a suitable craftsman to build the Freya statue. Hence, he made this proposal to Queen Rosalind who agreed.

Zero was slightly nervous but glancing behind him at the reliable team of professionals that he had, he felt more reassured. After several rounds of practice with this team of maids, Zero was feeling more confident. They now knew exactly what to do and expect and how to react according to the various situations. Zero also gained their trust and knew that he could count on them to listen to his instructions when an emergency occurred. Right now, they were finally going to treat the King.

Queen Rosalind and Lawrence wished Zero luck and prayed to the goddess outside of the King's bedroom. After witnessing the healer bring the assumed dead back to life, they no longer questioned his skills.

"Wise healer, we leave our King in your hands," Lawrence bowed and Zero nodded.

"Once King Richard feels better, I will leave the matters of procuring cinnamon and ginger to you. My brother and I need to get ready to leave for Rocket Mountain. The statue of the wandering goddess cannot wait."

Queen Rosalind smiled. "We understand, thank you so much. If King Richard wakes up, our country will forever be indebted to you."

Zero squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't need such a thing... I did this because it was my duty. Still, I hope that Queen Rosalind can remember the agreement from before to reward my brother and me for our services. Spreading the word of wandering gods isn't easy."

Catching Zero's drift, the queen laughed. She found the healer to be quite adorable at times after knowing her for a while. The healer could often say one thing and act as if she wouldn't do it even if heaven smites her but when there were people suffering, she just couldn't leave them alone. Zero would often grumble as he helped regardless of he was willing and Queen Rosalind sighed a little regretfully. If only the healer was willing to stay with them.

"I understand, while you busy away I will ask Lawrence to prepare the compensation accordingly. I give my word that you will not be undercharged for the help you've given."

Zero grinned cheekily. "Now that I have the queen's word, I'm not worried. Let's go. It's about time King Richard woke up and got back to work so that I don't have to manage the soldiers."

The head maid, Anne smiled and carried Zero into the room. As the door closed, Queen Rosalind turned to Lawrence and told him to make a trip to the treasury.

"What is it that you wish to find in the treasury?" the royal butler asked and the queen smiled.

"Zero doesn't seem to need or want for a lot of things. Of the things I've seen, she's not a simple person. Her brother also holds a lot of secrets and even if I'm not a magician, I know that those talismans and rune arrays are not something a common mage can perform. They must have their reasons to constantly be travelling and not stay in one place for too long so ordinary rewards wouldn't be useful for them. We will definitely award them money enough for them to last for a while on their journey but more than that, I want you to fetch me an heirloom from the vaults."

The royal butler thought for a good while before his eyes widened. "It can't be... You intend to give the healer and her brother the Viking Twins?"

The Viking Twins were a family heirloom said to be passed down from Odin to the people of Magnus Hilda through Hyndla. They were a pair of fire and ice enchanted halberds. The fire halberd was said to be able to compete against the fierce roar of the fire dragons of the ancient world. The ice halberd was said to be able to freeze seas in miles to form a walkway that took ten years to melt completely. Nobody knew if these legends were true but they've always regarded the weapons as sacred. To give these halberds away to two unknown strangers even if they've saved the country was a little too shocking for even Lawrence to believe.

"Your majesty!"

Queen Rosalind shook her head. "These weapons belonged to the gods of the old. Now that they are no longer here with us, it's time for them to find more befitting owners. It would be offensive to keep the weapons of old worship when we are building a new shrine."

Lawrence was silent and he trembled with emotion. The queen was right. To take on a new faith meant to let go of old traditions. It would be difficult for many to do the right thing and even more so for the royal family. The butler could only silently comply with his queen's wishes and retrieve the holy weapons of their empire to polish them for their new owners with a heavy heart and a heavier conscience.