Herbert’s natural mana recovery was just barely enough to maintain Dimension as they walked for several hours. Because of that, unlike on their journey going into [Chaotic Flugel], he entrusted the fighting to Rodeo and Marlon their journey back.
Even then though, he gulped down the many mana potions he bought from Ashitaba in case he ended up using more mana than he naturally gained for whatever reason.
Despite what it might look like based on the number of breaks they took to relieve themselves, their group undeniably rushed with all haste.
From the first appearance of the symptoms of the [Breath of Campanella] illness on Kevin up to their arrival in Spinel with the [Clod Medicine], nearly 3 weeks have passed.
With whatever extra mana he had left, he used Accelerate and dashed toward the building Kevin was resting.
In there…
“H-Herbert-sama…?”
…was a barely conscious Kevin.
Once a person who contracted the Breath of Campanella was no longer able to intake the Clod Medicine, they were beyond help. Thankfully, Herbert arrived at a point where Kevin could still drink by himself the medicine their group made after much hardships.
“Gramps, don’t ask questions; just trust me and drink this!”
Without questioning Herbert’s words, Kevin did as he was told and let the Clod Medicine taken out of Dimension pass down his throat.
And then…
“I…I’m so happy! I do apologize for troubling you, Herbert-sama, but I’m so, so glad for what you did.”
“Hey gramps, it’ll be a problem if you get that excited and fall sick again. Come on, I need you by my side for a longer time still.”
“…I, unworthy as I am, promise to be beside you until I am taken from this world. Do be warned, there’s no going back from this promise even if you want to be rid of me!”
Kevin has made a recovery.
For some reason, when Herbert rubbed Kevin’s back as he cried with joy, he simply cried harder.
Unsure of what to do, Herbert simply told Kevin to get some rest. Kevin obediently lied on the bed.
“Fufufu…”
Seeing Kevin shift between crying, laughing, and looking tense had Herbert worried if the butler was alright. But Kevin has definitely gained back his health, at the very least. At any rate, due to the joy of making it back on time and just getting carried by Kevin’s laugh, Herbert found himself smiling as well.
As for Marlon and Rodeo, they were already busy doing their own thing.
By now, Marlon was definitely sleeping like a log to recover from the fatigue brought on by their unreasonable return trip. Meanwhile, even though Rodeo also wanted to meet with Kevin right away, he suppressed that urge and instead reported to Maxim about the matter with the demons.
At any rate…I’ve finally reached a point where I can take a breather…
The months that came after receiving the letter from the future had been hectic, to put it lightly. Memories of him desperately doing everything he could resurfaced on Herbert’s mind.
He received the letter the day before the duel, practiced spacetime magic right away, and somehow won against Marlon.
Being appointed as his do-over manager, Marlon trained with him often and they got closer with one another. He could now call him his friend, his only male friend in fact. Even though he found it hard to ask others for favors, he had no such problems conveying his requests to Marlon. And come what may, Herbert would never forget the time the two of them fought alongside each other in the [Chaotic Flugel].
And thanks to Rodeo approving of him, Maxim who had given up on him was talking with him again. Similarly, he had reconciled with Johanna and were dining with her more and more often. Perhaps in the near future, he would be able to converse more deeply with them.
Also, thanks to Marlon and Maxim, he got a chance to talk with Nell again. While the results of which couldn’t be said to be superb…he could feel a familiar gaze landing on him from time to time as he trained in the arena. Of course, he had an idea whose gaze it was, so while things haven’t fully changed for the better just yet, he wasn’t too worried either. All he needed was keep on his current pace, he thought.
And then, there was of course the fact that Herbert managed to save Kevin thanks to the information from the future. The outcome of Kevin contracting that illness should have been clear—that is, death—yet Herbert managed to circumvent that.
He changed himself and that resulted in him being able to change another person’s fate. From his standpoint as he currently was, that was an achievement he could be proud of.
And if he could do it once, he could do it again. In fact, he was confident he could do so much better the next time. Of course, he knew better than to let his confidence turn into arrogance; his future self had already taught him the many things he stood to lose due to his overconfidence.
Mindful of that, he vowed to himself to keep doing his best.
And then, upon reconsidering something, he looked at the more livelier Kevin.
“Gramps.”
“What is it, Herbert-sama?”
“—I’ll do it. What I’ve been doing so far—getting back what I’ve lost and preventing other things from slipping from my hands—it’s not enough for me anymore. This time, I’ll make sure the entire world becomes well acquainted with the name Herbert von Unruh!”
“And I’ll always be here to assist you however I can, Herbert-sama.”
With a still-chubby face, Herbert smiled in response.
His do-over in life has just begun.
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