I am Kurt Von Ritzburg

"This…"

Hearing her friend's call, Miria and I ran with all of might, hoping her words to be untrue, a prank but unfortunately it was true.

Both of us were standing in front of her house which was sizzling with huge flames engulfing it.

"Mom! Dad!"

With no care about the flames, Miria dashed inside the house and I followed her.

'Damn! This heat!'

With this heat and smoke, there is a high chance that before we can even rescue uncle and aunty, we both would drop dead.

"Miria, take it!"

[Water Magic - Water Coat] [Wind Magic - Air Mask]

I casted water magic as a coat to reduce body temperature, and wind magic to make an air mask to avoid inhaling the smoke.

It was a magic spell improvised on the spot, but with my imagination it worked out pretty well.

Miria finding herself under the effect of the spells turned her head and looked at me with her tear filled eyes wanting to thank me.

"Thanks, Kurt."

"No need. First, we need to save my father-in-law and mother-in-law."

My joke made the situation lighten a bit, but it didn't take long for it to become serious again. Both of us knew that it wasn't the time to spend cracking jokes.

"Let's go."

We both knew their rooms, so we dashed towards it. Fortunately, both of them lived downstairs in one room, so it was not a pain for her to reach them.

But the problem was that both of us were too late.

Miria kicked the door, destroying it in one kick and ran inside. In front of us, both of them were lying down, and they were heavily injured.

"Mom! Dad!"

Miria cried out and ran to them and kneeled down, calling them again and again. 

"Let me see it."

I went near and used healing magic. A green glow came out of my hands and enveloped Miria's father.

[Healing Magic]

'I have to try to heal him using proper techniques.'

I remembered the moment the main protagonist healed a man who was about to die. In that condition, the first thing he did was to heal the vital organs. 

He didn't haphazardly use healing magic but used it step by step.

'First, heal the vital organs.'

And I poured out the magic power and concentrated on healing the vital organs. With magic, I looked inside him.

'It is working. His organs are healing!'

But… I overlooked one major fact! It is my magic power.

"This… my magic power…"

The green light dimmed and healing magic didn't come out more from my hands. Before coming here, I used quite a lot of magic and my magic power has yet to recharge!

And unlike other magic, healing magic consumes more magic power, and needs a more vivid imagination to work.

"What happened, Kurt! Why aren't you healing father?"

How could I just announce that I can't save him?

'I should just tell the truth.'

"Miria. I don't have enough magic power. I can't heal him."

"What? You are lying, right?"

She came to me and grabbed my shirt and pulled it with her cries of grief, constantly shouting and not accepting that her father was dying and she couldn't do anything except for gazing at his death.

"Heal him, Kurt! Use my magic power!"

"It doesn't work that way, Miria."

"N-No. I know you just don't want to—"

Slap!

I slapped her, making her quiet from her constant cries, making her look towards me with a shocked gaze.

"Come back to your senses, Miria! Do you think I don't want to heal him? Don't think that you are the only one suffering in this!"

I am a villain. But I am also a human. Even I bonded with them in this small span of time. I talked with them, ate with them… even thought of ways together to propose Miria.

"I also thought of them as my own parents!"

And I also don't want to believe that both of them died in front of me and I could have saved them but couldn't do it.

'It's all because of my lack of magic power. If I had a surplus amount of magic power… If I completed my experiment beforehand… This wouldn't have happened.'

Some things are always out of one's control. I know that I shouldn't blame myself, but at this moment I felt very bad.

Giving the hope that I can cure them, and then breaking it right away is something only a villain could do.

And then I remembered that…

'I am really a villain.'

Tears rolled down my eyes, and finally I also showed a face of sadness for the first time.

"Cough!"

But a cough from the body made my eyes open and I sat down near him, looking amazed at his awakening.

"Dad!"

'Why is he awake?'

I couldn't heal him enough to sustain his life, so he should be dead. But then I realized that my half-healing couldn't heal him completely, but at least can make him awake for a minute.

"M-Miria, are you here?"

With a trembling voice, uncle opened his eyes and found Miria looking at her with teary eyes. He slowly raised his hand, caressing Miria's cheek.

"Y-Yes. I am here! Don't worry, nothing will happen to you. Kurt is also here, and he will heal you."

"Hmm… I know my condition. You don't have to give false hope."

He said with a soft voice, making Miria tear up more loudly. 

"Uncle."

"Oh, Kurt, I am glad you are here."

He gestured to me to come near him, and I followed and went to him.

"I-I am very relieved to see you with Miria."

"Don't talk too much, Uncle. It would worsen your condition."

"Hehehe… Even a man on his deathbed can't talk to his fullest. What a cruel society!"

"Well, if you crack your jokes at this moment, then I don't have to worry about you."

Both of us looked at each other, and laughed together. But it didn't take for it to end, and return to the same sad atmosphere.

"Kurt."

"Yes?"

"Please take care of Miria."

"Leave it to me."

"Then I can leave the world peacefully."

And with that he closed his eyes, and didn't open it again.

---

For additional 10+ chapters - ko-fi.com/mewriter