Looking at the water bucket, I was suddenly reminded of my〖Holy〗skill.
According to the Hero, it’s because of〖Holy〗that he was able to summon a Muscas Demilich without worrying about its curse.
Maybe we can use it to disable the curse placed on the water in this bucket.

Hey God’s Voice, tell me what〖Holy〗really does.

【Normal Skill〖Holy〗】
【A magic skill that high priests can learn after long years of training.】
【Divine light surrounds the target, giving off a warm pleasant feeling, and removing any〖Cursed〗status they might have.】
【For a short time, the〖Cursed〗status on the target will change to〖Blessed〗then it will return to normal.】
【Incidentally, using this skill on the undead will only deal massive damage.】

Its effect is just like how imagined it would be…… but, that massive damage on the undead……
Gotta be careful not to hit Alo with this one.
Wait, Alo’s default status is〖Cursed〗.
Something bad might happen if we remove that.

Partner, try using〖Holy〗on that bucket of water.

【”…… But, it uses up a lotta MP”】

…… It wastes that much?

【“Yea. It wastes as much as dat water buket……”】

We really abused〖High Rest〗a lot, huh.
And, waiting for it to recover will still take time……

【“And, uhh, we’re running low on MP already”】

I know, and since we don’t know when the enemy will show up…… best to save MP for now.
Let’s gather all the cursed water in one place first and prevent anyone from drinking it…… and then, we’ll head to the source of the curse.
If my hunch is right, then the riverside where Hibi was killed…… there’s probably a device there that’s infecting the water.

【“I use〖Holy〗now”】

Partner raises her head and lets out a “Gra~a”.
The water bucket gets surrounded with bright lights.

Partner, what?
I thought you said we were running low on MP!

“W-Wha, what are you doing, Ryujin-sama?”
“Oh, if only we have a shrine maiden…… if only Bella-sama didn’t leave us……”

The villagers all watch us, wondering what we’re doing, murmuring, asking me questions, despite being fully aware I can’t answer them.

Wait, Bella-sama? Is she one of the Dragon God’s shrine maidens?
A man then grabbed the person who mentioned Bella’s name.

“At a time like this, you dare mention that traitor’s name?! And, you even call her with -sama?!”

It just got tense all of a sudden.
When I turned my gaze at them, the man who yelled becomes scared and releases his hold.
The man who said Bella’s name also bows apologetically.

…………?
Well, better think about that later. Now, as for the water bucket.
It would be nice if the curse does get lifted…… but, nothing seems different so far. Is it safe to drink it now?

【”………… should be safe…… I think? Should I add moar magic, or……”】

…… Why do you sound hesitant?
Anyway, let’s check it just to be sure.

【〖Blessed Water Bucket: ValueＣ+〗】
【A bucket of holy water that is blessed by a dragon who governs life and death.】
【Drinking the water from this bucket will let you feel unimaginable sweetness that cannot be duplicated nor reproduced naturally.】
【It also slightly alleviates abnormal status conditions.】

Okay, I think we went too far here…… though, I’m glad that it also alleviates negative status conditions.

“Ryujin-sama, you’re here……”

Hibi’s former bodyguard, one of the Lithuvar Tribe’s bodybuilt men, Baron said as he arrives at the scene.
While the others were just standing in place, Baron alone approaches me.

I thought Baron was also with Hibi when she died, but it looks like Hibi had others accompany her instead.
Although, I’m a bit angry that Baron didn’t go with Hibi to protect her, but I’m glad he’s still alive.

I point the bucket with my chin, point my claws at the other buckets, and trying to make a gesture of me gathering them.
It was hard to communicate this way, but Baron did he best and observed my gestures carefully.

“Gather…… all water buckets?”

Baron says while mimicking my actions with his hand.

“Gru~uooo”

When I growled, all the other villagers finally understood what I meant and there was a long “ohhh!” for a few seconds there.

“Ryujin-sama has ordered to gather all the water buckets!”
“Does that mean that our water has been poisoned?!”
“It has to be! That’s the only explanation!”

Everyone who was in good shape immediately started gathering all the water buckets in front of me.

【”…… W-We can’t clean ‘em all”】

I nodded in agreement.

I know.
That’s why we’ll only keep a few of them to clean later, and dump the rest.
The villagers also started dumping water after they saw me dump mine.

After we dumped them all, Partner used〖Holy〗on the buckets that we kept.
I checked each bucket with〖Status Inspection〗if it really did get cleaned just to double-check.

“Umm, what exactly are you going to do with that……”

Baron asks me.
The other villagers stay quiet.
He’s slowly becoming the substitute shrine maiden now.

I lower my head to a nearby water bucket and lick its contents.
It really does taste sweet.
Swallowing the water, I feel extremely light and better now, even though I’m not really sick or anything.

Partner lightly headbutts me out of the way after she saw my satisfied face when I drank the water. I step back and separate Partner from the bucket.
This is precious water, and also their medicine, don’t even think about it.
Wait until everything has settled down and you can bless all the water you can drink of.

I nudge my claw at the water, trying to tell Baron to drink it.

Baron was hesitant and the other villagers were just nervously watching from the sidelines.
I guess it’ll take courageous spirit for them to test if the water is still poisoned or not.
But, that’s why I drank it first to show them it’s safe…… though, even without the blessing, an F- poison that’s lethal humans is just a mild stomachache for me.

“T-To drink the same water that Ryujin-sama drank is…… s-such honor…! What have I done to deserve this good fortune?!”

That’s what you're thinking about?!
I insistently point my claw at the water bucket and Baron gulps before walking to it.

“I humbly thank you for this opportunity. H-Here I go……”

Baron scoops handful of water on his palm and drinks it slowly.

“It’s sweet…… it’s delicious! Ryujin-sama’s light must’ve removed the poison from the water!”

When Baron shouted, I receive showers of praise from the villagers again.
…… To be exact, it’s not really poison, it’s just a cursed water that inflicts random ailments.

But, the main problem still stands.
We still need to find the source of the curse.
Following the river might lead us there.
I just need someone from the Lithuvar Tribe to explain to me what’s really happening…… it’d be nice if one of them comes with me and they’ll explain on the way.

“Gru~o”

When I growled, Baron immediately comes forward in front of me.

“C-Coming! Um…… you called for me…… me specifically, right?”

I don’t how I’m gonna ask him about the current situation.

I nod at Baron then I face Partner.
To save MP, we decided to only heal the injured with just enough HP, but not fully heal them.
However, if we want someone to come with us, we’ll need that specific person to be fully healed completely.

“Gra~a~a!”

Partner pours plenty of magic into her〖High Rest〗and greatly heals Baron.
Then, she heals him again and Baron became fully healed. After that, I turn around and walk alongside the river, with Baron tagging along.