Chapter 110: Curing

Stefan's POV

Once I was far enough from Belladonna's door that her hearing would not catch it, I cleared my throat and spoke under my breath.

"System. Show up, I have a proposal for you."

The System answered with its usual soft chime the moment I called for it.

I kept walking at a steady pace, far enough from Belladonna's cottage that no one would hear me speaking to empty air.

"First question," I began under my breath. "Does Spirit Stitch Essence actually work on the sickness the Silent Matriarch placed on that clan?"

[Yes. Spirit Stitch Essence can neutralize and reverse afflictions of that origin.]

The relief that hit me was sharp enough that my shoulders dropped a bit in relief and I exhaled sharply.

"Good. Now, second question. Can I buy more than one at a time?"

[Under standard conditions, purchase quantity is limited to one. However, exceptions exist for high-priority progression scenarios.]

"And this counts as one of those exceptions, right?" I asked immediately.

[Correct. Host is attempting to advance a primary recruitment target under direct time pressure. Exception parameters are met.]

A small smile broke out on my face in relief. "Look at you, being useful and reasonable."

"We should continue interacting like this, you know. I will like you better." I said and chuckled.

I stopped near a quiet stretch of wall and stared at nothing while I put the real proposal together carefully. I wiped away the smile from my face and became very serious.

"Okay, here is the deal. You let me take as many Spirit Stitch Essence as I need right now, fully on credit. You track every point of debt, of course. In return I finish Belladonna's recruitment without failing. After that, I recruit three additional women within seven days. If I fail either part, you can triple the debt or invent whatever punishment you consider appropriate."

There was a pause. Longer than usual.

[Clarification required. Define "finish Belladonna's recruitment." Does Host mean full lock at one hundred percent across all metrics, or a minimum viable threshold?]

I clicked my tongue. Of course it wanted precision. It seemed the system knew me fully in and out. I was already thinking I'd just make mouth on getting my proposal approved and try my best to reach any recruitment progress on Belladonna. That three days deadline was too short to record 100% across all stat.

I heaved a sigh as I realized I couldn't con the system. Instantly, I changed my plan.

"Minimum viable for the current mission. Significant, measurable progress that the System itself would recognize as success on the three-day timer. Full lock can come later." I came out clean.

[That's unacceptable. The mission states fully recruit the General within three days. The mission has been locked in.]

"Okay, okay. Full recruitment. I won't fail the mission, you have my word."

[Acceptable. Second clarification: the three additional recruitments - would they reach full lock, or is candidate registration with rising metrics that the host has in mind?]

"Full lock. A hundred percent recruitment progress each. I'm promising you three more solid pillars in a week." I said confidently.

I was going to try every in me to achieve the missions I just set for myself. Anything for that proposal.

[Understood. Final condition: failure on either clause allows the System to triple outstanding AP debt and impose additional compulsory tasks?]

"Yes. Whatever you want. Just give me the credit line now."

Another short silence.

[Proposal accepted. Credit access to Spirit Stitch Essence temporarily unlocked. Debt will be calculated at point of use and compounded if repayment deadlines are missed.]

I let out a quiet breath and started walking again. "Don't worry, I won't fail."

~~~~~~~~~

By the time I returned, Belladonna was already outside her cottage. Several Flowers stood ready with horses. Lily was among them. No one other than Lily looked pleased about the Alien's continued presence, but no one challenged it either. Whatever order Belladonna had given earlier still held.

I stopped a few steps away, glanced at the prepared horses, then at her.

"I notice there isn't one for me," I said, keeping my tone light enough to sound almost casual. "Is that how we're treating the volunteer who's about to solve the problem the Queen dropped on you?"

Belladonna's eyes cut to me, flat and unimpressed.

"Ride with one of the warriors."

Skeptical. Cold. Entirely expected. I hadn't proven a single thing yet.

I climbed up behind Lily without further comment. A moment later the group was moving at a face pace toward the lower district.

I used the ride to run the numbers one more time. I didn't know how many clan members were affected. I really hoped they weren't many - the spirit stitch essence was costly. 1700 AP for one.

~~~~~~~~~~

The house we stopped in front of already smelled of sickness. Yeah, I was exaggerating.

Belladonna dismounted first and went inside without looking back. I followed. The Flowers remained outside under quiet orders.

The main room was dim and thick with the sound of pain. Five women lay on woven mats, their skin covered in angry red patches and deep bruises that no ordinary injury could explain. None of them looked fully conscious. The air itself felt heavy.

My eyes recounted the women to be sure. Five clan members. That meant Eighty-five thousand AP total debt. Ugly. Manageable only if the recruitment gains and follow-up missions paid out the way I needed them to. If they didn't, I was going to spend a long time clawing my way out of the hole I was about to dig.

Belladonna stopped a few paces in and turned only her head. She said nothing. She didn't need to. The order was obvious: perform or be dealt with.

I moved to the center of the room, rolled my shoulders once, and opened the inventory with a deliberate sharp motion. To anyone watching it would look like the beginning of some foreign working. In reality I was selecting the first Spirit Stitch Essence and confirming the credit purchase. The debt counter in the corner of my vision jumped immediately.

The vial appeared in my hand. I knelt beside the nearest woman, uncorked it, and poured the contents across the worst of the marks on her arm and shoulder.

For several seconds nothing happened.

Then the red began to fade. The bruises lightened, shrank, and vanished. Her breathing steadied. The tight lines of pain left her face. She blinked up at the ceiling, still weak, but no longer trapped inside the affliction.

I stayed kneeling a moment longer than I needed to, then stood and looked at Belladonna.

She was staring at the recovered woman. The hard set of her jaw had loosened by a fraction. The Beast Insight confirmed it cleanly.

[BELLADONNA — Current Mood: Relieved]

I waited.

Her eyes finally cut back to me. "What are you waiting for? Continue."

"I was waiting for you to acknowledge it worked."

"Continue," she repeated.

Close enough.

I moved to the second woman and repeated the process with the same care. Same result. By the third, the constant undercurrent of suffering in the room had thinned noticeably. The fourth and fifth followed. I did not rush. Making it look cheap would have undermined the entire point. When the last of the red marks disappeared, the silence that settled over the house felt almost unnatural.

The System chimed quietly.

[Five new recruitment candidates registered.]

[All five candidates now stands at;]

Loyalty: 20%

Trust: 20%

I got the information from the system and was pleased. That actually would make my work easier.

All five women were still exhausted and disoriented, but the way their eyes tracked me had already changed. Gratitude. The beginning of attachment. I noted it and left it alone. Today was not about them.

I turned back to Belladonna.

She looked at the five recovered women for a long moment, then at me. When she spoke, the edge in her voice had dulled by a degree most people would have missed.

"You solved the immediate problem."

I inclined my head slightly and said nothing.

Belladonna was silent for another few seconds. Then she asked, "How do you want to be repaid for this?"

Her interface appeared without me calling for it.

[BELLADONNA — RELATIONSHIP INTERFACE]

Desire: 0%

Loyalty: 30%

Affection: 0%

Trust: 50%

Recruitment Progress: 28%

Trust at fifty. Loyalty at thirty. Overall progress at twenty-eight percent. From absolute zero to that in a single afternoon. The numbers looked almost unreal sitting next to her name.

I kept my face controlled.

"Later. When we're back at Bloomhold. We can discuss it then." I told her.

Belladonna held my gaze a moment longer, then gave a short nod. She stepped to the doorway and ordered the Flowers to summon the clan's remaining servants to care for the recovered women. Her voice had returned to its usual clipped authority, but the open hostility that normally sat under every word she directed at me was no longer the dominant note.

I stayed inside a little longer while the first servants began to arrive, walking the edge of the room without approaching the five women directly. There would be time for them once the debt and the General were both under better control.

For the first time since the System had dropped the three-day Belladonna mission on me, the path forward looked real.

I glanced at the General's back.

"Twenty-eight percent. Not bad for a woman who wanted me dead this morning."