When I returned to the room, Mephi was nowhere to be seen.
I looked around for a moment, then asked the World Tree, who was unusually sitting quietly on the bed reading a book.
“Where’s Mephi?”
“She went out!”
“Did she say where she was going?”
“I don’t know.”
“I see.”
It’s a common phenomenon when a bunch of individualistic types gather together.
Everyone only cares about their own business and doesn’t pay attention to what the others are doing.
That’s how the World Tree and Mephi are.
“That brat is always missing when I need her.”
There was nothing I could do about someone who wasn’t here right now. I decided to just wait for Mephi to come back.
“History really belongs to the victors.”
“That’s usually how it goes.”
I leaned back in my chair and replied casually to the World Tree, who was muttering as if she felt sorry while reading the fairy tale.
“Is something the matter?”
“Something like that.”
“Ahem!”
The World Tree suddenly puffed out her chest and made a proud expression.
What is she expecting me to do? Reacting like that out of nowhere…
“How about asking me for help?!”
“How do you know what I’m going to ask?”
“Most of the things Mephi can do, I can do as well.”
“Is that so.”
She sounded very confident.
Well, there’s nothing else I can do until Mephi or someone else comes back anyway.
“I want to find the Great Sage.”
“Who is that?”
“Alright, thank you for your effort.”
There’s no point asking someone who has even forgotten who the Great Sage is to find where he is.
I didn’t expect much in the first place, but at least the decision came quickly.
“Was I helpful?”
“You did help me make a quick decision.”
“Ahem!”
“Yes, you did well.”
Let’s just leave it at that.
By the way, I wonder how the others are doing.
“Please read this to me.”
“Well, sure.”
I read the book aloud to the World Tree, who still couldn’t read well, while waiting for the two of them to contact me.
And the reply finally came four hours later.
Even by then, Mephi still hadn’t returned. It was almost as if she knew that, just for this matter, no one would be able to find her.
***
The reason I had been avoiding contacting Cattleya for various reasons until now was because of the issue involving Yuna.
There was no time for awkwardness in our reunion. As soon as I heard the news she brought, I headed straight to the Misfits’ place.
“Yuna.”
“Puhihi, Johan, you’re here? I’m hurt, comfort me.”
“Haah…”
I had heard that the injured Yuna had come to the Misfits’ residence.
When I first heard that she was hurt, I was shocked.
Of course, I was worried too.
But when I heard that she had walked into the Misfits’ residence confidently, like someone visiting a hospital for a cold, I felt relieved.
When they said she was injured, I thought it was something serious, but it didn’t seem to be that bad.
“You’ve been through a lot.”
I hugged Yuna first.
Seeing her in a patient gown made a bitter feeling wash over me.
“What happened?”
“It’s going to be a long story.”
“That’s fine.”
“Aren’t you thirsty?”
“I’ll bring you some water. Do you need anything else?”
“I’m hungry.”
“I’ll bring some simple food too.”
“Okay! Thanks, Johan.”
She’s unusually clingy today.
Is it because she’s hurt? Or did something change in how she feels?
***
About half of what Yuna told me was something I had already expected.
But the other half…
was something I couldn’t have imagined at all.
“Not only did the dead Raven become a Death Knight at the hands of Under Chain, but he even retained his will…?”
There wasn’t a single part of it that wasn’t bleak.
If there was at least one hopeful point, it was that Ollie hadn’t joined Under Chain of her own free will.
In a way, that actually made the situation worse than if she had joined willingly…
But at least it meant we didn’t need to find the Great Sage in order to stop Ollie.
Still…
“What do you think will happen to Ollie?”
“Most likely the Great Sage will approach her. Just like he did with my father. And the Ollie right now won’t be able to ignore the Great Sage’s sweet words.”
“Then it’ll practically be the same as her joining Under Chain on her own.”
“…It might be different.”
With a face full of exhaustion, Yuna grabbed my shoulder.
It looked like she had something more to say, but she began nodding off, and I couldn’t just leave her like that.
“Tired?”
“Mhmm, a little…”
I immediately laid Yuna down.
She had been stabbed by the Death Knight’s sword. The wound itself wasn’t the real problem. The curse embedded in the blade was.
Fortunately, that level of curse could be purified with Helena’s divine power, but it seemed there were still aftereffects.
“I’m going to sleep for a bit. You’ll stay here and hold my hand, right? Don’t go anywhere.”
“I don’t have anything else to do anyway.”
“Puhihi.”
When I held Yuna’s hand, she quietly drifted off to sleep.
“Has Miss Yuna fallen asleep?”
“Yeah. She’ll be okay, right?”
“The curse has been completely treated. More precisely, it was purified.”
Not treated…purified.
That meant the cursed portion had been completely removed.
Fortunately, even if the area corrupted by the curse was cut away entirely, divine power could stimulate new flesh to grow again, so it should be fine.
Still, the pain must have been immense. It was essentially like carving out raw flesh.
Yuna managed to endure it while fully conscious, but if it had been anyone else, it wouldn’t have been strange for them to lose consciousness long ago.
“As for treating the soul itself, it’s still unclear. The most I can do is remove the aftereffects.”
The only one capable of actually healing the soul itself was Kult.
Even though she was also a Prophet, it seemed she still had a long way to go in terms of the power’s output and how to use it.
However, this couldn’t really be helped. The amount of time they had lived as Prophets was simply different. Kult had been chosen by the gods from birth, and she had awakened her power at a very early age.
“Let me check something for a moment, Miss Yuna.”
Fortunately, Helena carried out her duties without showing any sign of being intimidated.
Placing her hand on Yuna’s waist, Helena began channeling divine power into her.
“Hmm, there doesn’t seem to be any problem. Her soul itself wasn’t damaged, so if we just leave it alone, she’ll probably get up later as if nothing ever happened.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
“But, um…”
“What?”
“Are you going to keep holding Miss Yuna’s hand?”
“I promised I’d keep holding it, so I’ll stay like this.”
“I’m about to change her bandages though…? I’ll need to take her clothes off.”
Would it be wrong if I said that was still fine?
***
In the end, we compromised with me covering my eyes.
Honestly, we’re going to get married later anyway. Can’t even this much be allowed?
Well, it wouldn’t be right if she didn’t know about it herself. It’s just a shame I didn’t ask for permission beforehand. I’m sure she would’ve allowed it.
“I’m done.”
“Good work, Helena.”
After Helena left, I took a moment to look at Yuna as she slept.
Was this the first time I’d seen her sleeping with such a peaceful expression?
I waved my hand a little and even cleared my throat, checking to see if Yuna might wake up.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m checking if she’s sleeping deeply.”
The World Tree peeked her head out.
She had stayed quiet until now, so answering at least this much should be fine.
I thought she had absolutely no sense of the atmosphere, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
Now that I think about it, it’s probably not that she can’t read it. She just chooses not to.
“What are you planning to do after confirming she’s sleeping deeply?”
“Well, I was going to talk with someone else like this.”
The World Tree looked up at me with an innocent face. I knew she meant no harm, but the nuance felt a bit strange.
If I had even a slightly guilty thought in mind, I might have started stammering.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case this time.
“I think it’s about time I check on the other side as well.”
I took the silver mirror out of my pocket and called Cattleya.
Now was the time to sort out the situation.
– How did things turn out on your end?
“Yes, thanks to you, I was able to confirm that Yuna is safe.”
– Then shall we talk about us? Recently, you and Emily…
“That’s not what’s important right now.”
– It’s important to me.
“What we need to know right now is what happened to Princess Lobelia. I’m in no condition to move, so you’ll have to check for me.”
– You’re really ordering me around.
Wasn’t that the kind of relationship we had?
“For your information, I have Imun’s belongings with me. Among them is the Philosopher’s Stone that can turn base metal into gold.”
– ..….
“What’s wrong?”
– Nothing. You kept avoiding that topic, so I didn’t expect you to bring it up first. Anyway, if that’s the case, then it’s fine.
“What do you mean it’s fine?”
– It means I’ve already taken care of things on my end.
Sometimes Cattleya shows a surprisingly mature side. Honestly, it feels unfamiliar.
But thinking about it, she’s probably always been mature.
– So, do you want to tell me what happened with Emily?
Except when it comes to anything related to Emily.
“That story will probably take a while, so please deal with the urgent matter first.”
– Really? Well, I guess it can’t be helped. What do you want me to do?
“Actually, this afternoon Princess Lobelia headed to the Imperial Palace.”
– She went to her own house.
“To meet Prince Theseus.”
– Oh my, that’s the kind of situation that can’t possibly stay quiet. I’ll look into it.
Cattleya ended the call immediately.
When it comes to getting things done, she’s reliable.
She could have asked why Lobelia went to meet Theseus, but she clearly separates business from personal matters.
That’s probably how she built Andvaranaut into the greatest merchant guild in the Empire.
Honestly, it’s a little admirable.
“Phew…”
There were only a handful of times when the things I did actually went smoothly.
But what is this?
A strange sense of unease ran down my spine.
It felt like it’s not just me whose plans won’t work out, but that everything will fall apart all at once.
And that feeling was confirmed through a call from Cattleya.
– Apparently the two of them already had a huge fight. By the Emperor’s order, they both ended up getting thrown into prison together.
“They really are unbelievable.”
I’m the idiot for trusting them.
***
I must have dozed off for a moment while holding Yuna’s hand, because it was morning when I woke up.
It’s not that unusual to accidentally fall asleep while taking care of someone.
“You’re awake? Johan.”
“Ah, Yuna. Did you sleep well?”
“Puhihi, you kept your promise?”
“Of course.”
After everything she’s done for me, the least I can do is this much.
It’s not like it’s difficult.
If anything, it’s sad that this is all I can do for her.
“Johan, what happened after that?”
“Nothing much. Oh, but I heard Princess Lobelia went to the Imperial Palace, had a big fight with Prince Theseus, and got arrested.”
“…Why?”
“I was just about to go find that out myself.”
The person who went to ask Theseus about the location of Under Chain’s headquarters somehow ended up fighting him. I’m curious how that even happened.
***
At the time of the incident.
Lobelia headed straight for Theseus.
Unaware of what was going on in her mind, Theseus happily welcomed her.
“Welcome, Lobelia. Should I have some tea prepared? It might be a bit late to ask them to bake a cake now… Ah! We have cookies.”
“Why don’t you dismiss the attendants instead?”
“O-Okay….”
After being guided to the reception room, Lobelia immediately had the attendants leave. She had no intention of acting friendly with Theseus.
She and Theseus were rivals.
Even if he personally had no interest in the throne, the moment he returned to the Imperial Palace, it was no different from provoking her.
“I’ll get straight to the point.”
“Alright, you have something you want to ask me. Go ahead, ask anything. I’ll answer.”
“I know you’ve been inside Under Chain’s headquarters before.”
“That…”
“I heard it from Johan. Don’t even think about trying to probe around.”
“Ah, that time… Right. I met the Great Sage then too.”
Theseus spoke with a gentle demeanor.
While Lobelia remained wary of him, she relaxed slightly, thinking the matter might be resolved more easily than expected.
“Could you tell me the coordinates you discovered back then?”
“The coordinates…”
“Yes, of course I’m not asking you to say it for nothing.”
Theseus seemed to close his eyes for a moment before taking a sip of tea.
Information about Under Chain’s headquarters.
That alone was valuable enough to be considered a major achievement.
Since it was such high-level information, Lobelia was willing to pay a price if that was what he wanted.
She would have done the same in his position.
“Well… I don’t remember.”
“…What?”
“Wh-Where was it again? I’m not very good with numbers… and besides, I didn’t exactly go there on purpose back then, so it didn’t really stick in my memory…”
Crash!
Seeing Theseus still lacking any real awareness as a member of the imperial family, Lobelia immediately flipped the table over.
In the end, the conclusion was simple.
This idiot is supposed to be the rival I need to be most wary of?
She couldn’t hold back her anger.
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