Chapter 192

Chapter 192

With the reunion with my friends over, the moon had already set, and the sun was rising. I had stayed up all night. Of course, I was tired, but it wasn’t to the point where I couldn’t endure it just from not sleeping for one night.

A small rumble came from my stomach.

“Ahaha… Just skipping one dinner has made me like this. How about you all? And the Saint?”

However, yesterday, I had left home to deal with low-level demons, postponing dinner, only to be captured and brought back, and then staying up all night without eating anything, so I was hungry. Of course, when I returned to the dining table, my portion of food, which I hadn’t eaten yesterday, would still be there. It would be cold, having been untouched all night, but that wouldn’t be a big problem.

But it wasn’t just me; Celian, Yuri, Anne, and Mariel, four more mouths to feed. Since they were starving because of me, I couldn’t just fill my stomach alone. I figured my friends might be hungry too, so I asked them.

“Indeed… I am hungry. If there’s a restaurant open in the morning, shall we all go for breakfast? Do you know any restaurants?”

“I do know some… but there’s no need to go out and buy food. I’ll prepare breakfast right away, so please wait a moment. We haven’t met in a while, so I can’t serve you something carelessly bought.”

Of course, eating out isn’t bad. But I knew that restaurants open in the morning were just cheap eateries catering to adventurers, and I couldn’t serve that to friends I hadn’t seen in three years. I wanted to show them that my cooking skills, like my swordsmanship, had improved over the past three years, and it wouldn’t be bad to show off my cooking skills after a long time.

“Oh, no! We’re fine! You must be tired, so we can just grab a quick bite! If not, we can just skip a meal! Right, Anne?”

“I, I’m not hungry!”

However, Yuri and Anne, perhaps out of consideration for me, vehemently refused my offer to cook. Even Anne, who was right next to me and clearly making rumbling sounds like me, was lying and saying she wasn’t hungry.

“How about you, Saint?”

“Gracious Goddess Serena, as your servant earnestly prays…”

Huh?

For some reason, Mariel was clasping her hands tightly and fervently praying to Goddess Serena. Well, maybe she had a habit of praying every morning.

Still, there was one person left whose opinion I could hear.

“What about you, Celie? Do you want to eat out, or should I cook for you?”

“My answer is already decided. El’s cooking… Heh, I’m already looking forward to it.”

Celian was the only one who understood my desire to cook and serve them myself. The vote was one to one, excluding Anne and Mariel’s abstentions. I pondered which side to favor, looking around.

“Um… Celie? Your hands are trembling? And you’re sweating…”

Celian’s complexion had deteriorated rapidly. She looked like someone who was ill.

“What? Oh, why are my hands suddenly….”

Celian herself seemed surprised by her sudden change in condition. As someone who had reached the realm of Sword Master, her body should be much stronger than an ordinary person’s, so her looking so visibly ill was a serious matter.

“Saint!”

Still, it was fortunate that Mariel, who was more skilled in divine magic than anyone else present, was here. I didn’t know why Celian was so ill, but even if it were a particularly severe illness, or even if she had been poisoned without her knowledge, it wouldn’t be a problem.

“And so, the grace of Goddess Serena…”

“Saint! Pray later and please look at Celian quickly!”

I grabbed Mariel’s shoulder and shook her, urging her to snap out of her prayer, and Mariel finally came to her senses.

“Oh my, she looks like she’s about to collapse. Are you okay? Please bear with it for a moment. I’ll cast divine magic on you soon…”

As she clasped her hands together again and prayed, a bright light, accompanied by immense divine power, enveloped Celian.

“In my haste, I cast the most powerful healing magic I could use, so you should be fine now.”

“Phew. Thank you. How are you, Celie? Are you okay… Ah?”

I was asking if she was okay, but as I turned to look at Celian, I realized she wasn’t okay at all before I could even finish my sentence. Celian was still trembling all over, as if she were ill.

“I’m perfectly fine, though…”

The fact that even Mariel’s divine magic didn’t work meant it was no ordinary matter. Perhaps a curse from a high-ranking demon, which even Mariel’s divine power couldn’t block, was imprinted on her. Or perhaps it was some wicked archmage’s curse.

Since magic is Presia’s specialty, I headed straight out of the room to ask for her help.

However, before I could leave the room, someone opened the door and entered.

“Breakfast is all ready. I know you all have a lot to talk about since it’s been a while, but let’s eat something first. Elysia, you didn’t eat dinner yesterday either.”

Perhaps worried about me starving, Lindy came to the room to tell me to eat. But breakfast wasn’t the important thing right now.

“No, more importantly, Celie…”

“What about her?”

“What do you mean, ‘what about her’! You’re saying that after seeing Celie’s condition… Huh?”

Lindy’s nonchalant tone made me flustered. I pointed to Celian, who was standing behind me, and tried to explain how urgent the situation was. But when I looked back, Celian’s appearance was different from what I expected.

Celian had a perfectly relaxed expression, as if her previous illness was a lie. Her trembling body had also stopped.

“It seems the Saint’s divine magic reacted a bit late. I wasn’t feeling sick earlier, but now my body isn’t trembling, and I’m really fine.”

“Still, just in case…”

“Wait a moment, El.”

Yuri, who had been observing the entire situation, intervened and stopped me. Then, she approached Celian and whispered something in her ear.

“El… cooking… eat…”

She was speaking so softly that I couldn’t hear the content. But at that moment, Celian’s hands, which had just calmed down, began to tremble again.

“Yes. I don’t think there’s much to worry about. Well then, shall we go have breakfast that the elf lady prepared?”

“But Celie… Huh?”

Is Celian playing a prank? Trembling, then stopping, then trembling, then stopping. Celian’s rapidly changing condition, which was hard to keep up with, had stabilized again.

“It’s not that I’m sick, so you don’t have to worry. It seems my body remembers, even if I don’t recall it.”

“Let’s go eat quickly! I’m hungry!”

Was I the only one who didn’t understand the situation? Everyone else seemed to know what was happening to Celian. I tried to ask for a more detailed explanation, but before I could, Anne grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room.

Besides, didn’t Anne just lie and say she was full earlier…?

***

“So, it seems I’ll have to be away for a while again.”

After breakfast, it was my turn to explain about my old friends and Mariel to my current companions who had been waiting all night. As we were talking, Lindy suddenly spoke.

She had handed over her position as the representative of the Information Union to her successor and was supposed to travel with us from now on, so I wondered what was happening that she had to leave again so suddenly.

“Why? Is it urgent? Didn’t you say the handover was complete?”

“Yes. As I mentioned, that part is finished… but actually, I felt I lacked power during yesterday’s fight.”

“Lacked power?”

I was confined in the hut with my limbs bound, so I couldn’t see how Lindy fought, but knowing her usual skills, I couldn’t help but be curious.

“Yes. I was lucky to get through it safely yesterday, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be so lucky next time. I don’t want to regret it later.”

“But you don’t need to leave your post to train, do you? I don’t know how much your skills will improve by doing that… Oh, I’m not disrespecting you, Lindy, of course.”

Of course, training is one way to improve skills. However, it seemed that Lindy’s desired level was quite different from the current one, and that level was not something that could be reached by training alone.

“Well, actually, my current power isn’t my full strength. I have restrictions on handling spirits due to circumstances I can’t talk about.”

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Lindy handle spirits. Her archery skills were so outstanding that I never paid attention to that aspect.

Elves are naturally excellent rangers, but they are also excellent spirit users. It’s understandable that Lindy, being an elf, had unspoken reasons for not using spirits. Lindy isn’t the type to hide her strength.

“So, I’m going to visit the Elf Forest. Of course, I don’t know if going there will solve the problem, but it’s worth a try.”

“If that’s your decision, Lindy, then so be it… But is there really a need to move separately? Can’t we all go together? Oh! Perhaps outsiders aren’t allowed in the Elf Forest?”

“There are such things… but perhaps Elysia, being the Hero, won’t have much trouble visiting. However, the reason I want to go alone is that, aside from whether I can solve my problem, I can’t guarantee how long it will take.”

“Well, we can think about that when the time comes. Are there any other issues?”

“It might be a wasted trip…”

“Hey, why worry about that between us? I’m sure everyone else feels the same way and wouldn’t mind the effort.”

Of course, my friends and Mariel, who had no prior acquaintance with Lindy, might be hesitant, but considering their considerate nature, they would probably agree.

“Between us… Yes! For Elysia’s sake, I will definitely try to lift the restrictions!”

Seeing Lindy smile brightly at my trust in her made me feel a little guilty. Of course, what I told her wasn’t a lie. I was already hoping for Lindy’s success.

However, I was hiding one thought and not mentioning it.

The Elf Forest, of course, is a place that would naturally spark curiosity. To throw away such a golden opportunity would be absurd.