I woke up with a groggy feeling.

Something comfortable and soft was under my head.

I struggled to open my eyes and the light invasively entered and I closed them back.

Where am I?

“Ruigne, are you awake?”

The tender and worried voice of Vefal had properly made me opened my eyes. I was resting my head over her thighs.

“Ugh… yeah although I feel weak and feeble… Is the situation clear?”

“We pushed them back via reinforcement and there are no signs of anymore attacks.”

“What about the monster at our back?”

“Even though it was difficult and there were few injuries but no one had died and the monster had been taken down after the reinforcement arrived.”

Vefal reported that to me. I let out a breath of relief. Then I retched back and violently puked out my breakfast content on the ground.

I felt a hand rubbing my back comfortably. After I finished spewing out all everything in my stomach, I lay down again as though exhaustion had flooded me.

The soft sensation of Vefal’s thighs was inviting, so I gave no resistance on laying my head on them.

My breathing was shallow as though I was gasping for air.

I feel like crap.

“Is he stabilizing?”

There was a sound of another woman that was asking that question somewhere on my right. I struggled to turn my head towards the direction of the voice.

“He’d just vomited. Will he be alright?”

Vefal worried expression tensed as she asked that.

From the corner of my eyes, it was that elfin girl from the elf majority group. Beside her right was that silent girl who tried to cast Eomancy that night. Even amidst all of this, she was looking below her, at the ground.

The elfin girl whose hair was snow white with streaks of black knelt down beside me. She was examining me with eyes glinting with cold precision.

“It’s just his severe aversion, an aftereffect reaction. Did you kill someone? You had never killed anyone is it?”

I nodded weakly at her question. She then continues to inspect me further.

“You had a minor wound on your left waist that caused you to faint. You also had a nosebleed earlier after you fainted and sometimes blood had been running out from your nose during the time when you were unconscious but still… Do you have any headaches and do you get tired quickly?”

I stare at my left side. It was properly cleaned and closed by a bandage but some leftover blood was trickling but nonetheless, it was finely treated.

It must have been from a stray slash from the person on my left. Thankfully it was just a minor one.

Now I was thinking about her question. I do feel headaches sometimes but I usually shrugged them off and yes, I can attest that I always felt tired even when I’m not doing anything.

So I nodded twice to confirm.

“I see… If I had to give a rough diagnosis, you have anaemia. From what you are experiencing and the fact is that, looking closely, you beginning to look pale just by losing some blood. You should rest now. Any more physical movements and you might faint again or worse.”

“Anaemia?”

Vefal muttered that as she looks at the Elf Doctor.

I assumed the Elf Doctor made that from just an observation. She’s probably a healer or something alike in her world.

“It’s quite a mild one but that wound had exacerbated the effects but you’ll be alright after some rest and proper medical attention. I need to check on the other wounded again, fellow A’vak, please continue to watch over him.”

She was looking at Vefal with indifferent eyes. It was not the same as Vefal’s cold demeanour as it had some precision and strictness in it.

Vefal nodded and then the doctor elf got up and moved out followed by the quiet treatment girl.

I managed to look around me. Aside from me, there were many wounded but there was no sign of the enemies. After looking some more, we only have casualties from the guards but not one of the summoned and the hostages before had died.

I can rest easy now. So I closed my eyes again and I allowed myself to fall into slumber on Vefal thighs.

--

I found myself awake in the Fhagec on my bed. Looking outside my window, the sun was up above. Looking at the Ethka timer, there were ten dots which mean that ten hours had passed. Last I checked, it was before we marched into the parade and that was around four dots.

I had slept for six hours but I felt much better than before although a little bit delirious and drowsy. The wound of my waist was no longer there as though it had rapidly healed. It must have been the healing work of Eomancy of light green.

Still lying on my bed, I tried to get up but I still felt weak. It must be because of the blood deficiency.

“Don’t move, please.”

Vefal was sitting on my chair, overlooking me. She still had her worried expression as she sat there, agitated. On the table, there was a brown bag.

Seeing my eyes drawn to the bag, she stood up and walked towards me, bringing it closer.

“Tevalini told me to give this to you after you wake up. These pills are to stimulate and increase the rate of blood production.”

She took out light green pills out from the bag and tried to feed one of them to me.

I tried to move my hands but it was only able to feebly lifted half-way before falling. So I let her feed it to me.

It was bitter. It was that truly medicinal quality of bitterness.

I lie down again.

“Where are the rest of them?”

“You mean my brother and the other? They’re giving testimonies to the Inheritors at the palace about two hours ago. I volunteered to look after you but both of us have to go there later.”

What was supposed to be a peaceful parade had turned into a terrorist attack. I had barely been able to survive and now I discovered I have anaemia. It does explain why I got tired so easily. Back on earth, I never really did a medical check-up for the last two years, so it was probably recently.

Both of us were silent as we were still shaken by what had happened or perhaps it was me alone.

“Are you scared, Ruigne?”

“… Yeah I was. A life and death situation was thrown at us and one wrong move, I could have died or any one of us could. You know I only survived because I’m lucky.”

Yeah it was luck. For whatever reason and what a coincidence of a time, on the opposing side, someone had tried to use Eomancy even after seeing the effect of [Dexcrozus] and [Synikorvus] but if that hadn’t happen, then I probably wouldn’t here. That thought galvanized my gratefulness for whatever cosmic, primordial being for sparing my speck of a dust of life.

“… You were great. Your quick-thinking and planning was effective in saving the hostages and taking out the enemies hiding amongs us. If it weren’t for that, the casualties would have been high and we would have to struggle a lot more with the situation.”

She sat beside my bed and brought her hands closer to my face. My face was lifted up and our eyes met.

As her brown-coloured eyes were staring into mine intensely but it was not out of anger but it was out of pure and genuine concern. I can see how fearful she was but it was not the fear of losing her life but it was the fear of something else. Something...

“If you have thought that what you had achieved today was nothing significant then you’re wrong. You had done more than what anyone had on that time. Don’t downplay yourself saying things like ‘it was luck’.”

Her harsh way of reprimanding was kind of refreshing to me. I never realized how I had negatively put myself down by attributing them with something trivial like luck. It doesn’t matter if anyone could have done it better but what matter was someone took the initiative and act.

Still holding my face, her face was beginning to ache as she was in pain. I had the feeling she was holding back her tears.

“I… When I saw you were being attacked and overwhelmed by the enemy, I realized that, yes, you were about to die. I myself was defending myself at that time but if I was near to you, I could have defended you but watching you from that far, I had felt helplessness… again. I… I don’t want to lose anyone anymore…”

Her eyes went moist as tears was about run down but before that happen, the door to the Fhagec had opened.

Kiefy and August had entered.

Vefal softly parted her hands on my face, wiped her face and stood up.

“Good, you still looked like the Ruigne that I jogged with!”

August who quickly smiled, went beside me and patted my back.

Ouch, too hard.

Then he stopped.

“I… I saw you nearly being cleaved to death and I was… it’s alright, right?”

As his smile crumbled, the last part was said to no one in particular. He sighed and then got up.

That was spontaneous.

“I think I’m heading back to my Fhagec. I don’t… feel well.”

He promptly left.

…

He probably been through the same predicament as I did and needed some time alone. For us, killing is something we don’t need to do in our world but I guess in this world, it’s different. We need time to adjust ourselves.