The moment I wake up, my brain is still confused. I’m not really fully oriented yet. I have a terrible headache, feel slightly dizzy, and my senses are quite dulled. My entire body hurts. Every muscle and bone makes me want to scream in pain at the slightest movement.
Where am I? What was I doing? Instantly, the memory of fighting a diamond rank and a grade 5 monster comes back to me. I expand my Personal World immediately, and the moment I sense a presence beside me, my body reacts on instinct. I launch myself to the side at maximum speed.
I calm down once my mind catches up and I realize who the person is. The rest of the memories—defeating the monster and falling asleep for a while after Kensein returned—come back immediately.
“Are you some kind of stray cat? What was that reaction?” the bald man a few meters away asks.
“My body simply moved before my mind when the memories returned after waking up.” I stretch my neck and legs a little before continuing. “Ready to heal that old body?”
My body has already recovered a decent amount of mana. My passive healing had already begun repairing my most severe and lethal injuries, and I inject mana at full power to return myself to peak condition. My smaller wounds, charred skin, burns, and even muscular fatigue and pain disappear rapidly.
“Fascinating... I’ve never seen such a powerful healing ability in a ruby rank. Even many diamond ranks dedicated to life magic don’t possess a personal healing ability this strong. Your teenage years must have been hell.” The bald man speaks as he sits beside me.
“They weren’t that bad. I have a lot of good and fun memories.” I reply. I didn’t sense any malice in his comment. He simply said it without thinking.
“I’m glad to hear that.” He answers with a faint but genuine smile.
I begin injecting mana into his body to heal his injuries. Kensein’s body absorbs my life mana as if it were the last vacuum cleaner in existence. I can feel his body healing rapidly, much slower than mine, but faster than anyone else I’ve ever healed.
“That was quick. It didn’t even take three minutes.” Normally, it always takes me much longer to heal someone in hospitals.
“I spent many years of my life in wars, battles, and hunting. At some point, my body started accepting life mana from other people without any rejection. Perhaps it came from the fear of losing friends or companions while I was injured.” The bald man stands up and dusts off his clothes.
“How long was I asleep?” I’d rather know exactly. It couldn’t have been very long because my reserves were only a little above half.
“No more than forty minutes.” He offers me his hand to help me up. “It’s time to head back. The others are getting worried.” He doesn’t wait for my answer. We simply begin walking.
Along the way, we talk a little about our battles. He gives me advice on how to fight long-range mages. He was left speechless when I showed him my constructs and asked if they were enough to defend myself.
“They’re more than enough. I didn’t know you were a hybrid fighter. You can even heal yourself, and I could feel a powerful sensory ability as well. You have the complete package. Now I understand why you’re engaged to four women... it’s difficult not to feel some sort of attraction toward someone physically imposing, strong, and mature.” His slap on my back while laughing almost knocks me to the ground.
When we reach the caravan, his attitude changes completely. He seems more like a sergeant than the friendly man he had been a few minutes ago. He never stops giving orders or scanning his surroundings. He looks like a general directing his soldiers.
There were fewer deaths on our side than I expected. Our intervention helped greatly. Some of the attackers managed to escape amidst the chaos. It seems the caravan will continue on its journey; however, I’ll be returning to the city alongside Kensein to deliver our report.
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“I’m glad to see all of you alive.” I approach Maelli’s group. I saw them a few minutes ago, but I don’t think they had noticed me.
When everyone stands up, I notice one of them is badly injured. Tierry has lost his right arm entirely, and his right leg is severed halfway through. The bleeding has stopped, but he’s in terrible condition.
Without saying anything else, I quickly approach him, kneel down, and begin injecting life mana into his body to heal him. I have to use gravity mana to stop Isabel’s hand when she tries to touch my shoulder. She calms down when she sees her companion’s face slowly changing from pain to relief.
It takes me several minutes of concentration to heal him. I have to be extremely precise in how I apply my mana to avoid causing damage. “He’s fully healed. He’s only unconscious from exhaustion and should wake up soon.” I inform them once I finish.
Maelli throws herself at me and gives me a tight hug. “Thank you.” She remains pressed against my chest without saying anything else.
“I didn’t do much. He was never in real danger.” From what I understand, some healers had already helped most of the people by treating their deepest and most lethal injuries. I can see why they left Tierry in that condition. His life wasn’t at risk.
“Not just that. If you hadn’t appeared, we would have died. They outnumbered us, they launched a surprise attack, and they had a diamond-rank fighter. We had everything stacked against us.” She replies, raising her gaze. Her eyes are watery, on the verge of tears.
Were these people really extroverts before? They certainly don’t look like it. “I’m glad I could help. I hate seeing good people die.” I can see the entire group smile after hearing that.
“Will there be a chance to see you again, Emago?” Paulo, the ranged attacker, asks me.
“If you ever visit the Empire, come to this territory. Show them this and ask the head of the guards about me. I’m somewhat known there, and they’ll tell you where I live.” I hand them a token from my territory. It has no real value beyond helping the guard captains point them toward my house.
I stay talking with them for a few more minutes while Kensein finishes giving the final instructions for the caravan to continue its journey. Apparently, he brought additional reinforcements. These really are good people, or at least that’s what my instincts tell me.
I still haven’t told them my real name. They continue believing my name is Emago. I’ll have to return to my territory and inform my family about my new nickname. I don’t want either side to be too surprised.
Kensein and I fly calmly back with our luggage. Quilo is bound by several chains made of some incredibly durable metal capable of further blocking outside mana. The trip feels much shorter when we can move through the air at whatever speed we want. With Kensein beside me, none of the monsters dared attack us.
When we land in the castle garden, I raise my gaze toward a window and see Mirtha inside her office. The moment she notices me looking, she gives me a broad smile and winks. Kensein sends Quilo toward the dungeon along with several guards, and the two of us head toward the office.
I’m the first to give my report. I explain how everything happened, from the initial surprise attack until Kensein’s arrival. Afterward, I briefly explain my battle against the grade 5 monster without going into too much detail.
Kensein also provides several details regarding the battle and some tentative conclusions. I can tell he’s withholding information because I’m present. They must be secrets reserved for the family and higher ranks.
“I’ll take my leave for now, Lady Mirtha. I’ll return in a few hours.” Kensein gives a very formal salute as he stands. “Good luck on your journey home. I hope to see you again soon, Maki. And think a little about what I told you.” The bald man leaves, walking like a well-trained general.
“Kensein is coming back later? Aren’t you planning to sleep? They say sleeping too little makes your face look older.” I make a slightly inappropriate comment to lighten the mood.
“Are you saying I look old because I don’t sleep enough? Don’t I look young and pretty enough to you?” Her Imra surges fiercely toward me.
“You look quite young. If I didn’t know the two of you, I could mistake you for Lully’s sister.” I answer quickly to calm her Imra, although I know she’s only joking.
“That was a fast answer. You’re quite quick-witted, especially when it comes to pleasing women.” She judges me with her gaze. “Now I understand your situation better. Those poor girls never had the slightest chance of not falling in love with you.” She follows up with another joke.
I roll my eyes for a moment, but my gaze immediately drops when several bottles of wine and two glasses appear on the table. “You really do love wine.” She laughs softly at my reaction.
“Like any person blessed with common sense.” I reply while pouring each of us a glass of the finest wine I recognize. “What are we drinking to?” I already have a reason in mind.
“There are many reasons, but the most important one is our friendship. May this encounter be a blessing for both of us, and may we continue preserving this friendship as time passes... it would have been more than friendship if I were younger.” She refuses to stop teasing me.
“Then let’s drink to our friendship.” We spend hours drinking and talking. Kensein never came back.