Chapter 6: Chapter 6

"Over here!"

"By the Gods, what happened to this poor girl!?"

Two voices, a young adult male and a slightly older female, could be heard even as Rika's blurry vision could hardly make out any details.

"She's badly hurt! Are those cuts from a blade!? And her upper body is terribly burned!"

"Those are definitely sword wounds. Svetlana, can you heal her?"

Footsteps could be heard, squelching and wet. Someone else was coming over to look at her broken body.

"This doesn't look good..."

A third voice, younger than the others, was audible yet so soft that Rika still had to strain her hearing. She felt a hand touch her forehead. It was pleasantly warm, and only then did she notice how she was feeling bitterly cold.

"Miss Misha, aren't those robes of an Alheim magic academy student? And those ears... she's an elf!"

"So this girl might be a foreign noble. What are the odds?"

"Focus, you two! She needs healing NOW!"

The male voice interjected, more concerned than angry but still very much the latter at his apparent companions' ignorance of the most pressing issue.

"R-Right, sorry! Galadrial's Heal!"

A soft humming sound reached Rika's ears and she felt herself become lighter. Her body stopped aching as she could directly feel her tiredness fading away and her very wounds undo themselves.

"Ahhhh! *Cough Cough*"

"Calm, be calm. You were badly hurt, so breathe easy, child. You are safe now," the older female voice said in a more soothing tone than before.

Rika slowly opened her eyes and saw three pairs looking back at her.

A young man with red hair cut short and upright, pointy, fuzzy ears, and green eyes almost hidden behind his glasses. He had a sharp and studious look supported by his maroon-coloured robes.

A young priestess of presumably the Church of Lady Galadrial stood closest to her. Her blonde hair was tied back while her blue eyes had a gentle look, and accompanied with her white-gold robe she looked like a wingless angel... if angels had small bunny ears.

The last woman was a tall warrior type. Black hair, brown eyes, and rough tanned skin visible in the few spots her armour did not cover. Alongside several not-unflattering scars, it marked her as someone who lived for battle. Perhaps a knight? Rika was wondering if she also had animalistic ears, but could not spot anything.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Y-Yes... thank you kindly for healing me."

Rika tried to get up, but halted for a moment due to an unexpected bout of pain in her side.

"Don't move suddenly. Her healing ability is good, but you'll still need rest."

"I agree with Georgius. Svetlana, we should bring her to the convent. Maybe Catharina can nurse her back to full strength."

"I think you should carry her, you're the strongest of us."

Rika was slightly bewildered, but accepted the impromptu princess carry without complaint. Then something else occurred to her.

"...Jufu?", she whispered.

[Aye, still here. But crap, that girl's Heal stung like a bitch. Tell her to not do that again unless she really has to.]

"Ah? But it felt so... nice and gentle?"

[To someone like you, sure. But not to me, chica. To me that felt like someone shoved a hot iron poker right into my face and tried to turn me into shish kebab.]

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Rika had no retort to that and thus kept silent. It was for the better, too, since she was getting some stares already as if she had hit her head badly. Not too long after, she was sitting on a cart drawn by two strong-looking horses and filled with all sorts of things.

"So, girl, are you well enough to speak?"

"I am. Thank you all again for rescuing me."

In lieu of a curtsy as she would usually do, Rika respectfully lowered her head.

"So what's your name? Ah, I'm Georgius, a wandering alchemist. The tough lady who was holding you like a princess is Misha."

Misha nodded slightly as Rika looked upward. In the light snowfall, she looked even darker but also... imposing.

"And the quiet blonde over there is Svetlana."

"H-Hello, nice to meet you."

Rika looked at the young priestess and saw her blush, which due to her light complexion was quite noticeable. A golden wing-shaped pin with a silver-coloured border indeed marked her as a member of the Church of Lady Galadrial, although the doctrines of that particular church eluded Rika.

[Ask them where we are.]

Rika nodded and asked as such.

"You don't know? Huh. Well as it stands we're close to the Iced Sea, in the north-west of Smirnov. Rather it's surprising to find an Alheim noble so far away from your country. Did you flee from the civil war or something?"

"I-"

[Say you don't quite remember. Saviours or not, we can't afford to trust anyone too blindly.]

Almost imperceptibly, Rika nodded again.

"I cannot remember the details very well. There was fire, and there was fighting. It was the dead of night. But then... I found myself here."

"Mysterious. I guess those burns on your body are from that, then?"

"Georgius, th-that's rude."

Rika gave a short look towards Svetlana, the priestess' bunny ears drooping for a moment. Unsure about the burns the man was referring to, she then touched her upper body and found an uneven texture to her skin. It indeed seemed as if she had been burned badly.

[Actually, those aren't burns but after-effects. They usually sprawl out from the choker I am in when I'm forced to overcharge on the magic. I can revert them later, but that will come with its own side effects. Anyway, I'm gonna scram for a bit. Tap the jewel on my choker three times when you are left alone in a room or something after these people healed you because I sure don't feel like going through another one of those. See ya.]

With Jufu's voice gone, Rika tried to relax a little. Not too soon later, the slightly-damaged convent came into view. Various broken statues littered the yard as children played in the snow. The roof was broken in places, but with some proper repairs the place could be saved. Probably.

"I will ask Miss Catharina to see you at once."

"Good thinking, Svetlana. Misha, I can carry her from here, you've earned a break."

But Misha shook her head.

"It's fine. Don't think a nerd like you can even carry a girl in the first place."

"Hah, says the girl who can't summarise even a tiny novella."

"...Georgius, what the heck does that have to do with anything?"

"*Sigh* You know that I suck at this whole vitriolic buds thing. Let's just get her inside so I can check off the wares."

"Aye aye, leader."

She did not know why, but Rika felt like she could forget her worries for a little time, at least. A tiny smile started showing on her face to confirm it.

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