Previous Episode: Eugene woke up in a red abyss. The woman with red eyes got sucked into her. Everyone watched as Eugene hit herself.
.
.
Aedelak's confusion made Eugene confused. She could not understand why Aedelak was acting nonchalant. Or maybe it was her who was the odd one out for thinking that Ario's head exploding and Ario's time stopping was weird.
… It was also possible that her memories of yesterday were wrong….
"How did you evade the knife yesterday?" If she was unsure, all she had to do was ask Aedelak and so she did.
But Aedelak looked even more puzzled, "What do you mean Miss? I moved away when Miss shouted?"
'??... That's it?' Aedelak's face did not contain a hint of a lie so she turned to Aernest who was listening in on them. She stared at him to see if he would react to Aedelak's answer, but he didn't.
After a second, she turned back to Aedelak. There was an unsettling feeling in her gut because of Aedelak's answer. Sighing, she hesitantly decided to tell Aedelak what happened in her memories and said,
"Time stopped. Was that not why you weren't stabbed?"
Immediately after Eugene spoke, the room turned very silent. Aedelak's brows furrowed for a millimeter before it relaxed after a few seconds,
"Oh yes… that did happen. It was such an odd thing wasn't it Eldest Miss?"
"..."
Eugene lips opened and closed a few times before she pursed her lips and didn't continue on asking. Aedelak's answer and her reaction confirmed that something was... wrong. It felt as if Aedelak had forgotten what truly happened and had to dig through her memories to look for what really happened. And even then, it was as if Aedelak couldn't relate to it nor truly understand the concept of how big time stopping was.
She was in deep thoughts when suddenly a thought popped up into her mind, "Was it possible that Aedelak was hypnotized?' She really didn't want to think that such a thing was possible anymore when she suddenly found something odd. When she connected everything together, there was something that didn't make sense and that was how the people thought of Promissum. The existence of Promissum didn't scare the people nor did it cause people to question this world. She had asked about magic and Promissum a few days ago and everyone seemed nonchalant about it. Which, thinking about it now, was odd.
"Eldest Miss?"
Aedelak's voice made Eugene snap out of her thoughts.
"What is it?"
"For the rest of the day, Master, Madam, young Masters, and youngest Miss will be leaving the guest house. Miss will be accompanied by me and young Master Aernest while Miss rests."
Eugene raised a brow, "Where are they going?"
"They will be going with Lady Lise to the tribal village."
'Oh..?' Eugene nodded. She did not have to think for more than a second before she pushed the quilt aside and got off of the bed.
Immediately Aedelak objected, "Miss!" There was panic in her voice as she called out to Eugene.
"I'm going too." Eugene walked past Aedelak and Aernest, to her luggage.
Aernest followed after Eugene and tried to make Eugene change her mind, "But Sister needs rest!"
Eugene shook her head. She didn't need any more rest. "Could you get me a basin of water to clean myself?" She said without turning back to Aedelak and Aernest.
After a while, Aedelak reluctantly walked out of the room to get a basin of water. She knew that she couldn't persuade Eugene so she gave up.
Aernest sighed loudly when Eugene suddenly turned around and stare at him.
".... what?" He couldn't help but step back because of how piercing her gaze was.
"Am I the weird one or is she the weird one?" She couldn't help but ask Aernest. Her words point to the conversation she just had with Aedelak.
"She is," he answered without a second delay.
Eugene analyzed his facial expression carefully, and when she found that he was honest, she sighed deeply.
.
.
.
The moment Eugene, Aernest, and Aedelak descended downstairs, everyone panicked.
"Eugeneia! You shouldn't move!"
"Honey! Why are you dressed up!"
"Sister!!" Blah... blah… blah…
To stop everyone from shouting, Eugene raised her hand and declared loudly, "I am absolutely healthy!" Her declaration shut everyone up and only disbelief was written on everyone's faces.
Suddenly A guy in white robes, who was presumably the physician, walked forward and stopped in front of Eugene, "Good morning Miss. I am your physician." He bowed slightly to greet Eugene before asking Eugene for her permission to check her body condition, "Miss does indeed look healthy. Just in case, may I take your pulse young Miss?"
As the physician felt her pulse he looked visibly surprised. Before he knew it, he was already announcing Eugene's condition to everyone, "Young Miss's body is indeed healthy. She has already fully recovered."
Moniqua frowned and cut in, "But should my daughter not rest?"
The physician shook his head but also nodded at the same time, "In fact, she should if she fainted. However, her pulse indicates that she is very healthy and is not in need of rest. Sometimes, resting too much isn't good for her." He carefully explained and turned back to Eugene,
"Is young Miss dizzy?"
Eugene shook her head.
"Is Miss's hand's in pain?"
Eugene shook her head again and also stretched her hand for the physician to see.
The physician flinted a bit when seeing Eugene nonchalantly moving her injured hand before turning back to Moniqua and Levis.
"Miss is completely fine."
After repeatedly confirming that Eugene was alright and was healthy, he was finally dismissed and Eugene was finally cleared to go with them to the tribal village.
"Ah," Eugene muttered suddenly as she sat in the carriage.
Ramon immediately squatted in front of Eugene and with a panicked voice he asked, "What's wrong?"
"Ha…" Levis sighed. There was no doubt that Eugene was healthy if she didn't know what caused her to be sick in the first place.
But simply because she didn't know the cause, Levis wasn't going to let it go and lectured her, "There are 'many things that are wrong."
Eugene's eyes widened as she listened to Levis.
"You blackout due to blood loss. You repeatedly added more trauma to your wound. You were exhausted. You did not ask for help nor do you understand what danger is. Eugeneia, why did you not tell anyone you were in pain. Why hold it in? Are we not worthy of your trust?"
Moniqua pinched Levis's arms, "Honey…"
"Sister didn't do it on purpose, father."
Eugene nodded at Euria's words, 'I truly didn't do it on purpose. I only felt a bit dizzy, but that's all!'
Levis didn't say anything but scanned Eugene's face to see if she was lying.
"Are you truly not hiding your pain?"
Eugene nodded eagerly, "Yes!"
Levis sighed and reluctantly let Eugene go. But of course, like Aedelak, he did not believe that Eugene was not in pain. He only took her words as it only hurts a bit and that it was nothing to fuss about.
.
.
.
Two carriages rode their way to the tribal village. Levis, Moniqua, Louis, Eugene, Euria, Ramon, and Aernest were in one carriage. Lise, Aeselak, Aedelak, and Duke Rodriguez rode in the other carriage. The former carriage was peaceful and had a friendly atmosphere whilst the latter carriage was gloomy and awkward. No one was willing to talk. The reason for this was because one person was eager yet worried about meeting her parents for the first time. Two sisters were introverts if their masters weren't by their side, and last but not least, the married man was a shy person despite being the macho man he is.
The carriages took a detour instead of going straight to the village since the route leading to the tribal village was blocked and closed. During the night, the smoke from the fire had dispersed, allowing everyone to see how catastrophic the city had become. It was completely different from when the children arrived which shocked them greatly.
Roofs that were made from material different from the base of the house were either completely burnt through or had fallen off. Houses and buildings fell on top of each other like a domino effect. This created an entire row of messes.
But contrary to the depressing state of matter, the people of Zene were no longer panicked and had formed small groups to fix their city and get it back running. Adults were smiling as they cleaned the dirty city with the knights. Some kids were seen playing their instruments, supporting their parents as they cleaned up, while others helped their parents directly.
What's odd was when these people saw Levis and Duke Rodriguez's carriages pass by, they would stop whatever they were doing and greet them with eagerness! It was a weird sight to see because most people would still be weeping and would still be in great sadness if their houses were gone overnight.
Seeing the townspeople in a good mood, Eugene suddenly remembered about their newly acquainted friends.
"...Dea." She couldn't help but mutter. She didn't know what happened to him at the end and only knew that Dea was in a critical condition.
The carriage rattled with a gust of wind and the atmosphere turned heavy when they heard what Eugene mumbled out. Aernest, Ramon, and Ron were staring at their feet in silence.
"He's still being operated on." Louis did not look at Eugene as he said this.
Eugene's hands were stiff before they relaxed slightly. It was a relief that Dea was still holding on despite his critical injury. It was a miracle he was still holding on because he had a hole that punctured from one end of his stomach to his back. It was an injury that's considered risky for people to operate on in her former world let alone in the world she was currently in. She didn't exactly know how advanced medical knowledge was in this world but it was obvious to her that it was most likely not as advanced as her former world.
Still! No matter if science was advanced or not, no one was giving up! The physicians weren't giving up, neither was Dea giving up, which was good news!
She suddenly remembered about Con and asked, "What about Con? How is he?"
Louis did not answer her question and turned to her. One of his eyebrows was raised and with a sarcastic voice, he questioned, "Since when have you worried for others?"
Eugene's lips twitched before her face broke out into a smile. "...." Her curved eyes were nearly entirely closed as she stared at Louis with her terrifying smile.
"..... His operation ended this morning." There was nothing but disgust in Louis's voice as he replied.
Eugene's brows raised, "What? It's attachable?" There was a surprise in her voice as she asked him.
Levis and Moniqua laughed slightly as they listened in to Louis's and Eugene's conversation.
"It's not impossible to reattach limbs to your body. Some physicians especially specialize in limb reattachment. But be careful honey! Those people can be… crazy." Moniqua replied in Louis's stead.
"Crazy?" Eugene turned to Moniqua and repeated.
Moniqua nodded, "You can tell if someone specializes in something in the medical field if he comes up to you randomly and asks if he can cut you up. They are truly… crazy about their professions."
Eugene had a slight look of disbelief, 'So physicians are psychos? But then again, it was good if they were crazy because it would mean reattaching limbs was quite… advanced here'
"But will he be able to use his arms like before?" Still couldn't help but doubt.
Moniqua turned to Levis who replied in her stead, "He will be able to use his arms, but as for his knighthood… the physicians will have to study him for a while to know." By study, Levis means to study his condition… not cutting him up again.
Levis didn't lie when he said that Con will still be able to use his arm. This was because he knew that the physician who operated on Con was one of the best in this field. In fact, physicians who possessed a specialized title in whatever topic they were interested in were truly experts in that field. That's why Con being able to use his arm again in the future was the definite truth.
But, it was different if he wanted to become a knight or pick up his bow and arrow again. It might be possible if he works himself to death to get his arm back to normal again, but going on that road would be incredibly grueling and hellish. As cruel as it is, fate and a lot of luck will play a crucial part in his journey if Con still wanted to become a knight.
"Such an odd combination."
Levis raised a brow at Eugene, "What is?"
"Zene. A country of peace and music. A country that specializes in limb attachment." No matter how you think about it, it was an odd combination.
Levis muttered a soft 'oh' and quickly corrected her, "That's not right." He shook his head and continued, "The specialized physician was brought in by the King of Erich."
Eugene blinked, "Excuse me? King Erich?" What… is he talking about? What King?
"....."
Moniqua scratched her head and awkwardly laughed, "Ha... Ha... A Lot has happened since you passed out."
'Truly.' Eugene's lips formed a straight line, 'And It's only been one night.'
Aernest grabbed Eugene's hands and explained, "Remember when mother said that help would come tomorrow?"
Eugene stared at Aernest blankly, "... no." She never said that…
"..." Aernest, too, stared blankly at Eugene before shifting his guilty eyes to Moniqua and Levis.
"Ehe…" Aernest scratched his head cutely, "I must have accidentally and coincidentally overheard it then…" he blinked cutely with his big watery tears.
Eugene rolled her eyes internally, 'Yeah right. You mean purposely and found a chance to listen in.'