We continue with the princess of Rusthia…

When I was in front of the cabin, I was scared to face Mrs. Raiza. I wasn’t afraid to confront Blodsai or face the military police, but I am trembling in front of the cabin door.

I think I would be less nervous if Chizze were by my side, but the stupid beast woman was hungry and remembered a herd of oxen outside the city.

“Kharla, I’ll go get some meat; you prepare the firewood. The master and the chief will be very hungry,” she told me and ran off. I didn’t even have time to use the sacred connection to force her to accompany me.

I open the cabin door.

“Ouch, that hurts. Dryad, could you be a bit kinder?” I see the Dryad applying a medicinal ointment to Ester’s wounds.

I ask, “Why doesn’t Mr. Ester use his healing magic?”

“The damage from that stupid sword was too severe; even my body hurts,” says Raiza, who is lying next to Ester. I also see that they applied the ointment to her body.

“I’m very sorry; my healing powers are limited to plants. All I can do is help with natural medicine. Anything beyond that is out of my hands, I’m really sorry,” responds the Dryad.

“I was told that Ester healed you when Eurisia almost killed you. So Ester can heal plants,” the Dryad responds.

“I suppose so. Ester is an anomaly; a person like him shouldn’t exist.”

“You know I can hear you,” Ester says, writhing in pain on the floor.

I look Ester in the eyes, and he says, “Do I have something on my face?”

“It’s not that, Mr. Ester. I think I want to use my sacred connection with you. I believe that with my strength, I could heal Miss Raiza and also you, I suppose.”

Ester looks down and says, “Do whatever you want, but be careful. When you connect with Raiza, you have negative effects on your body, and from how the Dryad described it, this might be the case.”

I notice that Ester’s arm is in a jar full of ointment. I suppose the Dryad put it there to prevent infection. I take his arm and place it near his severed stump.

“By the power of the goddess, bless this person with bravery, strength, and courage. Grant them the power that we all have in our souls and hearts. SACRED CONNECTION!”

I always wondered what I would see or feel when the day came to connect with Ester…

I only saw darkness. I was giving him my power, but I couldn’t control his actions, share his senses, or even feel my own body… it was as if my soul had abandoned existence itself.

It wasn’t a good or bad experience, but it was different.

After a minute that felt like hours, I decided to cut the connection.

“Incredible, your power accelerated the effect of my healing.” I noticed that Mr. Ester had healed his wounds and reattached his arm, but the sword cut left him with a nearly perfect horizontal scar.

I suppose my sacred connection had the desired effect, but I wish I never had to do it again.

“Kharla, thank you for helping me heal my body, but Raiza is still injured. Could you connect with me again?”

Damn, I don’t want to, but I also don’t want Raiza to remain injured.

I swallow my feelings and reconnect with Mr. Ester. It was horrible going back to that dark place, but I endured.

Once I felt a minute had passed, which felt like another hour, I cut the connection.

My body is fine, but my mind is disturbed; I really need a rest.

“Thank you, Kharla. If Raiza and I are still alive, it’s thanks to you and Chizze, but… where is Chizze?”

“She went to hunt for breakfast. She said we should prepare the firewood to cook it in the yard,” I reply to Ester.

Raiza stands up, places her hand on Mr. Ester, and says, “Ester, go prepare the firewood outside. I need to talk to Kharla, and you, Dryad, help him since you’re good with trees and those things.”

The Dryad looks at Raiza with cold eyes, and Ester drags her to the yard.

I am left alone with Raiza in the cabin, trembling with nerves. Raiza leans in close to my face and steals a kiss…

My first kiss…

It was so warm. I never saw Raiza in a sexual or romantic way, but I didn’t dislike that kiss, and I responded to it.

“Well, I think I understand your feelings now, but I want to know your story. Who are you really, princess?”

I am still blushing from that kiss, but I must tell her the truth. I also want to know who she is, not just as a hero, but also as a person and a woman…

“I am Kharla Dante Rusthia, the princess of the Kingdom of Rusthia. The true Carlo Dante, that name only existed because of my father’s whim, who wanted to be the father of a hero. But I was born with a potential to support others and make them stronger. Due to my stat-boosting spells and my sacred connection, these are unique abilities I possess thanks to the gift I was given at birth… The only reason my father didn’t get rid of me like he did with the other women he fathered was because of that gift I was born with, though I don’t know exactly what that gift is.”

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Mrs. Raiza listens attentively to my story and says, “Have you never heard someone call you the Saint?”

“I think I once heard one of Darwin’s companions talking about watching over the Saint, but I couldn’t say if they were referring to me.”

Raiza takes my hands and looks into my eyes.

“Since we connected during that training, I noticed that our connection is special. We were born to meet each other. That day we faced the false Carlo Dante, that day Chizze brought you to us, was part of fate… But you are more than the gift with which you were born and you must decide how to use it. Ester and I will go to war against the demons and you are not obligated to follow me.” Tears begin to flow from my eyes upon hearing Raiza’s words.

“You don’t remember the confession I made to you yesterday, Mrs. Raiza… I want to be with you always.” Raiza comforted me in her arms. That day I decided to kill the demon lord, but not for humanity or a sense of duty, but simply because I didn’t want to see Raiza die.

…

…

…

We return to the Priest with white gloves…

Tonight, I can’t sleep. After the beating I received, it became clear to me that my role as a fighter is unnecessary.

There will be times when I inevitably have to fight, but my role is and always has been to keep my companions alive.

If it weren’t for my healing magic at the moment Blodsai pierced me with the holy sword, I would definitely be dead. It is thanks to Kharla and Chizze that I am alive.

The power of Kharla's Sacred Connection is incredible. After fighting Blodsai, both Raiza and I were severely injured. Even my healing or the hero's gift wasn’t enough to keep us intact from the power of that holy sword.

Still, I was confident that with enough rest, we would recover. But then Kharla offered to use her Sacred Connection on me. I could feel her power, and as I stayed still, my body began to heal on its own.

Well, I have a scar from the sword cut, but at this point, I don’t mind. Also, while trying to heal Raiza’s body, I didn’t feel that I used much of my vitality. At that moment, I understood that Kharla’s power is on par with mine or Raiza’s, albeit in a different way.

While I was reflecting on all these thoughts, I was chopping wood to prepare a campfire for when Chizze returned with the food. We still had some fruit from the snack, but not much else, and the city of Nessy is in shambles, so it will take time for trade to resume.

As I chopped the wood, the Dryad focused on drying the wood to make it more flammable. After 40 minutes, the campfire was ready; we just needed Chizze to return with the wild ox.

“Ester, you finished quickly,” Raiza said as she came out of the cabin with Kharla.

Maybe it was my imagination, but I saw them closer than before. I no longer felt the discomfort they had since we crossed the border… I suppose they made up.

“Mr. Ester, we want you to know that when Chizze returns, we need to have a team talk about the next steps we should take on the journey to the capital,” Kharla said.

“I understand, Kharla. Now, if you’re free, could you help the Dryad make the salad? She can create plants, but doesn’t know how to season them…”

The Dryad pouts and says to me, “Remember that I only drink water and feed on the nutrients of the earth, not organic food, which is why I don’t know how to prepare your meals.”

Well, I suppose being a forest spirit has its drawbacks.

Once we had the salad ready, Chizze arrived with the wild ox. It was a very good size.

“Master, Chizze hunted the largest ox of the whole herd. And once Chizze hunted the ox, many monsters tried to steal the prey. Chizze killed them all… that’s why Chizze was delayed.”

“You’re very strong, Chizze. I’m very proud of you. Thank you for saving my life. Without you, I’d be dead.”

As soon as I saw Chizze, I went to hug her. When I met Chizze, she was just part of Raiza’s plan to get information from the slavers, but now she’s like family to me, and without her, none of this would be possible.

We skinned the wild ox and set its hide to dry. We prepared the pieces we were going to cook on the campfire, and with other parts of the animal, along with some mushrooms given to us by the Dryad, we made a delicious soup to accompany the meat.

Although Chizze couldn’t wait and started devouring the animal’s organs, specifically its heart and liver, she offered to share them with me, but I politely declined the offer.

Once the food was ready, the five of us gathered around the campfire. After nearly dying in my last fight, eating peacefully with my companions again is an immense joy.

But I heard footsteps behind me.

“Enjoy your meal, young ones. I see you’re having a nice dinner,” said a military police officer.

Chizze leaned close to my ear and whispered, “Master, that man was the one who interrogated Kharla and me about yesterday’s incident. I think he was called a lieutenant or something like that.” So a lieutenant followed them here to see if we were doing anything suspicious.

I understand that he must still be wary of us due to this whole incident.

“Lieutenant, nice to meet you. I suppose you came because you had doubts about yesterday’s incident. If it’s not too urgent, would you like to join us for a meal?”

The lieutenant hesitated a little at first but gladly accepted the offer. “Alright, I’ll be right back. I’m going to get more plates from the cabin.”

I entered the cabin, grabbed the plates, and saw the package with the documents and the letter from General Darlick. Thinking it might be useful, I tucked it into my suit.

I came out of the cabin and served the lieutenant some mushroom and meat soup along with a large piece of grilled meat. The officer seemed comfortable enjoying the meal, although the rest of us were somewhat uneasy.

…

Once the lieutenant finished his meal, he said:

“That was delicious. Anyway, I suppose you must be Ester. I saw your name on the cabin rental contract. A Silver 2 adventurer from the southern lowlands traveling with your companions. May I ask what the purpose of your journey is?”

I pulled out the mercenary guild documents, which indicated our mission and our personal documents. I had previously placed them in the package sent by General Darlick to keep everything in one place.

…

“I see, you’re on a protection mission. I suppose you decided to stay here for a while and chose this cabin to keep your client, who I assume is that albino girl, away from any danger.

Though that doesn’t explain how you were strong enough to thwart that plot orchestrated by the demons. Also, the story you gave us was too solid, as if it came from someone who participated in the city attack.”

Damn, I suppose he has a point, as it was Charlotte who warned me about the problem in Nessy. I had few options, so I looked for the package with the documents given to me by General Darlick, hoping it would make the lieutenant trust us.

…

“Don’t mess with me, it’s a recommendation from the legendary military strategist, General Darlick, The Chessmaster. Damn, no wonder you were able to stop this attack and get so many details.

My sincere apologies, Mr. Ester. I suppose this escort mission must be more important than it seems. I will take the general’s recommendation to show to my superior and clear you of any wrongdoing.

I’ll return it to you tomorrow morning along with an official document summarizing the incident. I recommend you keep that document; it will be proof of your contribution to maintaining internal peace in Dredprism.”

Wow, I didn’t expect Darlick’s influence to be so significant.

I saw his life; he was a great man, but I never thought about how others would view him.

Well, I called him a hero myself, so this reaction must be logical.

“By the way, Mr. Ester, thank you for the meal. It was delicious.” The lieutenant left with a smile, leaving the five of us alone again. Now that I think about it, I didn’t ask his name...

“Master, who was that Darlick?” asked Chizze, and Raiza added, “Yes, tell us that story, Ester. Even I want to know who that legendary strategist was.”

That night, I told my companions the story of that venerable old man.