"Come in."

I went inside the study after which the butler followed. Marquis Henry was sitting at a large desk at the end of the room writing something. He motioned for me to sit in one of the two big sofas that occupied half of the room.

A maid came in and poured tea for me.

The marquis got up and came and sat opposite to me. He stared at me for a while.

"I'm sorry to show you that embarrassing side of myself this evening." He said.

"Haha. I understand, you must love Amelia very much."

"Yes, yes. I see that you understand. How could you not love that angelic baby. I raised her with these two hands. Her beautiful smile that lights up a room and her delicate features that she got from her mother and her radiant eyes and......"

He went on for a while. I kept nodding.

"Ahem, anyways, Amelia tells me that you are going to Astrya."

"Yes, I was on my way to Astrya."

"She also told me that you were an adventurer and the details about how you defeated the whole group of bandits single-handedly."

"I think she was exaggerating. I had help from the knights and Sir Auzier."

"I-I see. She was exaggerating. But why would she exaggerate?"

I could barely hear the last part of the sentence which he spoke with his teeth clenched.

"Aha-haha."

"No matter. I would like to formally request you to escort her until Astrya. Only until Astrya!"

"I understand. I would be happy to guard her until Astrya." I said pretending not to hear the last part.

He sighed.

"Thank you." He smiled. It was a genuine smile. You could feel the tension in his eyes lift. Of course if your only daughter was attacked by a group of bandits, you will be worried.

"Also, Amelia told me that you liked the car that you rode in. Would you like me to order one for you. You can consider it a reward for assisting her."

"No, as I already told Amelia and Lady Clarice, I wasn't looking for a reward when I helped her. I just encountered them by chance."

"I see."

"But that won't do. You've helped the Kaerius family and we return any help we receive tenfold. I would like you to accept this."

He said taking out a small pouch and placing it on the table.

"It's a small token of our appreciation."

I took the pouch and looked inside.

(Master, those are platinum coins and 50 of them.)

"Th-this is too much."

"I'm not taking it back." He pouted and turned away his head.

"Sigh. Alright. In that case, thank you. I accept."

He smiled.

"Amelia will be leaving in two days. I would like you to rest inside the estate until then."

I nodded.

"Then Rayce, it was nice to meet you. I hope you escort her well." He forwarded his hand.

I shook his hand and he suddenly pulled me close to him and whispered.

"But I'm still not giving you Amelia."

"Ahaha. I can assure you, that is not my intention."

"I don't believe you!"

The Butler who was standing in one corner of the room came and tapped the marquis shoulder and coughed. Only then my hand was released.

"Ahem, then I'll see you at dinner. Don't keep Amelia waiting!"

The butler led me out of the room.

"I'm sorry, Sir Rayce. The Marquis is a good person but he gets jealous whenever it is related his daughter." He said.

"I understand. I don't mind."

(Master, it's better to stay away from these weirdos.)

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

-----

Amelia came to meet me in my room and showed me the garden outside. The path to the garden was illuminated brightly with magic lamps that hung on metal posts on the side. It was beautiful with flowers blooming everywhere. Even I, who didn't know gardening, could feel the amount of effort it took to maintain the garden.

Then a maid came up to us and announced that dinner was ready.

We were led inside, to a big dining hall with portraits hanging on the walls and a big dining table in the middle of the room, which was decorated with gold and silver cutleries.

The Marquis, Lady Clarice and Marlin were already seated. The Marquis gave me a look of disapproval looking at us entering together. Lady Clarice smiled and Marlin nodded. We were led to sit next to each other. It looked like the Marquis wanted to say something but looking at his wife who was smiling at him unnaturally, he thought better of it.

Soon the food was brought. They had many dishes of varying flavours and colors. There were a variety of steaks and soups and even rice and noodles. I had never seen this much variety in my whole life. Of course, a person who shuts himself in his room and orders food online while playing games would not see this many dishes. There were office outings in my past life but even then there weren't so many different kinds of food in front of me.

I dug in and the food was delicious. The soft rice and the chewy noodles along with the steak were pure bliss. Even the soup which I had labelled as bland after having too much of it in Flaedan tasted amazing.

Though the Marquis kept giving me death glares in between.

"Do you like the rice and noodles?" Amelia asked.

"It's great," I said.

"These were exported from the Sicia continent. I heard that you could see fields of rice in every part of the continent and it looks like a big golden field that never ends."

"Yes, yes. We've all heard the story." The Marquis interjected.

Lady Claris dropped her fork with a clang and the Marquis looked like a wet dog and slowly went back to eating.

"By the way, dear, did you find any healers for mother?"

"I have sent out a request with a big reward to other countries. Hopefully, someone answers." He sighed.

"Grandmother is sick," Amelia whispered to me.

"She has been like that for the past six months. All the healers that we had brought failed. Even S rank potions were ineffective." she said with a saddened face.

"Now, now, don't worry. Grandmother will be alright soon." Lady Clarice said to Amelia, though there was sadness in her eyes.

"Mother, why don't I go to the Kosoto Empire and bring back the healer called Kaylerk. His reputation is great and it's been said that he can heal all injuries and diseases." Marlin asked.

"Sigh, that would be the last resort. As you know, the Kosoto Empire, is hostile. They might not even agree to send him to Quizen". The Marquis said.

(Master, I'm confident that I will be able to heal that person if you take a look at her.)

(Sigh, alright. I'll ask.)

"Ahem, excuse me. Could I maybe take a look at that person?" I said interjecting.

All three sets of eyes turned towards me.

"I didn't know you were a healer," Amelia whispered.

"Haha, I can do basic healing. But I'm an alchemist as well so I should be able to prescribe something for her."

"Are you sure?" Lady Clarice asked.

"I'm confident." I said. Though the confidence was coming from Airi.

The dinner was finished hurriedly and everyone made their way to a room on the third floor of the mansion. A big door came into view.

I was led inside and there were three maids taking care of a person lying on a beautiful bed.

"What brings you kids here?" The grandmother asked.

She tried to get up but the Marquis went to her and immediately held her down.

"It's alright, Mother. You don't need to get up."

"Actually, we have brought a healer. He is an acquaintance of Amelia." It didn't look like he wanted to say the last part of the sentence.

"Ho, is that so. I have never seen Amelia bring anyone home." The grandmother said and looked at me interestedly.

"I-I'm just passing by." I said looking at Amelia but her face was somehow red like a tomato.

I looked back and the Marquis was giving me death glares.

The grandmother smiled and asked. "What is your name, young man?

"My name is Rayce. Nice to meet you."

"A polite young man, aren't you?"

"Alright, I give you my consent. Do what you will with this old body of mine." She said and smiled mischievously.

"G-Grandma!" Airi exclaimed.

The Marquis was led away by Lady Clarice and I was able to safely approach the grandmother.

(Airi, do you see the issue.)

(Please hold her hands.)

I sat down in a chair next to her bed and did as I was told. After some time Airi said.

(It seems like a disease of the heart. It is rotting away slowly due to energy overload.)

(What do I do?)

(It's an easy fix. Just give her the undiluted potion that you had made with Daytona herbs. That will cure the disease completely and unclog any energy circuits that are proving to be the issue.)

(Hmm....alright)

I got up and looked back. Everyone was looking at me expectantly.

Sigh.

I opened the inventory window and used the time function. It regressed time back for the cauldron until the water that was mixed in it got removed and the potion went back to the way it was when it was first concocted.

I waved my hand and the cauldron appeared in the air. I slowly set it down on the ground. The undiluted potion inside glowed green illuminating the whole room.

The Kaerius family were looking at me as if shocked. They slowly came near the cauldron and peered inside. Lady Clarice asked.

"Wh-what is that liquid?"

"Ahaha, it's an undiluted healing potion."

The marquis mumbled, "Undiluted healing potion but I've never seen this color and that glow...."

"So....what happened was, I made this potion when I was in Flaedan but since it was too potent, I diluted and sold a few vials of it to the Alchemy guild. They appraised it as an A rank potion."

"The diluted ones were A rank???" The Marquis asked shocked.

"Th-Then that means that the potion in front of us is S rank???"

"Yes, apparently." I nodded.

"But Grandma already had S rank potions and they were ineffective." Amelia said.

"No, yes, but those potions didn't look like this. They never gave off such a vibrant glow. It's like they were dead inside compared to this." The Marquis said.

"Does that mean that this potion is higher than S rank?" Lady Clarice asked.

(Airi?!!!)

(.......)

"Possibly, no it is definitely above S rank!" The Marquis said.

"Are you sure you want to give it to us?" The Marquis asked.

"Of course, I made it heal people. I can make it again if needed."

Amelia had tears in her eyes and her gaze seemed to become even more passionate. I shivered.

"I-I think we shouldn't delay it any longer," I said hurriedly.

"Ah, yes. Sorry Mother." The Marquis apologised.

The grandmother smiled and said it didn't bother her.

A maid brought a small cup along with a spoon. I filled the cup with the small spoon and gave it to the grandmother.

The grandmother gulped down the potion and her body glowed for a while. Then she slowly got out of the bed and smiled.

The Kaerius family rushed to her and hugged her crying.

I felt a sense of joy watching the family being reunited.

The grandmother looked up and beckoned to me. And then hugged me along with her family.

Though, I could feel a strong sense of rejection coming from my right side and a death glare boring into the back of my head.