Pain. That was all I could feel at this point, my body ached even from the parts I didn't even know that could ache.
"Ughh…" A soft groan escaped my lips as I groggily opened my eyes. My vision was still blurry, but I could faintly make out the outlines of an old, dusty ceiling?
Huh?
I felt something soft beneath me a mattress?
Where am I? The pain in my body had subsided significantly, but how?
I placed my hands on my head, trying to remember something, anything that would answer how I got here or why my wounds had healed so much.
Then it clicked me.
"Yeah, I remember now… That ginger-headed guy mentioned something about a potion… Did he have a high-grade one or something? Otherwise, it wouldn't make sense for my wounds to heal this much."
I mumbled to myself, my hand instinctively moving to my abdomen, where a gaping hole had once been. It was gone now, though the area still ached.
"I still have some broken or fractured bones here and there… but that's manageable," I muttered.
"More importantly, how long was I out? Even a high grade potion would take at least a few days to heal injuries as severe as mine."
Grrrr~
"Yeah, I definitely blacked out for a few days…"
"Eight days, to be precise," a voice chimed in from beside me, startling me.
I turned toward the source of the voice and spotted the ginger-haired figure.
"I see. Well, thank you for taking care of me all this time," I replied, attempting to sit up. But as soon as I moved, a sharp pain shot through my body.
"Ughh…" I collapsed back onto the mattress. My body, though somewhat recovered, still ached, and it was clear I wouldn't be moving for a couple of days.
"Hey, hey, easy there, Lucian," the ginger-haired boy said, moving closer and sitting beside the mattress. He helped me lay back down softly.
"Huh, you know my name?" I asked, surprised.
At my question, he gave me a dumbfounded look, as if it were obvious.
"Well, you don't appear much in public, but that doesn't mean other royals don't know your face," he said with a smirk.
'Other royals? Oh, wait… Now that I think about it, that weird voice showed me a vision of the banquet, and at the end, the Mistress of Nytheris mentioned her son was missing.'
'What are the chances?'
"Um, are you the prince of Nytheris?" I asked, trying to confirm my suspicion.
"Spot on. Let me introduce myself again. I, the only heir of Nytheris, Alstair Nytheris, greet the prince of Lunastre. I hope the prince of Lunastre would be humble enough to befriend me," Alstair replied in a teasing tone, bowing dramatically with a hand over his chest. A mischievous grin was plastered across his face.
"Pfft- What's with this dramatic greeting? We're both the same age, I presume, and you've helped me a lot here. I should be the one thanking you and treating you with respect," I replied, stifling a laugh.
He rolled his eyes at my comment.
"Anyways, here, eat this. It's some fruit. Don't worry, it's not poisonous. I've been eating these for the past few days," he said, handing me two dark olive colored, oval-shaped fruits. Each was larger than the size of my palm.
"Thanks," I said genuinely, taking a bite of the fruit.
My eyes shot wide open not because it tasted bad, but because it was the opposite!
It was delicious!
Nom. Nom. Nom.
"These are really ripe. I mean, they taste amazing, not too sweet, not too bland. The sweetness is just perfect, and they're so juicy!" I said, wiping the juice from the corner of my mouth.
"I know, right? These fruits, along with a few others, are what's been keeping me alive for the past few days," Alstair replied excitedly.
Then it hit me.
"Oh, yeah. Where's your companion? The one who was with you? And where are we, exactly? How did you meet him and find me, anyway?" I asked, remembering the other person who had been with him the one who had knocked me out with a neck chop.
"Oh, that mister? Uh, well… it's a bit of a long story," he began, recounting his journey from how he was saved by someone named 'Zeydris' to how they had rescued me from the Vespralith. He explained that we were now in some kind of ruined town.
I felt like he skipped over some details, but that wasn't the main point.
'If what he's saying is true, and this Zeydris really killed a Low-Calamity rank Vespralith with such ease… he must be incredibly strong.'
'I too assume him to be of Sovereign rank at the very least.'
My mind raced as I processed the situation.
Sigh.
"Hey, is it fine if I just call you Alstair? Of course, you can call me Lucian in return," I asked, trying to break the tension and divert my mind.
Believe it or not, I'm a total introvert. If you're wondering whether I've interacted much with other heirs of the royal clans… well, the truth is, I don't even know the names of most of the current clan heads, let alone their children, except for one clan, now two i guess. So, yeah, that's that.
As for attending meetings and making small talk? It usually ended at "Hi" or "Hello," followed by me excusing myself. Pathetic, I know.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. Didn't you already accept me as your friend? So it's only natural to drop the formalities now," he replied, scratching his cheek.
"Yeah. So, Alstair, what should we do now? Do you know how we can get out of this abyss or return home?" I asked.
"Oh, right. I actually asked Mr. Zeydris the same thing. He said he'd propose a deal to both of us once you woke up. I don't know what kind of deal he's planning, but he also mentioned that if we reject it, he'll send us back but only after you're fully healed. So, I guess it wouldn't hurt to hear him out, right? If the deal works in our favor, great. If not, we can still go home. It's a win-win situation," Alstair said enthusiastically, his green eyes gleaming with hope.
"...Yeah, I guess it is a win-win," I replied, though my mind was racing.
'There's got to be a catch. Why would someone so powerful just let us go? And why would his proposal be so advantageous to us? Something's missing.'
Sigh.
'I guess I'll only get my answers from the man himself.'
'Let's see what kind of person you are, Zeydris.'