38 Exhausted

His big nostrils cause him to snort when he fills his lungs with air, after getting upset by Roi's remark. The Orc pushes the girl off his lap and gets up. "Stay out of my business, you stinky human!"

Roi takes a few steps back and swiftly avoids the chair he threw at him. From the corner of his eyes, he can see the girl getting up, dusting off her clothes. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I can wash the stink and burn the clothes!"

The Orc's face distorts and veins bulge on his forehead and neck. "You little…!"

Roi interrupts a punch headed towards the server with a swift swing of his dagger. In that instant, he made the Orc shake from fear. In a single moment, Roi showed his strength and speed, without injuring the Orc.

Everyone gasps at the sight of this human, including the girl he saved, who remains still from the shock, with eyes wide open.

Saying nothing more, Roi returns to his seat and gulps down the remaining of his root alcohol. Everyone else did the same, except from one Orc who's still frozen. He hasn't moved an inch or dared to say anything.

When the Orc felt he could finally move, saying nothing, he picked up his things and left, all the while looking to the ground while he clenched his fists. The wounded pride and embarrassment he felt didn't let him raise his head and make eye contact with anyone.

The girl carries a jug over to Roi's table. "This is to thank you for earlier. On the house!"

Roi joyfully accepts and picks up the wooden jug. "Don't worry about it…!"

Without uttering a word, the server pulls a chair and sits, catching Roi by surprise. The young man flustered, coughing a few times, pretending to be choking from the alcohol. "Does this sort of thing happen a lot?"

The girl shakes her head. "Every once in a while, we get the occasional annoyance, but nothing too serious."

Roi finds the chance to ask about the thing that has been troubling him since he got this part of town. "How come there are no guards patrolling around here?"

"Ah, that? Since the incident a few days ago, the king has pulled his guards closer to the palace!"

The young man has a general idea of what might have happened, but he's still curious about it. "... Oh, and what incident is that?"

The young girl turns her ears left and right, and then looks around, making sure there isn't anyone listening in on their conversation. She leans close to Roi's ears and whispers. "The king's brother with the snake men staged a coup. The details aren't clear, but those guys have their own queen and they tried to get her the throne!"

"Why the brother…?"

"They promised him her hand in marriage and he's been having a crush on her for years…"

Roi remains sceptical and doesn't say a word. The girl, after a while, continues. "There are rumours that he even poisoned his niece as a distraction…"

"Where are the snake men now?"

"They exiled them and the King's brother got executed before your arrival!"

"That was fast…"

The girl nodded after giving it some thought. "…"

They both sat at the little table by the bar. The surrounding noise didn't seem to matter, as they felt comfortable in each other's company. Roi finds it hard to finish that second jug of alcohol, making the girl chuckle. With a smile, he turns to her. "I'm Roi, by the way."

"Yulia"

"Nice to meet you, Yulia!"

Meanwhile, back at the palace, inside the Princess's chambers, the young man with messy brown hair and purple eyes keeps pouring the liquid over the paste. It's a time-consuming process, which she has to endure.

The pain made her lose consciousness several minutes ago, creating a state of panic amongst the doctors and the king, having them all rush to her side. The physicians check her vitals and let out a sigh of relief. A doctor says in a soft-spoken voice after wiping his sweat. "She just passed out, Your Majesty!"

Every time Nox pours the liquid, he massages the area with the paste until it gets absorbed and then repeats the process. Only a quarter of the vial remains and the young man is trembling. His fatigue has him squinting his eyes because of the blurry vision. He grits his teeth and groans. "A-Almost done…!"

When the last drop pours out of the vial, all the exhaustion makes the young man's body tremble. He barely keeps his eyes open so he can massage the very last bit. His legs give out at this crucial moment and he drops to his knees. Even though he can't stand, he gathers whatever strength he has left in his body and pulls himself close to the girl in order to finish what he started.

He endures it for a few more minutes before losing consciousness. But even in that situation, he utters with a trembling voice and a triumphant smile. "Done…!"

Several hours have passed, and Nox is just waking up in his room. Malia's familiar smile greets him excitedly. "You are awake… The princess made a full recovery!"

The young man, happy to hear that his effort paid off, smiles. "It's your dad's turn now!"

While the young man lies on his back with his hands behind his head, looking up at the ceiling, his mind wonders. His concern at the moment, beside the treatment of Malia's father, is finding the lost city and retrieving the crystal he needs to further develop his village.

Soon his thoughts get interrupted when, in the corner of his eye, he catches the fidgety girl pacing around the room. He directs his gaze at her, giving her the attention she needs to speak her mind.

Malia puts her hands on her chest and her face is full of worry, while her eyes are about to tear up any second. "Are you sure you can handle it? You just woke up…"

"Haha! I'll be fine!"

Nox returns to apothece and prepares the last vial of antidote. While doing so, he marks down the process on a piece of paper with as much detail as he can. He already has the experience from the first dosage, therefore he can expect and try to prepare for the upcoming state of fatigue.

Unlike with the earlier treatment in the princess's chambers, this time in the room is only Nox, Malia, and her sister. The king is by his daughter's side, waiting for her to wake up. As for the doctors, when Nox completed the round, he dismissed them.

Even though there aren't any doctors present, Nox doesn't seem to mind. He feels more comfortable in the presence of Malia and her family. Like before, he finds the bruise on the old man's body and spreads the paste made from the leaves and petals of the Sand Flower.

Once again, he warns the family of the patient. "He will be in immense pain. Please bare with it and I'll try to go as fast as I can!"

The girls nod, giving him the approval to continue. Like before, he pours the liquid on the paste and massages the area until it gets absorbed.

The process takes several hours until completion. Instead of loitering around, Malia proves herself useful when she periodically wipes the sweat off Nox's face with a piece of cloth she's carrying around.

Kali holds her father's hand, ever so tightly supporting him in her own way. She refuses to leave his side, even after a few hours have passed and she's in and out of sleepiness. "Nox over there is doing all the hard work. He's more tired than any of us. Why should I leave?"

Malia can't dispute her sister's determination and allows her to stay, all the while she's feeling the exhaustion herself. But, while looking at the stubborn face Nox is making as he treats her father, Malia, gets a surge of energy from deep within to keep up with them.

This is the second treatment for Nox and the vase is about halfway done. He already feels the buildup of his tiring muscles and mind, fighting his way through the mental and physical torment. Malia's support is more than enough motivation to keep going. "Getting close...!"

In the meantime, Roi and Yulia talked with each other until it was time to close the tavern. Moments before they go their separate ways, Roi remembered his mission. "One more question, Yulia."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Do you know anything about a lost city? Here, in the Scorching Desert?"

Seeing the reluctance to answer on her face, Roi doesn't pressure her further. "I didn't mean to put you in a tight spot…"

Yulia chuckles and shakes her head. "It's not that...It's just that I didn't know humans called it that!"

"W-What do you mean?"

"It's not a lost city, but a hidden one!"