23 Beautiful Qi Part 1

After our morning meal, Aria and Brenna took me over to the clinic tent, while Leona had work to do elsewhere. On our way, my gaze kept straying about the place, searching for the figure of either Caleb or Felix. Of course, I couldn't see them anywhere and wondered if perhaps they were busy with their soldiers, making plans and coming up with strategies for an attack or something. I mean, I personally had no clue how one went about tracking down bandits and the dispatching of them, but I assumed that would be the first step, wouldn't it? Forming a strategy of some sort?

Once we reached the tent, Aria ushered me inside. I was surprised that everything here was set up very much like a field clinic back at home, with rows of beds on each side of the tent, along with some medical equipment not that unfamiliar to me.

As we headed toward the back, I noticed two desks and some chairs, which I assumed were for the doctors and nurses. Farther back, I saw stacks of boxes, which I assumed were more medical supplies.

"Sit down, Alfie," Aria said, indicating one of the chairs.

I obediently sat, and once I was comfortable, Aria started inspecting my eyes.

I asked, "Won't you need to know my power?"

Aria asked, "Power? What power?"

I said, "For the glasses. You need to know how high it is, don't you? To find the correct lenses?"

She chuckled. "No. We don't need to know your lens power or whatever it is, Alfie. I'm just making sure that your eyes are able to handle our lenses, that's all."

Eh? What does she mean by that?

She drew back and grinned. "Looks fine to me."

"I've found a pair," Brenna said from behind Aria.

As she came toward us, I noticed a tiny box in one of her hands. She carefully handed it over to Aria, who said, "Thanks, Brenna."

I watched carefully as Aria clicked open the intriguing box. When she turned it around so that I could inspect the lenses, I felt my breath catch at the back of my throat.

Oh Lord! Was this just a pair of contact lenses? Not something that looked like a piece of very expensive jewelry in a safe box? But these lenses, they sparkled like diamonds, sitting there elegantly in the clear liquid encased in a steel box.

Aria said, "Let's put them on you."

I asked, "You don't have glasses?"

Aria said, "We don't do glasses here, Alfie. They're simply not efficient on a battlefield. But of course, those with bad eyesight do wear glasses in our kingdom, since they're much cheaper. And of course, there are some who prefer glasses, and I know of one who does and is very particular about it, too."

Hmm… This person sounded a bit like me, who preferred glasses, though I wasn't as particular.

Brenna nodded in agreement with Aria. "He is, isn't he?" she said. "But then again, he does spend a lot of time reading late into the night and doing his research, so of course he'd get bad eyesight." She turned her attention to me now. "Our lenses last forever. You barely need to take them out. Maybe only once a year to get them checked to make sure they're still working fine."

Wow! The lenses were that good, eh?

So no glasses. It was too bad, but I guessed there was no helping it. I mean, I wasn't about to walk around half blind in a new world that I knew nothing about. It was too dangerous, and I had no idea who'd be friends and who would be foes.

I said, "Then wearing this is fine."

Aria nodded and gently picked up the lenses.

I asked, "Will the lenses adapt to my eyes? I mean to whatever vision power I have?"

Aria said, "That's right. It's designed that way, after all."

"I see," I said. So as I had guessed, this wasn't different from the boots and socks Felix had put on me this morning. Everything was magically made to adapt to the person wearing them, just like a one-size-fits-all scenario.

I leaned my head slightly back and opened my eyes wide as Aria put a lens into my left eye and then another into my right. Done, I did a couple of blinks, and immediately, my sight became clear.

"Wow!" I chuckled. "This is amazing." I turned to Aria and said, "I can see clearly now."

And indeed, Aria was even more beautiful now that I could see her better, what with her perfect English rose features: golden-blond hair, bright-green eyes, and rosy fair skin. Dressed in a long gown with a tunic on top, she was enchanting.

I turned my gaze to Brenna next, and she, too, was a pretty thing, with lush brown hair, chestnut eyes, and an English rose complexion that'd make any man fall for her. I shifted my gaze to Brenna's cat ears. God, I just wanted to stroke them.

After I somehow managed to control my urge, I cleared my throat and said, "Thank you so much for this." Then I thought to ask, "By the way, how much are the lenses? I mean, I can't simply take them, right?"

Not that I had any money on me, of course, since I had entered this world without a thing on me, not even a small piece of clothing like a pair of panties or bra. Then again, even if I had some cash on me, there was no guarantee that it was usable here. I had no doubt that their currency would be different.

Aria chuckled. "Hmm… We'll have to ask the higher-ups about that since they are quite expensive and are used only for military purposes."

I was floored. These were very expensive and used only for military purposes?

Brenna said, "You can see in the dark with those lenses."

Aria said, "They also have the zoom in and out function. It's very convenient."

"How?" I couldn't help asking. "Then why?"

I meant to ask them why I was allowed to wear this very awesome military piece of technology but found that I couldn't finish my sentences properly.

In other words, I thought in daze, the contacts were very much like military night vision goggles, but without the heavy gear that came with them.

I said, "Is it really okay for me to wear them?"

Aria waved aside my concern. "It's fine. Lord Felix suggested it, and Lord Caleb approved."

I asked, "Felix suggested it? And Lord Caleb approved of it? When did that happen?"