Objective accomplished - Part 2

After the adrenaline subsided, the wizard finally became aware of his injuries. The wound on the side of his chest was the most concerning, needing urgent treatment. He staunchly stopped the bleeding using his hand.

The swordsman took a small scroll from his pocket and hurled it toward the wizard, who caught and opened it. With a single word, the contained spell was activated, and a magical circle immediately appeared beneath his feet, healing his wounds instantly in a radiant blue aura.

"Damn! What the hell did we come here for, Ringel?" the wizard queried, seeming to emerge from a moment of reflection. "This was all a massive waste of time."

"Who are you? What do you want with us?" Naige asked.

She noticed that both men had let their guard down, almost as if they had forgotten her presence. Additionally, she felt something unsettling about these individuals and wanted to uncover any clues about their identities or objectives.

"We've finished what we came here to do, princess," the swordsman replied, offering Naige a courteous smile. He continued, making a quick bow, "Now you can continue your journey in peace."

Jiro arrived by the princess's side.

"Until our next encounter, apprentice," the black-clad swordsman said. Then, gazing toward where the carriage and the rest of the group were, his expression turned somewhat more serious. 'I'm sure we'll meet again... I just don't know which side we'll be on,' he thought.

"That thing you told me earlier..."

Jiro began speaking, but the black-clad swordsman simply turned toward what remained of the woods and walked away calmly. The wizard followed closely behind, still grumbling. And for a while, his voice could still be heard even after both had disappeared into the trees, some branches slightly singed.

At that moment, Naige turned to the young man beside her:

"What did he tell you?"

"Nothing," he replied, avoiding eye contact. "Let's see how the others are."

Despite the distance between them, Lince felt something strange when the black-clad swordsman looked in his direction. It was as if they already knew each other. Yet, in the end, he was more relieved to see the wizard leave. Only after that happened did he manage to take a deep breath and feel safe again.

"That wizard..." Ran murmured, approaching Lince and also gazing toward where the wizard had disappeared. She continued, "He's a user of three elements..."

She seemed quite impressed, Lince noticed. He didn't understand much about magic, but when he studied it with the lord, it was said that apparently, a person manipulating more than one element with the same aptitude was very rare. So the girl's reaction to encountering someone like that in the middle of a deserted road seemed normal.

"Are you all right?" the princess asked.

"You're injured," Ran advanced toward the princess. "Let me treat these wounds, Miss Naige."

"There's no need to treat something so superficial," Naige motioned toward where the brown-haired boy was and said, "Take care of him first."

Ran wanted to tend to the princess's wounds; it was evident in her disappointed expression, especially when she looked at the red marks on Naige's neck and wrists, which could leave lasting scars or even become infected. But she couldn't force her, only nodded silently and went to the brown-haired boy.

"Me?" Lince asked, surprised. With everything that had happened, he had forgotten about the wound on his shoulder. It did hurt a bit, but it was just a superficial cut, unlike what he had thought before. "I'm fine..."

"You shouldn't ignore that wound," Naige said. "Besides, you got hurt because of me. What kind of person would I be if I didn't care?"

Seeing how serious the princess was, Lince felt he couldn't refuse.

"Sit here and let me take care of that."

"Yes."

Ran was quite persuasive, and Lince sat on an unburnt patch of grass by the road, remaining silent like a child obeying his mother.

"Spirits of the water, lend me your powers to remedy this injury. Heal."

This was an incantation. Lince paid attention to the girl as she spoke. Her small, thin lips moved very slowly, making the words flow from her mouth harmoniously. Her hands glowed with a serene, blue light. At that moment, he felt some warmth over the wound site, along with a slight tingling. It didn't take long for such a small cut to be healed.

"Do you feel anything else besides this injury?"

Lince shook his head from side to side as he touched the place of the wound, but it was as if it had never existed. Not even a scar remained for remembrance. Magic was as astonishing as it was extraordinary, he thought.

"It's incredible that you can do that," he said, smiling. "Thank you."

What the boy said reminded Ran of someone who used to say similar words to her. She looked at her hands and whispered, "You don't need to thank me. After all, this is the only way I can be of use..."

Lince realized her words held a hint of sadness and resentment. He couldn't blame her for feeling that way. After all, everyone felt that way when they saw the princess suffer at the hands of that wizard. Furthermore, when he decided to intervene in the princess's fight, he did so after sensing how much the healer girl was suffering for not being able to help.

Lince could understand that feeling. 'Sometimes, you hurt someone when you do something to them, but sometimes, doing nothing hurts just as much...'

Suddenly, he felt as if someone important had said those words to him, but he couldn't recall the person or the moment it happened.

'Why am I thinking about this? What's happening to me?' First, there was that strange voice, and now, thoughts from people he couldn't remember. There was also that strange symbol on his skin, besides the magic circle. Even though they had vanished, Lince could feel as if they were still there, only his eyes couldn't see them.

His mind seemed to hit an impossible wall whenever he was about to remember, causing an oppressive feeling and unbearable pain within his head. But he still wanted to know. He tried to remember everything he had forgotten, regardless of the consequences.

"You don't look too good," the healer girl said. "What's wrong, does it still hurt somewhere?"

"It's nothing. I'm fine..." He faked a smile.

"If everyone's okay, we can leave this place."

It was Jiro's voice. He approached with an unwavering seriousness on his face.

"I'll prepare the carriage," said the coachman.

Lince shook his head and got up from the ground, asking, "Who were those people?"

"I don't know, but we'll find out," replied Jiro, smiling before adding, "But it's nothing to worry about right now."

Wasn't he worried after everything that happened there? Lince wondered if this kind of thing was more common than he imagined in a noble's life. In the end, he didn't want to find out; after all, the journey to Camellia needed to continue.

"By the way, you were very brave back there," Jiro said in a more relaxed manner. "Seems like you were the one who saved us this time. As the princess's bodyguard, I need to thank you, Lince Elliot."

"I… I..." Lince wasn't used to receiving compliments, and it made him start to panic. He didn't know what to say or how to act. He froze.

"It's okay," Jiro continued. "Take slow breaths."

Lince took a deep, slow breath. After calming down, he managed to act normally. Finally, he could respond:

"No need to thank me. I wasn't very helpful there, after all..."

It was for a brief moment, but the boy's awkward behavior brought a purer smile to Jiro's face. He concluded by saying: "Stop that. You should feel a little prouder of what you did."

Lince lowered his head without knowing why he felt so embarrassed and nodded.

After moving away from the others, Naige stared at the saber in her hands. She pondered deeply on the situation she had just been through. The way she fought against that wizard bothered her more than the wounds on her body. For starters, if she wasn't so weak, these injuries would never have had a chance to happen. However, what annoyed her the most was the wizard's attitude. After all, he never fought seriously at any point. Initially, Naige thought she was facing a common and arrogant elementalist, but that view changed after she learned that he also mastered three elements. If someone like that really fought seriously, using all those combined magics, in that case, it would be impossible for her to defeat an opponent with her current skill level.

"Are you all right, Miss?" Jiro had approached without her noticing. It was his voice that snapped her out of her thoughts. Naige just nodded, wiping away that frustrated expression before he could notice.

"I'm sorry you had to go through all that," Jiro expressed remorse. He had made an error in judgment in assessing the strength of those two men, and it almost cost her her life. He was angry and ashamed of himself. "It was my fault that it happened..."

"I don't want to hear it," Naige interrupted. It was her choice to fight. And it was her who appeared pathetic. So hearing his words of comfort made everything even worse. "And don't worry about me. You've fulfilled your duty as a bodyguard. That's all that matters, right?"

Jiro just remained silent.

Naige sheathed the saber. Then, she looked at the coachman and asked, "Is the carriage ready?"

"Yes, princess. I had help from this boy," he pointed to Lince, "So we've made all the necessary repairs to leave here, and it's at your disposal."

"Don't forget I healed one of the horses," Ran said, pointing at herself.

However, the princess remained impassive: "Let's get out of this place quickly, then."