[71.3] The Miracle Cure

A few days later, I handed the newly obtained flowers to the medicinal matriarch with a bright smile, full of hope. 

"Well??? It's the right flower, right?!"

She sniffed it cautiously then raised it in the air in triumph, "It's the correct flower! Now I need to quickly prepare the dosage before it can go bad."

I stood off to the side, watching in amazement at her fast reflexes and dexterity as she created the medicine. She was so concentrated, a silver tiger tail and ears suddenly appeared. I watched her tiger tail swing in the air, feeling a sense of familiarity with it.

As I watched, I suddenly felt a soft pull on the hem of my skirt. I glanced down in confusion to see a small tiger girl, staring up at me with bright blue eyes.

Whoa…

That face and eyes…

It reminds me of Sanc.

I bent down and smiled at her, "What's your name?"

Before I could react, she suddenly lurched forward as if to bite me. The medicinal matriarch suddenly intervened to grab her before she could sink her teeth into my skin.

The matriarch glared, "Lele. No biting. The Great Fairy doesn't have the skin that we tigers have."

I blinked in shock, "Huh? Lele?"

She nodded, "Yes. This is Lele. She's my granddaughter."

As in the Lele I knew!?

When I stared back at her, her tiger ears and tail really did resemble the Lele of my time and her face looked exactly as Sanc had. However, her skin was pale without any sign of runes.

She's not the Lele I know.

I blew out a sigh of relief at this, "She doesn't have runes on her skin…"

My eyes were drawn to the matriarch whose skin did resemble that of Lele, but her name was definitely not Lele.

The medicinal matriarch put her back down and went to work on the potion. As if she could read my thoughts, she spoke, "In our culture, only the medicinal matriarch receives the divination runes as a way of showing her position in the family. Once one matriarch dies, another is chosen to receive the runes by family vote."

I sucked in my breath, wanting to cry.

Lele tugged on my dress again, "Miss Fairy…"

"Yes?" I answered more or less used to that name, "What is it?"

"That boy who is with you…"

"You mean my first disciple?"

She nodded slowly, her eyes still cautiously staring at me, "You… You should throw him out while you can."

Immediately, I felt irritated. My tone turned harsh, "And why would you say that? What has he ever done?"

She shook her head, "He did nothing, but there is evil inside him. Can't you feel it?"

The matriarch snapped at her, "Lele! Don't anger the Great Fairy!"

I crossed my arms, "And why would you say that about him? What makes you think that?"

"It's his eyes." She answered innocently, "Every demon can feel it… Those eyes suck you in, drain you of your entire soul, then spit you back out."

I groaned in exasperation, "What does that even mean?"

She answered casually, "He devours you."

The matriarch crossed her arms as she glared sternly at Lele, "Lele. Stop speaking this instant. Go find your mother before I get upset."

Lele pursed her lips then turned around to leave, her tiger tail swinging in irritation.

The matriarch glanced at me anxiously, "Great Fairy… Please don't take offense… Lele is still young and-"

"-It's what you all think, isn't it?" I interrupted her while staring daggers at her, "It's obvious you all have hated him since the day you met him. You never gave him a chance."

She bowed her head, "Forgive us, Great Fairy… It's not our fault… It's simply in our nature. It's like an instinct from our animalistic self."

I scoffed, "Then work on it. You are not animals, you are demons. Ignorance can always be recognized and cured if the person is willing."

"...Yes, Great Fairy. I will speak to the other demons about it."

"All you need to do is try." Sensing the atmosphere was now awkward, I let out a sigh, "Did you finish the medicine?"

She nodded and handed me the medicinal potion, "Yes, Great Fairy."

"Thank you so much!"

I took it from her with a bright smile on my face. I was no longer angry which gave the matriarch relief. She raised her eyes from the floor to add, "However before you give it to her, there's something I need to warn you about."

My smile faltered, "Is this not a detoxifying medicine? You're saying it won't work!? After all the effort I went into getting it-"

She reached out to soothe me, "Great Fairy. I didn't mean that. This medicine will work on detoxifying the poison in her system… With this, she should live the lifespan of a normal human as her fate originally intended."

"So then… What's the issue?"

"There are potential side effects with this cure."

I had a dark foreboding sense, "Like… What?"

She took a deep breath and then started listing it all out. My eyes swirled as I was assaulted by the long list of side effects that rivaled any evil pharma company.

Once she finished, I blinked rapidly to regain my senses, "How is that any better than being poisoned as she is now!?"

She responded plainly, "Because she won't die with this medicine. It's also not likely she will receive all of the side effects… It's only a possibility. As a doctor, I assure you this is a better alternative to her current predicament. However, the patient should ultimately make the final choice."

I stared nervously at that bottle containing the medicine.

I wonder if she will take it?