Chapter XLVIII - The Grounded Queen (part 2)

"You must be... Madam Rize?"

Madam, wow.

"Yes. That is me. Please, sit."

I signalled for him to sit right across from me at my post. He sat down right next to Khel, who seemed quite uncomfortable.

"I'm guessing... Queen Alyssa was barred from coming here anymore?"

I opened the conversation with a silly question, but I just wanted to know. And after hearing that obvious question, the old man in a nice suit laughs quite loudly.

"Unfortunately, the queen has been prohibited to walk outside again by the king himself. He told me that ever since the queen was fully healed, she began to walk around the kingdom almost every single day. And obviously, as a queen, that's not something she should do so often, especially not every single day."

Hahaha... Someone got grounded.

"The king was, of course, kind and benevolent. He allowed his wife freedom for only a few weeks, despite it being a terrifying thing. However, this cannot continue. Safety concerns are most definitely an issue if the queen of a kingdom were to freely walk around the streets, so he put a stop to it.

"I see. I knew this was a problem as well. I mean... she came to my inn on her own to deliver a letter. What kind of queen does that?"

"Regarding that, his majesty the king and I had already forbidden her to go and deliver the letter on her own. But she insisted, very… very badly. I had no choice, for I am just a butler."

A butler to the royal family!? I knew this old man was important, after all.

"… Certainly, it wasn't easy being her butler, because she likes to deliver her messages on her own."

"I'm delighted that you recognized my trouble. She was very angry when the king gave the order to lock her away. But... it was a necessity, as she was walking around the kingdom freely almost every day."

"No one could've predicted that to happen at all~."

"Haha!"

The old butler and I laughed so loudly at that. This old man seems like someone who has been babysitting the queen who likes to wander around, which is exactly the case. He must've spent many years dealing with the childish behaviors of the queen, which made him realize just how fun it was to talk about it with someone else.

At least now, the queen won't be stupidly running around and doing something weird. Even though she is healed, that doesn't mean she can just walk on the kingdom casually. It's very dangerous for her considering her role and position.

"So, what is the message from her?"

I asked him, and he slipped his hand on to the insides of his chest pocket. 

"Her majesty... wishes to know about your situation with the said sickness. She said that your sickness is very dangerous and incurable, and that she must never stop until you are healed. 

Right now, she is researching everything on it, and even asked multiple associates and contacts from another kingdom to help her with this. But so far, she has found nothing."

So she had gone so far for me... I am honoured. And it was all thanks to her that I was able to reach this position.

"I see. Well, you can tell her to stop now."

"P-Pardon?"

I explained to him how I had found the cure on my own, thanks to the books the queen had given me. I also returned the ring that she gave me, along with the books inside of it. And I also wanted to thank her by giving her my paper notes on how to create the cure.

"These are my notes on how I managed to create the cure. I hope that the queen can find a way to mass produce it so that people from around the continent who need the same help can be cured also."

He took the notes from my hand and read them closely. His eyes were widely shocked, and I knew those were the eyes of someone in disbelief.

"This... This is...!?!"

His eyes looked at me a few times while reading, as if not believing.

"This is incredible! I was aiding her majesty to find the proper method, but what you have found is... is brilliant! It's dangerous, but it's brilliant!!"

"What can I say? It's only natural for me."

"That's wonderful. As expected of the great Saint Heale--"

"That... is also something that I'd like to ask you to tell her majesty."

I suddenly cut him off, and the old butler turned confused. I began pondering as to how I can deliver this decision properly, but I decided to just speak it away.

"I want the queen to take all the credits for this."

"Par… don?"

He seemed to be confused, and for sure he should be. With these notes, someone could get very rich very quickly. Inventing a cure for an incurable disease is very powerful, and many powerful people from all sorts of powerful places will want that power.

I can very easily become a noble of a kingdom with this knowledge. And yet, I have decided not to.

Because, that... would be an easy but risky way to get rich. I will never put myself in such a situation, no matter how nice they sound.

"I don't want attention. At all. I just wanted to live a slow simple life where nobody knows me. So, I would appreciate it if the queen and the kingdom would take the credit for finding out the recipe of the cure."

I explained to him about my perspective, but he still couldn't believe it.

"But... You could become..."

"I know. And that's exactly why I don't want it."

He looked at me in pure shock. It took him a while to process what I've just told him, but then he laughed loudly and inserted the note into his pocket.

"You really are very similar to the queen... And I am grateful for that, Madam Saint Healer."

"You're welcome."

"But by doing this, you are doing our kingdom a service. Surely, there must be something that we could do for you."

What he said is true. By doing this, I should get something in return. But for now, I don't think there's anything. Yet.

"For now, I guess I don't have anything that I wanted. Maybe... in the future? Is it possible for me to keep in touch?"

I tried suggesting, but the old butler quickly remembered something from the back of his mind.

"Ah! Yes, that reminds me."

He inserted his hand into his chest pocket behind his front clothes. Does his pocket serve as some sort of space magic? All sorts of things seem to come out of it.

"The queen also wished for the same, so she asked to give you this."

He handed me a communication crystal. It's different from the one I had. It's blue in colour, and shaped like a ball. It's certainly a much higher quality than the communication crystal that connects me and my team.

This... Don't tell me...

"Strictly used. Only when emergencies or at night right after the third bell. Past that point, do not use. Most importantly, do not use it randomly for pointless purposes."

His tone really went serious with that one, but I understand. However, this alone is already quite an important gesture from the queen.

Now... I can talk to her freely. Without having to meet her face to face.

"Thank you. This means so much to me."

I said with a soft smile to him, and the old butler only returned with a bow to me.

"No. Thank you. Not only have you cured our queen's long lasting incurable disease, but you've also given us the right to claim this... treasure of a note, to cure another incurable sickness.

You, Madam Saint Healer, is a highly important asset to the kingdom. The queen, the king, and the whole kingdom, wishes to keep a positive relationship with you."

The butler said as he bowed his head to me, and everyone who saw and heard it turned wild. Meanwhile, I only nodded lightly.

"You're welcome. It's also thanks to her majesty that I was able to be cured from my own sickness. I'd say we're partially even."

"Then, I will take my leave. May our fates intertwine in the future."

The old butler then stood up and straightened his posture, and he began turning to the exit. However, before he left, he stopped and turned his questioning gaze to me.

"One more thing I'd like to ask, Madam Rize. How... old are you?"

He suddenly asked, but I only turned confused as to why that's necessary.

"Seventeen."

"S-So young!?! B-But, you're the same age as her..."

"As who?"

"Nevermind. Please... forget that I asked."

The butler bowed at me one last time before leaving. For sure, he respected me so much that it felt suspicious.

And after the butler of the royal family left, the atmosphere in the church became calmer. People started talking again, and everyone began to leave the grand hall.

"Are you really seventeen, Rize? You don't sound like a teenager."

Khel said to me after the butler left, and I turned my annoyed face to her.

"And you sounded like a baby. Wheee~~ Whee~~"

"Shut up! Why are you so ugly!?"

W-What...? That's so hurtful... I was only playing with my face as I mocked her.

I sat back down at the seat and let out a sigh. This is what you get for running around too much, Queen Alyssa! Well done, King of Mazino!

She must be bored to hell, right now. She must have loved sneaking out, and so did I. I don't really like being cooped up for too long, so I could understand her feelings.

After that whole conversation, I stood up and headed to the basement, followed by Khel. I changed into my adventurer outfit, which surprised Khel, because I came here using my casual attires.

"I have some stuff to do after this. That's why I have to wear this suit."

"Oh~, I thought you're about to beat someone up."

That is exactly what I'm going to do. How did she know?

I headed back up and bade farewell to Khel as well with the other nuns in the middle room. Everyone thanked me for my efforts today, then I headed outside through the back.

"Oh... I haven't done this in a while."

I stretched my body for a bit, and then I enchanted my legs.

VWOOSSHH!!!

The nuns were watching me as I leaped twenty meters high in the air. They were all shocked and wide eyed to see me jump and landed on a nearby ceiling.

I haven't parkoured on the roofs for a while since my magic was technically dead. So this breezy feeling of the cold air sure does make up for lost times.

The moisture in the air thanks to the rain hours ago made my whole body cold. But, that's what I'm looking for. I parkoured to the west, and headed straight for Hod's diner.

Yesterday, we already planned to gather here before the second bell. So, I'm probably a little earlier than the others.

I landed a few meters in front of the restaurant, scaring the people around me. But I didn't mind them and entered the restaurant.

"Good morning, Rize!!"

The whole team was here. All in their adventure outfits, including Hod.

I... guess I'm late?

No, this is definitely hours before our designated time.

What were they doing coming so early?