5.4.

"Huh?"

Sequencee woke up on the hospital bed.

He pushed aside the blanket and examined himself.

'What the..'

The sky seen outside the window showed dawn breaking, parts of the blue sky dyed by streaks of orange clouds.

'..That can't be a dream.. what did she do?'

Sequencee grabbed his necklace.

"Schwii, morning."

["M-Morning. How are you?"]

"I'm fine.. what's up with the stuttering."

["Are you fine? Really? So what did you say.."]

"What do you mean?"

["..."]

"Schwii?"

["My apologies for leaving you on your own the previous night."] Iona's voice interjected.

'Oh, so that's what it's about. Eh, wait. I should've just used my pendant last night shouldn't I?'

"No, it's alright.."

["I'm sorry Sequencee.. I just didn't want to make things worse. My presence would've just inflated the conflict between us and the royal family. I believed that you could do it so I took the decision to leave."]

"I see.. well, things are fine for now. But I'm still going to be holed up in the hospital, I've not been given permission unfortunately," Sequencee wasn't sure how to properly explain what happened between him and the royal family.

["I'll come visit you."]

"Alright. See you soon, take care."

["Is there anything you want that I could get you on the way? Do you want pastries? Or some specific food?"]

"Well.. how about that black moose cheese cake?"

["I'll get it when the shop is open."]

"Thank you."

Sequencee then got up from the bed and walked to the washroom to refresh himself.

===

"Why can't I be released yet?"

"Do you think it would make sense for a patient incurring a near-death injury to leave so quickly? It hasn't even been forty-eight hours," Evelyn quipped.

"Or are you just not going to admit that you're keeping me in custody."

"That too."

"Hah?"

"Forget I said that, here," Evelyn placed the peeled orange-like fruit on Sequencee's cardiac table.

Sequencee stared at it.

"Evelyn, can I be honest with you?"

"What about?" She tilted her head.

"The truth is, I.." don't actually like you– those words clogged up in his throat, unable to escape.

"The truth is?"

"..."

"If you can't say it now, eat first."

"..Right."

As Sequencee was chewing on the citrus, Risa and Shiro also busted into the room.

"Morning!"

"Morning Sequencee. How are you feeling?"

"Morning, Shiro, Risa. I'm feeling fine."

"That's good to hear. How was the cake yEstherday?" Risa asked with a grin.

"It was nice."

Risa's grin grew wider, Shiro shook his head.

"Evelyn, I think he's healthy enough to be discharged by now," Risa said.

"It hasn't even been forty-eight hours yet."

"Isn't it boring staying here Sequencee?" Risa asked.

"It does feel that way.." Sequencee looked at the bland porridge for breakfast.

"What do you think, Evelyn? The patient hath spoken."

"Risa.."

"Well, we need to head over to the colosseum anyways, why not just bring him along?"

"Is it allowed?" Shiro asked.

"I think yes, right? There's so much space in the private viewing spot."

"If possible, I'd like to just be able to go home.." Sequencee said.

"So you aren't interested in the battle royal layer?" Risa asked.

"I've never been into tournaments in general."

"Really? Here I thought the New Dawn Series is some big event that everyone would cut off their limbs to see," Risa quipped.

"It depends, I suppose."

"You two, stop disturbing him and let him eat his breakfast first. Then I'll decide if I should tell the high priest to discharge him early," Evelyn protested.

"Fine, fine. Then my brother and I will go first alright?" Risa stole a slice of the citrus-like fruit.

"Hey!" Evelyn exclaimed.

"Bye, bye!" Risa ran out of the room.

"Sorry about that, I'll be going too. See you around," Shiro smiled wryly and left.

"..."

"..."

"Sequencee."

"Yeah?"

"Eat your breakfast already."

'Priestess Evelyn is very different from the normal Evelyn.'

Sequencee took a few bites out of the congee.

'It tastes okay I guess.'

"Um.. Sequencee.."

"What is it?"

After much struggle, she spoke, "What did you tell my sister-in-law?"

"Me? Nothing much."

"Don't lie. You definitely told her something.. she came back laughing.." Evelyn's hands trembled.

"She was the one who talked more, saying something like His Majesty wanted to see me or something."

"So.. what was your response to that.."

"My response? I don't know what you mean by that.. she left before I could ask anything."

"What?"

'Do I really have to have luncheon with them? I'd get my head cut off eventually won't I?'

"Excuse me," knocking the door to enter, the high priest from yEstherday came into the room. "Good morning student Sequencee. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm feeling fine."

"Your Highness, what do you think about his current condition?"

"He's recovered enough to leave by today."

The high priest nodded. He took out a document from a file.

"Student Sequencee. I just want to confirm something with you if that's alright?"

"What is it?"

"You're a demon, correct?"

"A demon.. yes."

"Could I ask for your race?"

Sequencee recalled how Schwii said his blood test had been swapped out for a fake one.

"My race? I'm not sure. I'm a half-demon, half-human. I've never met my father, my mother died long ago."

The high priest showed doubt.

"W-What is it?" Evelyn stuttered.

"Pardon me for a moment, Your Highness, come with me for a moment."

"Yes."

The two of them exited the room.

'So it's something they can't discuss in front of me? I wonder what it's about..'

===

"His blood test results show that he's a normal demon, likely a majin. There are minimal levels of miasma in his blood. I expected the results to show some extremes for someone who has regenerative capabilities. I didn't think his results would match the profile range of a normal demon. Isn't that abnormal?"

"His blood is of a normal demon? That shouldn't be possible, there must be some misinterpretation."

"I agree. There should've been some racial-characteristic variance, but there isn't. The results show that he's a pure majin."

While it had been years since Evelyn began her studies in the medical field, there were always new things to learn about. The relationship between blood investigation results and a person's health are correlated, that much was obvious. However, blood investigational results coming from demons were much more complex.

This was a subject Evelyn didn't have a good grasp on due to the limited case studies available on the topic. Nevertheless, it was obvious that something was up here.

"I apologize for speaking about my pointless concerns, I simply feel that this is something you may need to know."

"I understand. It is part of our profession that we give our best to our clients."

The high priest simply lowered his head.

"In the end, he's simply healthy, correct?"

"Yes. He's healthy."

"Then he should be fine.."

"On that note, the object inside him.. I can't be certain if it is truly a Philosopher's Stone or something else."

'That's odd..'

Evelyn furrowed her brow.

"Don't attempt to investigate this further Sir Daniel. Leave him be.. I'm sure he has a reason for hiding crucial information like this. It's important to respect our client's wishes."

"Then I will do as you say, Your Highness."